Gu Qianqian’s childhood experience, according to her system, was something straight out of a manga.
When she was six, her parents passed away, and her parents have become nothing but two vague outlines in her memory. Then she lived with her rich uncle in a small mansion, and her room overlooked a small garden.
Her uncle treated her like family, and Gu Qianqian was happy.
However, on her 15th birthday, her uncle vanished.
On that day, she was anticipating a grand birthday celebration as always, as she found it hard to fall asleep.
Perhaps it was because she was too excited, but she didn’t notice that the mansion was eerily quiet, and she fell asleep while fiddling with her mobile phone.
When she woke up the next day, it was already noon, and when she opened the door of her room, a cloud of pungent dust greeted her rather than a pleasant birthday atmosphere.
The wooden floor on the second floor was damp; thick dust accumulated on the few remaining pieces of furniture, and cobwebs hung in the corners. The walls were soaked with mildew; mould twisted in the walls like carvings.
The whole house looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
At first, Gu Qianqian thought this was a birthday surprise, despite not liking it that much.
However, when she went downstairs and searched around, all she found was a pale paper doll and stacks of paper money by a tiny shrine.
Her contact information for her uncle had vanished; nobody in the community recognised her; the police station had no records of this house being registered…
When she walked out of the police station, Gu Qianqian walked home in a daze.
‘If I stay here, maybe they’ll come home.’
When she got home, she realised that home was no longer home, and overnight, she became a vagrant.
She worked various odd jobs, slept in parks, lived in bridge holes, and evaded child traffickers who attempted to kidnap her.
After a person has experienced a traumatic event, they either become gloomy and emotionless or full of life.
Gu Qianqian was obviously the latter.
Hearing that her family had come to pick her up, Gu Qianqian’s eyes turned rosy.
Noticing Gu Qianqian’s strange emotion, the policeman hurriedly comforted her, saying, “Young lady, it is alright. We dropped your charges. You’re free to go home.”
‘System?’
“I’m here. I suggest that you not meet those imposters.”
“But…”
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
“We are Gu Qianqian’s family,” the person outside the door responded, and Gu Qianqian’s heart rose to her throat.
“Oh, please, come in.”
A hale and hearty old man, along with a young girl, walked into the room, and Gu Qianqian froze.
The girl is Lu Yibei; she knows that but who is this old man?
Professor Ma didn’t know what kind of evil he committed to be strung up in Lu Yibei’s criminal web; he couldn’t believe he had to deceive the police twice a day!
Decades of a positive image have gone to waste!
When he received the call from Yibei, he almost cursed the heavens but couldn’t help but succumb to her demands (and the coin’s demands too).
Big deal—he’ll just take this secret to the grave. Can’t tarnish a reputation if nobody knows.
Fortunately, I also know some people in the public security system, he thought. If anything bad were to happen, he could just cover it up.
Connections matter.
Plus, if they were to do a deep dive into Lu Yibei’s background, they would find nothing which could arouse suspicion.
The first person that came to mind when trouble arose was Professor Ma. After all, the only living human who knew of her secret was none other than him.
‘That damned car moved so slow,’ she grinned. ‘If only it were fast enough, me and Gu Qianqian would’ve been safe.’
Plus, who else would she look for? Surely not the Night Division! That’s a one-way trip to the mental hospital. Hence, why not contact Professor Ma? Big deal! Just write two more essays for him as payment!
Soon, the two of them reached an agreement, and Professor Ma agreed to help.
“System, what should I do now?”
Staring at the two people at the door, Gu Qianqian asked anxiously in her mind.
“…”
“System?”
After a long silence, the system finally responded with a very small voice, “Fight them and attract the Night Division’s attention.”
Just like Lu Yibei didn’t want to be targeted by the Night Division, for some strange reason, the system didn’t want Gu Qianqian to be involved with them either.
A child who was raised by urban legends is definitely someone of interest to them.
After receiving the system’s response, Gu Qianqian nodded wryly and stepped up to them, only for Lu Yibei to rush up and smoulder her with a bear hug.
“Sis, you scared me to death! Are you okay?”
“H-huh?”
The sudden hug made Gu Qianqian startled, and Lu Yibei whispered in her ear, “This is my professor. He’s here to help.”
She then took a step back and flashed a toothy grin to Gu Qianqian, saying, “Grandpa is taking us home. Let’s go home.”
See? The system thought. ‘Lying through her teeth with no regret. And you say she’s harmless.’
“Grandpa!”
Professor Ma, who was filling out the information at the desk, suddenly heard two girls calling out for him. His heart warmed, and he felt that his lifelong dream of having granddaughters was fulfilled.
It was all worth the help, really.
The police didn’t investigate the personal information written on Professor Ma’s report for too long and sent them home with a smile.
“Don’t go lying about your family living under the bridge,” the policeman in charge joked. “Go home and have a nice rest, alright?”
Lu Yibei and Professor Ma looked at Gu Qianqian wordlessly. She really may just be living under a bridge.
It’s a pity.
