Prodigy’s Playground

Chapter 172.1 Diary

“The police over in the U.S. were extremely cooperative with us, because they had similar scholar-murder cases on their side too, and in the end it was proven—

just as the intelligence you provided at the very beginning suggested, all of those cases were indeed carried out by the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.”

A few days later, inside the Donghai City Public Security Bureau, in the police office, Jiang Ran sat face-to-face with Officer Liu.

“The mastermind behind all of this was also the target we had previously locked onto—that billionaire tycoon and top scholar—

Wu Yuanzheng.”

Officer Liu leaned back against his chair. “Across the entire world, the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets probably has over twenty thousand members. But the core members—the ones qualified to meet the Priest and receive missions—number fewer than a hundred.”

“So their secrecy work was excellent. Under normal circumstances, the investigation should never have gone this smoothly. But the unexpected part was that on that private jet at Jiaxing Nanhu Airport, there happened to be an investigation report on Wu Yuanzheng aboard it. It gave us a lot of key clues, which is how we were able to crack the case so quickly.”

At that, Officer Liu sighed. “Still, I have to admit, a cunning rabbit has more than one burrow. We had been secretly tracking Wu Yuanzheng the whole time, but in the end they still played us. They used a Rolls-Royce to lure us to Pudong Airport and pulled a classic diversion.”

“This really was our oversight. Thinking about it carefully, if Wu Yuanzheng had already decided to flee and had already noticed we were investigating him, why would he continue using his own private jet and apply for an air corridor under his own name?”

“But I have to say, Wu Yuanzheng really was unbelievably resourceful—Jiaxing Nanhu Airport had only just been completed and still wasn’t open to the public. We consulted the airport officials, and they said flights and passengers weren’t scheduled until December. Right now it’s still in the internal preparation phase.”“It’s honestly hard to imagine how Wu Yuanzheng managed to get another private jet into Jiaxing Nanhu Airport, let alone how he solved the air-route issue.”

Jiang Ran listened in silence.

He had absolutely no doubt that Wu Yuanzheng could pull something like that off.

In fact, it didn’t even require someone as powerful as Wu Yuanzheng.

Just Zhou Xiong alone, back at this summer’s class reunion, had been able to settle something like this with [a single phone call].

That’s right.

Just one phone call.

Only, that call had been placed to [Lilith].

Based on the current clues, it wasn’t hard to infer that Wu Yuanzheng—that is, the Priest—must also possess a special phone just like Zhou Xiong’s. This phone could not only contact [Lilith], but also make these absurd wishes come true.

In the future prison of 2045, the Killer Fang Yang had once said that he took a [Princess Coin] from Zhou Xiong, and he was equally certain that the Priest carried a [King Coin].

Back then, Jiang Ran had already started to suspect that perhaps “Priest” was only an internal title within the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets, while Wu Yuanzheng’s true identity inside Prodigy’s Playground should actually be the King.

But a few days ago, when the police specialists examined the scene of Wu Yuanzheng’s death, they discovered two lumps of charred plastic on the ground. Judging by the curled, shriveled state, before they were burned they should have been two flat, coin-shaped objects.

Which made things interesting.

Wu Yuanzheng had actually possessed two coins.

That made it highly likely that one was a Priest Coin and the other a King Coin—but which one truly belonged to him remained a mystery.

After all.

No matter how much one talked about it.

Up to this point, everything regarding Prodigy’s Playground, the game members, and the identity coins mostly came from Jiang Ran’s own deductions and guesses. There was hardly any hard evidence at all.

He had only inferred, based on the stolen setting book, the script being bought out at an astronomical price, and Zhou Xiong contacting Lilith right in front of him, that all those edgy middle-school settings he once made up had somehow become real in the actual world.

If the real world truly did contain a game called [Prodigy’s Playground], just like the fantasies in his setting book—

…

Then did it also contain the [11 members] he had originally designed back in middle school?

To reveal that answer, he would probably have to keep digging for more intelligence himself.

