Chenghu Town Central Primary School has been organizing springtime trips to the countryside in March for several years.
On Friday morning, the students were given half a day off, with a 3 p.m. assembly at the school gate, allowing parents some time to pack their bags.
On the afternoon of the same day, they would arrive at their destination and return on Sunday morning, making it a relatively short trip. Zong Yuan, while packing, ended up with a large suitcase.
He watched as Zong Bao, with a playful bounce, brought out a turtle plushie from his room and tossed it into the suitcase. Turning around, Zong Bao was about to run back into his room.
Zong Yuan helplessly grabbed him, “Come on, Bao Bao, take a look at this suitcase.”
Zong Bao, with his big eyes, glanced at his brother and then at the suitcase on the floor, filled with his toys, plushies, and a pile of snacks.
Biting his finger, Zong Bao’s words didn’t quite match, “The suitcase is so pretty!”
Zong Yuan moved his finger away and wiped it with a tissue, “You can only take one toy.”
“But, Gege,” starting to pout, “Bao Bao wants to take them all…”
Zong Yuan, “You can only take one. If you want to take them all, you have to carry them yourself.”
“…” Zong Bao’s eyes wandered, “Fine, fine, I’ll just take one!”
After clearing out Zong Bao’s belongings, the entire suitcase suddenly looked empty.
The brothers took a bath and changed into fresh clothes, and by noon, it was time. Zong Bao, dressed similarly to his brother, with a soft and charming demeanor, said, “I want to talk to Teacher Yun.”
Zong Yuan took out his phone and dialed Yun Baizhou’s number. Once the call connected, he handed the phone to Zong Bao.
He stared as Zong Bao answered the call.
While listening on the phone, Zong Bao checked his backpack, “Math, math book, got it!”
“Where’s that little diary?” Yun Baizhou sat on the sofa, his voice gentle, “You should write in your diary.”
He heard the little one on the other end sigh heavily, “I’m still so small, and I already have to bear the burden of a backpack.”
In a childish tone, mimicking the sighs of adults.
Yun Baizhou chuckled, “You can let your brother carry your backpack for you.”
Zong Bao mischievously switched on the speakerphone and let out a long sigh, “Gege said he won’t carry it for me…”
He glanced sneakily at his brother, Zong Yuan raised an eyebrow, hands resting on the sofa’s armrests, lazily unwilling to explain.
Yun Baizhou, “Ah?”
“Yeah,” Zong Bao, seeing that Zong Yuan wasn’t angry, became bolder, “Gege only let me take one toy! He clearly has a lot of his own stuff!”
Nonsense.
Zong Yuan leaned forward and flicked the little one’s forehead, “Liar.”
Yun Baizhou heard his voice clearly, along with the laughter in his voice.
The hand resting on his thigh pinched some flesh.
Zong Bao covered his forehead, humming, “Baby didn’t say anything wrong.”
Yun Baizhou asked, “Really? So, does Gege have more things than Baby?”
Zong Bao threw down the phone and ran to the box to count. Zong Yuan looked at the notes on the phone, his eyes deep, but he didn’t say anything.
After counting, Zong Bao ran back joyfully and proudly exclaimed, “Underwear! Gege has more underwear than Baby’s toys!”
“Cough.” Yun Baizhou choked on water.
Zong Yuan squinted at the triumphant Zong Bao. This little rascal was still proudly saying, “There’s black, red, gray. I’m telling the truth! Yun Yun, if you don’t believe me, I can take pictures to show you!”
Yun Baizhou spilled a cup of water on his chest, making it wet. He stood up in a fluster, accidentally knocking over the fruit plate on the table.
The sofa and coffee table were a mess. Yun Baizhou stood in a daze for a few seconds, then sat on the other side of the sofa with his phone. He buried his head in the sofa back, weakly refusing Zong Bao, “Let’s not show the teacher, okay?”
Zong Bao didn’t catch his reluctance, but Zong Yuan frowned.
He spoke, “What happened to you?”
Is he sick? Caught a cold? Or did he fall?
When he’s not by his side, he always feels uneasy.
Yun Baizhou was startled; he didn’t expect Zong Yuan to be concerned about him. He was even somewhat pleasantly surprised, “I’m fine, I accidentally spilled a glass of water.”
“Water…” Is the water hot or cold? Zong Yuan pursed his lips, eyes lowered, “Be careful.”
Zong Bao also joined in with concern, “Yun Yun, be careful.”
Compared to Zong Bao’s innocent care, Zong Yuan’s cold indifference stood out even more.
But Yun Baizhou’s heart began to beat faster and faster.
He felt a bit narcissistic because he said, “I’m fine, Mr. Zong, don’t worry.”
He felt that this young man was worried about him.
Zong Yuan’s expression relaxed, and Zong Bao crisply added, “Okay, not caring~”
Yun Baizhou pressed the phone to his ear and turned the volume to the maximum.
He tried to find if there were any other sounds amid Zong Bao’s voice.
After a while, a casual “Hmm” came through.
If Yun Baizhou could see himself in the mirror right now, he would notice the unintentional smile on his face. They talked on the phone for more than ten minutes, and Zong Yuan patiently listened to Zong Bao’s childish chatter while holding an unlit cigarette.
When Zong Yuan first arrived in this world, 0046 told him that there were no missions in this world.
“But!” 0046 looked serious, “Headquarters said there’s a request that’s not a mission. They hope you can accept it.”
Zong Yuan asked, “What is it?”
