Chapter 226: The Balance at Both Ends 07
After a busy day of back and forth, Kui Xin finally got everything sorted out.
She signed the rental agreement with the landlord, received the keys to the house, and moved some things in. The rental prices in this area were still reasonable, especially considering many students and exam-takers rented nearby. Kui Xin’s upstairs and downstairs neighbors were all from her school, but it was rare for a freshman like her to move out right at the start of the school year.
Kui Xin wasn’t a reclusive person in the past, but after starting university, she had to begin considering the issue of interpersonal relationships. For her now, socializing was undoubtedly a hassle. She didn’t have the energy to maintain a friendship, let alone invest time into it, and even less so to open her heart.
If the Second World had brought any negative impact on Kui Xin, it was that it cloaked her in an invisible mask, donning a false front while engaging with others, creating an irreconcilable sense of distance with anyone.
Kui Xin couldn’t be bothered by the frustrations of university social life. The worst-case scenario was that she remained solitary; everyone was here to study anyway. As long as she maintained good grades and graduated successfully, it didn’t matter much about making friends or building a network—those things could just happen as they may.
It was evening now, and dealing with the rental situation had delayed her plans to visit the sick person, which she had to postpone until tomorrow.
She sat in the school cafeteria, had a bit of food, and messaged Xi Liang: “Are you free? Let’s talk.”
“Yes!” Xi Liang replied instantly, “Where do you want to meet? I know a couple of quieter places.”
Xi Liang had been in a state of panic all afternoon, vacillating between anxiety and anticipation, and he couldn’t help but check his phone repeatedly. He typed several messages in the input box to inquire more about Kui Xin but was afraid of annoying her, so he deleted them.
“Then suggest a location with fewer people,” Kui Xin said.
“The No. 3 playground is less crowded; let’s go there,” Xi Liang replied.
Xi Liang kept this in mind—though the No. 3 playground had fewer people, it didn’t mean there was nobody. It was still a public place, and there were surveillance cameras at the entrance, so they needn’t worry about unexpected incidents. He vaguely knew Kui Xin wouldn’t harm him, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
After finishing her meal, Kui Xin headed to the No. 3 playground as Xi Liang suggested. There were indeed few people, just a small group playing soccer on the grass, with a few scattered runners circling the track.
She waited at the playground entrance for a short while and soon saw Xi Liang jogging over with two cups of milk tea, one of which was a pink color that seemed to be Kui Xin’s favorite peach flavor.
Xi Liang stopped in front of her and accurately handed the peach milk tea to her: “Good evening, senior. I passed by a milk tea shop and got one for you. I heard from Liu Boyi that you like peach flavor.”
Kui Xin: “…Thanks.”
This kid had a knack for gaining favor, knowing to ask his buddy about her preferences. Liu Boyi, for that matter—having shared a few meals in his homeroom teacher’s house during freshman and sophomore years, he had once ordered her a cup of milk tea too. She always ordered peach flavor, and he actually remembered.
When Xi Liang asked Liu Boyi for Kui Xin’s contact information during the day, Liu Boyi had questioned, “What do you need her contact info for?”
Xi Liang, in a state of anxiety and shock, brushed it off with, “Just…want to make a friend.”
Liu Boyi clearly didn’t believe it. “Then I’ll have to ask her first if she’s okay with me giving you her contact.”
“Can you hurry and ask her for me?” Xi Liang urged.
Kui Xin naturally agreed, and as Xi Liang let out a breath of relief, he became even more nervous, asking Liu Boyi, “How long have you known Kui Xin?”
“Yeah, my mom is Kui Xin’s teacher,” Liu Boyi responded.
“What do you think she’s like?” Xi Liang asked cautiously.
Liu Boyi looked at his buddy, first with confusion, then realization, and finally encouragement: “You’ll find out what kind of person she is after you spend some time with her. My words don’t matter; what you see matters.”
Xi Liang suddenly realized he might have misunderstood something: “Wait, I—”
“I’m not going to say too much about her; that’s her privacy. You’ll learn about it slowly,” Liu Boyi said with a smile before leaving, “But there’s one thing I can tell you: she likes peach-flavored milk tea. Good luck.”
Xi Liang: “…”
So that evening, Xi Liang came to find Kui Xin, holding the peach-flavored milk tea.
It wasn’t that he had any special feelings for Kui Xin; he just felt that out of politeness, he at least needed to bring something. Whenever the class committee organized activities at the university, they would also order dozens of cups of milk tea to distribute among the classmates!
“Let’s talk while we walk,” Kui Xin suggested.
Xi Liang nodded eagerly, following along beside her like an elementary school student on the track as they circled the playground, keeping a safe distance from the other students so they wouldn’t be overheard.
Kui Xin asked, “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, I went to the entrance of the school and had an old Chinese doctor give me a massage, and I felt better instantly.” Xi Liang’s face flushed, feeling embarrassed, so he quickly changed the subject. “I was surprised to see you today, didn’t expect such a coincidence. Both worlds have the same school. It’s just that the ages seem reversed…”
Kui Xin pondered, “How much do you know about me?”
