Chapter 97: Joy Shared with Many Is Better Than Joy Kept Alone (Combined into One, Nearly Five Thousand Characters)

Su Xiaoqiang was already a third-year university student; two and a half years had passed since high school graduation.

As the saying goes, if you want youth to linger on a girl's face, the best method is no pressure—thanks to her comfortable family background and her own cleverness, whether it was the pressure of life or of studies, it was nothing more than a seasoning in her life.

Just like playing a game—there has to be some difficulty for the sense of accomplishment after clearing it.

She didn't live in the dormitory; her family had arranged a place near the school for her.

Closing her book, Su Xiaoqiang prepared to go to bed early tonight; in a few days she would begin familiarizing herself with her father's business, and as the heir, she had to adjust her routine and could no longer keep binge-watching shows late into the night.

The miracle online called the Day the Gods Descended had only passed a few days ago; aside from the medical industry suffering a heavy blow, every other sector had seen broad-based benefits.

Fortunately, her family's business had nothing to do with medicine.

By all rights, Su Xiaoqiang was the template of a life winner—comfortable family, parents alive and well, a harmonious household, excellent in both character and studies, with her senior-year internship being inheriting the family business—a perfectly flawless life.

But even so, Su Xiaoqiang would occasionally feel that something was missing…

For instance, love.

In the matter of love, she and Lu Mingfei were about on the same level…

It wasn't that no one loved her, but rather that the one she loved didn't love her back.

The people in university who wanted to pursue her, regardless of nationality, could circle the track once over.

But she was still single…

In high school she had liked Chu Zihang and Zhao Menghua; Chu Zihang was too far out of reach, and Zhao Menghua had chosen Chen Wenwen.

Su Xiaoqiang thought again of the evening party on graduation night; that guy Lu Mingfei—who would have thought he could steal the spotlight like that…

From hearsay among high school classmates, at last year's reunion, Chu Zihang showed up and called Lu Mingfei "boss."

That guy… is a bit mysterious…

With such thoughts, Su Xiaoqiang drifted off to sleep.

It was as if she had returned to the high school track; the campus teaching building was pitch dark, with only a few floodlights on the field.

'A lucid dream?'

Su Xiaoqiang had heard of this state of being consciously aware one was dreaming.

But she hadn't expected to encounter it herself.

'So real.'

This really was the track of Shilan Middle School—even two and a half years after graduation she still remembered it.

'Is that me?'

She saw herself standing on the winter field in a thin dress, the breath from her mouth rising like smoke.

'What am I doing?'

Su Xiaoqiang's mind was clear; she felt as though she was watching a movie—clearly a dream, but she couldn't wake up, and could only keep the dreaming self company, waiting here on the empty campus.

'Go home, it's already so late.'

She tried to change her dream, to make the dreaming self return to the big bed at home, because after watching so long she was starting to feel cold; the thinly-dressed self in the dream didn't know who she was waiting for here.

'Isn't this the plot of a campus romance drama? Is it really because I've been single too long?' Su Xiaoqiang thought to herself.

Does this dream have a male lead? If it does, Chu Zihang wouldn't be bad.

Finally, the self before her eyes began to look dejected, lowered her head, tears gathering at her chin and dripping down, and she started to sob a little.

'Have I watched too many tragic-protagonist dramas?'

"You're still such a crybaby." A voice came from the darkness.

The dreaming self looked up in surprise, toward the direction the voice came from—the side leaning against the teaching building.

"You jerk! How long have you been here!" the dreaming self called out toward that direction.

"About ten minutes or so." The figure gradually emerged from the darkness, wearing a trench coat. "My gaze was completely captivated by the beautiful princess; I just got mesmerized. My apologies."

Though that person said apologies, the corner of his mouth carried a faint smile.

Only when the person stepped into the range of the lights did Su Xiaoqiang see what he looked like.

'Lu Mingfei?!!!!!!!!'

"Why is it Lu Mingfei!?"

'Are you kidding me!'

