Chapter 285 It's the older brothers' turn to work hard.
On the deserted road, only one car stood out abruptly under a lush ginkgo tree.
"If I'm not mistaken, four years ago, after Tu Xiaomao disappeared, he was sent back to his original world."
"And now the two worlds are gradually merging, which is why she has reappeared here."
"That orphanage, the university, the shop we just saw, and the people associated with Tu Xiaomao—they all originally belonged to another world."
Tu Chaoxi and Lin Yue lowered their heads, listening intently as Nan Ke recounted his conjectures.
Tu Chaoxi suddenly realized something, immediately looked up, and said in a hoarse voice, "...So that's why no other Tu Yao has appeared all these years, right?"
If the rules of the world are followed, just like when Tu Yao first disappeared, a replacement will be created.
In fact, no matter how they searched or tried to prevent it over the years, this substitute has never appeared again.
Because the two worlds have gradually merged over these four years, Tu Yao has not truly "disappeared".
She remains a unique existence in this new world.
Nan Ke's breathing was almost silent: "...Yes."
The three sat facing each other, and the car suddenly fell into an unusual silence.
Once it was made clear, everything became clear.
Tu Chaoxi frowned, "...but I haven't noticed anything wrong these past few days."
Logically speaking, Tu Yao's appearance was rather strange. Even if he was slow-witted, he should have naturally thought about why she appeared.
But neither the orphanage that night nor anything he saw today made him realize that two worlds were merging...
It was as if his brain had automatically skipped this process and naturally accepted this new, integrated world.
Realizing this, Tu Chaoxi broke out in a cold sweat.
What's going on?
Lin Yue spoke up at the same time: "Second brother, you just said that the merging of these two worlds is not going smoothly?"
Tu Chaoxi thought of something unbelievable: "...Don't tell me this is the reason?"
Because the integration didn't go smoothly, it directly overwrote their thought process.
What kind of robbery is this?!
Nan Ke did not deny it, and remained silent for a while, which was rare for him.
"...That's not all."
"And those people from another world who are related to Tu Yao, their initial memories date back to a month ago."
Lin Yue seemed to be deep in thought.
"Second Brother, so you just asked that waiter on purpose if he knew Big Brother?"
Despite Tu Chaoxi's increasingly irritated stare, Nan Ke still nodded.
He recounted the unusual behavior of the boss and the waiter.
"I suspect that the fusion was only fully completed a month ago, but because the fusion did not go smoothly, the memory update point of those people was defaulted to a month ago."
Just like the default date for the initial program.
Until someone brings it up, just as he had just raised the question, the world consciousness prompted their memories to be automatically corrected, achieving rationalization in both worlds.
"...What about Tu Xiaomao?"
Lin Yue: "...So she really didn't recognize Big Brother at first that night."
Nan Ke nodded: "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Tu Chaoxi leaned heavily back in the seat, staring at the roof of the car with a sullen face.
He recalled Tu Yao's reaction when she saw him that night.
At first, he was also surprised that Tu Yao had no impression of him, given that he was now active on online screens and all over the world.
But when you see the investigation reports, you realize that Tu Yao is incredibly busy every day, attending classes, working part-time, and investigating Zhao Yuanfeng. These activities take up almost all of her time.
He thought that his sister was too busy to go online, didn't follow celebrities, and didn't like entertainment, so it was normal that she didn't recognize him in her amnesia.
But he never imagined that Tu Yao not only didn't know him.
...She didn't know this world either.
In an instant, Tu Chaoxi suddenly realized what was happening, and her gaze sharpened noticeably.
He turned his head: "...So what did you just say?"
What do you want to confirm?
Nan Ke paused slightly.
After a while, he lowered his eyes, his voice slightly hoarse: "I want to confirm..."
"Is her memory not like the boss and waiter's, which automatically correct itself when someone reminds her?"
Nan Ke looked out the window and said softly, "But like me, they have noticed the strangeness of this world."