But there was no need to question one thing: Wu Yuanzheng absolutely had a way to contact Lilith, and he must also have used a similar method to fulfill his followers’ wishes, allowing him to maneuver through every matter with ease and cover the sky with one hand.

For example, the very thing Officer Liu couldn’t understand right now—

how could a plane enter an airport that hadn’t even officially opened yet?

For an ordinary person, that might be impossible.

But Jiang Ran had already witnessed Lilith’s capabilities at the class reunion.

Something this trivial would naturally be effortless.

“Then—do you have any leads regarding the killer who murdered Wu Yuanzheng?”

Jiang Ran asked the question he cared about most. “When we went to the scene a few days ago, it was already clear that both Wu Yuanzheng and the middle-aged man with him had been shot to death.”

“After investigating for so long, there’s still no clue at all about that killer? Even the slightest thing would help—age, build, motive, anything.”

However.

Officer Liu shook his head helplessly. “This is another unbelievable part of the case. We can’t find a single clue related to that killer.”

“It’s too strange. It’s almost like… there was an extremely capable team behind the scenes helping him clean up all traces.”

“He came clean, and he left clean. Not the slightest thread was left behind.”

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

So this kind of cleanup, exaggerated to the point of incomprehensibility… was that Lilith’s doing too?

If that really was the case, then the person who killed Wu Yuanzheng was most likely also a member of Prodigy’s Playground!

Who could it be—

[The Magician].

That codename was the first thing Jiang Ran thought of.

And it happened to be Qin Feng, the one beheaded on the execution platform in 2045.

It wasn’t because he had any real confidence.

It was simply because, within this organization called Prodigy’s Playground that seemed increasingly likely to be real, he only knew four codenames: King, Priest, Princess, and Magician.

Of those four, the first three were already dead.

That left only one possible suspect—

Qin Feng, the Magician.

So now, in 2025, at only twenty years old, had Qin Feng already become the Magician?

Wouldn’t that mean Qin Feng also possessed Lilith?

At the thought of his old friend’s name and silhouette, Jiang Ran felt no horror, no lingering fear.

Instead, he felt a trace of safety.

A trace of warmth.

So far, the Qin Feng of Worldline 1, aside from stealing his setting book, had never done anything to harm him.

Not only that, Qin Feng had appeared at Donghai University at the critical moment and delivered the key information that allowed him to uncover the truth about Cheng Mengxue.

Calling it indirectly saving his life would not be an exaggeration.

So… was Priest Wu Yuanzheng really killed by Magician Qin Feng?

Jiang Ran couldn’t be sure.

Because there had to be other players in this game.

There was no way there were only four.

But—

if it really was Qin Feng…

[Was he doing it to protect me? Or to save Cheng Mengxue?]

No idea.

Jiang Ran truly understood nothing.

He felt like an ant falling into a whirlpool, tugged and pulled by forces from every side, merely drifting with the current—

never once truly seated at the card table.

Jiang Ran knew this clearly.

Qin Feng did not possess a physique like All-Spacetime Memory.

There was absolutely no way he could hold memories from Worldline 0.

Yet even under those circumstances, he still remembered the friendship between the three of them and worked tirelessly for it—

how exactly had he done that?

He himself had once said that emotions between people come from shared experiences.

Could it be that Qin Feng had truly acknowledged the iron triangle friendship of Worldline 0 based on nothing more than that single 70-character text message?

Jiang Ran was gradually realizing that neither the cause nor the truth of all this was simple.

Qin Feng must also have his own suffering.

His own predicament.

His own helplessness.

“Qin Feng, I still keep my word.”

Jiang Ran murmured softly.

Just as he had promised his two closest friends in Worldline 0:

“No matter how the worldline changes, I will never abandon either of you.”

“No matter what the temporal butterfly effect turns our relationship into, I will definitely find both of you again and restore everything, just like it is now.”

This promise.

No matter what.

Would remain valid forever.

