Chapter 118
—”I want you to replace him.”
A hint of hidden gravity entered Lin Jiao’s usually light voice. She ignored Yang Caisi’s suddenly darkened face, instead straightening her back slightly, her body unconsciously leaning forward as she repeated herself.
“Replace Qiao Ke’s position and become a new NPC.”
Before she could finish, Yang Caisi had already shot to her feet. Her usually placid eyes were now fixed on Lin Jiao, her movements so large she nearly knocked over the teacup. “No!”
NPCs seemed to have a lot of authority in the game, but they were constantly constrained.
She knew better than anyone what kind of life this was. How could she be willing to let Jiang Liu walk down her old path again?
Sensing the slight tremor from the person beside her, Jiang Liu subconsciously took Yang Caisi’s hand. The warmth briefly brought the latter back to her senses. Yang Caisi took a deep breath and sat back down with a grim expression.
Jiang Liu’s hand was silently patting the back of hers. The comforting gesture was heavy with meaning, and although she didn’t speak, it still managed to calm Yang Caisi’s impulsive feelings.
Their actions weren’t secretive, more like a natural intimacy, and they were caught right in the view of Lin Jiao opposite them.
She sized up their clasped hands, her lips curving into an unreadable smile. “She’s known for being difficult to handle in The System. It’s true that every creature has its vanquisher.”
Before Jiang Liu could answer, she picked up her coffee, displaying her arrogance to the fullest, making it clear she didn’t take Yang Caisi’s anger seriously.
Her gaze moved up, slowly landing on Jiang Liu’s face. Noticing the tension beneath her seemingly relaxed posture, she actually laughed.
“There’s no need to be so defensive with me. I’ve never treated you as a Defective Product.”
That one sentence stunned Jiang Liu for a moment. In a flash, she understood Lin Jiao’s underlying meaning.
She didn’t reply immediately, instead idly playing with Yang Caisi’s fingertips, her thoughts racing.
From their first meeting, Lin Jiao had shown her goodwill and used this instance to express her dissatisfaction with Qiao Ke.
Jiang Liu had thought it was because the two had a disagreement over the special experiment, but now it seemed… Lin Jiao was trying to convey something else.
Talking to a smart person was always convenient. Seeing Jiang Liu look up, Lin Jiao knew she had figured out the key point, and the smile on her lips widened.
“In my opinion, among the hundred experimental subjects, only you were successful enough. You have both the skills and talent, and you can resist temptation. Why not stay in The System?”
She admired Jiang Liu very much. As long as the two of them joined forces, they could definitely make The System run better.
After listening for a while, Yang Caisi suddenly let out a cold snort and glanced at Lin Jiao. “My sister won’t agree.”
Lin Jiao shrugged. “Young lady, don’t speak in such absolutes. You’re not her, so of course you don’t know what she’s been through.”
There was no fixed time in the game. Yang Caisi’s fifty years were nothing. Only Jiang Liu knew in her heart how she had spent the hundred years after leaving the game.
Rather than being an anomaly in reality, wouldn’t it be better to stay in this world she was more familiar with? Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?
More importantly—
“Replace Qiao Ke, and you can change the time Miss Yang has to stay here. I have no intention of splitting you up. If you two stay and help me, I’ll only be happier.”
Lin Jiao’s tone shifted, her gaze repeatedly sizing up the two of them, quietly awaiting Jiang Liu’s answer.
The room fell into a sudden silence, the atmosphere abruptly turning heavy. Yang Caisi’s throat moved unconsciously as she glanced at Jiang Liu beside her.
Will my sister agree?
Yang Caisi wasn’t sure. In this environment, she didn’t dare to ask, and could only look at Jiang Liu quietly.
Her hands and feet grew cold, a bellyful of objections left unspoken. Mixed with the lingering taste of coffee in her mouth, it created a bitterness that soured her heart.
But Lin Jiao was right; she couldn’t make the decision for Jiang Liu.
Perhaps long ago, when she was growing up day by day while her sister didn’t change at all, Yang Caisi already understood that she couldn’t keep this person.
Before her thoughts could finish, she suddenly heard the person beside her speak calmly, “And if I refuse?”
Although it was a question, it held no intention of waiting for an answer. Jiang Liu pulled Yang Caisi to her feet, her reply serious. “I just want to go out with her.”
Lin Jiao was right, she had indeed experienced too many strange looks in reality, but that was all before she met Yang Caisi.
She now had her closest loved one by her side, so she could naturally face the rumors without fear and start a new life.
She shook their clasped hands and gave Lin Jiao an apologetic smile. “So, I’m sorry, we’ll be leaving first.”
—
Yang Caisi was still in a daze even after being pulled out of the coffee shop by Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu found it amusing and tapped her on the head. “What are you still standing there dazed for? Aren’t you tired after just coming out of an instance?”
Yang Caisi winced in pain and looked at her hesitantly. Her expression was just like her awkward self when she was young, which immediately brought back memories for Jiang Liu.
She had raised her. How could she not know what this girl was thinking?
Jiang Liu sighed softly and pulled her into an embrace, ruffling her hair. “When will you ever think for yourself?”
Even if Yang Caisi didn’t say it, in her heart, she still stubbornly believed that wishing for her resurrection was her own one-sided desire. No matter how much the longing spread through her heart, she was still willing to respect any decision Jiang Liu made.
Jiang Liu was sure that if she said she was willing to stay, Xiao Si, though displeased, wouldn’t show it too obviously and would willingly stay here with her.
