Chapter 555: Do It Well, Okay?

After visiting Professor Ma and having a conversation with him, the heavy, cloud-like gloom in Lu Yibei’s heart dissipated quite a bit.

After briefly explaining some precautions regarding the Paper Cicada Immortal to Professor Ma, he felt as if a major matter in his heart had been settled, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“…That’s about it. I’ll leave it to you, Professor.”

The Paper Cicada Immortal crafted by Meng, once activated, was almost indistinguishable from a real person–so lifelike that it was hard to tell the difference. If mastered, it could have unexpected effects in many situations.

Although Lu Yibei didn’t necessarily need to leave a Paper Cicada Immortal at school to attend classes for him–even if he missed too many classes and failed a couple, there would still be opportunities for make-up exams.

But this was a good chance to practice using a large Paper Cicada Immortal, and he didn’t want to miss it.

Professor Ma’s face darkened as he glanced at the “Lu Yibei” standing motionless in the corner, then quickly looked away and said in a deep voice, “That’s it? Then hurry up and take this creepy thing away!”

Before Lu Yibei left Hua City, he didn’t want to see this monster-like existence for even a second longer.

“Alright!” Lu Yibei responded, quickly led the Paper Cicada Immortal into the restroom, stored it in the Divine Land prototype, and then swiftly left the laboratory.

Watching Lu Yibei leave, Professor Ma sighed helplessly. He had just picked up his teacup for a sip when he heard a soft call from the corridor.

“Professor, don’t worry. Even if I’m not at school, I’ll study hard!”

Hearing this, Professor Ma was stunned for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

——–

Thinking about his evening appointment with Jiang Li, after leaving Hua City University of Technology, Lu Yibei hurried to the market near Mudan Street to start shopping for ingredients.

Nowadays, almost every supermarket sells ingredients for cooking.

But perhaps because he grew up following his dad around markets, he still trusted the quality of ingredients bought at the market more.

Like the flavor of Xu’s braised dishes, or the fish shop owner in the southwest corner of the market whose knife skills in filleting fish were unmatched, or the tofu shop whose craftsmanship was older than Lu Yibei himself–these were things supermarkets couldn’t offer.

However, buying ingredients at the market had a clear downside: once afternoon arrived, the freshness of many ingredients dropped rapidly.

So the afternoon was the last chance to buy quality ingredients.

Pausing in front of the entrance to 96 Market, Lu Yibei thought briefly and settled on a few signature dishes from Lu’s Sichuan Restaurant in his mind.

Making a few of his dad’s specialty dishes was both a way to remember his father and to take the date seriously.

“Let’s buy some tofu first? And a mandarin fish, half a pound of tenderloin, perilla, chili peppers…”

He muttered to himself as he quickened his pace and walked into the market.

——–

Amber Mansion, Jiang Li’s bedroom.

Ah-Hua stood with hands on her hips, earnestly explaining something to Jiang Li, looking every bit the teacher giving a lecture.

Yes, Jiang Li had been caught by Ah-Hua.

She underestimated Ah-Hua’s gossiping heart, second only to Li Xuan in all of Hua City.

She also overlooked the silent ladder set up outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

When Ah-Hua’s meaningful smile appeared outside the window and she said, “Hey, Miss, I found out~!” Jiang Li, for once, panicked.

But after a brief moment of panic, Jiang Li quickly calmed down and accepted Ah-Hua’s help.

Although Ah-Hua, like her, had absolutely no experience in romance, at least Ah-Hua had watched far more romance movies, comics, and novels than she had.

“Miss, do you know who, besides their mothers, is the strongest competitor for a man’s most unforgettable woman?”

As if the “caught in the act” moment had never happened, Jiang Li looked at Ah-Hua, thought for a moment, and replied seriously, “The first teacher who kept him after school and wouldn’t let him go home?”

After all, she could never forget that hot-tempered middle-aged female teacher from her elementary school days.

Ah-Hua’s mouth twitched, and she loudly corrected, “First love! It’s first love!”

I think Miss really doesn’t get it!

Although such teachers do leave a deep impression–sometimes even becoming a shadow in adolescence–but that’s a completely different kind of impression, okay?

“So, our theme for this outfit is the feeling of first love.”

Jiang Li tilted her head, her expression like a student suddenly waking up after half a math class, looking up at the blackboard.

Ah-Hua held her forehead and explained, “Simply put, it’s something that looks everyday but has a bit of cleverness, pure with a hint of desire. For example…”

“This little white dress, from the front, it’s just a common fitted off-shoulder ruffle-sleeve dress, but the inverted T-shaped cutout in the back subtly reveals the graceful curves of the back and waist, quietly adding a touch of allure.”

