Chapter 120 Virtual World

Jiang Shuxuan looked over to the direction of the cold beverages shop. It wasn’t too far away but one needed to make a turn before reaching it. Hence, Gu Xiqiao wasn’t visible from where he stood. After waiting for a while and realizing that the person wasn’t coming, the dreaded feeling of regret slowly surged within him. He should have gone with her but before he could even step forward, a figure emerged in front of him, blocking his path.

Miko, with her head drooped, awaited for Jiang Shuxuan’s answer nervously. In her mind, countless possibilities of his answer played out repeatedly, for every one of which she had prepared a response. No matter what he said, she had no choice but to speak up.

And so, she stood there for what she felt was like an eternity. The only outcome she did not expect was for him to walk past her without even sparing her a glance.

How did things turn out this way? This was the first time someone had ignored her as if she was nothing but a mere phantom. Seeing how Jiang Shuxuan decided to walk away so abruptly, she looked back up and reached out in an attempt to grab the sleeve of his shirt.

Whoosh!

She had failed to stop him as a strong gust of wind blew her hand away. Red scratches caused by rock fragments had appeared all over her pale, delicate fingers. Miko was wide-eyed. She stared at Jiang Shuxuan in bewilderment. How could he do such a thing to her?

Jiang Shuxuan’s gaze was distant and cold; he had finally made eye contact with her. However, his eyes were devoid of emotions, perhaps reflecting the indifference he had toward her.

Even if she was a little dim-witted, Miko knew perfectly well that he had no interest in her. But why? Ever since she got herself a place in the rankings, she had become obsessed with this man. She had even asked her brother to bring her here, just for the sake of meeting him. She had left the land of the rising sun for this alien piece of land, just so she could fulfil her dream. But why was he treating her so coldly?

Miko was frustrated. She had given up so much for him but why did it never seem to be enough?

Miko, who had always been under the protective wing of her caring big brother now felt extremely wronged. Her vision started to blur up as tears welled up in her eyes. Passersby gawked at the two as different images flared up in their imagination. Nearly all of them flashed unfriendly looks at Jiang Shuxuan.

Only a handful of people chose to look away; most of them were angry at Jiang Shuxuan but as mere outsiders, they couldn’t just step in and start yelling at him. Thus, a great deal of them looked at Miko with sympathetic eyes.

Miko was the very definition of moe back in her country. Her cute appearance appealed to the male protective instinct and since their society was at its core, superficial, beautiful people were given more attention than your average Joe.

Seeing Miko slowly break into tears, some justice-seeking youth felt obliged to stand out for her. He appeared to be below average in terms of both emotional and intellectual intelligence. Though, he did seem to be a college freshman despite that. Helping Miko get back on her feet, he yelled at Jiang Shuxuan distastefully, "You think you can act all high and mighty just ’cause you have more money? How dare you bully girls! Do you still call yourself a man or what!? Failures like you are like a plague to our society!"

Of course, Jiang Shuxuan was not prepared to start a debate with such a man. He shot the youngster a glance silently before turning to leave.

While he couldn’t care less about the situation, others could. Gu Xiqiao was walking with two soft-serve ice creams in her hands as her ears picked up the ruckus created by the feisty youngster. Her eyes blinked but the expression on her face remained the same. With a pair of brightly shining eyes, she scanned the two men in front of her. In a matter of seconds, she could deduce roughly what had happened. And so, she opened her mouth.

"So what if he’s rich? Did he eat your food, drink your water, or sleep on your bed? Young man, hating the rich isn’t particularly healthy for the mind you know?"

The sun shining above her head momentarily blinded the young man. Through the gap between her fingers, he could vaguely make out a halo created by the sunlight around her. Her words were clear but it stung also. The man, now with a face as red as a tomato, wanted to refute her statement but his mind had gone blank, which made him even more frustrated. It sounded like she was hinting to him how pathetic of a person he was.

"Let me give you some advice, young one. Some things, you have to see with your own eyes to believe. What you think is true however, is usually nothing but false images projected unto you by others." Gu Xiqiao eyed Miko as she spoke. She was confident that Jiang Shuxuan did not harm her directly. At most, he probably would have given her a few frost blades.

"I..."

Gu Xiqiao’s demeanor was so intimidating that her words cut like actual knives. It tore through the youngster whose words failed to come out of his mouth. In fact, he actively averted his gaze when she stared at him menacingly.

