Chapter 133 Past 1
"Mom and Dad, have you been waiting for a long time?"
After getting in the car, Xia Bai leaned forward from the back seat and approached them, "I'm sorry to have worried you."
"What are you worried about?"
Jiang Yitong said from the passenger seat: "We were worried at first because you guys didn't come out after several hours, but your team did a great job. They told us that it's normal for large maps to take a long time, so we trusted you and your teammates."
She glanced at Jiang Qingfeng who was driving and said, "They said that the speed of time in the game is different from that here. You are going to school and you may have to take exams. You always need time to prepare for exams. If time is long in the game, it will also be long here."
"That's right." Xia Bai said, "They are right. We have to pass five elimination exams in the game, one every ten days, so it takes a long time. This is the longest game I have ever played."
"In the future, if I enter a game like this again," Xia Bai said, "just wait for me at home. I will be very satisfied with this one time."
He knew his mother was very busy and had a lot of things waiting for her to do.
He also knew that his father's paintings were hard to come by and his time was very precious.
Xia Bai agreed to come this time because he wanted to make up for the regret that his grandfather passed away during the college entrance examination and he had no relatives waiting for him.
He is already very satisfied now and doesn't want his parents to interfere with his own affairs and accompany him to travel around the country in the future.
"How can this time be enough?" Jiang Qingfeng said, "Every time we go to pick you up in the future, the joy and pride we feel when we see you come out of the game is something that cannot be replaced by anything else."
"Yes." Jiang Yitong handed a blanket to Xia Bai, "Your eyes are bloodshot, go get some sleep, we'll call you when we get there."
"Hey!" Xia Bai took the blanket and lay down in the back seat, staring at the starry sky roof unconsciously, his eyelids falling slowly, "Mom and Dad."
His voice was very soft, and Jiang Yitong also responded softly.
"Thank you for picking me up." He said dazedly, "I'm very..."
Before he could finish his words, he fell asleep.
Jiang Yitong turned her head and looked forward, then reached out and held Jiang Qingfeng's hand.
When Xia Bai woke up, almost two days had passed. It was noon on the third day.
When he opened his eyes, he had a feeling that he didn't know what time it was or where he was.
It took him a while to react. He had come out of the game. This strange house should be the temporary residence prepared by the Tourism Administration for their family in Dahui City.
The aftereffect of sleeping too long is a groggy brain and a dull pain. It was not until he smelled the aroma of food wafting in from outside that Xia Bai woke up little by little.
He suddenly realized that he didn't know how long he had slept, maybe a very long time, and his parents might be worried. So he quickly got out of bed, adjusted to the dizziness after getting out of bed for a few seconds, and pushed the door while shouting, "Mom and Dad, I'm fine."
It was lunchtime, and Jiang Yitong was sitting at the dining table. She smiled and said, "We know."
Facing Xia Bai's confused eyes, she said, "Before we got home, Chang Ye called and said that you took a safe drug to boost your energy in the game. The only side effect is that you will fall into a deep sleep after you stop taking it. You may sleep for two or three days. It's okay."
Xia Bai was still a little confused and nodded.
Jiang Yitong smiled and said, "Changye is such a considerate child. He does things that make people feel at ease."
When Xia Bai heard his mother praising Ling Changye, he immediately thought of something that happened between him and him, and he suddenly came to his senses.
"And more." Jiang Yitong said with great satisfaction: "At that time, he called to ask if you were asleep. I said you were sleeping like a pig and his phone call didn't wake you up. I didn't expect him to come immediately. He was the one who carried you from the car to the bed. You can see how considerate he is. Your dad and I might not be able to carry you."
"Who said I can't hold him? You didn't give me a chance." Jiang Qingfeng came out with a purple clay pot, "I can hold my son, too."
"Yes, yes, you can." Jiang Yitong said, "My husband is very strong."
"I can do it." Jiang Qingfeng said, putting the casserole on the heat-insulating mat on the dining table, and said to Xia Bai, "I just made some chicken soup, come and have some."
The two looked at Xia Bai and found that Xia Bai, who was silent at the moment, had a little red ears.
