Chapter 24

Shen Huaixin was speechless for a moment. She couldn't persuade Shen's mother to let go of her hatred, and even she herself was convinced. She really thought too simply. If she put herself in her shoes, even she couldn't accept a fake who was lying on her own flesh and blood and sucking his blood without any grudges.

She went into the house again and asked Shen's father, and got the same answer. Not only that, Shen's father also provided Shen Chumo's investigation file at the police station last night, which stated that he insisted that he was the real Shen Chumo and refused to admit to impersonation.

“Hopelessly stupid.” Father Shen shook his head, his tone full of disgust.

The result was as expected. Shen Huaixin completely gave up starting with his parents.

Since she couldn't solve the root cause of Shen Chumo's predicament, she could only treat the symptoms. She walked to her bedroom and used her trumpet to frantically send money to Shen Chumo. Fortunately, only her bank card was frozen, and the change she had saved in the communication app was still there.

Finally, she added: "Thank you, Xueba, for tutoring me. I've recently received my allowance, so I'll share some with you. You're welcome. Did you get today's snacks? If you like them, I'll give you more next time."

Shen Chumo used the change to take the bus, and then jogged home after arriving at the stop, saving a lot of time.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his daily necessities being pulled out. He trotted into the house, but his parents still ignored him. Especially when Shen Chumo tentatively touched Shen's mother's hand, he was thrown away forcefully. Shen's mother rushed into the kitchen and scrubbed the places he touched with detergent over and over again, as if they were stained with something dirty.

Shen Chumo's outstretched hand gradually dropped down.

Shen Chumo was unusually silent that night, sitting alone at the small table next door, eating dry, hard rice from a bowl. A bag of vegetarian pickled mustard greens sat on the table. Hearing the cheerful conversation at the table, he poked his head out to peek. The three of them looked like a real family.

Coincidentally, Shen Huaixin looked up and saw him. The two looked at each other, and her glass-like pupils revealed a sad and sympathetic emotion. Shen Chumo quickly turned his head away. He didn't want to see her expression.

Shen Chumo was no longer as ignorant as he was at the beginning. He knew that his parents hated him because he was a monster.

He looked at his hands. In just two days, all the wounds from the fight with those boys had healed - he was indeed a monster.

At night, Shen Huaixin sneaked out of the bedroom while her parents were asleep. Seeing the empty room next to hers, she felt a little uncomfortable. She tiptoed to the first floor, then walked through the dark stairs to the basement entrance, knocked on the door and pushed it open.

Under the illumination of the mobile phone screen, wisps of black matter can be vaguely seen flowing. They are as thin as dust particles, and look like a dark version of the Milky Way, dotted with stars and forming a whole.

Since she'd transmigrated into the book, she'd lived through ordinary school life. Since her original owner had died too early, she hadn't been able to witness the grand, apocalyptic wasteland scenes of the later period. Therefore, she felt a certain yearning for such wonders. Furthermore, since childhood, she'd loved looking up at the sky, the azure sky and the dark night sky, which further intrigued her.

She stretched out her hand to touch the black particles in the air, as if she could touch their soft and almost invisible edges, which was very wonderful.

"I know, Briquette Elf!"

Shen Huaixin arched her eyebrows and, imitating the movements in the cartoon, stuffed her phone into her pajama pocket. She clapped her hands towards the "coal briquette elf" and then separated them to look at it. Sure enough, her palms were pitch black. Old Master Gong hadn't lied to her.

[System: Warning, do not come into contact with excessive amounts of pollutants, as this may cause contamination.]

[Chen Huaixin: Don't worry, I can tell whether it's excessive or not.]

After saying that, she continued to play happily, completely unaware that a pair of eyes were staring at her in the darkness.

[Plot Deviation -5, Current Value 26 (Conclusion: Facing a villain that no longer poses a threat, purification is essential)]

Shen Huaixin was stunned. How can you reduce the deviation by playing with a ball?

Oh no... I hope I won't be seen as ooc?

She quickly wiped her hands, restrained her expression and looked at the bed. Shen Chumo was lying flat on his back, seemingly asleep.

She was just scaring herself. She breathed a sigh of relief.

But the pollution is so serious right now that even if you pretend to be blind, you can't pretend like this. According to the original owner's personality, it will definitely cause a huge uproar. I can only visit him another day.

Shen Huaixin placed the heat pack and night light in his pocket on the table, then took out some odds and ends and stuffed them into the drawer, pretending they were already there. After finishing everything, he walked away with a satisfied look, keeping his achievements and fame to himself.

After Shen Huaixin left, Shen Chumo's eyelids moved.

The moment she walked in, he was almost nauseated. The ugly substance emerging from his body was so clearly exposed to her. If even she was afraid and disgusted, then he...

Faced with such a strange sight, fear was the only normal human reaction. Not to mention his parents, even he himself wanted to scrape off every inch of the black attachments on his flesh, making himself just like a normal person.

Everyone in reality is gradually approaching the role they played in the dream, developing towards the worst expectations, showing either disgust or indifference towards him, except Shen Huaixin.

Not only did she not avoid him like a monster, but she also played with his... uh, coal spirit?

She called it that, and it was very cute, naming it after an elf, and there was no sign of any disgust at all.

Shen Huaixin smiled, and his fingertips touched those terrifying tiny particles one by one, tickling his taut strings with interest. Although the touch could not be transmitted to his body, it made Shen Chumo's heart itch.