Jiang Shuxuan tugged on Gu Xiqiao’s finger, urging her to leave. She wasn’t that much of a chatterbox usually and killing someone with words was an even rarer occasion. However, she forced herself to do this for the sake of him. A warm, fuzzy feeling swelled up in her heart but she knew how pointless it was to waste her time on this clown of a stranger. Since they rarely spent time together, she wanted to make every second count.

Miko stared at Gu Xiqiao for a long time and naturally, she recognized her as that girl who walked beside Jiang Shuxuan a few days ago. Though, the two of them were walking at a frantic pace so she couldn’t get a good look at who she was. Now that she was standing right in front of her, she noticed how warm and gentle the woman actually was beneath her mask of ice. For the first time, Miko admitted that she could not replace the woman that stood beside her crush!

Miko panicked upon seeing that the two were about to leave. If she were to let Jiang Shuxuan leave like that, god knows how long it would be until they met once more. Miko struggled to get back on her feet but the moment she got up, her body crumpled limply onto the floor. She had lost consciousness.

Gu Xiqiao, who was supposed to be walking off, stared with her jaws agape.

’Had she learned a new technique?’

Gu Xiqiao blinked dumbfoundedly at the lifeless girl before passing the two cones over to Jiang Shuxuan. Using her mouth, she silently said to him, "I’m gonna play with her for a while."

Since she had medical skills, Gu Xiqiao knew that Miko hadn’t truly fainted. At most, she would see stars above her head but her condition wasn’t such that she would black out instantly like that.

As Gu Xiqiao got closer to Miko, the youngster was able to get a good look at her face. Her eyebrows appeared almost as if it had been painted on by an artisan ink-painter and her skin, as delicate as snow. In terms of beauty, Miko’s cutesy appeal paled in comparison to this woman standing before him. In fact, he had been so captured by her looks that he did not notice the silver needle clenched between her fingers.

As the needle pierced into her skin, Miko’s face twisted in pain. She was a girl, pampered since birth, so when the needle stabbed mercilessly into her skin, she cursed under her breath.

’Why are the men in this country so unconventional!? Damn it, Chinese people will always be Chinese people! Where’s the chivalry?!’

Miko was still adamant in keeping up her act. Through the gap between her eyelids, she could see Gu Xiqiao’s porcelain-like skin, which as a woman, she was deeply envious of. Gradually, Miko focused her eyes and the finger she hid behind her back twitched. Strands of gray-green smoke began flowing out of her hand; some drilled into the body of the youngster while the remaining ones floated towards Gu Xiqiao.

Looking at the smoke, Miko thought to herself, ’Instead of putting the blame on me, you should blame my unrivaled ability instead.’

Before the smoke could penetrate Gu Xiqiao’s skin as they did with the youngster’s however, she pinched the three worm-like strands and hung it above Miko’s face.

"What’s this?"

Miko stared back at Gu Xiqiao in awe. The green smoke had been given her by her elders for personal protection. Once they found their way into the body of her opponents, they would let down their defenses for her to attack. How on earth did she manage to stop her attack? Impossible!

Seeing how Miko wasn’t going to answer her question, Gu Xiqiao’s brows twitched.

’Fine, if you’re not gonna give me an answer, I’ll have to shove your own products down your throat.’

Blowing lightly, the green smoke was sent straight back into Miko’s body. Gu Xiqiao had now lost interest in toying with her any further. She returned to Jiang Shuxuan’s side. With a flick of her finger, she shot a gray-colored tablet into the mouth of that youngster. In an instant, the solid pill liquefied upon making contact with his tongue.

Although she was not particularly fond of him, he was a fellow Chinese; she couldn’t stand seeing her own people being bullied, especially by their neighbors. For this reason, she didn’t mind the mini confrontation that they had mere moments ago.

She might turn the other cheek when bullying happens between her countrymen but when things get international, she could no longer do the same.

That young man was frozen in place due to pain but in the next instant, as the liquid spread around his mouth, the pain he felt drained out of his body, returning to its usual state.

After what he had gone through, the way he looked at Miko changed.

Miko’s face grimaced in pain as she tugged on the sleeve of the youngster. Teary-eyed, she begged for him to help her. And yet, the man slowly pulled away from her.

He backed off and stared at Miko in her eyes. "I am a patriotic man."

’Oh god how I wish I could kill him right now!’

However, every second brought about a new pang of pain.

Jiang Shuxuan had already prepared to lash out with his frost blade as Miko released her sneaky ambush. Without hesitation, he was prepared to lay waste to that girl but to his surprise, Gu Xiqiao managed to take control of the situation. His surprise was reflected in his eyes when she returned to his side. It seemed that there was more than met the eyes about this woman.