Gu Qianqian’s childhood experience, according to her system, was something straight out of a manga.
When she was six, her parents passed away, and her parents have become nothing but two vague outlines in her memory. Then she lived with her rich uncle in a small mansion, and her room overlooked a small garden.
Her uncle treated her like family, and Gu Qianqian was happy.
However, on her 15th birthday, her uncle vanished.
On that day, she was anticipating a grand birthday celebration as always, as she found it hard to fall asleep.
Perhaps it was because she was too excited, but she didn’t notice that the mansion was eerily quiet, and she fell asleep while fiddling with her mobile phone.
When she woke up the next day, it was already noon, and when she opened the door of her room, a cloud of pungent dust greeted her rather than a pleasant birthday atmosphere.
The wooden floor on the second floor was damp; thick dust accumulated on the few remaining pieces of furniture, and cobwebs hung in the corners. The walls were soaked with mildew; mould twisted in the walls like carvings.
The whole house looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
At first, Gu Qianqian thought this was a birthday surprise, despite not liking it that much.
However, when she went downstairs and searched around, all she found was a pale paper doll and stacks of paper money by a tiny shrine.
Her contact information for her uncle had vanished; nobody in the community recognised her; the police station had no records of this house being registered…
When she walked out of the police station, Gu Qianqian walked home in a daze.
‘If I stay here, maybe they’ll come home.’
When she got home, she realised that home was no longer home, and overnight, she became a vagrant.
She worked various odd jobs, slept in parks, lived in bridge holes, and evaded child traffickers who attempted to kidnap her.
After a person has experienced a traumatic event, they either become gloomy and emotionless or full of life.
Gu Qianqian was obviously the latter.
Hearing that her family had come to pick her up, Gu Qianqian’s eyes turned rosy.
Noticing Gu Qianqian’s strange emotion, the policeman hurriedly comforted her, saying, “Young lady, it is alright. We dropped your charges. You’re free to go home.”
‘System?’
“I’m here. I suggest that you not meet those imposters.”
“But…”
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
“We are Gu Qianqian’s family,” the person outside the door responded, and Gu Qianqian’s heart rose to her throat.
“Oh, please, come in.”
A hale and hearty old man, along with a young girl, walked into the room, and Gu Qianqian froze.
The girl is Lu Yibei; she knows that but who is this old man?
Professor Ma didn’t know what kind of evil he committed to be strung up in Lu Yibei’s criminal web; he couldn’t believe he had to deceive the police twice a day!
Decades of a positive image have gone to waste!
When he received the call from Yibei, he almost cursed the heavens but couldn’t help but succumb to her demands (and the coin’s demands too).
Big deal—he’ll just take this secret to the grave. Can’t tarnish a reputation if nobody knows.
Fortunately, I also know some people in the public security system, he thought. If anything bad were to happen, he could just cover it up.
Connections matter.
Plus, if they were to do a deep dive into Lu Yibei’s background, they would find nothing which could arouse suspicion.
The first person that came to mind when trouble arose was Professor Ma. After all, the only living human who knew of her secret was none other than him.
‘That damned car moved so slow,’ she grinned. ‘If only it were fast enough, me and Gu Qianqian would’ve been safe.’
Plus, who else would she look for? Surely not the Night Division! That’s a one-way trip to the mental hospital. Hence, why not contact Professor Ma? Big deal! Just write two more essays for him as payment!
Soon, the two of them reached an agreement, and Professor Ma agreed to help.
“System, what should I do now?”
Staring at the two people at the door, Gu Qianqian asked anxiously in her mind.
“…”
“System?”
After a long silence, the system finally responded with a very small voice, “Fight them and attract the Night Division’s attention.”
Just like Lu Yibei didn’t want to be targeted by the Night Division, for some strange reason, the system didn’t want Gu Qianqian to be involved with them either.
A child who was raised by urban legends is definitely someone of interest to them.
After receiving the system’s response, Gu Qianqian nodded wryly and stepped up to them, only for Lu Yibei to rush up and smoulder her with a bear hug.
“Sis, you scared me to death! Are you okay?”
“H-huh?”
The sudden hug made Gu Qianqian startled, and Lu Yibei whispered in her ear, “This is my professor. He’s here to help.”
She then took a step back and flashed a toothy grin to Gu Qianqian, saying, “Grandpa is taking us home. Let’s go home.”
See? The system thought. ‘Lying through her teeth with no regret. And you say she’s harmless.’
“Grandpa!”
Professor Ma, who was filling out the information at the desk, suddenly heard two girls calling out for him. His heart warmed, and he felt that his lifelong dream of having granddaughters was fulfilled.
It was all worth the help, really.
The police didn’t investigate the personal information written on Professor Ma’s report for too long and sent them home with a smile.
“Don’t go lying about your family living under the bridge,” the policeman in charge joked. “Go home and have a nice rest, alright?”
Lu Yibei and Professor Ma looked at Gu Qianqian wordlessly. She really may just be living under a bridge.
It’s a pity.
