Cheng Xiu lay in the game pod, trying to adjust to the feeling of emptiness that overwhelmed her.
It was going to be harder to adjust to the feeling of Belonging and then to have that feeling disappear than she thought possible.
This must be the feeling millions of Qiless felt when they played the game.
Why would they keep playing it?
Time passed.
Her mind kept rounding on that 'why'.
She knew the answer but she wasn't sure she was ready to accept it.
To feel like they belonged.
She didn't feel like an outsider, even though she was a player in a world of NPCs.
For the first time, she didn't have to prove to others her self-worth. She could be whoever she wanted to be and gain success and people would accept that success without arguing that she didn't deserve it, even after all the hard work and effort she put in.
Her Fold Watch beeped.
Cheng Xiu opened her eyes and read the new message.
[User xxxx444 is not connected to any VR world. It is recommended that users be connected to a VR world during pod usage to keep the brain functions normal while the Nutrient Solution heals any of the damages dealt with your Physique. Would you like to connect to a VR world?]
Cheng Xiu declined.
[User xxxx4444 is not going through any supplementary medical treatments and no new ailments have been detected. The user shows 5% more physical prowess than normal. Would User xxxx4444 like to inform the officials about the changes in your Physical Potential?]
Cheng Xiu's heartbeat increased.
She declined again. This time, faster.
She refused to think about why there was a change of such drastic proportions in her body.
She knew her actions could be stupid.
It could be the result of something dangerous to her health but Cheng Xiu's instinct told her otherwise.
If this was the result of the game then there would be others like her. Let them come forward first and she would see how people reacted to it.
After all, even though they all advertised Qi Awakening, none have succeeded yet.
The first person to step forward would become a guinea pig.
If it was not because of the game, she would still become a lab rat as people tried to figure out the reason for her evolution.
And not even other Qiless would stop them because it was a chance for them to get powers like the Blessed.
Cheng Xiu removed the Fold Watch.
She got out of the Pod, took a warm bath and went to sleep, unwilling to let herself think about The Other World or anything related to it.
The night passed.
Cheng Xiu woke up from her restless sleep to the loud sound of her Fold ringing.
Cheng Xiu looked at the time. 4:00 Am.
What kind of a monster was calling her at four in the morning? Who died?
Cheng Xiu looked at the caller ID: Bo Ling.
Why did that name seem familiar? Maybe it was a teacher?
She did a name search in the Faculty interface.
A woman's face appeared on the screen. She was beautiful.
Cheng Xiu groaned.
It was the teacher who hated the Qiless.
It really was a monster calling her.
"Hello?"
"Are you not a scholarship student? Why are you still asleep?"
Cheng Xiu took a deep breath to calm her raised hackles. If the woman was in front of her at that moment she would have punched her in the face.
"I had already finished my scheduled topics to learn, Ms Bo."
"It's teacher Bo to you!"
Cheng Xiu rolled her eyes.
"What happened, teacher Bo? Why are you calling me at such an hour?"
"So you also question your teachers! This is the culture of the only Qiless genius of St Andre's!"
Cheng Xiu gritted her teeth. Did this woman get hit in the head as a child?
"I was asking. Not questioning. There is a difference."
"So now you will even teach teachers? Don't forget that I am older than you and your better!"
Cheng Xiu bit into her pillow to suppress the scream that wanted to come out.
The damned woman must be drunk or something.
Cheng Xiu cut the call.
She laid back and closed her eyes.
Her Fold rang again.
Cheng Xiu groaned and picked it up.
"How dare you cut my call!"
"I'm so sorry ma'am," Cheng Xiu said in a mocking voice. "My hand must have slipped."
"You!" The woman seemed frustrated.
Cheng Xiu was now sure the woman's lover must have broken up with her or something and she wanted to use someone as a punching bag and thought Cheng Xiu was perfect for it.
She only had one thing to say to that: Screw you.
"Why did you call, teacher Bo?"
"We are having a meeting today at 6 in the morning at the Guidance Hall!"
The woman cut the call.
"She could have just messaged me that," Cheng Xiu muttered. "Really must have broken up with her boyfriend or girlfriend."
