The Great Worm Lich

When he went to the Upper West Side of Manhattan and waited outside the courtyard fence lined with a lush green tree despite being in winter, Zhang Lisheng saw Tina coming out. She was sitting on a small, double-seater golf-cart while wearing a pretty, white, winter outfit with light makeup.

When both of them met, they welcomed each other with their usual sweetness. They then enjoyed lunch in a VIP room in a nearby restaurant. The girl initially planned to visit the Dublin Modern Art Exhibition in New York to kill time in the afternoon. Afterward, she wanted to have dinner with her two best friends at night.

However, Tina changed her tasteful plan when she saw how Zhang Lisheng curled his lips when he heard the word ‘art.’ Thus, they ended up watching a three-hour, epic, magical, masterpiece of a movie in the cinema instead. This then made them 20 minutes late for their appointment with Trish and Sheila at the Balen French Restaurant.

At that time, Sheila was sitting at a square table near the restaurant’s window while sipping her coffee. When she saw a woman rushing towards her while pulling her boyfriend’s arms, she spoke loudly before everybody else, “It’s alright! There’s no need to apologize, Tina. You don’t have to be sorry. Trish and I understand why you’re late and will not think that you’re a vulgar girl with no respect for other people’s time. Although I’m already starting to have heartburn for having drunk too much coffee, I still choose to forgive you.”

“I’m sorry, Trish, my dear! Lisheng and I have gone to watch a movie, but we didn’t expect it to be a three-hour-long one.” Tina went up to Trish and kissed her best friend’s cheek as she apologized. Then, she sat in front of Sheila and said, “I also want to apologize to you, Sheila. To show my sincerity, I’ll order a rye bread for you to treat your heartburn…”

“And I’ll then die because of rye allergy, right? Oh, sister! You really have a heart as black as those medieval witches! Now I kinda don’t dare to speak as I would freely do anymore,” Sheila replied in an odd expression.

Upon seeing that everyone had arrived, the handsome young waiter wearing a white shirt and black vest, with a black bow tie, cleverly went to their table and handed them the menu

When the four of them had ordered their meals, Trish looked at Tina, who was trying to refute Sheila and suddenly said, “Tina, Sheila wants to go to the Noah World already. She’ll leave in three to five days. This meal is a farewell dinner, so can we please stop bickering anymore?”

“What?” Tina stood stunned. When she saw that Trish did not seem to be joking, she turned to Sheila in shock and blurted out, “Oh, this is too sudden! I-I can’t imagine this! Sheila, w-why would you suddenly want to go to the Noah World?”

“It’s like this, didn’t I already started involving myself in my family’s business?” Upon hearing the hint of accusation in her best friend’s words, Sheila, who remembered how she was would separate herself from her best friends, slumped her head. However, she still forced a smile when she said, “Our company has successfully bid for the early stage planning construction of the Noah World in the government tenders. My dad has suddenly told me to be in charge of this yesterday, so…”

“So, how are your studies at Harvard?”

“Of course I’ll have to suspend it temporarily. Isn’t Harvard going to establish a branch at Noah too? By that time, perhaps I can work and study at the same time,” Sheila smiled as she replied.

The instant her words left her mouth, Trish joked in low spirit, “It’s a good thing to leave Boston too. The atmosphere in Harvard is so lifeless, so it’s good that you leave too…”

Tina interrupted Trish’s words and shouted loudly, attracting other customers’ attention, “What do you mean by it’s good that she leaves? My dad felt that Boston is too dangerous these days, so he keeps trying to get me to suspend my studies. Other than manufacturing munitions, his business focus is also slanting to Noah World now. Since he thinks that it’s safer there, he also told me to go to Noah World a few times already… Ah, sh*t! I really didn’t want to tell you about this. Still, to be together with you and Trish and maintain our sisterhood, I’ve rejected his suggestions! I’ve never even considered them… Of course, I admit that Lisheng is also part of the reason, b-but Sheila, how can you just simply say that you will leave us for real!?”

In the face of the girl’s questioning, Sheila lowered her head and said nothing. Trish sighed and did not know what to say. It was clear that she was also feeling unhappy over her best friend’s actions.

The waiters who were placing their dinner on the table amidst their silence felt the quiet atmosphere. They then said awkwardly, “Please enjoy your meal.” before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

In the end, it was Zhang Lisheng who shrugged and said, “Tina, don’t get too emotional. Calm down first. In fact, we can solve this problem easily. Now that the foreign world’s god invaded Boston, it’s indeed unsafe to be here anymore. Since Harvard will build a branch in the Noah World, you and Trish can go there to continue your studies, too, so you don’t have to be separated from Sheila.”

“Lisheng, how can it be that simple? Other than desert and oasis, there’s absolutely nothing in the Noah World. Harvard’s branch is still only a mirage now…”

“Even if it’s only a mirage, it will appear in the future eventually. You just have to wait longer.” The young man interrupted and spoke excitedly, “Since Mr. Dolby has some business there already, you can also be like Sheila. Managing your business while waiting is not a bad idea. As for Trish, doesn’t she dreams of becoming a liar… Erm, I mean a politician who is committed to serving the general public? There will be new immigrants and new beginnings. Tell me, will there be a better place than Noah World for her to realize this?”

