Chapter 10: The Crack (Part 2)
Night fell, and Linley continued to drink slowly. Alice’s figure never appeared. The patrons in the tavern grew fewer and fewer. Beside him, Bebe was drinking with wild abandon—normally Linley didn’t allow it to drink much, but this time it was having a grand old time.
“Sir, we’re about to close,” the tavern attendant said respectfully as he approached Linley.
“Close?” Linley was startled.
“Oh, how much?” Linley stood up, but his head felt dizzy.
He had already downed six full bottles of Emerald Green wine. Fortunately, Linley’s constitution was strong enough to handle it; an ordinary person would have collapsed long ago. Beside him, Bebe had drunk the most absurdly—twelve whole bottles.
After paying the bill, Linley walked out of the tavern. It was already late at night, and there were hardly any people to be seen on the entire Ganmo Road.
“This is the first time Alice has stood me up,” Linley said with a long exhale.
He glanced back at the two-story building in the darkness, then turned and headed straight for the “Jade Water Paradise” on the Champs Elysees Avenue.
At the Jade Water Paradise.
“Third Bro is probably messing around with his girlfriend again,” Yale, Reynolds, and George were chatting and drinking with laughter.
“Hey, Yale, big bro, do you think Linley’s still a virgin?” Reynolds said with a grin.
Yale wrinkled his nose and said confidently, “No need to ask. Just look at Linley—he’s a hundred percent virgin. Hey, Fourth Bro, let’s go get some rest.” With that, Yale put his arm around a pretty girl and headed out. Reynolds did the same with another.
“Creak.”
The door suddenly swung open.
Yale and Reynolds looked up in surprise. Yale couldn’t help but ask in astonishment, “Third Bro, why are you back?”
“Nothing. Come on, Yale, big bro, Fourth Bro, Second Bro—keep me company for a drink.” Linley’s voice was a bit low.
Yale, Reynolds, and George exchanged glances. Yale was the first to burst out laughing: “Good, it’s rare for Third Bro to be this straightforward. Tonight, us brothers will drink with you all night long.” Yale, Reynolds, and George all sat down and started drinking with Linley.
The next day, Linley went to Alice’s house again, but she still hadn’t returned.
******
At the Ernst Academy of Magic.
“Is Alice really that angry?” Linley walked along the academy streets, his mood not great.
He glanced casually and spotted a shop inside the academy. Seeing the papers posted on the shop’s door advertising various magical items, Linley’s gaze suddenly focused on a crystal ball. His mind recalled what Alice had once said to him: “Brother Linley, we’re separated in two places. Every time I see other boys and girls together at the academy, I think of you. But it’s so hard for us to meet even once. Ah, if only we could be together all the time, how wonderful that would be.”
Linley’s heart stirred.
He walked straight into the shop and said to the salesperson, “How much is this memory crystal ball?”
“Eight hundred gold coins,” the salesperson said, his eyes lighting up. Memory crystal balls were luxury consumer goods. “This memory crystal ball of ours has excellent effects. We specially had it crafted by an eighth-level water magic master from the academy.”
Linley was very familiar with the principle of memory crystal balls.
The water magic “Floating Shadow Technique” was attached to the crystal ball through alchemy. By inputting a bit of magical power, one could activate the memory crystal ball, which would automatically record a segment of imagery. Once the recording was full and saturated, activating the crystal ball again would cause it to replay that recording over and over.
After haggling, Linley spent 1,200 gold coins to buy two memory crystal balls.
“One crystal ball will record scenes from my life at the academy. The other I’ll give to Alice to record her own. When I can’t see Alice, I can watch the memory crystal ball,” Linley thought, looking at the two crystal balls in his hands, a faint smile appearing on his face.
……
Carving stone sculptures in the dormitory, training on the back mountain, attending classes in the lecture hall—Linley recorded everything in segments until the crystal ball was completely saturated and could record no more. But when he excitedly brought the two crystal balls to Fenlai City in mid-October, he found… Alice still hadn’t returned.
October 29th.
The four brothers set off together again for Fenlai City. In the city, Linley parted ways with his good brothers once more.
Yale, Reynolds, and George watched Linley leave, their expressions serious.
“We’ve been with Third Bro for seven years now. He’s a genius in both magic and stone carving, but it’s obvious he’s very invested in his relationship with that Alice. If this turns into a breakup, the blow to Third Bro might be huge,” Yale said with a frown.
Reynolds nodded in agreement. “I feel the same way. That Alice has stood him up two or three times now. Something’s probably going wrong.”
“Actually, a breakup isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Yale said with a laugh. “A man, if he doesn’t go through a breakup, how can he grow? I always felt Third Bro was too indulgent with that Alice. If it were me, screw it—if a woman goes too far, just dump her.”
George smiled and said, “Yale, big bro, to be honest, I kind of admire Third Bro. Your view, though… it’s really…” George shook his head.
“I’m with Yale, big bro,” Reynolds said, raising an eyebrow.
“Enough nonsense. Let’s go to the Jade Water Paradise.”
Yale, Reynolds, and George headed straight for the Jade Water Paradise. But when they were halfway there, Reynolds quietly tugged at Yale and George. “Yale, big bro, George, wait a second. Look over there—who is that?”
Yale and George turned to look in the direction Reynolds was pointing. The moment they saw, both their faces changed instantly.