Chapter 239 sets the stage for the original world.
Tu Chaoxi strode into the room and touched the bed sheet; it was cold and devoid of warmth.
His expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to go back to get his phone, his gaze shifted and he saw Tu Xiaomao's phone lying blatantly on the coffee table.
Lin Yue came out when he heard the noise.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Tu Chaoxi's face was so pale that she couldn't utter a single word. In a different city, in the middle of the night, she ran out without a word, without even taking her phone!
Tu Xiaomao had never stepped on so many of his landmines at once.
"...You've become quite capable."
Tu Chaoxi paced back and forth several times before finally resignedly dialing a number and coldly saying...
"Tu Xiaomao has disappeared."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then the call was immediately disconnected.
...
Tu Yao discovered that the buildings in the port city were exceptionally tall, so tall that she couldn't see the full moon no matter where she changed her position.
It wasn't until she walked out of the high-rise neighborhood and came to a pedestrian bridge that she could see the whole moon clearly.
Tu Yao plopped down on the steps, but the angle was wrong, making the moon look flat.
She moved up one more step.
Another one was moved.
...
When Xu Chi arrived, Tu Yao had already moved to the seventh step.
Surrounded by a pitch-black night scene, she leaned against the railing of the overpass, with a dim moon overhead.
Xu Chi breathed a sigh of relief, sent a message to Tu Chaoxi, and slowly approached, sitting down on the next step below her.
"Xiaochi?"
Tu Yao was taken aback, looking at the young man who had already sat down below her: "Why are you here?"
Xu Chi looked up at her, deliberately softening his voice, and asked softly, "Why did you come out alone?"
Aren't you cold?
In the depths of winter, right by the sea, and on the highest overpass, the wind was biting cold.
Tu Yao shook her head. "I came out wearing a cotton-padded coat."
"Xiao Chi, look, it's a full moon."
She pointed to the sky.
Xu Chi did not look in the direction she pointed.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Have you encountered anything unpleasant these past few days?"
Tu Yao's fingers stiffened, and she withdrew them.
There was no denial.
Xu Chi continued his attack: "Why didn't you tell me? You used to tell me."
It sounded like an inquiry, yet also like a somewhat distressed accusation.
Tu Yao suddenly became anxious.
"I...I didn't mean I didn't want to tell you. I just ran into this myself, I..."
Xu Chi didn't speak, he just stared at her silently.
Tu Yao blinked, then resignedly lowered her head: "Then I'll tell you now."
From the second brother, to the eldest brother, and now to the youngest brother, it's one link after another.
She briefly recounted the story in a few words.
Tu Yao sighed, "It's only been two days, and so much has happened. I didn't even have time to prepare."
Xu Chi lowered his eyes. Unlike the troubles that had occurred before, Tu Xiaomao was able to deal with each move as it came.
These were all issues she didn't know how to handle.
He asked softly, "Do you feel wronged?"
The current Tu Yao is a completely new subject, yet she has to bear all the blame for the "her" of the past.
In the darkness, Tu Yao couldn't see Xu Chi's expression. He shook his head slightly, then nodded.
"I thought you would nod and then shake your head."
Nodding in acknowledgment of being wronged, but then immediately denying it, generally leaves people with the impression of being sensible and forbearing, thus attracting more sympathy.
However, she reversed the roles, subconsciously denying it while honestly admitting it, leaving a few seconds for buffer time, which might diminish the effect of evoking sympathy.
Tu Yao rested her chin on her hand, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly laughed.
"But I feel that you care about me even more now than before."
Xu Chi raised an eyebrow slightly, and in the fleeting moonlight, he didn't miss the cunning in her eyes, and smiled as well.
"……yes."
"I only feel sorry for you."
Tu Yao's fingers trembled uncontrollably, and she subconsciously straightened her back, her eyes darting to the side.
Xu Chi walked up a step and sat down beside her, shielding her from the sea breeze.
Suddenly, he said, "But this situation is actually quite easy to resolve."
"Just tell them you're not the Tu Yao who hurt them, right?"
Tu Yao was taken aback.
Xu Chi continued, "Those harms were not caused by you, so you don't need to live in fear carrying these accusations."
He patiently persuaded, "Wouldn't it be better to put down these shackles?"
He wasn't a particularly kind person; he knew that once the secret was revealed, the existing balance would quickly be broken, and the situation would become even more chaotic than it was now.
Given the choice between disrupting the existing balance and ensuring Tu Xiaomao's safety, he would definitely choose the latter.
"Don't worry about whether Teacher Tu and the others will believe me, I will help you..."
"But what if I am the real Tu Yao?"
Before he could finish speaking, a seemingly casual remark fell from the sky, leaving Xu Chi stunned and speechless.
...
He had guessed before, and the truth that he could guess, Tu Xiaomao could also guess.
But this is just speculation.
But Tu Yao really knows.
She already knew...
Seeing that the other side didn't react for a long time, Tu Yao quickly waved her hand again.
"Koike, I was just guessing, I'm not sure."
She sighed, "...but I dare not gamble."
"If I were Tu Yao, Xiao Chi, what would happen to my eldest brother, second brother, and youngest brother?"
For so many years, they have poured all their hatred into her, but suddenly they have to tell them that they hated the wrong person, that the sister they hated was the most innocent person in the world.
How will they face her then?
How could she possibly describe her experiences in another world?
How should we explain this progress bar on my body?
If her brothers were to find out about those experiences that had once secretly saddened, frightened, and caused her pain, given their nature, they would inevitably take on the burden of those experiences for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, neither of these choices is the optimal option.
She lowered her head slightly, looked him straight in the eye, and said in an exceptionally serious tone, "Xiao Chi, it wasn't easy for me to get them to let go, and I don't want to see them sad again."
His pupils reflected Xu Chi's silent face.
He suddenly looked away, somewhat flustered.
...So this is what Tu Yao fears most.
On one hand, she fears that the emotional connection she has painstakingly repaired with her brothers will collapse again due to the clear hurt from the past, and on the other hand, she dares not admit that she is Tu Yao.
But she had already made her choice.
After weighing the pros and cons, Tu Xiaomao still chose to take responsibility himself.
He wasn't a kind person, but Tu Xiaomao was the best person in the world.
It was the dead of night, and it was so dark that he couldn't see a single light, but he felt that the girl opposite him was like a sun enveloped in a huge, suffocating pain.
Xu Chi was also relieved that it was late at night, and Tu Yao should not be able to see his eyes gradually turning red.
The surroundings were quiet, and Tu Yao didn't say anything more, continuing to look up at the moon in the sky.
Xu Chi painstakingly sorted out all the mixed emotions.
"Tu Xiaomao, can you tell me about that world?"
Tu Yao's eyes flickered, and she pursed her lips.
"Are there important people in that world too?"
What kind of person is that important person, and how did she raise you into such a Tu Xiaomao?
Tu Yao remained silent.
Just when Xu Chi thought she wouldn't answer anymore, a soft "hmm" rang out quietly.
"...is very important."
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