Zhou Xiao hadn’t expected Bai Luo to explode suddenly. He staggered back two steps, his smile vanishing, and said grimly, “What’s the matter? Do you want to hit me?”
“I said I would hit people!” Bai Luo panted, his voice hoarse.
Zhou Xiao sneered and continued to approach, “Come on, keep going.”
Bai Luo shouted again and shoved with all his might—this time, Zhou Xiao didn’t move an inch, continuing to advance.
Bai Luo was stunned, his face losing color, and he retreated in terror.
The commotion they made was loud, but the corridor remained eerily quiet, as if no one was awakened, everyone still deep in sleep.
Zhou Xiao taunted, “Come on, think you can really hit me?”
Bai Luo gritted his teeth, tried to push again and again, but Zhou Xiao remained steadfast!
Bai Luo attempted to punch, but Zhou Xiao grabbed his hand—despite Zhou Xiao’s long period of inactivity and poor physical condition in the orphanage’s dark corners, their physical build and strength were still too different!
But a person’s potential can be explosive—seeing that Zhou Xiao was about to drag him to the bed, Bai Luo realized that if he couldn’t escape now, his whole life would be ruined. This thought struck him like a thunderbolt!
In the next moment, he swung a lamp from the back at an angle, yanked it with force, and pulled the power cord out of the socket. Bai Luo then roared in anger, swinging the lamp at Zhou Xiao’s head with all his might!
With a loud clang, Zhou Xiao was struck unawares: “Aah—”
He hurriedly let go, staggering back two steps, but Bai Luo had completely lost it. He chased after Zhou Xiao, screaming and repeatedly hitting him on the head with the lamp!
“Damn, stop hitting, stop it, damn it!” Zhou Xiao, battered, fled the room clutching his head, only to be violently slammed from behind by Bai Luo. He screamed and fell to the ground, and before he could recover, Bai Luo kicked him in the groin—
The heavy kick made him feel like he had lost half his life and sent him tumbling down the stairs!
The horrifying sounds in the middle of the night woke everyone up. One by one, they anxiously opened their doors and screamed when they saw Zhou Xiao lying at the bottom of the stairs with blood pouring from his head.
Soon, the director rushed in wearing pajamas. Seeing Zhou Xiao clutching his pants and nearly unconscious, her face went pale. She frantically dialed emergency services while looking up.
Bai Luo, panting, stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at them, still clutching the lamp.
—
The director screamed, “Bai Luo! What have you done! What did you do to Zhou Xiao!”
Despite it being summer, Bai Luo was trembling, “Who—who told you not to take care of your son?! Your son got what he deserved! Letting you make a scene in the orphanage!”
The director was stunned.
Bai Luo had always been obedient before, even trying to please her, but now not only had he attacked Zhou Xiao, but he also dared to speak to her like this?
The director, enraged, said, “You—you’re going to prison. I’ll make sure you go to prison, and you’ll never get out!”
Just as she was losing her temper, the guard nervously brought in two state officials in black uniforms.
The two imposing state officials assessed the scene, flashed their credentials, and said calmly, “Sorry for the disturbance at this hour, but the situation is urgent. Please come with us.”
The director, mid-sentence, suddenly froze, trembling with a bad premonition.
She swallowed hard, nervously asking, “What’s going on? Why do I need to go with you?”
“Zhou Yuan… No, your real name is Zhou Yue, right?”
The official raised an eyebrow, “Your identity information was altered by the head of the local Omega Rights Association, Lu Lan. You and your son originally lived in Q City. During his schooling, your son bullied classmates, and during one such incident, a fire broke out, injuring several students and disfiguring your son. After that, you moved to B City, where you worked as a maid in a household, but your son sexually harassed the daughter of that household, leading to your dismissal. You then escaped to M City, where you encountered Lu Lan…”
As the official spoke, the surrounding Omegas looked increasingly shocked.
The director’s expression shattered. Even Zhou Xiao, who was curled up on the floor, was too terrified to even shiver.
The official continued, “I don’t need to say more, do I? Please come with us—both of you.”
With that, he took one last look around the orphanage and shook his head.
—
The night was chaotic.
Not long after Madam Lu and the bureau affair’s head were taken away, the orphanage director and Bai Luo were brought in—Zhou Xiao had already been sent to the hospital; it was suspected that his groin had been severely injured.
