**Chapter 31: He Saw “Self” [4K]**
3:17 PM.
In a remote corner of the online world—within a webpage chat room of [THEVOICEOFHEART] portal—members with IDs consisting only of numeric codes were once again embroiled in intense discussion.
004: “No way! Which idiot sent that fake Lu Xianbei’s schedule to Huaxie Yu?”
013: “I notified the team to send it out, what’s the problem?”
009: “Why didn’t you notify us in advance? Changing the plan without discussion or analysis is reckless. Are you an inside mole, 013?”
015: “The analysis and plan were created by me and 013 after we received intelligence about fake Lu Xianbei’s activity at Huacheng University three days ago, and I already consulted with the admin. What’s the issue?”
004: “There is an issue! You two look unprofessional for proposing a plan without conducting periodic research and validation.”
013: “Heh!”
001 [Admin]: “Alright, everyone calm down. Although 013 and 015 are relatively inexperienced, this time their plan is fairly reliable. Let’s not argue about this and instead focus on developing the other backup plans.”
Upon hearing the admin speak, the previously bickering group quickly quieted down.
Meanwhile, in a company located in a major city, a man moved his mouse, closed the webpage, and ended a brief and enjoyable work break.
004 and 009 mocked 013 and 015 for being unprofessional, but in his view, 013 and 015 might end up ridiculing them for not understanding the strategy!
Letting Huaxie Yu interact with Zhipianxian indeed had its risks, as Zhipianxian had developed self-awareness and was rather audacious.
The man shrugged it off.
However, precisely because of this, allowing Huaxie Yu to foolishly flirt with Zhipianxian, and letting Lu Xianbei discover it at the right moment, would naturally create an opportunity for them to connect.
It would also alleviate Lu Xianbei’s suspicions about Huaxie Yu. This was the strategy, a flanking tactic!
Even with that calamity observing him, assisting in checking his fate’s red thread, it was no big deal.
She controlled the powers related to fate but also had to adhere to the corresponding rules. The man thought confidently.
Normally, a couple coming together requires an opportunity, and that so-called opportunity is a chance encounter, followed by a series of unexpected yet reasonable events.
Now, the initial encounter had been completed; what remained were the series of events. The man thought, glancing at the message he had just received on his phone, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Phoenix: “President, Zhipianxian has taken the bait. She has arranged to meet Yu Jianqiu’s best friend at the cold drink store on the pedestrian street to check their zodiac signs.”
At the mention of zodiac signs, the man’s lips twitched slightly, recalling an unpleasant experience.
The insight that experience gave him was that handsome boys could charm girls just by inviting them to check zodiac signs or even inviting them to bed to look at glow-in-the-dark watches and would be successful.
Unlike him, who nearly scared a girl into calling the police when he read her palm.
Phoenix: “Additionally, President, I don’t know who leaked the news, but it seems the Elders’ Council is already aware of the plan targeting Lu Xianbei, and they should make a move soon.”
The man looked at his phone, pondered for a moment, and replied: “Got it.”
It seemed he would have to visit the Gray Forest Cabin later. It had been quite a long time since he visited those few individuals. The day after tomorrow was the weekend, and he still had three days of annual leave left this year. Including the weekend, that made five days—traveling back and forth should be fine, the man thought.
Although anyone informed about the situation knew that inside the Solar Eclipse Society, there were factions—the Elders’ faction and the President’s faction—whose relations were tense, often secretly sabotaging each other.
At least publicly, the two factions had not reached the point of open confrontation.
Therefore, as long as the President visited the Gray Forest Cabin, all the elders would certainly attend to receive him.
As long as the members of the Elders’ Council did not have the opportunity to act in person, the man was unconcerned about the other members of the Elders’ faction interfering with his plans.
After all, in terms of personal abilities and execution efficiency, his trusted aides were superior to most members of the Elders’ faction.
While the man was contemplating, a male colleague approached his cubicle and asked, “Want to get together after work? Drink some light alcohol, play some cards?”
The man glanced at his colleague, forcing out an awkward yet polite smile, “I won’t go. A relative at home has some issues, so I have to go back to my old hometown after work.”
“Alright! Safe travels.” The male colleague said before turning and walking towards a group of coworkers discussing after-work activities.
