Chapter 60: Switching Turns
Lu Xiaofeng remained silent for a long time after welcoming the other party into the house and passively listening to Sikong Zhaixing's heartfelt words about his youthful feelings.
What was he supposed to say?
If he didn't know that Hua Manlou had feelings for Lu Yusheng, he might have been able to offer some advice or encouragement at this moment.
He's caught between two equally painful choices, and he doesn't want to hurt either of them.
So, from Sikong Zhaixing's perspective, his friend, who was always very popular with women, pondered for a long time before saying, "...I know nothing about matters of the heart, so I'm afraid I can't help you."
After saying this, Lu Xiaofeng was still feeling fortunate that he would set off for Wudang after tonight, so that he wouldn't have to stay here and face this dilemma.
Sikong Zhaixing paused, seemingly unsure of what she had just heard, her face betraying her doubt: "What did you just say about not understanding anything?"
To escape this dilemma, Lu Xiaofeng was going all out and said, "You know I'm known for being romantic but not lewd. However, the rumors about me haven't been fully explained yet; I'm still missing the part about not being close to women."
The latter sneered upon hearing this: "That's not right. I heard from Xiao Lu that you were so infatuated with your distant cousin just a couple of days ago that you were completely obsessed with her. But weren't you supposed to be aloof from women back then?"
Sikong Zhaixing still remembers all the things he said when he was dressed as a woman.
Of course, even though he was no longer very rational at this point, he still remembered not to immediately expose that the "cousin" was actually him in disguise.
"She really said that?"
Lu Xiaofeng, who was originally feeling sorry for his brother's love life, suddenly had a bright idea in his eyes.
"say what?"
"She said her sister was head over heels for me."
...Sikong Zhaixing suddenly realized that bringing up that disguised identity was a terrible mistake.
He immediately lost interest in asking any more questions and stepped back, saying, "Alright, that's enough. I'm going back."
Now it was Lu Xiaofeng's turn to keep the person. It was rare for him to fall so deeply in love with someone. It was true that he was attracted by her appearance at first sight, but later he was really attracted by her extraordinary conversation and pitiful background.
He thought it was a mutual relationship, but the girl suddenly disappeared after one night. How could he not feel regret?
Hearing this now, he felt a renewed longing for her, and couldn't help but want to find out more.
While Lu Xiaofeng and Sikong Zhaixing were struggling, the two who had gone out had already returned to their respective rooms.
Lu Yusheng collapsed onto the bed, speechless for a long time.
What happened today was beyond her expectations, and she couldn't help but review her behavior in her mind.
Hua Manlou must like her, right?
But when did this start?
She always thought that the other person was nice to her simply because he was kind-hearted. In fact, because she thought he was too gentle, Lu Yusheng couldn't even remember the point when his attitude changed.
It seems she has always cared for her in this way, and that's why she always tries to reciprocate with the same warmth.
In a foreign land, to meet someone who cares for her without any ulterior motives, even if Lu Yusheng's heart were made of stone, she would still be moved by him.
But what was it about me that attracted him...?
Unable to come up with any solutions, Lu Yusheng simply stopped thinking about it, closed his eyes to stop letting his thoughts churn, and began to try to fall asleep, but he always felt that there was something unfulfilled.
After a long while, he asked the system in his mind, "Do you think... there's any way to help Lou Bao cure his eyes?"
Whether a person is perfect or imperfect, imperfection always evokes regret. And because that person is Hua Manlou, it makes one even more imaginative: if he were given a pair of eyes, how happy he would be.
"Tong-san, aren't you supposed to be a tech expert? Can you help me check this?"
Normally, when she issues such a clear command, the system will no longer pretend to be dead or idle, and this time it immediately replied: "Yes".
Lu Yusheng, who had been talking with his eyes closed, immediately sat up upon hearing this, his eyes widening in surprise: "Really? Can an internet cafe system really cure diseases?"
She was genuinely surprised. The system had always perceived her as somewhere between omnipotent and incompetent, sometimes capable of everything, and sometimes failing at everything.
If she could truly cure Hua Manlou's eyes, she would regret realizing this too late.
Even if he had previously treated Hua Manlou as just an ordinary friend, if there were a chance to cure him, Lu Yusheng would not hesitate to help him.
"The treatment is not done through this system; the world itself already has methods to cure eye diseases."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yusheng's expression immediately became somewhat suspicious. Just by looking at the wealth that Hua Manlou had inadvertently revealed, it was clear that his family was quite well-off.
