"Gu Yu, 97 points." The history teacher announced the top student in the class at the podium.
"Gu Yu scored high again this time. All students should learn from Gu Yu."
Gu Yu walked forward and took the test paper, then returned to his seat amid the praise and attention of his classmates.
"Gu Yu, sometimes I really want to know what's going on in your brain." Han Youxin whispered to her.
Another girl said: "He's a genius, there's nothing we can do about it."
Gu Yu glanced at her test paper. She lost points on a subjective question because she overlooked a point. She thought to herself that she should try to avoid such negligence next time.
The light on the game console she placed in her desk came on.
It's drizzling.
Gu Yu glanced at the history teacher who was seriously explaining the test paper, carefully took out the game console and placed it on her knees. She lowered her head and secretly turned on the screen.
A line of words appeared in Xiaoyu's dialog box on the screen: "Gu Yu, you are really amazing."
Gu Yu typed a reply: "It's nothing."
"Are those your classmates? They all respect you very much." Gu Yu once explained to Xiaoyu what classmates and teachers were, and what school was. Xiaoyu understood almost immediately.
Because I am indeed a talented genius, Gu Yu thought to himself.
Xiaoyu in the picture made a heart-shaped gesture to her. She was really cute. This was also the gesture that Gu Yu had taught her before. She learned it very quickly and often made a heart-shaped gesture to Gu Yu to make her happy.
Gu Yu has realized the magic of this game. Xiaoyu has amazing intelligence. Not only can she learn quickly, but she can even receive sounds from the outside world. She is now full of curiosity about the outside world, so Gu Yu simply carries the game console with him and lets Xiaoyu attend classes with him, taking Xiaoyu to and from school.
She didn't know whether the current gaming technology had developed to such a high-end black technology level, and she had never seen other classmates with such a model. Maybe Yan Zhen, the second-generation rich man, had the channels to get some amazing new games to test the handheld. It was such a waste to throw away such a good thing. Gu Yu despised Yan Zhen in her heart while thanking him. If he hadn't been so wasteful, she wouldn't have met her spiritual support - Xiaoyu.
After school, Gu Yu came to the school gate with her schoolbag on her back. Some high school students were whispering about a silver luxury car parked at the school gate. Although Gu Yu was a well-informed academic master, she knew very little about cars, a means of transportation for adults. She noticed that not only some students, but even teachers looked at the car with envy in their eyes. Han Youxin knew, and she said to Gu Yu: "This car costs more than one million."
Gu Yu was startled and blurted out, "It's so expensive." Her parents took out a mortgage of 800,000 yuan to buy a house fifteen years ago and still haven't paid it off. A few days ago, they were arguing over whether to save 100,000 yuan or 50,000 yuan. This car alone is worth her parents' fifteen years of hard work.
A girl walked out from the crowd of people leaving school.
She was as beautiful as a flower. The girl had black and shiny hair, milky white skin, and a doll-like delicate face. She was Wei Jingjing, a well-known young lady in the school. Under the silent gaze of her classmates, she walked to the front of the luxury car, and the driver of the luxury car stood beside the car and politely opened the door for her.
The car door closed and the luxury car drove away.
"Wow... did you see that? This is the eldest lady." The girls whispered.
"Miss Wei is a real princess." Han Youxin said enviously.
"Yeah." Gu Yu also nodded.
Gu Yu returned home. Her parents were arguing again.
This time the quarrel was much more intense than the last one. Because my father found out that my grandmother didn't borrow money to buy a house, but secretly gave it to my aunt. I heard that my cousin Lulu had spent more than a million studying abroad, and now she is asking for money from home. My aunt had no choice but to ask my grandmother. My grandmother didn't have much savings, so she had to find an excuse to borrow money from my mother. I don't know how this got to my father's ears, and he was furious.
"Your mother's family is too much! You too, how can you just lend me money?" Dad shouted.
