Chapter 148: An Inspirational Story Becomes a Spirit (Revised)

The alarm hadn't gone off yet, but Yang Yixie opened his eyes.

He reached for his phone, tapped away the alarm that hadn't sounded, sluggishly sat up in bed, and put on the Black-framed Glasses hanging on the bedside rack.

Yang Yixie yawned as he walked into the bathroom, squeezed out toothpaste, brushed his teeth mechanically, and with his other hand opened the video‑scrolling app on his phone.

The short‑video platform offered a kaleidoscope of content—everything you could imagine—so he swiped through one after another, checking what recent incidents had erupted.

He suddenly remembered something and typed "Starry Sky Forest" into the search bar.

Sure enough, the "Starry Sky Forest" that had sparked heated debate in the class group was said to have been unable to walk due to a car accident, yet suddenly stood up during a live stream, leading a large crowd to suspect it was a publicity stunt.

After the live stream abruptly cut off earlier, today the matter had completely faded without a ripple; it seemed a miracle might have truly occurred.

If it were a script, there couldn't be zero news about it.

What topped the charts instead were a slew of new hot topics:

A certain influencer announced a romance, a certain star was suspected of cheating, a certain place reported bizarre incidents… but there was no follow‑up on the live‑stream incident.

Yang Yixie was unsurprised; information turnover in this era is just too fast.

He opened the class group; today it was silent, and no one mentioned the suddenly vanished streamer.

Human hearts change so quickly that they need no transition at all.

After freshening up, Yang Yixie changed into a simple white T‑shirt and sweatpants, grabbed his shopping bag, and headed out.

The morning market was already bustling; he navigated the crowded aisles with ease and stopped at a familiar stall.

"Auntie, how much are the tomatoes?"

"Four yuan per jin, Xiao Yang, today's are very fresh!"

"Then two jin, and also a carrot."

Back home, he tied on an apron and began preparing lunch.

He chopped, heated oil, and tossed everything into the wok in one smooth flow.

In less than half an hour, two dishes and a soup were ready: tomato scrambled eggs, carrot‑braised pork ribs, and seaweed egg drop soup.

He packed the food into a thermos box, quickly ate his own portion, then hoisted the box, left the house, took the subway to the hospital, delivered the meal to his mother, and chatted for a while.

Around one or two in the afternoon, just as Yang Yixie stepped out of the hospital, his phone rang.

The screen displayed the name Sun Yu, his former desk‑mate from high school; the two had gotten along fairly well.

"Hello?" Yang Yixie answered.

"Hey, Old Yang, want to go to the school together this afternoon to pick up the file?"

Sun Yu's voice came through the handset, unusually familiar.

Yang Yixie raised an eyebrow; although the files could be collected after the college entrance exam, such important documents are easy to lose when held oneself.

Generally, most people choose to have the file mailed directly to the school after receiving the admission notice.

"So urgent? Shouldn't we wait for the results, decide which school to apply to, then pick it up?"

"I'll be heading to Shoudu in a few days; I might end up settling there afterward..."

Sun Yu paused, "My dad was transferred by the head office to that place, and I plan to attend university there. If you don't pick up the file, we can meet somewhere later?"

Yang Yixie stopped, standing in the shade outside the hospital; June sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows across his face.

"Leaving so soon..."

He nudged his glasses; his mother thought it too hard for him to deliver meals every day, so she told him to rest today, which gave him some free time.

"What time should we go?"

"Meet at the school gate at five? After we get the file, I'll have the driver take us to eat."

"Alright, see you then."

He hung up and looked up at the sky.

Before he knew it, dark clouds had gathered, obscuring the once‑bright sun, and the wind grew stronger, rustling the leaves.

Every day, countless people come and go, countless events flare up and fade, like tides washing over a beach without leaving a trace.

Sun Yu is heading to Shoudu, so there will be one less familiar, lively presence around him, but soon everyone will forget, just as they forgot that streamer, the classmates they once spent every day with.

Yang Yixie shook his head, shaking off the slightly melancholy thought.

It's not as if they'll never be able to meet again; we can still arrange to play games together, so why does he need to be sad about it?

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"Young master Sun, have you finished calling your classmate?"

Sun Yu put down his phone and heard a woman's voice from the front seat of the small car.

"Um, we'll meet at the school gate later, and we'll still need to ask Ke Xin Jie to give us another ride to the nearby restaurant."

He nodded, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Ke Xin Jie, don't call me 'young master'—that title feels odd."

Especially when Meng Kexin calls him that, he always feels an inexplicable chill down his spine.

Even though his father arranged for someone to be his temporary driver, he still isn't used to it.

Usually the drivers his father sent were middle‑aged men, right? Why this time a pretty older sister?

She's his father's newly hired assistant, very capable, and this time she'll also transfer with him to Shoudu.

He heard that this sister was born into a son‑preference household, and later broke free thanks to her own excellence.

Her name was the only one her beloved grandmother gave her, so after leaving her birth family she changed her surname but kept the name, literally becoming a living embodiment of an inspirational story.

Meng Kexin naturally had no idea how out of place the thoughts in the back seat were; she just focused on driving.

Originally she should have been at the office tracking project progress, but perhaps those two gaming sessions had a huge impact on her, leaving her spirit unusually exhausted.

So, being asked to temporarily be the boss's son's driver for a day only required a few short trips, mostly nearby, allowing her to rest in the car most of the time.

Through the rear‑view mirror, she could also see clearly how she looked now.

Her black hair was tied up in a bun, she wore a mature professional outfit and glasses; although her face still had a hint of youthfulness, she could already fully command the scene.

She liked the beautiful outfits in the game world, but besides that, she hated everything else about the game world.

In the real world, she had a stable life, a job she loved, and even received recognition from her superiors for her outstanding work ability; she was about to get a promotion and raise, and in her spare time at work she could also buy many things she liked to make up for her childhood regrets.

Everything was so wonderful, it was the life she longed to have.

Originally, it should have continued developing this way.

But the appearance of that game shattered the settled life.

It's fine; she will eventually find a way to escape the game, keeping that dangerous and terrifying world completely away from her wonderful life.

"Alright, shall I send you to school now?"