"Baby!" Jiang Yitong seemed to have discovered a new world. "You won't feel embarrassed because I carried you to bed all night, right? Are you young people so innocent when you fall in love now?"
Xia Bai: “…”
Jiang Yitong pulled him to the dining table and asked, "Baby, where are you at? You are both adults. As long as both of you want, you can be intimate."
"No." Jiang Qingfeng said hurriedly: "The baby is still a baby. We have to wait for a few years, at least until he reaches the legal age for marriage."
"What kind of statement is that?" Jiang Yitong: "If you can't even lead by example, how can you ask your baby to do that?"
Xia Bai: “…”
He sat down silently, poured himself a bowl of chicken soup and drank it silently.
Seeing Jiang Yitong looking over, before she could speak, he hurriedly asked, "Where's Erwa?"
"Erwa? Erwa is logged off the game." Jiang Yitong said, "Because of the large map of Dahui No. 2 Middle School, many small-map games appeared in Dahui City, and the assault team began to frequently enter the game. When you came out of the game, Erwa was in the game. When you were sleeping, Erwa came to see you, but was soon taken away by the assault team again."
"By the way, Lin Xiang also called and asked you to call him back when you wake up." Jiang Yitong added.
Xia Bai nodded and asked, "Erwa, are you willing to play the game?"
Erwa was willing to play the game before because he asked his sister Xuemu to play with him. This time, the level of Dahui No. 2 Middle School was difficult, so he brought his sister Xuemu into the game, leaving Erwa alone.
"He was willing." Jiang Qingfeng said, "He left as soon as the assault team called him. He just felt a little reluctant to leave you and not be able to see you wake up. He put a small white flower on your bed. Did you see it?"
Xia Bai didn't see it, so he planned to go back and look for it after dinner. He sighed, "Erwa has grown up."
He talked a lot to Erwa, and his parents finally forgot about the previous topic. Xia Bai breathed a sigh of relief.
Xia Bai was the first player to wake up, excluding Yang Yi.
Three days later, the players woke up.
In the group of the attack team, Ling Changye said: [The official media of the Tourism Administration wants to interview a person who graduated from Dahui No. 2 Middle School. Who among you is willing to go?]
He was talking about who is willing to go, not who wants to go, and it seems that no one wants to go.
Xia Bai: [Yang Mei.]
Hua Haoming: [Yang Mei.]
Wen Yuxin: [Yang Mei.]
Yang Mei: [Yang Mei.]
Ling Changye: [Okay, let Yang Mei go.]
Because almost all the players fell asleep and no one came out to respond, the whole society was still paying very close attention to Dahui No. 2 Middle School. After Yang Mei went to be interviewed, it caused more discussion.
Too few people left the game this time, and many families of the deceased were very sad, especially the parents of those top students.
The prisoners who enter the game are all death row inmates who are selected from all over the country and are about to be executed. They were supposed to die soon anyway, but they voluntarily entered the game for a chance to stay alive. If they die in the game, their families won't be able to say anything.
And those academic geniuses, each of whom had unlimited possibilities and a bright future, died in the game. Netizens feel sorry for them, not to mention how sad their parents are.
There are other old players, and the old players who entered Dahui No. 2 Middle School this time are all excellent players.
In short, this game resulted in heavy losses, and many people were immersed in grief.
In view of this, the Games Management Bureau decided to follow the example of the Heping Hospital and hold a memorial service open to the whole society for those who died in the games at Dahui No. 2 Middle School. The venue will be at the reopened Dahui No. 2 Middle School.
At this time, most of the players who came out of the game of Dahui No. 2 Middle School are still in Dahui City, so it is very convenient if they want to participate.
Jiang Yitong and Jiang Qingfeng both wanted to go. Fortunately, their son got out of the game, but unfortunately, many parents' children did not get out. They had experienced their grief superficially and wanted to accompany them to see them off for the last time.
After hearing this, Xia Bai decided to go with them.
The day before the memorial service, he went to the Dahui City Tourism Administration Branch.
Because the memorial service is about to begin, the place is very busy.