“Pair it with these Mary Jane leather shoes and white calf socks, and… oh right, it has to be a metal prosthetic! The vast majority of boys have an inexplicable obsession with machinery!”

“Wait a minute, Ah-Hua!” Jiang Li suddenly interrupted with a serious expression. “I just thought of a question.”

“Hmm?” Ah-Hua held up the dress, tilting her head.

“If you know so much, why are you still single? Is this really reliable?”

Ah-Hua, “……”

——–

The afternoon sunlight spilled over him, warm and cozy, with the first hints of summer’s heat.

Lu Yibei carried the groceries he had just bought, walking briskly along the bluestone-paved Mudan Street. A gentle breeze brushed by, swaying the willow branches along the way. Occasionally, a few wisps of white willow fluff drifted down, landing in the shimmering crystal brook, stirring up a scramble among the little fish in the water.

Crossing the street, he arrived at the old mansion, took out his key to open the door, and entered the house, heading straight for the kitchen.

“Buzz, buzz…”

As soon as he set down the convenience bag in the kitchen, his phone vibrated twice, the ringtone for incoming messages sounding.

He took out his phone for a look–it was a message from Online Pervert 0.

Online Pervert 0: “I found the info you asked me to check on Hu Chuan. Want to hear it now? [Catgirl peeking]”

Lu Yibei hesitated for a moment, turned to put the groceries in the refrigerator to store them for now, then picked up his phone and typed a reply: “Go ahead!”

Online Pervert 0: “You guessed right, that guy probably faked his death. Here’s what we found: surveillance footage from four years ago, at an intersection near the Hua City crematorium, in the early hours of the morning. [Video][Video]

These two videos had already been deleted long ago. We went through a lot to recover them.”

“……”

A lot of trouble?

Don’t think I don’t know–there’s a haunting in the haunting chat group with the power to control video files. Those video resources of yours were censored by it…

Having it help restore a few deleted videos is probably no big deal.

Lu Yibei complained inwardly, lightly tapping the phone screen to open the two videos one by one. After watching them, he frowned.

Both videos were shot at the same intersection, just after midnight, when the streets should have been deserted. Yet a man with a somewhat panicked expression appeared at the intersection.

In the first video, he wore a hat, kept his head down, and hurried past the intersection, quickly disappearing into the night, making it impossible to see his face.

But in the second video, taken just over twenty minutes later, his hat was gone. He was clutching a white porcelain urn, running anxiously across the intersection.

From the facial image captured in the video, the man was indeed Hu Chuan.

Lu Yibei, “……”

The times these two videos were recorded were both more than a month after the time of death listed for Hu Chuan in the school records… The urn he was holding, judging by its shape, should be a cremation urn…

So after faking his death, he snuck out in the middle of the night to the crematorium to steal his own stored urn?

But why would he steal that thing? Was he afraid someone would find out he faked his death from the ashes?

Stealing his own urn–this level of confusion and eeriness was on par with digging up his own grave. Lu Yibei couldn’t figure out why Hu Chuan would do such a thing.

Is it possible… that it wasn’t Hu Chuan at all, but some psychic or haunting who used special means to disguise themselves as Hu Chuan?

As Lu Yibei was thinking this, a new message arrived on his phone, vibrating again.

Online Pervert 0: “Besides the video just now, I have another interesting one here. Take a look! [Video]”

Wang Buliuxing: “Mm.”

After a simple reply, Lu Yibei opened the new video. After watching it, his pupils contracted slightly.

The third video was shot two days after the previous two, near the memorial archway on Mudan Street.

Again, it was the early hours of the morning, and the person in the footage was once more Hu Chuan, still holding that white porcelain urn. He passed through the memorial archway, continuing in the direction of the old street on Mudan Street.

Was he… coming to find Dad? After watching the video, this thought instantly popped into Lu Yibei’s mind.

There was a connection between Hu Chuan and Zhang Shuo. Zhang Shuo had taken part in ambushing Dad, and before leaving Hua City, Hu Chuan had come to Mudan Street… It was hard for Lu Yibei not to link these things together.

However, after connecting these events, he realized things weren’t as simple as they seemed. Before that car accident, Zhang Shuo might have already been secretly watching Dad.

He might have even made contact with Dad through some means long before!

Wang Buliuxing: “Has he ever been to Lu’s Sichuan Restaurant?”

