She looked at the thousands of comnts, feeling a bit moved, a bit sad, and even fearful. It was as if in front of her wasn’t the internet, but a tsunami composed of millions.
Once the tsunami collapses, she would be instantly subrged.
If she were splashed with dirt or burdened with infamy, would these people still love her so much?
"Knock, knock." A knocking sound ca from the door.
"Co in," Su Luoluo said.
Lv Shu, in a tracksuit and suit trousers, walked in wearing slippers, holding a box of dicine.
"Su Ming’an asked to get a different prescription from the hospital. He said you shouldn’t take the dicine you were on before," Lv Shu said. "He can’t co back these days; I’m responsible for staying here."
Su Luoluo forced a smile, uglier than crying: "Mm, thank him, and thank you too."
Lv Shu stood at the doorway, silent for a mont: "If you don’t want to smile, don’t."
He could understand that feeling. When he was very young, he was forced to show a smile he wasn’t good at, welcoming those relatives with ulterior motives. That feeling was worse than eating garbage.
Su Luoluo rubbed her face and realized she was smiling.
"Little Cloud, he really won’t co back?" Su Luoluo asked.
In the morning, she’d sent him off to the college entrance exam, and by afternoon, she suddenly received the news "Su Wensheng is an Exotic Species." It was as if in an instant, he had turned from a rising star into a feared fugitive, just because of an Exotic Species identity.
But Su Luoluo knew, he clearly hadn’t hard anyone.
"He... probably won’t be back for a short while," Lv Shu said. "He can co back, but he doesn’t need to. Here is equivalent to Newbie Village, no longer the map he needs to go to... do you get what I an?"
Su Luoluo was a little stunned: "You an the ’Dao Ya City’ map’s storyline has ended, and he has to fly to sowhere higher and farther. I’m like a starter NPC in Newbie Village, right?"
Lv Shu didn’t expect Su Luoluo to see it so clearly: "It won’t be that bad. See, he still buys you dicine."
Su Luoluo took the dicine box: "I got it."
Lv Shu closed the door and left.
In the dark room, Su Luoluo began opening the dicine box while looking at her strear hopage.
She knew Little Cloud was a good person, so good it was touching. He advanced her mother’s dical bills and let her live in his house. The one who wasn’t good was her, always feeling lost in her drop and sense of powerlessness.
The fans had already surpassed 800,000, and she vaguely set foot into the mid-to-upper tiers of strears. Many expressed their fondness for her. But those who objected to the Dream Patrol Family couldn’t criticize the Dream Patrol Family, so they vented their anger on her.
Su Ming’an, who managed the comnts, was gone. Su Luoluo had to face these negative remarks head-on, this was her job.
"Crunch," Su Luoluo bit and swallowed the tablet with water, yet she didn’t feel tranquil. The black-and-white words on the screen were familiar, but combined, they seed sinister and unfamiliar.
[Ruoli: Just four days, 800,000 fans, she’s bound to beco a terrifying big strear.]
[Distant Soul: I constantly feel her gaze is very world-weary, is it only who thinks so?]
[Mad: This strear’s eyes are almost glued to the Dream Patrol Family, she must be wild in real life.]
[Zixu: The video editing is just so-so, can’t see why it’s so popular, the rankings must be rigged.]
[Ice Peak: The ’Demon King Miss’ persona is so cringe-worthy, does she really think she’s the world’s Hero? What a joke, self-obsession.]
[Plain Point: People living in a ntal world are like this.]
...
She opened her hopage, t with words calling her a slut.
Opening her private ssages, greeted by questions about her nightly rate.
Opening her feed, comnts were boldly comnting on her face and figure.
...This dicine doesn’t seem to be working.
The vision was still fading, everything seeming draped in a gray mist.
She opened the drawer, took out a crimson box of which the side effects are stronger ntal drugs, given by a strear friend of hers, called Roseblood, reportedly a recently trendy drug with a more potent effect.
"Click," "click."
The mouse click and the biting of the pills sounded simultaneously. The girl’s pale face was illuminated by the white glow of the computer screen, like a shell about to die. She swallowed the Roseblood, one after another.