Seeing Jiang Ran lower his head in silence, Officer Liu picked up his teacup and took a sip, smacking his lips.

—

“No matter what, thanks to the investigative materials left behind by that killer, we were able to solve the case this smoothly and wipe out this transnational criminal syndicate.”

“But in the final analysis, fighting violence with violence is still wrong. Since this is within Dragon Country, the laws of Dragon Country must be obeyed. Our police being temporarily powerless is not a justification for talented vigilantes to carry out private executions.”

“The real world isn’t Hollywood with superheroes flying everywhere. We’d rather capable people cooperate with us than resolve things through violence on their own.”

“In comparison, Jiang Ran, your choice was the right one. You chose to trust and support us. But that day at Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery, we failed to protect you—honestly, I feel deeply guilty, and I’m very sorry.”

Jiang Ran shook his head. “It’s fine. After all, who could’ve expected they’d use a sniper rifle to kill me?”

When Fang Yang killed Zhou Xiong, he used a heavy truck.

When Old Tian killed Xiao Mohan, he used a handgun.

So why, when it came to him, had it suddenly escalated into a sniper rifle from 1,200 meters away?

That was giving him way too much credit.

A super-long-range sniper shot from 1,200 meters—

even in fiction, that would count as king-of-soldiers level, wouldn’t it?

Using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken.

“Ah.”

Officer Liu sighed. “It’s just a pity that in the end, we still failed to catch that sniper. Somehow, he slipped away just as inexplicably.”

“Even though this case was successfully solved, I’m still extremely dissatisfied with both the process and the outcome. I think the Donghai police still need to improve, work harder, and tighten every gap.”

“Criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated these days. That means we need an even sharper sense of crisis and urgency. If the devil rises a foot, the righteous path must rise ten! We can’t let these demons and monsters toy with us like this again!”

It was obvious.

Officer Liu was angry, furious—

and helpless.

Jiang Ran didn’t blame him for failing to protect him or failing to catch the sniper.

Because Jiang Ran knew in his heart.

The opponent standing across from them was not an ordinary human—

but the legendary all-powerful [Lilith].

Even now, Jiang Ran still firmly believed this was a scientific world.

But believing in science did not mean denying that, within the scope of science, something like Lilith could exist.

A moment later.

Officer Liu pulled open a drawer and took out a thick stack of bound printouts, looking at Jiang Ran.

“Lastly, we’ve also finished investigating that girl’s case.”

After a pause, he continued, “That girl was indeed not your childhood sweetheart, Cheng Mengxue.”

“Her name is [Li Yini], from Yancheng, Jiangsu, born in 2004, a little older than you and Cheng Mengxue.”

“She was once a student at the Imperial Capital Police University. Later, in 2023, she withdrew and went to the U.S.”

“What happened after that gets pretty complicated. Honestly, it might even sound a little fantastical. Fortunately, we jointly arrested Doctor Garner with the U.S. police—you probably haven’t heard of him, but he’s extremely famous in the global medical field, the undisputed academic rising star of the last two years, once expected to become the youngest Nobel Prize winner in medicine.”

“But unfortunately, after being drawn into this case and becoming a criminal, he’ll probably never be qualified to touch the Nobel Prize.”

“Doctor Garner was actually very cooperative with the investigation. He confessed to every crime without resistance.”

“Heh, it’s a bit inappropriate for me to say this given my position, but privately speaking, after seeing the full picture, even I found it a little absurd.”

“Wu Yuanzheng’s life was indeed extraordinary, and he truly was brilliant. But maybe because of his age, maybe because there were too many things he couldn’t personally handle anymore, he recruited a lot of helpers and subordinates.”

“And that led to this—even though he himself never really exposed any flaws, the pig teammates around him still dragged him underwater one by one.”

“Naturally, that includes this girl, Li Yini—the girl who impersonated your childhood sweetheart Cheng Mengxue.”

“We’re fortunate that in the end, her conscience woke up and she pushed you away, taking that sniper bullet for you.”