Mom hated it most when Dad was bossing around Grandma and Auntie. She felt guilty, but when she saw that Dad was so disregarding her face, she immediately got angry and scolded Dad for being an ordinary worker and having no future, which made their lives so difficult. At first, the two of them just verbally attacked each other, but later, Dad was so angry that he smashed a cup.
"You want to smash things? Go ahead and smash them! Just smash this whole house!" Her mother also smashed the tea cups, vases, storage boxes and other sundries around her.
Bang! Crash!
The house was smashed into pieces in the blink of an eye.
…
Gu Yu locked himself in the room.
These days, mom and dad quarreled more and more fiercely, and they no longer even concealed it in front of her.
So annoying.
The screen in front of her was flashing with light. Xiaoyu now had two lambs and had harvested a small bucket of goat milk today. Xiaoyu happily raised the bottle of goat milk to show her.
"With goat's milk, I can make cheese!"
“That’s really great.”
Xiaoyu happily told her about her next plan. Ever since Gu Yu read a cake tutorial to her, Xiaoyu has made making cakes her goal and is busy collecting various materials, waiting to make a delicious fruit cake. Xiaoyu keeps talking excitedly. Gu Yu propped up his chin and stared blankly at the screen.
Bang!!
There was the sound of something breaking outside the door again.
“This life is unbearable!!!”
"I don't want to live with you anymore!"
"That's great..." said Gu Yu.
"What?" Xiaoyu said, "What's so good?"
Gu Yu said: "You."
Xiaoyu said: "Me?"
"Yes, it's nice to live a carefree life like you."
"But I think you, Gu Yu, are great. You are amazing, and there are so many classmates and teachers who like you. You also have a family."
There was the sound of something being smashed and a woman screaming outside the door again.
"Me? I'm almost fed up. What's the point of this kind of life?" Gu Yu said irritably. She said to Xiao Yu on the screen, "Sometimes I wonder why I can't live a comfortable and simple life, just like you, planting trees, watering flowers, picking fruits every day, how carefree. No need to think about other things."
“Gu Yu…”
"Everyone says that Gu Yu is great and excellent, but in their eyes, Gu Yu is just a test paper with good grades. What am I? I am nothing. I am just a tool for my parents to fulfill their wishes and save face." Gu Yu said sullenly, "In my parents' eyes, I am just a result that they can brag about."
"No, the definition of Gu Yu is not just about grades." Xiaoyu said on the screen.
"Ah, a two-dimensional person like you who lives a stress-free and worry-free life wouldn't understand."
BANG!!! Crash!!!
Gu Yu stood up and opened the door.
In the living room, the wedding photo frame of my parents was thrown to the ground, and the glass was shattered. My mother looked at the broken wedding photo on the ground with a shocked face, and she looked up and shouted: "I want a divorce!!"
Dad’s face turned red and he yelled, “You said it! Divorce me if you want!”
Gu Yu slammed the door.
She lay on the bed rubbing her eyes and wiping away the tears. I won't cry, she thought.
There was a knock on the door, but it soon stopped.
"You still feel sorry for your daughter? Who are you pretending for?"
"You are being unfair to your daughter! Your niece goes to some overseas summer camp every year. Has Gu Yu ever been there? And you still spend money on them? Have you ever considered your daughter?"
Gu Yu covered her ears and closed her eyes, as if she could block out all the harsh noises of her parents' quarrels.
"Gu Yu, don't be sad." Xiaoyu in the game console made a voice.
She also has Xiaoyu.
Yes, she also has Xiaoyu.
Gu Yu reached out and placed the game console on her chest, then put on her headphones. Amid the calming sound of the wind, the clear sound of the water, and the chirping of insects, she seemed to have walked into another world. A colorful second dimension world, a peaceful, worry-free paradise.
"Gu Yu, do you want to come to my world?"
"Yes." Gu Yu picked up the game console and looked at Xiao Yu on the screen. She said:
"If only—I could become you."
"OK--"
Xiaoyu in the picture looked at her and slowly smiled.
In an instant, before she could scream, she was sucked into the game console.
