About 20 minutes later, Xing Yuanzhi left the Xing family residence, looking somewhat weary. The elders of the clan had received a summons from the Jinyiwei, requesting the Xing family's cooperation in an investigation...
The Xing family's response was clear: "If you want to investigate something, send the Sanfa Court officials to interrogate; we do not accept the clandestine politics of secret agencies."
In fact, even before the Wang siblings informed them of the matter, the two other major families, Cui and Lu, had already communicated with the Cheng and Xing families.
The result of this communication was that both families vehemently opposed the emperor's clandestine politics and completely distanced themselves from the imperial family.
Xing Yuanzhi didn't think this was a wise choice. Although the Wang siblings had made promises and implications, and her verbal response was generous, she instinctively felt that they shouldn't be the vanguard for the five major families, fearlessly charging into battle for others.
However, she was only a ninth-grade Supernatural, no matter how talented and potential she was, she couldn't intervene in family affairs.
Mentally exhausted, the two boarded the light rail tram, preparing to go home. Cheng Jinyang's old house is in Wujiang Town, across the river from the main city, belonging to the relatively remote suburban satellite city.
As the tram continued forward, the surrounding lights gradually became sparse. The main city of Jiankang on the opposite side of the Yangtze River is brightly lit and colorful.
Xing Yuanzhi looked silently at the prosperity across the river, while Cheng Jinyang stared at her pure and beautiful profile, and a sentence suddenly popped into his mind: "The bustle belongs to them, and I have nothing."
Hmm, who said that again?
"Why are you looking at me?" Xing Yuanzhi suddenly asked.
"You're really beautiful," Cheng Jinyang instinctively replied.
"True," Xing Yuanzhi nodded as a matter of course, retracting her gaze from outside the window and resting it on the floor of the carriage.
After a moment, she spoke again, asking, "Who is Su Lili?"
Cheng Jinyang's heart seemed to skip a beat. Even today, the reflexes left by the original owner of this body still filled him with intense hatred.
For example, when he was most relaxed, suddenly hearing the name "Su Lili" would instinctively cause him heartache and convulsions.
"A former friend," Cheng Jinyang replied.
"She must have been a very important friend to you," Xing Yuanzhi said, her hands gripping the edges of the seat, speaking in a low voice. "This afternoon... when you were unconscious on the training ground, you kept calling out her name."
"It's all in the past," Cheng Jinyang said earnestly.
The "Cheng Jinyang" who deeply loved Su Lili is already dead. The lingering emotions cannot affect me anymore... I must block them out.
Brain domain development is imperative, which requires me to return to the Cheng family in Shendu. Before that, I must understand the family's hostility towards my father, so Xing Yuanzhi is an indispensable help to me.
I must get along well with Ah Zhi. Things like cleanliness, I just need to endure.
Seeing his seemingly relaxed expression, Xing Yuanzhi sighed inwardly.
She actually had a rough idea about Su Lili before. She just didn't expect her to be so deeply rooted in Cheng Jinyang's heart, even though she's already dead... No, perhaps it's precisely because she's dead that she's etched into his heart.
But I don't care anymore. Marriage, such a thing, love isn't a necessary prerequisite.
The two sat side by side on the tram, though physically close, their thoughts were miles apart.
Back at home, Xing Yuanzhi immediately rushed to the bathroom to shower, clearly suffering from severe dehydration, unable to bear it any longer.
Cheng Jinyang picked up a tissue from the table, crumpled it into a ball, and then activated the Iron Shoot algorithm.
The paper ball shot into the trash can steadily; this ability is really useful.
Now that the algorithm is in place, there are three things to do next:
1. Purify and enhance bloodline concentration by slaying demons in nightmares.
2. Study the contents of textbooks diligently to lay the foundation for computational power.
3. Investigate the relationship between the Cheng family and his father.
After going over what he had to do in his mind several times, carefully considering various details and possibilities, Cheng Jinyang began to feel a bit sleepy.
No, he can't sleep here; once he fell into a dream, he won't be able to wake up until tomorrow morning!
So he picked up "Fundamentals of Physics" and began to study.
About an hour later, Xing Yuanzhi, wearing a bathrobe, emerged from the bathroom, drying her wet hair with a towel.
Cheng Jinyang stared blankly at her white, tender neck revealed by the bathrobe collar.
"The bathroom is free for you now, go ahead and wash." Xing Yuanzhi said lightly.
"Oh."
After he finished bathing, he returned to the bedroom and saw that Xing Yuanzhi had changed into a thin nightgown and was lying on the small bed next to his.
His own bed had been tidied up, presumably by the household robot that had come to clean up again in the evening, and the sheets were neatly folded.
"By the way, since we're sharing the same room anyway, why do we still need separate beds?" Cheng Jinyang asked tentatively.
"Let's see if sleeping separately can bring me into your dreams," Xing Yuanzhi replied, playing with her phone.
She turned on airplane mode on her phone, then plugged in the charging cable on the bedside table, saying, "Go to sleep early, there will be nightmares later."
"Okay," Cheng Jinyang replied and lay down, turning off the bedroom light.
The thick curtains blocked the light from the balcony, and the room was dark and quiet, only the faint sound of breathing could be heard.
"Ah Zhi?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Do you want to die?" came Xing Yuanzhi's cold voice from beside him.
"Sorry," Cheng Jinyang apologized quickly, "I just... wanted to make sure you're here."
"I won't go anywhere," Xing Yuanzhi replied, "Tonight, I'll stay by your side, Jinyang."
"Okay, good night."
"Good night."
So Cheng Jinyang slowly sank into his own thoughts.
He had been in this world for over three years now, sleeping alone every night.
So he had gotten used to living alone, going to school during the day, coming home at night, sometimes not saying more than 10 sentences to anyone all day.
However, this fiancée suddenly entered his world, telling him that the nightmares that had troubled him for many years were actually his golden finger, and she had come for this reason, and would continue to accompany him.
Although initially there were some unpleasant moments because of the canceled engagement, Cheng Jinyang was still grateful to her for bringing him a lot of financial assistance, pointing out the direction of his life, and...
...opening the door to the supernatural world.
Of course, both sides has their own needs, and while gratitude is due, there is no need to be too close to each other. Ah Zhi is not the kind of girl who likes to stick too much.
Speaking of which, Ah Zhi is really beautiful, with fair skin, a pure appearance, and standard long black hair.
Even before crossing over, Cheng Jinyang had never seen such a beautiful girl in his life. The "internet celebrities" with layers of whitening, slimming, and highlighting filters online might barely reach this level of beauty, but my family's Ah Zhi girl is naturally beautiful!
Then, Cheng Jinyang remembered Wang Wanrou, whom he had seen at the dinner party in the evening. Regardless of background or facial features, she surpassed Ah Zhi, but only lacked in temperament compared to Ah Zhi by a lot. There was always a kind and gentle smile on her face.
However, for some reason, Cheng Jinyang didn't like that kind of smile. It seemed like wearing a mask, making it impossible for people to see her true emotions.
With these random thoughts, Cheng Jinyang's mind gradually became blurry, slowly entering a shallow state of sleep.