Gu Xiqiao retrieved her cone from Jiang Shuxuan’s hands. Despite the sweltering weather where other peoples’ soft serves would start melting and dripping, the two cones in Jiang Shuxuan’s hands remained pristine. In fact, they were so cold that the air had condensed into a layer of fog, flowing down from his hands as if they had just been taken out of the freezer. Luckily, no one took notice of this odd phenomenon.

"Are you done?" asked Jiang Shuxuan who held onto his cone, not knowing that it was in fact, bought for his own consumption. Even though there was no one else apart from him that Gu Xiqiao would buy the soft serve for, he convinced himself that the second cone must’ve been sold for half the price.

"I’m bored. Let’s go." Gu Xiqiao said with a slightly dejected look. She was fascinated by ninjas and Miko initially reminded her of one.

The pair proceeded to drive home. Gu Xiqiao wolfed down both of the cones before starting to text on her phone. Mu Zong had already arrived at the village and began reporting his progress to her. Opening her mailbox, she slowly scanned through the lines of text.

"The hospital called me yesterday." Jiang Shuxuan broke the silence. He figured that Gu Xiqiao could just fill in the blanks with the sea of information she had gathered from the guardian.

"..."

Gu Xiqiao rubbed her nose, realizing that she had done something incredibly foolish.

"What did they say?"

Sullenly, Jiang Shuxuan replied, "They want me to prepare you for the marrow transplant next Monday."

Gu Xiqiao stole a glance at Jiang Shuxuan.

"Brother Jiang..."

While Jiang Shuxuan was upset about this, he couldn’t help but place the blame on Gu Xiqiao’s shoulders. Had she become tired of living? To agree to a marrow transplant for someone else when she herself had such a frail body?!

Transplants like these were damaging to one’s body, which was why Jiang Shuxuan was so unhappy about this. He had not slept even a wink last night as he was searching through the sea of information on his computer, noting down points to take note of after the surgery. In addition to that, he had even created a post-surgery meal plan to speed up Gu Xiqiao’s recovery.

Knowing that she had indeed, caused Jiang Shuxuan to worry for her, Gu Xiqiao sighed. Luo Wenlin being her half-brother wasn’t the only reason why she had chose to save him. A larger part of the reason for her self-sacrifice was because of his friendship with Luo Wenlin. Their interaction reminded her of what her adoptive mother did for her.

While Jiang Shuxuan was angry at her for making such a decision, seeing her acting so depressed made him feel even worse; he found it incredibly difficult to despise her for doing such a thing.

"Please don’t be upset, Brother Jiang. As compensation, how about I give you the first holographic helmet prototype that Nine Heavens developed?"

Gu Xiqiao put down her phone and clasped her palms together to beg Jiang Shuxuan for forgiveness.

"Holographic helmet?" This was the first time he had ever heard of such an item. Of course, his interest had been piqued. And so, Gu Xiqiao had successfully subverted their topic.

She sighed out in relief. She already planned to give the holographic helmet to him anyway but fortunately, this was her first time mentioning it to him. "It’s currently planned to be used for gaming. You should give it a go when we get back. You’ll love it, I promise."

"If it’s planned for gaming, does that mean its use will change in the future?" Jiang Shuxuan caught on rather quickly.

"We’ll launch a few test models first. If everyone accepts the use of such a helmet, then our market will be near endless. Think about it, if every network user uses this helmet, everyone would have their own virtual avatars to traverse through the network. And, we now have GPS modules installed in the helmets, which is awesome. With that module, our users can do things which they otherwise cannot do in the physical world..." Gu Xiqiao became more excited the more she talked about their prototype. Suddenly, a new idea popped up in her head.

To be more precise, she had come up with a name for this system–The Gifted.

The manufacturing process of this helmet was an incredibly complex procedure and when completed, this helmet would be the pioneer of a completely new market. Though, all it would do was alter one’s reality; it remained impossible for one to upload his or her consciousness onto the network. This, in Gu Xiqiao’s opinion, would be against the order of God.

A virtual world? Uploading someone’s conscious mind onto the net? How would such a world turn out? Jiang Shuxuan had no idea. Even so, he understood how difficult it would be to actually pull this off. Looking at Gu Xiqiao’s enthusiasm, he felt amazed by her. Every time he thought that she had finally arrived at her limit, she would tear down the wall, unleashing a new, mind-boggling ability.

Being with her meant that every day came with new surprises. Fortunately, she was living with him. If it were someone else, then she would’ve been dead a long time ago. Thinking of how Yin Shaoyuan complained to him a few days ago about how defiant she was, and that defeated look on his face, Jiang Shuxuan couldn’t help but smirk proudly at his creation.