…
…
Gu Yu touched his head and slowly straightened up.
Her head was a little dizzy.
She stood in a small, brightly colored room, and everything around her was so bright and cute. She recognized the decorative painting on the wall at a glance, which was the one she bought for Xiaoyu. The furniture next to it also looked familiar, and it was also selected by her. Everything was too familiar.
Gu Yu walked out of the hut in surprise. In front of her was a green meadow and a lush orchard. A rabbit poked its head out of the bushes, glanced at her, and then quickly hid again. She knew the gravel road under her feet, and she also knew the wooden barrel next to it. It was the pickle barrel she bought for Xiaoyu.
Behind her was a small wooden house with dark green creepers climbing up the red painted walls. There was a cherry tree planted next to the window, the seeds of which she had specially selected at the store. So far, the cherry tree has not produced any cherries. There was a newly built wooden frame on the grass, which she had asked Xiaoyu to build just now, and it was going to be used to plant grapes. When the grapes grew up, she planned to have Xiaoyu pick them and make wine.
Walking along the gravel road, there is a red brick store, which is where Xiaoyu frequents most. She buys most of her daily necessities in this store.
This is...is this Xiaoyu's world?
"You are in my world." A voice came from above. Gu Yu thought the voice sounded familiar.
She looked up and saw a picture in the air. A girl was looking at her from outside the screen. The girl looked exactly like her. The room behind her was also surprisingly familiar. It was Gu Yu's bedroom.
"Ah? You are..."
"I am Xiaoyu." Xiaoyu with her face said, "Now we have exchanged positions."
"It's actually possible?" Gu Yu finally realized that this was no longer something that could be done in a game. She shouted, "I'm dreaming!!!"
Xiaoyu, who had Gu Yu's face in the picture, smiled and said, "This is real. Now we have switched places. This is your wish."
"My wish?"
Xiaoyu smiled and said, "Just like you wish, you can live a life without worries in my world. And I will face the things you don't want to face on your behalf. Isn't that good?"
"This is really incredible." Gu Yu said, "I'm sorry, my mind is confused now..."
"It's okay." Xiaoyu said, "I'll turn on the screen, and you can see what's happening in this three-dimensional real world. Oh, your mother is here."
Gu Yu saw her mother walk into the room with red eyes. She said to Xiao Yu, who had Gu Yu's face, "Gu Yu, Mom has something to tell you."
"Gu Yu, if mom leaves this home one day, would you be willing to follow her..."
Gu Yu covered her ears. She didn't want to hear or see what Xiaoyu said to her mother in the picture. She didn't want to know at all.
Why do you ask me these things after you quarrel?
After her mother left, Xiaoyu said, "Your mother just asked me if I was willing to follow her..."
"Stop talking!" Gu Yu shouted. She suddenly felt that it was good to stay here for a while, whether it was a dream or not. She said to Xiao Yu, "You play me. I'll stay here first."
"Okay." Xiaoyu in the picture smiled at her.
Just as she dreamed, Xiaoyu's world was a comfortable and carefree world.
She slept until she woke up naturally , without an alarm clock or a father or mother to wake her up.
After getting up, she made herself a pot of tea. In the cupboard, there was bread and dried fruits bought from the grocery store. She took them out and tasted them. They tasted good.
Walking into Xiaoyu's orchard, she immediately smiled. Xiaoyu's world is a two-dimensional world with a very beautiful and charming style. All the fruit trees look very green and lovely. The plump little birds chirp on the branches, and the ripe fruits are bright red. She brought a ladder and went up and down to pick the fruits.
She picked a basket full of fruits. During this time, a little deer ran into the orchard, but it was not afraid of her. Gu Yu played with the little deer for an entire afternoon. In the picture in the sky, Xiao Yu was in class, and after class, she was reading and doing homework. This was Gu Yu's unchanging life on weekdays.