"Five years and we haven't seen each other, my little heavenly maiden." The visibly matured Lu Mingfei said with a smile to the dreaming self: "As promised, I came back alive."

The dreaming self threw herself into Lu Mingfei's arms, her palm tightly gripping the hem of his coat, afraid he would slip away from her embrace.

'Wake up!! No no no!!!!'

'This is too absurd! Did I secretly have a crush on Lu Mingfei in high school!'

'I can't accept this ah ah, wuu wuu.'

When Su Xiaoqiang saw the dreaming self and Lu Mingfei embrace and kiss passionately, she shyly wanted to hide, but very soon, she no longer had time to be shy.

In her consciousness, many memories appeared, like another life of her own.

She read and watched the life of this other self at many times the normal speed; from birth to growing up, everything was the same as hers.

Until that rainy night—

She saw Lu Mingfei standing alone in the heavy rain with no one to pick him up and felt sorry for him, so she pulled him along to ride in her family's private car, specially having the driver take him a stretch of the way.

Although Lu Mingfei said she wasn't as pretty-looking as Chen Wenwen, her overflowing sympathy couldn't hold back, and she let it go, treating it as a great person not remembering the faults of a petty one.

And so—

Everything became different.

'Dragon Race,' 'Half-Blood,' 'Lu Mingfei,' 'the promise,' 'Deadservant,' 'Kassel Academy.'

Pieces of information flooded her mind like a tide, accompanied by frame after frame of memory.

That was Lu Mingfei with golden pupils, embracing her as he leapt from the rooftop, the blade in his hand slicing apart a Deadservant that no longer looked human.

A drop of golden blood emerged from Lu Mingfei's fingertip, lightly touching her lips; from then on, she could stand beside that person.

"What if our world were all an illusion?" Decades later, Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang were still youthful, and the Lu Mingfei beside her asked her such a question.

"As long as you're here, then this world is real."

On the streets of Sydney, Su Xiaoqiang held a bouquet of flowers and leaned against Lu Mingfei's shoulder.

"My little celestial maiden, it's time."

"Mm."

Su Xiaoqiang leaned into Lu Mingfei's arms, listening to his heartbeat.

"If the world restarts, you must find me again." Su Xiaoqiang whispered, her tears soaking Lu Mingfei's sweater, "If you don't come find me, then I will definitely come find you! Definitely!"

"Hehe, crybaby."

Ding ling ling—

Ding ling ling—

Early morning, Su Xiaoqiang awoke from a dream, a sense of loss sprouting in her heart; she clutched her chest, which felt as if a piece had been hollowed out.

Those memories in her mind—she had watched another version of herself's entire life from a third-person perspective.

Everything, just like an urban fantasy script.

"Kassel College?"

That was the college Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang attended—was everything real?

She picked up her fully charged phone and turned off the alarm; in the darkened screen, a pair of golden eyes reflected back.

"It's real."

She gently touched her eyeball through her eyelid, then picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Pick up."

"Pick up, you bastard!"

【The number you have dialed is powered off】

Unable to control her emotions, she hurled her phone onto the floor, then hugged her plush comforter and began to recall—recalling where Kassel College was, and where Lu Mingfei was at this time.

"Tokyo."

"Right. Tokyo!"

She remembered—Lu Mingfei was in Tokyo at this point in time! Wait, Tokyo! That woman was also there!

That was, in her memories, her nemesis! The greatest opponent of this life!

She hurriedly ran to pick up her phone from the floor; fortunately, only the screen was cracked.

Su Xiaoqiang opened an app and bought a plane ticket; her passport was still valid, no need to wait for processing again.

'Why didn't these memories come sooner!'

'Why didn't I drag him into the car back then!'

Thinking that it wasn't on the way, she hadn't taken Lu Mingfei into the car; back then she was still angry at Lu Mingfei for saying she wasn't as pretty as Chen Wenwen.

I'm such an idiot!

Su Xiaoqiang regretfully recalled her high school interactions with Lu Mingfei.

To think she let this guy pine after Chen Wenwen for three whole years!