"Why are you acting so surprised Brother Jiang? To be honest, the US is already years ahead of us in the field of virtual reality research. They’ve just achieved a new breakthrough just recently. Bet you didn’t know that the satellite they’ve just launched was precisely in preparation for the further advancement of this branch of technology. Though..." Gu Xiqiao smiled gleefully as she trailed off. "It would take them at least five years before they can fully generate a virtual world. The source code of our Nine Heavens Virtual World will soon be announced and believe it or not, our system can even handle 3D images. Though, the obstacle that remains is the internet. The internet as we know it today, must be changed from a static, 2D webpage into a 3D dynamic plane you can physically traverse through."

This problem was currently being troubleshooted by Yu Ning. In her free time, Gu Xiqiao had hoarded terabytes of data in an attempt to help solve the puzzle. Because of this, she had now become somewhat of a computer scientist herself even though the network was once a completely alien concept to her.

However, the biggest contribution to this virtual world project remains in the hands of the system itself, which provided the crucial source code.

"My lovely little system! I will fight on every day for the sake of your precious upgrade!"

Being spoken to like that made the system feel a little embarrassed.

[Oh no. I am sorry if it bothers you to do so.]

"Okay. Then I guess I shouldn’t do that. Give me the exchange rate for today..."

[Here you go. Beauty Qiao, you’re still 2589 points away from giving me an upgrade. I will cheer you on! Please fight on! You have my support!]

"..."

Jiang Shuxuan peered at Gu Xiqiao’s bright eyes. She was throwing around a lot of technical terms, terms he had no idea what they were, but he still listened to her voice intently. Sometimes, he would throw her a question or two and in the end, he had a rough grasp on what the virtual world project actually was and how it was constructed.

Something inside him told him that this truly was going to be a revolutionary project for humanity.

It was only after finishing her lengthy explanation that Gu Xiqiao realized how much she had spoken. She glanced at Jiang Shuxuan, whom she feared would be bored out of his mind from all the boring tech talk. However, she was unexpectedly met with an interested face, urging her to continue. His face seemed relaxed, and his expression indicated that he was actively taking in her words; to her astonishment, he wasn’t bored by her talk.

"I’ll let you try it out when we get back. Although this helmet is specially dedicated for gaming, it isn’t too far off from the ones we plan to link up to the virtual world. Artificially-generated projections will replace the physical items around you so I can guarantee that it’ll be a magical experience." Gu Xiqiao couldn’t wait for Jiang Shuxuan to test out their new product. To think that she had angered the old man so much that he vanished into thin air just this morning.

Jiang Shuxuan increased the throttle upon seeing her excitement. It’s a good thing that they weren’t too far away from home.

Yu Ning had already sent over two helmets and Gu Xiqiao completed the installation of the Nine Heavens browser and games on their study room computer.

"Pick a name for your avatar."

"What’s your name?"

"For A Millenium."

Jiang Shuxuan thought about it for a while before slowly typing out the words "A Flowing River."

(*TL note: This is a play on their names. Jiang in Chinese, means river. So when translated, it means "a flowing river".)

"Put on the helmet. Stay at Rookie Village. Like, don’t move! I’ll be right with you when I get back to my room!" Gu Xiqiao scurried back to her room. Since she had a high-spec computer, it took just a second for her to boot up the game. Finally, she could plop the helmet over her head.

The system has become more and more addictive as of late. As it has been a while since Gu Xiqiao has been online and playing, she heard a crisp ding-dong the moment the game booted up.

She had spawned at the entrance of a dungeon outside the city. There were peach blossoms all over the trees and looking at the hyper-realistic flower generations, she couldn’t help but reach out to touch them. It felt real, like she was actually touching it. If she wasn’t aware that she was in a game, she would’ve thought that this was the actual world for sure.

Gu Xiqiao reminded herself not to frolic around for too long as Jiang Shuxuan was still waiting for her in Rookie Village. She pulled out her map before a voice from behind prompted her to turn around.

"So you are For A Millenium?"

Entering her vision was a swordsman dressed in white. Just a glance was enough for her to make out that he too, was another helmet user. This was Nine Heavens Network’s godly marketing at work here. The winners of their program would receive a helmet for free while the others would have to cough up 20,000 for one unit. Worse still, the units for sale were limited to 500 only. Though, games aren’t exactly known to be frugal pastimes. Real gamers couldn’t care less about the 20,000 yuan price tag and so, demand for this product was pretty much inelastic.