Online Old Pervert 00: “I couldn’t find that out. We can’t get the footage from every surveillance camera, okay? Besides, that place is way too close to Hua City’s The Midnight Watchers Society. We don’t dare mess around with the surveillance footage there… [Blonde queen shrugs helplessly]”

After reading Online Old Pervert’s reply, Lu Yibei frowned.

So… besides looking for my dad, could Hu Chuan also be looking for someone from The Midnight Watchers Society?

But I checked the files on Hua City’s The Midnight Watchers Society before, and there was nothing related to him!

Damn it, in the middle of the night, what on earth did he come to Mudan Street for? He couldn’t possibly be here just to enjoy the scenery, right?

Thinking this, Lu Yibei hurriedly picked up his phone and sent a message to Online Old Pervert.

Wang Buliuxing: “Anything else? Is this video the last piece of information?”

Online Old Pervert 00: “There is! I also found a few clips from the airport and train station. After that guy went to Mudan Street, he left Hua City. He went to Du’an Weir, Xiurong City, Shiyan City, and finally Shizhou City. After that, there was no more trace of him.

He was running around like a headless fly, and his behavior at the airport and train station was totally normal. You couldn’t tell what his purpose was at all. I only had my partner use power to read the video info, didn’t reconstruct the videos.”

Wang Buliuxing: “Alright, thanks. Let me know if you get any new info.”

Online Old Pervert 00: “[Blonde queen flushed face, tongue out, OK]”

Tch!… Lu Yibei curled his lips, saved the emoji, put away his phone, turned around and took ingredients out of the fridge. While preparing dinner, he mulled things over.

Hu Chuan running all over the country definitely isn’t for no reason. Even if he was running from a crime, he wouldn’t need to go to so many places–just hide out somewhere remote and he’d be fine, right?

If that Hu Chuan isn’t a psychic or a haunting in disguise, could his suspicious movements have been directed by Zhang Shuo?

The last place he disappeared was Shizhou City… Did he hide there, or was he finished off there? What’s different about Shizhou City compared to the other places he went?

As Lu Yibei pondered, the doubts in his heart grew heavier. Then, as if venting, he brought the knife down hard, smashing the tender tofu on the cutting board into a mush.

The calm he had finally regained at Professor Ma’s place was once again disturbed by the information Online Old Pervert had dug up.

Even though he was trying his best to restrain himself, with things like this, it’s really hard not to think about it…

————

Evening.

After placing the last dish on the table, Lu Yibei wiped his hands with a cloth and sighed. “Ah, I hope I didn’t mess up and let Meow Meow-chan down!”

There were four dishes on the table: fragrant tender fish with basil, pork tenderloin tofu rolls, fish-flavored lotus root sandwiches, and chicken stewed with chicken mushrooms–all Lu Ming’s specialties, and Lu Yibei had learned to make them quite decently.

But…

While he was cooking, he kept thinking about things related to his dad. The emotions that had finally settled down started surging again, leaving him restless, so much so that he wasn’t confident in the dishes he’d made.

He put down the cloth and sat quietly near the door, waiting.

Waiting for someone to arrive.

Outside, one corner of the sky was already dyed red by the setting sun. A few purple and inky clouds were edged with a wide band of rose by the sunlight.

The ancient street lights came on, pedestrians grew sparse, and from afar came the sound of a cane tapping against bluestone.

Jiang Li, dressed in a clever little white dress and lightly made up, walked toward him with her back to the sunset. Lu Yibei looked up, and their eyes met perfectly.

At this moment, Jiang Li had shed her usual aura that kept people at a distance–a full three meters and eighty-two centimeters away–becoming as soft as a pure white velvet flower you’d want to cup gently in your hands.

Seeing Lu Yibei staring at her in a daze, Jiang Li secretly rejoiced that her preparations hadn’t been in vain. She brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and asked softly, “Do I look good?”

Lu Yibei smacked his lips. “Just barely passable.”

“Really?” Jiang Li tilted her head, frowning slightly.

Ah-Hua really isn’t reliable. Honestly, I’m not used to dressing like this either… Jiang Li thought.

“Only just about good enough to eat,” Lu Yibei said, standing up and making a gesture for her to come in. “I was worried I’d made too much food, but now I think I can easily answer the call for the Clean Plate Campaign.”

Jiang Li smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly, and followed Lu Yibei’s lead to a seat by the window in the main hall, where she could enjoy the view of the sunset spilling over the old street and crystal brook.

On the windowsill, a flower lantern carved from a small pumpkin glowed with gentle candlelight, illuminating the whole table.