'Whether it's rebirth or not doesn't matter anymore—wait for me to come find you, you gaming-addicted bastard!'

Hurriedly putting on clothes and packing a few things carelessly, Su Xiaoqiang grabbed her suitcase and headed for the airport.

……

Su Lin sat in a grand armchair; he had just finished watching an important segment of a memory orb—apart from Old Lu and the person involved, everyone else could only see certain important life segments, with a degree of privacy preserved.

He took a tissue and wiped the tears from the corner of his eye, then handed this memory orb to a historical projection.

"So touching."

"This dragon-blooded one is serious when it comes to feelings."

Su Lin's eyes were red; the historical projection walked into a teleportation gate, sending this memory to its designated address.

"I'm not a dragon-blooded one."

A voice sounded from the side.

"Oh, scumbag dragon." Su Lin replied.

"Forget it."

"What about my Tokyo Love Story?" Su Lin asked the question he wanted to ask.

"There's enough time; this memory will awaken at a fixed time." Old Lu said, "It'll take them some time to get here."

"After this, it's war and conquest."

The stronger Lu Mingfei's cultivation, the more power he could call upon—but it also meant the faster he would be absorbed.

"The power isn't much, but it's enough; bulldozing modern humanity and the hybrids shouldn't be a problem."

He said, standing before Su Lin's grand armchair.

"Is that so? Then congratulations." Su Lin said with a smile, his palms lightly applauding.

Old Lu shook his head, looked at Su Lin and said: "If I could, I really don't want to be your enemy; that would waste quite a bit of time, and there might be quite a few casualties."

"Oh?" Su Lin let out a sound of surprise, still maintaining his languid demeanor.

"Your dealings with Lu Mingze, I can roughly guess." Golden light flowed in Old Lu's eyes, majestic but not overtly displayed.

"Oh, he told me about it; guess I can't hide it from you." Su Lin nodded.

Old Lu sat on the steps beside the flower bed, "So, this is a face-up game."

"You're like a mercenary—you help whoever pays you."

"Yes," Su Lin said firmly. "Actually, at first I didn't want to get too involved."

"But the other you didn't like this arrangement, so I took on one more job."

"But don't worry—I won't directly fight you, because your trump card would surely shatter me."

"I'm very self-aware when it comes to knowing my limits."

Old Lu sighed, lowering his head. "You really have no morals."

"Forget it."

"Change the third thing—I'll pay more."

"As you command, Boss!" Su Lin shot up from his chair in one swift motion, standing at attention. "Little Su is always ready."

"I still prefer your old lazy, apathetic fish-like demeanor," Old Lu clapped his hands. "Lu Mingze, come out."

"What is it, brother?" Lu Mingze emerged from behind the flowerbed, grinning.

"Chips."

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, a table appeared between the three. On either side, Old Lu and Lu Mingze each placed a pile of casino chips.

Plop.

On the empty table before Su Lin, a black chip was tossed over, inscribed in gilded characters with two words—Authority.

"I actually lied to you about something, Su Lin," Old Lu smiled. "The Authority of the Earth's dragon clan—this thing—I can manufacture it."

The chips before him kept rising; compared to Old Lu's pile, Lu Mingze's handful was pitifully small.

"Oh?" Su Lin's historical projection transformed into the form of the God of Light, his spear of light materializing. "Do you know my world is about to celebrate the New Year? You're withholding workers' wages?"

"Please let me explain," Old Lu chuckled awkwardly, pressing his hands downward as if to calm Su Lin. "This requires time—and a sliver of my primordial power. It used to be simple, but I'm in this state now."

"I went to your world again in the past, and I gained quite a few benefits—I can now access even more power."

"That's why I decided to adjust the third thing you asked for, using the chips I currently hold."

Upon hearing this, Su Lin transformed the spear in his hand into pure energy, shaping it continuously until it became a glowing loaf of bread and fruit, beside which a cup of water condensed from light elements, filled with clear, pure liquid.

Divine Light High-Grade Spell: Heavenly Banquet

"Boss, you must be hungry. Please, help yourself."