"Perhaps... she discovered the truth about the merging of the two worlds even before I did."
...
The real estate registration center wasn't too crowded on a weekday.
Tu Yao sat quietly in the waiting area, staring at the numbers scrolling above.
A while later, "Number 21."
Tu Yao immediately snapped out of her daze, grabbed her file bag, and quickly walked to the window to explain her purpose.
The girl in business attire expertly confirmed, "You're here to submit a property transfer application, right? Let me see."
She manually checked the house information, but suddenly, her brows furrowed.
"...Tu Yao, right? I couldn't find the information for the house you wanted to transfer. Was there a mistake in the registration?"
In contrast to the girl's solemn expression, Tu Yao remained remarkably calm. She softly suggested, "Why don't you refresh the page again?"
The girl glanced at her, wondering if refreshing the page would solve the problem.
But subconsciously, she still manually refreshed the page.
The next second, I froze.
The page now prominently displays property information that hadn't appeared earlier.
Tu Yao said frankly, "I have it now."
The girl refreshed the page again; the page was clear and the information was correct.
"...Got it."
The girl quickly forgot about the little incident and, after submitting the application, told Tu Yao, "Tax bureau staff will be coming to verify the property in half an hour. You can go there now."
Tu Yao smiled and thanked her, then packed up all the documents and ran out of the registration center.
Half an hour later, she returned to the welfare home.
But just as she put down the file bag, Tu Yao ran out again with three bottles of mineral water.
She looked around and ran straight along the main road until she reached a fork in the road and stopped.
A while later, the phone suddenly rang.
The people opposite me are staff from the tax bureau.
"Excuse me, is this Ms. Tu Yao? Is this the correct address? I can't find the exact location."
Tu Yao remained unfazed and said loudly, "There's no mistake. Look to your right and see if there are three paths. Follow the smallest one."
"Then turn right, and take the small path on the left, and you'll see me."
After hanging up the phone, Tu Yao waited quietly at the intersection under the blazing sun.
Five minutes later, three young men in tax uniforms walked over.
"You are...Tu Yao?"
Tu Yao quickly stepped forward, handed over the water in her hand, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, this place is a bit hard to find."
The man in the middle subconsciously glanced at the map and suddenly exclaimed, "That's strange!"
"The location wasn't showing up just now, but it's suddenly here."
Tu Yao remained unfazed: "The signal was probably bad just now. Our location is a bit off, which is normal."
The three staff members didn't take the minor issue seriously.
After verifying the information, I followed Tu Yao forward.
...
A car was parked behind a row of camphor trees at the fork in the road.
Tu Chaoxi, Nan Ke, and Lin Yue watched this scene through the car window, remaining silent for a long time.
Once Tu Yao was out of sight, Nan Ke closed his eyes and finally spoke, "...She already knew."
He said in a cryptic tone, "She already knew."
From the property registration center to the welfare home, they followed her all the way, witnessing firsthand how Tu Yao skillfully navigated the bugs of this new world.
"She had long noticed the strangeness of this world and had guessed earlier than we did that two worlds were merging."
They also guessed that the fusion of the two worlds was unstable.
Tu Chaoxi stared at the now empty intersection and suddenly felt a surge of panic.
"...So, what happens if the integration doesn't go smoothly?"
This time, Nan Ke did not answer Tu Chaoxi's question.
But then I suddenly remembered Tu Yao's hesitant expression that morning.
I remembered the question I asked him.
Given the choice between the unknown possibility of fulfillment and the happiness of the present moment, should we hold on tightly to the latter?
"...She said that as long as you've tried your best, it doesn't matter if the result isn't satisfactory."
At first, he was just instinctively alert, but he never quite understood the meaning behind Tu Yao's words.
But now, he understands...
Nan Ke opened his hand, his palm was wet with long-lost cold sweat.
"She was telling me that if one day she disappears again..."
"We should also live our lives well."
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