Chapter 65: Going Home
“I’m… back…?”
As her consciousness returned, Lu Zhiyin sat up abruptly.
What met her eyes was a messy bed, a computer desk not far from it, and on the computer, the game called “A Girl’s Desperate Life.”
Familiar yet strange, her bedroom after months away.
“…”
Spreading her hands, Lu Zhiyin quietly looked at her fair palms.
Her mind was a bit hazy; she couldn’t say if she was happy or sad.
Her resolve seemed insulted, yet she had truly returned to this world she longed for.
“…”
Getting up from the bed, Lu Zhiyin rushed to the bathroom.
Through the vanity mirror, she observed herself.
Ash-grey long hair, red eyes.
She had retained the appearance of the game’s protagonist.
Was she herself now, or the game protagonist? Like a dream, Lu Zhiyin couldn’t snap out of it for a long time.
“Zhiyin, we’re back.”
As Lu Zhiyin felt frustrated about not having changed back her gender, outside the living room, her parents knocked on her door.
“I bought pork ribs, we’re having braised pork ribs tonight, come help.”
Seemingly not confused by Lu Zhiyin’s female form, Lu Zhiyin’s mother showed her the things in her hands.
“Go help your mother. After dinner, we’ll go for a walk. Tomorrow is a holiday, we can go out for some fresh air together.”
Lu Zhiyin’s father sat on the sofa reading a newspaper.
“…Ah… coming…”
The rare communication left Lu Zhiyin flustered.
Her parents seemed to have become even more amiable, but as she approached her mother, Lu Zhiyin could sense that the person before her was indeed related by blood, no doubt about it.
“…”
…
After drifting through a few weeks in a daze, Lu Zhiyin returned to school.
As the deity had said, her life had indeed become more fulfilling. Her parents were kind and gentle, their careers were flourishing, and her father’s casually bought lottery ticket won millions in prize money. At school, with her standout beautiful appearance, Lu Zhiyin became the center of attention.
She was no longer as reclusive as she was before experiencing all that; people were eager to befriend her.
Should Lu Zhiyin be happy? Trading months of painful experiences for decades of smooth sailing? By all accounts, it was a profitable deal, wasn’t it? Yet, Lu Zhiyin couldn’t feel happy.
Her heart had always felt a little empty, and the increasingly heavy workload in her second year of high school couldn’t fill the void.
This hollow feeling continued for another month.
A transfer student arrived in her class.
“Hello everyone, my name is Zhu Qing. It’s nice to meet you all, and I hope we can become friends.”
Wearing a neat school uniform, her pink long hair had been cut short. The familiar, most important friend of Lu Zhiyin stood on the podium.
Zhu Qing, someone who shouldn’t have been here.
“Um… I guess I should introduce myself too. My name is Ouyang Qing.”
Before Lu Zhiyin could recover, another unexpected person appeared.
Ouyang Qing, that malicious deity.
At this moment, Ouyang Qing was also wearing a school uniform, just like Zhu Qing. Ouyang Qing’s golden long hair had also been cut to just touch her shoulders.
She had become more approachable.
Perhaps noticing Lu Zhiyin’s gaze, Ouyang Qing winked at her.
“…”
Silently, Lu Zhiyin lowered her head.
…
After class, Zhu Qing and Ouyang Qing pushed aside the students who were bombarding them with questions and approached Lu Zhiyin.
“Long time no see, junior. Or should I say, I should call you Zhiyin now.”
Zhu Qing smiled and extended her hand to Lu Zhiyin.
“You… why are you here…?”
Lu Zhiyin was a bit confused, but looking at the hand Zhu Qing extended, Lu Zhiyin took it.
“After I woke up, Ms. Ouyang Qing told me you had gone home. Because I wanted to see the world of law and order you talked about, after dealing with some troublesome matters over there, I begged Ms. Ouyang Qing to let me come too. Considering we took a photo together, she grudgingly agreed to the request of this game character.”
Zhu Qing shrugged her shoulders.
She was tired of that terrible world where there was no hope and no end in sight, so she, along with Ouyang Qing, came to Lu Zhiyin’s world.
She had no attachments there; her only relative was her father, and Zhu Qing wasn’t worried about her father, who was wealthy and influential, so nothing would go wrong.
“Mm.”
With a hum, Lu Zhiyin held Zhu Qing’s hand tighter.
The missing part of her heart was filled, and Lu Zhiyin felt complete.
“Ahem, well, my name is Ouyang Qing. It’s nice to meet you, please take care of me.”
Without giving Zhu Qing and Lu Zhiyin a chance to be sentimental, Ouyang Qing pushed Zhu Qing aside and stood before Lu Zhiyin herself.
“…”
Facing Ouyang Qing, Lu Zhiyin’s expression turned cold.
She didn’t know why Ouyang Qing said it was their first meeting, but Lu Zhiyin wouldn’t forgive the person before her.
Ouyang Qing’s thought was actually simple: she didn’t believe that she, as a deity, could be forgiven, so she tried to get to know Lu Zhiyin anew as a human.
After lowering her divine status for the first time, Ouyang Qing became more unrestrained and… um, shameless?
“In short, let’s be friends.”
Regardless of whether Lu Zhiyin agreed or not, she casually sat down in the empty seat next to Lu Zhiyin.
After losing her divine demeanor, Ouyang Qing discovered the joy of being shameless.
“You’re so thick-skinned.”
Lu Zhiyin retorted coldly, her words full of disdain.
“Being thick-skinned is good.”
Ouyang Qing ignored Lu Zhiyin’s contempt and clung to Lu Zhiyin shamelessly.
She believed that as long as she was thick-skinned enough, she would eventually become close to Lu Zhiyin.
“…Heh…”
Standing nearby, Zhu Qing looked at Ouyang Qing, who was becoming more like a human child, and shook her head helplessly. She took out two photos of the three of them from her pocket.
One on the beach, and one at an amusement park.
“By the way, what about Leng Qing Qiu and Long Qinxin?”
Unable to do anything about the shameless Ouyang Qing, Lu Zhiyin inquired about the two people she detested.
“Hmm… those two? Leng Qing Qiu is once again wanted by the police due to the attempted kidnapping and numerous previous murder cases, so she has to hide in the underworld. I can guarantee she won’t have an easy day.”
“As for Long Qinxin… nothing major happened to Long Qinxin. It’s just that after she saw you that day, she became very dispirited and had no interest in managing the company matters, causing the company to decline. However, her company isn’t in dire straits; it just can’t expand further. Maintaining the existing market is more than enough. Honestly, I think their ending is too lenient.”
Zhu Qing expressed her opinion.
“Sigh… they got off too easy.”
Lu Zhiyin clenched her fist indignantly, then smiled again.
She no longer cared much about what those two scoundrels were up to, anyway, she wouldn’t be harassed by them anymore.
Now reunited with her best friend Zhu Qing, Lu Zhiyin’s previously empty heart was completely filled.
Perhaps over time, even without Zhu Qing, the missing piece in her heart would be filled.
However, having it was always better than not having it.