This child was always like this. Clearly, she could be bold to the point of being audacious at times, yet when facing her, she would be so restrained, as if afraid of scaring her away.
She couldn’t help but wonder if her parenting style had gone wrong, to have raised a good girl with such a polarized personality.
With a myriad of thoughts in her mind, Jiang Liu closed her eyes gently, her tone solemn and sincere. “Xiao Si, I want you to be happy too.”
Their experiences had been dramatic enough. Now, all that was left was the final step—to bare their hearts.
The familiar and calming scent filled the air around her. Yang Caisi took a deep breath, and the little bit of emotion in her heart vanished, leaving only a light, floating happiness that enveloped her.
“I…”
The word burst out, her voice unusually hoarse. Yang Caisi looked up from her embrace, meeting those eyes that hadn’t changed in her memory, and her voice gradually became smoother.
“I want to go home with you.”
“Okay.” Jiang Liu’s fingers lightly twirled her hair. “We’ll go home together.”
Their gazes met, and Yang Caisi could almost hear the thunderous beating of her heart. She stared at those red lips, about to lean in, but who would have thought…
“Sister Yang! When did you guys get out?”
Zhao Ziming popped out from somewhere, reaching them in three large strides, with Xu Meng and the others in tow.
Yang Caisi was speechless.
The moment she saw Zhao Ziming, her slightly flushed eyes had cleared. She took a step back, took Jiang Liu’s hand, and her expression returned to normal.
Zhao Ziming didn’t notice anything unusual, just inexplicably hunched his shoulders, thinking to himself that it must be autumn already, why was it suddenly a bit cold.
Seeing her change of expression, Jiang Liu found it amusing. She scratched her soft palm and turned to the group. “Why are you all out?”
Tang Ruo shrugged, her tone exceptionally calm. “We were kicked out.”
Kicked out?
Hearing this word, Jiang Liu and Yang Caisi exchanged a look, both puzzled.
However, before they could ask, Zhao Ziming had already rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Who knows what’s wrong with them. They said the boss was in a bad mood and told us to settle the bill and leave quickly.”
Just thinking about it made him feel the pinch. The things in the coffee shop weren’t cheap. If it weren’t for the points he had earned following Jiang Liu in the last two rounds, he probably wouldn’t have even been able to get out the door.
Jiang Liu chuckled at his words and said casually, “I’ll reimburse you for the points later.”
Zhao Ziming was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and laughed it off. “We’re all friends here, it’s not a big deal.”
The group had come to the coffee shop right after leaving the instance. It was a lie to say they weren’t tired now. Since everyone was fine, they immediately headed back to the hotel under Yang Caisi’s lead.
On the way, Jiang Liu noticed Tang Ruo frequently looking at her and slowed her pace. “Want to talk?”
She also happened to have some questions for Tang Ruo.
The two siblings had first gone to find Lin Jiao, then disappeared and hid in the instance with her. There must be some connection.
Tang Ruo clearly thought so too. Seeing Jiang Liu approach her, she got straight to the point. “Did you refuse her?”
Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow in surprise and subconsciously sized up Tang Ruo. “You know everything?”
“I only heard a little.”
Tang Ruo gave a bitter smile, the conversation with the supervisor a few days ago gradually appearing in her mind.
Jiang Liu didn’t interrupt her thoughts, just waited quietly by her side.
A moment later, Tang Ruo seemed to have emerged from her memories. “Xiao Meng entered the game before me. You know that.”
Jiang Liu nodded.
She had long noticed that the two siblings, like Jiang He, had inconsistent stories about the order they entered the instance, but she never had any leads.
Now that Tang Ruo brought it up, her eyes flickered, and she quietly waited for what was to come.
“The supervisor said they are the bait.”
Tang Ruo’s voice was a little cold, her gaze falling on Xu Meng at the elevator entrance not far away, her tone complex.
Jiang Liu was taken aback, her steps even pausing for a moment as she mulled over the meaning of this sentence.
So Tang Ruo and her brother were the fish? And they were the ones The System wanted to recruit?
Just as she was thinking, Tang Ruo’s next sentence came—
“The System needs results, so Qiao Ke came up with this method: on one hand, cast a large amount of bait, and on the other, lure the fish to jump in.”
Tang Ruo pursed her lips, clearly repulsed by this explanation, her brow furrowed from beginning to end. “But Sister Lin doesn’t agree with his methods and hopes to win you over to expel Qiao Ke.”
Her expression was very complex. As an ordinary player who had suddenly learned such a secret, Tang Ruo’s heart could not find peace.
It was like the calm before a storm; something was bound to happen next.
Tang Ruo didn’t understand why Lin Jiao had told her all this. Though puzzled, she still managed to calmly remind Jiang Liu, “I don’t know why she chose you, nor do I understand what happened to you all, but you must be careful from now on.”
Jiang Liu could feel her goodwill and couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “Thanks for the reminder, I understand.”
Seeing Jiang Liu’s relaxed demeanor, Tang Ruo wanted to say more, but after meeting her gaze, she inexplicably calmed down and swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
“Get some good rest. We can talk about whatever it is tomorrow.”
Jiang Liu patted her shoulder and glanced towards the elevator, where Yang Caisi was already waiting inside.
Their gazes met, warming Jiang Liu’s heart. No matter what happened next, they could face it calmly.
She casually turned her ring a couple of times and strode towards Xiao Si.