Chapter 513: Won’t

Under the night sky, Wenhua Road.

Under the gentle, warm yellow glow of the streetlights, a few dandelions swayed lightly at the edge of the greenbelt. In the distance, the office buildings that rose from the ground were brightly lit. Occasionally, you could see a few young people standing by open windows, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, coffee in hand, working overtime for their dreams.

The air was filled with the aroma of all kinds of food–hot pot, grilled skewers, fried chicken…

On the street, Nanling Rao Hua strolled forward.

Although her ultimate destination was still the restaurant for the graduation dinner, she completely ignored her constantly vibrating phone.

Some say that when a person is about to leave a place, that’s when they remember to cherish its beauty.

She walked and stopped along the way, pausing now and then to look at the scenery, like a traveler passing by chance, captivated by the sights, wanting to remember them.

Yes, she was leaving.

When she was affected by the photo recording the projection, her consciousness fell into a blank, and when she woke up again, the city was not yet fully restored, and it was empty inside.

She had walked through every corner of the city, seen the unconscious silver-haired girl, seen the little thief looting everywhere like a bandit, seen the giant turtle crawling slowly in the city center, but she hadn’t seen Lu Yibei.

At that moment, she suddenly realized she shouldn’t stay here any longer.

Logically, when more than ten years of beautiful memories suddenly turned into bubbles, she should have felt sad, maybe even sentimental at the sight of something familiar on a street corner, but she didn’t feel any pain at all.

After all, the experiences of this past month not only let her know where to find the real Lu Yibei, but the experience itself wasn’t bad.

It’s just that, before leaving, she still wanted to see the “Lu Yibei” who grew up with her in those dreamlike memories.

She walked more than half the street, and at the end of the road ahead, the intersection was where the graduation dinner at Red Sun Self-Service Hot Pot was held.

Nanling Rao Hua took out her phone and glanced at the time.

20:17 at night, just right. By now, the dinner should be nearing its end, and everyone should still be there. She could go see the person she wanted to see, but wouldn’t have to stay too long.

Putting away her phone, raising her head, Nanling Rao Hua put both hands in her jacket pockets, stood by the street, and looked through the crowd waiting at the crosswalk. From afar, she saw the boy sitting alone by the street in front of Red Sun Self-Service Hot Pot.

It’s him!

But why does he look unhappy?

Did something happen?

A hint of joy flashed in Nanling Rao Hua’s eyes, but then she frowned.

She looked up at the traffic light beside her.

Thirty-two seconds.

In thirty-two seconds, she could cross the street and go to his side.

However, when she looked away from the traffic light and looked at Lu Yibei again, she froze.

Her?

The girl who was unconscious before?

Although, with the special space restored, the girl’s silver hair had turned jet black and shiny, Nanling Rao Hua still recognized her at a glance.

In the few seconds her gaze left Lu Yibei, that girl had appeared at his side.

Then…

Just as she was wondering why the girl was looking for Lu Yibei, the girl suddenly stepped forward and hugged Lu Yibei tightly.

Buzz–!

It was as if something short-circuited in her mind, a buzzing sound rang out, and Nanling Rao Hua’s brain instantly went blank, her body frozen in place.

The traffic light by the crosswalk turned green, and the people who had been waiting hurried across, their figures blurring in her vision, as if the whole world was left with only Lu Yibei and that girl.

The red light lit up again, and from the passing cars came bursts of singing.

The singing gradually faded into indistinct melodies, humming intermittently in her ears, becoming strange and elusive, as if blown apart by the evening wind, dissipating into the air until it vanished.

In the end, all that was left in her ears was her own rapid breathing and her heartbeat, out of rhythm.

Am I angry? Nanling Rao Hua asked herself.

If she had just seen some girl hugging Lu Yibei, she might have already drawn her sword.

But now, watching Lu Yibei and that girl, she could clearly feel there was something very special between them.

She didn’t know how to describe it, but she had seen it once before, in the restaurant where she ate turkey on Christmas Eve.

It was something beautiful, something you didn’t want to destroy, something with the magic to make even dry, flavorless turkey taste delicious.

Jiang Li held the trembling Lu Yibei, who was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, in her arms, listening to his endless outpouring, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.

Although she knew this wasn’t the right time, she still inexplicably felt that everything was just too wonderful, as if time had slowed down, letting her hear the songs in the breeze and see the gentle glow of the streetlights flowing across the pavement.

After a long while.