Gradually, she felt her vision becoming sticky and blurred, everything around seed to begin floating. The computer, the tables and chairs, the bed, the paintings on the wall, the parasol tree outside the window, the distant moon... they were like Angels, rrily dancing around her, singing songs of freedom and happiness, all the scenes beautiful and dreamlike.
...Ah, the sensation of happiness.
Heartbeat accelerated, blood rushed rapidly, her whole body trembling from coldness.
Under the influence of the drug, she felt everything becoming peaceful and wonderful. Those comnts calling her a slut vanished, transford into Elves dancing and singing around her, loudly praising her.
Demon King Miss—Demon King Miss!
You’re so cute—you’re so cute—you’re so cute—you’re so cute—you’re so cute—
Through the internet screen, she seed to see a white cat, a Ragdoll cat, its eyes wide, like two blue gemstones. It looked at her with a glance of pity, her pale appearance clearly reflected in its eyes, mirroring her impoverished and mundane self, as if sympathizing with her.
She reached out her hand, trying to touch it, yet the cat imdiately jumped away. Cats as creatures are free, they could jump off ten-ter-high buildings and still vivaciously run toward the far distance, unlike her.
"—Ah."
She lightly let out a sound.
The pulse thumped rhythmically, so lively, so srizing. Breathing grew more and more rapid. She gradually couldn’t distinguish if this was a side effect of the drugs or her own joy.
Pink hair, purple eyes, the gorgeous Demon King Miss.
The Demon King Miss, surrounded by many, the Demon King Miss in the computer screen, the almighty Demon King Miss.
She saw outside the window appeared a colorful long bridge, from the other end ca the holy sound of Angels, as if stepping on this bridge, true happiness could be attained.
As if hearing the high-pitched singing of her own Soul, it finally broke free from its heavy and dull shell, like the last leaf of the parasol tree, like the dancing wind. She almost felt, that now—she was being watched by a Deity.
Eyes need not see, ears need not hear. But when everything transcends the five senses, falls into madness, perhaps humans could see a Deity.
Is a Deity watching her?
She started to walk toward the window, but then suddenly heard a shrill male voice:
"—Stop! Wake up!!"
A hand tightly gripped her arm. She tried to exert so strength but couldn’t break free. The beautiful rainbow-colored scene seed to be drifting further away from her.
Growth, work, overti, socializing, dinner parties, settling down and establishing a career.
Being insulted, being criticized, being wrongly speculated about, being called a chicken, being evaluated on her face and figure.
These repulsive things suddenly flooded back into her mind like a mudslide. She finally ca back to reality from the hallucinations brought by the drugs, and saw the young man tightly grasping her arm.
"... Su Luoluo."
Lv Shu didn’t expect that this girl, who seed optimistic and cheerful, would have such a painful side. If he hadn’t heard the noise of the chair collapsing and rushed in to grab her, she might have really jumped off in a ntal hallucination.
He rembered his past self; he too had once suffered from ntal illness, but after eting Su Ming’an, he gradually healed.
"Don’t take these unregulated drugs; the side effects are too severe." Lv Shu glanced at the red dicine box on the table, didn’t recognize what it was, and tossed it into the trash bin.
Su Luoluo stared blankly at the dicine box in the trash bin. She seed to purse her lips, or perhaps twitch slightly.
"But I saw a rainbow in the dication."
Lv Shu held her trembling shoulders and said softly, "Don’t do this."
His ten fingers exerted force, firmly gripping her shoulders. Through her eyes, clouded with mist, he seed to see his past self. Many people he knew lived in pain; it was the World Ga that changed their fate trajectories.
Destiny.
Lv Shu’s fingers slightly tightened, "That’s not a rainbow; it’s poison. Don’t submit to negative emotions, the future will be better, it definitely will."
Lv Shu had only heard that people might collapse under negative emotions, but now it happened right in front of him.
But he believes the ending will turn out well.
"Su Luoluo." Lv Shu gazed into her eyes.
With Su Wensheng... no, with Su Ming’an, even if your life was dark before, you will beco lucky. Even if you face imnse malice, a hand will pierce the black mist and reach out to you, like sunlight slanting through a crack. That person would rather sink than fail to rescue you.
