Chapter 233: The Final Confession, The End of Summer

Listening to the faint dragon's roar echoing from the subway, Ke Mingqing kept his hands shoved in the pockets of his windbreaker as he walked expressionlessly through the empty station.

He stepped onto the escalator. The treads began to turn, carrying him upward. Before long, cold-toned notification windows slowly popped up in front of his eyes.

[Detected that the player has killed one B Rank super-human species, five C Rank super-human species, and three D Rank super-human species. Total experience gained: 5,100 points.]

[Current Level Progress: Lv. 23 (6,500/11,500 experience points)]

[Weekly Task 1 Completed: Kill a super-human species of any Rank. (Reward: "1" freely allocatable Attribute Point.)]

[Weekly Task 2 (Mutation Task) Completed: Kill a total of five C Rank or higher super-human species within one week. (Reward: Retain current experience points, Player level directly increases by 2 levels.)]

[Player level has changed: Lv. 23 → Lv. 25 (6,500/12,500 experience points) (↑2 levels)]

[Notification: One Attribute Point is rewarded for every five Player levels gained. "1" Attribute Point acquired.]

[Currently holding a total of 2 unallocated Attribute Points. Allocate immediately?]

It would be great if I could get a "Mutation Task" every week from now on, Ke Mingqing thought. I suspect other players have triggered this plenty of times already. With my rotten luck, this is the first time I've stumbled across it...

Ke Mingqing pondered this as he examined the panel. Raising a hand, he tapped "Yes" and quickly allocated his two Attribute Points.

[Congratulations. "2" Attribute Points consumed. Your Strength attribute has successfully upgraded from B Rank to A Rank.]

[Current attributes for Player Ke Mingqing: Strength: A; Agility: A; Spirit: B]

Good, good, good. Now my two most critical attributes have both reached A Rank.

Closing the series of panels, Ke Mingqing thought, I'm a little curious. If I activate Blended Lightning Form, is there any super-human species of the same Rank who could even trade blows with me during those thirty seconds?

He pinched his fingers together and then had another thought:

Oh, wait... except for freaks like Big Brother, Zorro, and The Pope, who have both the mechanics and the raw stats, and whose strength is already approaching S Rank. If I see them, I still need to take a detour for now... Especially Lorenzo, who stole the Clock Maker's ability a while ago. He might actually be able to trade blows with an S Rank now.

After taking the escalator out of the subway station, Ke Mingqing walked alone through the Old Jingmai District, now shrouded in night. Moonlight spilled over a solitary telephone pole, stretching out a long, slender shadow.

With nothing else to do, he opened the player forum to take a look.

The top threads on the front page were: [Massive Wanted Poster: Searching for Red Name Player—Jin Chengwu], [Tokyo Player Recruitment Thread], and [Red Name Player Jin Chengwu suspected of colluding with the player "The Family's Black Cat," please be careful of this forum.]

Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow. Looks like the Kamishiro brothers—Kamishiro Kawa and Kamishiro Ruri—are pretty loyal. They actually didn't expose that Kuroki Hitomi and I know each other. If they had provided that clue, Kuroki Hitomi would be finished... Is it because I saved their lives during that trip to Japan?

Too lazy to bother with those threads, he kept scrolling until he finally saw what he was looking for.

[Help Thread: Regarding the "Mutation Task," did this task refresh for other players at twelve o'clock today?]

Seems like the system's welfare benefits get an upgrade as the time limit approaches. Not bad. It's like knowing to add better dishes to the cafeteria menu right before the college entrance exams.

Scrolling through the posts, he unknowingly arrived at his front door.

Ke Mingqing felt around in his pockets, but his hand only brushed a patch of blood that hadn't dried yet. Other than that, they were completely empty.

He had forgotten his keys again.

Everyone else was out tonight, and his mom was already asleep. At this moment, only one person in the house was still awake: An Youlu.

That was right—Xia Zili, Kiyono Sakura, and the two foreign magical girl reinforcements had all been taken to America for a meeting by Xi Ziyue. Only An Youlu remained in Leijing. The excuse was that they needed someone to keep an eye on things locally, ready to notify the others to return at a moment's notice if anything happened.

Ke Mingqing was left utterly speechless when he heard that. At the time, he had asked her, "Don't you feel like you're being ostracized?"

But An Youlu seemed to have already gotten used to this kind of treatment. She merely replied, "Isn't it nice? I can just lie around at home and read manga. That's just how us country girls are."

Now, Ke Mingqing opened WeChat and sent a message to "The Little Red Riding Hood Who Sells Matches." It wasn't long before she came out and opened the door.

"Oh... you're back, Mr. Scumbag." An Youlu looked at him through the crack in the door before swinging it wide open. She let out a yawn. "I'm practically dead on my feet from exhaustion."