The number of staff at the Dahui Branch alone was definitely not enough. Just like in Quanguang City at that time, after the game broke out in Dahui City, people from different departments of the rescue station and the Game Management Bureau came to provide support.
As soon as Xia Bai entered, he saw Wei Zhengyu, the head of the logistics department. Wei Zhengyu also saw him, stopped, and called him with a smile: "Xia Bai, what a coincidence, we meet again."
The last time they met was in Quanguang City, where the previous game broke out. At that time, Xia Bai was still a volunteer, not a member of the Game Management Bureau.
This time they met in Dahui City, where the second game broke out. Xia Bai was already a core member of the Game Management Bureau's assault team and a great contributor to the liberation of Dahui No. 2 Middle School.
Wei Zhengyu is still the same as before, with long wavy hair, wearing a white shirt and a purple suit skirt, bright and capable, and when she smiles, she gives people an appearance of unlimited energy.
"Minister Wei." Xia Bai walked up to her and asked, "Is your logistics department also in charge of this memorial service?"
"Our department is already extremely busy," Wei Zhengyu said. "We really can't manage it all. This time, the External Relations Department and the Logistics Department will work together, but the External Relations Department will be in charge."
Xia Bai knew how busy the logistics department was when he was a volunteer. He said, "Could you please help me contact the person in charge of this memorial service?"
Wei Zhengyu was a little curious about what he was going to do, and said, "I am also one of the persons in charge. If you have anything to say, you can tell me. Come to my office."
Xia Bai: "Okay."
On the way to the office, Xia Bai asked Wei Zhengyu: "Minister Wei, after Dahui No. 2 Middle School was cleared, has the frequency of small map games in Dahui City decreased?"
"It's low. In the past few days, only three games have landed in Dahui, and it has stabilized." Wei Zhengyu said, "I remember I told you in Quanguang City that after a large map in a place is cleared, the number of small games may decrease."
Xia Bai said "hmm".
Wei Zhengyu: "When we told you that, we were just guessing. After verification in two cities, we are now certain."
"Oh, right." She opened the office door and turned to Xia Bai and said, "I also know that there may be a super-large map. This may be a disaster for us, or it may be hope."
When Xia Bai first learned about the existence of the super-large map, based on the previous speculation, he thought so too.
Xia Bai asked: "Has the Tourism Administration been prepared for this?"
"Yes." Wei Zhengyu said, "I can tell you that it's not just the Tourism Administration. But the preparation is too difficult. How big is the super-large map?"
Xia Bai nodded, he knew how difficult this was.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of these things." Wei Zhengyu said, "Sit down."
"I won't waste any more of your time." Xia Bai said, "I came here this time to hand them over to you."
Xia Bai handed over the 56 player corpses he brought out of the game to them.
Many people came to the memorial service. Those who could not enter the school waited outside the school. They brought white chrysanthemums and placed them in a circle around the wall of Dahui No. 2 Middle School. A drone captured a huge white wreath with people inside and outside the wreath.
Xia Bai was with his parents, and also brought the clingy Erwa who came out of the game.
In addition to the people from the Game Management Bureau and media reporters, the people in the school are the relatives, friends and teachers of the relevant players.
The first item of the memorial service was Lao Wang's speech. He wore a solemn black suit with a snow-white chrysanthemum pinned in the pocket of his coat, which matched the white hair on his head. He expressed his condolences to the players who died in the game in a solemn voice.
After Lao Wang finished his speech, he lifted the curtain behind him, revealing fifty-six corpses.
Xia Bai heard many cries, not sure whether they were of joy or sorrow, and saw many people running to their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers crying. Suddenly, he felt strongly the significance of his skills.
He remembered that when he was a child, his grandfather often told him about his experience of driving corpses when he was young.
On a summer night, in the yard where many gods of joy were buried, Grandpa sat in a rocking chair, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, and asked him, "Xiaobai, do you know what the original intention of us corpse-drivers is?"
Xia Bai was fishing a watermelon out of the well and asked him casually, "What is it?"
"You traveled thousands of miles to send me back home."