Floating on top of the swordsman’s head was "Common". He looked at Gu Xiqiao with cold and distant eyes.

"Anything I can help you with?" Gu Xiqiao asked as she summoned her horse, ready to race towards Rookie Village.

Her voice sounded equally as cold as his gaze, which reminded the man of someone he wasn’t fond of.

"Do you know how to paint?"

"No."

Common called up his horse as soon as he heard her answer. Then, just like that, he disappeared into the horizon without saying another word.

He definitely came across as slightly rude, thought Gu Xiqiao as she raced towards Rookie Village on her horse.

It wasn’t long before a loli character dressed in pink appeared before Jiang Shuxuan’s eyes.

"Hee hee, how are you feeling?"

"It’s really bizarre." Jiang Shuxuan walked in circles before reaching out for an apricot flower hanging down from a tree branch. "It’s way too real, to the point where the line between reality and the virtual world is blurred."

"When this helmet hits the production line, the game’s main aim will switch over to representing the actual player in the game. Of course, they will still be able to alter their appearance."

Gu Xiqiao brought Jiang Shuxuan over to different locations in the game; they were here more to sightsee rather than to battle monsters.

The in-game scenery was hyper-realistic and their walk did not differ too much from walks in their actual world. After personally experiencing what it was like in a virtual world, Jiang Shuxuan grew a little more excited for that virtual world Gu Xiqiao was talking about.

If a mere game could be so realistic, what about a virtual simulation of their actual world?

China had taken the world by storm. Not by anything else but by a single game on a helmet. Countless people from every continent were seeking to experience firsthand what it was like to be in such a hyper-realistic virtual world. The hype was so intense that the helmet, which was originally sold for 20,000 a pop, now sold for over 150,000 on the international market.

Some IT experts were willing to pay the price just so they could reverse engineer the helmet but the sheer complexity of its components were such that they scratched their heads at what was going on. What they found and speculated was the heart of this computing marvel, was nothing but a fingernail-sized chip.

Unfortunate experts on the other hand, who hesitated to buy the expensive piece of technology now felt extremely bitter as Nine Heavens announced their decision to not produce a second batch of these helmets!

Their statement on Weibo went roughly like this: "Because our company is restricted financially, we will stop producing the helmets for now. See you next month."

’Bullshit! Financial restriction my ass! Millions worth of investments could be raised in an instant for empty air, let alone such a precious piece of technology! Their latest game raked in over eight digits in terms of revenue so who would believe such a blatant lie!?’

But so what if they didn’t believe in their lie? Nine Heavens Group couldn’t care less. Seconds after they issued the statement, the comment section had exploded with over tens of thousands of spiteful insults but they were all in vain.

These netizens who have been waiting for their helmet lost their steam over time. In the end, they could only refresh Nine Heavens’ official webpage for any new announcements on the possible release of the much-anticipated gadget.

The gamers who managed to land their hands on the helmet started flexing on some well-known forum.

[One setback with the helmet is that you run the risk of mismanaging the in-game pain level you receive. I’ll never forget the pain I felt when I died while exploring a dungeon!]

[+1, I stumbled upon a tiger while wandering around and it felt way too real! Sh*t, I almost had a heart attack man!]

[Boohoo, I fell into the water when crossing a bridge. I choked way worse than I thought I could, cough cough cough...]

[Too bad my man. I used to fear getting underwater but I learned how to swim in the river outside the city yesterday. Guess what, I shocked my friends at the pool yesterday when I dived straight into the water and swam around!]

[Good job. I think I’ve just invented a new way to play this game.]

[+1]

[+2]

[+10086]

[...]

[Damn son, why do I have a feeling that I’m in the middle of a circlejerk? Y’all should eat shit and die!]

[Give us your helmet and we’ll spare your life!]

[Hey, thread starter! If you’re afraid of the pain, then you should just give your helmet to me! How does 30 grand sound?]

[I’m willing to pay 40!]

[I think 70 should be the lowest dude...]

[These are selling for 150 on the black market. At this point y’all are nothing but a bunch of clowns.]

[I’ve got news that Nine Heavens will be launching another thousand units next month. Location: Beijing. Buy your plane tickets now~]

[Really? Why there though?]

[Why the hell would you know this?]

[The wife of the son of the aunt of my aunt’s daughter’s schoolmate works as an employee at Nine Heavens so you’re welcome!]

This unintentionally started thread went viral overnight. News of Nine Heaven Group’s decision to release their helmets for sale in Beijing spread faster than a worldwide pandemic.

