Chase Game

Chapter 30: The Vast Zhang Family

After the matter was discussed openly, the two were no longer so embarrassed.

During the conversation, Ling Yi also discovered that Shen Nianqing was actually one of his loyal readers.

She remembers every article he wrote even more clearly than Ling Yi himself.

Ling Yi never expected that some things he had long since forgotten would still be remembered by someone.

Did I have such great charm before?

He always felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After breakfast, the two walked back together, but parted ways again at the central courtyard.

On her way home, Ling Yi still felt something was off, so she sent Zhang Qiang a message:

[Was there someone named Shen Nianqing in our second year of high school, during our senior year?]

Ling Yi thought, "Such a beautiful woman must be at least a school beauty, right?"

He might not remember that he was acting strangely at the time, but Zhang Qiang definitely knew that he was passionate about this kind of thing.

Zhang Qiang replied to him shortly after.

This guy is also a diligent monster, but his diligence isn't in studying, but in physical training.

[Who is this?]

Zhang Qiang is a scoundrel; he only remembers the faces and figures of beautiful women, never their names.

[The one you asked me to add the green bubbles to before.]

[Oh, I remember now, her name is Shen Nianqing. What, you've taken a liking to her?]

[Get lost, just tell me if you have it or not!]

Ling Yi didn't want to argue with him and steered the conversation back to the main topic.

[Um...no, right?]

[What does "吧" mean? Could you give a more precise answer? Didn't you claim to "remember what every flower looks like"?]

[Damn, bro, it's been three or four years already. Girls change a lot as they grow up, you know?]

[......]

[Alright, that's all for you. Go have fun.]

Zhang Qiang's words also make sense. Perhaps Shen Nianqing is different in high school and now, so it's reasonable that she has no memory of him.

As I was thinking, the elevator arrived.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he immediately spotted a cute girl with a bun hairstyle standing in front of his door.

Who else could it be but Ling Miaomiao?

The girl also saw Ling Yi and said in a tone that didn't match her sweet style:

"What are you standing there for? Open the door!"

"what?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be eight o'clock? Why is it an hour early?"

Lingyi checked the time; it was only a little past seven.

As Ling Miaomiao took off her ankle boots, she said casually:

"I hitched a ride."

Ling Yi sounded the level-three alarm.

"Where did this ride-sharing come from?"

"A friend of mine is going that way."

Level 2 Alert!!

"Male or female?"

Ling Miaomiao glanced at Ling Yi sideways.

"Of course it's a woman."

Okay, that's all, alarm lifted.

Ling Miaomiao put her schoolbag in her room before coming out and sitting on the sofa to look at her phone.

He also said to Ling Yi:

I'm going out tomorrow.

"What a coincidence, I'm going out tomorrow too."

Ling Yi went to the association to acquire the Hunter skill, otherwise he would have no means of attack.

He looked at Ling Miaomiao again, wondering where she was going next.

However, he didn't ask directly, but instead started with what happened yesterday.

"Your two thousand yuan..."

Ling Miaomiao then smiled at Ling Yi and said:

"I'll return it to you tomorrow!"

"So what did you actually use it for?"

"It'll be kept secret for now; we'll tell you once we get it tomorrow!"

Ling Miaomiao looked very pleased with herself.

"By the way, didn't Dad say he's coming back next month?"

"Yes, around the end of October."

"That's good. He hasn't been back for almost two months..."

After Ling's mother passed away, Ling's father was unable to spend much time with his two children due to work commitments.

Ling Yi is alright; he's grown up now.

But at that time, Ling Miaomiao was not even 11 years old. If her grandmother hadn't helped her for two years, she wouldn't have grown into the poised and elegant girl she is today.

Moreover, there is another very important thing happening in November—

The anniversary of my mother's death.

Neither of them said it aloud, but they both knew the answer.

Ling Yi broke the heavy atmosphere first, speaking in a relaxed tone:

"Should I have my brother cook lunch himself, or should we eat out?"

Ling Miaomiao lay on the sofa, her eyes tightly closed, pondering with difficulty, and finally decided:

"Let's just eat at home. I'm too lazy to go out again."

She went straight to the sofa when she got home and didn't want to move at all.

Ling Yi readily agreed, but she still needed to go out to buy groceries.

Yesterday, he was still feeling a sense of disconnect between the game world and the real world.

But now, he seems to have found a temporary solution.

That's "dissociative identity disorder," though he didn't actually suffer from this mental illness.

It is a metaphor.

When he interacts with family, friends, and strangers, he is the "ordinary Ling Yi" personality, without considering the world of the escape game.

Conversely, when interacting with members of the association, encountering players, or entering the game, he switches to the personality of "Player Lingyi".

But he also knew that this method was merely a stopgap measure.

The chase game has become an integral part of his real world and his life, inseparable from it.

Ling Yi went out again, but Shen Nianqing on the other side did not enter any residential building.

She left the residential compound and walked in the opposite direction from the bustling crowds and streets.

Two kittens followed her.

It was sesame balls and tricolor dumplings.

The tricolor dumpling still asked in a girl's voice:

"My lady, did he not agree?"

Shen Nianqing shook her head:

"I was asleep for three years, and my memories have only gradually returned during this time. I was too reckless to think that everyone was still the same as before."

Ma Tuan also spoke in a boy's voice:

"Why go through all that trouble? Just take his 'literary aura'... Meow!"

Three-colored dumpling punched the sesame ball on the forehead with a meow-like fist.

He cursed in an annoyed tone:

"Are you a fool from the Martial Court? Don't you even use your brain to think about whether the 'literary energy' you forcibly obtained will be of any use to the young master?"

Shen Nianqing also stopped, smiled gently, and said:

"I was almost successful in high school, but unfortunately I fell into a deep sleep."

Three years have passed, and many people and things have changed. It's hard to say whether the senior's "refined air" is still there.

Ma Tuan curled up on the ground, holding her head, and said:

"All right……"

The tricolor dumpling moved to Shen Nianqing's feet and tilted its head back.

"The longer the master sleeps, the more 'literary energy' he needs."

Shen Nianqing squatted down, picked up the tricolor dumpling, and smiled:

"Thank goodness you guys helped me find it, thank you Xiao Cai."

Ma Tuan looked at the tricolor dumplings being held in someone's arms, and he wasn't envious at all.

I'm not envious at all.

Suddenly, a large hand covered his head and gently spun him around twice.