Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 578 Li Miaosheng

……

Dadu, Lumière Street.

Here stands a pure white lighthouse. Normally, a pure white lighthouse wouldn't stand in a gray neighborhood, but this lighthouse holds extraordinary significance. It's known as the "First Tower," the first pure white lighthouse to be successfully lit. It was the prototype and the initial model for all lighthouses.

Today, the lighthouse no longer lights up easily, and its interior has been largely renovated, becoming a landmark building and activity venue for the Pure White Society and the Pure White Lighthouse.

Below it is the Lumière campus of the Pure White Society, which is the largest campus of the Society outside of the Leonardo School District headquarters.

Meanwhile, in a corner of this courtyard, a stunningly beautiful woman in a white floral dress sat on a branch of a large tree, munching on a juicy peach.

One leg is bent up on a tree branch to support the hand, while the other leg hangs down naturally and swings gently. The beautiful, well-proportioned figure is clearly visible, extending all the way to the bare toes.

The gate to the courtyard was pushed open, and a gray-haired man in a black coat walked into the courtyard. He looked up slightly and saw her sitting in the tree, his face expressionless.

The woman smiled and turned to look at him, saying, "Would you like some peaches? Although they're not in season, they're still quite nice."

“I don’t eat raw food,” the man said somewhat stiffly.

"Can fruit be called raw food?"

"All living things are alive."

"This distinction is interesting." The woman's smile faded slightly, and she looked at the gloomy sky with boredom again, casually tossing the peach pit she had finished eating under the tree.

“Fan Zhonghong has run away. The people who were tailing him couldn’t keep an eye on him at all. Before this, there was absolutely no detailed information about him. Li Miaosheng, do you know where he might have gone?”

"Oh~." Li Miaosheng smiled knowingly. "How would I know where he's going? Brother, use your brain instead of always asking me."

"Tsk." The man made no attempt to hide his displeasure. "Did you give him some help?"

"Huh? Why do you think that?" Li Miaosheng opened his mouth and stared wide-eyed, his handsome features displaying an exaggerated expression of surprise: "You don't really think Ah Hong needs my help, do you?"

The man frowned: "Aside from learning rituals from Xu Wenli, he has no outstanding resume or anything remarkable about him. How could he have disappeared right under our noses without your help?"

“I’ve said it many times, Li Bu Si.” Li Miaosheng smiled sweetly. “He’s stronger than me, much stronger than me. If you’re really so curious, why don’t you go ask Xu Wenli and see what he has to say?”

“He’s preparing for your wedding, and it’s not convenient for outsiders to disturb him,” Li Busi said.

"Anyway, I told you before, but you didn't believe me." Li Miaosheng waved his hand. "Don't bother me anymore. Have someone bring me some more fruit when you go out."

Seeing that he probably wouldn't get any more information, Li Busi was speechless for a moment.

"It's all for the family." After a long pause, he finally managed to say it.

"Heh," Li Miaosheng chuckled emotionlessly, "Do you even believe what you're saying to yourself?"

“You’ve had a carefree life for the past twenty years, while I’ve never enjoyed what you’ve enjoyed.” Li Busi looked at the peach pit that Li Miaosheng had just thrown on the ground.

"Living things die easily and then rot."

After saying that, he didn't linger.

Li Miaosheng glanced sideways at his older brother, whom he had never met since childhood, but whose first words upon meeting him not long ago were, "Your family has arranged your marriage."

The upright figure disappeared behind the door, and Li Miaosheng withdrew his gaze, waiting quietly.

……

"In any case, I don't want Miaosheng to marry someone whose true nature is unknown for such a strange reason."

This is Fan Zhonghong's answer to Lin Yilin's question.

Hong Yijia and Lin Yilin both had strange expressions after hearing this, which made Fan Zhonghong also feel confused, wondering what he had said wrong.

Lin Yilin simply replied, "I understand."

After that, he went back to his desk and started drafting the commission, while Hong Yijia gossiped about what Fan Zhonghong and Li Miaosheng would do after graduation.

Fan Zhonghong answered casually.

