Chapter 245

Chapter 245: Recognition

“Then not only did that woman trick me out of two hundred miras, she also snatched my young lady’s schoolbag and ran off—she even stole a kid’s homework, she’s simply inhuman! It’s just that she ran off in such a hurry that she accidentally left her own bag behind—who could’ve thought there’d be a human head inside!”

In the police station, Ji Yueqiu was pale-faced while giving her statement, glancing back every so often, and when she heard sirens, she even stood up to look back nervously.

“Uncle officer, can I stay here tonight?”

She was afraid of being retaliated against if she went home—this was just too scary.

The first time opening a blind box and getting something this brutal—her hands were still trembling. If not for her rationality telling her that staying home would only result in retaliation, she would’ve already fainted from fear.

She thought it was just a scammer, who would’ve thought it was a murderer—thank goodness she didn’t catch up to her at the time.

For a while in the future, she probably wouldn’t dare touch other people’s things anymore—not counting the handcuffs she just instinctively felt in her pocket.

The police officer spun the pen in his hand, making eye contact with the little panda pressed down on his notebook on the table.

“Meow.”

Okay, it’s a cat.

Ignoring the other party’s strange behavior, he still admired the girl—she knew there was a human head in the bag, yet still dared to bring it to the police station, and even brought her cat from home.

Pet the cat.

Why is this cat so fat? What did it grow up eating?

“Miss, take an umbrella and go home for now. Don’t worry about her coming after you—she’s really blind. Didn’t you see the wanted notice? That old man’s ability is mental, and Qu Yuehua likely saw through his shared mental vision. In fact, you saved us quite a bit of trouble.”

What’s puzzling is how she escaped from there without the help of Xie Tianweng. Even after digging three feet deep, they couldn’t find her.

The only route she’s familiar with should’ve been the prison. After walking those prison walls for twenty years, even if there were paths she could walk blindfolded outside, they’ve now changed beyond recognition.

The Hanged Woman’s ability is just fear, and at over forty years old, there’s no reason for her to awaken new powers. If things turned out like this, there must be someone else helping her.

After finishing the statement, and casually wiping ink off his hands by petting the cat, the officer comforted Ji Yueqiu with the wanted poster before letting her take the cat and go home.

Opening the backpack for a glance, there was nothing inside. Yet the officer didn’t find anything strange and solemnly handed it over to the abilities department.

……

“That’s how it went. Right now, the two are still on the loose.”

“Then why the hell did you call me??” Yiwen angrily kicked the wall.

Then crouched down in pain, holding her toe.

Forgot she was wearing sandals today.

“It still matters. Perhaps due to dementia, Xie Tianweng’s power seems to only affect those nearby—namely that officer and the girl who called the police. Given his condition, it’s already a miracle he escaped alone. He couldn’t have planned to regroup and cooperate with the Hanged Woman. They’re actually not hard to deal with separately. The only thing to worry about is whether Xie Tianweng will use his ability indiscriminately on passersby due to dementia.”

“His head’s been out in the open for this long and he’s still not dead…”

“Don’t underestimate mental ability users. Before he went to prison, doctors even speculated that if he remained healthy, he could probably live a thousand years. As for Qu Yuehua’s current appearance, most likely she’s dyed her hair blonde and is dressed as a blind man. If you run into her, be cautious.”

Yiwen was startled. The blind person she had helped was indeed the Hanged Woman.

Too careless. Even though she and Mi Xiaoliu were examples already, she still didn’t consider that the other party might be cross-dressing.

“Is there no chance Qu Yuehua would attack random passersby?”

With Night Demon’s precedent, she couldn’t help but worry. Fear-based powers can also lead to mental collapse.

“From what I know about her, she probably wouldn’t.” Officer Chen didn’t sound too sure. “But it’s been twenty years—and she spent them in prison.”

“Why do you know about her?” Yiwen asked cautiously. “Was she your cellmate too?”

“……Anyway, you and your family need to be careful. I personally suggest you return to Sunshine City and lay low until things blow over.”

Then he hung up.

“Fine, I’ll think about it.”

Yiwen stuffed the phone into her pocket, stepped onto the stairs in her soaked shoes, then took them off for a look.

Her white socks were soaked through, now transparent, clinging to her feet and perfectly outlining their color and shape.

She wiggled her toes apart and moved them a little.

A bit sticky.

Next time, let Mi Xiaoliu try this.

……

Kids envy adults’ freedom, adults envy kids’ carefree lives. The best time in life is still university—excluding the pressure and weird roommates, that time feels like it was just yesterday. Yet people often forget they were once young due to life’s trivialities.