She glanced at the dishes, which looked quite good, then turned her gaze to Lu Yibei.

“Looks great! You didn’t order takeaway, did you?”

“Well, it’s hard to say!” Lu Yibei pretended to be serious. “But if any takeaway could match this skill, business would definitely be booming!”

Jiang Li didn’t respond to Lu Yibei’s self-praise, simply picking up her chopsticks to try his cooking.

Lu Yibei looked at her with indulgence as her chopsticks reached for the plate of fragrant fish, softly introducing, “This is fragrant fish. The back of the mandarin fish is sliced deeply, simmered with spices over low heat for five minutes, stir-fried with pickled chili and fermented bean paste, fresh broth, and fragrant herbs for seasoning. It’s my specialty!”

Jiang Li nodded slightly, picked up a small piece of fish and put it in her mouth. Her eyes trembled a bit as she slowly swallowed, her expression unchanged.

“Is it good?” Lu Yibei asked expectantly.

“It’s good.”

“This one is tenderloin tofu bun. Tenderloin and tofu are mashed together in a three-to-seven ratio, shaped and fried, made into a bun, filled with green bamboo shoots, carrot, wood ear, and some crispy sprouts. It’s salty, fresh, crisp, with a hint of sourness–very appetizing.”

“Mm, it’s good.”

“This, this is chicken stewed with mushroom. The rainy season is here, perfect time for mushrooms… This is fish-flavored lotus root sandwich…”

Lu Yibei introduced the dishes on the table one by one, as if he were a student who scored a hundred for the first time, eager to show off to his parents.

But after Jiang Li tasted each dish, she only nodded expressionlessly and said, “It’s good.”

This scene made a strong sense of defeat rise in Lu Yibei’s heart.

“Uh… not tasty?”

Jiang Li gently shook her head. “It’s very good.”

As if to prove she really thought it was good, she picked up another tenderloin tofu bun and put it in her mouth.

Lu Yibei looked at Jiang Li suspiciously, picked up his chopsticks, tasted his own dish, and his face instantly turned pale. He hurriedly spat out the half-cooked tenderloin tofu bun, then tried the other dishes, with the same result.

The fragrant fish tasted bitter, the fish-flavored lotus root sandwich bland and tasteless, as if all his suppressed negative emotions had seeped into the cooking.

Only the mushroom soup was decent, but that had nothing to do with his skill. Those two ingredients, simply cooked together, would be delicious.

How could it be good?

It clearly wasn’t.

It could even be said to be inedible!

……

Lu Yibei opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Jiang Li asked, “You have something on your mind, right? Is it convenient to tell me?”

Honestly, she was quite disappointed after tasting the four dishes. She had prepared carefully, but Lu Yibei seemed careless.

However, after noticing the restrained sadness and restlessness in Lu Yibei’s eyes, she let it go.

Thinking about it, at least the dishes looked and smelled top-notch!

…… Lu Yibei was silent for a few seconds, shook his head. “For now…”

“For now it’s inconvenient?” Jiang Li nodded thoughtfully. “Then tell me when you have the chance in the future?”

“Mm.” Lu Yibei nodded, lowered his head, not daring to meet Jiang Li’s eyes.

He knew he’d messed up, but for the moment, he didn’t know how to tell Jiang Li about what he’d experienced these past two days.

He’d just cried in her arms because he’d lost his mother, and now, was he going to cry again because he’d lost his father?

That would be too lame!

While Lu Yibei was silent, Jiang Li quietly stood up, walked through the main hall, and left Lu’s Sichuan Restaurant.

By the time Lu Yibei came to his senses and chased after her, wanting to call out, he realized she was already far away, soon disappearing into the sunset of the old street.

……

Lu Yibei stood in front of the old mansion, looking at the empty old street, slowly lowering his hand that had been raised in midair. He sighed deeply, turned back to the table, and began to clean up the dishes in a dejected manner.

Though there was a reason, the date was his idea.

He hadn’t taken it seriously, and messing it up was messing it up…

She wasn’t happy, left in anger, and that was only reasonable. Lu Yibei thought, sighing silently again and again, dumping the visually appealing but inedible dishes into the trash.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind him, stopping at the old mansion’s door.

“Hmm? Why did you clear everything away?”

Turning around, he saw Jiang Li standing at the door, one hand on the door frame, the other holding a cane, carrying two bags of instant noodles, her face full of confusion.

Seeing Lu Yibei silent, she gently shook her head. “Forget it, cleared away is cleared away…”

“So, if possible, could Chef Lu make me a bowl of cooked instant noodles?”

