Chapter 47: The “Blind Date” of My Old Father
“Mom! What… what is going on? The Lu Ming he mentioned, could it be the Lu Ming I know?”
Lu Yibei was completely stunned. When the memories of the dream first appeared in her mind, she briefly thought that the old man in those memories was just a figment of her imagination due to the lack of paternal love in her childhood.
She never expected that Gu Xiniang’s family had actually had contact with her own father.
Through the experiences of the past two days, she was sure that Gu Xiniang was indeed a person from this world, and he was also a member of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society, which is a cult founded to pursue the so-called “real” world.
If Gu Xiniang wrote these diaries not in a state of mental disorder, then they might have actually reached the “real” world and seen Lu Ming and Gu Qiqi there.
Under the intense mental shock, Lu Yibei felt a dull pain in her forehead, her whole body felt as if it had been electrocuted, with waves of tingling sensations.
“But if Gu Qiqi is a person from the real world, why would she appear at my home? Why would my father seek them out? And say he wants to help them…” Lu Yibei murmured.
Driven by intense curiosity, she steadied herself and focused her attention on Gu Xiniang’s diary.
[April 14
A man named Lu Ming came to our home.
He said he could help us.
Father was skeptical of this stranger and politely declined his request.
The man named Lu Ming smiled and did not insist, simply leaving a contact method and saying, “Contact me anytime if you run into trouble,” before leaving.
April 18
I still haven’t gotten used to this place after being here for so long.
It’s much scarier than I imagined, not at all pleasant.
Last night, I didn’t turn on the lights and was crouched under the curtains at the head of the bed looking for a socket to charge my phone. Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind the curtains and grabbed my wrist… ]
Lu Yibei, “…”
Are you here writing a horror novel?
After silently scoffing, she quickly flipped back a few pages, skipping over those eerie things Gu Xiniang had written.
[April 30
Father was attacked by the Siye Society again and was seriously injured.
But Mother is worried that the Siye Society has spies in the hospital and is afraid to take him there.
I originally thought that after escaping that false world, we unexpectedly gained some special powers and were already strong, but I didn’t expect the Siye Society to be so terrifying.
I hope, after some time, everything will be alright!]
[May 2
Yesterday, the Siye Society came to our door.
In the chaos, we left Gu Qiqi behind… ]
Upon reading this, Lu Yibei frowned slightly.
This diary entry was a bit chaotic, and the content was only a few brief sentences. It was clear that Gu Xiniang’s family was in a very dangerous situation at that time.
In that light, could it be that Gu Qiqi accidentally came here to find them? Lu Yibei thought.
[May 12
Father’s health is deteriorating day by day, and I haven’t had a peaceful sleep for almost a month.
During this time, the d*mn Siye Society has been chasing us like wild dogs, trying to k*ll us!
Why can’t they just leave us alone?
…
At night, I can’t sleep, always thinking about Gu Qiqi.
I wonder how she is doing now.]
[May 17
Father was injured again. He finally chose to contact Lu Ming but only provided him with a general location without revealing our exact whereabouts.
That man is truly frightening.
After receiving Father’s call, he managed to cover two thousand kilometers in less than a day and found us among the vast crowd based on just a general direction.
Father took Lu Ming to the next room and talked alone for a long time.
After Lu Ming left, Father told Mother and me that we are going home. The way Lu Ming is helping us is by taking us back.
In that moment, I completely forgot about my sister and the possibly homeless Gu Qiqi, only feeling a sense of relief.]
————
“May 17, that date…”
Lu Yibei muttered, repeating the date in the diary as if touched by some memory, furrowing her brows and falling into deep thought.
She worked hard to search her memories related to her father.
After a long time, she suddenly spoke to herself, “Could it be that time?”
Lu Yibei vaguely remembered that when she was in the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school, around May or June, her father suddenly closed the shop for three or four days, saying he was going on a blind date with someone he met online.
She heard that her father finally gave up on fencing with Water Brother, and Lu Yibei was naturally very happy, even personally seeing him off.
As for why she remembered it so clearly, it was probably because after her father left, Water Brother completely turned into a “jealous woman.”
Every day after school, she would see a flamboyantly dressed man standing at her doorstep, like a stone figurine gazing longingly into the distance.
