Volu 4: High School Arc - “I” Co to Find You~
I was soone with a rather cold personality, and most of the ti, my rationality outweighed my emotions, so when I was Zhang Yiwei, I didn’t have many friends.
Coupled with my childhood experiences, it was almost impossible for to trust others.
Lu Haochen might be considered an exception. At least at this stage, I hadn’t found anything about him that I disliked.
Even the way he freeloaded als was so confident and natural. This kind of unaffected person was a first for .
People like this were either extrely scheming, hiding all their emotions beneath the surface, or they were just naturally silly.
But Lu Haochen gave a contradictory feeling; on one hand, he felt very pure, and I could barely sense any malice from him, but on the other hand, he wasn’t stupid. He was clearly the type whose IQ stayed online all year round.
Maybe I just hadn’t experienced enough, but this was the first ti I’d t soone like him.
“Let’s go. We’re bored anyway, co shopping with .”
I casually picked up my bag, paid the bill, and turned to head out, while Lu Haochen just smiled slightly and followed .
He didn’t show any intention of refusing.
So far, if I had to say anything about ‘goodwill,’ I hadn’t really sensed it from him. Overall, it didn’t seem like he was trying to pursue a girl.
“Haochen, what’s your family like?”
I was indeed a little curious about the kind of family that could raise soone with such a childlike heart, such high intelligence, and such calm deanor.
“What’s it like? Hmm… a pretty normal family, I guess. My family are farrs, and we were quite poor when I was young, but things are much better now.”
Lu Haochen walked beside , speaking as we walked.
Shao He, as always, followed close by, so we had a car whenever we went out.
Since I had nothing else to do, I figured I might as well stroll around the mall.
Back when I was Zhang Yiwei, I was terrible at bargaining, and Liu Yunyan didn’t have any experience with it either.
In this regard, I was quite similar to Liu Yunyan, but the difference was that Liu Yunyan especially liked shopping.
After getting in the car, I told Shao He to head to the pedestrian street, then turned back to continue listening to Lu Haochen talk about his family.
“How’s your family doing now? There are a lot of contractors in the countryside nowadays. Most families should have sold their land, right?”
Things are different now.
Back in the days before chanization, most human resources had to be put into basic farming.
Not only was it labor-intensive, but the yield couldn’t compare to chanized farming. It was a huge waste of resources.
Now that things were chanized, even if farrs worked hard all year, their inco couldn’t compete with that of chanized farms.
So large contractors began to appear in rural areas.
“Yeah, we sold our land. My dad spent so money and used his connections to get a job at a steel plant. He’s still just a junior employee, and while we’re not rich… at least we don’t have to worry about food and drink.”
Lu Haochen thought for a mont before saying this.
That actually surprised .
I thought his family would be part of the labor class, but it turned out they were white-collar?
“What about your mother?”
I was just passing ti anyway, so I asked casually.
If he wanted to talk, fine.
If not, I wouldn’t press.
Lu Haochen didn’t hesitate and said:
“Very ordinary. She mostly just takes care of things at ho. Not as good as your family. Mine’s just a regular household.”
Lu Haochen said with a smile, and his face showed no signs of inferiority or envy or resentnt. He always had a calm and gentle air about him.
There was none of the exaggeration or money worship typical of modern young people.
From this, it was clear that the education he received growing up wasn’t sothing most children could access.
Geniuses usually followed certain patterns when they appeared.
Though I didn’t want to admit it, most of the successful people we saw today—the so-called geniuses—were products of their upbringing, and their family environnts were decided long before their parents even married.
For example, if both the paternal and maternal grandparents had received higher education and had strong moral standards, their children wouldn’t grow up ignorant or inferior.
If those children then married, their kids would naturally receive higher education and sound moral guidance.
Even if those kids didn’t have high IQs, their lives would still be stable.
But if they had a slightly higher IQ, then kids from such families would be born geniuses.
On the other hand, even if a child was intelligent, if they were raised in a morally deficient and shallow environnt, they would never walk the path of a genius.
Geniuses aren’t forced out—they’re cultivated.
However… from what I heard in Lu Haochen’s words, his family didn’t seem to have received much higher education.
Their moral values were just those of an average rural household.
From the ground up, they didn’t have the kind of environnt that could nurture such an outstanding “seed.”
But now Lu Haochen really stood out.
So the only possible answer had to be his childhood experience at the Taoist temple.
“Hey, you said you went up the mountain to study Daoism when you were a kid. How did that co about?”
Normal families don’t send their children to temples or monasteries.
I’d always been curious about that.
“It’s nothing really. I was sickly and weak as a kid. My parents were pretty superstitious. My grandpa was close with an old Taoist priest, and after so discussion, they decided to send to the temple to study Daoism and practice martial arts.”