Gu Yu was playing with the little deer while thinking, "Now I realize my life is so boring." Xiaoyu was playing her role very seriously. In fact, Gu Yu didn't know what she looked like when she smiled and talked. Whether it was her classmates, teachers, parents, or mothers in the picture, none of them noticed that the Gu Yu in front of them had changed.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter whether Gu Yu is there or not. As long as Xiaoyu can maintain her grades, Xiaoyu is Gu Yu.
Gu Yu picked up the basket full of fruits and headed for the grocery store. Following the game scenes in her memory, she walked along the path to the grocery store. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She pushed the door open and walked in. Even in the second dimension, Gu Yu would not forget the etiquette her parents taught her.
Just like the game screen, the store counter was empty. Gu Yu recalled Xiaoyu's operation, and she poured a basket of fruits into the wooden box in the store. With a ding, a few coins appeared in the small box on the store counter.
I don't know where it came from. Gu Yu thought to herself. She took her reward from the small box. Then, she began to look around the store curiously. The store was empty, but all the goods were neatly arranged, as if someone had sorted them out.
Whenever she picked up a product, a price box would pop up immediately, along with instructions for use. Gu Yu casually picked up a bag of candy, a bag of flower seeds, and a cookbook. When she came to the counter, a price box immediately popped up, prompting her to pay. She took out her currency and paid. Finally, she curiously tapped the counter a few times.
A box also popped up on the counter, with a sentence written on it: "Grocery store, a place to buy goods. There used to be a store owner, but for some reason, the owner disappeared."
Gu Yu tapped again, and the same sentence popped up.
She carried her things home.
The three-dimensional screen in the air showed that Xiaoyu had also returned home from school. Her parents at home finally stopped arguing, but they were using silence to keep the peace.
The tense atmosphere at home made Gu Yu feel bored. She simply stopped looking and started to study what to eat tomorrow with the menu.
So passed day after day.
Gu Yu's past experiences were all about studying and studying. Even during summer and winter vacations, they were all filled with various competition training courses and cram schools. She had never enjoyed such a relaxing vacation where she could do whatever she wanted. Every day, she would get up after getting enough sleep, water the orchard, pick fruits, play with the lambs, or catch rabbits. After spending the whole morning, she would lie on the grass in front of the house and take a nap. After waking up in the afternoon, she would take a fishing rod to the river to fish. Her fishing skills were not very proficient, but she could catch one or two in an afternoon. In the evening, she would cook herself a bowl of fragrant fish soup, and all the fatigue of the day would disappear.
Unlike the three-dimensional world, where you have to consider many details, the fish you catch don't need to be processed. Just add water and seasonings and cook it in a pot to make delicious fish soup. The same goes for other ingredients. Just add seasonings and cook them in a pot to make delicious food. For Gu Yu, this is an ideal paradise.
On the other side, Xiaoyu in the picture is becoming more and more like her. Or, as long as Gu Yu gets good grades, her inner self doesn't matter at all. In school, Xiaoyu consistently ranks among the top students. She is a good student in the eyes of her teachers and a trustworthy monitor in the eyes of her classmates.
The cold war continued at home. But Xiaoyu played the role of a good daughter very successfully. As long as her father and mother did not appear together, they would get along well with Xiaoyu. One day, her father brought a cake home. Xiaoyu and her father cut the cake face to face with a smile, and chatted leisurely while eating the cake in the restaurant. Then her mother also came home, and she could not help but be stunned for a while when she saw this scene.
The next day, her mother bought Xiaoyu a pair of beautiful leather shoes. Xiaoyu accepted them with a smile, hugged her mother and thanked her.
Her parents began to try to please Xiaoyu, and frequently bought her gifts. One day, her mother took Xiaoyu to the Science and Technology Museum, and when they came back, both of them were smiling.
Gu Yu looked at their smiles and felt strangely uncomfortable. "They want to get my custody when we separate." Gu Yu said to Xiao Yu, "Adults are so hypocritical. That's why I don't want to see them."
"Yeah." Xiaoyu nodded. "Mom said she would take me back to my grandma's house to live for a while."