Su Lin politely placed the divine banquet formed by his spell before Old Lu.

'Damn bastard.'

Old Lu stared at Su Lin, whose face radiated holiness, eyes as pure and innocent as a child's.

He picked up the fruit—formed from light elements and prayers, imbued with blessings for the world's beauty—and tossed it lightly in his hand before finally flinging it toward Lu Mingze.

"My foolish King Dou Dou~."

The gambling table became a battlefield.

The chips on the table transformed into soldiers and generals, arranged in battle formation.

Lu Mingze's few remaining chips stood alone, armed and surrounded by an impenetrable tide of black troops, like a lone ruler trapped in a besieged city.

"Brother, only when you're showing off or acting foolish do I feel you're still you," Lu Mingze said, still elegant, hands clasped behind his back, smiling. "I'm glad you've reached the peak of authority and power."

"I'm also glad that in your heart, my position is so important—you've always wanted to revive me."

"Even though you got a bit creative and turned one version of me into a sister."

"Pfft!" Su Lin spat out his drink, crushing the can in his hand.

Seeing Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze looking at him, Su Lin dismissed his historical projection and erased the drink stains.

"Carry on," Su Lin made a zipping motion across his lips.

"But I still think you're pitiful," Lu Mingze said to Old Lu. "Pitiful enough to willingly drown in the pool called the past."

"You're suffocating."

Lu Mingze picked up a soldier, fiddling with it.

"The other me would be heartbroken seeing you like this," Lu Mingze smiled, studying the faceless soldier, golden eyes glinting.

Old Lu remained silent, but the atmosphere shifted.

"I don't mind if you give everything to him," Lu Mingze said. "After all, if he can gain happiness while wielding authority and power, I'd be happy too."

"Then why interfere?" Old Lu asked. "Isn't this the best ending?"

"His need for love is different from yours."

"You're too lonely—you want to cram everything into yourself," Lu Mingze lifted his gaze, the soldier in his hand changing its face. "I fear he'll choke on too much—and I'll only grieve for you, brother."

"When a child refuses to eat, it's not pickiness—it's fullness."

Lu Mingze tossed the soldier onto the board.

At the same moment, several portals opened around them.

"You're…?!" Old Lu's eyes sharpened, fixing on the sudden portals.

From one portal stepped a man with gentle, harmless features: black hair, brown eyes, ordinary facial structure with deeper contours; medium build, slender frame, clearly scholarly aura. He wore a formal suit unlike modern style, as if attending a banquet.

From another emerged a striking man with golden eyes, his hair braided. Noon sunlight glinted off it, revealing a faint brown hue. Nearly one meter ninety tall, he wore a fitted white ancient-style robe embroidered with a creature half-dragon, half-phoenix.

From the central portal stepped a handsome young man with a lazy smile. His jet-black eyes swirled with dazzling light, appearing unusually gentle yet profound. On his back he carried a Mystic Weight.

The soldier before Lu Mingze transformed into the three figures. Though surrounded by an army, they showed no tension, gazing forward with a look of supreme dominion.

"My foolish brother, writing scripts is my specialty~."

Thank you to Brother Han Xi for the coin tip! Thank you to Brother Kan—Wo Mei Ying Guo for 400 coins! Thank you to Brother Fanqie Dan Tang Yao Jia Cu for 1700 coins! Thank you to Brothers Ji Bian De Shi Jie and Suo You De Cu Guo Shi Yin Wei Tai Ruo for 500 coins! Thank you to Brother Feng Ye Da Zong Du for 122 coins! Thank you to Brothers and Sisters Shu You, Shu You, Ye Yue Zhi Fa, Shu You, Shu You, Damenkou, Bao Bian Xing, Wo Tian Tian Kan Zhu Ni, Tian Tian You Wo, Ying Pai Yu Zi Jiang, Hua Shui De Chuan, Zong Ye Luo, Yan Shi Zhi Hu, Cui Cui Cui for 100 coins each!

(End of Chapter)