“No problem!” Lu Yibei blurted out excitedly.

“Mm.” Jiang Li nodded, her voice soft. “Then this time, please temporarily forget those troubling things, just think of me, and cook well, okay?”

As she spoke, she gently rubbed her stomach, her tone a bit coquettish. “Make it big and filling, I haven’t eaten all day for this dinner, I’m really hungry!”

…… Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment, then replied seriously, “No problem!”

A moment later.

After finishing four whole packs of instant noodles, Jiang Li sat on the threshold of the old mansion’s main gate, gently swinging her feet. One hand softly rubbed her slightly rounded belly, and then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she let out a loud and long burp, completely unconcerned with her image.

She looked up at the sky, her eyes clear. The night-drenched sky was dotted with countless stars, and a faint, satisfied smile hung at the corner of her lips.

In the entire center of Hua City, probably only the old street of Mudan Street could let you see the stars so clearly, right? Jiang Li thought.

From afar, the sound of footsteps approached.

Lu Yibei, who had disappeared somewhere midway and interrupted his haunting transformation, hurried back. As he neared the old mansion’s gate, he slowed down, tiptoed over, and sat beside Jiang Li. Looking at her profile, the breeze lifted her hair, and he thought of a poem by Gu Cheng.

[You, sometimes look at me, sometimes look at the clouds.

I feel that when you look at me, you are far away; when you look at the clouds, you are very close.]

Then, the moment Jiang Li turned to look at him, he suddenly realized that when she looked at him, she was actually very close.

Maybe even closer.

The two of them gazed at each other in silence, as if something sweet was brewing in the air.

Then, Jiang Li suddenly spoke, “Lu Yibei, if you close your eyes right now…”

“Will you kiss me?”

“What if I say yes?”

“Then… can I use my tongue?”

Jiang Li pondered for a moment, turned her face away with an expression of utter disdain, and shook her head. “Then forget it!”

“No, no! How can we just forget it?” Lu Yibei said anxiously. “If we just forget it, why did you say ‘what if I say yes’ just now? We’re both adults, you can’t go back on your word, right?”

“It’s…” Jiang Li tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said seriously, “It’s a polite mutual A in response to your ‘will you kiss me?'”

Lu Yibei, “…” I don’t want this kind of politeness. Please be a little rougher with me. Don’t pity me just because I’m a delicate flower.

“Lu Yibei…” Jiang Li called softly, standing up.

“Hmm?”

Lu Yibei responded, and as he looked up, his forehead bumped into Jiang Li’s soft lips. Silvery-white hair fell down, brushing across his face, carrying a fresh yet intoxicating fragrance, as if forming a curtain that enclosed the two of them in a small space.

Those lips were soft and warm, lingering for about five seconds.

Lu Yibei seemed petrified, frozen in place, his ears buzzing as if hundreds of pesky little sisters turned into magpies were screeching all at once.

To put it bluntly, in those five seconds, he even thought up the names for a whole soccer team of kids.

While Lu Yibei was still dazed, Jiang Li straightened up, turned, and walked along the old street, heading away from Mudan Street.

From afar, her voice drifted over.

“I’m leaving!”

Hearing this, Lu Yibei snapped out of his dream, jumped up, and shouted at Jiang Li’s back, “Wait, that’s it? That’s all? Isn’t that too perfunctory? What about my French kiss?”

Jiang Li turned around, tilted her head, and sighed helplessly. “As for the French kiss, next time, okay? When I come back… hmm, just treat it as your punishment.”

“Next time you clean the house, remember to be a bit more thorough. At least clean away the traces left by other girls, okay? I do mind it a little.”

Lu Yibei, “???”

Other girls? I didn’t, I haven’t, don’t make things up, where did other girls come from?

Wait, could she mean…

How did she notice? Is this a woman’s intuition?

Lu Yibei thought, opened his mouth to explain, but found that Jiang Li’s figure had already disappeared around the corner of the old street.

The wind blew, willow catkins floated, and the girl’s figure seemed to drift away with them.

Staring at the empty street, Lu Yibei raised his hand and touched his forehead.

Still… why does it feel like I’ve just been teased by a bad older sister and then left behind?

It makes you keep thinking about her.

Is this Meow Meow-chan’s thousand-layered scheme? Lu Yibei wondered.

So, when he got home, thinking about Jiang Li’s “next time for sure,” every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Jiang Li lowering her head to touch his forehead. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night.

Until the phone rang–Li Xuan reminding him it was time to send Huá Sāng off…