Chapter 114

“You've known Yuan Lan for a long time,” Bai Xuechao said casually.

Yu Ruolan nodded, “Mm-hmm.”

“Let's talk about that girl again. I'm a little curious about her.” Bai Xuechao looked into Yu Ruolan's eyes and asked, “Can you tell me, what was the question Yuan Lan asked you?”

For Yuan Lan to use Yu Ruolan's special ability to ask about a girl, there must be something wrong.

He remembered that when they met at the Dream Game City, Yuan Lan had revealed that his information would soon no longer be confidential. From that, he learned from Xiao 6 that Yuan Lan would be making a big move later in the story.

Therefore, he had every reason to suspect that this girl was part of that big move.

“Ah, I can… It's not a secret. Lin Changqing and Mu Xinyue know about it too.” Yu Ruolan's eyes shifted, moving away from Bai Xuechao's gaze a little uncomfortably. She twirled her hair around her finger a couple of times and said softly, “He asked me, who is the most suitable candidate.”

Bai Xuechao felt that this question was too vague, “What most suitable candidate?”

“I don't know,” Yu Ruolan said honestly.

Bai Xuechao gained a new understanding of Yu Ruolan's special ability.

It seemed that when asking a question, it wasn't necessary for Yu Ruolan to know the exact question. As long as the questioner had it in their mind, it would work.

Bai Xuechao felt that he had asked enough for today. If he continued to ask, even someone as slow as Yu Ruolan would start to feel something, so he started to chat about other topics.

If Bai Xuechao wanted to, he could chat with anyone for a whole day without running out of topics.

The two of them strolled around a nearby area with no mutated species while chatting idly.

During the conversation, Bai Xuechao discovered that Yu Ruolan was only afraid to speak because she was afraid of interacting with others. But if he patiently guided and communicated with her, she could actually chat about anything and everything. She didn't show any signs of rejection, nor was she rude in any way. In fact, every time she spoke, she was very considerate of others' feelings and moods.

A person like her, although introverted and not good at interpersonal communication, wasn't so withdrawn that it would be an exaggeration to say she couldn't make friends throughout her childhood and adolescence.

If it were like now, where Yu Ruolan had little presence due to the side effect of her special ability, he could understand why she couldn't make friends. But if she couldn't make friends before the side effect became so strong, then it was a bit thought-provoking.

Bai Xuechao asked, “Besides Yuan Lan, are there any other people you can talk to?”

He asked it rather tactfully, but Yu Ruolan understood his underlying meaning.

“Actually, I've made friends before,” Yu Ruolan lowered her eyes, and her long eyelashes cast a faint shadow under her eyes, making her eyes seem to dim. Her tone was a little downcast, “But people would talk bad about me behind my back, saying I was… faking it, and they would give me nicknames…”

Her voice became smaller and smaller.

Bai Xuechao frowned slightly.

School bullying? Had Yu Ruolan run into all the scumbags?

“Later, I had a friend I got along with pretty well. We took the same school bus in high school.” Yu Ruolan's eyes under her long eyelashes were a little lonely, and her voice was almost a mumble. Her pace also slowed down. “But after the college entrance exam, I sent her a message, and she never replied. I don't know what I did wrong…”

Being ghosted for no reason?

Bai Xuechao asked, “Was your presence very low at that time?”

“…It was okay?” Yu Ruolan glanced at Bai Xuechao. “I didn't use my special ability much back then. Classmates would just occasionally ignore me.”

Then that ruled out the possibility of being ignored by a friend because of a low presence.

Bai Xuechao felt that something was wrong.

He didn't speak for a moment, and Yu Ruolan didn't know what to say either. The atmosphere between them suddenly became quiet.

Unconsciously, they stopped walking.

“Found you—!” Yuan Lan's gentle and sweet voice suddenly sounded behind them, and a hand rested on each of Bai Xuechao's and Yu Ruolan's shoulders.

Yu Ruolan was startled by the sudden voice and hand, and her body trembled. After recognizing Yuan Lan's voice, she turned her head and smiled.

Bai Xuechao took out his phone and checked the time. There were still ten minutes until two in the afternoon.