“But a criminal is still a criminal. Pitying them is cruelty toward the victims.”

“What happened to Li Yini is extremely twisted and complicated. Listen carefully—I’ll tell you slowly.”

Knock knock knock!

Suddenly, there was a knock at the office door.

Officer Liu propped up his head. “Come in.”

The door opened, and a policewoman stepped in, saluting.

“Officer Liu, the inspectors from the Imperial Capital have arrived. Everyone is waiting in the conference room. We’re only missing you.”

“Huh?”

Officer Liu checked his watch. “Wasn’t the meeting supposed to start in half an hour?”

“Yes, Officer Liu, but… this case is so severe in nature, so widespread, and also international in scope, that the Imperial Capital side takes it very seriously. So they arrived early and hope the briefing can begin as soon as possible.”

“Oh, alright then.”

Officer Liu understood the situation and waved for the policewoman to step out first.

Then he turned back to Jiang Ran.

“Sorry, Jiang Ran. The timing is unfortunate. I probably won’t be able to explain the girl’s story to you personally.”

“But—I came prepared for that too. Look at this. I had this specially printed out.”

As he spoke, he handed the stack of materials over.

Jiang Ran took it and casually flipped through a few pages.

“This is… a diary?”

“That’s right.”

Officer Liu chuckled. “Otherwise, why do you think I said earlier that Wu Yuanzheng was surrounded by pig teammates who dragged him down?”

“This girl, Li Yini, loved writing in a diary from the time she was little. Though… it’s understandable.”

“I contacted the local police in Yancheng. They were all very familiar with Li Yini and her entire family.”

“Because back in 2010, Li Yini’s younger brother, Li Lele, was abducted by human traffickers—snatched away right in front of Li Yini herself.”

“After that, the whole family was constantly in and out of police stations, searching all across the country for Li Lele.”

“At this point, you really have to say this family is pitiful. Originally they lived very happily. Both parents were ordinary salaried workers. They were never rich, but they had enough to eat and wear, and they lived in happiness.”

“But ever since Li Lele was taken, the whole family fell apart. Everyone was hanging on by sheer willpower, hoping they could one day bring the child back.”

“Li Yini’s father quit his job and wandered the country aimlessly searching for his son.”

“Her mother searched with him for several years too, but later her body and spirit both gave out. She’s been hospitalized ever since, and even now she’s still lying in a hospital bed.”

“You tell me—those traffickers are absolute scum of the earth!”

Bang!

At the mention of traffickers, Officer Liu’s hatred flared. He slammed a fist onto the desk so hard that the teacup and fountain pen both bounced two or three inches into the air.

“Li Yini’s case changed, and her family shattered. If not for sheer faith holding them together, her mother probably wouldn’t even have survived until now.”

“So the reason Li Yini walked down this crooked path, believing the lies of the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets and Wu Yuanzheng, was also because of the psychological trauma caused by her brother’s disappearance.”

“Ah… a perfectly good family, just destroyed like that. Imperial Capital Police University was such a good place. After graduation she could’ve been assigned a stable position there. Li Yini should’ve had a good life.”

“And yet it still ended like this.”

Officer Liu glanced at the time on the desk clock and couldn’t stay any longer.

So he stood up and patted Jiang Ran on the shoulder.

“I need to go to the meeting.”

“The full truth is all in this copied diary. Read it slowly.”

“I specially copied this for you. I selected only the valuable diary entries and arranged them in chronological order. You’ll definitely be able to follow it.”

“But—promise me one thing, Jiang Ran.”

“This evidence itself isn’t enough to show outsiders, much less let it be copied out for you to take. But your contribution and everything you’ve done are obvious to everyone, so let’s not dwell on it.”

“After you finish reading it, burn this copy. Don’t let anyone else read it.”

With that, he got up, left the office, and headed for the meeting.

Jiang Ran also stood and left the Donghai City Public Security Bureau.

He hailed a cab outside.