"Grandma." When she mentioned her grandma, Gu Yu's tone dropped. "I don't like grandma."
"Dad doesn't like grandma either." Xiaoyu narrowed her eyes. "When he took me for a walk in the park, he told me that it was grandma who made him and mom unhappy."
Grandma has always been partial. Now that I think about it, grandma was indeed one of the triggers for the conflict between my parents. Gu Yu said, "Thank you for your hard work. You are about to live with the person who caused my parents to quarrel."
Xiaoyu smiled: "Don't worry. I will be a good Gu Yu."
…
In the past few days, Gu Yu has explored the surrounding terrain thoroughly. Xiaoyu's house is next to a village. There are grocery stores, clothing stores, fishing gear stores, blacksmith shops, pharmacies and other shops in the village, as well as more than ten houses. But there is no one in these houses without exception.
The store worked fine when she entered it. No matter how much she bought, the shelves would always be restocked the next day, as if there were invisible staff. She didn't know what the mechanism was. Whenever she knocked on the counter, the words "There used to be a store owner, but for some reason, the owner disappeared" would pop up.
Is there some hidden puzzle? she wondered.
After leaving the store, Gu Yu strolled around the quiet village. This was a very charming village, with thatched roofs on the houses around, neatly trimmed fences in front of the houses, green vines entwined on the fences, and white roses, purple wild lilies, pink roses and fiery red camellias planted inside, a scene of colorful beauty. Gu Yu watched from outside the fence for a long time, feeling quite envious, and planned to take care of the lawn in front of her house like this.
It’s a pity that despite such a beautiful view, there is no one in the house.
At this time, the weather was fine and the sky was blue. The white clouds were like a white veil. Under the blue sky, wooden houses were neatly arranged on both sides of the road, just like a dream scene in a Miyazaki animation. Gu Yu felt sorry that the village was empty. She looked at the houses in front of her and knocked on the door again, but no one answered as usual.
She remembered that some residents in the game would put treasure chests in their homes, so maybe she could give it a try. She came to the window of the house covered with vines, opened it, and climbed in. The structure of the house was similar to Xiaoyu's home, but the furnishings were very different.
Gu Yu looked around curiously. This looked like a man's home, completely different from Xiaoyu's style. Bows and arrows for hunting were hung on the wall, and rows of small soldiers were displayed in the cabinets. She strolled around the house and then pushed open the bedroom door.
She was stunned.
Written in big blood-red letters on the bedroom wall were two words: [Run! ! ]
…
What does this mean?
Gu Yu was puzzled. Since she came to this world, she had been living in a comfortable paradise. What on earth was there to escape from?
It's strange, why is there no one in this world? Why did those shop owners disappear?
She left the house. Outside the house was still the picturesque countryside. The sun was shining, the scenery was pleasant, and it was like a paradise on earth.
But those two words kept flashing before her eyes.
She planned to ask Xiaoyu.
The picture in the air showed that Xiaoyu followed her mother back to her parents' home. Her mother was questioning why her grandmother lied to her about borrowing money. Her grandmother still said stubbornly that she needed the money. The two talked for a long time but could not agree. Her mother said that it was her grandmother who caused the cold war between her and the child's father.
Grandma said that’s because your husband is too stingy. The savings were clearly saved by both of you, and you own half of it. Don’t you even have the right to dispose of this half?
My mother said that it was because of my grandmother’s partiality and failure to distinguish the important from the unimportant that caused my son-in-law to have complaints.
When my grandmother heard this, her eyes were bloodshot with anger. She angrily asked, "Is it easy for me to raise you sisters? Have I ever neglected you? You didn't do well in the exam, you didn't have a good job, and you found a rubbish husband, so don't blame others."
Finally, my mother went back to her room angrily.
Xiaoyu asked her if she was okay. Mom was still angry and couldn't help complaining to Xiaoyu, "If it weren't for your grandma, how could Mom become like this?" Xiaoyu nodded obediently.
