Before the Encounter / The Night Fate Began

Even now, after sharing life and death with her once, Lin still can't see through what kind of person she really is, or which one is the real her.

Qianqi cautiously hid behind the door, her suspicious gaze lingering on Lin: "What do you want?"

"Are you free? I'd like to talk to you about something."

"... Looking for me?" Qianqi paused for a few seconds. "Uh, okay... then you want to drink..."

"Cola."

Lin answered first.

"..."

Qianqi looked at him with a strange and subtle expression.

Like Vill-V, she also clearly sensed that Lin seemed somewhat "lively," or rather... excited?

After entering the house, Lin estimated the time and then got straight to the point:

Were we classmates before?

Chapter 161 Before the Encounter

Day after day, day after day...

Her brain had lost all feeling for the word. The desensitization symptoms paralyzed her in this meaningless and turbulent life. Sometimes she even thought that maybe this was not so bad.

Having an ordinary life is already a dream that many people yearn for, so why is she still so dissatisfied?

Does choosing to pursue the thrill you crave guarantee that you will get what you want?

She was not thinking about anything meaningful; she didn't even know why she was getting caught up in this.

Ultimately, it's just because of her own cowardice. She's afraid to give up her current life, yet she yearns for unexpected changes... Hmm... It's a bit like someone with delusions of grandeur, fantasizing about the sudden collapse of the world and becoming a chosen child or something...

... How stupid.

She heard the bell ring, but unlike some impatient classmates who were eagerly discussing what to eat or which internet cafe to go to for dinner, she didn't rush to pack her things to go home. Instead, she sat properly in her seat, pretending to listen attentively to the lesson, because the teacher hadn't announced the end of get out of class yet.

"I haven't said get out of class is over yet!" The teacher threw a piece of chalk at the head of a jubilant boy and criticized him with a displeased expression, "All of you are thinking about playing all day long. Can't you learn from others?"

The teacher was referring to her, and she was silently taking notes, seemingly unconcerned about the praise.

Others, no matter how indignant they were, would calm down after seeing her, because she was a genuine "good student," or rather... a good student who played the role flawlessly.

Perhaps "lie" is not a good word, but when a lie is told a thousand times, until even you believe it, then the lie becomes the truth.

Can you say she didn't want to leave get out of class? Of course not. She wanted to go back and watch TV dramas during prime time. She was only concerned with grades, not with being ambitious. Who would want to let something so trivial take up their personal time?

However, this face saved her a lot of trouble.

After the teacher spent another five minutes explaining the last question and then announced the end of get out of class, she slowly began to pack up her books, put them in her backpack, and followed the crowd out of the classroom amidst the cheers around her.

With half an hour left before the latest time she could get home, she could only stay outside for a short while.

However, this period of time is a rare opportunity for her to have free time. Like a sunflower that has been buried in darkness all day seeing the bright sunlight, she will definitely try her best to enjoy it.

She walked up to the monthly exam results list and, without much searching, saw herself in a familiar spot and ranking.

It's pretty standard.

Actually, this level of achievement is already quite high; she was always in the very front of the first column out of more than a dozen columns. However, she knew that this was still just "average".

How many people in the world can achieve this score, and how many of those who achieve it become famous?

Her eyes moved upwards, and the name of the first place remained unchanged year after year. The person named "Mei" was like a mountain, pressing down on them, these ordinary people, allowing no room for resistance.

But she wasn't there to see Mei; she was under another name.

Without even spending time, right below Mei's name, the character "Lin" was clearly written in black and white.

"...Why?"

She muttered to herself, her dissatisfaction brewing in her heart.

She was more interested in the second-place winner, Lin, than the first-place winner.

People often say that no one remembers the second place unless they are always in second place. Mei has always been in first place. She believes that Mei is an absolute genius. There are even occasional rumors that Mei goes to the Mu Continent to participate in world-class academic conferences and present new discoveries.

She admired Mei, who was talented and unrestrained, and was someone she had always longed to be.

But what about this Lin?

His grades were always behind Mei's. She wouldn't be surprised if anyone else was behind Mei, but Lin's grades were always only ten to twenty points lower than Mei's, no more and no less.

He did it on purpose.

She hated people like that, who had things she lacked and craved, yet didn't care about them at all.

Lin is the most unique person in the Chienyu Academy, but also someone that no one wants to talk about. He is like a ghost, the kind that would scare you half to death if you encountered him.

Because he was capricious, physically abusive, and exuded a sinister aura, no one even knew what he looked like, using a mask and hood to disguise himself.

She stared at the annoying second-place finisher for a long time before slowly turning her gaze away. Just then, she saw a figure flash by around the corner.

Hoods, face masks...

She was jolted awake, a feeling she rarely experienced welling up inside her. After looking around, she grabbed a baseball cap that someone had left on the windowsill, put it on her head, and then followed them furtively.

It's almost time for her to go home, but what is she doing? Stalking someone she has no connection with?

She followed behind the hooded man and noticed that he was heading in a different direction than most people; he was going to some backwaters that her parents described as being teeming with social scum as cockroaches.

Could it be that he's actually a petty thug in private? Extorting, robbing, and... doing it behind closed doors?

Is it possible for someone who is academically outstanding but has a dark and withdrawn personality, like someone who is eccentric and unapproachable, to do such a thing?

