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Bonus chapter! Thank you to Chocco for the donation! ^^
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After a moment of silence, Ling Xiao said, "There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Ling Xiao."
Shi Tianzhu sighed, "You haven't changed at all. I was only about ten years old the first time I saw you. Back then, I never imagined I'd see you again."
Ling Xiao: "..."
Ning Su: "..."
They had a feeling there were many more things Shi Tianzhu hadn't anticipated.
Ning Su turned to glance at Ling Xiao and actually sensed a trace of bewilderment and helplessness from the Flower God.
Ning Changfeng also looked over and whispered to Ning Su, "I can see the discomfort on Ling Xiao. He must also think it's very wrong for Shi Tianzhu to treat him as an elder, considering he's my friend."
Ning Su: "...Yeah."
Ning Changfeng, damn his stubbornness, said, "This won't do. I have to let Shi Tianzhu know Ling Xiao's real identity."
Ning Su stayed silent, waiting to see what Ning Changfeng would do.
If Ning Changfeng could go over and correct Shi Tianzhu's use of "you" (as a formal address for an elder), that would be a good thing.
Unfortunately, he had overestimated Ning Changfeng.
Ning Changfeng didn't go over. It was unclear whether he didn't dare or didn't want to.
He scanned the area, then picked up Gui Sheng, who was squatting to the side eating meatballs.
Ning Changfeng whispered to Gui Sheng, "Gui Sheng, you know Ling Xiao, right? He's my friend, Ning Su's uncle, which makes him your grandfather. Go over to him and call him 'Grandpa Ling'."
Gui Sheng: "Huh?"
His little head couldn't quite process it, dizzy from the complicated family relations.
Wasn't he... Daddy?
Ning Su put down the kitchen knife and took a deep breath.
Ning Changfeng gave Gui Sheng a little push. "Be good, Gui Sheng. Just go call him that once."
Gui Sheng blankly swallowed the meatball in his mouth, toddled out on his short legs, walked up to Ling Xiao—who was currently at a loss for words—looked up, and called out crisply, "Grandpa."
Ling Xiao: "..."
Manman, who was arranging flowers on the dining table: "...?"
Seeing Ling Xiao's strange expression, Shi Tianzhu stuffed a crystal ball into Gui Sheng's hand and explained to him, "Ning Su and I have a special connection; I wanted him to be my younger brother. Gui Sheng has always seen Ning Su as his father. Hearing what I said to you, it's not wrong for him to call you that."
Ning Su: "..."
Ling Xiao: "..."
Ning Changfeng: "..."
The three men fell into silence simultaneously.
This silence persisted all the way to the dining table.
Ling Xiao was invited to sit at the head of the table, and the atmosphere remained quiet.
Even the two children grew silent along with them.
Ning Changfeng felt this wouldn't do. He picked up a piece of fish for each of the children, breaking the silence himself. "Eat more fish. It's good for the brain."
"Look, these two kids have grown up so well," he said, turning to Ling Xiao. "Don't you think?"
Ning Su, who had been sitting stiffly upright, seized the chance to glance at Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao's face showed little expression, yet Ning Su was surprised to sense distinct emotional fluctuations from him.
Ling Xiao picked up his glass, slowly took a sip of water, and set it down with a soft "Mm. Gui Sheng looks like Ning Su. Ah Fei looks like me."
Ning Su's heart gave a sudden jolt, and he hurriedly turned his head away.
For some reason, hearing Ling Xiao say that made him incredibly nervous, stirring up indescribable feelings.
Was it a bit... too forward to say that?
Ning Changfeng was taken aback. That was a rather strange thing to say.
He glanced at the two children, who were now looking at Ling Xiao. It was true that Gui Sheng resembled Ning Su, but saying that Manman (Ah Fei) somewhat resembled him?
Ning Changfeng said, "Ah Fei looks more like President Shi."
Ning Su: "..."
Shi Tianzhu looked up at the quiet, beautiful little girl, whose calm and mysteriously composed aura was entirely her own. "Ah Fei does resemble me in some ways," she said.
But then she added, with a double meaning, "Still, saying it like that is a bit sudden."
Ning Su: "..."
What was the point of calling everyone over for this meal again?
Ning Su single-handedly steered the conversation back on track. "The food's getting cold. Let's eat, and I’ll tell you something while we do."
Finally, everyone began to eat.
Seeing that everyone had picked up their chopsticks and started eating, Ning Su began to share his half-true, half-fabricated story: "After coming out of the instance, I gained a strange ability—or rather, a strange feeling."
Everyone turned to look at him.
Ning Su said, "When I sleep, I always dream about the <Shared Memories> instance. That instance was forcibly cleared, and there were parts of the storyline we never completed."
Shi Tianzhu seemed very interested. "Tell me more. I also felt like that instance was somewhat incomplete, or perhaps poorly designed."
Ning Su explained, "The Black Tree Monster is a mystical creature—both powerful and sensitive. As long as a player harms it, whether by breaking its branches to enter the small dark room or by cutting its trunk to retrieve the memory-transfer neurons, the memories will reset. Players can't use the memories stored in the school to clear the instance."
Ning Changfeng nodded. "That's possible. At the time, those memories were indeed disappearing. If it weren't for Gui Sheng, we might not have been able to use them to clear the instance either."
Shi Tianzhu asked, "Then how should this instance be cleared?"
Ning Su said, "The strange ability or dream I mentioned is that I saw another way we could have cleared it."
He recounted the follow-up storyline that Dark Ling Xiao had told him.
Ning Su glanced at Shi Tianzhu and said, "In the end, Ning Changfeng shared his memories with the Club President."
Upon hearing this, Shi Tianzhu should have been the first to object.
The idea that an enemy would save her by sharing all his memories sounded utterly absurd.
But she didn't.
All three of them had more experience with instances than Ning Su, and their deeper understanding of how instances worked told them that this direction felt more complete.
Moreover, since it was Ning Su saying this—even if he mentioned it might just be a dream—they took it very seriously.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Changfeng said, "If we had truly reached that point in the instance, I would have shared my memories with President Shi."
Shi Tianzhu gently rubbed her cup and looked up at him. "Why?"
Ning Changfeng replied, "It's not like I have anything to hide. Sharing them with you wouldn't be a problem."
Shi Tianzhu pressed further, "Why?"
Ning Changfeng set down his chopsticks. "If I must give a reason—and since there are no outsiders here—I'll be straightforward."
"President Shi, there's a misunderstanding between us. I know you think I deliberately turned into a snake to mock you back then."
"I didn't. As you know, that instance was the first one I entered after inheriting my bloodline. At the time, my bloodline was unstable, and I uncontrollably transformed into a silver snake. You followed me shortly after. During that period, we... at least I felt very happy. When you were sick, you told me many things about yourself that no one else knows."
"When I could speak but didn't tell you, it was partly selfishness, and partly because I was afraid it would make things awkward between us. I wanted to keep it from you completely."
Shi Tianzhu gazed at him intently without speaking. Her face showed no particular expression; she was simply listening.
Between the two of them, listening this seriously to each other was already a rare thing—something that had never happened before.
Ning Changfeng also looked into her eyes. "If we reach that point in <Shared Memories>, I will share my memories with you."
"Sharing them with you could save your life, and it would also show you that I wasn’t toying with you."
"Besides, you’ve told me so many private things and personal thoughts—it’s like you’ve already shared part of your memories with me. It’s only fair that I share mine with you in return."