If such a method or such a highly skilled doctor truly existed, his family should have found him long ago.
Was it extremely secretive, or were there other hidden dangers? "How exactly was it done?"
In the end, she stopped guessing and instead asked for more details.
The system remained silent for a few minutes, presumably after performing some research, before slowly saying, "There is currently an unofficial organization in the world called Lingjiu Palace that can transplant fresh human eyeballs to replace diseased eyes..."
"stop."
Hearing only half a sentence from Lu Yusheng, he felt a wave of dizziness: "If I really do this, will I ever see Lou Bao smile again in my lifetime?"
Given his personality, if someone were to offer their eyes in exchange for his, they would likely spend the rest of their life feeling guilty.
Even if the other party is willing, he probably won't be happy.
"Will the 'Hundred Days to Immortality' grant healing skills after leveling up?" Lu Yusheng then asked.
At this point, her sub-system level was already more than halfway through level nine. She also discovered that after level six, the experience bar required for leveling up became fixed, and at this rate, it would take her at most two or three years to reach the maximum level.
Although it takes much longer than the "hundred days" in the game's name, it's not unacceptable.
Based on the game's consistent design, all subsequent skills should be magic-based.
Although after unlocking the first active skill at level six, subsequent level ups only grant some attribute points and proficiency in a few initial combat techniques, there are still so many skill slots available, and new ones will eventually be unlocked once the unlock conditions are met.
Even after being interrupted, the system responded to the new command in its calm voice: "Skills will be randomly drawn from all classes according to the original game settings."
So that means she has it? She had played the original game. Although she only leveled up two characters at the time, she naturally had some understanding of the other classes after doing dungeons and PvP.
"At what level will a new skill be unlocked?"
"After level six, it unlocks every ten levels, and the next skill draw is at level sixteen, and so on."
So at level 96, there are a total of ten skills? That's much more than the original game's limit of unlockable skills for a single character.
There are a total of eight professions and sects in the game, and the probability of getting the healer profession is quite high.
Although she wasn't entirely confident in her luck, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
Upon learning this news, Lu Yusheng was finally able to fall into a deep sleep with peace of mind.
Perhaps because she had too many worries before going to sleep, she woke up early the next day before dawn.
Although she only slept for five or six hours, Lu Yusheng did not feel sleepy at all after waking up. All sorts of worries about the changes in the relationship entered her mind, so she did not plan to go back to sleep.
If I can't sleep, I want to find something else to escape reality.
She glanced at her phone; it was only a little past four in the morning. If she were making a more complicated breakfast, she could probably keep busy until everyone else got up.
Thinking of this, she got up quickly, washed up, and went to the kitchen.
As soon as Lu Yusheng opened the door, he heard a faint noise coming from the kitchen.
She frowned. Everyone gets up around six o'clock in the morning, so it was still far from time to time.
Of course, being in the middle of nowhere, she wouldn't think of bandits or robbers; she only suspected that she hadn't closed the door properly and a weasel had gotten in.
So, after hesitating for a long time between driving him away and beating him up, Lu Yusheng opened the door and saw an unfamiliar face.
...Is he really a thief?
She retreated without making a sound. Her kung fu wasn't particularly good. Although she wasn't sure if the other party had been alerted by the sound of the door opening, she had, after all, studied light-body kung fu with Sikong Zhaixing for a period of time, so escaping shouldn't be a problem.
As long as you can retreat to a safe distance where you won't be caught and taken hostage, you can shout, and any skilled fighter coming down from upstairs will be more than enough to subdue the thief in front of you.
"The path?"
The familiar voice successfully stopped Lu Yusheng, who was already close to the shop's entrance.
She stopped uncertainly. Although Sikong Zhaixing was still disguised in front of her, his voice was not faked.
The sound I just heard seemed to be...
Before she could even finish her thought, the stranger had already reached the outside. Sikong Zhaixing moved nimbly and quickly caught up behind her.
Only then did Lu Yusheng get a clear look at his face.
His appearance seemed somewhat similar to that of the old man he had revealed when they first met, but at that time, Sikong Zhaixing was not actually wearing his original skin and was still wearing other disguises to some extent.
On subsequent visits, she even acquired a special companion skin for visiting this place, making her original appearance seem completely unfamiliar to her.