Looking at these pictures, Gu Yu felt frustrated and annoyed. The three-dimensional world was indeed boring. Xiaoyu appeared in the center of the picture, smiling at her as usual. Gu Yu suddenly felt that her world was so beautiful, but now she had to study, do homework, be a top student, and bear so many troubles in the real world. She couldn't help but feel sorry for it.
"Xiaoyu, are you okay?"
"I have something to ask you." Gu Yu said.
"What's up?"
Gu Yu then told Xiao Yu about the bloody words in the residential building she had just seen, and she asked her, "Did you know?"
"I don't know." Xiaoyu still kept smiling.
"How strange." Gu Yu said, "Tell me, are there people living in your world from the beginning?"
"I don't know." Xiaoyu replied, still with that smile.
Gu Yu wanted to ask her a few more questions, but a scream suddenly came from behind Xiaoyu in the picture.
Grandma suddenly rolled down the stairs.
She slipped and fell downstairs, and she would have only broken bones at most. But someone threw a rusty nail downstairs, and when she fell, her head hit the nail, and the nail went straight into her. The scene was horrible, and the neighbors shook their heads and sighed, not daring to come forward. My mother fainted on the spot in front of my grandmother's body.
Gu Yu covered her mouth and couldn't believe what she saw. Grandma died? Grandma just died like that?
Although she never liked her grandmother, she still remembered that when she was a child, she sat in her grandmother's arms and listened to her stories. Was the grandmother who was sometimes gentle to her, gave her candy and coaxed her gone just like that?
When mom woke up, she cried her heart out. Xiaoyu came to her and said, "Mom, grandma is gone. Isn't that a good thing? Don't cry, mom."
"What are you talking about?" Mom raised her red and swollen eyes and asked her hoarsely.
"It was Mom who hoped that grandma would not be around. Now grandma is gone." Xiaoyu said, "Dad will come to see Mom soon, and then Mom and Dad can reconcile. Isn't that good?"
“……” Mom stared at her in disbelief.
"Mom, aren't you happy?"
“What are you talking about??”
"I am really happy for my mother."
The mother stared at Xiaoyu in horror as if she were a stranger, and then she screamed, "Who are you??? You are not my daughter!!"
"Mother?"
"You are not my daughter!!" the mother cried sadly.
When Dad arrived, Mom was still shouting like this.
…
…
"How can you say such things! She is my grandma after all!" Gu Yu shouted angrily to Xiaoyu in the picture.
Xiaoyu tilted her head: "But that was your mother's wish. Isn't the definition of Gu Yu to fulfill her parents' wishes? That's what you told me."
“This is different.”
"But this is Gu Yu's defined behavior pattern. I was very serious about fulfilling your mother's wish."
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Yes. I made the floor next to the stairs slippery and placed a nail after careful calculation. Everything went as planned. Grandma also cooperated." Xiaoyu made a cute heart-shaped gesture, "I fulfilled my mother's wish perfectly."
"You..." Gu Yu felt dizzy. Her body began to tremble. This is not right. This is not right. Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu is my friend. How could she do such a thing...
"But mom is denying Gu Yu now. This is really annoying."
Gu Yu suddenly realized something, and she shouted, "What do you want to do now?"
"Huh? What for?" Xiaoyu asked her back, still with a sweet smile on her face.
"Change back!! Change our position back!" Gu Yu shouted.
"Hey, why did you just remember to change it back now?"
"Change it back!! Don't replace me anymore!! Change it back quickly!!"
Xiaoyu smiled and said, "No."
"What?"
"Because I am Gu Yu." Xiao Yu looked a little troubled. "Although my mother denied it, I am still defined as Gu Yu."
"What are you talking about?"
"I am Gu Yu, a character living in this three-dimensional world." The girl with short hair in the picture smiled and said, "Look at yourself. You are no longer Gu Yu. You are just a two-dimensional pixel."
"Wait!!" Gu Yu shouted in panic.
"Goodbye, Xiaoyu."
The picture disappeared.