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墨書 Inktalez
The two figures in her vision continuously intertwined, eventually overlapping until a flood of information surged into her mind, countless memories playing on a loop…
Li Xue clutched her head in pain and sank to the ground. Chen Rui quickly noticed her distress and forcibly severed Li Xue's connection with the Central Hub.
"Ah—" Li Xue shot up from the bed, gasping for breath. The large room was as quiet as usual, but her heart was anything but calm.
"Why... why is this happening?" Unbeknownst to her, tears had already streamed down her cheeks.
Chen Rui swiftly set up the AI and exited the dreamscape, hurrying back to the Dream Game World Control Center. He instructed the guard at the entrance, "From now on, no matter who it is or what approval they hold, anyone wishing to enter the Control Center must report to you first. They can only enter after I give my consent."
Though the guard was unaware of what had transpired, he dared not defy his superior's orders and could only salute in acknowledgment.
Li Xue staggered out of her room and knocked on her brother's door. After receiving no response, she made her way to the living room and noticed a message left by Li Li on the coffee table.
"If you have begun to recall past events, I suggest you take a moment to calm down. If you still insist on seeking him out, I won’t stop you."
Li Xue frowned slightly; it seemed that hiding her memories might have been Li Li's idea. Although she felt some dissatisfaction towards her brother, her greatest displeasure actually stemmed from Chen Rui.
How could he agree to this? How could he cooperate?
Is this truly how you feel? Can you really brush off everything that happened in the past?
Li Xue slumped onto the sofa as memories flooded back into her mind once more.
June 7, 2016
Beijing, China
Although it was only June, the heat in Beijing was already intense. Despite the significant temperature fluctuations, many people were wearing short sleeves early in the morning.
This was especially true for the high school graduates preparing for their college entrance exams. Many of them had risen before dawn to get ready for the exam venue, as traffic in Beijing would become paralyzed during this time. It was nearly impossible to navigate the city quickly during rush hour.
Li Xue was jolted awake by her alarm clock, pouting in annoyance as she fumbled to turn off the ringing on her phone.
"Sheryl! I have things to do today, so make sure you don't be late!" Li Min's voice called from outside the room. Li Xue replied loudly, "Got it."
After a while, Li Xue slowly crawled out of bed, squinting at the glaring sun outside her window. With her academic performance, she didn't need to worry about her exam scores; what worried Li Min and Li Li the most was whether this girl would be late or even miss the exam entirely!
Li Xue could have been directly admitted to Peking University as a recommended student, but when a close friend faced a family crisis, she generously gave up her spot for her.
"If I don’t take the college entrance exam, wouldn’t that mean someone else gets to claim the top spot?"
Though this reasoning felt a bit forced, there was no doubt she could meet the admission score for North Atlantic University. However, that wasn't the main issue at hand.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!!" Li Xue frantically threw on her clothes and grabbed her prepared stationery bag and admission ticket before bolting out of the house.
Since Li Xue lived not far from the exam center, she had set her alarm for eight o'clock. After Li Min called for her to leave, Li Xue somehow fell back asleep! When she finally woke up, it was already eight fifty!
The moment Li Xue saw the time on her phone, a wave of dizziness washed over her, making her feel like she might faint. However, she managed to rein in her emotions. Although she knew it would be difficult to reach the exam venue on time, she still wanted to give it a try. After all, the thought of wasting another year of her youth in high school filled her with despair.
As she stepped out the door, she glanced at the clock above the entrance; the minute hand was almost pointing to twelve. Though she knew it was impossible, it felt as if she could already hear the bell signaling the start of the exam!
Once outside, Li Xue felt as if she had been hit by a thousand blows. It was already nine o'clock, but due to the college entrance examination, the morning rush hour was still in full swing. The idea of taking a taxi to the exam venue was clearly out of the question.
"Hmph!" Li Xue gritted her teeth and flagged down a young man riding an electric scooter.
"Take me to Chen Jinglun High School!"
Li Xue pulled out a stack of pink bills and waved them in front of him. The young man calmly accepted the money and quickly counted it—thirty bills in total.
"Double it!" he said with a mischievous grin.
Li Xue's eyes nearly popped out of her head. How shameless could he be? Was it really that hard to help a late student?
"Deal! I'll pay you when we get to the exam site!" To avoid him raising the price again, Li Xue plopped herself down on the back seat of the scooter. "If we don't make it in ten minutes, you can forget about getting paid!"
The young man laughed heartily and rode off at a leisurely pace toward Chen Jinglun High School.
"What's your name?" Li Xue asked, feeling slightly annoyed by his relaxed demeanor.
"What? Are you trying to ask me out?" he replied with a cheeky smile. "First, give me back those three thousand, and I'll share my contact information!"