Xu Yin gathered that the orphanage director and Zhou Xiao had traveled through several cities, with Zhou Xiao continuously getting into trouble and the director constantly fleeing with him.
Being able to alter identity information and become the head of an Omega orphanage in this small town was all thanks to Mrs. Lu—apparently, the director had saved Mrs. Lu’s life by chance during an accident, and they formed a connection.
Now that Mrs. Lu was facing a lengthy prison term herself, the director, who had also committed many dirty deeds including altering identities, was no exception.
She probably knew her fate, as her legs were completely weak when brought in, needing the officials’ support.
As for Bai Luo.
He followed along in a daze.
As Xu Yin passed him, he muttered a vague “Sorry.”
Xu Yin glanced at him, then turned and walked out of the Regional Affairs Bureau with Qi Yuanchu.
—
They first took Ye Xing back home, and then returned to the Qi family’s old residence.
It was already 2 AM; the sky was pitch black, and everything was silent.
The old residence was quiet, and it seemed that Qi’s mother was completely unaware of the events that had unfolded that night.
Xu Yin and Qi Yuanchu, holding hands, quietly approached their bedroom door.
And then they stopped.
Xu Yin noticed Qi Yuanchu’s brow was still furrowed and shook his hand, saying, “Everything has been resolved. What are you still thinking about?”
Qi Yuanchu pulled him into an embrace and, after a moment of silence, said in a deep voice, “…I’m glad I found you in time.”
Xu Yin was taken aback.
This thought had actually crossed Qi Yuanchu’s mind the day he took the young man from the orphanage. After experiencing so much today, the thought resurfaced in his mind.
He wasn’t sure why he used the word “found,” but his intuition told him that it was the most fitting word for the relationship between him and the young man in his arms.
Xu Yin was momentarily speechless but then raised his hand to hug Qi Yuanchu back, smiling softly.
In reality, no matter how the task worlds changed, they could always find each other quickly.
Of course, it might still take a little bit of time.
But that’s okay, that’s okay—
Xu Yin closed his eyes and gently nuzzled his shoulder, saying, “Before you find me, I will protect myself.”
Qi Yuanchu frowned, “There will be no more separations in the future.”
Xu Yin chuckled, knowing that this man was unaware of the future. He only had the memory of the current world and didn’t know that when this task world ended, they would have to start over.
So he reassured him, “Mm, there won’t be.”
Qi Yuanchu noticed, “Are you trying to comfort me?”
Qi Yuanchu’s face was serious as he gently pushed Xu Yin away, looking at him intently, wanting to say something. However, when he met the young man’s gentle and smiling eyes, the words were swallowed back.
Qi Yuanchu was somewhat stunned.
Strange feelings emerged in his heart, feelings that were hard to describe and left him momentarily speechless.
He gazed at Xu Yin for a long time, and Xu Yin gazed back.
The corridor was very quiet, and as they looked at each other, it felt as though time had stopped.
After an unknown amount of time.
Qi Yuanchu raised his hand and gently stroked Xu Yin’s face.
He said softly, “Perhaps due to work, we might have brief separations—”
Xu Yin lowered his gaze, smiling wryly.
Then he heard the man slowly say, “But there will definitely be a day when we will never be apart again.”
“Maybe that day is still a long way off, but it will surely come.”
Xu Yin paused, lifting his eyes to look at the man.
The man seemed unaware of anything else, focused solely on him, and solemnly promised, “I guarantee it.”
After a while.
Xu Yin slowly smiled, “Mm, I believe you.”
He vaguely remembered that his memory before the car accident was incomplete.
He and 018 hadn’t discussed this issue in depth, but it was not hard to infer from the result of 018’s bug that the incomplete memory included this man’s presence.
—Because they died together in reality, this man’s soul had followed him into the task world.
Xu Yin accepted 018’s invitation to start this series of tasks with the original intention of resurrecting in the real world.
And if in the future he successfully accumulated enough points and could leave these task worlds, he would definitely take this man with him.
Yes.
That day might still be a long, long time away.
But that day would surely come—
Xu Yin took Qi Yuanchu’s hand, opened the door to his room, and, after seeing the man’s stunned and quickly reddening reaction, led him inside and closed the door with a smile.
—When that day truly arrives, in their future lives, he and this mysterious soul would be together forever, never to part.