“So… you must be closer to the old Taoist who raised you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then… is the old man still around?”
Lu Haochen smiled slightly.
“Of course. He’s still healthy. Even now, he can go up and down the mountain three tis a day to fetch a full jar of water.”
“Hm?”
Lu Haochen’s words seed disconnected, and I didn’t quite get it at first.
“Our temple is very small and not well-known. Aside from , the youngest disciple, there are only seven people left. Since the courtyard needs to be cleaned every day, we have to fetch water daily.”
“You don’t even have running water?”
It’s already 202X. How could there still be no plumbing?
“Yeah. The village committee approached my master before, but he insisted on following the temple’s old customs. As long as soone can still walk, everyone must go down the mountain to fetch water. Each person must carry at least one full jar a day. So no plumbing got installed.”
Listening to him talk like this, I actually beca a little curious about that old Taoist.
“Going up and down the mountain… how far is it?”
I looked at Lu Haochen and asked curiously.
“About three li each way, I guess…”
What the hell!
At least sixteen li a day?
And it’s on a mountain path?
“Then… your master, is he… very old?”
“Yeah… co to think of it, Master’s birthday is coming up. He’s turning 84 this year.”
Holy crap!
84 years old, walking sixteen li a day to fetch a full jar of water.
That kind of stamina… isn’t that a bit exaggerated?
“He’s really amazing… Hey, is that temple far from here?”
“Not too far. Why?”
“Take there next ti. I’d like to et a man like that.”
For soone to still stick to such old customs in this day and age, that’s really sothing else.
Lu Haochen was slightly startled when he heard that.
He frowned for a mont and, after a brief hesitation, nodded.
“Alright.”
Seeing that mont of hesitation on his face, I suddenly realized what he might be thinking right now.
I… might not have the chance for a “next ti.”
That one word, “alright,” sounded incredibly heavy.
Was he… making so kind of decision?
Don’t tell he’s resolved to risk everything to save ?
Emmm… probably not, right?
After all, our relationship is still just on the surface.
They say the boat of friendship can overturn at any mont.
At least, I don’t think Lu Haochen would go that far right now.
Besides, who am I—Liu Yunyan—do I even need saving?!
Uh…
The thought of that Mirror World experience flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t help but start doubting myself.
Maybe… I’d been overestimating myself?
It wasn’t convenient to talk about this in the car, so we simply drove straight into the pedestrian street’s parking lot.
After getting out, Shao He followed behind us.
To be honest, it felt a little awkward.
But then again, this was her job, so I didn’t say anything.
Fortunately, Shao He didn’t get too close and kept a distance of about three ters.
I carried my bag, and Lu Haochen was also carrying one.
I was quite curious about what was in his bag, but I didn’t ask.
Walking through the crowd, in this kind of noisy environnt, people wouldn’t normally pay attention to and Lu Haochen talking.
Even if we ntioned sothing creepy, no one would hear the whole thing from start to finish.
So I wasn’t worried about being exposed.
On both sides of the pedestrian street were small stalls, selling all kinds of trinkets—lanyards, bracelets, hair clips, toys—and also so snacks.
As we walked and looked around, I started talking about what I’d ntioned back at the restaurant.
“Haochen, about what I said at the restaurant…”
“Yeah.”
Lu Haochen responded, showing he was listening.
“Actually, in the Mirror World, I encountered a butcher. I ntioned earlier that I visited Lili’s house, and I described the scene to you. So now I’ll tell you my current speculation.”
“Okay.”
“That butcher… I didn’t interact with him much, but at least from my mory, he’s the only one I know who eats people raw. But for now, I don’t really have a theory. It’s a bit of a stretch at best.”
“Hmm… judging by what you’re saying, it probably isn’t that butcher. You said the butcher used a knife, but did you find any knife wounds on those two…?”
Lu Haochen glanced around as he spoke.
“No, I didn’t. But at least for now, that’s the only connection I can draw. You’re right, though, the butcher used knives. The gore is similar, but it’s still too different. Maybe I need to think from another angle.”
“Yunyan, tonight when you record again, no matter how small a detail it is, make sure to record it. Do it as soon as possible. If my guess is right…”
“What?”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but pause and glance back at Lu Haochen.
He furrowed his brow.
“If my guess is right, tonight, your mories should provide you with more clues.”
“Based on what?”
I hesitated slightly, then kept walking and asked him.
“I’m guessing.”
Lu Haochen smiled slightly, which caught off guard.
“So… you’re just guessing?”
“Yeah, just a wild guess.”
Tch, this guy… does he have any idea what he’s doing?
Speechless.
Headache.
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