Weak Ei

The following hours passed with the two of them catching a movie together.

However, considering they might need the car the next day, Ye Shuang had Chen Qin drop him off at the school before driving home alone.

"Alright, drive carefully on your way back," Ye Shuang said after getting out of the car, glancing at Chen Qin in the driver's seat.

"Mhm..." Chen Qin responded, then suddenly waved him over. "Oh, there's something I need to tell you."

"Hm?"

Ye Shuang leaned down slightly—only to feel a warm, damp sensation brush against his cheek.

"Vroom." The engine roared to life, and the pink Porsche vanished into the night in an instant. Faintly, Ye Shuang could almost hear Chen Qin's laughter trailing behind.

Ye Shuang: "..."

He touched his cheek, then stared at the long-gone sports car before sighing.

Turning around, he headed into the school parking lot.

...

The parking lot was dimly lit at night, with only a few pale grayish lights casting faint glows on the asphalt.

Ye Shuang walked leisurely toward his car when he unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure.

"Huh?"

A short-haired girl wearing cat-ear headphones was also making her way toward a tiny electric car—a "Spicy Fish Head."

"An Shiyu... Didn’t she go home already?" Ye Shuang hadn’t expected to run into her this late in the parking lot. Had she not driven home after leaving the infirmary earlier, or had she come back for something?

An Shiyu swayed along leisurely, seemingly unaware of Ye Shuang’s presence, likely due to the headphones.

Watching from a distance, a thought crossed Ye Shuang’s mind—if he followed her, maybe he’d find out where the other An Shiyu was.

With that in mind, he took a slight detour. Once An Shiyu drove off, he quickly got into his own car.

Fortunately, his black Audi blended into the night, its common design making it unlikely to stand out. He didn’t plan to tail too closely—just observe from afar.

Exiting the parking lot, Ye Shuang soon spotted the Spicy Fish Head stopped at a red light.

He deliberately pulled up behind another car, staying close enough to obscure his license plate from any rearview mirror checks.

Most people didn’t pay attention to license plates in their mirrors anyway.

Ye Shuang’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel: "..."

Meanwhile, An Shiyu had removed her headphones. Inside the Spicy Fish Head, she wore the latest Apple VR headset, tapping at the air and occasionally bobbing her head to the upbeat music.

"Please don’t be obsessed with me, bro’s just a legend..."

In her VR world, the road was cluttered with random floating windows.

As the light turned green, she slammed the accelerator, sending the Spicy Fish Head rocketing forward like a bullet.

"Damn it! She’s speeding?!" Ye Shuang blinked in disbelief before swerving around the sluggish Corolla ahead to give chase.

After a while, he noticed An Shiyu heading toward downtown.

"Is she going home or somewhere else?" he wondered—until a car suddenly nosed out from the right intersection.

"Huh?!" He instinctively honked.

The intruding car had already half-entered the lane, and with Ye Shuang’s speed, he had no choice but to swerve left to overtake.

At that exact moment, the front of his car flashed into An Shiyu’s rearview mirror.

"882... Audi... Old man?" An Shiyu paused, then flicked her head and yanked off the VR headset with one hand.

She never doubted her memory—she knew exactly who was in that car.

"Why’s he here? His place is the other way. Did he go for a foot massage or something?" she muttered before a realization struck her.

An Shiyu: "..."

Ye Shuang kept his eyes on the Spicy Fish Head as it veered right, turning on its blinker.

Taking the hint, he merged into the right-turn lane, sticking close to the curb.

But just as he approached the turn, the Spicy Fish Head suddenly jerked—swerving with bizarre speed into the left straight lane!

Meanwhile, Ye Shuang was already committed to the turn, unable to reverse.

Then his phone buzzed—a familiar contact name popped up:

An Shiyu: Weak.

"She noticed me?" Ye Shuang was stunned, then sighed.

She faked the turn signal to trick me.

Guess I failed.

With no other choice, he turned around and headed back to his apartment.

...

Meanwhile, An Shiyu circled the city a few more times before leisurely pulling into a hospital parking lot.

After shutting the car door, she stretched, lifting one leg onto the hood to limber up.

The Spicy Fish Head wobbled slightly under her movements.

"..."

Glancing at the hospital’s directional sign, she took the elevator up.

The doors opened on a restricted floor where glass gates required keycard or biometric access.

She pressed a finger to the scanner. "Beep. Fingerprint verified."

The glass doors clicked open.

An Shiyu strode down the hall to the last room.

Another fingerprint scan later, she pushed the door open—inside lay a girl who looked exactly like her, identical to the one in the surveillance footage. But compared to the An Shiyu standing by the bed, the one lying there was paler, frailer, almost skeletal.

"Hmm... still ticking." An Shiyu eyed the heart monitor, its erratic but persistent blips confirming life.

"You could’ve just agreed. Didn’t have to go this far." She stared at the unconscious figure, then absently touched her own chest—feeling the fierce, steady pulse beneath.

"Oi... you really not waking up? Oi—"

She called out, knowing full well there’d be no response.

"Old man’s getting suspicious. How’d he even tell us apart?" She crossed her arms, pondering.

"Did you two do something weird while hiking?"

"Beep... beep..."

An Shiyu froze, then whipped her head toward the monitor. For some reason, the moment she’d mentioned "old man," the flatline had flickered—just slightly—as if in reply.