"I thought you were a night owl," Ke Mingqing said, tilting his head to look at her.

"What a joke. If a maid doesn't have a healthy sleep schedule, how is she supposed to get up early to clean and cook?"

"Makes sense."

Ke Mingqing changed into his indoor slippers. An Youlu stayed silent for a moment before suddenly speaking up.

"I'm going to call a cab and leave now. I won't be living here with you guys anymore."

"Why?"

Ke Mingqing asked casually, raising his head. It was only then that he noticed a black suitcase sitting in the entryway, packed until it bulged.

"Because I'm going to keep the Young Miss company," An Youlu said calmly. "She was just dumped by some frivolous two-timer. I'm sure she really needs me right now."

She sighed. "Ah, whoever could that guy be? So hard to guess."

"Yeah, so hard to guess."

Surprisingly, Ke Mingqing didn't argue.

"So you admit you're a scumbag?"

"What else would I be?" Ke Mingqing shrugged. "Stop scolding me. I'll show you the text my brother sent me when he found out about the breakup so you can blow off some steam."

[Ke Linye: Happy breakup, baby.]

[Ke Linye: As everyone knows, if the villain finds out who a superhero's girlfriend is, she gets kidnapped an average of once every sixty days. If you don't want to end up dating a pile of dismembered limbs, focus on your studies.]

An Youlu glanced at the message. "Your brother sure has a way with words."

"Does reading that make you want to scold me less?" Ke Mingqing asked.

An Youlu replied flatly, "I can't even be bothered to deal with you. I've scolded you enough during my time living here. Sure enough, if you have a good impression of someone, you should keep your distance. Get too close, and the filter shatters."

"Right, right," Ke Mingqing agreed, still entirely unfazed.

He leaned back and sat on the shoe cabinet, glancing at the suitcase on the floor. "You didn't just leave right away. Were you waiting for me to get back so you could say goodbye?"

"No. Don't flatter yourself."

"So you were. Thanks."

An Youlu was quiet for a moment. "Actually, I've been quite happy living at your house... Sister Xue, Sister Zhi, and Auntie all took such good care of me, taking me out to find food as soon as they got back. Brother Linye is a bit narcissistic and neurotic, but he's not a bad guy either."

"What about me?" Ke Mingqing asked curiously. "How come you didn't even mention me?"

"Scumbag."

"Have a safe trip, I won't see you out."

Ke Mingqing's face darkened. He shifted off the shoe cabinet and turned to walk toward the living room.

"Sometimes, I really envy you..."

An Youlu said suddenly, sitting on her suitcase with her head bowed.

Ke Mingqing paused, coming to a halt. He looked back at the girl sitting on her luggage in the moonlight.

"Envy what?" he asked.

"You have a home like this. I don't," she said softly.

Ke Mingqing was silent for a moment. "It isn't always a good thing. Sometimes I'd rather be an orphan. Don't romanticize the things you don't have."

"Scumbag."

"How many times is that tonight?" Ke Mingqing walked further into the dark hallway, his voice growing distant. "That's enough already. Don't think I don't have a temper."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye. Remember to lock the door. I'm going to sleep."

An Youlu lifted her gaze from the suitcase, her dark eyes staring unblinkingly at Ke Mingqing's retreating back.

Watching him disappear at the end of the hallway, she stood up, grabbed her suitcase, and walked out the door alone. She headed down the empty street, her figure gradually fading into the distance.

...

...

The next day, September 23, at 7:35 PM. Since it was a rare Sunday, Ke Mingqing and Xia Zili headed out to have some fun after eating dinner at home, showering, and changing into clean clothes.

In the Old Jingmai District, there was a night market that only opened on autumn nights. It was called the Riverbank Autumn Market, and as the name suggested, it was set up along the small path by the lake's riverbank.

"Brother, could you walk a little slower? There are going to be fireworks later, what if we miss them?"

"It's not like we can't see them from here."

Ke Mingqing trailed behind, following Xia Zili as she strolled leisurely into the brightly lit riverbank market.

In front of them, the path stretched straight ahead like an airplane runway. Red lanterns hung all along the long street, and vendor stalls were set up everywhere. The warm red light illuminated the night.

Flanking the riverbank path was a stretch of grass and the slowly flowing lake water. In a little while, people would be setting off fireworks by the lake. A crowd had already gathered there, crouching on the pebbled lawn to set up their equipment.

The autumn breeze blew past, gently stirring Xia Zili's hair. After her shower, she hadn't tied it up in her usual ponytail; instead, her cool black hair draped loosely over her shoulders.

"Are you really not going back to school?" she suddenly asked.

"Yeah. We broke up, so I'm avoiding the awkwardness." Ke Mingqing nodded.

"What's she going to do from now on?"