***

Ever since they got their helmets, Xiao Yun and Wu Hongwen have been playing longer and longer sessions. Though because their chosen class, ancient warriors had notoriously low agility, they were being utterly crushed by Yao Jiamu.

"You two fight me together. I’ll use 30% of my strength this time," said Yao Jiamu on the training ground.

Wu Hongwen: "Dammit why is this guy so punchable!? One day, I’m gonna get Er Qiao to teach you a lesson!"

He then thought of how Yao Xiaomu grew so much stronger after being defeated by Gu Xiqiao. Wu Hongwen shook his head. He couldn’t let Er Qiao touch Yao Jiamu. No, if anyone, he should be the one to be crushed by Er Qiao. At least, he would stay still throughout the entire ordeal!

Xiao Yun: "She’s just an innocent child who has yet to become accustomed to using an ancient warrior. Why do you keep mentioning her all the time? Couldn’t you be anymore thick-skinned? Do you want to be punished so badly?"

At the same time, the both of them thought the same thing.

’How I miss Er Qiao!’

Yao Jiamu loosened his fingers and raised both his arms. With a beaming smile, he challenged the duo: "C’mon!"

Ten minutes later, Xiao Yun and Wu Hongwen laid limply on the ground, their eyes devoid of life.

"Maybe Er Qiao just doesn’t love us anymore?" mumbled Wu Hongwen. "It’s all because of this Yao Xiaomu that stole away Er Qiao’s attention. As expected, wild flowers would always smell nicer than homegrown ones."

"Heh heh."

Xiao Yun managed a painful chuckle.

"That’s it! You’re pretty much asking for it now!" Wu Hongwen got up angrily while pulling up his sleeves.

Xiao Yun shot him a glance. "If only your talent points were higher, maybe Er Qiao would’ve taken you under her wing. You have no one else to blame but yourself!"

The blame was on him. Wu Hongwen crouched down silently. He felt that he should refrain from speaking to Xiao Yun for the rest of the day. He had been trying his best not to bring up the matter of him being a total noob but why was she so obsessed with picking at his wounds?

Turned out that it was true. No one loved him here. QAQ.

Yao Jiamu went into the dressing room and changed into a new set of clothes before coming out to find that the two still hadn’t left.

"Are you guys going to the hospital?"

"For what?" asked Wu Hongwen indifferently. "You have a terminal illness now?" He smirked the more he pondered the possibility of that being true.

"..."

Yao Jiamu left the place in silence.

Wait, this shouldn’t be happening. Wu Hongwen got up and started yelling, "Yao Jiamu, Yao Xiaomu, Yao Numskull, Xiao Blockhead, are you gonna leave us again? Although I am saddened by this if you must go, I wish you a smooth journe-"

"Slam!"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, Yao Jiamu had sent him flying into a tree trunk.

To say that Wu Hongwen was thick-skinned wasn’t really wrong. The ancient warrior had been pummelled all day long and he still seemed to be unaffected by this, which earned him Xiao Yun’s pitiful laughter.

Seeing that the annoying one had received his punishment, Yao Jiamu stopped to wait for Xiao Yun.

"Miss Gu went through an operation just now. I think she should be waking up now. I’m going to see her. What about you guys?"

"Wait a sec." Xiao Yun’s heart raced. She outstretched her palm. "Wait a sec. Could you repeat that one more time? Operation?"

"Gu Xiqiao. Miss Gu," said Yao Jiamu very slowly, just in case Xiao Yun couldn’t hear his words clear enough.

"Didn’t you guys know about it?"

Wu Hongwen stopped acting dead. Still lying prone, he crawled over army-style and with a dead serious look on his face, he asked, "You’re talking about Er Qiao?"

It was then that Yao Jiamu realized that the both of them were still kept in the dark about this. Thinking that there wasn’t too much of a problem, he revealed the truth to the duo.

"Yeah, she’s supposed to go through a marrow transplant operation to help save Dalin."

"Dalin? Who’s that?" Although this was a life they were talking about, Wu Hongwen quite obviously wasn’t a fan of the one being saved.

Seeing how different their reactions were, Yao Jiamu subconsciously peered at the faces of the duo. It’s just a marrow transplant is it not? Was there a need to act in such a hostile way? Because he was acquainted with Luo Wenlin, he personally felt that there wasn’t too much of a problem with the whole operation.

However, Wu Hongwen and Xiao Yun, who had no idea who Luo Wenlin even was, found it hard to accept that Gu Xiqiao was donating her marrow to this Dalin fella. Xiao Yun peered at Yao Jiamu with an emotionless face. "Do you know this Dalin?"