The other party had arrived early.

Yuan Lan squeezed in between them, his hands still on their shoulders, and asked with some curiosity in his tone, “What are you doing?”

At that moment, Bai Xuechao had a sudden realization.

—It was Yuan Lan!

The reason why Yu Ruolan couldn't make friends since she was a child and could only rely on Yuan Lan, establishing an unbreakable bond with him, was all orchestrated by Yuan Lan!

Tsk, what a scheme.

“Just chatting casually…” Yu Ruolan had no intention of hiding anything from Yuan Lan. She counted on her fingers, “Special abilities, mutated species, constellations, mythology, TV shows…”

Yuan Lan let out a long “Oh” and said with a smile, “You two are chatting about quite a variety of things.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Xuechao's scarlet eyes glanced at Yuan Lan.

“Mm.” Yu Ruolan looked up at Yuan Lan's smiling face, and a faint smile also appeared on the corners of her own lips. “We also talked about some things from our childhood.”

“Our childhood?” Yuan Lan's eyelashes fluttered as he blinked. His golden eyes turned to the calm-faced Bai Xuechao beside him, and he still said with a smile, “Little Xuechao, are you very interested in our childhood? You can ask me.”

Bai Xuechao met his gaze.

Yuan Lan's slightly curved golden eyes held a hint of a half-smile.

Bai Xuechao had long known that Yu Ruolan would not hide anything from Yuan Lan. If Yuan Lan asked, she would definitely tell him the truth, so he was prepared for this.

He was only afraid that Yuan Lan wouldn't ask.

He spoke unhurriedly, his voice like a gurgling clear spring, “It would be a lie to say I'm not interested, but I'm not very interested either. It's just that I found that she's not nervous when she talks about things related to you, so I chatted with her a little more about you two.”

“Eh?” Yu Ruolan was a little surprised and said, flattered, “Thank you for accommodating me…”

Bai Xuechao: “…”

He almost didn't know how to respond.

“So that's how it is.” Yuan Lan nodded a couple of times as if in sudden realization, then said as if with a hidden meaning, “Little Xuechao is really good at talking to people.”

Bai Xuechao said calmly, “Are you envious? If you are, I can also have a heart-to-heart talk with you tonight. We can talk to our hearts' content.”

“It's not impossible, but—” Yuan Lan said with a grin, “You're trying to wear me out.”

Bai Xuechao played along and asked, “How so?”

“In order to give you the information, I have to work day and night in the laboratory these few days, and I can only sleep for about four hours every day.” Yuan Lan raised the hand that was resting on Bai Xuechao's shoulder and made a shrugging gesture, sighing dramatically, “Now I have to have a heart-to-heart talk with you at night. You can sleep during the day to catch up, but I can't.”

Bai Xuechao thought: You wake up so early, do you still need to sleep?

He had no doubt that when this guy was in workaholic mode, he didn't need to sleep at all.

Bai Xuechao said coldly, “A special ability user won't die even if they don't sleep for ten days.”

“Oh my god, so cruel!” Yuan Lan pretended to cry, covering his face, and spouted nonsense, “I'm going to be ruthlessly exploited and die young!”

“Don't worry,” Bai Xuechao said in a cool tone, “I'll die before you.”

That sentence was a fatal blow.

Yuan Lan's expression returned to normal, and he almost applauded him, “Alright, you win.”

Yu Ruolan stood by, unable to get a word in.

However, Yuan Lan didn't ignore her. While he was bantering with Bai Xuechao, he had wrapped her waist with a puppet thread, and two puppet threads extended from her waist.

“Let's go, I'll take you to play flying trapeze.” Yuan Lan lifted Yu Ruolan up. “Little Yu, get ready—”

The slender puppet thread gleamed faintly in the sunlight, leading all the way to the castle on the mountainside.

Yu Ruolan covered her mouth and gave a super soft “mm.”

The moment Yuan Lan let go of Yu Ruolan's hands, the puppet threads on both sides of her waist suddenly tightened, pulling her away.

Yu Ruolan's petite body was pulled high into the air by the puppet threads, soaring over the lush green forest. Her violet eyes sparkled, and she seemed to be having a great time. The afternoon sun shone on her, casting a rapidly moving shadow on the ground.