Grandpa said: "This is our original intention and our promise to the God of Joy. In the beginning, the God of Joy was the people who died in battle. The mountains are high and the roads are long, and it is difficult for the fallen leaves to return home. We send them back home and let their families reunite."
Xiao Xiabai turned to look at his grandfather, who said meaningfully, "Xiaobai, you will definitely understand."
At that time, Xia Bai didn't understand the look in his grandfather's eyes.
Later, he learned that the gods of joy buried in the yard were all brought out by him from the game. He then understood why his grandfather said that and also understood the look in his eyes at that time.
The first time he understood this sentence was when he sent the bodies of his seniors from Peace Medical College and other players back to school. This time he had a deeper understanding of it.
"Didn't the game spit out the bodies of dead players?" A gray-haired woman held her daughter's body and asked, "Who sent my daughter's body out?"
Lao Wang smiled, stood up straight, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes embraced the sunlight. "He is a corpse driver."
After saying that, he glanced at Xia Bai, and Xia Bai lifted Erwa up to block his view.
When he handed the body to Wei Zhengyu, he said: "At the memorial service, don't say that I brought the body out, and don't call me to the stage at any time, or point the camera at me."
Wei Zhengyu was amused by his social phobia and asked him, "If someone asks, what should we say?"
"You can say whatever you want, just don't say it was me."
Lao Wang came up with an explanation of his own.
A corpse chaser.
fine.
After the memorial service, Lao Wang called Xia Bai over.
Xia Bai had a blank face, bowed seriously and called him: "Director Wang!"
Lao Wang: “…”
Lao Wang said, "Did you call me like this before?"
"Before?" Xia Bai looked confused. "Did the director and I know each other before?"
Lao Wang was silent.
Xia Bai asked: "Does the director have any instructions?"
"Okay, okay," Lao Wang said, "Don't call me director. I was wrong. I shouldn't have concealed my identity. I am just Lao Wang in the [Never Contact Each Other] group. That's what you did wrong. Lao Qian also lied to you. Why are you still so close to him?"
Xia Bai: "Am I wrong? I saw you act like you didn't know me when we first met after the game came, so I just acted with you."
Lao Wang: "...Why didn't I know before that Lao Xia's beloved grandson holds such a grudge?"
Xia Bai smiled.
Lao Wang also laughed with him and patted his shoulder happily. "Among the descendants of the eight major factions of corpse drivers, there is only one corpse driver like you, a corpse driver of the new era. Very good, very good."
"I'm not a corpse driver." Xia Bai corrected him: "I'm the corpse collector Xia Bai."
Lao Wang stubbornly insisted that Xia Bai was the corpse chaser who inherited their legacy, "The corpse collector is the corpse chaser of the gaming era."
"Will I take away their skills? Will the corpse drivers charge such a high fee?" Xia Bai asked.
Lao Wang: "Prices and wages are rising."
Xia Bai: “…”
Lao Wang glanced at Xia Bai's parents and asked, "Are they treating you well?"
"Yeah!" Xia Bai nodded. "They were very kind to me and looked for me for many years. In order to thank Grandpa for adopting me, they didn't let me change my last name and asked me to be called Xia Bai."
From this point, Lao Wang could see that Xia Bai's parents were grateful people, and they would not treat Xia Bai badly.
"Then I feel relieved. Old Xia must be very happy and relieved in heaven." said Old Wang.
"Did you know that I was not your grandfather's biological grandson?" Xia Bai asked.
"Of course I know. How could an old bachelor like him have a grandson?"
Old Wang spoke mercilessly about Old Xia's embarrassing story, "Back then he liked a girl in the village, but the girl's family disliked him because he was a corpse driver, so they married their daughter to a teacher. He then shaved his head and said he would never touch a woman again in his life."
Xia Bai raised a crooked thumb towards the sky.
Unexpectedly, his grandfather was such a romantic man.
Lao Wang still had a lot of things to do, so he briefly talked to Xia Bai for a while before someone came to see him.
Before leaving, he patted Xia Bai's shoulder happily and contentedly, "Xiao Bai, whether as a director or a grandfather, I am satisfied with you and very proud of you."
