Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1366 - 17: The World Burns Into My Colors (8)

Chapter 1366: Chapter 17: The World Burns Into My Colors (8)

The Inorganic God’s yellow eyes looked at the Boss Rabbit:

"Rabbit? Why are you in Luowasha?"

"Munch, munch..." The Boss Rabbit finished chewing a golden eyeball and then took out a black one to stuff into its mouth: "What? You can sneak your way here, but I can’t?"

"Aren’t you maintaining the World Game?"

"But someone drew my card. What a great opportunity, I rushed over to Luowasha in a hurry." The Boss Rabbit showed a pitiful and innocent expression: "As for this World Game thing... I wish it would disappear soon."

"But once the World Game disappears, we will also...!" the Inorganic God said.

The next moment, scarlet pupils magnified in front of its eyes.

The Big White Rabbit stared at him intently.

"...I’ve long lost the will to live." Its cold pupils bore no soft semblance of life:

"I just want to be free as soon as possible."

A moment later, it stepped back, its face instantly returning to a playful smile, crunching on the eyeball.

"Su 1 has been eaten by you. Su 2 drew my card and was eaten by me. Su 3 jumped off a building and was taken by the Sea Emperor." The Boss Rabbit tilted its head, seemingly very puzzled:

"How strange, all three died. There should be... something... correct! Why is there nothing? Why isn’t there anything, could it really be that there is nothing...?"

What it referred to by "something", was self-explanatory.

—Why wasn’t there a time reversal?

Why is time still relentlessly moving forward?

Could it be that the display Su Ming’an was putting on for them was always a feigned empty city strategy?

It touched its stomach, recalling the events of the afternoon:

...

A few hours ago, at the Mingxi campus, the third stage.

Shen Xue, wearing a white veil and a diamond-studded gown, dressed for a wedding, stood on stage.

"This is my story! This is my story!!" Shen Xue’s face slightly flushed, shouted: "’Shen Xue’s Dreamland’, that’s the name of my story, I am the female protagonist Shen Xue, I have chosen Su Ming’an as the male protagonist, and the final ending is us becoming a couple in the blessings of the survivors, a perfect happy ending! No one can change it, you can only witness it all!!"

Seeing this, Su 2 turned and shouted: "That Su with white hair! I’ll go and defeat Shen Xue’s Story Domain to drain her Combat Power. You look for a chance to overturn the hall and end the third stage!"

"Alright!" Su 1 responded.

Su 2 rushed onto the stage, taking a step forward.

Upon stepping into Shen Xue’s Story Domain, the scene before his eyes drastically changed—

...

"Ding-dong!"

[You have entered the Story Domain·’Shen Xue’s Dreamland (Creator: Shen Xue)’]

[Completion condition: Find logical errors, problems with plot inconsistencies, and illogical character settings.]

...

A brilliant white light burst forth.

Warm sunlight spilled onto his forehead, and the scent of gardenias lingered in the air.

After entering Shen Xue’s Story Domain, Su Ming’an heard a voice:

"—Ming’an, after the college entrance exam in two years, we’ll have to choose our university preferences. You clearly love playing the piano and have great piano talent, why not become a pianist?"

The next moment, he heard his own voice:

"Let’s forget about it... The piano feels somewhat unfamiliar to me now, better stick to studying finance and law in humanities."

He opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him was a boy with a buzz cut, round eyes, and a friendly face.

—It was his best buddy from high school, Bolong.

This conversation must have happened when they were in their second year of high school.

The sunlight filtered through the campus’ sycamore leaves, and summer cicadas sang on the branches as they leaned on the railings by the classroom door, gazing at the maroon plastic track.

This was Su Ming’an’s high school campus.

... It turns out Shen Xue’s story wasn’t in the style of a War God Dragon King or Feng Aotian, but a school memoir, recounting the true high school experiences.

The process of the Story Domain is generally very short, like a very brief script that ends quickly.

The requirement to win the Story Domain is to uncover a secret of the story or point out logical errors, inconsistencies, or problems with character settings.

"If you become a famous pianist, a single performance could earn you tens of thousands, definitely better than a dead-end salary of four to five thousand a month." Bolong suggested.

Su Ming’an’s eyes were lost in thought; he recalled this conversation vividly.

Back then, they conversed like this: "Bolong, what if one day I can’t play well anymore, or if I never succeed at all, what would I do when I, detached from society, find myself...?"

