MASG chapter 117

 

Xia Yu’s heart was beating very fast.

After such a terrifying scare, it turned out to be just a small note. Was Mo An pacing back and forth outside just to do this?

The trophy was still raised in his hand. Xia Yu didn’t dare relax his guard—no one forced to jump off a building would be completely unscathed. Sounds came again from outside the door, as if a hand were pounding against his chest. Driven by fear, he took a step back.

Outside the door were still footsteps, but this time they were clearly moving away, getting farther and farther, lighter and lighter…

Gone? Did he leave? Xia Yu let out a breath.

It took him two minutes to take his first step. Hoo, hoo—he could hear his own breathing. His feet touched the cold, clammy wooden floor. When he slowly returned to the door, he immediately grabbed the doorknob and tentatively twisted it to the right.

Click. The door was locked.

So it wasn’t locked just now; Mo An only needed to push lightly to enter his defenseless private space. But he didn’t do that—he only left a note?

After calming down completely, Xia Yu picked up the apology note, went back to the bed, and turned on the bedside lamp. As the light came on, warmth and quiet enveloped Xia Yu once again. He placed the note under the lamp and examined it carefully.

The handwriting really wasn’t very good, leaning toward a middle school level. At a glance, it was obvious that he hadn’t practiced much. The paper wasn’t flat; it was crumpled with obvious creases. One could imagine how hesitant Mo An had been outside just now. The paper seemed to retain body heat, overlapping with Xia Yu’s fingertips. With a door between them, it was as if there were a layer of time and space.

Such a strange person, Xia Yu thought. Still, he tucked the apology note under his pillow and turned off the light.

The next day, Xiaoxiao was the only one who went to school. Xia Yu and Mo An were injured and stayed home to recover. Zhang Mingqiao and Xia Li worked from home. While taking care of the children, they were on edge, worried that something might happen to Mo An again. As the main observation target in the house, Mo An could see Zhang Mingqiao wherever he went. This made him laugh and cry at the same time.

Accustomed to Nuwa and Ling Shi’s hidden surveillance, human observation seemed clumsy and obvious to him.

“Good morning.” Zhang Mingqiao thought his technique was flawless and came over to greet Mo An. “How did you sleep last night?”

“Very well, thank you…Dad.” Mo An stiffly stepped into the role. “Did you and Auntie sleep well?”

Perhaps this was the first time he had received positive feedback from Mo An. Zhang Mingqiao smiled happily. “Not bad, not bad. We’ve always been pretty good. What would you like for breakfast? Your aunt and I are both good cooks. Would you like Chinese or Western food? Or would you like to try our traditional local breakfast?”

Chinese-style? Western-style? Such strange terms. Mo An lowered his head and thought for a moment. “Anything is fine. I’ll eat whatever you eat. I’m not picky.”

“Then we’ll just make some things casually. You try them first.” Zhang Mingqiao cheerfully walked toward the kitchen. “I really don’t know if you’ll like my cooking. I also don’t know what you usually eat in Qingyao City…”

As he walked away, Mo An was left alone in the living room. He found a wooden stool and sat down, observing for the first time the “home” where he would live for a while. No matter how you heard it, Penghu City sounded like a very strange name. Penghu… what did that even mean? Could the shape of this island be like a pot[mfn]In Mandarin, “hu” (湖, lake) from Penghu (澎湖) and “hu” (壶, pot) sound the same. Hearing “Penghu,” Mo An mistakenly associates it with “壶 (pot)” instead of “湖 (lake).”[/mfn]?

Mo An examined the house again. The seaside wooden house was full of warmth and nature, with evidence of love everywhere: There was a family photo, fishing rods, pottery, certificates of merit, and miscellaneous little things… Mo An couldn’t imagine how a family could accumulate so many small things. They didn’t even have cleaning robots—daily cleaning must be so troublesome.

Sure enough, this was a fake world. Perhaps it reset every morning, returning everything to its original state, just as Ling Shi had forcibly dropped them there. Zhang Mingqiao had never asked who he lived with in Qingyao City. Probably because an NPC’s brain has no capacity for expansion—if Ling Shi didn’t provide information about a “former wife,” then he simply wouldn’t remember such a person.

