Afternoon, last period.
Lu Yao remembered that he had been in class, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself floating in a quiet cemetery as a transparent soul.
He frowned. Was this a dream?
Lu Yao looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and spotted the blue-glowing orb again not far behind him.
Ever since returning to Sea City, Lu Yao had never had that precognitive dream again. This was the first time he had seen that strange orb in a dream since coming back to Sea City.
Lu Yao pressed his thin lips into a line and spoke with a hint of impatience. "What exactly are you trying to do by playing these mysterious games?"
The orb flashed blue and suddenly floated in front of a gravestone.
Lu Yao followed it over. When he saw the photograph on the gravestone, he froze for a moment. Was this his grave?
"Tap! Tap—"
Hearing footsteps from not far away, Lu Yao looked to the side and could not help murmuring, "Mom."
From Ms. Li's reaction, Lu Yao knew that no one could see him right now.
Dressed in a black suit, Ms. Li walked up to the gravestone holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.
Seeing that two bouquets had already been placed before the grave, she muttered softly to herself, "Have they already been here?"
Today was Lu Yao's death anniversary.
Confusion appeared in Lu Yao's eyes.
They? Did she mean Lu Qi and Dad? Why had they come separately instead of together?
Ms. Li carefully placed the white chrysanthemums before the grave. She raised a hand and gently touched Lu Yao's photograph on the gravestone, giving a bitter laugh that carried deep sorrow.
"Do you think I've been such a failure as a mother that even now, I still don't know what flowers you like? This year, Mom chose white chrysanthemums for you. If Xiao Yao doesn't like them, remember to visit Mom in a dream and tell her, okay? Mom really wants to see you again."
At that, she paused, biting her lip tightly as she fought back a sob. "You... you've never come to see Mom even once. Is it because... you hate Mom?"
She lowered her head, and tear after tear suddenly slid down her chin.
After a long while, her voice trembled as she broke down into incoherent sobs. "I-I'm sorry... Mom shouldn't have lost you again. It was my fault."
Lu Yao stood there in a daze. This was the first time he had seen Ms. Li look so vulnerable.
After a long time, she staggered to her feet and gazed deeply at the gravestone for a while, as though she wanted to carve every detail of the boy's face in the photograph into her bones.
[Honestly, I've recently been using Reading to keep up with updates. It has multiple sources and many narration voices, and works on both Android and Apple.]
Just as she was about to leave, she turned around and saw Lu Qi standing not far away, dressed in a black suit and holding a bouquet of flowers.
Following Ms. Li's gaze, Lu Yao also noticed Lu Qi.
This Lu Qi seemed to radiate coldness from head to toe. Compared with the foolish older brother Lu Yao actually knew, he looked far more mature and icy.
At the sight of Lu Qi, countless complicated emotions passed through Ms. Li's eyes before she finally suppressed them into indifference and disregard.
As Ms. Li walked past him with a cold expression, Lu Qi suddenly called out hoarsely, "Mom."
This was their first meeting since Lu Yao's funeral.
After Lu Yao's death, the Lu family had undergone earth-shaking changes. Ms. Li chose to divorce Father Lu and moved by herself to the small city of Mountain City.
Hearing Lu Qi call her "Mom," Ms. Li paused. She clenched her fingers tightly, her sharp nails digging into the tender flesh of her palm.
"Drip—"
A drop of blood struck the bluestone path in the cemetery like a tear, splashing into a pale yet gloomy flower of blood.
As Ms. Li's coldly departing figure receded, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.
The rain gradually grew heavier.
Standing in the rain, Lu Qi stared blankly as that bloodstain slowly vanished.
He suddenly remembered that the day Lu Yao died had also been rainy like this.
By the time he received the news and rushed to the scene, the blood on the ground had already been washed away clean by the rain, just like that drop of blood.
At the moment of Lu Yao's death, it seemed as though an invisible hand had set the entire world right again.
Lu Qi, Ms. Li, and the others instantly regained their clarity of mind.
When they thought back on how they had treated Lu Yao with such indifference and hostility, they felt as though they had been possessed.
Lu Qi and the others had thought they still had time and opportunities to make up for their past mistakes, but the very next moment, they received news that Lu Yao had committed suicide.
At that instant, it felt as though someone had fiercely clenched their hearts into a ball. The suffocating grief was so overwhelming that they could barely breathe.
Once the Lu family had recovered somewhat from Lu Yao's death and thought back on everything that had happened, both Lu Qi and Ms. Li realized that something was wrong with Xia Yue.
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But no matter how thoroughly they searched, Xia Yue seemed to have vanished from the world into thin air.
From then on, people in Sea City's upper society felt that the Lu family had gone mad.
When Lu Yao had been alive, they had neglected him completely. Lu Qi had even driven Lu Yao out of the Lu family.
Yet after he died, the Lu family went after everyone who had bullied Lu Yao or kicked him while he was down like rabid dogs.
But if it came down to it, weren't the Lu family themselves the ones who had treated Lu Yao most cruelly?
Lu Yao floated in midair and followed Lu Qi back to the Lu family home from the cemetery.