"You have so much potential; you can do it, believe in yourself." Bolong encouraged.

"But I also have Uncle Zhao, I can’t gamble with my relative’s life. Besides, I rarely play the piano these days."

"But you have so much talent, you shouldn’t waste it. So, will you just end up being mediocre?"

"...But I don’t dare to gamble."

"Sigh, and you enjoy psychology so much, you talk about it like an expert; I think you have great potential to become a good psychologist! Are you giving up on that too?"

"...Psychology is too unstable, I don’t dare to bet on it either."

"So you plan to become a small-time employee?"

"Probably. Kids from ordinary families don’t have the luxury to chase dreams. Uncle Zhao’s medicine every month is a significant expense, and there’s still the debt from my father’s medical bills; if I can’t pay it back in the future, it’s all over. I might stream some games during college, but it’ll only be a hobby..."

"What a pity, you really have talent; if only you had a bit more courage."

"Thanks, but I truly don’t dare. Maybe, that’s not a matter of courage..."

Bolong was good-natured, always looking out for him. Their friendship began because Bolong struggled with games, so he often sought advice from Su Ming’an on gaming issues, and gradually, they became close.

Bolong always envied Su Ming’an, feeling Su Ming’an was in a completely different league.

He couldn’t play the piano at all, driving his home tutor to rage, but when Su Ming’an played once at his home, the tutor couldn’t stop praising.

He was terrible at games, but even with Su Ming’an’s limited gaming time, he could effortlessly dominate and earn money streaming live gaming events.

With good grades, excellent essays, outstanding gaming skills, and extraordinary piano talent... Su Ming’an overshadowed him in every way. He always thought Su Ming’an would become remarkably accomplished, completely surpassing him in every aspect.

So he couldn’t understand why Su Ming’an wouldn’t set psychology as his target specialty.

"You should reconsider; it’s such a shame." Bolong lamented.

"..." Su Ming’an fell silent.

Soon, the school bell rang, and the Story Domain advanced rapidly. In the next instant, Su Ming’an found himself walking out of the school gate with his backpack.

Beside him, Bolong was speaking very softly on the phone:

"Hey, hey? Sis, what’s up? Huh? I already told you I want the 07 edition sneakers! Why did you get me the outdated 06 version... What? Mom and Dad won’t buy them? It’s been months since I had new sneakers to wear..."

Su Ming’an glanced at his own sneakers, patched and repaired over three years.

He remembered his high school years as the most difficult period.

The savings left by his parents were almost used up, and his sole guardian, Uncle Zhao, had a low salary, making it extremely difficult to provide him with an education. As for the slots for impoverished students in the class, those ended up with students who weren’t really poor.

Su Ming’an once had a cherished roll-up piano, but had to sell it to make a living.

However, a few days later, the roll-up piano returned to him. Because he found his cherished treasure had been roughly played with, thrown into the trash bin. He picked it up, carefully wiped it, and tenderly held its "remains" in his arms.

"Shen Xue is the protagonist of this Story Domain; I must find her and see where she has flaws..." Su Ming’an didn’t know where Shen Xue’s home was, so he returned to his current home—Uncle Zhao’s house.

Uncle Zhao wasn’t a blood relative, but a kind-hearted person willing to take care of him.

As for those real relatives, it was more appropriate to describe them as parasites.

The closer he got to home, the more he felt a "homesick fear" emotion. Even knowing this was a false reenactment, he couldn’t calm his mind.

Upon opening the door, it was a thirty-square-meter home, with the bathroom right next to the kitchen, and the kitchen next to the bedroom.

A broad-shouldered man, about fifty, was knitting grass toys. Hearing the sound, he looked up and smiled at Su Ming’an: "Back home?"

His forehead was broad, eyes sunken, nose bulky, lips thick, and cheeks colored like red soil from being outside too often, with some white hair at the temples.

Su Ming’an’s breath paused for a moment, and he responded softly:

"...Yeah."

The man continued weaving the small toys, sweat trickling down his forehead, even on this hot summer day, without the fan on, fingers weaving grass: "Look, I’ve been figuring out these little things lately. Night market economy is thriving, isn’t it? I’m thinking of putting these little things out for sale at the night market after work, it should definitely earn us some extra income!"