Sensing that Lu Yibei’s emotions seemed to have run their course, Jiang Li tilted her head, looking at his tear-streaked face, and softly asked, “Feeling better?”

“Much better.” Lu Yibei nodded in response.

After speaking, he suddenly seemed to realize something was off, his expression changing as he looked up at Jiang Li’s face in shock, “Wait, boss! Why are you here?”

Jiang Li, “……” Surprised? Shouldn’t I be the one surprised here?

Even though she had long known Lu Yibei’s identity as a Calamity, as the King of Hauntings in Hua City.

But she had never thought that Lu Yibei would be involved in the outbreak of Nocturnal Syndrome in Hua City, and the special space that The Midnight Watchers Society had sealed off for so long.

Lu Yibei stared at Jiang Li, waiting for her response, his heart in torment.

In those few minutes just now, during his emotional collapse, he hadn’t realized at all how unreasonable it was for Jiang Li to suddenly appear before him. For a moment, he even suspected that he needed someone to confide in so badly that he’d started hallucinating.

Unreasonable was one thing, but the key point was–how embarrassing!

Throwing himself into the arms of the girl he liked, crying out “Ying‑ying‑ying” and calling for his mom–this was pure social death. Lu Yibei was already considering resigning from The Midnight Watchers Society and moving out of Hua City.

Reading the embarrassment in Lu Yibei’s eyes, Jiang Li sighed silently, “Don’t worry, I’ll cleanly forget everything that just happened.”

“If you still mind, you can just think of it as your boss simply caring about her subordinate’s mental health.”

“You think I’d believe that nonsense?” Lu Yibei blurted out.

This woman is bad news, she’ll definitely use this to make me do this and that, right?

She might even make me turn myself in to The Midnight Watchers Society, go through reformation, and become a new man! Lu Yibei thought.

“Have I ever lied to you?” Jiang Li said calmly, “Even that thing you did to me in my office, I can forget about it. What else can’t I forget?”

“What are you talking about? What did I do to you in your office?” Lu Yibei asked in surprise.

I’ve done so many things, how am I supposed to know which one you mean? Lu Yibei thought to himself.

Jiang Li crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly, and reminded him expressionlessly, “The photo……”

Hearing Jiang Li mention the photo, Lu Yibei’s face suddenly turned red.

He’d seen all the photos in Ms. Wang Meili’s album, and the ones of Jiang Li just happened to be taken in her office–just a few.

And the only one that needed to be kept secret was that one, the one where, for some reason, he’d lost his mind and tried to steal a kiss from Jiang Li, but was afraid she’d suddenly wake up.

If she’d really seen that photo… Lu Yibei’s face turned pale.

It’s over, social death on a massive scale!

“What photo? I don’t know, never heard of it!” Lu Yibei avoided Jiang Li’s gaze, expressionless.

As long as I keep my mouth shut, social death can’t catch me!

She doesn’t have any evidence anyway, right? Lu Yibei thought.

Can’t even lie properly… Jiang Li complained inwardly, giving Lu Yibei a “I’m very disappointed in you” look, and said blandly, “Oh, if you haven’t seen it, then forget it.”

Even though Lu Yibei’s mouth was tough enough, she’d already read from his eyes the thought: [Of course I know which photo, but I’ll never admit it even if I die.]

“More importantly, if you’ve calmed down, take a look at the girl across the street. She’s been staring over here for a long time, and she looks like she’s about to cry.”

As she spoke, her peripheral vision glanced in the direction of Nanling Rao Hua.

You could call it a woman’s intuition, or a keen sense for abnormal behavior in a crowd.

In any case, she’d already noticed Nanling Rao Hua’s presence.

“Girl?” Lu Yibei frowned in confusion, following Jiang Li’s gaze. His eyes met Nanling Rao Hua’s, and his body suddenly stiffened.

He saw Nanling Rao Hua open her mouth, wanting to speak but stopping, then looking away with a dejected expression.

“Need to go deal with it?” Jiang Li responded calmly.

Lu Yibei lowered his head and shook it, “Forget it……”

Anyway, soon enough, once I leave here and erase all traces of my existence in this special space, she won’t remember anything… Lu Yibei added silently.

Seeing this, Jiang Li seemed to see through everything, shook her head, and said helplessly, “I think you’d better go.”

Lu Yibei looked up at Jiang Li, “You really think I should?”

“Some things have to be dealt with personally, or you’ll regret it.” Jiang Li said calmly.