"Yes..." This was Yao Jiamu’s first time seeing her act so seriously and he was a little bothered by it.

"In any case, let’s go there and take a look first." Wu Hongwen’s joker attitude had faded away in an instant. Dusting himself off, he left with Xiao Yun to see their comrade in hospital. Yao Jiamu, who became abandoned, was left in place, stunned.

’Did they eat the wrong type of medicine today?’

***

At the hospital, Gu Xiqiao’s transplant operation had ended successfully. Contrary to popular belief, such a transplant does not cause damage to one’s body and the hospital encourages potential donors to step forward and save lives. However, that wasn’t completely true either. The human body contains blood producing cells and these cells do not replicate indefinitely through cell splitting. There is a limit to the number of times these cells can self-replicate and when that limit is reached, the human body will start aging and hence, deteriorate.

And so, there can only be so many times one could donate blood in his lifetime. While he may be willing to go above the limit, the body simply cannot.

To donate marrow was an even more serious matter that would impact the body on an even greater scale.

Both Wu Hongwen and Yao Jiamu knew about this fact, which explained why he was so upset when he heard the news of Gu Xiqiao agreeing to the surgery. Holding his head nervously in the elevator, he asked, "Tell me, why the hell did she agree to do such a foolish thing?"

Even before they met, Wu Hongwen had started to despise this Dalin fella.

Xiao Yun counted the floors as they went up. "It’s because of that attitude of hers. She feels obliged to intervene in anything that is remotely linked to her. It’s not like you don’t know her!"

"But can her frail little body even make it through the surgery?!" Wu Hongwen scratched his head in panic.

"We’ll see when we get there." Even Xiao Yun was getting riled up. How dare she hide this from them. This is outrageous! She’s gonna witness their full wrath when they get to her room!

At least, that was what they thought. Such feelings quickly fizzed out when they saw her lying there on the hospital bed. Still under anesthesia, her eyes remained shut. Her face no longer had that rosy tint and instead, it was of a deathly pale complexion.

Jiang Shuxuan stood beside her bed. Judging from his facial expression, he was not in a good mood. His thin lips were pressed together tightly and his brows were knitted. The air pressure around him dropped significantly, almost sublimating into ice.

Standing there, he emanated an incredibly intimidating aura. Even the nurse, who was checking on Gu Xiqiao trembled out of fear, almost flipping over her tray.

Jiang Shuxuan’s expression softened upon seeing Xiao Yun and Wu Hongwen enter the room. At the very least, he was friendly toward Gu Xiqiao’s friends. "You two stay here and look after her. I’ll be heading back to prepare her meal."

The two nodded eagerly. Moments after Jiang Shuxuan left, the sneaky Gu Xiqiao slowly opened her eyes, which was noticed by Wu Hongwen in an instant. "Er Qiao you slimy rat... you almost got me there."

"Why are you two here?" asked Gu Xiqiao. It wasn’t that she wanted to fool them. It was more that she was afraid of seeing Jiang Shuxuan’s face.

Now that she had mentioned this, Xiao Yun felt nothing but anger for her. Glaring at Gu Xiqiao’s pale white face, she lowered his voice, "What do you think? You’re going through such a life-threatening surgery and you think you can just stay silent like that? Is making a phone call such a difficult task?"

"C’mon, it’s no biggie. I’ll just have to stay here for 12 hours and I’m gonna be discharged tomorrow morning."

"No biggie!? They had to slice you open for god’s sake!" Xiao Yun glared at her. She couldn’t hold herself back any longer. "Does it hurt? Can you still eat? Is there anything you would like Wu Hongwen to buy you?"

"Brother Jiang’s preparing food for me back home. I’m feeling a little tired so I’d like to sleep if that’s okay with you." As the anesthesia was still coursing through her veins, she was able to fall asleep in a matter of seconds.

Silently, Xiao Yun and Wu Hongwen walked outside her ward. Just then, Yao Jiamu had finally hurried over but to his disappointment, he was stopped by Wu Hongwen from seeing her.

"Er Qiao’s asleep. You should stay outside. You’re entire body’s covered in germs and sh*t after all."

"Fine, then would you like to pay Dalin a visit?" asked Yao Jiamu as he thought they’d be interested.

"Let’s go." urged Wu Hongwen. He wanted to see what this trash of a person, Dalin looked like!

Because he had just undergone the surgery, Luo Wenlin was moved to the ICU so they could only watch him through a glass window. Luo Wenlang was sitting on the bench outside the ICU when they got there, which puzzled Wu Hongwen.

"Why’s Luo Wenlang here?"