And returned to Donghai University.

Donghai University, Film Camera Club activity room.

The moment he pushed the door open, he found Chi Xiaoguo bouncing around inside in a panic, shouting that they needed to call the police.

“Senior, senior! This is bad! Our Film Camera Club got robbed!”

She threw out both arms dramatically, motioning for Jiang Ran to look at the noticeably emptier club room.

“All those Rhine Cats Sister Meng rented are gone! They were stolen!”

Jiang Ran smiled faintly and motioned for her to calm down.

“There was no thief. I’m the one who took those Rhine Cats.”

“I mailed them to a little one in Hall Country.”

“You see, a few days ago, the little one had to rush back to Hall Country so suddenly that she didn’t have time to pack many of her things, so I’ve just been mailing them over for her bit by bit.”

It was a well-intentioned lie.

This criminal case involved multiple countries and multiple murders. It was far too complicated for the final official notice to be released anytime soon.

So, in order to maintain things for the time being—and also for Cheng Mengxue’s reputation—Jiang Ran decided to conceal the truth for now.

Two days earlier, Chi Xiaoguo had asked why, after the National Day holiday ended, she still hadn’t seen Cheng Mengxue, and why even WeChat messages wouldn’t go through.

Jiang Ran explained that something urgent had come up at the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S., forcing Cheng Mengxue to end her exchange program early and return immediately.

“Probably some issue with her student-status paperwork.”

Back then Jiang Ran had deliberately sounded relaxed, smiling as he explained to Chi Xiaoguo, “Those universities over in Hall Country pull all kinds of shady tricks. Maybe the little one’s admission qualifications were something her dad paid for.”

“But honestly, it’s not exactly something glorious to talk about, and she herself doesn’t really want people knowing, so just pretend you never heard it.”

“This whole thing will probably take a long time to sort out. I think… unless she comes back to the country someday, it’ll be hard for us to see her again at Donghai University.”

Hearing this, Chi Xiaoguo was shocked.

And after the shock came disappointment.

“Ah… I never thought one of our Four Heavenly Kings of the Film Camera Club would drop out this fast.”

“Heh.”

Jiang Ran let out a soft laugh. “It’s fine. Isn’t there a saying? The Four Heavenly Kings usually have five members anyway. Even if the little one left, we can always recruit new members whenever we need them later. I’ll help keep an eye out.”

At the end of the day, Chi Xiaoguo’s interactions with Cheng Mengxue only added up to a little over ten days at most.

So the matter didn’t affect her too deeply.

She calmly accepted the fact that Cheng Mengxue had returned to Hall Country.

As for the Rhine Cat disappearance incident—

that too was just another well-intentioned lie.

Yesterday, at Jiang Ran’s request, plainclothes officers from the Donghai police had quietly come to the Film Camera Club and taken away every single Rhine Cat.

Once they were brought back to the station, professionals immediately dismantled and inspected them.

Sure enough.

Many of the dolls contained wireless listening devices.

And inside four of the Rhine Cats, they even found pinhole cameras.

Looking at those precision devices laid out after disassembly, Jiang Ran genuinely felt a chill crawl up his spine.

Once again, he silently thanked his own “overcautiousness syndrome.”

It was precisely because of that worry that, ever since the Rhine Cat army had stationed itself in the club room, Jiang Ran had never once used the Positron Cannon there.

A blessing in disguise.

Otherwise, if the Positron Cannon and the trump card of time travel had been exposed, there was no telling what uncontrollable direction the story might have spiraled into.

Now that the Rhine Cat dolls had all been dismantled into pieces, there was naturally no way to restore them.

So he had simply told a small lie, saying the Rhine Cats had been returned to their original owner and mailed back to Cheng Mengxue in Hall Country.

As for the most expensive one of all—the rice-cooker Rhine Cat—

that one had been bought by Jiang Ran himself.

Logically, it should have been safe.

But still, because of his “overcautiousness syndrome,” Jiang Ran had also asked the Donghai police specialists to dismantle it.

