Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 135: Veranda

Qian Ai woke up to a faint smell of oranges.

As soon as he woke up, the scent disappeared, leaving only the murky night breeze tickling his nose.

He sat up and sneezed. When he managed to see his surroundings clearly, he was stunned.

He was still in the front courtyard, facing the closed, floral-pendant gate within arm’s reach. Obviously, from the time he fainted to when he woke up, nobody had moved him.

But the courtyard behind him was clean and orderly.

Lao Zhang, Lao Peng, and the mess from their fight were all gone. The entire outer courtyard looked as if nothing had ever happened. The chessboard was still placed at the entrance, but no one was playing.

He looked down at his leg. The pant leg was still rolled up to his knee, but the bizarre young frog was nowhere to be seen, and there were no signs of injury on his calf.

He couldn’t say whether the situation was good or bad, but Qian Ai felt a chill running through his heart.

His gaze returned to the floral-pendant gate. Qian Ai tried knocking on the door panel and called out the names of his teammates in a loud enough voice to be heard on the other side. “Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Xiao Kuang…”

His voice dispersed in the night wind, and there was no response from the other side of the door.

Qian Ai’s hand, which was knocking on the door panel, slid down in defeat, and he sat there dazedly for a couple of minutes. The last firm promise he made before fainting slowly came back to him—

“Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to rejoin you.”

These words, like a transport plane, injected new strength into Qian Ai’s bewildered mind.

He rarely had such a manly moment. He didn’t remember why he was so sure at that moment, but since he had said it, he was determined to do it!

Qian Ai suddenly stood up and quickly surveyed the entire front courtyard.

The situation in the living room was the same as in the courtyard. Except for the missing fish tank in the corner and the four cups of tea still on the table, everything else was as it was. The sofa wasn’t moved, the floor wasn’t broken, and there was no water or young frogs on the ground.

He couldn’t explain the bizarre situation, but at least those who might attack him were really gone.

After confirming there was no risk of being ambushed, Qian Ai returned to the floral-pendant gate and focused on breaking through it!

He tried everything he could think of: body slamming, using stationery, climbing the wall. The door remained unmoved, and the wall was blocked by an invisible barrier that couldn’t be penetrated.

Qian Ai was sweating profusely and gasping for breath, but he never thought of giving up.

The owl said there was only one chance.

He didn’t believe in bad luck.

Even hundred-dollar bills could be thrown as hidden weapons; he was no longer the old Qian Ai!

Wait, hold on.

Taking advantage of a pause to catch his breath, Qian Ai suddenly swung his arm towards the ground nearby. “Ha!”

The [Money Dart] flew out, its sharp corner embedding itself in the crevice between the courtyard tiles, then fell limply to the ground.

Qian Ai’s face lit up, and he ran over, pulling the bill from the crevice and happily stuffing it into his pocket.

As soon as he did, the bill turned into a wisp of smoke.

Qian Ai: “……”

Well, he was just conducting an experiment. It really didn’t work.

After failing to “strike it rich overnight”, Qian Ai continued to ponder the “path to rejoining”.

Suddenly, the image of the [Money Dart] embedding into the tile crevice flashed through his mind.

If breaking through the door and climbing the wall didn’t work, meaning he couldn’t go through the ground or the air, then why not try… underground?

Yes, underground!

Qian Ai immediately set out, searching the entire courtyard and house for tools that could dig three feet into the ground. The [Money Dart] was useless as soon as it hit the ground, so he needed real, hardcore digging tools!

Surprisingly, after searching for a long time, he couldn’t find a shovel or spade in the large front courtyard—not even a frying spatula. Finally, he found a broom and a plastic dustpan.

Qian Ai looked at the dustpan, which resembled a shovel, and decided to give it a try. He shoveled at the bottom of the floral-pendant gate with the dustpan.

With one scoop, the tile didn’t budge, and the plastic dustpan almost broke.

“You embroidered pillow*!”

*(绣花枕头) Idiom referring to a person who only has the appearance but no knowledge or talent.

After scolding the innocent tool in his heart, Qian Ai stood up, bathed in the sparse light, and looked down at the dustpan, lost in thought.

Two minutes later.

The dustpan received a notification—if it could hear.

[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Iron Will] on you~~]

Qian Ai squatted down again, picked up the transformed dustpan, and started prying and shoveling at the tiles under the door. Crack, a tile lifted, revealing the dark black soil underneath!

Qian Ai was overjoyed and didn’t hesitate to start digging vigorously with the dustpan.

……

In the inner house, in a garden veranda filled with withered flowers, a young man appeared.

At that moment, Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin, leaning on the door and catching their breath, were undecided about whether to continue forward or find a way to bring Qian Ai, separated by a door, back to them. They didn’t even know if Qian Ai was still in the front courtyard.

In their confused minds, the young man appeared, walking along the veranda towards the deeper part of the house, allowing them only to catch a glimpse of his elusive back.

The three companions noticed him at the same time. As if guided by an inexplicable intuition, they all looked in that direction.

Wu Sheng was the first to stand up, followed by Xu Wang and Kuang Jinxin. They quickly pushed through the withered plants, jumped over the railing into the veranda, and chased after him.

Wu Sheng, with the fastest speed, called out first. “Please wait—”

They were prepared for the figure to run away, but to their surprise, he stopped when he heard them and turned around naturally, looking at them with curiosity.

The three companions were stunned.

He was a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, tall and handsome, dressed in a dashing equestrian outfit, as if he had just returned from an exclusive riding club. His eyes still carried the spirit of horse riding. Although he wasn’t fully grown and looked slightly thin, his eyes already showed a hint of determination, leaving no doubt that he would achieve great things in the future.