Those delicate hands were clean and white, untouched by even the spring water, yet they gently clapped their hands in the air, causing something unclean to splatter across their palms. He groaned inexplicably, feeling the subtle energy seeping through the lines of his palms, invading her pure body bit by bit.

Unlike the faint ink marks on his fingertips, the black marks on her hands would quickly disappear and become one with her.

Those filthy things overflowed from his body and became a part of Shen Huaixin. She would be contaminated by him and fall into the abyss, with no way out.

But he was actually excited.

The next day, when Shen Huaixin left the bedroom, she didn't see Shen Chumo. When she asked, she learned that he had left early in order not to be late.

She remembered that Shen's mother mentioned the birthday party yesterday. In fact, she had already bought gifts that matched her personality, but judging by the current situation, she had to increase the amount.

But she didn't know what Shen Chumo liked. In the original book, he was not interested in anything and only believed that destruction was eternal.

Shen Huaixin got in the car and threw this question to the system. The system was very active when it called people, but played dead when it encountered problems.

After getting off the bus, she took advantage of the fact that Su Zihan, who was carrying a schoolbag, was not yet in the morning reading session and blocked her way. There was obvious wariness in the other person's eyes and his attitude was cold.

“Chen Huaixin, what are you doing?”

"Shen Chumo's birthday is next week. I'll prepare a gift and you can help celebrate. In return, you can make a condition as a thank you, money or something else, as long as I can do it."

Su Zihan looked Shen Huaixin up and down, and asked suspiciously: "You like Shen Chumo? Are the rumors true?"

Shen Huaixin had a blank expression on his face: “It was just a spur of the moment thing.”

Su Zihan thought for a moment and rejected her bluntly: "First of all, I don't have anything for you to do. Secondly, I'm afraid you'll cheat me if I help you."

Shen Huaixin's eyebrows moved and she looked at Su Zihan. She wasn't annoyed, but she just felt a little strange. The heroine in the original book was actually very helpful. She was stubborn and unyielding, but kindness was her unchanging foundation.

According to the character setting in the original book, the heroine would agree to her, even without asking for anything in return.

Seeing that Su Zihan had already taken a step forward and was about to go around her, Shen Huaixin stretched out her hand again to block her.

"As a human being, you have desires. There will always be times when you want something from me."

“…”

Su Zihan’s expression cracked, she pursed her lips, and looked directly at Shen Huaixin as if she was stung.

Shen Huaixin knew that the heroine had been persuaded by her. At the same time, she was also very curious about what a vicious female supporting role like herself had that was worthy of the heroine's request.

Su Zihan reached out to her schoolbag: "Give it to me."

"ah?"

Shen Huaixin didn't understand and looked at her own schoolbag. Although it was a famous brand, it meant nothing to the original owner. Or was she coveting her homework book full of wrong answers?

It's so embarrassing. I don't want the heroine to see her laughable results.

...Should I put it up on the bulletin board? So the students can have a deep and clear understanding of her IQ.

Shen Huaixin diligently raised her grades to average, but since the school-wide mock exams hadn't yet begun, her score remained at the same level as last time. Before she transmigrated into the book world, she had never experienced the humiliation of being a poor student. Especially when facing the top students, her voice was weak.

Su Zihan interrupted her wandering thoughts: "The pendant on your bag."

Shen Huaixin uttered an "Ah" and suddenly looked at Su Zihan. Under her surprised gaze, the other party's cheeks gradually flushed.

Seeing that Su Zihan was about to get angry, Shen Huaixin hurriedly pulled off the pendant and handed it to her.

"Yours," Shen Huaixin repeated, "It's yours now."

How cute! Shen Huaixin smiled inwardly. She'd heard Qi Yi talk about the cold war yesterday, and it had made her worry for nothing. This was how young lovers quarreled. The heroine had even asked for the pendant Qi Yi had given her, indicating that she cared about him, but her behavior was awkward.

She made the decision on this matter and held Qi Yi fully responsible. She couldn't see through the girl's mind at all. No wonder she made the heroine angry.

It was a bit unkind to give him the gift she had given her, but she believed Qi Yi would understand her because of her efforts to promote the relationship between them. What's more, Qi Yi didn't consider her a friend at all, so he probably didn't care much.

Su Zihan squeezed the pendant tightly. The jade was transparent and smooth, but it hurt a little in her hand.

"Deal. ...If Qi Yi asks you, just say you lost it."

Shen Huaixin circled his index finger and thumb and made an "OK" gesture.

Su Zihan nodded and turned away.

After they sat down in the classroom, she wrote a small note and slipped it into Qi Yi's desk when no one was paying attention, asking him to meet during lunch break because she had something to show him.

She heard some movement in the back row, and while pretending to study with a book in her hand, she pricked up her ears and listened carefully to Qi Yi's reaction.

She heard him put down his bag and pack up his textbooks, then as if he had discovered something, the noises became quieter and then disappeared. Her ears could feel the burning of his gaze, and then gradually became hot.

Not long after, the teacher's voice came from the podium.

"Please turn to page 156 and start reading from the first paragraph..."

Su Zihan followed along absentmindedly, and touched the pendant in her pocket worriedly. When her fingertips touched the shape of the ring, she felt relieved.

She would let Qi Yi know that Shen Huaixin didn't care about him at all.