Chapter 484: The Old Father’s “Blind Date”

“Oh my god! What… what is going on here? The Lu Ming he mentioned, could it be the Lu Ming I know?”

Lu Yibei was completely dumbfounded. When the dream memories had just appeared in her mind, she once thought that the father in those memories was just a figment of her imagination, conjured up because she lacked paternal love in her childhood.

She never expected that Gu Xinian’s family had actually come into contact with her own father.

After these past two days, she could confirm that Gu Xinian was indeed a person from this world, and at the same time, he was a member of the Truth-Seeking Fellowship, which was a cult organization established in pursuit of the so-called “real” world.

If Gu Xinian hadn’t written these diaries in a state of mental confusion, then maybe they really did go to the “real” world, and met Lu Ming and Gu Qianqian there.

Under the intense mental shock, Lu Yibei felt a faint pain between her brows, her whole body tingling as if electrified.

“But if Gu Qianqian is someone from the real world, why did she appear in my house? Why did Dad seek them out? And even said he wanted to help them…” Lu Yibei muttered.

Driven by intense curiosity, she steadied herself and focused her attention on Gu Xinian’s diary.

[April 14th

A man named Lu Ming came to our home.

He said he could help us…]

Father didn’t really trust this stranger and politely declined his offer.

The man named Lu Ming just smiled and didn’t insist, only left a contact method and said, “If you run into trouble, contact me anytime.” Then he left.]

[April 18

I’ve been here for so long, but I still haven’t gotten used to it.

This place is much scarier than I imagined, not beautiful at all.

Last night, I didn’t turn on the light. I was crouched under the curtain by the bed, looking for a socket to charge my phone, and a hand suddenly reached out from behind the curtain and grabbed my wrist…]

Lu Yibei, “…”

Are you writing a horror novel here?

She complained inwardly, quickly flipped a few pages ahead, skipping over all the weird stuff Gu Xinian had written.

[April 30

Father was attacked by The Midnight Watchers Society again and was seriously injured.

But Mother was worried that The Midnight Watchers Society had spies in the hospital, so she didn’t dare send him there.

I originally thought that after escaping that false world, we had gained some special abilities and were already strong, but I didn’t expect The Midnight Watchers Society to be so terrifying.

I hope, after some time, everything will get better!]

[May 2

Yesterday, The Midnight Watchers Society came to our door.

In the chaos, we left Gu Qianqian behind…]

Seeing this, Lu Yibei frowned slightly.

This diary entry was rather messy, with only a few words. It was clear that Gu Xinian’s family was in a very dangerous situation at the time.

Thinking about it, could it be that Gu Qianqian accidentally came here while trying to find them? Lu Yibei wondered.

[May 12

Father’s health is getting worse day by day, and I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for almost a month.

During this time, that damned The Midnight Watchers Society has been chasing us like wild dogs, biting at our heels. They really want to kill us!

Why can’t they just leave us alone?

……

I can’t sleep at night, always thinking about Gu Qianqian.

I wonder how she’s doing now.]

[May 17

Father was injured again. He finally chose to contact Lu Ming, but only told him our general location, not our exact whereabouts.

That man is truly terrifying.

After getting Father’s call, he crossed two thousand kilometers in less than a day, and with only a rough location, managed to find us in the vast crowd.

Father took Lu Ming to the small house next door and talked with him alone for a long time.

After Lu Ming left, Father told Mother and me that we were going home. The way Lu Ming was going to help us was to send us back.

At that moment, I completely forgot about my sister and Gu Qianqian, who might already be wandering the streets, and only felt relief.]

————

“May 17th, this date…”

Lu Yibei muttered, repeating the diary’s date, as if some memory had been triggered. She furrowed her brow and fell into deep thought.

She tried hard to search her memory for anything about her own father.

After a long while, she suddenly spoke to herself, “Could it be that time?”

Lu Yibei vaguely remembered that when she was in about fourth or fifth grade, also around May or June, her dad suddenly closed the shop for three or four days and went on a trip, saying he was going to meet an online friend for a blind date.

Hearing that her dad had finally given up dueling with Shui-Ge, Lu Yibei was naturally very happy, and even personally sent her dad off.

As for why she remembered it so clearly, it was probably because after her dad left, Shui-Ge turned into a total “resentful wife.”