A moment later, Lin Yilin stood up and asked, "Do you know where Miaosheng is now?" "I don't know. The last time we saw him was in the Leonardo School District. But I don't think he'll go to a very remote place. The Pure White Society prefers to operate within its own sphere of influence," Fan Zhonghong said.

"That's between the Leonardo School District and Lumière Street. Members of the Society cannot enter the Central District without permission, and the Central District does not allow the Society to conduct any research or experiments."

"What about ordinary people?" Zheng countered.

"Just register when you enter or leave."

"So you've learned that dogs are not allowed, right?"

"It's not that bad," Lin Yilin said. "Nobody takes care of dogs."

She then said to Hong Yijia, "I need to check with the Bureau before taking any official action on this matter. After all, we might have to directly confront the Pure White Society, so I should give them a heads-up. It would be even better if we could come up with a legitimate reason. I wonder how far along the internal investigation into the Society has progressed."

“Yes.” Hong Yijia agreed with Lin Yilin’s statement.

Despite being criticized for so long, the Pure White Society is still a high-level and orthodox official organization in the capital. Even in the current tense situation, it is not something that just anyone can interfere with at will.

The two planned to go to the Bureau of Investigation and Dispute Resolution, and also to spread the news about the conspiracy in the underworld that they had just discussed through Hong Yijia's channels.

There are many things to do, let's take it one step at a time.

Zheng Fan did not go with Lin Yilin, but chose to stay and accompany Fan Zhonghong.

Fan Zhonghong still didn't wipe his body with a towel, but after sitting for half a day, he was almost dry. Only then did he pick up his slightly cold coffee and take a sip.

"It's so bitter!" Fan Zhonghong immediately put on a mask of pain.

“That’s exactly what’s bitter about it. My childhood sweetheart is going to run off with someone else. How can I not be bitter?” Zheng Fan said with a grin.

Coffee machines don't make mistakes; the ones who make mistakes are the people who make them produce painful coffee.

Upon hearing this, Fan Zhonghong did not put down his cup, but instead took a large gulp.

"I can tell you've been suffering, brother."

Fan Zhonghong downed his coffee in one gulp and exhaled, as if to vent his frustration.

He looked at Zheng Fan, or rather, at a dark silhouette in his eyes, somewhat uncertainly: "Are you... Lin Yilin's hallucination?"

"Hmm, whose else could it be? The noisy old woman?"

“Noisy woman, pfft, Hong Yijia is indeed always noisy.” Fan Zhonghong couldn’t help but chuckle, then sighed, “Your relationship with Lin Yilin… is very different.”

"You can tell?" Zheng Fan had been drinking his coffee for a long time and still hadn't finished it.

“Hmm.” Fan Zhonghong nodded. “Lin Yilin often spent time with Luo Ye during college. The tacit understanding between them made us think that they probably wouldn’t find a better partner than each other. But when Lin Yilin is with you, it’s not quite the same as when she’s with Luo Ye.”

“As a partner, I’m much better than that redhead,” Zheng retorted.

"Red Hair..."

Fan Zhonghong felt embarrassed. Had this old man ever met Luo Ye before? Well, it was Lin Yilin's illusion after all, so Luo Ye couldn't possibly ignore it.

He continued, "There's a true sense of reliance between you two, something like that. While that analogy isn't entirely accurate, her trust in you is even greater than her trust in Luo Ye. She sees Luo Ye as someone to learn from, but with you… um…"

At this point, he seemed somewhat conflicted about whether to be so explicit.

"Dependence." Zheng Fan said bluntly.

Fan Zhonghong was somewhat surprised: "It seems that you understand each other quite well."

"And what about you? Everyone around you thought you'd get married after graduation, so why aren't you married yet?" Zheng asked rhetorically. "It can't be that you're afraid of marriage or having children, right? The most common version of the story isn't that extreme."

Upon hearing this, Fan Zhonghong looked at the cup where he had already finished his coffee, with only coffee residue remaining at the bottom.

“It’s just my own affectation,” he said.

“I have met another ‘Li Miaosheng’.”

(End of this chapter)