"What do you mean? She's a Japanese Young Miss, you think she has to worry about finding a boyfriend?"

"I mean... she's a player."

"Oh, you meant that."

Ke Mingqing thought for a moment before saying calmly, "It's not like she'd come and murder our entire family just because we broke up. I at least trust her that much."

Xia Zili lowered her eyes and thought for a moment. "But she only has three months left. Are you really not going to spend time with her?"

"Yeah."

"You're so heartless... When she comes to hunt you down, I won't help you."

"I'm not a god. I can't take everyone into consideration. I barely have enough time and energy just taking care of my own younger sister, alright?"

"Hypocrite. I bet you don't actually think that in your heart."

"So what if I am? If I can fake it for a lifetime, it becomes real."

Ke Mingqing spoke carelessly as he bought two sticks of candied hawthorn from a roadside vendor. He scanned the QR code to pay, handing one skewer to Xia Zili and keeping the other for himself.

The riverbank market was filled with a cacophony of voices. Because the path was so narrow and cramped, all the different sounds seemed to pile on top of each other. They could hear the croaking of frogs by the river, the loud cheers of children scooping goldfish in crystal bowls, and the soft whispers of passing couples.

Eating their candied hawthorn, the siblings strolled leisurely down the brightly lit street.

"It would be great if things could just stay like this forever," Xia Zili suddenly said after a moment of silence.

"What?" Ke Mingqing was too busy watching a kid on the side of the road shooting balloons with a toy gun.

"I said..." Xia Zili exhaled, changing her words. "Let's elope."

Ke Mingqing froze for a second. He slowly turned his head to look at her back. "Acting crazy again. Can you stop copying Third Sister?"

"Is that a no?" Xia Zili stopped walking, keeping her head down without saying another word.

"Whatever makes you happy."

Ke Mingqing shrugged. He walked over, grabbed her hand, and started to run.

The boy and the girl sprinted through the brightly lit night market, weaving past the bustling crowds and noisy stalls. Soon, all that was left around them was the lake, the croaking frogs, and the green grass.

It was a mackerel sky; moonlight scattered down between the overlapping layers of clouds.

Xia Zili held his hand and ran forward, faster and faster, until her figure was suddenly enveloped in a cocoon of light. A girl in a gothic dress emerged from the shattering halo, a pitch-black umbrella materializing in her right hand.

The umbrella opened, rippling with a charming glow that carried the two of them up into the night sky. Finally, they came to a stop atop a brightly lit Ferris wheel.

Down below, the ticket inspector had just let the last passenger into their cabin and closed the door.

With a creaking sound, the massive Ferris wheel slowly began to rotate beneath the night sky, radiating rings of warm light. Ke Mingqing and Ember sat on the roof of the highest cabin. It was as if they were sitting in an upside-down world, gazing at the inverted sky.

"Let's run away together..." the girl in the gothic dress suddenly said.

"But where are we going to go?" Ke Mingqing shouted over the evening wind.

The two gazed into the distant slate-blue sky, the pitch-black clouds looking as though they were about to crush down upon them.

"To a place where no one can find us. And then we'll never come back." Ember fell silent for a moment and then shook her head.

Ke Mingqing froze, glancing at the death countdown hovering above his head.

A moment later, a smile curled his lips. He looked down at the brightly lit amusement park, dangling his legs as he said, "Sure. If that's what you want, I'll go with you..."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay. But I have a question to ask you first."

"Shoot."

"That time by the sea... did you hear what I said?"

"When?"

"Two months ago."

"Oh, back then..."

"By the sea, I asked you, 'Do you really only see me as a sister?'..."

The girl in the gothic dress paused, lowering her voice.

"Did you hear it?"

Ke Mingqing was silent for a very, very long time. Then, he smiled. "Do you really want to know the answer that badly?"

"Of course..."

"Then close your eyes and turn your head this way."

"I can, but what are you going to do?"

"Just do it..."

"Don't mess with me."

The girl in the gothic dress furrowed her brow slightly. She closed her eyes and slowly turned her head toward him.

A moment later, a thunderous boom suddenly echoed from the distant sky. She subconsciously opened her eyes—just as the person beside her leaned in and gently kissed her lips.

At that exact moment, with a loud bang, a brilliant firework shot up, piercing the air, and exploded into a multicolored flower in the night sky.

The fiery light cut through the wind like a blade, illuminating the girl's eyes. Her eyes went slightly wide, taking quite a while to process what was happening.

After a long moment, their lips slowly parted. The siblings' faces were bathed in the glow of the fireworks blooming on the horizon.

"That's my answer... Satisfied?"

"I... I really can't deal with you."

Amidst the night, the soft whispers of the boy and girl carried through the rumbling echoes of the fireworks, drifting far into the distance.