LGSG Chapter 42

Chapter 43: A Rude Awakening – Young People Are Just Too Frank

Xia Ran was immediately displeased.

He hadn’t quite figured out the source of this displeasure.

In short, Xia Ran didn’t like anything randomly impersonating Mr. Xie.

Xia Ran wasn’t stupid.

At least, he’d always been among the top students academically.

He instantly guessed the origin.

But… were the dynamic crisis designs in the game a bit too much lately?

Even a simple farming game would include some SL (save/load) events to avoid design fatigue over long periods, adding world-building or purely random lucky side quests to refresh the player. It’s just that some games that don’t specifically market themselves this way wouldn’t make these mandatory.

However, these dynamic changes were only designed to prevent aesthetic fatigue.

Xia Ran was encountering them one after another in the game.

This made him vaguely sense something subtly wrong.

Or rather, from the beginning, Xia Ran had vaguely felt that this game was a relatively strange affair from start to finish.

However, since things had developed to this point, other than the NPCs being excessively beautiful, there didn’t seem to be anything else strange. Therefore, Xia Ran wasn’t embarrassed to ask Shen Hua and the others.

Because judging from Shen Hua’s attitude, he seemed quite normal.

Now it was obvious that a sudden side quest had appeared in the staff dormitory building.

And it was triggered by the Xie He and Xie Qiao NPC siblings.

But… Xia Ran didn’t understand why this crutch-wielding NPC (monster tale NPC) was impersonating Mr. Xie?

He carefully took a few steps closer.

Perhaps the game determined that his relationship with Xie He was originally close, so this imposter appeared very calm and didn’t show any surprise at Xia Ran’s approach.

Xia Ran didn’t smell the familiar fragrance from Mr. Xie.

His eyes darkened.

Regardless of what kind of game this actually was.

Knowing that Mr. Xie was an NPC within it, no matter what the game mechanics were, it wouldn’t affect his safety.

But Xia Ran still felt a kind of agitation.

Where did Mr. Xie go?

Was he hurt?

And, the imposter replacing Mr. Xie…

Xia Ran: “Who exactly are you?”

The black-haired youth stared straight at the “Xie He” in front of him, suddenly blurting out a random question.

If it were the real Xie He, he would probably show a puzzled expression at this moment.

But the imposter opposite him stretched out his hands, making a sincere gesture.

“Don’t I look like him?” A confused look appeared on his face.

It was also this confusion that temporarily relieved Xia Ran’s agitation.

A bold and absurd guess gradually emerged in his mind.

Could this be a soul fragment of Mr. Xie who wanted to replace the main body?

Come to think of it, it seemed very likely.

Mr. Xie had long preferred to sit in a wheelchair, perhaps not simply because he didn’t like walking.

It was more like a habit and instinct carved into his bones.

Could it be… that there was actually something wrong with Mr. Xie’s legs before?

Then the thin calluses on this “Mr. Xie’s” tiger’s mouth and the sound of the cane hitting the ground in the corridor could all be explained.

Each soul fragment of Mr. Xie that Xia Ran had encountered was different.

From a toddler to a teenager, and now to the adult youth in front of him.

Each fragment allowed him to participate in and witness a small part of Mr. Xie’s past life.

Then which period of time was the fragment in front of him from?

Causing him to seem to have little sense of identification with the main body?

Xia Ran: “The appearance is similar, but the Mr. Xie I know is the later Mr. Xie.”

When he was with Xie He and Shen Hua, he was always restrained and gentle. He was not aggressive, dull, and always spaced out.

However, once a snail arched its back, its shell was extremely hard.

Xie He subtly nodded: “I heard long ago that the future me would be blinded by beauty, it seems that there is some truth to it.”

Xia Ran: “…?”

The previous hostility was almost shattered by this sentence.

Xia Ran didn’t understand this roundabout remark.

No matter how clever, he was still slow when it came to emotions.

He only vaguely read that this sentence simultaneously scolded him and Mr. Xie.

So the black-haired youth straightened his face: “Who told you that? How could Mr. Xie be that kind of person?”

He had never seen Mr. Xie indulge in beauty.

Not to mention being blinded by it.

Even if it was a self-assessment of Xie He in the past, it wouldn’t work.

In Xia Ran’s eyes, these four words on Xie He were simply a living, breathing ooc (out of character)!

Xie He asked: “Then what kind of person is the future me in your heart?”

This fragment was different from the other fragments Xia Ran had encountered.

The child-like body was full of bad intentions and couldn’t hide its inferiority.

By the time he was a teenager, he already had the prototype of a fake smiling mask.

How could it be that when it was the turn of this adult body in front of him, he had completely regressed?

Xia Ran looked at the white-haired youth and only felt that the usually dignified and polite Mr. Xie actually had a childish and mean personality behind his back, which was very disjointed.

If he wasn’t afraid that the fragment would affect Mr. Xie’s main body, Xia Ran wouldn’t want to insincerely interact with him here.

“Well, Mr. Xie is good-looking.” Xia Ran said, “Very gentle, his smile is also very good-looking, his cold face is also good-looking.”