Xia Bai watched him get into the car before going to look for his parents.
At this moment, there was one more person there. It was Ling Changye, whom Xia Bai had not seen for several days.
Jiang Yitong liked Ling Changye very much and was all smiles when she talked to him. When Xia Bai saw that smile, he felt that she was going to call Ling Changye son.
Ling Changye was also smiling, and when he saw Xia Bai coming over, his already genuine smile deepened.
Xia Bai scratched his chin and looked away.
"How about this." Jiang Yitong said, "It's rare that you're all here and free, so let's go home together and auntie will cook for you personally?"
"Excuse me for disturbing you." Ling Changye said, "I'll book the plane ticket."
"Okay." Jiang Yitong did not refuse, "That's troublesome."
"Don't." Xia Bai finally spoke, "There are a few games left in Dahui City, and there may be other things. Let's eat in the house arranged by the Tourism Administration."
"That's fine." Jiang Yitong said, "We can cooperate with your work. The main thing is that we are together as a family. We can be anywhere."
So the family returned to their residence.
Jiang Qingfeng didn't say a word throughout the whole process, but just glanced at Ling Changye from time to time, with sometimes doubt and sometimes contemplation on his face.
Jiang Yitong said she wanted to cook, so Ling Changye naturally couldn't just sit there. He went into the kitchen to help her, but was pushed out by Jiang Qingfeng. Xia Bai, who had been thinking about helping, gave up after looking at the slightly crowded kitchen.
Instead of going back to his room, he sat in the living room, turned on the TV and turned up the volume.
Ling Changye sat next to him, and Xia Bai put Erwa, who was holding a coffee cup, between them. However, Erwa was too small to block Ling Changye's kiss as he turned his head to him.
The kiss landed on the cheek near the eyes, so lightly that it seemed as if it had only left its scent before leaving.
Xia Bai blinked and thought, men who have sex are different.
Can he lose? No. His hand went around Erwa's back and landed on Ling Changye's waist, touching his abdominal muscles with satisfaction.
Ling Changye stared at the offending hand and laughed, watching the ancient puppet show on TV and said: "Only the governor is allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps."
Xia Bai seemed not to understand what he said, "The governor works so hard to serve the people, what's wrong with setting a fire?"
Ling Changye: "Who serves whom?"
"What are you looking at?" Jiang Yitong's voice came from the kitchen. "Xiaobai, your values are not right. It is the duty of the governor to serve the people. You can't set a fire just because of this."
Xia Bai: "...Oh."
The muscles under his hands moved slightly with laughter.
Xia Bai silently took out a scalpel.
Ling Changye: “…”
Erwa knew nothing. He was watching the heroine beating the hero on TV while shaking the little white flower on his head.
After the food was served, several people sat down.
Jiang Qingfeng thought about it all the way, and even spent the time cooking a meal, and finally spoke during the meal, "We discussed it a few days ago, and we think it would be better to wait until you both reach the legal age for marriage before...living together again."
“…”
Ling Changye stopped his chopsticks halfway, then retracted them. He glanced at Xia Bai, who looked dazed, and said with a smile, "Okay, we won't live together so early. At least wait until Xia Bai finishes college, and maybe graduate school."
"I mean, intimate relationship." Jiang Qingfeng explained in annoyance.
Ling Changye was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, "Okay."
"What's good about that!" Jiang Yitong said, "Don't listen to him. He can't do it himself. Just let everything take its course. We are all adults now."
Jiang Qingfeng frowned, "Xia Bai is still a baby."
“…”
During this meal, Ling Changye acted like a very gentlemanly and competent boyfriend, nodding and agreeing to all of Jiang Qingfeng's requests.
After dinner, it was time for Ling Changye to leave. Jiang Yitong was very dissatisfied with her husband's performance. In order to make up for it, she asked Xia Bai to send Ling Changye off. "It's still early. You two should go on a date, go to a movie or something."
After leaving home, the two walked for a while and then went to get a room.
Ling Changye used the name he had just learned from Jiang Qingfeng.
The author has something to say:
Xia Bai silently took out a scalpel.
Ling Changye: Why should you reward me?
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