“Aren’t you afraid that if I go, I won’t come back?” Lu Yibei asked, half-joking, half-serious.

“……” Jiang Li only hesitated for a moment before answering firmly, “Not afraid. You won’t.”

“Tch!” Lu Yibei rolled his eyes, pretending not to care, “Since you trust me so much, I guess I’ll just have to go and come back quickly.”

“Alright, hurry up and go.” Jiang Li said, turning around and waving her hand, “Talk to the girl properly, just don’t let anything happen. And tomorrow morning at nine, report to my office.”

“Wait!”

Seeing her back as she was about to leave, Lu Yibei called out softly.

“What is it?”

Jiang Li turned around, her gaze meeting Lu Yibei’s, and then she saw the message he conveyed with his eyes.

[What you said just now, with you here… you won’t forget this too, right?]

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, her face flushing as she replied with her eyes.

[No [heart emoji]]

In that moment, her eyes were crystal clear, without any concealment, expressing her feelings in the most straightforward way.

After responding to Lu Yibei with her eyes, Jiang Li quickened her pace, walked into the crowd, her figure becoming blurry, and disappeared into the bustling street.

Nanling Rao Hua never expected that Lu Yibei and that girl would both look her way, even less did she expect that the girl would leave and Lu Yibei would walk toward her.

By the time she came to her senses, wanting to dodge away like a startled kitten, she realized Lu Yibei was already standing in front of her.

Lu Yibei looked at Nanling Rao Hua, scratching the back of his head. “Uh, it’s getting late, so… how about I walk you home?”

Nanling Rao Hua stared blankly at Lu Yibei, then nodded. “Okay.”

So the two of them walked side by side along Wenhua Road, heading toward the faculty housing complex.

From the lively street at nightfall, to the crowded subway, then to the quiet and peaceful subway, they traveled in silence.

Unknowingly, all that was left in their ears was the gentle tapping of high heels on the stone-paved, tree-lined path of the faculty housing complex.

Nanling Rao Hua walked ahead, with Lu Yibei half a step behind her.

She was clearly dressed up today, with a touch of light makeup, wearing a stylish black spaghetti-strap dress and a short jacket. Her long legs, honed by years of ballet, were adorned with vintage low-heeled shoes, and her smooth long hair floated freely around her.

Looking at Nanling Rao Hua’s back, Lu Yibei frowned, not knowing what to say to her.

Should he say, actually, this is just a dream, and the one I like is someone else?

Or should he say, I actually come from a parallel world, and over there, you’re already someone else’s fiancée, and I can’t overcome this sense of betrayal–I’m sorry.

No matter how he put it, it sounded like a low-level scumbag, coaxing a naive girl. Only someone as simple as Gu Qianqian would believe it.

Just as Lu Yibei hesitated, not knowing what to say to Nanling Rao Hua, she suddenly spoke up, “Yibei, you really like that girl from earlier, don’t you?”

“Huh?” Lu Yibei hadn’t expected Nanling Rao Hua to ask such a question. After a few seconds of surprise, he answered firmly, “Yes, I really like her.”

The moment he said it decisively, Lu Yibei felt as if a long-standing problem had finally been resolved, and his whole being relaxed.

“Why?”

“Because…” Lu Yibei frowned and asked in return, “Is there really a reason for something like this?”

“That’s true.” Nanling Rao Hua nodded.

When you like someone, there aren’t that many reasons.

She forced a smile at Lu Yibei. “Yibei, I’m leaving.”

If someone is there to stay with you, then I can leave without worry… Nanling Rao Hua added silently in her heart.

“Eh?” Lu Yibei was stunned again. “Where are you going?”

Something’s not right!

As the master of this special space, how could I not know if there’s anywhere else to go besides this city?

Unless you want to go to Alaska to catch crabs, Lu Yibei thought.

“Home!” Nanling Rao Hua smiled, raised her hand, and pointed upstairs. “We’re home, aren’t we?”

Lu Yibei followed her gesture and realized that, without noticing, they had already arrived downstairs at his place.

He was lost in thought for a few seconds. When he came to, he looked at Nanling Rao Hua, wanting to say something, but found that she had already left him behind and gone upstairs, disappearing from sight.

Only the faint sound of heels tapping against the stairs lingered in the corridor, echoing like an illusion.

Maybe… this is for the best?

At least things are clear now.

Lu Yibei gazed at the corridor illuminated by the dim yellow light, frowned, then focused his mind and activated the portion of power used to maintain the special space.

He began erasing the traces he had left here.