Han Yebin did not appear again until the end of the event.
Although I wanted to find Han Yebin, An Mujin told me to stay in the classroom and not go anywhere because "you are the event organizer and cannot leave before the event is over." A new batch of students and parents came, so I had no choice but to cheer up and go to receive them. But because my mind was not here, I made many mistakes and mistakes. Another classmate who was also the event organizer could not stand it anymore. Seeing that An Mujin was not there, he whispered to me: "If you want to leave, leave quickly. I will take care of this."
I thanked him repeatedly and rushed out of the activity room. I searched the entire college, but there was no trace of Han Yebin. He didn't reply to my text messages and he didn't answer my calls. Thinking of the disappointed and resentful look he gave me before he left, I thought, I'm afraid I really hurt him this time.
My mind was in a daze, and before I knew it, I had arrived at Lake Square.
The environment here is still beautiful. Many students accompanied their parents to enjoy the beautiful scenery here. There were laughter and warmth. I stared blankly at the center of the square, as if I saw that day again, standing in the huge rose array, the boy with a flamboyant and confident face confessed to the most beautiful princess in the college in front of the whole school. At that time, I probably didn't think that I would be so deeply involved with this person in the future. If he was happy, I would be happy too; if he was sad, I would be sadder than him.
I stood in the middle of the square for a long time, until the clouds in the sky finally dispersed, until the crowds around me gradually thinned out, until the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled the entire square, and even my shoulders were coated with a layer of lonely light. I don't know how long it was, a hand suddenly touched my head, I turned around blankly, and met my brother's worried eyes.
"The school presentation day is over." He ruffled my hair gently, his voice so soft it sounded like a sigh.
"go home."
On the way back, I was very silent. Although I knew my brother was looking at me worriedly, I really didn't have the energy to speak. When we passed an intersection and waited for the red light, my brother suddenly spoke.
"Do you know the situation of Han Yebin's family?"
I was slightly startled and turned to look at my brother. But he didn't look back, he just blinked slightly and continued to look forward.
"There's a reason why he doesn't have a good relationship with his parents." The elder brother paused and frowned. "His parents had high expectations for him. When he was a kid, he would be locked up at home doing homework after school, and he had no time to rest during holidays. His parents only allowed him to get first place in exams. Once he got second place in the whole school, he was locked up in a small dark room and made to kneel down for a whole night."
I opened my eyes wide, in disbelief.
"Of course, with Han Yebin's personality, he would definitely not always listen to his parents, especially when he reached his rebellious period. I heard that he made some friends at that time, and he would always find ways to go out and play with his friends. As a result, when his parents found out, they were furious, and they ran to the school and scolded his friends one by one, saying that they had led Han Yebin astray. This incident caused quite a big fuss. From then on, people in the school avoided Han Yebin when they saw him, and he could only go alone in school. Probably from that time on, he hated his parents, and the relationship between them has never eased. Although his parents rarely returned home due to work after he was promoted to Tianyin College, and they had less control over him, he always kept a distance when getting along with others, and there was basically no one around him who could confide in him."
I shuddered and my hands began to tremble. I suddenly remembered Han Yebin's name in the online game - "Walking Alone at Night". Is this a reflection of his inner self? Even if he is very successful and even the center of attention, in his heart, he still has an unhealed wound and feels extremely lonely?
——It turns out you can’t understand my feelings at all. Don’t pretend you know me so well!
I finally understood how he felt when he shouted this.
But now I feel regretful and try to make amends. Is it too late?
A sleepless night.
I went to school early the next morning. I didn't even go back to the classroom, but waited at the door of Han Yebin's class with my schoolbag on my back.
Unfortunately, the person I wanted to wait for didn't show up, but the person I didn't want to see showed up.
"Isn't this Ling Jiantong?"
Several girls blocked my way, and the leader was Tong Weiwei. I glanced around and recognized that these people were all "campus beauties". They all looked unfriendly, especially Tong Weiwei - she hadn't looked at me with such a provocative and arrogant look for a long time.
"Ling Jiantong, you are waiting here, aren't you waiting for Han Yebin?" Tong Weiwei raised her chin and looked at me with a fake smile. I gave her a cold look, then turned my head and ignored her.
Apparently, my attitude irritated them. One of the girls with short hair and a round face shouted, "Humph! Look at her like that. Who does she think she is?"