This unrestrained speculation about the Dark Side of others made her feel good. If Lin really was the kind of person who did shady things, then it would satisfy her long-held imagination of things outside of her boring and dull life.

Soon, without realizing it, she had arrived at a place she would never have been before.

As she noticed, the surrounding scenery changed. Litter, cigarette butts, and menacing-looking figures appeared from time to time around the corner, and the road ahead became increasingly narrow and eerie...

The hooded man turned another corner, and this time she suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly turned to leave, only to have her wrist grabbed by a rough hand.

"Oh my, young lady, are you lost?"

Some sinister laughter rang out. She swallowed hard and saw that some strangely dressed people had blocked her way on the path back, and the hooded man she had followed here was among them.

She did indeed find an "unexpected" person and some unexpected "things," but the hooded man was not Lin.

"Hey, did she see you when you were 'delivering' the goods?"

Delivery?

Oops.

She realized that this was a terrible thing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a bag of white powder in the other hand of the person holding her.

"Who knows? But just to be on the safe side... hehe, young lady, would you be interested in trying something 'fun'? I guarantee you'll experience a kind of happiness unlike anything you've ever felt before~"

She shattered her tranquil daily routine in the worst possible way.

Chapter 162 The Night Fate Begins

"..."

Did she... travel through time?

Just now, wasn't there a large group of people standing here, some of whom were gangsters or thugs?

Why are they all lying on the ground now, without even a groan? It's as if they've all been under some kind of illusion, lying unconscious and peaceful, their fierce appearances seeming to be just an act.

The faint light of dusk fell on her face through the gaps overhead, and a figure stood in the hazy distance, draped in a pale yellow veil in the dim sunlight.

He seemed to have been standing there from the very beginning, subtly separated from the world around him.

"Forest...?"

The man heard her murmurs, turned around to look at her, and after confirming that she was not injured, he walked away.

She stared blankly as Lin Yue walked further and further away. The pile of people lying on the ground felt so unreal to her, as if... she had entered another world.

Another world?

She raised her hands in a daze, clenched them, and then released them.

So this is what it feels like?

She immediately decided to follow him. Fortunately, Lin wasn't walking fast, and she caught up with him in a few quick steps. She pulled her baseball cap down and followed Lin closely.

Lin stopped and took a step to the side before she put on herself.

"...What are you doing?"

"You saved me just now? Did you follow me all the way here?"

Lin stared at her indifferently. His absolute height advantage and the gaze she had never experienced before made her feel even more pressured than before.

The sunlight has disappeared from the horizon, darkness has enveloped the earth, and scattered lights illuminate the city, each one like a twinkling eye.

He was in the shadows, under his hood, so his expression was not visible.

"On the way," he uttered, and then stopped answering.

Having said that, he seemed to have no more time to waste on her and quickened his pace to leave.

"Xiaoqian, why are you back so late today?"

"Ah... um... the teacher went overtime and I missed the tram."

"Oh, is that so? Did anything happen on the way? Do you want me to pick you up next time?"

Incredible.

She thought she would be scolded, but her casual lie did not arouse her parents' suspicion and was easily dismissed. The usual conversation continued, but her inner thoughts were completely different.

So deceiving them is so easy? It doesn't even require much thought?

After hastily shoveling down a couple of mouthfuls of rice, she said she was full and was going upstairs to read. She threw herself into the soft bed, covered her head with a pillow, and buried herself in the blankets and pillows like an ostrich, giggling foolishly.

That person... is so cool!

The ruthlessness in his actions, the cold gaze, the decisive manner, and the air of someone walking on the edge of the city...

She's practically her ideal self!

So "special," and so "unknown," what secrets does this Night Walker hide? He's clearly a student, and you can't even see his movements clearly when he's fighting. How is it that he can take down so many people who are taller than him in an instant?

Warriors of secret organizations, heroes of the underworld—all sorts of fantasies that I used to scoff at suddenly flooded into my mind.

He said it was on his way, but did he actually go in that direction intentionally? Just to check every day to see if anyone was hurt there?

Good or evil doesn't matter, and who it is doesn't matter either. What matters is that Lin's brief one-minute performance amazed her and satisfied the rebellious streak she only dared to keep hidden in her heart.

So, she happily smiled foolishly and fell asleep.

She was half an hour late getting home from school. She lied to her parents, saying that she had joined a club at school and had regular club activities after school. She easily fooled them.

It turns out it's so simple to do; as long as you dare to lie, you can achieve your goal.

And what she actually did in those half hour...

"Going straight home again..."

She took off her hat and crouched secretly behind a big tree, watching Lin take out her house key, open the door, and go inside. She glanced at the time; it was time for her to go home.

Something's not right.

For the past month, she had never seen Lin go anywhere else after school; he always went straight home. He didn't have any entertainment activities at all, making him a typical "homebody."

Moreover, he wasn't lying; he really was just going that way. The closest road from his house to the school was the same place where she was caught last time, and it really was just a coincidence.

Why is he doing nothing?

According to her observation, Lin might still associate with another person named Kevin at school, but after school she would not have any contact with anyone.

He lives alone, but he behaves himself very well every day.

He lived like an ascetic.

If it were her, she would definitely be out doing all sorts of things every day. Could it be that she misjudged her?