Chapter 238: Bai Yu’s Heart Knot, Li Tianan’s Disappearance
Lying in the bath, Bai Yu gazed quietly at Zhao Mingyue, this girl who seemed so “open.” Her heart wasn’t as tight and helpless as before; even staring at her body didn’t make her blush or feel her heart race.
But the problem was, the look in this girl’s eyes gave her a bad premonition.
Zhao Mingyue only had that expression when she was cooking up some mischief, and her earlier words clearly had some hidden meaning.
Whatever, let’s not worry about what she’s thinking right now. It’s good that she wants to get stronger; her intentions don’t matter as long as she’s getting stronger—Bai Yu is all in to support her.
Though, it was quite possible Zhao Mingyue might try to pull some shady moves on her once she got stronger.
But that wasn’t going to stop Bai Yu from letting Zhao Mingyue develop further; she never let minor hiccups get in her way.
The bathroom fell into silence.
Bai Yu forced herself to shake off everything that had happened tonight and focus on the information An Que had shared.
To be honest, An Que’s words didn’t give much useful information; a lot of it was stuff she already knew.
Regardless, they had to pay attention to the Ghost Gate. If nothing unexpected happened, it was the biggest secret of this world. Once they figured out what was behind the Ghost Gate, maybe they could get out of this world. At that point, both the successful and the unsuccessful would face their fates—either leaving this world or dying in it.
She had basically completed her task, and her relationship with Zhao Mingyue had reached new levels of depth.
Thinking about that, Bai Yu didn’t even want to ponder over the Ghost Gate and the Evil God for now. She leaned back against the edge of the bath, a towel propped behind her.
This world wasn’t as simple as it seemed, nor as tough as she had imagined.
The sc*m Game claimed this was just a campus romance comic world, but now it was clear that was total nonsense—very in line with the game’s style.
The hard part was trying to win over Lu Liangting, especially now since they’d all taken on new identities and lost their original powers. In this world, they weren’t at the bottom, but they sure weren’t at the peak of their powers either.
So the situation now was that their task had already arrived at the Ghost Gate. If they continued to investigate and gained enough power to deal with whatever was lurking behind it, the world would end.
Now the question was, should Bai Yu… go out, or stay in this world?
Bai Yu furrowed her brows, unaware that her expression had grown serious.
Whether to stay or to go, truth be told, she… didn’t really want to leave this world.
Unlike all the other worlds she’d been in before, whether it was Evil Ghosts or Evil Gods, this world could genuinely be described as “beautiful.”
At least from her perspective, this world was beautiful.
The high-tension life she had led before entering this world had suddenly loosened, leaving her unsure where to direct her energy.
Even when she was alone in her room at night, she had felt a sense of confusion.
‘No, wait, can we really get out if we stay in this world…’
‘The main task doesn’t have a deadline, which means as long as no one wins over Lu Liangting, the task will keep going until they all d*e.’
‘And besides, is there a specific measure for affection? How much is considered a lot, and how much is too little?’
‘Getting Lu Liangting to genuinely fall in love with them—what does that even mean? Does familial love count? Does satisfying the desires that arise from doing… those things count? What about developing feelings over time and eventually marrying—is that love too?’
‘If it’s just about winning over Lu Liangting, why is there even a redemption task?’
‘Redemption tasks are personal; as a redemption executor, when it’s her turn, who will come to save her?’
Bai Yu’s thoughts were in disarray, a feeling she had never experienced before.
When she first entered this world and for a long time afterward, she had always believed her goal was clear—confusion was just occasional, and a thought would vanish as soon as it appeared.
She had always thought that her ability to survive this long was largely due to her belief and goals.
But if she was that steadfast, why on earth were these thoughts surfacing now?
Had she changed?
If she hadn’t changed at all, then why had she so casually used the Twin Souls?
Twin Souls, the bond of connection—was that something one could just toss around?
Why hadn’t she considered the future at all back then? She was just thinking that Twin Souls were a good thing, deepening the bond with Mingyue, so that she could rush to her side at the first sign of danger. Such a good thing—use it quickly! No thought at all about what would happen once the bond deepened and the task was completed.
Slowly, her thoughts drifted further and further away, especially when she considered the Twin Souls. Bai Yu’s mind buzzed, and she recalled many things, extracting and pondering over her past memories, questioning again and again: had she really changed?
Just when her thoughts fell into chaos, she suddenly felt a hand clasping hers. Bai Yu’s jumbled thoughts were interrupted; she turned sharply to see Zhao Mingyue sitting beside her without her noticing.