Raven had forgotten most of her professional knowledge too. The clearest thing she remembered was Pavlov and his dog—because during that time, her roommates often joked that the dog discovered that if it drooled, Pavlov would write in his notebook.

Thinking of her once-close college sisters, Raven couldn’t help but feel a bit low.

Those little bitches all said they weren’t going to study seriously, yet she was the only one who really didn’t study—after graduation, they all scrambled to become elite psychologists, while she spent all of college dating. Now, with her husband missing, she could only raise two kids alone with the endless money he left behind.

Her life was already one most people envied, but humans always get psychologically unbalanced when others easily obtain what they themselves can’t.

She put down the heavy Psychology book, but didn’t find any obvious steps for “curing” homosexuality in it.

After so many years of development in the Federation, many sensitive topics have been explored—like transgender and heterochromia protagonists. Maybe one day, mutants would get their turn too.

In a daze, she seemed to recall something her advisor said before falling asleep on the desk.

“Don’t treat homosexuality as a disease. But if a minor is dragged in by their parents and they demand you ‘cure’ them—just follow the parents’ request. Because your real client is the parent, not the child.”

For twelve years, from elementary to high school, teachers taught what was morally right. Only in college did professors teach what was socially right.

So just go with the flow. It’s not that bad. It’s like gaining another daughter—it’s better than getting pregnant.

If Riels comes back, he might even be happy.

With that thought, a stone lifted off her chest.

Raven opened a delivery box and took out a new physics trinket to place on her desk.

This sort of item had little to do with her major, but paired with a clean office, it gave people the illusion that the clinic was very professional.

Most of the real knowledge came from books, but she had picked up quite a few unconventional tricks.

She barely acknowledged Dias, who sat in front of her desk—mostly because his motives weren’t pure.

Dias: “Auntie, you don’t want your daughter to come out of the closet either, right?”

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Dias anxiously shuffled his feet beside the stool, almost begging as he looked at Raven.

He hoped Raven would talk to Yiwen and let Mi Xiaoliu be with him.

As mentioned earlier, people always envy what they can’t have, which causes imbalance.

“Happiness is earned. Those two kids are in love—you opposing them would just make everyone unhappy. What’s the point? Try pursuing her. If you fail, and she loves someone else, what good is it being unhappy with who she likes? Isn’t the result obvious? It’s normal to be upset, but it’s not okay to ruin someone else’s relationship over it.”

Sitting in her office, where a sign for the psychology clinic hung outside, she calmly slipped into that annoying tone adults use.

“You’re still young—don’t waste time on things like this. Maybe now, or someday soon, there’s someone out there destined for you, and you’ll miss them just because of this.”

Her words did upset Dias.

He was devoted to Mi Xiaoliu. If he could be with her, he’d gladly kneel on a keyboard every day.

But watching someone you love be with someone else—that pain can only be understood if you’ve felt it. Who could accept that?

Leaving the clinic, he wanted to grab a guitar and sing “You fondle chrysanthemums, I the eunuch play the clown.”

But then he ran right into Yiwen heading upstairs.

Dias deliberately made a disgusted face and walked around her, then quickly ran off just as Yiwen raised her fist.

Seeing Dias there, Yiwen could guess with her chest what had happened. Utterly annoyed.

What a petty man.

But she wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. Mi Xiaoliu hadn’t responded to her all day, and even her father-in-law hadn’t given any news. She could only hope things were going well.

She walked into the room and started massaging her mom’s shoulders.

Ever since that blowup about Mi Xiaoliu’s preferences, their relationship had eased. Mostly because she still needed her mom’s support.

But that didn’t mean she’d ever willingly show up at her mom’s workplace—not even by accident.

Describing her own daughter like this wasn’t right—Raven had the feeling a weasel was wishing her chickens a happy new year.

“What do you want?”

“To pick you up and take you home.” Yiwen squinted, making a Teemo smile.

“Mm.”

Raven glanced out the window. The sky had already darkened above her bowl of noodles. It had been raining for a while, and a five-centimeter layer of water had pooled on the ground. In this city, the rain was frequent—as if the heavens thought it could wash away the city’s sins.

No need for an umbrella—Yiwen would block the rain. Riels had once used this trick to create a romantic moment for her.

Though that day’s forecast had said sunny skies, he’d sneakily pulled storm clouds over from a neighboring city, angering countless umbrella-less pedestrians.

Seeing Yiwen dressed so lightly, Raven took the coat from the hook and draped it over her.