They didn’t care whether the man would join their gathering after work, nor did they care if he genuinely had to return to his hometown to see his relative or if he was single-handedly suppressing the entire Elders’ Council of the Solar Eclipse Society at the Gray Forest Cabin.
Their invitation was merely a social courtesy among adults; after all, as an outsider in the company, the man never participated in their activities. If he ever showed up at their gathering, it would probably affect the atmosphere, the man thought, sighing silently.
On the other side, at Huacheng University.
In a small garden tucked away on campus.
Jumeng and Lu Xianbei squatted behind a rockery, suspiciously observing something. The sight inevitably brought to mind the meme about “Let’s poop together when we have time.”
“Are you sure this thing has a red thread of fate with me? It’s not even human or a monster, right? Stinky Sister, tell me honestly, can you be reliable?”
After wandering around the school for a while, and finally validating the first fate object, Lu Xianbei felt that Jumeng was messing with him.
“You b*stard! How dare you doubt me? I am very sure this is one of your fate objects.”
“Besides, isn’t it nice? Look at its fair body with a bit of vibrant red on its forehead; this is a rare ‘little red’ rarity!”
As Jumeng spoke, he struggled to hold back laughter.
Looking at the large koi fish in the pond behind the rockery, he was momentarily at a loss for words, feeling complicated emotions. His father might think that a koi could change his luck?
Although he already knew that many outrageous fate objects existed, seeing one with his own eyes was still hard to accept.
Moreover, that large koi seemed somewhat sentient, deliberately swimming within his line of sight, showcasing its curvaceous and plump figure, as though it was trying to tempt him.
However, this kind of temptation held no sway over Lu Xianbei; instead, it attracted several male koi, encircling “the little red” and continuously rubbing against its body.
“Where on earth did this husband come from?! Dah!”
An exasperated Lu Xianbei slapped the water’s surface; the fish all scattered in fright. “Stinky Sister, interested in having some braised koi tonight?”
Jumeng: “?”
What the heck! You beast, what are you trying to do? That’s your fiancée!———
After staying at Huacheng University for an entire afternoon, Huaxie Yu learned that “Yu Jianqiu” had a good best friend, and this friend had already connected with Lu Xianbei before she even arrived in Huacheng.
Huaxie Yu looked at the message on her phone that guided her to meet her best friend after class. “They actually arranged a liaison that early; how professional!”
Muttering to herself, Huaxie Yu packed her books, stood up, shouldered her backpack, left the classroom, and headed to the meeting point indicated. After crossing a small section of campus, walking along Flower Blossom Avenue for a while, turning a corner, she quickly found her “good best friend” at a cold drink shop on the pedestrian street.
After waiting for a moment in the cold drink shop, “Lu Xianbei” appeared as expected in front of them. “Over here, this way!”
Seeing “Lu Xianbei” appear, her best friend waved excitedly.
Upon hearing the call, “Lu Xianbei” looked towards the sound, his gaze lingered on her best friend for a few seconds before quickly shifting to Huaxie Yu.
Although she had already immersed herself in her role as Yu Jianqiu, like a timid little kitten, keeping her head down to avoid attention, beauty couldn’t be hidden.
This girl was at least an 8.25!
A buy one, get one free! This time, they got it right…” Lu Xianbei thought.
Since starting his flirtatious escapades, he had secretly established a comprehensive criterion for scoring the appearance of every girl he interacted with, making it feel like he was playing a collectible card game.
Moreover, the scoring method was uniquely his style, precise to three decimal places.
He smiled as he approached, but it seemed he didn’t notice Huaxie Yu at all, instead engaging in conversation with her best friend first. It was as if he was a patient hunter waiting for his prey to wander into an ambush.
“Senior, I remember your birthday is November 21, right?”
“Yes!” Her best friend nodded, “I only mentioned it once, and you remembered?”
“Of course! Every moment spent with my senior is precious; if I forget, isn’t it the same as committing a crime?”
“Lu Xianbei” chatted casually with her best friend, the words ambiguous while Huaxie Yu observed from the side.
She noticed, although her best friend was the one actively approaching “Lu Xianbei,” he was indeed quite adept at flirting, easily causing her best friend to stifle laughter, before seamlessly steering the conversation onto her.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce; this is my good best friend, Yu Jianqiu!” Her best friend introduced, guided by “Lu Xianbei.”