Cheng Xiu closed her eyes again. But sleep had left her.
She groaned.
Cheng Xiu was never able to go back to sleep if she was woken up at night.
Huffing she took up her Fold and started to read "Stars Fated to Die", a contemporary novel about the heroine from earth travelling to Venus to further her study and meeting with the Male Lead, who was a guest Professor from Mars.
After the people from Mars, Venus and the Moon had declared themselves Independent for 50 years and a separate Nation, such stories were much more prevalent than those in Master Si WenLu's fantasy novels. And the author of "Stars Fated to Die", Xing WenLu was the bestselling author of the genre. Something was haunting in the way he described the relationships of his characters even though they were mostly aliens or people living on other planets.
In fact, Cheng Xiu was called a traitor by some of the newer fans because she openly admired Xing WenLu's writing despite being Master Si WenLu's fan. Their hatred came from the fact that the two authors shared the same given name. But the real fans knew the truth. Master Si WenLu started to write stories because she admired Xing WenLu.
Cheng Xiu stopped reading. She looked out the window into the distance as a thought occurred to her. She opened up the news blogs and looked for the details of the Lu family members. More specifically, their names.
:
:
Lu WenXian,
Lu WenXing,
Lu WenYue.
Cheng Xiu stared in disbelief. What were the chances that Lu WenXing was Xing WenLu? Very high.
Cheng Xiu understood two things from this. Lu WenXing was Xing WenLu and her two favourite authors were related!
Cheng Xiu smiled. She was probably one of the few people who knew this secret. She felt honoured.
She should probably thank Ms Bo for waking her up so early. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered to look such pieces of information up. If she was Lucky, that woman might even have a heart attack at having helped at Qiless in any way and die.
Cheng Xiu shook her head. That was too dark a thought.
She spent the rest of the hour reading.
Cheng Xiu reached the meeting place at 6 on the dot only to receive glares from the students sitting around Ms Bo. They were all students from the mathematics department. Except for the girl with the ponytail hair sitting so close to Ms Bo she might as well have been sitting on the woman's lap.
Cheng Xiu recognized the girl. Ren Yin. Ren Dao's twin sister and the 'princess' of Cheng Xiu's class. The Ren girl had never liked the fact that Cheng Xiu existed in the same class as her, believing that those who were born 'low' should not try to go above their status.
Cheng Xiu had never liked the girl's attitude.
This was going to be one fine morning.
"I see that genius does not mean punctuality," Ren Yin said with a sneer.
Cheng Xiu gave the girl a sweet smile. "Well, genius means someone with a high-functioning brain and punctuality means being on time. So I guess you are right. They do not mean the same thing. Well done."
Ren Yin glared.
"The meeting was set at 5:45," a boy with glasses said, sneering at her.
Cheng Xiu looked at Ms Bo questioning.
The woman kept typing into her Fold, not looking at her, her lips curling into a satisfied smile.
Cheng Xiu wanted to roll her eyes but suppressed them. Did she look that easy to bully this woman? She wasn't San Zhu.
"Teacher Bo must have had a headache yesterday so I guess she forgot the actual time."
Ms Bo looked at her in disbelief. "What do you mean I forgot the actual time!"
Cheng Xiu smiled. "Don't you remember, teacher? You Called me at four in the morning to tell me the meeting is at six. I wondered why you would personally call me to tell me this. You could have just sent a message over the AI system. You must have been really tired."
Ms Bo's eyebrow twitched. "Sit! We have very little time to plan things as it is! We only have two months at most!"
Cheng Xiu sat on the chair opposite Ren Yin, a triumphant smile on her face.
Ms Bo looked at her with hatred in her eyes.
'Let's see who will win,' Cheng Xiu thought to herself. 'The woman full of so much hate that she would rather lie than keep her dignity or the Qiless girl who outdid even the best of the blessed in this country.'
Her black eyes dared the woman who called herself a teacher.
Ms Bo's eyes flashed as she saw the challenge and sheer arrogance in Cheng Xiu's Phoenix eyes.
Damned Qiless!
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