The girl with long wavy hair who had embarrassed me before also raised her eyebrows and directly reached out to push me: "Hey! Everyone knows that Han Yebin and you have fallen out. Without him to back you up, why are you still so arrogant?"
"I've never asked him to support me." I was really angry and looked at her coldly, "Also, don't touch me with your dirty hands!"
The girl with long wavy hair was stunned, then showed an even more ferocious expression. She raised her hand as if to hit me, and I quickly dodged to the side. Although I dodged, my schoolbag was grabbed by her. I only felt my body being pulled violently, and then suddenly lightened - when I turned around, I saw that the girl was holding the pet doll that she had torn off my schoolbag.
My pupils suddenly contracted.
"Give it back to me!"
Unfortunately, before I could rush forward, I was held by Tong Weiwei and the others on my left and right. I didn't get enough rest last night, so I had no strength at all. Tong Weiwei and the others seemed to be well prepared, and pushed me into a corner, holding my arms tightly.
"What on earth do you want to do?" I glared at them angrily.
"We just want some people to have some self-awareness." Tong Weiwei sneered, narrowing her eyes like a fox that takes advantage of the power of another. "With your character, you still want to compete with An Mujin? Humph, you took what Mujin worked so hard to get for nothing, and you even snatched the boy she likes. How can there be someone as shameless as you in this world?"
"What?" I was stunned. "She called?"
"Don't play dumb!" the girl with wavy hair said sternly, waving the pet doll in her hand. "Don't you also play "Fantasy Jianghu"? Don't you know that this is an official prize that requires completing two hidden tasks? Humph, An Mujin worked so hard to help Han Yebin complete the hidden tasks, but she didn't expect that the prize would end up in your hands! Can you be more shameless?"
Several people started to criticize my "despicable behavior" at the same time, but I didn't listen to them because my mind was full of the same thought - An Mujin helped Han Yebin to complete the hidden mission? An Mujin also played "Fantasy Jianghu"? Wasn't it the person who went on a mission with Du Yexing a while ago...
"An Mu Jin means 'Hibiscus blossoms'?"
Tong Weiwei and the others immediately looked at me like an idiot, which made me realize that everyone already knew An Mujin's identity in the game, and only I, an ignorant idiot, was still in the dark. In addition to being shocked, I suddenly thought of something -
"Did An Mujin send my conversation in the game kingdom to the WeChat group?"
Although Tong Weiwei and the others didn't answer, I saw the answer from their eyes. At that moment, I felt like the blood in my body froze.
"Why would she do that?"
"Because you're an eyesore!" Tong Weiwei shrieked, looking at me with extremely resentful eyes, "If it weren't for you, she would have been with Han Yebin a long time ago! Mu Jin finally fell in love with someone, but you snatched him away like this. Do you think she wouldn't hate you?"
"She likes Han Yebin?" I felt like my brain wasn't enough. "But, but didn't she reject Han Yebin right away?"
"Are you still pretending? In that situation, how could Mu Jin accept the confession?" Tong Weiwei tightened her grip on my arm, causing me to frown in pain. "Humph, no matter whether Han Yebin really wants to pursue Mu Jin, you still want to compete with Mu Jin with your character? What a joke! I tell you, Han Yebin is only being nice to you for fun! Sooner or later, he will confess to Mu Jin!"
"That's right!" The girl with long wavy hair suddenly grabbed the two feet of "White Balloon" and looked at me with contempt. "If you don't know what's good for you and get in between Han Yebin and Mu Jin again, this will be your fate!"
As she spoke, she pulled hard and actually tore off the white ball's feet . The sound of the cloth tearing pierced my heart like an awl, and at that moment, I felt that the whole world was in a trance.
"stop!"
They may think that the "white dumpling" was obtained by An Mujin and Han Yebin through the mission, but I know that is not the case. Because Han Yebin and I have completed a hidden mission before, so the person who has truly completed two hidden missions from beginning to end and is eligible to get the "white dumpling" can only be Han Yebin. Since it is his thing and he gave it to me, then I am undoubtedly the owner of this doll. But at this time, I was unable to protect the innocent "white dumpling" and could only watch it being torn off its legs by the girl in front of me, becoming a horrible broken doll.
Tears began to well up in my eyes. Just when I wanted to fight desperately with this group of snobbish and hateful girls, a cold voice made us both freeze on the spot.
"What are you doing?"