So Lv Shu believes, as long as you continue—there will always be a dawn. What he has to do is to help that person.
Su Luoluo’s shoulders slightly shook, she seed to want to express sothing, but it was as if sothing was stuck in her throat. She pursed her lips, swallowing all her pain again, suddenly covering her cheeks, and cried loudly.
After confirming she was okay, Lv Shu left the room.
Exhausted from crying, Su Luoluo lay in front of the computer, fell asleep, and had a dream.
She dread she found herself in a far, far away place—where the sky’s color was like blood, and black mist lingered and wouldn’t dissipate. In her dream, she laughed loudly, facing everyone’s blades. People looked at her fearfully, as if she were so monster.
"Witch—witch—witch!!" People roared, treating her as an enemy.
The blood-red flags fluttered, she carried soone on her back, trudging forward through the mire, leaving behind footprints of blood.
"Kill the witch!" In the next instant, countless blades rushed toward her.
"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep—!"
Su Luoluo was startled awake by the alarm clock. She looked up at the clock and discovered she had slept until eleven at night, the ti for her to start live streaming. She couldn’t sleep anymore.
She glanced at the dicine box in the trash bin, hesitated for a mont, and didn’t pick it up.
"What a strange dream." She muttered to herself, washed her face, "Alright, don’t mind bizarre dreams... it’s ti to work."
At this mont, she looked at her inbox, where a group email was newly received, sent by the military and Union Governnt: [The Union Governnt invites all Dream Patrol Family with over five hundred thousand followers to go to the Relics by 0:00 on February 8th!]
"Inviting all Dream Patrol Families with over fifty thousand followers to explore [Relics]?" Su Luoluo muttered to herself, "So I’m included?"
She looked into the location of the [Relics], thousands of kiloters away from Ubang Nation. But the military could use airships to transport Dream Patrol Families, so it wouldn’t waste too much ti on the road.
Feeling reassured, she replied to the email, expressing her willingness to participate.
After replying to the email, she adjusted her expression in front of the mirror, wearing her cheerful smile as the Demon King Lady.
—As long as I wear the internet’s robe, I will beco your soul’s resting place.
She wiped the tears off her face, donned the Dream Patrol Helt.
—Oh those tortured by negative emotions, don’t be sad, don’t despair.
Pressing the Dream Patrol switch, adjusting her ntal state, Su Luoluo slowly closed her eyes.
—The Demon King Lady has arrived.
...
Alice brought Su Ming’an to the church.
In the quiet church, the kerosene lamp exuded a warm glow, a large cream cake rested on the table, fourteen candles were placed on the left side of the cake, and nineteen candles on the right.
A few young people stood there, blowing out confetti from their hands. Strears drenched Alice and Su Ming’an.
"Happy fourteenth birthday, Alice!" they shouted, giving gifts to Alice.
"Thank you all," Alice smiled.
Watching Alice receive gifts one by one, Su Ming’an felt a sense of "the child has grown up." During the ti he was absent, Alice had t many wonderful people.
Alice was a good child, and these people were good friends to her. Perhaps they really would transcend friendship in the future, but that’s their freedom.
—He was just a player; he couldn’t accompany her all her life. She would et many more wonderful people, certainly would.
Su Ming’an watched the smile on her face, the flickering reflection of the lamp cast upon her purple eyes, appearing pure and beautiful.
"—And over here, the Detective!"
At this mont, several people simultaneously turned their heads, looking at Su Ming’an.
"Hm?" Su Ming’an was stunned. He hadn’t expected these people would suddenly call out to him.
Suddenly, he saw the birthday cake on the table. The birthday cake had been divided into two halves—fourteen candles on the left side and nineteen candles on the right. He had initially thought they placed too many candles, but now he suddenly realized, the fourteen candles on the left represented Alice’s birthday, and the nineteen candles on the right—referred to himself.
Today was December 31st, the last day of the year, not only was it Alice’s birthday, but it was also his birthday. He didn’t know which player inford Alice of this information. Although his real birthday had already passed, in the ga’s date, it was still counted as his birthday.
"Detective, happy birthday to you," Alice approached him, looking up, her hands behind her back, hiding sothing.
Reviews
All reviews (0)