“Do you need something?” The boy took off his riding helmet and stared at them with his bright eyes.

Although he looked much younger, about a decade or so, and his voice was less magnetic and clearer, his facial features were immediately recognized by his companions…

“Chi Zhuolin?” When Xu Wang called out the name, he himself felt it was absurd, but the person was right in front of them, impossible to deny. Unless Chi Zhuolin had a twin brother who was over a decade younger or had a cloned private child when he was a teenager.

The young man smiled curiously. “Do you know me?”

“We do…” Xu Wang began, then shook his head in confusion. “But not this version of you…”

The young Chi Zhuolin’s eyes were filled with confusion, clearly not understanding at all.

“We know Chi Yingxue,” Kuang Jinxin said. “We came here to find him.”

“You know my brother?” Young Chi Zhuolin first showed surprise, then genuine joy spread across his face. “My brother mentioned me to you?!”

Kuang Jinxin was startled by this reaction.

Xu Wang was also surprised. This person didn’t question their identity but was overjoyed simply because “his brother mentioned him”?

“Yeah, he did.” Kuang Jinxin had to go along with it.

Young Chi Zhuolin immediately asked, “What did he say? What exactly did he mention?”

Kuang Jinxin was at a loss for words and glanced at his captain for help.

Xu Wang quickly intervened. “He just said he has a brother named Chi Zhuolin, who is, um… very outstanding!”

Chi Zhuolin chuckled. “You don’t have to cover for him; he definitely didn’t say anything good about me.”

“……” Xu Wang felt a bit sympathetic towards this brother, realizing that even Chi Zhuolin knew his brother didn’t think highly of him.

But… Why, in Chi Yingxue’s world, is his brother only a teenager?

How old is Chi Yingxue then?

To match the current Chi Zhuolin, Chi Yingxue must be no more than ten years old, but the photo they showed Mrs. Chen was of an adult Chi Yingxue, and she didn’t express any doubts…

A flurry of question marks swirled in the companions’ heads as Chi Zhuolin spoke again. “You just said you’re here to find my brother?”

“Yes.” Xu Wang immediately nodded.

Chi Zhuolin tucked his helmet under his arm, smiling innocently and unguardedly. “I’m also going to find him. I’ll lead the way for you.”

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin exchanged glances, all feeling uncertain, suspecting that things wouldn’t be so straightforward.

Moreover, the Chi Zhuolin they knew, a mature man who handled matters appropriately, had suddenly turned into a sweet, innocent boy, which was quite unsettling.

He and this wilted garden seemed to share a blurry, eerie quality.

Before the companions could respond, Chi Zhuolin had already walked ahead.

The three hesitated—to follow or not? If they didn’t, this might be their only chance to find Chi Yingxue. But Qian Ai was still outside the door!

As Chi Zhuolin moved further away, the three made a decision and followed him. Their mission was to find Chi Yingxue, not necessarily all together. As long as each team member was within the level, even if only one of them found Chi Yingxue, the whole team would succeed.

Lao Qian, hang in there!

Thinking their teammate was still fighting outside, the three mentally cheered for Classmate Qian and quickly followed Chi Zhuolin’s steps.

“No friends have ever come to look for him before. Hmph, he secretly made friends and didn’t tell me…”

It was apparent that Chi Zhuolin was in a good mood, walking ahead of the three, heading deeper into the veranda. His steps were light as he constantly talked about his brother in a tone that, despite sounding like teasing, was full of affection.

“But it’s good that he made friends.” He suddenly turned back and smiled gratefully at the three. “I usually live at school and rarely come home. When I do, I have to study this and that, attend social engagements, and participate in various activities. I hardly have any time to play with him…”

In just a few sentences, a life shaped from a young age to be a successor was outlined.

Xu Wang knew that in such families, children are often sent to private elite schools, and full boarding is common. But if the older brother was raised this way, shouldn’t the younger brother be as well? Even if not groomed as a successor, it couldn’t be that one gets an elite education while the other is left to play.

Yet, from Chi Zhuolin’s tone, “playing” seemed to be his younger brother’s main occupation…

“He’s been sickly and hasn’t gone to school. We always have tutors come home to teach him.” Chi Zhuolin looked at Xu Wang, smiling.

Xu Wang was startled. Could Chi Zhuolin hear his thoughts?

Wu Sheng and Kuang Jinxin, unaware of the context, found Chi Zhuolin’s sudden statement quite abrupt.

But if they disregarded the strange context and focused on the statement itself, Chi Yingxue was sickly and hadn’t been to school? So how old is he here…

“Ten years old,” Chi Zhuolin said naturally.

Wu Sheng: “……”

Kuang Jinxin: “……”

Now they understood the shock in Xu Wang’s eyes just now—Chi Zhuolin could hear their thoughts.

And just then, Chi Zhuolin revealed a second piece of information—Chi Yingxue was only ten years old.

How messy.

If Chi Zhuolin could indeed hear their thoughts, he should know that they were on a mission, so why was there no reaction? And if Chi Yingxue was really just ten years old, then how could Mrs. Chen recognize him from the photo…

Wu Sheng rubbed his temples, exhaling deeply with difficulty.

This world was without order. Any attempt to make sense of it was shattered in the next moment without warning.

The veranda seemed endlessly long, as if one could never reach its end. At some point, fog appeared, making the already dim manor even more blurred.

Walking along, Xu Wang suddenly turned back, startling Kuang Jinxin behind him. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” Xu Wang said, looking around and shaking his head before turning back.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like someone was watching them from some unseen place behind them.

A gust of cool air passed through the veranda, and Kuang Jinxin suddenly smelled a faint sweet scent, murmuring subconsciously, “Oranges?”

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