Every day after school, she would see a particularly flamboyantly dressed man standing at her door, gazing into the distance like a “waiting-for-husband stone.”

As soon as he saw Lu Yibei, Shui-Ge would come over, nagging nonstop, “So, when is your dad coming back?” “Why go on a blind date with someone from the internet? Everything online is fake, you can’t trust it!” “He’s going alone, won’t it be dangerous? What if he runs into a kidney thief!”

Of course, Lu Yibei wouldn’t let Shui-Ge torment her like this. She’d retort, “You’re not young anymore, why don’t you find someone for yourself?” “If you can’t get out of being single, at least get out of being broke. Stop coming to my house for free meals!” “I’ve seen a photo of my dad’s online girlfriend. In terms of looks, you can’t beat her!”

So, the two of them would bicker endlessly like perpetual motion machines, making Su Mi, who came running to Lu Yibei’s house hoping for a free meal, an innocent casualty on the spot.

Back then, Lu Yibei thought Shui-Ge was just jealous that her dad was finally getting rid of his single status.

Now, seeing sop this diary, she realized Shui-Ge’s behavior was probably out of concern for her dad’s safety.

After all, to help Gu Xinian’s family, he most likely had to secretly go up against The Midnight Watchers Society without revealing his identity, which was pretty risky.

Of course, that still didn’t change the fact that Shui-Ge was as flamboyantly gay as ever!

If you care about your bro, why not go with him!

Just leave me a bit more pocket money and let me enjoy a couple of peaceful days alone, wouldn’t that be nice? Lu Yibei thought.

——–

[May 20th

We followed Lu Ming back to Hua City, and the journey was safe.

Strangely, ever since Lu Ming showed up, the people from The Midnight Watchers Society never appeared again.

Could this be a trap set by Lu Ming?

Didn’t Father ever suspect him?]

“Mhm, mhm, I think it’s a trap too!” Lu Yibei nodded in agreement with Gu Xinian’s view.

She knew her dad well–his heart was so black you’d want to sing “Little Rascal” to him.

Who the hell, when their kid misbehaves, secretly feeds them rice boiled with ghost peppers?

Wouldn’t a spanking do the trick?

Though the result was the same–your butt would hurt for a long time…

[May 21st

We’re really back!

Just a few days ago, I thought we’d never come back.

Who would’ve thought that in the real world, where BanShan Apartment is, there’s actually an abandoned elementary school.

Lu Ming took us to the abandoned school and led us to a classroom at the end of the top floor.

That classroom was strange. Almost all the desks and chairs were broken and piled up messily, but there was one chair that was perfectly intact, with an old commemorative album on it.

He carefully took out half a photo from his inner pocket, opened the album, and took out the other half from between the pages.

It was like an earthquake suddenly hit. The moment the two torn halves of the photo came together, the whole building started shaking.

In the violent tremors, we were thrown into the air, spinning rapidly, everything before our eyes turning blurry.

Then…

We saw those bizarre, wondrous sights we’d seen on the way here.

The old banyan tree was upside down, clods of earth flew up into the sky.

Stars floated beneath our feet, and the city drifted above us.]

“This…” Lu Yibei’s expression suddenly grew serious.

Although Gu Xinian had only briefly recorded what he saw, it triggered Lu Yibei’s memory.

The scene described in the diary–she’d seen it in BanShan Apartment. Almost every household had a painting depicting something similar.

She’d also been to the abandoned elementary school mentioned in the diary, seemingly to look for someone.

But no matter how hard she tried to remember, until her brow ached, she just couldn’t recall that person’s name and had to give up in the end.

[May 24th

That man Lu Ming really had ulterior motives. He helped us, but he had a purpose!

The price for sending us back was to have Gu Qianqian and his son engaged as children!

Despicable, shameless!

……

But maybe this isn’t such a bad thing?

This way, Gu Qianqian won’t be all alone, right?]

“???”

After reading this diary entry, Lu Yibei mentally typed out three question marks on the spot.

She’d thought her dad disappeared for those days under the pretense of meeting an online friend, but actually went to help Gu Xinian’s family. She never expected her dad really went on a blind date–but not for himself, for her.

If Gu Qianqian were still living at her house, after all the times she’d bullied her, she wouldn’t even know how to face her now.