As soon as he spotted Lu Yibei, Water Brother would come up and parrot, “When do you think your dad will be back?” “What kind of blind date is he going on? People on the internet are all virtual, unreliable!” “Will it be dangerous for him to go alone? I hope he doesn’t run into someone who wants to harvest organs!”
Of course, Lu Yibei wouldn’t allow Water Brother to torture her like this. She responded, “Aren’t you old enough? Why don’t you find a girlfriend?” “If you can’t find one, hurry up and work on getting rich, stop coming to my house to eat!” “I’ve seen a photo of your father’s online girlfriend, you’re definitely not winning the beauty contest against her!”
Thus, the two of them like two perpetual chatterboxes ended up with Su Mi, who came to Lu Yibei’s house to mooch a meal, becoming an innocent victim.
At that time, Lu Yibei thought Water Brother was jealous of her father finally being able to escape his single status.
Now, upon seeing this diary, she finally realized that Water Brother’s behavior was likely out of concern for her father’s safety.
After all, helping Gu Xiniang’s family likely required working against the Siye Society without revealing their identities, which was quite a risky endeavor.
Of course, this still doesn’t change the fact that Water Brother is as flamboyant as ever!
If you care for your brother, why not go with him?
Leave me some pocket money so I can enjoy a couple of days of a peaceful life by myself, right? Lu Yibei thought.
————
[May 20
We returned to Huacheng with Lu Ming, and the journey was peaceful.
It’s strange to say, ever since Lu Ming appeared, the Siye Society members haven’t shown up again.
Could this be a trap set by Lu Ming?
Doesn’t Father suspect him?]
“Yeah, I also think it’s a trap!” Lu Yibei nodded in agreement with Gu Xiniang’s opinion.
She understood her father. It’s enough to make one want to sing a song titled “Little Sloppy.”
What normal person would secretly cook their child’s rice in water soaked in devil pepper when the child misbehaves?!
Isn’t it better to give them a beating?
Though the outcome would be the same, the bottom would hurt for a long time…
[May 21
We really returned!
Just a few days ago, I thought we would never be back.
I didn’t expect that the place where the Banshan Apartment is located in the real world is actually an abandoned elementary school.
Lu Ming took us to the abandoned school and led us to the classroom at the end of the top floor.
That classroom was quite strange; almost all the desks and chairs were damaged and jumbled together, but one chair was intact, with an old commemorative book placed on it.
He carefully took out half a photo from his pocket, opened the commemorative book, and took out the other half of the photo from inside.
It was like an earthquake had suddenly occurred; when the two halves of the broken photo merged together, the entire building began to shake.
Amid the violent shaking, we were thrown into the sky, our bodies spinning rapidly, and everything in front of us became a blur.
Then…
We saw the bizarre and wonderful sight we had seen before.
The old banyan tree flipped upside down, soil flew towards the sky.
Stars floated beneath our feet, and cities drifted in the sky.]
“This…” Lu Yibei’s expression suddenly turned serious.
Although Gu Xiniang merely recorded the scenes he witnessed, it triggered Lu Yibei’s memories.
The images described in this diary were things she had seen in the Banshan Apartment; almost every household had a painting depicting similar content.
She had also been to the abandoned elementary school mentioned in the diary, seemingly to look for someone.
However, despite her efforts to recall, even until her forehead felt swollen, she couldn’t remember that person’s name and ultimately had to give up.
[May 24
That man Lu Ming really has ulterior motives; he’s helping us for a reason!
The price for bringing us back is to arrange a marriage for Gu Qiqi with his son!
Despicable, shameless!
…
But this might also be a good thing?
This way, Gu Qiqi won’t be helpless, right?]
“???”
Upon finishing this diary entry, Lu Yibei instantly had three question marks pop up in her mind.
She initially thought that during the days her father disappeared, he was using the pretense of going on a blind date to help Gu Xiniang’s family. To her surprise, her father really went on a blind date, but it wasn’t for himself; it was for her.
If Gu Qiqi weren’t staying at her house now, given the previous bullying incidents, she wouldn’t even know how to face Gu Qiqi.
“Is this for real? My old father! How could you take advantage of someone else’s misfortune to lure their daughter?”
