Chapter 51: Because I Want to Redeem You
Zhu readily agreed to Lu Zhiyin’s proposal, smiling.
“…”
Lu Zhiyin fell silent. She was stunned, not expecting Zhu to agree so readily.
“What’s wrong?”
Tilting her head, Zhu reached out and wiped away a stray grain of rice from the corner of Lu Zhiyin’s mouth with her thumb.
The girl’s dazed expression brought Zhu joy.
“Uh… mainly, I didn’t expect Senior to agree.”
The overly intimate gesture made Lu Zhiyin’s face flush. Zhu’s actions made her feel like a pampered pet.
Hmm… if the owner was this gentle, being pampered might not be so bad, right?
Having been through so much abuse, Lu Zhiyin realized her perspective on things had changed.
This was perhaps not a good sign.
“Cute.”
Zhu couldn’t help but praise the girl’s rosy cheeks.
To Zhu, this girl was even cuter than she had ever seen her before.
Zhu realized she was developing feelings for Lu Zhiyin.
She wanted to see her smile happily, and helping Lu Zhiyin was no longer just a matter of responsibility.
“N-no…”
Stuttering, Lu Zhiyin shook her head and lowered it.
Zhu seemed to have changed. She was still gentle and gave a sense of security, but Lu Zhiyin felt she was becoming more like a real, three-dimensional good person, rather than a “good person” in a game who acted according to her programmed settings.
“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”
Seeing Lu Zhiyin’s embarrassed state, Zhu gave up her intention to continue playing with her.
“Mm…”
Lu Zhiyin pursed her lips and looked up again.
She took deep breaths, and it took a while for her to calm down.
“Senior, you agreed to go on a trip with me, what about your studies? Won’t you be far behind?”
Lu Zhiyin no longer cared about her grades. In her perception, she was approaching her end and didn’t need to focus on trivial matters.
“No, I won’t.”
Zhu shook her head.
“What I’ve learned is already ahead of the textbooks. Besides, when traveling, there are always times to rest in hotels, right? I can study then. So, you don’t need to worry about me. As long as you’re happy.”
Zhu stood up and walked behind Lu Zhiyin, gently patting her shoulder.
“Mm… as long as it doesn’t affect you, that’s good.”
Nodding, Lu Zhiyin fell silent again.
She still had many issues to resolve: where to travel, for how long, and where the money would come from.
To her, each of these problems was more troublesome than the last.
…
After lunch, having stayed in the cafeteria for only a short while, Lu Zhiyin and Zhu returned to the library.
“Skipping class, is that okay?”
Sitting behind the counter, Zhu looked at Lu Zhiyin, who was wandering among the bookshelves.
Lu Zhiyin didn’t answer, just shook her head.
“I don’t want to go back to the classroom.”
More accurately, she didn’t want to see Long Qinxin.
“I want to find where to travel.”
As she said this, Lu Zhiyin actually had a place in mind.
She wanted to go to the seaside, to see a real sea.
Her world had been very narrow, and she wanted to see the vast world before her end.
The sea was synonymous with vastness, so Lu Zhiyin wanted to see the sea.
However, she didn’t know if there were coastal cities in this world; her memories of the game were becoming increasingly hazy.
“I see…”
Zhu nodded.
Then, as if she had just thought of something, she sat up straight.
“Speaking of which, do you have money for traveling?”
Zhu asked this question.
“…I shouldn’t… be the one to prepare it, right? There’s a deity, after all.”
Lu Zhiyin was a little uncertain. Being penniless did make her a bit flustered, but this time she was traveling with Ouyang Qing.
Regarding the money, Ouyang Qing, as a deity, should be able to… solve it, right?
Her interest in searching for travel guides in the bookshelf vanished.
“Probably. But even if that troublesome deity is unwilling to solve the money problem, you don’t need to worry too much. I have my own little stash.”
Zhu smiled slightly, stood up, and came behind Lu Zhiyin.
