Contradiction, Family, Fake

It was an utterly ordinary summer afternoon. The coastal road was empty, with only a few people in sight.

Accompanied by one or two honks, a bright yellow bus rolled leisurely down the road. The sea breeze swept over the railings by the shore, gently lifting the hair and clothes of the boy and girl.

"When did it start?" Xia Zili asked after a moment of silence.

Ke Mingqing said nothing. He rested his arms on the railing and turned to gaze at the distant horizon.

"A few days ago. Didn't she and I take down that Ant Freak on the school bus?" He thought for a moment. "I was thinking that I definitely couldn't have done it without her..." He scratched his cheek, seeming a little embarrassed. "And she happened to like me, so we just naturally got together."

Xia Zili lowered her head. Her eyes flickered faintly, exhaustion showing in her gaze. The sea breeze brushed gently against her cheeks, carrying the scent of salt and rust.

She thought for a long time before finally opening her mouth and saying stiffly:

"Didn't Dad tell us that it's best not to date at our age?"

"Are you living in the last century?" Ke Mingqing stopped looking at the horizon and turned to look at her, his eyes full of disbelief. "Do you have to be that old-fashioned?"

"Yes, I'm living in the last century." Xia Zili looked away and said quietly, "I'm going to tell on you. As soon as we get back, I'll tell Mom and Dad. Happy now?"

"Do you really have to be such a bitch?" Ke Mingqing asked irritably.

"This is just who I am. Is this the first day you've known me?" Xia Zili said without raising her head. "We're family, but you've never even tried to understand me. Whenever I feel bad, I'm always alone. Sometimes I'm really tired, and I don't even know who I can talk to..." As she spoke, she suddenly lowered her eyes slightly. "You used my phone to send all that stuff before. Did you think I'd be happy when I saw it? Even if I was happy, what would it matter? You'd just toss me aside again right afterward. It would've been better to just leave me alone from the start..."

It was rare for her to say so much at once, without even pausing to catch her breath, as though she had kept these words buried in her heart for a very long time. The emotions she had suppressed poured out like a flood.

But Ke Mingqing merely stood there, slightly stunned. Xia Zili's reaction had clearly been beyond his expectations.

He leaned against the railing and turned to watch her quietly. The girl's face was shrouded in a faint halo of light. The next second, the sunlight by the sea dimmed slightly, and the railing and the figures leaning against it were swallowed by a dark blue cast.

Seagulls flew across the sky. In the silent world, only the sound of waves could be heard.

Is it because she's been a magical girl for too long, and there's no one at home who knows her identity and can offer her a few comforting words, so the pressure's gotten to her? Ke Mingqing thought. And I happened to care too much about her these past few days, so she became dependent on me... But is it normal for family members to be this possessive? I really don't get it.

A deathly silence hung over the coastal road. After a while, a bus drove past with its horn blaring, breaking the silence between them.

Seeing that he was unwilling to say anything, Xia Zili merely let out a soft breath.

Then she turned around and slowly walked away without looking back. She did not enter the villa, instead continuing down the edge of the coastal road.

The daylight was dim. Her shadow and the railing's shadow stretched long across the coastal road, growing farther and farther away from Ke Mingqing.

"Is having family really such a baffling thing?" Ke Mingqing tilted his head, watching Xia Zili's back vanish at the end of the road, unable to stop himself from wondering.

He had been an orphan in his previous life, while the original owner of this body had only been adopted by the Xia and Ke families at the age of nine. He had spent merely seven years with this family. Even as he clumsily searched through those memories, Ke Mingqing still did not truly understand how to get along with family.

Even with the memories of two people, that did not mean he possessed twice the experience of dealing with the world. He was still only walking his path alone.

After a moment, Ke Mingqing slung his backpack over his shoulder and entered the villa. The moment he stepped into the hall, An Youlu, who was cleaning, walked over and asked softly:

"Where is she?"

"She was in a bad mood, so she went back first." Ke Mingqing shrugged.

An Youlu froze for a moment, then lowered her eyes to the mop on the floor. With a gloomy expression, she muttered to herself:

"Of course, little girls like us who grew up eating trash and mud only deserve to be stood up. It's fine, I'm already used to it... This world has always held deep malice toward the poor."

With that, she picked up the mop, lifted the bucket, and turned toward the second floor of the villa.

Ke Mingqing ignored the eccentric mixed-race girl and went straight to sit on the sofa in the living room.

Hitomi Kuroki's family was usually not in Dawn Capital, so he casually leaned the back of his head against the sofa and stared at the magnificent chandelier overhead.

Hitomi Kuroki came downstairs soon afterward. Ke Mingqing took a sketchbook from his backpack and flipped it open to a page containing the combat suit design he had spent all night drawing.

"I've even thought of the codename. It'll be Blue Dove." As he spoke, Ke Mingqing handed her the sketchbook.

She asked curiously, "Do you really like superheroes that much?"

"Come on, if it weren't for the main quest rewards, who'd want to be a superhero?" Ke Mingqing shook his head. "Isn't it embarrassing, walking around outside in a skintight suit all day?"

"Won't other players hunt you down?" Hitomi Kuroki thought for a moment. "They can't see your player marker. What if they mistake you for some kind of superhuman?"

"I don't think there's any player who can beat me right now." Ke Mingqing said carelessly. "Later on, I'll come clean and tell them I was only doing the main quest before. They won't keep chasing me down to kill me, will they? We're all on the same side. We can talk it out."

Hitomi Kuroki pondered for a moment, then took the sketchbook and lowered her eyes to study the drawing.

She nodded. "I'll use my family's connections to help you make a combat suit, but I can't guarantee that this won't get leaked."

"It's fine. I'll most likely reveal this superhero identity eventually anyway, so it doesn't matter if it gets exposed early." Ke Mingqing said indifferently.

If anything, I'd love for it to get exposed. Then my dad and sister might come protect me, and maybe there'll even be a magical girl flying behind my ass, keeping an eye on me.

"Mm, I understand." Hitomi Kuroki nodded.

"Then I'll head home?"

Hitomi Kuroki looked up from the sketchbook at him. "Won't you sit a little longer?"

"I just had an argument with my sister." Ke Mingqing zipped up his backpack and rose from the sofa with it slung over one shoulder. "Even if I'm only a fake family member, I still have to put on a show."

"So it'll be easier to use them, right?" Hitomi Kuroki asked without looking up, as if she were making excuses for him.

Ke Mingqing paused. "Yeah. I need to build a better relationship with them first, so it'll be easier to use them later."

"I understand you. Go on, then." Hitomi Kuroki said as she closed the sketchbook in her hands.

Ke Mingqing looked up at her, nodded, then walked out of the villa without looking back.