Afterward, it turned out he really had been overly cautious.

The rice-cooker Rhine Cat was completely clean.

There was nothing hidden inside it.

The policewoman in charge of dismantling it happened to be a Rhine Cat fan herself, and couldn’t help sighing regretfully.

“What a pity. This rice-cooker Rhine Cat is really expensive. I checked secondhand sites two days ago, and the lowest asking price was already 10,000.”

Jiang Ran only smiled.

He said nothing.

What was done was done.

Even though this had been Cheng Mengxue’s favorite and most treasured Rhine Cat, Jiang Ran couldn’t shake the feeling that the thing was ominous.

On Worldline 0, not long after Cheng Mengxue got the rice-cooker Rhine Cat, the worldline transitioned and disaster struck.

On Worldline 1, the plot had unfolded almost the same way.

Again, not long after the rice-cooker Rhine Cat appeared, tragedy followed.

What exactly was the origin of this rice cooker?

Why did it feel like some cursed horcrux—

whoever touched it died?

So.

Better dismantled than kept.

Jiang Ran had never intended to bring this “cursed horcrux” back with him anyway.

“Ohhh, so that’s what happened.”

Once she heard the Rhine Cats hadn’t actually been stolen, Chi Xiaoguo finally relaxed.

“Then senior, I’m heading to class first~”

With that, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and left.

Click.

The club room door shut, leaving Jiang Ran standing alone in the familiar, unfamiliar, empty, and somehow sorrowful activity room.

So many things ended just like that, without warning—

just as suddenly as they had begun.

Just like this Film Camera Club room.

At first it had been shabby and abandoned.

Later it became clean and empty.

Then new members and the Rhine Cat army arrived, making it crowded.

And now, it had become bleak and empty once more.

Jiang Ran moved aside the shelf and looked at the cardboard box behind it.

He opened it.

Inside, the Positron Cannon lay safe and sound, just as it had through all those long stretches of time it once crossed.

What changed was always people and circumstances.

Time itself merely remained there, unmoving, silently watching all the world’s rise and ruin.

“Priest Wu Yuanzheng is dead. The Mutual Aid Society of Regrets has been dismantled. Then the Honglai Prison in 2045 should also undergo some changes, right?”

Jiang Ran guessed.

“Will Qin Feng still kneel on the execution platform and be beheaded?”

“Will the Killer still wait for luck inside Cell No. 5?”

“Will little prodigy Lu Yu become lucid again? Or maybe never go to prison at all?”

“And Sang Biao… Hothead… now that the masterminds coveting the spacetime shuttle are dead, will that prison itself still even exist?”

Jiang Ran blinked.

If that prison no longer existed, then the next time he used the Positron Cannon and traveled again, when he opened his eyes after the dizziness—

where would he be standing?

Who would he meet?

Just thinking about it made anticipation rise uncontrollably in his chest.

Only—

Officer Liu had warned him not to let his guard down yet.

Since there had been bugs hidden inside the Rhine Cat dolls, then in the rest of the club room, and even in Jiang Ran’s dormitory, there absolutely had to be more.

So he had arranged for another team to come tomorrow with professional scanning equipment.

They would sweep every place Jiang Ran frequented:

the classroom,

the lab,

the dormitory,

the club room—

everything.

They would make sure nothing was missed.

Naturally, Jiang Ran was more than happy to agree.

He couldn’t have asked for more.

As expected of a veteran investigator with forty years of experience, Officer Liu’s caution far surpassed even his own.

So since they had already waited this many days, another day or two made no difference.

Jiang Ran decided to wait until tomorrow’s police inspection confirmed there were no bugs or cameras anywhere.

Then he would contact Chi Xiaoguo and restart the Positron Cannon—

resuming their old secret operations.

“So then, now…”

He opened his handbag and took out the copied diary Officer Liu had given him.