“Bai Yu,” Zhao Mingyue said gently, reaching out to pat her head. “What’s wrong? If you have something to say, I can share some of the pressure with you. I mean, I’m not exactly weak anymore, right?”
Bai Yu simply stared into Zhao Mingyue’s eyes, lost in silence.
Zhao Mingyue looked startled; she even wondered if she had accidentally hurt Bai Yu while they were in bed earlier, hence this sudden reaction.
“Right,” Bai Yu finally turned her head, gripping Zhao Mingyue’s hand. “Nothing’s wrong; I just wanted some answers to a few questions.”
“Did you think of anything?”
“Yeah.”
She probably had some answers now.
Change was real, but she didn’t feel this change was a bad thing.
At that moment, she was stuck in a mental loop.
Once she stepped out of this pit, she would quickly find the answers.
Her redemption task might have started the moment she entered this world. It was just still in progress, and remarkably, it was succeeding to the point where she felt she had already changed without realizing it.
Looking at the ceiling, Zhao Mingyue didn’t notice the slight upward curve of Bai Yu’s lips—a faint smile.
Sitting beside her, Zhao Mingyue was confused, grasping Bai Yu’s hand, making sure she felt her presence.
What she didn’t know was that Bai Yu had just been in a terrifying state of mind, triggered by the Twin Souls.
That was the fuse, and what exploded was everything she had bottled up since entering this world.
If she hadn’t managed to climb out tonight, who knows how long it would take to resolve this issue?
This was a mental knot. If it didn’t get figured out, it would never untie itself. It might take days, months, or even years to suddenly find clarity one night.
Even the strongest of hearts could face this.
Choosing was hard, especially when every option carried a significant price—no one was so powerful that they could decide without feeling a thing.
“Mingyue,” Bai Yu suddenly spoke.
“What’s up?”
“We can go out now; let’s get some rest tonight.”
“Mm-hmm, alright! I’ll go change and have someone come replace the sheets.”
Zhao Mingyue got up and walked to the bathroom door. Before leaving, she turned back to take one last look at Bai Yu, feeling like Bai Yu had suddenly leveled up but also seemed unchanged—still her usual cold self, barely managing a smile.
“Must be I’m just too tired,” she thought.
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That whole night, Zhao Mingyue couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the events of the evening spent with Bai Yu in that bed would replay in her mind, making her face feel hot all over.
She thought surely Bai Yu would also be tossing and turning unable to sleep; little did she know Bai Yu was sleeping deeply for the first time, seeming entirely unguarded.
Zhao Mingyue wanted to do something, but all she ended up doing was poking Bai Yu’s cheek.
As she put it:
“Having a loli right here, I can eat her up anytime! No worries tonight!”
The next morning, after having breakfast with Lu Liangting at the hotel, they set off.
During the ride, Zhao Mingyue was all cozy with Bai Yu, completely oblivious to Lu Liangting’s curious glances.
It wasn’t that Lu Liangting thought these two girls were this close and it was a waste of energy; he was more fixated on one question.
What kind of legal trouble would Zhao Mingyue face for doing this to Bai Yu?
First of all, Bai Yu was now in a body, a loli body at that. If someone did something to her and managed not to get killed, they’d certainly end up in jail. But then again, this loli body was inhabited by a ghost, and earthly laws didn’t protect ghosts. Moreover, Zhao Mingyue, the one “doing bad things,” was also a girl.
So would a girl doing things to another girl, with one being a loli, lead to any legal repercussions?
Forget it, better not ponder that.
Looking at the rearview mirror, he saw two girls sitting close together, whispering. Most of the time, it was Zhao Mingyue chattering away while Bai Yu maintained her usual cool demeanor, occasionally nodding in response.
Whether this was just Lu Liangting’s illusion, he couldn’t say.
But he kept feeling this pair looked quite “lovey-dovey.”
The car drove back to Tianchang City, not heading home but straight to a convenience store.
Zhao Mingyue jumped out of the car excitedly, only to realize the store was empty, with stuff scattered all over as if it had just survived a battle.
“The Store Manager didn’t… get into trouble, did he?”
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So sorry, everyone! Only one chapter today.
To be honest, I’ve been working a lot last month and haven’t had time to take my little brothers and sisters out to play. Since it’s the start of the month and a Saturday, I took them out for the day.
The reason I didn’t ask for a leave is that these two chapters were owed to you all, and I’ll make up for them later!
Also, could I ask for some support votes since it’s the start of the month? I’ll do a handstand for you all!
Sniff sniff, feel free to mercilessly shame me with monthly tickets!