“No way, right? My dear old dad! How could you take advantage of the situation to trick someone else’s daughter?”

“Even if you were going to trick someone, couldn’t you be a bit pickier? Why choose someone like Gu Qianqian, who burns through ten family buckets a day? Wait, that’s not right…”

“My dad once said I had a childhood engagement. Could it be with Gu Qianqian?” Lu Yibei muttered to herself, her expression growing more serious.

“……”

Come to think of it, didn’t Dad arrange more than one engagement over the years?

If she thought about it carefully, there were probably a dozen or so. Could it be…

Impossible, Lu Yibei, stop daydreaming!

The more she thought, the more unnerved she felt. Lu Yibei shook her head hard, trying to fling out those absurd ideas from her mind.

Who in their right mind would arrange over ten childhood engagements for their child?

That’s just too much!

How worried did he have to be that his kid wouldn’t find a wife to do something so outrageous?

At this thought, Lu Yibei’s nerves eased a little. She picked up Gu Xinian’s notebook again and continued reading.

Although she had only read less than half of this diary and already discovered a pile of astonishing things, she still hadn’t found the answers she truly wanted.

For example, why did Gu Qianqian appear in her house?

For example, had the Truth-Seeking Fellowship really done those horrifying things, and if so, was Gu Xinian involved?

And why did that kind of monster appear in the West City lime kiln, along with the bizarre flesh that filled the basement and parasitized the jacket?

Lu Yibei kept flipping through Gu Xinian’s diary. For a long stretch after that, there was no important information.

He wrote about the morning dew, the white clouds at the horizon, interesting things at school, and the innocent feelings of secretly having a crush on his deskmate.

After returning to this fake Hua City, his life seemed to return to what a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy’s should be.

Until half a year later……

[December 7th

Mother had a big fight with Father today.

Father actually gathered those people from the Truth-Seeking Fellowship again and organized a meeting.

Mother questioned Father, saying everything was already over, so why was he still associating with those people? Father didn’t answer.

……

I got up at midnight and was startled by sparks drifting on the balcony. When I came to my senses, I realized it was Father smoking on the balcony, looking deeply troubled.

I asked Father why he still gathered the Truth-Seeking Fellowship people, knowing how dangerous the real world was, full of hauntings everywhere. Even if they went there, they’d face endless pursuit from The Midnight Watchers Society.

Father took a deep drag on his cigarette and told me earnestly that people need something to hold onto in life, or else they become walking corpses and can’t go on.

Pursuing the real world is what keeps those in the Truth-Seeking Fellowship alive……]

[December 22nd

After returning from the real world, the wounds The Midnight Watchers Society left on Father kept worsening, eating away at his life.

The various matters of the Truth-Seeking Fellowship lately also kept him busy day and night.

In just half a month, he couldn’t hold on and collapsed……]

[January 7th

Father passed away.

Before he died, Father had me bring Second Uncle, and the two of them talked alone in the room for a long time.

In the end, Father handed the Truth-Seeking Fellowship over to Second Uncle, then breathed his last.]

——–

Gu Xinian’s diary ended there.

It was as if, with the death of the father to whom he gave this diary, his habit of writing also died.

Lu Yibei put down the diary, rubbed her brow, and mused to herself, “So, Gu Xinian’s father was the former president of the Truth-Seeking Fellowship?”

“And now the president is his second uncle? No wonder he had a place to stay at the West City lime kiln.”

“Looks like his status in the Truth-Seeking Fellowship is even more important than I thought! If I can find him and ask in person, maybe a lot of mysteries can be solved?”

As she spoke, Lu Yibei glanced at her phone.

The time was 6:22 a.m.

Dawn was about to break. She should get ready to bathe in the morning sun and return to her original form.

——–

Ten minutes later, on the rooftop of the faculty housing.

Looking out, a hint of purple-red appeared at the horizon, then gradually brightened, as if the next moment, the morning sun would rise at the edge of the world.

“Gulp—-!”

Lu Yibei swallowed hard, clenched her small fists, and stared expressionlessly at the sunrise about to appear in the distance.

Soon, the sun climbed over the horizon, its brilliant golden-red light spilling out, gradually swallowing her petite figure, and then…

And then nothing happened.

Lu Yibei, “……”

Crap, something’s seriously wrong!