"Watch your hands." Su Ming’an noticed the cuts on Uncle Zhao’s fingers.

"I’ll be careful. If it bleeds and stains the grass toys, it’ll all be for nothing..." the man replied: "The stove is on, go take a look."

Su Ming’an put down his backpack on the only complete piece of furniture in the house—a brown wooden table covered with dark spots and cracks. This table served multiple purposes, from homework to dining, and mending clothes, worthy of being called the home’s diligent multitasker.

He walked into the kitchen and lifted the lid, a rich aroma wafted towards him.

His scrawny figure let out a growling sound.

"...Chicken soup?" He glanced aside: "Why are you cooking chicken soup today?"

"Half a chicken, been dead for a while, Aunt Li didn’t want it, so I took it back, there’s a bit of a smell, but I cleaned it well, it won’t give us a stomach ache." Uncle Zhao’s eyes continued focusing on his handiwork: "I haven’t treated you to good food in ages, you’ll need it, you’re not growing taller."

As Su Ming’an carried the chicken soup, he kept an eye out the window for Shen Xue’s shadow:

"What’s today?"

"What do you mean today?" the man feigned ignorance.

"Not an important day, I don’t believe you’d buy chicken."

"You brat, I told you it was a missed opportunity... Hey, alright, you caught me. Today’s Singles’ Day, thought I’d celebrate it a little for you."

"...You celebrate all sorts of weird occasions?"

"Of course. Who said ’life needs a bit of ceremony’? Although we’re not... very well-off, but the sense of ceremony must not be dropped! The most important lesson your dad taught you was to learn self-love! Give yourself a little hope to live!"

"...Dad?"

"Cough, cough cough... Guardian, guardian!"

"..."

"Self-love is essential, only by loving yourself, will you feel the world light up. If you don’t love yourself, always knowing hardship, you won’t last long."

"I understand."

"Overall, your future is still long, enduring hardship now is temporary, good days are yet to come!"

"Good days... are yet to come?"

"Yes. Think about it, attending college is a glamorous thing. I never went to college, only vocational school. But at our time, vocational schools were even better than regular high schools..." the man mused nostalgically.

They sat for dinner, the meal simple, consisting only of a bowl of chicken soup.

A few drops of blood stained the ground, the man covered his fingers’ cuts. After hesitating a bit, he spoke softly:

"Well... Ming’an."

"Hmm?"

"Today your school’s music teacher called me, suggesting you pursue music and become an art specialty student... You’re in the second year now, should start choosing."

"Oh."

"You... still want to be a regular academic student." The man cautiously glanced at him.

"Yes."

"That’s good, that’s good." The man visibly relaxed, rubbing his bloodstained fingers:

"Take my advice, attend a good college, pick a major with good job prospects, earn a monthly salary of five to six thousand, and have the employer pay for social security, wouldn’t that be great. If you follow a risky path and can’t find a job, that music teacher won’t be around anymore!"

"I know you play the piano well, but hobbies can’t feed you. Painting, playing instruments, singing, in the end, it could all be for nothing! Without connections, it’s tough to get by."

"Passion aside, how many truly succeed because of passion? We ordinary people, let’s be more realistic, this world isn’t counting on us to bear major responsibilities, nor for us to be some Immortal Emperor Savior, don’t waste time on unrealistic things, there’s still many hearty bowls of chicken soup to come..."

As Su Ming’an listened, stirring his soup, he glanced out the window and suddenly saw a red shadow.

—Shen Xue!

At this stage of the story, it should be the middle, she indeed appeared.

In the Story Domain, Su Ming’an and Shen Xue have roles to play, not breaking character illogically, otherwise, they’ll be deemed "book eaters."

"I’ll step out for a bit." Su Ming’an stood.

"Hey? It’s dark, where’re you heading?" Uncle Zhao staggered after him, holding a flashlight: "Be careful not to step on the drain at the door!"

The round flashlight was tossed over, Su Ming’an caught it with a "pop," glanced fondly at Uncle Zhao, and nimbly leaped.

The drain at the doorstep was overly wide, always stepping into water, it troubled him for three full years.

But at this moment, he easily leaped over the trench that troubled him for three years.

"...!"

The dim light cast down, curses came from the alley entrance, there seemed to be Shen Xue’s voice.

Su Ming’an switched off the flashlight and moved forward, in the darkness, sighting a white rabbit.