Fake is fake. Fake things can never become real!

At that moment, Xia Yu came downstairs. His head was still covered in soft hair, and his eyes were half-closed from sleep. The instant he saw Mo An, he froze for two or three seconds. Then, he showed an awkward smile and quickly walked into the kitchen to help with breakfast. Mo An watched his back and really wanted to stand beside him.

To welcome Mo An’s arrival, this breakfast was exceptionally lavish. With the couple’s joint effort, both Chinese and Western dishes were prepared. Xia Li had even specially pan-fried a fish for Mo An.

“Try this. It’s a specialty of Penghu Island—little silver fish. Just pan-fry them in butter, and they’re ready to eat.” Xia Li pushed the plate over.

“Thank you, Auntie.” Mo An picked up his chopsticks and moved his lips. “Aunt, about Xia Yu’s matter, I…”

“Alright, it’s in the past. Don’t keep bringing it up.” What Xia Li had prepared for Xia Yu was his favorite breakfast since childhood: milk chocolate, ring-shaped cereal, and a soft-boiled egg. “Your dad and I discussed it last night. This weekend, we’ll take you to see a psychologist for counseling.”

Mo An answered guiltily with a “Mm.” “Mm, but… it’s not that serious.”

“Still, it’s better to take a look.” Zhang Mingqiao placed the peeled egg on Mo An’s plate. “This is your home. You’re not an outsider.”

Mo An nodded quietly and looked at Xia Yu.

Xia Yu was drinking milk. After their eyes met, he quickly lowered his head.

It looks like he’s still afraid of me. Mo An wasn’t surprised and didn’t rush it. After breakfast, Xia Yu went back upstairs to rest. Mo An helped Zhang Mingqiao and Xia Li clean the kitchen. “Dad, can I go find Lao Gui?”

“You’re going to look for him?” Zhang Mingqiao turned around.

Mo An said in a serious and proper manner, “Yes, I chatted with him a bit yesterday, and it went pretty well. Since there’s a fish pond at home, I thought I should learn how to clean it and help with the housework. Once I’ve learned everything, we can let him go and save some money.”

“No problem. Go find him then. But you can’t swim, so don’t get too close to the fish pond. And definitely don’t go to the seaside alone,” Zhang Mingqiao said, agreeing. After Mo An left, Xia Li smiled and walked over. “Sigh. Someone’s going to be sad again. It looks like Mo An gets along better with the staff.”

“I noticed it yesterday. They talked a lot in the hospital. He’s just… unfamiliar with me as his father.” Zhang Mingqiao felt helpless, but quickly perked up again. “It’s fine. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so it’s normal for him not to be close to me yet. Things will get better. I can’t wait to take you all out to sea!”

Mo An, of course, didn’t hear any of this. He just wanted to see how Lao Gui was doing. Before he even reached the fish pond, he heard bursts of laughter. As he got closer, he realized that Lao Gui was chatting with the neighbors.

“Hahaha, really? Then I’ll definitely take the ferry to see it this weekend.” Already fully integrated into the local scene, Lao Gui looked at Mo An. “Why are you up so late?”

“I’ve been up for a while. I just helped clean up around the house.” Mo An pulled him toward the fish pond. “There are no robots to help here, so everything has to be done by hand. You’re doing pretty well, though. You’ve already made friends with the neighbors. I’m warning you, though: they’re all fake. Virtual data. They’re observers that can’t develop independent consciousness. Nuwa has already set their programs. They repeat the same things every day and can’t create anything, so you don’t need to spend so much energy on them.”

Lao Gui clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Your way of thinking is wrong. First, tell me about Xia Yu. How is he?”

“He… is still very afraid of me. It’s not his fault.” Mo An stood by the edge of the fish pond.

Sure enough, the seawater fish that had been swimming happily just moments ago all sank to the bottom. Not a single bubble dared to surface. The water was smoother than a mirror, and not a single fish dared to poke its head out. The threat at the top of the food chain made the creatures at the bottom feel fear instinctively.

