Chapter Twenty: Not the Script I Wrote

“Is it beautiful?” The layers of rain veiled and washed away all filth, hiding it from sight, leaving only an impenetrable whiteness. Perhaps, for those struggling to survive in this apocalyptic world, it was a rare scene of beauty.

Lin Qisheng said, “Can’t you just keep me company and watch the rain?”

The rain was coming down hard. Xu Nuo replied, “I’m not really in the mood to watch the rain.”

“What a shame,” Lin Qisheng’s eyes showed a hint of regret.

Xu Nuo said, “With rain like this, don’t forget to bring in the laundry and bedding.”

“Are you going out?” Lin Qisheng noticed she was headed toward the main gate.

“There’s some dried meat outside; I need to collect it.”

Her voice faded into the curtain of rain.

Lin Qisheng smiled, braced himself on the windowsill with one hand, and jumped out. As expected, she was nowhere in the courtyard. “At least come up with an excuse that’s not so easy to see through.”

“Where are you running off to in such heavy rain?” Lin Qisheng called out.

Naturally, there was no reply.

Only from indoors did the lamplight make the rain appear as a white haze; outside, in the darkness, nothing could be seen.

Lin Qisheng snapped his fingers, stepping into the rain with a flame at his fingertip that refused to be extinguished.

.

Somewhere in the darkness.

A beam of light pierced through, illuminating a hundred meters around.

Xu Nuo held a flashlight in her left hand, an umbrella in her right, making her way across the muddy ruins.

“Little Seven, can you at least give me a hint about where Gu Xingze is heading?”

007 sounded troubled. [I can’t. That would be a spoiler.]

Xu Nuo protested, “But with the night so dark and the rain so heavy, how am I supposed to find him? He wouldn’t just leave me behind, would he?”

[You’ve got over fifty percent affection. He won’t leave you so easily. It’s just that today is a special day for him, and the memories…] Halfway through, 007 abruptly fell silent.

“Oh? What kind of day?” Xu Nuo asked.

007 clamped its mouth shut, refusing to reveal another word.

“I remember Lin Qisheng also said today was special. Could it be related to him?” As Xu Nuo spoke, she took out a family photo.

The photo clearly depicted the three of them.

007 was baffled. What on earth?

It stared hard: “Mother” was Xu Nuo, “Father” was Gu Xingze, “Child” was Lin Qisheng. Was there something wrong with its sensors?

Xu Nuo tried to use the family photo’s buff, but was notified that the distance was too great to take effect. The precise distances and locations of the three were marked.

007 was dumbfounded. Was this really how the family photo could be used?

Gu Xingze’s position hadn’t changed, and coincidentally, Lin Qisheng was heading straight toward him. Judging by speed and distance, Lin Qisheng would reach him first.

“Ah, I have a bad feeling about this.” Xu Nuo put away the photo with a helpless sigh. “Little Seven, what happens if I just leave it alone?”

[You can’t. This is a critical part of the plot, an unavoidable step in your quest to win over Gu Xingze. If you don’t intervene, given Lin Qisheng’s temperament—] 007 suddenly realized, [Host, are you trying to trick more spoilers out of me?]

Xu Nuo feigned innocence. “You’re the one who mentioned it.”

007 sounded aggrieved. [Host, you’re really too devious.]

“Don’t act cute,” Xu Nuo replied.

[Am not!] 007 retorted.

The scrolling comments teased: [Stop flirting, you two. The harem’s on fire—Empress Xu, aren’t you going to put it out?]

Xu Nuo mused, “Rushing out on a rainy night to save the original partner from the clutches of a vicious little lover—how does this not sound like the script for a delicate heroine like me?”