These were excerpts from Li Shishi’s diary from years ago, personally copied by Officer Liu so Jiang Ran could understand the full truth behind the long and twisted story of Li Shishi Becoming Cheng Mengxue.

The reason Jiang Ran had brought it back was because he wanted to find a quiet moment and read it carefully.

After all—

every time he thought of what happened that day at Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery, and that dragonfly-light kiss on the Ferris wheel the other day—

his heart became a tangled storm of emotions.

Truth and falsehood.

Falsehood and truth.

Even though there was now already a conclusion,

beneath the facts of what was true and what was false, there still seemed to be something impossible to clearly explain.

Perhaps.

The answer.

Was right here in this diary.

Jiang Ran took off his coat, then practically collapsed backward onto the sofa, holding the thick diary in both hands.

The diary itself wasn’t heavy.

At most it was only a few thousand photocopied sheets.

What was heavy—

was a girl’s life over all these years.

Brilliant strands of sunlight spilled into the room, scattering shimmering reflections across the floor like the curved sea of a neon city at night.

Dust motes drifted in chaotic motion through the light, yet formed a single straight beam—

like a sword cleaving toward fate.

He took a deep breath.

Lowered his head.

And opened the first page.

[July 17, 2021. Weather: Rain.]

Today is my seventeenth birthday.

Just like every other year, I didn’t tell anyone.

No birthday party.

No birthday cake.

No gifts.

No blessings.

Dad is still drifting around Guizhou.

Mom is still lying in the hospital.

Yesterday Dad called and said I’m about to turn seventeen, that I’m already a grown girl now.

He transferred me 500 and told me to treat my friends to a meal, maybe go sing karaoke together.

But, just like every year before, I refused.

What right do I have to celebrate a birthday?

I hope this loneliness, this birthday where no one blesses me, can be my punishment.

My life should have stopped back when I was six.

This is the eleventh year since I last ate birthday cake.

And also the eleventh year since my younger brother was abducted by traffickers.

“Shishi, are you really not going to reconsider?”

At school, in the office, the vice principal and homeroom teacher spoke earnestly.

“This is an incredibly rare opportunity. A student as outstanding as you should be receiving an even better education at an even better university!”

“We sent your grades and award certificates to Cambridge, and your English also won first prize nationwide. They’re extremely eager to have you! They’re even planning to offer you a full scholarship!”

“This is absolutely unprecedented in our school. That’s Cambridge!”

“A Dragon Country high school junior receiving an olive branch from Cambridge—you absolutely must not miss this opportunity!”

However—

wearing her school uniform, Li Shishi shook her head.

“Thank you, Principal. Thank you, teacher.”

—

She bowed deeply in gratitude.

“But… I’ve already made up my mind about this. I’m sorry for making you all worry.”

After school, hospital ward.

Li Shishi held a fruit knife, peeling an apple for her mother.

Her mother stared blankly at the ceiling, eyes full of empty white light.

She had been like this for years.

Ever since she collapsed in the west while searching aimlessly across the country with Li Shishi’s father for her younger brother—

she had never left the ward again.

“Your teacher… your homeroom teacher… called this afternoon…”

Her mother’s voice was weak and intermittent.

“Shishi, Lele’s life is a life… but your life is also a life…”

“Your father and I will spend our entire lives searching for him. But you… you’re different. You’re his older sister, but you’re also still a child…”

“You mustn’t sacrifice your own life for your brother.”

Li Shishi shook her head.

“I was the one who lost Lele. If I go abroad, then how… how am I supposed to bring him home in the future?”

Even now, she still couldn’t forget the day her younger brother was snatched away.

That scene had become a nightmare that haunted her dreams every night.

She had been five.

Her brother wasn’t even two yet, still toddling and unable to run properly.

She had been holding his hand while playing outside.

It was her carelessness.

She had gradually wandered away from the crowded park and followed him into an alley.

Then suddenly, a man in sunglasses and a mask tried to snatch her brother.

She immediately pulled him into her arms and screamed for help.

But—

how could a five-year-old girl possibly resist an adult man?