“See? They know I’m a mermaid.” Mo An squatted down. “Actually, I acted on my own last night. I secretly went to Xia Yu’s bedroom…”

“My God!” Lao Gui hurriedly grabbed his shoulder. “What did you do now? Did you sneak in and kiss him?!”

Mo An stared at him in disbelief. “How could I do that? How could I be that kind of fish?”

“Because you are,” Lao Gui said firmly.

“I’m not!” Mo An was just as firm. The two were arguing heatedly when Mo An looked up and happened to see a window. It was on the second floor of the wooden house and was Xia Yu’s room. Xia Yu was opening the window with a piece of white gauze still stuck to his face.

In this world, Xia Yu had no self-healing ability. Mo An looked at him, but before he could wave, Xia Yu shrank back and disappeared from the window.

This happened for two days in a row. They both knew the other existed, but there was very little communication. Mo An accepted Lao Gui’s suggestion and stopped disturbing Xia Yu. On the fourth day, Zhang Mingqiao sent them to school again, but this time they waited outside the principal’s office for a long time.

After the previous accident, Mo An became a key observation target at school. The class and dismissal bells rang twice in succession. Mo An sat on a bench, immersing himself in the role of a senior high school student and getting used to the frightening bells. When Zhang Mingqiao finally emerged from the principal’s office, a woman followed behind him.

“Xiao An, this is your homeroom teacher from now on,” Zhang Mingqiao said, introducing the woman. “You can call her Teacher Chen.”

“Hello, Teacher Chen,” Mo An said, memorizing her name. Homeroom teacher—another new term.

Chen Ailu looked him over and smiled. “There’s no major problem. I’ll pay special attention to Mo An’s emotional state. It’s just this hair color. It’ll have to be dyed back. Our school doesn’t allow dyed hair.”

“Okay, I’ll dye it when I get home,” Mo An agreed. As long as he could attend the same high school as Xia Yu, he was willing to do anything. Chen Ailu then led him into Class 6 of the third year. She arranged for him to sit quite far back, right by the window.

“The classroom windows open horizontally and fold inward, so please rest assured,” Chen Ailu emphasized.

“No problem. I’ll sit wherever you tell me to sit, teacher.” Mo An put down his backpack and sat in his seat under the gaze of a room full of unfamiliar classmates. He was determined to be a qualified student. But when he opened the textbooks in his desk, his ambition instantly burst like a bubble.

He couldn’t understand them!

Damn it! Ling Shi had only given them identities. She hadn’t stuffed high school knowledge from this world into his brain at all! Mo An flipped through the math book as if it were a sacred text, from the first page to the last, but he didn’t find a single problem he could solve.

It’s over. This time, it’s really over… He put the book down in despair. He leaned back against the chair and stared at the ceiling, hoping for some comfort from the virtual blue sky. But the comfort never came. When Mo An opened the book again, he still couldn’t understand it.

How was he supposed to cover this up next? Was he supposed to tell the teacher he had amnesia and didn’t recognize the formulas? Just as he was at his wit’s end, a longed-for voice reached his ears, instantly activating every happiness cell in his body.

“Mo An.” Xia Yu stood by the back door of the classroom and waved at him.

Xia Yu! Mo An immediately abandoned his book and rushed toward the back door, slowing down only when he got close. “Why are you here?”

“I heard you’re in Class 6, so I came to check on you. I was worried you wouldn’t adapt.” Ultimately, Xia Yu overcame his inner fear. If Mo An really had a psychological trauma, then the whole family should show him more love and care. “I wanted to say… I’ve already read your apology note.”

Mo An immediately lowered his head.

“I’m not angry. It’s fine now.” Xia Yu suddenly smiled, just as he did in real world. “Let’s go home together after school. I’ll go with you to buy a bicycle.”

Mo An quickly lifted his head, stunned for a moment in disbelief. “Okay. We’ll go together.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll come find you after class.” Xia Yu raised his hand. For some reason, he really wanted to touch Mo An’s head. In the end, though, he lowered his hand again. “Pay attention in class.”