"Ah, bro just isn’t cut out for playing the villain."

Su Ran lingered in the village, mulling it over for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything, out of options, he had no choice but to temporarily give up on the impulse to complete the mission, went offline, and took a break!

"Click."

The game pod door opened, and Su Ran laboriously shifted his body out of it.

"Huh? Where’s Xiao Hei, where did he go?"

Su Ran unexpectedly found that Xiao Hei, who had always been by his side, was not in his line of sight this time.

"Oh no, could it be the Nutrient Solution has run out?"

After confirming that Xiao Hei was nowhere in the room, Su Ran’s heart tightened, and he walked over to the Nutrient Barrel with a serious expression, only to find that it still contained more than half of the Nutrient Solution.

"Phew."

The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened, and Su Ran felt a surge of relief, taking a long sigh. As he slowly walked out of the room, he saw that Xiao Hei was lying on top of a girl, curled up and motionless, looking extremely content from his expression.

"Yu Jing, how did you get here?"

Su Ran recognized the tranquil girl in an instant, she was his deskmate, Lin Yuqing.

"Meow."

Upon hearing Su Ran’s voice, Xiao Hei’s ears twitched, his eyes suddenly opened wide, and he excitedly meowed, leaping out of Lin Yuqing’s embrace and directly into Su Ran’s arms, refusing to let go at all.

"Xiao Hei, stop messing around, come down."

Su Ran gently patted Xiao Hei’s back, only to find that his words were to no avail, leaving him no choice but to let him be.

Lin Yuqing was startled by Xiao Hei’s sudden movement and, watching Xiao Hei’s rascally manner, couldn’t help but laugh, "Soda Water, your little black cat is really unusual, incredibly strong, and so fast too, nimble like a little leopard, very impressive."

"Yu Jing, did you come here for something today? And, where’s my mom, what is she up to?"

Su Ran didn’t bother explaining Lin Yuqing’s doubts and instead proactively changed the subject.

Because Su Ran knew that Xiao Hei’s matter absolutely could not be leaked, if they were caught, wouldn’t they become the subject of dissection and research?

"Auntie went to cook, said she bought some fresh carp and asked me to stay and try some fresh fish."

Lin Yuqing glanced at Su Ran somewhat sheepishly, voiced with a shy expression, "Soda Water, do you think I’m being too familiar? I understand the principle, but Auntie’s stewed fish is so delicious, just the thought of it and my legs won’t listen to me..."

Uh.

So, the root of Lin Yuqing’s weight gain was found.

"It’s fine, stay for a meal, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, no need to worry about it. Yu Jing, take a seat, it will probably be ready soon, my mom is pretty quick at cooking."

Su Ran, unable to stand for long, found a stool to sit on, and then asked, "Yu Jing, do you have something important to look after?"

"What? I can’t come if there’s nothing wrong?"

Lin Yuqing gave Su Ran an annoyed look, her brow furrowing as she lowered her voice, "It’s all because of my older sister!"

"Your sister? What has she done to irritate you now?"

Su Ran looked at Lin Yuqing with confusion, feeling that these sisters were perpetually caught up in endless disputes, yet he was intricately linked to their issues. At that moment, a foreboding sensation arose in his heart, sensing that this time he couldn’t avoid being involved.

"You’re still playing dumb!"

Lin Yuqing said, huffing with anger, "Soda Water, why did you act so mysterious in the game? If you had just told Sister about your identity from the start, wouldn’t that have been okay? Look at the mess now, Sister has fallen deeply, what are we going to do?"

Just as expected. ƒreewebɳovel.com

Facing Lin Yuqing’s question, Su Ran didn’t know how to respond.

A few seconds of silence filled the room before Su Ran gently started to explain to Lin Yuqing, "Yu Jing, you are the only person in the whole world who knows about my dual identity because I only trust you. I can’t trust anyone else, including your sister."

"Moreover, you also know that this human identity is my biggest secret, it’s the hope I cling to for survival. How could I not be careful with it?"

Su Ran’s voice grew more and more serious, so much so that the little black cat in his arms looked at him with confused eyes, not understanding why things had suddenly become like this.

"I can understand that, but my sister is not an outsider. How could she joke about something like this? Soda Water, what do we do now? I’m really panicking..."

Panic flickered across Lin Yuqing’s eyes. She felt that things had escalated to a point where there was no easy way out for any of them, especially her sister. It was her sister’s first time trying to be serious about love, and she had run into such a bizarre situation. Fate really enjoyed playing tricks on people.

"You don’t know, I offended her quite a bit in the past just to keep my distance from your sister. If I tell her the truth now, she would sell me out in a heartbeat!"

Su Ran sighed. This matter was giving him a headache. After pondering for a moment, he said, "The only solution is to wait until I am fully recovered, and then I’ll just retire the ’Spilt Water Can’t Be Regained’ identity and never use it again."

"That’s the only way. I hope my sister won’t be too hurt, sigh."

Lin Yuqing shook her head vigorously, trying to shake all the worries out of her mind, but it was futile.

After a moment of silence, she handed the red folder next to her to Su Ran, explaining, "These are the targeted revision materials, all organised by the teachers, hoping they can help with your exam preparation. Soda Water, time flies so fast, there are only a few months left until the college entrance exam. Just thinking about it makes me nervous."

"The college entrance exam..."

Upon hearing this term which was both familiar and strange, Su Ran felt a mix of emotions.

Since he got involved in the battle between gods and demons, he hadn’t touched a book, which was indeed somewhat neglectful.

However.

The appearance of amnesia had given Su Ran a strong sense of crisis. He no longer had the time to study; now, he had to fight for his life in search of the Dream Mirror, racing against death itself. Only by reaching the finish line first could he hope to survive.

All these reasons, Su Ran kept to himself.

"Don’t worry, the college entrance exam is a turning point in life, I definitely won’t miss it."

Su Ran smiled, pointing outside, "Yu Jing, let’s not talk about these depressing topics, let’s go see if the fish is ready."

"Meow~!"

Upon hearing there was fish, Little Black instantly perked up, mewing non-stop.

...

After a full meal and seeing Lin Yuqing off, Su Ran walked over to the dining table and saw his mother tidying up the dishes and utensils. He couldn’t help but ask, "Mom, hasn’t Dad sent any letters? Is he going to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner with us tonight?"

"..."

Su’s mother fell silent, her movements stopping as well. After a long pause, she finally said, "Son, your father is very busy with his work. I don’t think he can make it back this year, either."

Seeing his mother’s unnatural demeanor, Su Ran didn’t pry further, taking his doubts back into the game with him.