It was a very strange request.
“Do not actively contact him, do not show that you know him,” the information from headquarters stated, “If he remembers everything in this world, then there might be a surprise.”
0046 added, “Headquarters’ request is not a mandatory mission. You can choose to refuse, Zong Yuan. As for the surprise… I don’t know what will happen.”
With ambiguous information, concerning Zong Yuan and the other person, Zong Yuan unhesitatingly accepted this request.
He was somewhat curious about this surprise.
After finishing their meal, the two brothers drove to the school gate. Today, Zong Yuan was driving a sedan, and Zong Bao, having just finished eating, fell asleep on the passenger seat.
After parking the car, Zong Yuan used one hand to carry the little troublemaker in his arms and the other hand to drag the suitcase toward the school bus.
There were quite a few people on the bus, parents bringing their children early to secure a good seat. The front row seats were all taken, but the last row, consisting of five connected seats, was still vacant.
Zong Yuan placed Zong Bao in the last row seat, and then got off the bus to arrange the luggage. When he returned to the bus, there was already someone sitting beside Zong Bao.
It was Yun Baizhou.
A barely perceptible hint of a smile flashed in Zong Yuan’s eyes. He walked over, and Yun Baizhou, watching him approach, scooted over to make room for him, saying, “Mr. Zong.”
“Teacher Yun,” Zong Yuan nodded slightly, sat down, and put on his headphones to rest with his eyes closed.
Yun Baizhou breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a bit disappointed. Today, Zong Yuan and Zong Bao were dressed in matching outfits—thin hoodies with vests. On the older brother, it looked handsome, and on the younger brother, it appeared adorable. When they boarded the bus, the gazes of everyone in the car were openly or secretly assessing them, finding them pleasing to the eye.
Yun Baizhou took several more glances. Initially, his focus was on the child, but gradually, his gaze shifted to the adult’s faces—from eyebrows to eyelashes, from the bridge of the nose to the lips.
The bus slowly started moving. The weather was perfect, with warm sunlight streaming in through the windows, making everyone in the car drowsy.
On the way to the countryside, there were still several dirt roads that were quite bumpy. Apart from adults, the car was filled with children. The driver was cautious, but even with the slightest bump, Zong Yuan’s headphones were shaken off.
Yun Baizhou looked at the fallen earphones and felt increasingly uneasy all over.
He steadied his hand and reached towards Zong Yuan’s shoulder.
Successfully grabbing the fallen earphones, Yun Baizhou had just let out a sigh of relief when the school bus experienced a severe jolt. He lost his balance and fell heavily into Zong Yuan’s arms.
Zong Yuan’s eyelids trembled slightly, and as he opened his eyes, he saw Teacher Yun’s awkward appearance in his arms.
He steadied Yun Baizhou’s body with his hand. “Teacher Yun?”
Yun Baizhou quickly retreated from his embrace, blushing, and apologized, “I’m really sorry. It jolted just now.”
Zong Yuan looked over, his pupils deep, revealing no discernible emotion. Yun Baizhou couldn’t understand what he was thinking, but he couldn’t seem to shift his gaze away.
Zong Yuan was the first to avert his gaze, fixing it on a conspicuous speck of dust on Yun Baizhou’s left shoulder. Zong Yuan thought about reaching out to brush it away but clenched his hand tight, not moving.
“It’s okay.”
Feeling somewhat awkward, Yun Baizhou wanted to say a few more words, but then he saw Zong Yuan closing his eyes again.
The fallen earphones still lay on him.
Leaning against the window of the last row, Yun Baizhou gradually fell asleep as the car swayed back and forth.
In a completely white room, Yun Baizhou saw a lone figure standing in the center.
Unable to clearly discern the figure, Yun Baizhou observed from a side perspective and overheard the conversation.
“Are you new here?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want?”
“…”
“I understand. There’s a way as long as you can persist and become a high-ranking member of the headquarters.”
“How long will it take?”
“That’s hard to say,” a mechanically cold voice with a distinct icy tone replied. “The last successful adult traversed five hundred worlds.”
In a blink, the pure white surroundings were replaced by pure black.
In a space devoid of light and sound, Yun Baizhou only spent a dozen seconds but felt an endless surge of negative emotions.
“Cannot, cannot give up…”
Yun Baizhou’s heart trembled, and suddenly, a faint light appeared in the darkness. Someone crawled forward, leaving a trail of fresh blood.
Bloodstains covered the ground, and the crawling figure moved farther away. The space became brighter.
Yun Baizhou suddenly noticed that the bloodstains were filled with densely packed words.
He crouched down, focused on these red letters, and the bloodstains became clear in his eyes. “Zong, Zong, Zong…”
The next moment blurred.
In a half-dream, half-awake state, Yun Baizhou seemed to hear someone bowing respectfully to him in a dream. “Sir.”
Who is… the sir?
The person bowing continued, “Another person has entered the system world in the world where you are.”
The voice that had once crawled forward in the darkness sounded, “Oh.”
This person was very indifferent.
Yun Baizhou vaguely thought.
The respectful voice said, “His name is Zong Yuan.”
Yun Baizhou suddenly woke up.
Zong Yuan, who should have been asleep, opened his eyes the next second and asked with genuine concern, “What’s wrong?”
Yun Baizhou’s face was pale, and he looked dazed. He gazed at Zong Yuan, trembling hands covering his chest, “I had a dream, but… but I forgot.”
What could he have dreamt about?