“Your expenses… consider them as a loan from me.”
Zhu knew that Lu Zhiyin would most likely not accept free gifts, so she used the word “loan.”
A loan today means repayment tomorrow. Zhu was trying to deepen Lu Zhiyin’s connection with this world through more things.
Although Lu Zhiyin’s situation seemed to be improving, Zhu had seen her situation take a sudden turn for the worse, and she couldn’t put her mind at ease.
She did not want to see Lu Zhiyin continue to self-destruct.
“Mm… I’ll pay you back.”
Leaning against the bookshelf and looking at Zhu, who was much taller than her, Lu Zhiyin lowered her head and looked at her own toes.
She might not have the chance to repay it.
Feeling a bit guilty, she didn’t know if she should tell Zhu about her plan; she didn’t want Zhu to worry about her.
“…Let’s not talk about money for now. Have you decided where you want to go?”
Looking at the girl with her head down, clearly in a bad mood, Zhu paused for a moment.
“…I want to see the sea, but I don’t know where to go. I’ve barely left the city I was born in, both in the real world and in the game world.”
Lu Zhiyin’s mood became even more gloomy.
“See the sea…”
Zhu looked up and glanced at the library’s ceiling.
She searched her memory for words related to the ocean, but only found a few pictures from television.
She had never left this city either, let alone seen the sea.
She had never even seen a large river, let alone the sea.
“I want to go out and see things too.”
Lu Zhiyin heard a hint of loneliness in Zhu’s words.
All along, Zhu had been helping others unconditionally and comforting Lu Zhiyin, but… she must also feel sad, right?
Lu Zhiyin remembered the truth she had revealed to Zhu.
The world she lived in, her very self, her family, and friends were all characters pre-set in the game. If not for the deity’s twisted sense of humor, they wouldn’t even have thoughts.
After learning such a cruel truth, how could she not feel sad?
Lu Zhiyin was not the only one who had suffered unjust treatment.
“…”
Silently, Lu Zhiyin looked up. Zhu’s face showed an unusual melancholy, all of which Lu Zhiyin noticed.
“You must be feeling very sad, Senior…”
Taking courage, Lu Zhiyin hugged Zhu, wrapping her arms around Zhu’s waist.
“Confined to a small city, confined to this world that cannot be changed.”
Lu Zhiyin closed her eyes.
This game world was too cruel, both to herself and to everyone else.
And in such a cruel world, Zhu remained gentle.
“Senior, even though you are also suffering, why can you still be so kind to me?”
Lu Zhiyin softened her voice.
“Because I want to redeem you.”
Almost without thinking, Zhu immediately gave her answer.
She did feel sad, but so what? She still wanted to help others.
“Since you yourself are suffering, then let others not suffer.”
Zhu said this.
Gently stroking Lu Zhiyin’s forehead, she did not push Lu Zhiyin away.
“Junior, you don’t need to worry about me. Now, it’s more important to prepare the travel itinerary, right? I’ll help you. Although we both know little about this world, there’s still plenty of time, and everything will get better.”
Feeling the girl’s embrace, Zhu narrowed her eyes.
“…Mm…”
Lu Zhiyin gave a barely perceptible “Mm.”
Zhu… was still gentle.
She wished she could experience this gentleness for a longer time, but she couldn’t. Lu Zhiyin couldn’t be a coward forever; she had her own things to do.
Lu Zhiyin thought that perhaps once her game with the deity was over, the people in this world might be able to live better lives.
Twisted personalities could become normal, incompetent governments could become competent, streets would no longer be filled with criminals, and schools would not be full of school violence.
In that case, perhaps Zhu could have an easier time…
Thinking of this, Lu Zhiyin smiled.
She buried her head in Zhu’s arms and nuzzled her gently.
“Like a little cat.”
Feeling Lu Zhiyin’s movement, Zhu shook her head helplessly.