"Because, he’s Dalin’s elder brother," said Yao Jiamu as he approached the window. At the moment, Luo Wenlin was resting on a bed with his eyes shut. There were pipes inserted in both his legs as well as his head. As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, there was a great big shiny needle protruding out from where the tubes led into his body.

Luo Wenlin was a cute boy, which earned their sympathy in an instant. Even the fiery Wu Hongwen who was originally ready to tear his throat out went silent at the sight of the poor boy.

Wu Hongwen’s silence continued after hearing Yao Jiamu’s explanation of Luo Wenlin’s family background. The duo stared at his serene face for a while before finally returning to Gu Xiqiao’s ward. However, with Jiang Shuxuan there, they lacked the guts to loiter around any longer. Right before the hospital closed its doors to visitors, they managed to stealthily CIA their way out of there.

The operation had been a success. Luo Wenlin was able to regain consciousness that night and Gu Xiqiao’s condition had been stable throughout the twelve-hour observation window. Seeing how much she has improved, Jiang Shuxuan could finally sigh out in relief.

As scheduled, she was allowed to be discharged the next morning.

"Wait for me here. I’ll drive over."

Jiang Shuxuan’s car was at the car park and he did not want Gu Xiqiao to walk such a distance by herself. And so, he made sure that she waited for him at the hospital’s entrance. She protested by saying how un-weak she was but one look from him was enough to silence her.

Fine, she admitted defeat this time.

While waiting for Jiang Shuxuan, she leaned against a nearby pillar and started playing on her phone.

"Miss Gu!" yelled someone from behind.

That someone was Shen Nianzi.

"Why are you here?" she asked with an astonished look.

"To see Dalin," replied Gu Xiqiao with a smile. No one knew about her agreeing to donate marrow for Luo Wenlin. Not even the recipient himself knew about this.

"Hey, ditto. I heard he even woke up last night." Shen Nianzi smiled. They were the same batch of kids raised in the orphanage so naturally, they had developed a strong bond with each other. She was so happy for Luo Wenlin’s recovery that she failed to sleep last night. "And I heard his condition’s under control now. I really wish I could thank that donor right now!"

Tucking her phone away, Gu Xiqiao flashed her a smile. "Yep."

"Ah right." Shen Nianzi looked around before continuing in a whisper. "Miss Gu, your drawing has already been sent to the Biennale. Mr. Sima would like to accept you as his disciple as soon as possible. He’s quite serious about this. In fact, he’s called up the director quite a number of times now. I can guarantee you that this man’s the best teacher you could ever hope to get. Miss Gu, even if you’re not planning to learn the art of painting, you should definitely pay him a visit. After all, there’s no harm in doing so is there?"

Shen Nianzi spoke seriously. She was genuinely thinking in Gu Xiqiao’s best interest. What she couldn’t understand the next moment, was how a sane person could reject the god-tier artist, Sima Jun’s offer!

"Thanks but I really can’t do that." Gu Xiqiao shook her head with a smile. She could make out that Shen Nianzi had no underlying intent. "My new semester will be starting soon so I’m afraid I won’t have the spare time to learn about art. As you know, med students are busy as bees."

"Alright." Shen Nianzi was a little disappointed. "Miss Gu, if you ever change your mind, you must see Mister Sima."

"I must," repeated Gu Xiqiao. She must not ever look for Sima Jun. "Oh, my ride’s here. I’ll be leaving then. See ya!"

Shen Nianzi watched Gu Xiqiao get into her car before turning to enter the hospital. However, she was stopped by someone the moment she did so. Looking up, it was revealed to be someone with a pretty face.

"So, you’ve made contact with the one and only, For A Millenium."

"Yeah," replied Shen Nianzi excitedly as she stared constantly at Mu Yunfan’s face. This was the first time she was standing so close to him. The other time she saw him was on the television screen. "But she still rejected Mister Sima’s offer to accept her as his own disciple."

"That I know." Although Mu Yunfan had expected her to say such a thing, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Before he left, he reminded her, "The next time you see her, remember to notify me. I’d like to see her too."

"Hold up." After a moment of silence, Shen Nianzi opened her mouth. "You recognized the girl that was standing beside me just now?"

"Beside you?" Mu Yunfan’s eyes were suddenly filled with disgust. "No."

He left shortly after. His butler, with a bag of medicine in hand, followed behind him. As he passed Shen Nianzi, the butler greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Wait. Something’s wrong." Shen Nianzi scratched her head cluelessly. "Didn’t he say he wanted to meet her in person?" If that’s the case, then why did it seem like he hated Miss Gu?

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