"Bah! Who cares!" Li Xue shouted as she looked at the school gate not far ahead. "Hurry up! Hurry up! We're running out of time!"
The young man glanced at his watch, his brow slightly furrowed, noticing that the guard at the gate was also checking his watch, with a whistle poised at his lips.
"I need to stall for some time!" The young man watched as the guard slowly brought the whistle to his mouth and quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket, hurling it forcefully at the guard.
"Smack—" The moment the black LED touchscreen hit the ground, spiderweb-like cracks appeared, but it did successfully catch the guard's attention.
The guard saw the young man and the girl behind him, yet he still placed the whistle in his mouth and blew it sharply as the second hand reached twelve.
"Whoosh—" The crisp sound of the whistle rang in Li Xue's ears, freezing her expression in place.
"It's over..."
The young man smiled lightly. "Not yet."
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" The whistle continued to blow as the guard stared wide-eyed at the young man and girl rushing toward the gate.
Finally, after blowing the whistle for thirty or forty seconds, the young man managed to get the girl into the examination hall just in time. The guard slowly began to close the gate, looking back at them with a mournful expression.
Li Xue dashed into the teaching building, turning her back to the young man as she called out loudly, "You wait for me outside! I'll transfer you money through Alipay after I'm done!"
The guard approached the young man, handing back his completely shattered phone with unknown damage to its body, chuckling, "I thought she was your girlfriend! You're something else, bro—throwing away your phone just for a bystander."
"Why is it Bystander? Can't it be a family member?" The young man smiled lightly as he picked up the Admission Ticket from the ground and handed it to the guard. "I can't do this here; please give it to her for me. That girl probably can't even find the exam room."
"Sure." The guard took the Admission Ticket, paused for a moment, and by the time he came to his senses, the young man had already left on his electric bike.
It was only after Li Xue rushed into the teaching building that she realized the Admission Ticket was not in her hands. She had been in such a hurry when leaving that she had just grabbed the Admission Ticket and Stationery Bag with her hands, and who knew where she had dropped the Admission Ticket.
"Little sister!" The guard ran over and placed the Admission Ticket in Li Xue's hands. "Don't panic anymore; you're already in the exam hall. Just relax and take your test. If your brother hadn't noticed that you dropped your Admission Ticket, your Language Exam score would have been voided."
"My brother?" Li Xue asked, confused.
"Alright, enough of that. Hurry up and get to the exam hall, Room 12 on the third floor," the guard urged as he pushed Li Xue toward the stairs.
Li Xue stopped thinking about how Li Li ended up here and found her Admission Ticket. She dashed up to Room 12 on the third floor to start her exam...
11:00
As the bell rang, students trickled out of the school in groups. Some were discussing exam content, while others talked about their vacation plans. Li Xue quickly ran out of the school gate, searching for that person's figure among the crowd, but she couldn't find him even as everyone else left.
She hurried back to the examination site and called out to the guard from across the gate, "Sir, where did that person who brought me here go?"
The guard looked at Li Xue, recalling that she was one of the latecomers for the morning exam. He smiled and said, "Your brother? He must have gone home or found a place to fix his phone."
"No, not my brother! The person who rode me here! I don't even know his name!" Li Xue exclaimed anxiously.
The guard scratched his head and said, "I don't know. He left right after you went in. Maybe he had something to do."
Realizing that she wouldn't get any answers here, Li Xue had no choice but to leave. Her mind was filled with thoughts of that young man. He wasn't particularly handsome, had a bit of an attitude, and his tone was somewhat rude, yet surprisingly, he turned out to be a good person...
"What am I thinking!" Li Xue slapped her face lightly, trying to calm herself down, but she still couldn't shake the feeling. Instead, her cheeks felt a bit flushed.
With her face still warm, Li Xue returned home and exaggeratedly recounted the incident to Li Li.
"What! That guy dared to take advantage of you?!"
"Not really, but he definitely took me for a ride. If he became a taxi driver, he'd probably make a million a month!" Li Xue mocked as she recalled the young man's demeanor.
"Well, that's your own fault! I warned you before, but you didn't listen. You deserve it!" Li Li chuckled mischievously.
"Are you my brother or his? Why are you siding with him?" Seeing Li Li scold her instead, Li Xue began to tease him. "Is that guy someone you hired? Do you have some secret with him? Bro! Have you turned?"
"Get lost! You're the one who's turned! Wait! It seems like you've never been straight!" Li Li was sweating profusely; dealing with this stubborn sister was truly challenging. "Alright, alright, if it's meant to be, you'll see him again. Just make sure you're not late for your last three matches."
"Got it, bro! But are you really turned? Otherwise, what a coincidence!"
"Beep—beep—beep—"
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