“I bumped into her on the way after class, so I called her over. You don’t mind, right?”
“Not at all, not at all! Guests share the spoils!” “Lu Xianbei” said, smiling and waving at Huaxie Yu.
Huaxie Yu thought, “That’s a bit strange! Didn’t we just see each other in the morning? Why does he seem like he doesn’t recognize me at all?”
After a moment of thought, Huaxie Yu guessed this was probably some sort of tactic from Lu Xianbei, but she didn’t plan to expose it; after all, this was her mission.
“Lu Xianbei” wanted to set a trap for her; didn’t she also want to trap him?
Come on! Let’s see whose strategy is deeper!!
Her best friend wasn’t slow to react either, quickly echoing “Lu Xianbei’s” words, “Then we must share, and we have to make sure to make the most of it.”
“No, you don’t need to.” Huaxie Yu mumbled quietly, keeping her head down.
That demeanor was clearly that of an introverted girl with low social skills, conservative thoughts, who didn’t want to engage too much with frivolous boys, but also felt embarrassed to leave directly due to her best friend’s presence.
And that flustered yet slightly shy expression, in “Lu Xianbei’s” eyes, seemed like a direct target.
Hey, this girl is such an inviting mistake!
Directly ignoring Huaxie Yu’s refusal, “Lu Xianbei” went on excitedly, “Then it’s decided, no objections, right?” Without waiting for Huaxie Yu to respond, he turned and walked toward the cashier.
At the moment “Lu Xianbei” cast his gaze toward Huaxie Yu, she seized the opportunity, gently shaking her best friend’s arm, casting a pleading look.
Acting skills at full capacity!
Scumbags love to prey on such pitiful, slightly goofy girls; Huaxie Yu understood. They were easy to fool.
Noticing Huaxie Yu’s uneasy expression, like a startled fawn, “Lu Xianbei” smiled meaningfully.
Dodge? Can you escape?
Sooner or later, I’ll carve out a breach in your heart to slip in!——
At Huacheng University, at the pedestrian street’s entrance, Lu Xianbei and Jumeng walked side by side.
In the end, Lu Xianbei didn’t go for the k*ll but let “the little red” live. Then, he dragged Jumeng to the pedestrian street.
Lu Xianbei always felt that Jumeng truly helping him find a fate object was real, and her bizarre antics were also real. If he continued to let her take charge, she might end up discovering something even more outrageous than the large koi.
There were people coming and going on this pedestrian street; if he could identify a fate object, at least it should be a person, Lu Xianbei thought. “I thought you were genuinely considering killing your wife to achieve enlightenment!”
Lu Xianbei shot a sideways glance at Jumeng, annoyed. “Can you not say that? Although it was a doomed connection, we’ve parted ways peacefully; it was all amicable.”
Even though it was an unilaterally announced breakup, he wouldn’t return to that little garden again, Lu Xianbei silently added to himself.
Looking at Lu Xianbei’s expression, which seemed to say “I might never love again in this lifetime,” Jumeng held back laughter, patting his shoulder, mouth slightly opening to comfort him.
Just then, a bright red thread suddenly shifted from illusion to reality in her line of sight, vibrating slightly. It was a sign that Lu Xianbei’s fate object was nearby!
Following the trajectory of the red thread from Lu Xianbei’s chest, she looked to the other end.
When she finally found that fate object, Jumeng was momentarily stunned, her eyes widened. “b*stard…”
“Huh?” Lu Xianbei turned to Jumeng, “Don’t tell me it has appeared again?” “Look over there.”
Following the direction Jumeng pointed, Lu Xianbei froze for a moment, frowning, “What the heck? The new fate object is a Phoenix Bicycle?”
Having just undergone the baptism of the large koi, he suddenly felt that a Phoenix Bicycle didn’t seem so hard to accept. “Not there, a bit beside it, in the cold drink shop!”
Hearing this, Lu Xianbei shifted his gaze to the cold drink shop and then witnessed an extraordinary scene.
Through the glass window of the cold drink shop, he saw “himself,” holding a napkin, affectionately helping a girl wipe the milk foam from her mouth.
And that girl he recognized as Yu Jianqiu, whom he had seen just this morning.