The black-haired youth had standard engineering thinking, and his vocabulary for praising people was stretched thin, stammering and using three “good-looking” in a row.

This made the opposite Xie He reveal a subtle and gloating expression.

“Oh, so you judge by looks.”

Xie He said: “It seems that the future me still hasn’t gotten rid of the hypocritical bad habits… Hmm? Why are you glaring at me? Don’t you know my nature?”

Xia Ran: “…”

Xia Ran angrily said: “What does it matter to you whether Mr. Xie is hypocritical or not?”

Xie He: “Because his smile is very ugly.”

Xia Ran: “I don’t think it’s ugly. Even if it’s…”

A fake smile.

Xia Ran naturally knew that Xie He’s smile was sometimes not from the heart.

However, whether it was the good side of Mr. Xie, the sunny side, or the dark, inferior side, Xia Ran liked them all.

Humans still have seven deadly sins.

Why demand perfection from others?

Xia Ran: “Where did you hide Mr. Xie and Xie Qiao?”

Xie He smiled and said: “I don’t know.”

He also put on a smile.

And it was indeed exactly the same as when Mr. Xie smiled.

Xia Ran looked at it for a long time, but still couldn’t guess which part of Mr. Xie’s past this fragment corresponded to.

But undeniably, he was piqued a little.

What did Mr. Xie go through to become like this?

Negative, pessimistic, and a little prickly.

Clearly the appearance was different, but the underlying personality was like two different people.

Unless he experienced a major event that reversed his life.

Xia Ran stared at Xie He for a long time, and finally said: “You don’t seem to be lying indeed.”

Xie He: “Looking stupid, how are you so smart?”

Xia Ran pursed his lips.

He didn’t want to pay attention to this kind of half-mocking flattery.

He was slow to perceive his own emotions. He couldn’t figure out what he wanted, what he liked, and couldn’t accept subtle emotional flows.

But strangely, he could directly see through the malice and kindness of others at a glance.

Mr. Xie’s fake smile could be seen from the beginning.

Including the alienation and resistance that Mr. Xie had towards him at the first meeting.

But later, when Mr. Xie looked at him, the depths of his eyes were like snow ice floating on a still lake in winter, clean and stern.

Whether it was a fake smile or a cold face.

Anyway, the real Mr. Xie had long been exposed to him.

“It’s just that someone told me,” Xie He said, “If I kill the future me, I can replace him.”

Xia Ran: “You… why do you always use the word future?”

Xie He: “Because I blinked, and I came here. Don’t you think it’s funny? Why should I kill myself?”

His words were cold and indifferent, obviously not taking the instigation seriously.

Xia Ran was slightly relieved now.

He whispered: “Could it be that you are the most damaged fragment?”

The other soul fragments seemed to have accepted their state well from the beginning.

Only the one in front of him was extreme in his attitude and had little sense of identity with the main body. Looking at him, it seemed that they were completely unrelated.

Xia Ran was very concerned about the instigator in Xie He’s mouth.

He now suspected that someone really wanted to harm Mr. Xie in this game.

No matter what kind of game.

He couldn’t possibly get a Bad Ending, right?

Xia Ran anxiously said: “Then what else did he tell you?”

Did he reveal his intentions?

Did he hint at the whereabouts of Mr. Xie and Xie Qiao?

Outside, the heavy rain was still pouring.

But the confrontation in the study sank into a silent lake.

Xie He clearly understood Xia Ran’s thoughts completely.

But he lowered his eyes and took off the fake smile from his lips.

“Oh,” Xie He said, “He also said that I would definitely hate the future me. Praising me and replacing him. Because…”

Xia Ran: “Because of what?”

Xie He said: “He is hypocritical, incompetent, cunning, and sinister. Now he has also added a reputation of being soft-hearted and having a romance brain. I don’t agree with the previous words. After all, I am indeed like this. But… I am quite curious, what kind of person could the future me take a fancy to?”

Xie He didn’t think he would love someone.

He had never felt love.

So how could he have the ability to love someone?

Love at first sight and developing feelings over time were impossible.

Xia Ran: “…”

Who exactly was smearing Mr. Xie!

How could he not even let go of the rumors of love affairs in Sui Yuan Ju!

“Mr. Xie is not a romance brain,” The guilty Xia Ran lost some confidence when talking about this matter, “It’s me… no, there’s nothing between us!”

Only his thoughts were impure!

Xie He watched the red in the face of the black-haired youth as he stammered to defend himself deepen.

Like the persimmons he loved to eat in the autumn.

Red, plump, and when you bite into it, the flesh is mixed with silky juice.

He smiled and said: “I think there’s some truth to it.”

Xia Ran: “…Eh?”

He was utterly dumbfounded by this head-on answer.

The pupils of the youth’s reddish eyes contracted slightly.

Obviously shocked beyond words.

Xia Ran thought, did he hear wrong?

What was that truth?

It couldn’t possibly be that baseless love affair rumor, right?

“You…” He pointed at Xie He, his fingers trembling, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Xie He’s expression became slightly serious.

“Don’t you know?” He said earnestly, “Whether it’s the past or the future, I really like your type.”