CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 71: THE TRUTH! BELIA’S ROLE-PLAYING

Chen Lili was sitting at the dining table with a solemn expression, her brows tightly furrowed.

To be precise, her name was not Chen Lili. The people here usually called her Belia, and she was the City Lord of the City of No Night in Spring City’s Inner City District.

A week before Disaster Day, Belia received a bizarre memory while she was sleeping soundly. At first, she simply dismissed it as a dream. However, when Disaster Day arrived, she realized that the monsters from her dream had appeared out of nowhere in Spring City’s Outer District. To say their appearances were similar would be an understatement; they were completely identical.

So, was the man from the dream real too? Taking advantage of the brief period after the disaster began, she spared no expense, using all her manpower and resources to finally locate the boy through her informant in the Outer District—in the home of a female spy.

In reality, he lacked the arrogance and wild spirit from the dream. He simply lay motionless in bed, where he remained in a deep sleep for an entire year.

Belia had many questions for him. But after a year had passed and Chen Pingchuan finally awoke, she found that not only were her questions unanswered, but she had even more. To make matters worse, the boy who was supposed to resolve all her confusion had lost his memory.

This cliché, dramatic scenario unfolded unexpectedly before Belia’s very eyes. It was for this reason that she disguised herself as Chen Lili—to figure out whether Chen Pingchuan’s amnesia was real or just an act. After several days of careful observation, she concluded that his amnesia was genuine. One of her genetic abilities was telepathy, which allowed her to perceive a person’s true inner emotions.

"City Lord, I sent people to investigate the matter you instructed. We currently have three pieces of information," the man at the dining table reported, snapping Belia out of her daze.

"First, the boy went to the commercial district in the city center this afternoon. He didn’t take the bus, which means he either ran the whole way or someone picked him up.

"Second, we received a report from the school. His mock test results were a failure, with a power attribute equivalent to just 0.8. This indicates his personal strength is extremely low, consistent with the level of the poor residents in the Outer District.

"Third, just a moment ago, the boy made contact with a drifter who had snuck into the city. He’s downstairs right now. According to our informant, the two of them were whispering together for a long time.

"In summary, I believe he’s just a powerless member of some insignificant organization. He’s not worthy of your attention. We should just..."

Belia could sense the negative emotion radiating from her subordinate—jealousy. This two-faced attitude disgusted her. Instead of commending him, a powerful surge of anger rose within her. She threw the cup in her hand directly at the man’s head.

With a cry of pain, the cup shattered against his skull, the pieces scattering across the floor.

"Who do you think you are? Do you dare teach me how to do my job now?" she seethed. "It seems you’ve had too much free time on your hands lately, so much that you’ve started analyzing matters for me. Should I offer you the position of City Lord? Would you like to take it?"

Belia’s outburst stunned the man into silence. Perhaps because he had been playing the role of ’father’ for a week, he had grown complacent. Normally, even if his words and actions were slightly out of line, Belia would only frown and let it slide. For some reason, however, whenever Chen Pingchuan was involved, she became like a completely different person, giving off an entirely different aura.

The man was terrified, and the woman beside him was no better. As Belia’s servant and housekeeper, she knew perfectly well how ruthless the City Lord could be, even if others did not. After that one accident, Belia not only stopped aging, but her body even began to slowly revert to a childlike appearance. How could a young woman in the prime of her life be expected to accept such a fate?

Consequently, Belia’s temperament grew more volatile by the day. After she took over as City Lord, the entire City of No Night underwent a bloody purge. This situation continued until the boy appeared. Belia seemed to transform. When she wasn’t handling official duties, she would just sit in the hospital room, staring blankly at the comatose boy.

If it was love, it didn’t make much sense. Despite her childlike body, the most talented young men in the City of No Night were still hers for the choosing. The housekeeper couldn’t understand why Belia was so obsessed with a boy who was, at best, only modestly handsome.

Just as the tension in the room reached a breaking point,

CLICK.

The door was unlocked from the outside.

Chen Pingchuan froze when he saw the scene before him. He had been so engrossed in his squabble with Wang Xing that he’d lost track of time. After rushing home, he was greeted by this sight.

Glass shards were scattered across the floor; from the fragments, he could vaguely tell it had been a cup. Also in the room were his pale-faced father, his timid mother, and his furious-looking little sister.

No doubt about it. My sister must have been caught skipping school, and now Mom and Dad are disciplining her. Even Dad, who never gets angry, was furious enough to smash a cup. That just shows how strongly they disapprove of something as serious as skipping school. But looking at my sister’s expression, she shows no signs of backing down. No wonder Dad’s face is pale with rage.

Through a gap under the dining table, Chen Pingchuan could even see his father’s legs shaking uncontrollably.

Judging by how much they’re shaking, he must be absolutely livid.

As the eldest brother of the family, Chen Pingchuan felt it was his duty to end this argument. He put on an angry expression, strode over to Belia’s side, and berated her loudly.

"How many times have I told you? If you have a stomachache, just ask for a day off to rest! Don’t just sneak home to suffer in silence without talking to us first. Seriously..."

While feigning exasperation, Chen Pingchuan grabbed Belia’s arm. He then turned to his parents, forced a smile, and explained, "I’ll take her to her room and have a serious talk with her. How can a child be so disobedient? It’s infuriating! You just watch how I handle her."

After he finished speaking, Chen Pingchuan realized all three of them were staring at him with the strangest expressions. Their odd looks made his skin crawl. But since he’d already started, he had no choice but to keep up the act and try to pull his sister away.

However, on his first try, he couldn’t even budge her.

Was that just my imagination? Chen Pingchuan wondered, as the resistance vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving no trace. It was as if it had never been there at all.

Belia’s bedroom was nothing like the frilly, pink rooms of other little girls. Instead, it was decorated in a simple, professional style. This surprised Chen Pingchuan, as it was the first time he had been in a girl’s room since waking up from his coma.

The surprise was fleeting, however. Chen Pingchuan pushed Belia onto the bed and then locked the door from the inside.