Ji Wushuang drove the car, taking Lu Qianqian to the Spring Breeze Community.
This was the place where Lu Qianqian had been forced to begin her "rehabilitation through labor."
It was also where her transformation had begun.
Lu Qianqian lifted several large, pre-prepared bags from the car.
Inside were some fruits and nutritional supplements she had asked Uncle Yu to help purchase.
"Wushuang, you can wait in the car," Lu Qianqian said.
"My duty is to provide 24-hour close protection," Ji Wushuang replied, also getting out of the car.
Lu Qianqian didn't insist further.
She walked into the cafeteria.
Inside, the familiar aroma of cooked food still hung in the air.
Sister Li, who was working, saw her and cried out in pleasant surprise.
"Qianqian? You girl, what brings you here?"
"Sister Li, I came to see you all," Lu Qianqian said with a smile, putting the things down.
"Oh my, you didn't need to bring anything just for a visit," Sister Li chided verbally, but her face blossomed into a wide smile.
Soon, other cafeteria staff and some elderly residents who had come to eat gathered around.
"Girl Qianqian, you finally came!"
"Child, have you lost weight? Your face looks thinner."
"Grandma Zhang, how have you been feeling lately?"
Lu Qianqian greeted everyone with familiar ease.
Her face wore a brilliant, heartfelt smile.
That smile was completely different from the polite or aggrieved ones she had worn at the Lu Family Manor.
It was a pure, unadulterated joy.
She held Grandma Zhang's hand, listening to her talk about daily life.
She crouched down to play marbles with a shy little boy.
She helped Sister Li put the freshly washed dishes and utensils into the sterilizing cabinet.
Ji Wushuang stood by the entrance.
Like a transparent, non-existent person.
She watched Lu Qianqian, radiant and smiling gracefully among the crowd.
Watched her patiently listening to the rambling stories of the elderly.
Watched her naturally ladle a bowl of hot soup for an elderly person with mobility difficulties.
Her gaze grew somewhat complex.
She had originally thought Lu Qianqian's visit here was just another whim of a wealthy young lady.
A life experience, a show.
But now, she realized she was wrong.
The ease and sincerity that radiated from within Lu Qianqian when she was with these ordinary people...
It couldn't be faked.
Her concern for these people came from the heart.
Ji Wushuang suddenly understood.
Why this porcelain doll wanted to go to those poor and dangerous places.
Because her heart contained something incongruous with her status.
That something was "kindness."
Or perhaps, it should be called "compassion."
This was the source of her seemingly delicate yet incredibly resilient spirit.
An hour later.
Lu Qianqian bid farewell to everyone.
She got into the car returning to the manor.
The car was quiet.
Lu Qianqian's mood seemed very good.
The corners of her mouth held a faint smile.
"Wushuang," she suddenly spoke.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for accompanying me today."
Ji Wushuang looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"You're welcome."
"That place... is the reason why I want to do those things," Lu Qianqian said softly, looking out the window. "In this world, there are many people we don't see, living lives we can't imagine."
"I just want to go and see them."
"See what I can do for them."
Ji Wushuang didn't speak.
She just silently tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
She suddenly understood.
Why Lu Chenyuan had said,
"My sister, she isn't bad at heart."
And understood why this girl wanted to give up her privileged life to go to those poor and dangerous places.
At this moment, she felt that what she was protecting wasn't just a delicate young lady.
But a pure and precious ideal.
...
The two weeks of intensive training officially ended.
The time for Lu Qianqian's departure had arrived.
She stood before the full-length mirror in the living room.
In the mirror was a girl she herself found unfamiliar.
The girl's skin was no longer milky white.
It was tanned a healthy wheat color.
The girl's figure was no longer simply slender and delicate.
It now had some smooth, powerful-looking muscle definition.
The girl's face seemed a bit more gaunt.
But her eyes were brighter, more spirited than ever before.
It was a kind of resolute light, born only after being tempered.
"Not bad," Lu Chenyuan's voice sounded from behind.
He had been standing there for who knows how long.
His gaze held approval.
"You're starting to look the part."
Lu Qianqian smiled somewhat shyly, then called out,
"Big Brother."
The girl's voice no longer carried a coquettish tone.
"Are you ready?" Lu Chenyuan asked.
"Your flight is early tomorrow morning."
"First stop, Africa, Country K."
Lu Qianqian took a deep breath, then nodded firmly.
"I'm ready."
Ji Wushuang also walked over.
She handed Lu Qianqian a black tactical backpack.
"These are your supplies," she said, her voice still devoid of inflection.
"It contains a first-aid kit, water purification tablets, high-energy compressed biscuits, a multi-tool knife, and a satellite phone."
"From now on, it is your second life."
"You must carry it with you at all times."
Lu Qianqian solemnly accepted the backpack.
It was heavy, but it made her feel secure inside.
She slung it on her back, then turned to look at Ji Wushuang.
"Wushuang."
For the first time, she didn't use a tone of discussion or request.
Instead, she used an equal, partner-like tone to speak to her.
"Please guide me from now on."
Ji Wushuang looked at her.
Looked at the flame in her eyes that had already been ignited and was burning brighter and stronger.
For the first time, she actively extended her hand to her.
"Please guide me as well, Qianqian."
Late at night.
Ji Wushuang sat by the window, polishing a military-grade dagger she had used for a long time.
The cold blade reflected her equally cold face.
Her mind replayed everything that had happened over the past two weeks.
Replayed the entire process of Lu Qianqian transforming from a weeping young lady into a resolute-eyed "fighter."
It also replayed the image of the brightly smiling girl she had seen at the Spring Breeze Community.
She took out her phone and pulled up a photo.
It was a photo of Chen Lei.
In the photo, Chen Lei wore a white shirt, looking clean and shy.
Compared to Lu Qianqian, he seemed to live in two completely different worlds.
But for some reason, Ji Wushuang felt they shared something similar.
A kind of cleanness and purity belonging to the sunlight.
While she herself was someone accustomed to moving in the shadows.
Could she really protect this sunlight?
Ji Wushuang sheathed the dagger.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
