Scummy Alpha CEO Keeps Courting Death [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 22

An indistinct reflection of a person shimmered in her crystal-clear eyes. Lu Xibie’s hand, gripping Chu Liruo’s clothing, rubbed awkwardly. She exhaled a question as light as a breeze rustling leaves: “Why?”

Chu Liruo curled her lips: “Does trust need a reason?”

The ethereal, wind-chime-like voice drifted into Lu Xibie’s ears, suppressing the clamorous sounds in her mind. She froze: “It doesn’t?”

“Of-course-not.”

Watching the pale, pear-blossom-like smile on Chu Liruo’s face, Lu Xibie’s lips parted, about to call out for ‘Golden House,’ but it ended up as a soft sigh.

She couldn’t bring herself to shatter the warmth of this moment.

She felt like she was standing in a snowy night, holding a fragile sugar shell with warm water flowing inside. If she were to take one step or shake it gently, the outer layer of crisp sugar would fall like snow from a tree, scattering from her fingertips, the brief warmth followed by a prolonged, dull, chilling pain.

“Look quickly! Lu Xibie and Chu Liruo!”

“They’re at it again, showing off their affection.”

“I hate couples like this the most. Can’t they be lovey-dovey back in their dorms?”

“Exactly! Now a crowd is blocking the exit. Who wants to watch their eight o’clock drama-series romance!”

…

“If you don’t want to watch, take the side exit! I’m enjoying this!”

“Me too! I follow [Little Overlord Lu Xibie and Her Wife’s Affectionate Archives] every day, and I finally get to see a live performance. You don’t want to watch? Move, move, please.”

Ruan Songxi opened her light-brain, lightly pulling a tab on the side. A live-action surveillance drone ascended, hovering above Lu Xibie and Chu Liruo.

She was the original poster of [Little Overlord Lu Xibie and Her Wife’s Affectionate Archives]. As a member of the Logistics and Support Department, collecting, processing, and releasing information was an essential skill for her.

In school, this skill could be extended to discovering hot topics, chasing them, and creating them.

Currently, nothing at Zhigu Military Academy had more inherent, dramatic heat than the matter of Lu Xibie’s personality change.

Chu Liruo: “Why the sigh?”

Lu Xibie’s long lashes lifted. She lightly pursed her lips, looking at Chu Liruo, who was tilting her head and watching her with concern.

What should she say? Should she say that she shouldn’t trust her? Should she say that her fate was handed over to Dan Ruijing by the ‘original Lu Xibie’ to become an invaluable nutrient for Dan Ruijing’s evolution?

Chu Liruo looked at the worry evident in Lu Xibie’s light-colored pupils. Is it genuine?

Or is it just like her, merely—

She reached out and gently stroked one of Lu Xibie’s eyebrows: “If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

Lu Xibie lowered her gaze. The warmth, spanning from her brow ridge to the arch of her brow, smoothed out her tightly furrowed expression.

The fleeting touch compelled her to look up and chase after it, only to fall directly into Chu Liruo’s lightly smiling eyes.

“Want to talk now?” Chu Liruo asked.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

The distant buzzing sound grew closer. Lu Xibie followed the sound, watching the golden surveillance drone slash an afterimage through the air with its fluttering wings.

Lu Xibie reached out and caught it. The drone stopped operating in her palm. She frowned and looked around: “Whose is this?”

A faint voice came from the crowd: “M-mine…”

Seeing the surveillance drone caught by Lu Xibie, Ruan Songxi secretly cursed herself for being greedy for high-definition footage. Now what? Her expensively purchased equipment was about to be scrapped.

“Yours?” Lu Xibie asked.

The crowd made way for Ruan Songxi. She walked up to Lu Xibie, staring at her left hand: “Yes.”

The noisy crowd had quieted down at some point.

Standing in front of Lu Xibie, Ruan Songxi realized the meaning of Lu Xibie’s title, “Little Overlord.”

She…

“Here.” Lu Xibie opened her hand. The temporarily deactivated surveillance drone rested in her palm: “Don’t film next time.”

“For me?” Ruan Songxi glanced at the drone in Lu Xibie’s palm and tentatively reached out. She sighed in relief when she took hold of it.

Ruan Songxi looked up and thanked Lu Xibie gratefully: “Thank you.”

“It’s not good to use this to film others. Besides, this thing is so small, it could easily fly into places it shouldn’t go…”

Lu Xibie’s words were cut short. Ruan Songxi quickly waved her hand: “No, no! My surveillance drone strictly adheres to the Federal Privacy Protection Act. It’s connected to the Federal Intelligent Network and won’t fly into places it shouldn’t. It can’t even enter the dormitories. I usually keep it stored in the smart management cabinet at the dorm front desk.”

Seeing Lu Xibie’s dubious look, Ruan Songxi continued: “Student Lu, I’m telling the truth. The students in the Logistics and Support Department can vouch for me.”

Lu Xibie: “Is that so?”

A few sporadic responses came from the crowd.

“Yes, usually schools give these to us at the third-tier level, but she bought hers outside. It’s still connected to the Federal Intelligent Network, though.”

“Mmm, she’s not lying.”

“Mmm.” Lu Xibie nodded: “Tools aren’t good or bad, but the people who use them are. I hope you won’t use it in inappropriate ways.”

“Never, never.” Ruan Songxi explained: “Student, please don’t misunderstand. Our duty as students in the Logistics and Support Department in the mutation zones is to identify needs, provide timely supplies, and improve our side’s survival rate in the zone. We need to use the surveillance drone to monitor information in the mutation zone and the basic status of our personnel.”