Xiao 6 shouted, “Ahhh, this is so cool! Host, hurry up and play!”

Bai Xuechao retorted, “Do you think this is an amusement park ride?”

Despite what he said, his eyes honestly looked at Yuan Lan.

“How about it, doesn't it feel fun?” Yuan Lan's smile was very proud, and he looked a bit punchable. He quickly wrapped the puppet thread around Bai Xuechao and teased, “Aren't you still like a child? As your big brother, I'll grant your request.”

Bai Xuechao: “?”

Who are you calling a child? Don't try to claim kinship, get lost!

Just as Bai Xuechao was about to retort, the puppet thread wrapped around his waist instantly pulled him up.

His body lost its balance, and he flew up facing the sky. The scene before him changed from Yuan Lan's face to the azure sky, with white clouds stretching out leisurely.

The puppet thread continued to pull, and his body returned to an upright position. He could also see the lush and verdant trees below, like a green ocean wave, flowing endlessly to the top of the mountain.

The oncoming wind blew Bai Xuechao's bangs up, and his snow-white hair danced in the air like soft and fluffy catkins.

Xiao 6 shouted in his head, “Ahhh, awesome! This must be what the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear feels like! Burn! Soul of the Chuunibyo! Dedicate your heart!”

Bai Xuechao: “…”

Why are you, a system, so excited?

Although he had never heard of the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, he could guess from the name that it was a machine or equipment that could pull people to glide in the air like this.

Xiao 6 was still shouting excitedly, “So cool—!”

When Bai Xuechao landed, he could still hear Xiao 6's voice in his head.

The puppet thread automatically unwound and retracted after Bai Xuechao landed.

Yu Ruolan took two steps closer to him, her hands clenched into fists, as if she had mustered a lot of courage to take the initiative to ask, “Was it fun?”

Bai Xuechao thought: Do you all in the Apocalypse Society treat this as an entertainment project?

Yu Ruolan's eyes were bright as she looked at him, like a child sharing a toy with a playmate, nervously and expectantly waiting for the playmate's feedback.

Bai Xuechao didn't want to say something he didn't mean, so he nodded and said, “It was quite interesting.”

“Right? I knew you'd like it!” Yuan Lan landed behind Bai Xuechao at that moment and heard his last sentence. His pride was palpable. He put his arm on Bai Xuechao's shoulder, “If I were here, you would have definitely stubbornly said 'it's okay'.”

Bai Xuechao emotionlessly pushed away Yuan Lan's hand, “I'm not that childish.”

He wasn't Ji Chuanze, after all.

Yuan Lan's hand that was on Bai Xuechao's shoulder missed, but he didn't mind at all. He just smiled and looked at Yu Ruolan, “Little Yu, I'm taking Little Xuechao to the laboratory. Will you be okay on your own?”

Yu Ruolan nodded and said, “No problem.”

“Then we're off~” Yuan Lan pushed Bai Xuechao towards a spire behind the castle.

The spire was completely Gothic in style, with a towering steeple pointing straight to the sky, a section taller than the main body of the castle, as if it were about to pierce the clouds.

Yuan Lan's laboratory was in this separate spire.

Before entering the spire, Yuan Lan turned his head and pointed to a window on the upper floor of the castle, “Do you see that window with the blue curtains? The window directly opposite it is the laboratory window. You can jump directly into the laboratory from there.”

Wouldn't that make it easy to sneak in?

However, Bai Xuechao felt that Yuan Lan wouldn't be so kind as to tell him a shortcut into the laboratory. He calmly guessed, “All the laboratory windows are locked by you?”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Lan was stunned for a moment, then a bright smile appeared on his face. He said happily, “That's right, so you can't normally jump in~”

Bai Xuechao: “…”

He knew it.

If he had really believed Yuan Lan's nonsense and found an opportunity to sneak in through the window to investigate the laboratory, he would have been locked outside the window, and might even have fallen directly.

He had just looked. The windows on this high tower had no ledges, none of them.

It was as if it was specially designed to trick people who wanted to climb in through the windows.