The owner of the voice stopped in front of us, with a solemn expression on his handsome and heroic face. His slightly drooping hair covered his eyes, but could not hide his icy gaze.
"Are you gathering together to bully others?" Han Yebin's eyes slowly swept over Tong Weiwei and the others, and his cold voice was intimidating without being angry, "Do you want me to call the dean?"
Tong Weiwei bit her lip and winked at the girls around her.
"let's go!"
After saying this, several people turned around and left. Although they seemed to want to leave in style, it looked like they were fleeing in desperation.
Han Yebin snorted coldly, and suddenly saw the "white ball" that Tong Weiwei and the others had thrown on the ground before they left. He was stunned for a moment, and leaned over as if to pick it up, but just as his hand was halfway out, he retracted it. He slowly straightened up and turned his head as if to leave.
"Han Yebin!" Although the aura emanating from this person made me feel extremely unfamiliar, I still mustered up my courage and said, "I..."
"If you're here to apologize, then forget it." He interrupted me rudely, then walked away without even looking at me.
"I don't want to see you." These were the last words he uttered.
Han Yebin really did what he said.
After that day, he started to avoid me on purpose. No matter how hard I tried to apologize, he treated me like a stranger and never looked at me again. For the first time, I realized that I was such a clumsy person. Facing his disregard and indifference, I could do nothing except blame myself and feel lost. But I didn't have much time to worry about how to save this fragile relationship, because a very serious problem was brought to the table - the final exam was coming.
This final exam was a joint exam for seven schools. The principal took it very seriously, and the teachers wanted us to study hard at our desks 24 hours a day. The school was filled with a tense atmosphere of preparing for the exam. Homework and test papers were overwhelming, leaving me no extra brain space to think about other things. My brother was busier than me. In addition to teaching, he was also responsible for the after-school special training of the Olympiad class - because once the final exam was over, the National Mathematical Olympiad would follow.
During the days of preparing for the exam, everyone was on edge, wishing they had an extra head to memorize the lessons. Because I rarely walked around the campus, I basically never met Han Yebin again. It was only after the final exams, when I returned to school to get my grades, that I heard that Han Yebin had once again ranked first in the school. His name was hung on the honor roll on the bulletin board, and his incredibly high score attracted everyone's amazement. For this reason, the principal specially praised Han Yebin at the summary meeting before the holiday. He stood on the podium to accept the commendation, with a half-smile on his face. Compared with the enthusiastic admiration from the audience, his eyes were always filled with indifference and alienated sarcasm. I hid in the crowd, looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar person, and suddenly felt that - perhaps, this distance that is out of reach is our ending.
The exams were over and the summer vacation was coming. My brother was making final preparations for the National Mathematical Olympiad. Three days before the competition, during dinner, he suddenly said to me.
"Xiaotong, I want to tell you something."
"Hmm?" I responded nonchalantly, shoveling rice into my mouth without stopping.
"I have decided to quit Fantasy Rivers and Lakes."
“Oh...what?” I almost choked on my food. I quickly took a big gulp of water and looked at my brother nervously.
"Brother, you are not kidding me, right?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" My brother raised his eyebrows and adjusted his glasses calmly. "I didn't do this on a whim. I considered this decision for a long time."
My brother has been a lot busier at work this year, and he has rarely been online recently, but I never expected that he would decide to quit the game because of this.
"If you leave, what will happen to Hanyan Kingdom?" That is the empire founded by my brother. I don't believe he can just let go of it.
"Hanyan Country was founded by you and me. Even if I leave, don't I still have you?"
"But you are the one who actually manages the kingdom..." I muttered softly.
"If you don't know how to manage, you can learn." The elder brother paused, his expression suddenly became a little strange, "Besides, when I said I was leaving, most people in the kingdom supported you to take over my position."
"Ah? People actually trust me so much... Wait!" My eyes suddenly widened, "Did you tell them this news a long time ago?"
"Um."
"So, I was the last to know the news?"
"Um."
"Why?" I collapsed. "I'm your biological sister! Why am I the one with the least information?"
My brother looked innocent and shrugged: "It's your fault that you haven't logged into the game recently."
I pouted and glared at him in dissatisfaction: "So, you put the responsibility of managing the kingdom on me without my knowledge?"
"I guess so." The elder brother tapped the table lightly with his hand, frowning slightly, "But you are not the only candidate for the position of king."
ah?