The man violently tore her brother away, kicked her to the ground, then jumped into a van with him and sped off.

She chased after the van, crying and screaming, running and running.

Whenever she fell, she got back up and kept running.

Until the van disappeared from sight—

Ever since then, for all these years, every time she saw a van, her whole body trembled.

She couldn’t stop herself from peering through the windows.

Every little boy she saw on the street made her look twice, desperately hoping to find her brother’s shadow.

Countless times, Li Shishi would suddenly break down in tears, clutching her head and hating herself—

if only she had never taken her brother into that alley that day, he never would have disappeared.

“Shishi…”

On the hospital bed, her mother painfully turned her head to look at her precious daughter.

“Stop crying. Seeing you like this hurts your mother too.”

Li Shishi froze.

She hadn’t even realized she was already crying.

Quickly she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and forced a grin.

“Hehe, I’m fine, Mom. If I’m not going to Cambridge, then I’m not going. It’s too cold there anyway. I don’t like it at all.”

Her mother sighed, holding her daughter’s hand, eyes red.

“Shishi, don’t always blame yourself like this.”

“Your father and I… never blamed you.”

[August 11, 2022. Weather: Sunny.]

The admission notice arrived.

Imperial Capital Police University.

My gaokao score was more than enough to get in here.

It’s just a shame.

Even after getting into the best police university in all of Dragon Country—

I still haven’t gotten any closer to finding my brother.

“Shishi, congratulations.”

Her homeroom teacher smiled warmly, handing her the high school diploma and the class photo.

“I know what you’ve been thinking all this time. Your heart was always set on police university, so congratulations! Your wish came true. Your dream’s been realized!”

“Though with such a high score it really is a little regrettable, life choices are in your own hands. Teacher blesses you!”

“Thank you, teacher.”

Li Shishi accepted the materials and bowed gratefully.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me all these years. My father is never home because he’s always out searching for my brother. My mother has been bedridden for years too.”

“Our family’s financial situation isn’t good.”

—

“But teacher, you always found ways to help me. You got me hardship grants, and even topped up my meal card.”

“I actually knew all of that.”

“Teacher, I’m truly grateful.”

“Ahaha—”

As if caught doing something naughty, the homeroom teacher blushed and scratched their head.

“Well, that’s all just what a teacher should do!”

“Shishi, after you graduate, you’ll become one of the people’s police too. When that time comes, make sure you help others and do more righteous things!”

Li Shishi nodded, her gaze resolute.

“Don’t worry, teacher. I will definitely become a righteous police officer, bring all those criminals to justice, and protect the peace of the people!”

[September 9, 2023. Weather: Sunny.]

A few days ago, a hugely famous and powerful figure known across the world came to see me.

He said he wanted to invite me into a mutual aid society.

At first I thought it was the kind of mutual aid group formed by parents whose children had been trafficked, so I happily agreed.

People always say there’s strength in numbers.

If a figure that powerful helped, then the hope of finding Lele would definitely become much greater.

But who could have expected—

this mutual aid society was not the kind of family-search support group I imagined.

Instead, it was something with a very strange name:

the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.

“Li Shishi, I believe that during the gathering just now, you already witnessed the miracle I performed.”

Wu Yuanzheng sat in his chair, looking at the girl before him.

“The believers all call me Father… the Priest.”

“If you’re willing to join us, and let me help you mend your regrets, you may address me the same way.”

Li Shishi shook her head.

“Mr. Wu, thank you very much for your kindness, but…”

“You know that I’m a student at Imperial Capital Police University.”

“I cannot possibly participate in an organization with this kind of cult-like nature.”

“Please don’t mind me speaking bluntly, but a mutual aid society like yours is illegal.”

“I hope you can turn back before it’s too late and stop these activities immediately.”

“And besides, those so-called tricks of yours about healing regret are nothing more than the use of power, money, and connections.”

“It’s simply deception aimed at believers whose eyes have been blinded by regret.”