Lu Xibie had read the relevant introduction of the Logistics and Support Department in the Zhigu Military Academy’s freshman handbook on her light-brain, but what did that have to do with filming her and Chu Liruo?

“Then why film us?”

“That…” Ruan Songxi’s eyes darted away.

Lu Xibie: “Hmm?”

Ruan Songxi took a deep breath: “I really like you two as a couple. I created a post on the school forum called [Little Overlord Lu Xibie and Her Wife’s Affectionate Archives]. Filming you is…”

“She was the one who started that thread?”

“It has pictures, text, and videos. No wonder, she’s from Logistics and Support.”

…

“It’s great to ship!” a voice shouted from the crowd.

With someone taking the lead, the surrounding voices suddenly grew louder.

“Yeah, yeah! I follow your daily affectionate routines every day.”

“Let her film!”

“I love watching!”

…

Listening to the chaotic sounds around her, Lu Xibie looked at Chu Liruo. Would she like having someone film her? She felt it was very strange.

And what ‘affectionate routine’? It was just ordinary life, wasn’t it?

They just went to the holographic simulation room together, occasionally attended class together, nothing really special.

“What do you think? Maybe we shouldn’t…” Lu Xibie began.

“What’s going on over there?” Dan Ruijing stopped, looking at the place where the crowd was gathered.

Shang Le’an looked up and answered: “It seems to be Lu Xibie and her wife, Chu Liruo.”

“Dan Ruijing.”

“Dan Ruijing is here!”

Chu Liruo turned her head toward Dan Ruijing. The crowd was gradually parting to make way for her.

With a joyful smile, she nodded to Lu Xibie and said to the people around her: “It’s fine. We’re very happy to be liked by everyone.”

She cupped her face with both hands and said playfully: “Just don’t get too close, I’m afraid I won’t photograph well.”

“No way! You look great!”

“Student Chu is so beautiful!”

“Student Chu is genuinely so nice.”

Lu Xibie looked at the upward curve of Chu Liruo’s lips and chimed in: “Mmm, don’t get too close.”

Ruan Songxi: “Okay, I’ll definitely be careful next time.”

Lu Xibie’s gaze lingered on Ruan Songxi.

Being filmed sometimes in school wasn’t without its benefits—at least Chu Liruo wouldn’t inexplicably disappear.

Disappear.

Thinking of this, Lu Xibie’s eyes chilled slightly. According to the Golden House, she came here to complete the ‘original Lu Xibie’s’ plotline. Now that a few plot points were complete, Chu Liruo was temporarily safe, but what about later?

“Golden House,” Lu Xibie summoned.

A trace of warmth seemed to linger on her brow arch. Lu Xibie watched Chu Liruo’s expression morph from lively to frozen.

She reached out and touched Chu Liruo’s face. The skin, which should have been soft and warm, felt like a plaster statue, cold to the touch, as if it had never possessed life.

The hard sensation made Lu Xibie quickly withdraw her hand, afraid that the Chu Liruo before her would instantly crack and collapse like an ice sculpture hit by a heavy blow.

“Host, I’m here,” the Golden House’s mechanical voice sounded in Lu Xibie’s ear.

“Will Chu Liruo’s storyline inevitably be the same as in The Omega’s Path to Evolution?” Lu Xibie stepped back half a pace, hiding her hand behind her, meticulously examining Chu Liruo’s face.

“But I really, really believe in you.” The words were still fresh in her mind.

Golden House: “Theoretically, yes. She is one of the sources of Dan Ruijing’s power.”

“Is there no other possibility?” Lu Xibie asked, looking at the curve of the smile on Chu Liruo’s face.

Since coming to Zhigu Military Academy, she had seen this bright, vibrant smile many mornings. At the time, she had thought how wonderful it would be if she could keep her smiling like this every day.

Studying well at Zhigu Military Academy, and eventually, just as she dreamed, becoming a pillar of talent serving the Federation.

After a brief pause, the Golden House replied: “No.”

Lu Xibie raised her hand, stroking from Chu Liruo’s brow ridge to the arch of her brow from a distance: “Why me?”

Golden House: “The System selected you.”

Lu Xibie: “Was it because I tore up that book that I died in that world?”

Golden House: “No. It’s because your destiny was fulfilled in that world, allowing the System to identify you.”

The Golden House’s mechanical voice carried a hint of coldness: “In a sense, I saved you.”

“Saved?” Lu Xibie gave a self-deprecating laugh, but she didn’t want to live in this manner.

Completing the ‘original Lu Xibie’s’ plotline, watching many people die at Dan Ruijing’s hands, the existing world gradually heading toward destruction, and she was one of the catalysts.

This was too terrible.

Golden House: “Yes.”

Lu Xibie remained silent, just staring at Chu Liruo.

So, even if you’ve entered Zhigu Military Academy now, you will still follow your predetermined plotline?

Golden House: “Does the Host have any more questions?”

Lu Xibie shook her head.

A gentle breathing sound appeared in the quiet space. The arc of Chu Liruo’s lips lowered slightly. Her expressive eyes regained their luster, and the surroundings once again became noisy.

Jing-jing-

Look-look-look-at her!

Lu Xibie glanced at Dan Ruijing out of the corner of her eye, loosely grasping Chu Liruo’s arm. Her gaze swept over the faces of Zhu Xiaotao and Ji Ningyu before she spoke: “Let’s go.”

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