"Although most people agree that you should succeed the king, a group of people, led by Hibiscus Flower, have recommended another person."
My heartbeat suddenly stopped for a beat, and then I heard my own slightly stiff voice.
"Who did they recommend?"
"Walking alone at night."
The answer was not unexpected, but it still made me lose my mind for a while. In a trance, I heard my brother say, "I have officially withdrawn, so Hanyan Kingdom has nothing to do with me. Everyone will hold a meeting tonight to vote for the next king. Whether you want to inherit Hanyan Kingdom or not, go and take a look."
When I went online, Du Ye Xing was not there, but there was a lot of noise in the Kingdom channel.
"I still support Princess Xiaoshui to inherit the Hanyan Kingdom! Du Yexing is indeed very powerful, but how long has he only joined? What qualifications does he have to snatch someone else's country?"
"We play games just for fun. Although Du Ye Xing is strong in PK, his solitary personality is too difficult to get along with. He is totally unsuitable to be a king!"
"In online games, you have to rely on your strength! If another city battle happens, are you sure that the Swordsman can lead everyone to successfully fight the enemy?"
Everyone was talking at once, and the channel was quickly filled with comments. I silently read everyone's opinions. Regarding those who did not support walking alone at night, they all had the same point - his killer style was too intense, and he was not suitable to blend in with the masses and gather people's hearts.
But I know that's not the real him. He was cold, kept to himself, and didn't want to cooperate with others, all because he had put his heart inside the wall. Although I almost brought him out, it hurt him more and made him hide deeper.
I wonder, if he were allowed to try to communicate with more people and enter a wider world, would one day he be able to meet someone with whom he could truly open his heart and share his joys and sorrows?
“Thank you all for your trust and support.”
When I realized it, I had already started typing and posted them to the channel.
"After careful consideration , I have decided to give up my right of succession and recommend Du Yexing to be the king."
"Because I think Du Yexing is more suitable for this position than me. He is not a difficult person to get along with. If you treat him sincerely, you will find that he is actually a very good person. With him, I believe that our Hanyan Country will be able to go further and better."
There was a moment of silence in the channel. I glanced at the online list and found that I had not seen him before. Almost at the same time, I received a private message in my mailbox.
"what is this?"
I looked at the sender's name and remained silent.
Another private message: "Are you giving me charity?"
I remained silent.
"Or is it because you feel guilty and want to please me?" His tone was already impatient. I gritted my teeth and tried to type, but my hands felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. I typed thousands of words, but in the end I only typed three words -
"sorry."
There was no movement from the other end for a long time, and the channel was in an uproar because of what I said just now. Most people were against it, so I made up my mind and directly transferred the management authority to Du Yexing - which meant that the king of Hanyan Country was now Du Yexing.
After doing this, I sighed in my heart and was about to log off, but suddenly I received a message from Du Ye Xing, which only had one sentence.
“You have no idea what I want.”
I suddenly had a bad feeling, and before I could reply, the system suddenly displayed a striking red notification in the world channel.
[System] All good things must come to an end. The Hanyan Kingdom announces the dissolution of the kingdom, and its members go their separate ways!
My head exploded.
Disband? He actually...disbanded the Hanyan Kingdom?
This sudden news shocked the entire server, and the world channel was like boiling water, instantly becoming a mess. My mailbox kept ringing, probably all inquiries from the Kingdom members. But I just sat in front of the computer motionlessly, with the words on the screen reflected in my eyes.
——You have no idea what I want.
He is right.
I had no idea what he wanted, so I repeatedly made him angry, so angry that he finally began to hate me. Hanyan Country was the hard work of my brother and I for many years, but he destroyed it without a second thought, and completely shattered the last possibility of our reconciliation.
Suddenly, I found that my eyes were blurry. I wiped my tears with my hands and found that I was in tears. I vaguely heard the sound of the door opening, and a pair of warm hands fell on my face, carefully wiping away the tears on my face.
"Brother, I'm sorry." I choked and my tears flowed into my mouth, so bitter. "Hanyan Country is gone, gone... It's all my fault... It's all my fault!"
"This is not your fault." The brother's voice was very soft, but it made people feel at ease and calm. "Xiaotong, remember, no matter what, I support your decision."
The pair of warm hands patted my shoulders comfortingly. I buried my head in my brother's arms. After a moment, sad cries rang out in the room...