“Hey, Lisheng is right! Tina, Trish, both of you can follow me to the Noah World too! In this way, we don’t have to be separated anymore!” Sheila shouted in pleasant surprise. This time, it was her turn to be glared by others.

“Wait a minute, aren’t we supposed to criticize Sheila’s selfishness? I was still enjoying the winter vacation with my boyfriend sweetly while waiting for the university’s semester to start before this dinner. Why is it that now, I’ll suddenly have to go to the foreign world to manage my dad’s business after this dinner? T-This change is just too ridiculous!” Tina stuttered before turning her head to look at her boyfriend. “Not to mention, if I go to the Noah World, I won’t get to see you so often anymore, baby…”

“Don’t worry, Tina. Hadn’t I told you just now? My mom has accepted the invitation she received. She will immediately go to Noah World’s immigration oasis to become an elementary school’s headmaster. I can always fly there to visit both of you when I’m free. I need to fly anyway, regardless of whether I’m going to New Mexico or Boston, and it’ll only take me a few hours more.”

When Zhang Lisheng’s words left his mouth, Sheila immediately added, “Did you hear what Lisheng said? Dear Tina, we’re young American citizens, so why should we be afraid of change?”

A series of expressions ran across Tina’s face while she maintained her silence. Ignoring Sheila, she shifted her gaze to Trish, “Dear sister, what do you think?”

“Actually, if it weren’t for the two of you, I would have long stopped going to Harvard already.” Trish took a few deep breaths and said those words. It was understandable since she was the most active member of the Sisters’ Association’s activities and who suffered a more significant trauma than any of them after the Harvard Stadium tragedy.

“Oh, this is great. The three of us ‘Harvard Sisters’ can still stay together…” Sheila exclaimed, with tears dripping from her eyes.

“It’s not three of us’ Harvard Sisters’ but only the two of us ‘Noah Sisters.’ You can’t sit with us anymore, Sheila! You abandoned us first since you suddenly wanted to go to the foreign world without even telling us anything beforehand!” Tina interrupted her best friend’s words angrily and snapped loudly, “This is not something that best friends should do!”

When Sheila heard the girl’s accusation, an expression that showed how wronged she felt enveloped her face as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Tina. I’m the one at fault here but… but I have a reason why I did it. Even though it may sound ridiculous to you, you know that my dad is not like Mr. Dolby. He’s not so close to me. He gave me things like money, shares, and an opportunity to take over the company. Still, privately, he has never shown a smile that a loving father should give their children, like the one your father has when he looks at you and when he looks at me. B-But, when he told me that he wished for me to go to Noah World to be responsible for the operation of the company on his behalf, he finally showed that smile to me… At that time, I finally realized that his love for me is in no way lesser than the love Uncle Dolby has for you. It’s just that sometimes, he’s not good at expressing it, and I didn’t know what I was thinking at that time, but I agreed to it right away. I-I didn’t want to let headman down…” At this point, she had already been sobbing so bad that she could no longer continue.

“Sheila, we understand your reason. Don’t cry anymore, dear sister. We forgave you. really, we’ve forgiven you…” Upon seeing the tears on Sheila’s face seeping through her makeup, Trish’s heart softened right away. She quickly comforted her gently but still could not stop her best friend from crying sadly.

When she knew that her consolation was not working, she quickly turned her gaze to Tina, who was in a daze, “Tina, say something! You’re still unwilling to forgive Sheila? Oh, you’re really cold-hearted!”

“Cold-hearted?” Tina snapped back to reality and pondered for a while before replying, “Hey, you red-haired Aryan Special alien! If it weren’t for your ancestors who randomly sent bombs and blew up the Earth and created so many foreign worlds, none of these would have happened in the first place. How dare you call me cold-hearted?”

“Red-haired alien? Ha! Are you accusing me of something that has happened thousands, or ten thousand, or even hundreds of thousands of years ago? You blondie who believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution and think that your ancestors are those yellow primates!?” Trish snapped back, unwilling to back down.

“Trish, Trish, Trish!” Tina repeatedly called out her name as the volume of her voice gradually increased, “Oh, so you’re revealing your ancestor’s arrogant, unreasonable alien gene now that we’re calling you out, huh? Fine! Let’s do our usual custom and let Sheila decide who is right and who is wrong. Two against one! The loser will have to apologize immediately!”

“Okay! Sheila, do tell who is right and who is wrong here!” Trish asked, shifting her gaze onto Sheila, together with Tina in unison.

“You two are asking me to judge who is right or wrong between you two?” Sheila said through tears, “Then this means that I’m still your sister?”

“Of course! You’ll always be!” The two girls who pretended to quarrel affirmed it right away in unison, “Will always be…”

For no reason, tears began to well up in their eyes as well. Afterward, the three of them clasped their hands together and made up.