Chapter 896: Acting
Aunt Tong's words were etched into my heart.
If the members of "Jidao" no longer wish to continue being a part of "Jidao," they should naturally have a better place to go.
"Jidao" now wasn't the same as when it was first founded. It matched what I had anticipated—the entire organization's reputation was terrible now.
Many small and medium-sized organizations had been provoked by "Jidao," and some of its members were keen on causing chaos within the game. In the end, "Jidao" became universally reviled, hardly trusted by anyone.
But this was just right.
All members of "Jidao" were now trapped in a state of isolation, yet they firmly believed in my words.
This dilemma would make them even more loyal. When external enemies are numerous, internal unity becomes stronger. It seemed that all the "Kindred" were uniting against "Jidao," treating them as enemies. But from "Jidao's" perspective, they saw themselves as the only sober ones in a drunken world, standing against everyone else. They believed the masses were merely foolish, yet still worth saving.
That said, I would still carefully watch for those who felt the urge to leave. They had risked their lives for "Jidao," and I could never abandon them.
If anyone truly came to me wanting to quit, I would recommend "Paradise Gate" as their destination.
After sending Aunt Tong off, I waited there for a long time. It wasn't until nearly evening that I finally saw a familiar figure—except there were two people approaching.
Jiang Ruoxue was walking toward me with a tall, thin boy, both of them looking around.
I felt a bit flustered. This was the kind of scene I wasn't good at handling.
After a few steps, Jiang Ruoxue spotted me. The joy in her eyes was obvious, but she forcibly suppressed it.
Then she squeezed out a very unnatural expression of sorrow.
"Ah..." She opened her mouth. "Zhichun...?"
"Uh... It's me." I nodded.
"Sigh... I didn't expect to find you here..." She slowly lowered her head, wearing a helpless expression.
Yes... Ruoxue, it's better if you didn't expect this.
"This isn't a hallucination, is it?" Jiang Ruoxue looked up at me, then glanced back at the boy behind her. "Gu Yu, is there someone in front of me? Or am I missing her so much that I'm seeing things?"
"Well..." The boy clearly hadn't rehearsed this with Jiang Ruoxue. He fumbled his lines. "Sister Xue... Should I say I see someone or not?"
Jiang Ruoxue blinked, then lowered her head again. "It really is a hallucination... How could she possibly come to make up with me?"
"Uh... You..." The boy named Gu Yu hesitated for a long time. Just as he was about to say something, Jiang Ruoxue shot him a glare, and he swallowed his words.
"Gu Yu, I told you I had a falling out with my best friend. Now I've been pining so much that I've fallen ill, and I'm starting to see things." Jiang Ruoxue sighed, her expression overly dramatic. "Let's just break up."
"B-break up...?"
Judging by Gu Yu's expression, he didn't even know when they had gotten together.
"Sister Xue, don't mess with me..." Gu Yu said. "I just came to ask you about the 'Zodiac.' How did I end up getting dragged into this?"
Jiang Ruoxue shot him another glare. "Don't bother me anymore. I'm already heartbroken."
"Uh... Uh, I..." Gu Yu scratched his head. "Sister Xue... Could you... maybe run through the script with me first? I'm kind of struggling to keep up..."
I had imagined many possible scenarios for reuniting with Jiang Ruoxue, but I never expected this.
I thought we might be silent, or sad, or even argue again. But now, all I could do was hold back my laughter.
Oh god... When will Ruoxue stop?
I'm really going to break character.
"Shut up!" Jiang Ruoxue hissed at Gu Yu. "You never say a word when you should, but now you're full of chatter?! Is your innocence more important than my best friend?"
"N-no... Sister Xue... She came looking for you..." Gu Yu whispered back. "You two can sort things out however you want. Why drag me into this?"
They were clearly flustered. Their "whispering" was loud enough for me to hear.
"Enough nonsense!" Jiang Ruoxue whispered. "Make a flower."
"What?"
"I said make a flower!"
The boy named Gu Yu blinked, then reluctantly pulled a small black stick from his pants pocket. With a light squeeze, it transformed into a plastic rose right before my eyes.
"Give it here!"
Jiang Ruoxue snatched the rose without hesitation and walked toward me, saying, "Even if it's a hallucination... it's still my longing made real!"
"Sister Xue, that's a magic trick prop... Anyone can see through it..."
Jiang Ruoxue's carefully crafted melancholic expression instantly turned into exasperation. She turned back and said, "If you keep rambling, I'll explain the logical relationship behind your sudden death today."
"Uh... Alright, fine." Gu Yu nodded. "I won't say another word."
She held the flower up to me, but judging by her expression, she wasn't sure where to put it.
She seemed to want to hand it to me directly, but she was afraid that touching me would ruin the act.
So she turned back to look at Gu Yu.
Gu Yu, fearing a scolding, kept his lips tightly sealed and said nothing.
After standing frozen for three seconds, Jiang Ruoxue finally made up her mind and grabbed my hand.
"Huh...?" She let out an exaggerated, puzzled sound. "I can actually touch you?! You're real?! Ah... I... I..."
Alright, seeing her stammer, I knew she hadn't prepared the next line.
I can't... Her expression is way too funny...
"Pfft..."
I couldn't hold it in anymore. It was just too hard to resist.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
I doubled over with laughter, tears nearly streaming down my face.
Seeing me laughing so hard I could barely stand, Jiang Ruoxue realized her plan had failed. She turned back to Gu Yu with a look of utter defeat. "Did I tell you to talk less?"
"Huh...?" Gu Yu was taken aback. "Sister Xue... How can you blame me for this? And I didn't even say anything just now!"
"I don't care. It's your fault." Jiang Ruoxue said. "My acting was perfect... You ruined my flawless plan. Why were you so talkative?"
This is nice... This feeling is really nice.
I know Jiang Ruoxue too well. She must have been worried I'd be awkward, so she set up all the embarrassing moments for herself.
After this little farce, she was still herself, and I was still me.
It turns out that when you're with people who genuinely care about you, you don't have to be constantly on guard. They'll naturally consider your feelings.
"Ruoxue, I'm sorry." I said.
"Oh, come off it!" Jiang Ruoxue waved her hand. "Why are you apologizing to me? Now, we need Gu Yu here to apologize to me, or this isn't settled."
Alright. Now it was Gu Yu's turn to be awkward.