She leaned closer for a few moments, until the latter swallowed nervously, before confirming that she hadn't misremembered.
With some doubt, he asked, "Are you Sikong Zhaixing?"
Upon hearing this, Sikong Zhaixing nodded vigorously, seemingly satisfied with her performance, and praised, "Xiao Lu is indeed very clever."
Lu Yusheng smiled subconsciously after being praised, then couldn't help but ask somewhat strangely, "Why did you suddenly change your skin?"
Having already been explained the meaning of "skin" during her game experience, Sikong Zhaixing answered fluently: "I'm tired of the previous face, so I'm changing my mood."
He didn't say directly that this was his original appearance; this was a way out for himself, so that if Lu Yusheng wasn't satisfied, he would have room for improvement.
In fact, ever since Sikong Zhaixing mastered the art of disguise, he has spent more time wearing a mask than showing his true face.
He felt somewhat unfamiliar with his reflection in the water tank in the kitchen.
Lu Yusheng recognized him at a glance, and even though he had called out to him first, he was still very happy.
Why are you in the kitchen so early today?
After he finished being happy, he remembered to ask the other person why they were there.
At this moment, the surroundings were still dark and silent. Normally, Lu Yusheng would get up an hour later than now, and he would only get up a little earlier in the morning when he felt like making something complicated.
Stimulated by the realization of his feelings, Sikong Zhaixing couldn't sleep well. Wanting to do something to alleviate her anxiety, he went into the kitchen early to prepare to show off his cooking skills.
Lu Yusheng didn't elaborate on his struggles, simply saying, "I couldn't sleep, so I got up to find something to do. What about you?"
"Oh." The latter's voice trailed off, and he unconsciously echoed with a guilty conscience, "Me too."
He overestimated himself. After all his efforts, he only created a mess and was too embarrassed to say that he was trying to prepare food for her.
If Lu Yusheng had arrived any later, he probably would have been able to catch the ready-made breakfast that Lu Yusheng had bought in town.
Lu Yusheng was a little surprised to hear the answer, but he didn't refuse the help that was offered to him. He said happily, "Then it's perfect that you can help me out."
Then he led the people back to the familiar stove.
Sikong Zhaixing was somewhat dissatisfied with being assigned the simplest task of washing vegetables. She was used to doing this kind of work but now she felt reluctant to do it. This simple step had too little contribution and did not reflect her value at all.
But seeing that she had already started preparing other procedures, she had no choice but to give up and obediently begin washing.
But halfway through, she couldn't help but ask hesitantly, "You went out with Hua Manlou yesterday?"
Lu Yusheng was taken aback, not expecting that the commotion from last night had been known to others. He nodded somewhat embarrassedly.
Sikong Zhaixing was silent for a moment, then, as if she had mentally prepared herself, she asked again, "You two... are together?"
Startled by the abrupt and blunt statement, Lu Yusheng choked and coughed awkwardly on the spot.
Because her palms still had mud and water on them, Sikong Zhaixing could only gently pat her back with the back of her hand to help her catch her breath.
After a long pause, Lu Yusheng finally managed to squeeze out a shy "No."
I'm not going to go into the more details.
Sikong Zhaixing, having withdrawn his hand, looked at her carefully for a long time. He had been with Lu Yusheng for some time and could naturally tell the difference between truth and falsehood.
When someone claims to have superb disguise skills, unparalleled lightness skills, and profound internal strength, it's clearly the truth. But when they're lazy and make a half-hearted dinner and say they're not hungry, it's a lie.
Hearing her denial finally put my mind at ease.
This relaxation made me feel much better.
So he continued with the work he hadn't finished, saying, "Oh, you know, marriage is a big deal, you can't make a decision lightly. It's better to look around and see more options."
Considering that the other person would want to be with him after being moved by him, he didn't say anything about men being unreliable, but simply offered a couple of pointers.
Lu Yusheng had come so early in the morning hoping to distract herself, but she hadn't expected Sikong Zhaixing to keep focusing on the topic. Feeling embarrassed to directly show her concern, she observed for a moment, then casually pointed to the bulging mass in his arms and asked, "What's this?"
Sikong Zhaixing glanced down and realized that he had forgotten to put the props he used in the room when he was in such a hurry to remove his disguise that morning.
So he casually pulled it out and placed it in front of Lu Yusheng, saying, "Skin fragment."
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