“Even if you want to make a match, can’t you be a bit more selective? Why choose someone like Gu Qiqi, who consumes ten buckets of fried chicken a day?”
“Wait, that’s not right…”
“My father previously said I had a marriage arranged; it couldn’t be Gu Qiqi, could it?” Lu Yibei muttered to herself, her expression gradually growing grave.
“…”
This means that over the years, it seems like her father had gone on more than one blind date, right?
Thinking carefully, perhaps about a dozen times or so. Could it be…
Impossible, Lu Yibei! You’re overthinking!
Pondering that gave Lu Yibei an eerie feeling, and she shook her head violently, dismissing the outrageous thoughts that rose in her mind.
Who has time to arrange a dozen marriages for their son?
That would be excessive!
What kind of worry for their child not finding a partner would drive someone to do something so outrageous?
With that thought, Lu Yibei’s tension eased a bit, and she picked up Gu Xiniang’s notebook again to continue reading.
Even though she had only read less than half of the diary and had discovered a pile of significant things, what she truly wanted to know was still not revealed.
For example, why Gu Qiqi appeared in her home.
For example, whether the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society had ever done those heinous things, and if so, had Gu Xiniang participated.
And regarding the strange monster that appeared at the West City Lime Factory, as well as the bizarre flesh that filled the basement and infested her coat.
As Lu Yibei continued flipping through Gu Xiniang’s diary, there was a long stretch of time in the later entries that contained no important information at all.
He wrote about the morning dew, the white clouds at the horizon, interesting occurrences at school, and his innocent feelings of secretly having a crush on his deskmate.
After returning to this false Huacheng, it seemed his life had resumed to what a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth’s life should be.
Until six months later…
[December 7
My mother had a huge argument with my father today.
Father actually gathered those members of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society again and organized a meeting.
Mother questioned him, saying everything was over, why was he still in contact with those people, but Father did not answer.
…
In the early morning, when I got up, I was startled to see sparks floating around on the balcony. It took me a moment to realize it was my father smoking on the balcony, appearing deep in thought.
I asked him why he was still gathering the members of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society, knowing how dangerous the real world was, filled with urban legends, and even going there would face relentless pursuit from the Siye Society.
Father took a deep puff of his cigarette and solemnly told me that a person needs to have something to believe in while living; otherwise, they become a walking corpse and cannot survive.
Seeking the real world is the hope for those people in the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society to continue living…]
[December 22
Since returning from the real world, the injuries left on my father by the Siye Society have worsened, gradually eroding his life.
Recently, dealing with various matters of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society has exhausted him day and night.
In half a month’s time, he could no longer hold on and collapsed… ]
[January 7
Father passed away.
Before he died, he had me call my uncle, and the two of them talked alone in the room for a long time.
In the end, Father entrusted the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society to my uncle’s care and took his last breath.]
————
The contents of Gu Xiniang’s diary come to an abrupt end here.
As if with the d*ath of the father who gave him this diary, the habit of writing in a diary had also died.
Lu Yibei put down the diary, rubbed her brows thoughtfully and said to herself, “So, Gu Xiniang’s father was the former president of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society?”
“The current president is his uncle? No wonder he had a place at the West City Lime Factory.”
“It seems his status in the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society is more important than I imagined! If I can find him and ask him in person, many mysteries can surely be unraveled, right?”
As she spoke, Lu Yibei glanced at her phone.
The time was 6:22 AM.
The sun was about to rise; she should get ready to bask in the sunlight and return to her original self.
————
Ten minutes later, on the rooftop of the staff dormitory.
As she looked out, the horizon began to glow with a hint of crimson, which gradually brightened, as if in the next moment, the morning sun would appear at the edge of the horizon.
“Gululu—!”
Lu Yibei swallowed hard, clenched her fists, and stared expressionlessly at the horizon where the morning sun was about to rise.
Soon, the sun surged up over the horizon, its dazzling golden-red rays spread, gradually engulfing her petite figure, and then…
Nothing happened.
Lu Yibei, “…”
Done for, this is a big problem!
Gugugu
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EMMM… My state isn’t good today, I’m feeling a bit foggy sitting in front of the computer.
Taking a day off to rest and adjust a bit. @@
