Chapter Ninety-Six

Lin Zimo had had more than enough of Yu Xingyue’s daydreaming and gave him a sharp smack, her tone irritated. “I don’t want your filthy thoughts tainting my hometown. The way you were imagining it just now—were you really thinking of cherry blossoms in Tokyo? To me, it looked more like you were picturing some beautiful girl and losing your mind over her.”

Under her relentless pressure, Yu Xingyue kept backing away until his back hit the wall.

“No, listen to me. Let me explain. I really was just imagining it. And as for the beautiful girl you mentioned, I’m not interested at all. They say girls with pretty makeup are the kind who love putting green hats on their boyfriends. Do you really think I’d be thinking about that?”

Lin Zimo was still fairly easy to fool; she was simple-minded, so as long as there was an explanation, she could usually be talked around.

She huffed. “Who knows whether what you’re saying is true? I’ll ask Siyu later and see whether it’s really like you said. She’s an expert in this area.”

That was no idle threat. Yu Xingyue knew little about Chen Siyu, but Lin Zimo knew her well. She understood how hard Siyu’s life had been; she was practically a girl who had seen through the world. Otherwise, why would she always be carrying a thermos filled with goji berries?

Yu Xingyue quickly added, “Oh, my dear ancestor, don’t trouble Siyu over something this small. If this little matter ruins our friendship, then this little boat of friendship will sink just because it was said to.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you. I don’t want to argue with you right now. It’s bad for my skin.”

“My skin’s already bad. If you’re angry, then we’re the same kind.”

Yu Xingyue pointed at his own forehead. The moment he frowned, the lines on his brow showed clearly. It had to be said that he had quite a few wrinkles; they just were not very obvious. That was only because he took good care of himself. Aside from when he frowned, the rest was still passable.

Just then, Yu Xingyue received a message from Yang Shuting, saying she did not have time to call and asking him to call her instead because she had something to discuss. A bad feeling rose in him. Why was it that whenever Yang Shuting had something to say, it always seemed to involve him?

Yu Xingyue did not hesitate. He immediately called Yang Shuting to ask what was going on. But since this might have been a private matter, he stepped out of the shop and into the street before making the call, afraid that Lin Zimo might overhear. As soon as the call connected, Yang Shuting said, “Xingyue, do you want to study abroad?”

“What do you mean?” The moment he heard that she wanted him to study abroad, he could not understand why. Unless she had her own reasons for wanting him to go.

On the other end, Yang Shuting gave a wry smile. “It’s not my request. It’s Uncle Sun’s. He thinks your talents can’t really be put to use in China, so he wants you to go overseas and sharpen yourself. Of course, Sun Ying will be going too.”

“What? Sun Ying is going too!”

If the plan was to send him abroad to become more independent or improve himself in some way, that at least made sense. But why did Sun Ying have to go as well? Wasn’t she about to take her entrance exam? Yang Shuting answered his confusion, and the explanation sounded absurd beyond belief.

“According to Sun Ying’s teacher, your Uncle Sun suddenly said that if she transferred schools, they might be able to issue her graduation certificate early. So Sun Yao basically finished six years of elementary school in six years.”

Even Yang Shuting laughed as she said it, and Yu Xingyue was no different. Sun Ying’s six years of elementary school had practically been wasted. A single sentence, and she was graduated. That was truly something.

Yu Xingyue asked, “Then which country are we two going to study in? Ideally not some dangerous place, like Africa or India...”

These places had somehow sprung into his mind for no reason. Africa was impossible, and India even more so. Would they really send their child to such dangerous places?

Hearing his answer, Yang Shuting laughed as well, then said, “My good son, do you think I’d send you somewhere that dangerous to study? Even if I did, Uncle Sun would never let his daughter be put in danger, so rest assured. This time you’re going to Tokyo for two years, then you’ll come back. But only after your vacation.”

Tokyo, Japan—that was Lin Zimo’s hometown, wasn’t it?

At the thought of studying in Tokyo, Yu Xingyue felt both excited and worried. Why did it seem like things would only get more dangerous there? If he ran into gangsters or the like, even with his training, he would still likely end up beaten and injured. He was also afraid Sun Ying would get dragged into it.

After that, Yang Shuting went on to explain the matters they would need to pay attention to once they arrived in Tokyo. She said she would be hard-pressed to find time to talk with him later, so she told him to start recording the call for convenience.

Lin Zimo, meanwhile, had also taken notice. Though she was indoors, she could faintly hear the movement outside. It seemed they were talking about studying abroad somewhere—India, perhaps. Her heart began to tighten with worry that Yu Xingyue might end up going to study in India, and that uneasy feeling kept circling above her head.

After the call ended, Yu Xingyue no longer had any mood to keep working, so he left directly. When Lin Zimo saw him go, she wanted to chase after him and ask what was wrong, but she could not leave. She was the only one in the shop, and the door was already open; if someone with ill intent came in and took something, she would be responsible for the loss.

Yu Xingyue, what is it that you refuse to tell me? Why do you always keep your distance from me? The thought kept turning over in Lin Zimo’s heart, and she could not help wondering whether Yu Xingyue had come to dislike her.

...

“Ha, I never thought this game would shut down too. Games really do have a lifespan.”

Xiao Jian was lamenting the loss of the game "Two-Fifty Brawl." He had heard that the game company had gone bankrupt and shut its doors, so the game had gone cold with it. The only thing he felt fortunate about was that he had never spent a single cent in the game, and that so-called team competition would no longer exist either.

With the game company gone under, a great weight lifted from Xiao Jian’s heart. If it had not gone bankrupt, he would have had to go up on stage and face the audience below. In truth, he had never wanted to take part in this competition at all; he had just been momentarily hot-headed and confused. Now that it was over, he felt light as a feather.

He started drinking a bottle of cola, bored enough to browse the news on his computer. The headlines were all about some game company going bankrupt—the same company behind Two-Fifty Brawl. There were countless comments below saying the company deserved to collapse, since the game was so laggy and had so few players. The only redeeming point was that the character models were quite good. The model artists and graphic designers had all gone to other companies to apply for jobs, which people guessed might be a promising position.

After watching some variety shows, Xiao Jian began to feel even more bored. The formulas of these programs were all older than the last: talking about some hardship or setback from the past, sharing it with everyone so people could learn from the experience and plan their future, all while insisting that one must rely on oneself. But in the entertainment industry, there was only one singer Xiao Jian truly admired—someone brave enough to tell the truth and face life with a smile. Let everyone guess who it is; if you can guess, then you already know who that singer is.

With no one to talk to, Xiao Jian lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking only one thing:

Death.

That ugly word came to mind because of loneliness. When a person has been alone for too long and no one understands him, thoughts of death arise. What good could death possibly bring? It would only make your family even sadder.

These were normal feelings. As long as one thought of happy things, all such thoughts would vanish. But Xiao Jian had nothing that could make him happy; instead, he found himself thinking of the sorrowful past.

He got up from the bed and wandered into the kitchen absentmindedly. For some reason, he picked up a fruit knife. By the time he realized what he was doing, the knife was already in his hand. Startled, he hurriedly put it back where it belonged, unable to understand why he had reached for it in the first place.