After entering the Lu family home, Lu Yao realized that only Lu Qi now lived in the huge, cold house.
Lu Qi sat on the sofa, raising a hand to cover his eyes wearily. A lit cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth as he slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Seeing the coffee table in the living room covered with wine bottles and ashtrays full of cigarette butts, a trace of anger rose in Lu Yao's eyes. Was Lu Qi really ruining his body like this?
"Ring, ring, ring—"
When the phone rang, Lu Qi pressed his palm over the burning cigarette to snuff it out, then answered the call.
After listening to the report from the other end, an icy gleam flashed through Lu Qi's eyes. His voice was filled with cold fury. "Are you so-called detectives and psychics all useless? I'll give you another three months. Dead or alive, you must find that woman!"
Lu Qi hung up angrily and tossed his phone aside.
Seeing Lu Qi like this, Lu Yao muttered in confusion, "Why?"
Why had they waited until after his death to act so regretful?
The Blue Orb that had been following Lu Yao finally spoke. "Because this is who they truly are."
Lu Yao abruptly turned toward the Blue Orb. "What do you mean?"
"Surely you have noticed Xia Yue's strangeness as well? A Wanted Criminal System is attached to Xia Yue. Like me, that system came from an advanced interstellar world. All systems are controlled and managed by the Main Brain, but some systems choose to violate the Main Brain's principles of fairness for their own selfish desires. Such systems usually flee to lower worlds to hide. Through that system, Xia Yue smuggled tools from the interstellar black market that can affect the human mind. Your family was deceived by those mental tools, which is why they acted that way."
Lu Yao said, "Why are you telling me this? What do you want me to do?"
The orb's blue light flickered. "I fell into this world due to an accident. I cannot capture that Wanted Criminal System by myself. I must contact the Main Brain and inform it of this small world's situation. But we systems can only have a chance to contact the Main Brain through points. I need to bind with you and use the reputation points you gain to exchange for points to contact the Main Brain."
Seeing Lu Yao's hesitation, the Blue Orb continued, "I detected that the Wanted Criminal System just smuggled a mind-control product from the black market into this small world. Xia Yue will most likely use it on your brother, Lu Qi."
Lu Yao frowned. "Can you make those mind-control products ineffective?"
"Yes! I can already sense someone using a mind-control product nearby. It's probably Xia Yue."
Lu Yao lay on the desk and suddenly woke from his dream. He turned around and did not see Lu Qi, causing his pupils to contract.
Jiang Bai looked concerned. "Lu Yao, what's wrong?"
Lu Yao asked, "Jiang Bai, do you know where Lu Qi went?"
"After class just now, Xia Yue said she had something to discuss with him. They seemed to have gone toward the sports field."
Under the shade of a tree, Lu Qi looked at Xia Yue, a faint impatience showing in his eyes.
"Xia Yue, what does your dad wanting you to get engaged have to do with me? If you're getting engaged, then go get engaged. I don't even like you. Besides, I already rejected you at noon. Since you say you're getting engaged now, keep your distance from me from now on. Stop calling me out all the time. Don't ruin my reputation."
Seeing Lu Qi openly show his disgust for her, Xia Yue's face darkened with anger.
[Xia Yue: System, use that mind-control tool. Hmph, with this tool, a fool like Lu Qi who can't recognize quality will be easy to catch.] [System: Since you exchanged ten years of your lifespan in advance for such a good item, we should at least make sure it is worth the price. Touch Lu Qi's body, and the control will take effect.]
Xia Yue smugly curled her lips and reached a hand toward Lu Qi.
Lu Qi looked at her in confusion. What was Xia Yue doing this time? Had he talked her stupid?
As her hand was about to touch Lu Qi's, a triumphant light appeared in Xia Yue's eyes.
"Slap—"
Xia Yue clutched her hand, which Lu Yao had slapped red, and snapped furiously, "Lu Yao, what are you doing?"
Lu Yao's expression was as cold as frost. "Lu Qi has a cleanliness obsession. He doesn't like people touching him casually."
Although Lu Qi did not understand why Lu Yao had suddenly appeared, he still nodded in agreement. "That's right. Xia Yue, have some self-respect. You're about to get engaged, after all. You may not care about your reputation, but I do."
Lu Yao and Lu Qi's little double act nearly enraged Xia Yue to death.
Xia Yue gritted her teeth as she watched them leave. All her efforts today had been completely wasted!
[Xia Yue: System, save this tool for later. In the next few days, I'll find another chance to use it.] [The System's voice was cold: Save it for later? You wish. It has already been rendered useless. From now on, we must focus all our efforts on eliminating Lu Yao. Lu Yao has a system attached to him too. He must have bound with it only recently. That system was the one that destroyed your tool just now.] [Xia Yue: Destroyed? I traded ten years of my lifespan to you for that! You just let it be destroyed?] [System: Shut up! Can't you grasp the important point? If the system attached to Lu Yao contacts the Main Brain using points, then once I'm captured, you won't have an easy life either. We must strike first and destroy Lu Yao. Then I can even strengthen myself by devouring the system attached to him.]
Only after hearing the system out did Xia Yue finally understand the severity of the situation.