“I always thought you were a native of the Second World,” Xi Liang scratched his head. “When we first met, I mentioned Lei Feng. Later I found out that there’s no Lei Feng in that world, which really freaked me out. I was scared silly about exposing myself.”
“I indeed recognized your identity from that line,” Kui Xin said.
Xi Liang chuckled awkwardly, “When nobody caught me for a while, I thought you hadn’t noticed my casual comment, and I was quite pleased with myself… If it weren’t for you, I might have been dead by now. When I went with you to the Investigation Bureau to give testimony, the security officer relaxed when he heard that it was the Investigation Bureau’s people who dealt with the robbers. They let me off easy without asking many questions. Looking back now, if they had questioned me a bit more, I might have raised suspicion with one wrong word.”
“What else do you know about me?” Kui Xin continued to ask.
Xi Liang pressed his lips together, lowering his voice considerably: “I know that in the Second World, you are in a state of death…”
“How did you find out?” Kui Xin asked.
“It started when I wanted to ask you about getting into the Black Sea Academy. I found out your house was unoccupied. I thought you had moved out, but as soon as I went downstairs, I met one of your colleagues. He said he was your friend.” Xi Liang recalled, “When I asked him where you were, he said you had died and still had an unpaid loan, so the house had to be auctioned off to settle the debt. He ran to help handle your affairs because you had no relatives beside you. Oh, and by the way, his name was Lan Lan.”
Kui Xin fell silent, not speaking for a long time.
Unexpectedly, the next piece of news about a former teammate came from Xi Liang’s mouth.
It was just a false identity—one fabricated by Mechanized Dawn. The person named “Kui Xin” practically never existed; the so-called house, loans, the dilapidated furniture, and personal belongings that proved someone had once existed… all of those were fake.
Her former teammates had busied themselves handling the affairs of a fictitious person… Kui Xin couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.
“When I found out you died, I felt a little regret,” Xi Liang said, “because I thought you were very kind to me and gave me a lot of advice. Now that I see you’re okay, I feel relieved.”
He chose his words carefully, afraid of saying something wrong: “I know for people like us, it’s not easy to survive there. You work at that terrifying organization and must have gone through a lot of hardships. You must have faced exposure crises. Your identity being marked as dead was probably a way to escape a disaster, right? I know you must be in a more dangerous situation than I am; I won’t speak recklessly about it.”
“You’re a very rational person, Xi Liang,” Kui Xin said. “Now, let’s talk about you. What have you experienced in that world?”
“I…” Xi Liang said quietly, “My parents actually passed away; they died in a car accident. It was my uncle who took care of me. You should have seen the posts, right? Some people have the same parents in both worlds; I’m one of them. In that world, I saw my deceased mom and dad. Although I went through some unfortunate events, I never lost hope.”
“Mm, I can roughly understand your feelings,” Kui Xin said, her tone devoid of any fluctuations. “What I want to ask is something else. You are fortunate, Xi Liang. You’ve lived from the first week until now. The Black Sea City’s Rick Technology Company has been purged by the Federation; you should know this as the news was broadcast for several days. Rick Technology Company is the one with whom you signed that talent development agreement back then.”
“Do you know the inside story about the Investigation Bureau’s purge of Rick Technology Company?” Xi Liang asked.
“I know part of it,” Kui Xin turned to look at Xi Liang. “You have been targeted and recruited by a terrorist organization, Xi Liang. Let’s just say you were very lucky; the influence of Rick Technology Company has left Black Sea City—they didn’t manage to complete their recruitment of you, and your recruitment value was relatively low. You were still in the growth stage, which meant you were dispensable to them, so they let you off easily… But next time, you may not be so lucky. You’re on that terrorist organization’s list, and they have the ability to conduct real-time monitoring of you and confirm your status.”
Xi Liang’s complexion subtly paled; he took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly: “Actually, I know.”
Kui Xin raised an eyebrow: “You know?”
“I know, I’ve always been under surveillance,” Xi Liang murmured. “They installed prosthetics on me. That set of prosthetics… it has a backdoor in the operation sensing system, which allows a third party to control my prosthetics through this system, and even manipulate my actions. They also installed listening devices in the prosthetics…”
“Well, congratulations. You discovered this in advance and came up with a reasonable response to save your own life,” Kui Xin looked at him deeply.
“But it’s useless, senior. How do I rid myself of the surveillance? I can’t let go of my parents in the Second World; they treated me well, and their personalities and hobbies are similar to my parents in this world,” Xi Liang forced a smile, “I’ve been pretending to be a normal person, leading an ordinary life, to avoid drawing attention. In just a few weeks, I developed an inherent talent for ‘disguise’… This life isn’t one worth living! I suspect that the players who have made it to now are all performing masters!”
Kui Xin responded oddly: “I agree with that.”