“Xiaoliu hasn’t been over to our house in a few days, has she?”

Raven’s initiative in mentioning Mi Xiaoliu surprised Yiwen a little.

“Mm, she’s on a trip.”

“I thought you got dumped.”

“No way—we’re totally in love!”

Except for one perverted mother-in-law getting in the way, now her whole immune system was triggered.

Rain poured from the sky. Raven closed up shop early and took her daughter to get the scooter.

At the vehicle, she suddenly stopped and stared at a nearby utility pole.

Yiwen followed her gaze—Miss Backpack.

“……”

Oh, mistaken identity. It was the wanted poster below.

The photos of Xie Tianweng and the Hanged Woman had been soaked beyond recognition, but you could still make out the content.

“Mom, you know them?”

“Mm.”

Raven looked away and inserted the scooter key, wiping down the front and back seats with her sleeve.

“That old man wasn’t your college professor, was he?” Yiwen thought of Xie Tianweng’s ability. “Did he get imprisoned for helping you graduate or something?”

“No, I know the woman.” Raven glared at her. “She was my romantic rival when I was young. If I hadn’t been prettier and more gentle, you wouldn’t even exist.”

“Huh?”

————————

“You got this one wrong too.”

Okulet pointed at Mi Xiaoliu’s homework.

Even after arriving on Shrimp Tail Island, Heli hadn’t forgotten to bring two workbooks along, having long predicted that during Easter, the network wouldn’t allow normal device connections—so these were to help Mi Xiaoliu pass the time.

“Take a look at yourself. Is this the right way to write it?”

Question: Change “Old man, how do I get to Fanzui City!” into a polite sentence.

Mi Xiaoliu wrote: “Old man, may I ask how to get to Fanzui City, thank you.”

Okulet awkwardly made eye contact with her blue-purple eyes: “Think again, is ‘old man’ appropriate? What should a good kid call the elderly?”

Mi Xiaoliu turned her head away: “Stinky old man.”

“……”

So the temper shows itself just half an hour after removing the colored contacts?

Okulet reached out to discipline her.

Mi Xiaoliu quickly covered her forehead, then snuggled into his arm and closed her eyes: “Hoo-loo-loo.”

She recited these three words like a script, pretending to sleep.

“Are you asleep?” Okulet asked with a blank face, pinching her cheek.

Mi Xiaoliu: “I’m asleep.”

It was getting late anyway—he hadn’t planned on pushing her too hard today.

He carried his daughter over to the researcher’s dorm bed, only to find her sitting up and staring straight at him.

Okulet shook his head: “No, you’re already a big girl now, and Daddy is a boy. You can’t get too close to boys, understand? You definitely can’t sleep in the same bed.”

Mi Xiaoliu grabbed his shirt: “The old bed… doll.”

Okulet took a few seconds to realize what she meant.

Her old bed had a stuffed doll she liked to hug while sleeping.

It should still be around.

“Do you remember where you used to sleep? I’ll go get it for you.”

“204.” Mi Xiaoliu gave a room number.

That was a second-floor room.

Okulet went upstairs, noticing the dim hallway where only one laboratory light was still on, and couldn’t help but walk over for a look.

Messy-haired Heli was busy fussing with some lab mice brought back from the submarine. Though she had dark circles under her eyes, she didn’t look tired—her worn-out appearance made one wonder when she last slept.

“Don’t wear yourself out. The brain needs rest to function properly,” Okulet reminded her.

But got a glare of annoyance in return.

“I’m almost there. Don’t interrupt me.”

“Almost there?”

Okulet’s eyes lit up, completely ignoring the second part of what she said.

“Roughly. When Edison was inventing the light bulb, he was always just one filament short of success, and he tested nearly sixteen hundred materials. If I’m lucky, I can make it by tomorrow.”

That was undoubtedly good news. Even Okulet couldn’t help but show a little joy on his face.

“Where’s room 204?”

“Around the corner.” Heli pointed without looking up and returned to work.

Okulet didn’t disturb her further, followed the direction she pointed, and reached the target room—dissolving the door directly.

He successfully found Mi Xiaoliu’s old bed.

A cage only waist-high to him, inside lay a cotton-stuffed teddy bear with its seams coming apart.

How did he know this was her bed? Because the room had nothing else.

With a blank face, he pulled it out through the gap and returned to the researcher dorm.

“Misha?”

He called softly.

She had fallen asleep.

Okulet placed the teddy bear beside his daughter, sat on the bed, and stared off into space.

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