Chapter 37 – The Second World 2

hope everyone had a safe and happy thanksgiving if you celebrate it. this chapter touches on some heavy topics very briefly so read with caution. enjoy and happy reading!

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When Chu Shici saw the clock showing six in the morning, he thought Mingzhe was getting up so early to go to school.

 

The man had already left, and in the electric cooker in the kitchen was the porridge he had made.

 

Mingzhe quietly finished his meal, put the leftover vegetable porridge and the two soft-boiled eggs he had made into a thermos lunch box.

 

Chu Shici sat on his shoulder and turned to look at the time. “It’s already seven o’clock. Can you make it to school?”

 

Before he could finish speaking, Mingzhe took him down.

 

Mingzhe stood on tiptoe and took out an iron box from the refrigerator, placing a dry biscuit in front of him and pouring a small bottle cap of soy milk.

 

“I don’t have to go to school on Saturdays. I’m going to the hospital to visit my grandmother.”

 

He didn’t mean to take Chu Shici with him, so he squatted in front of him and repeatedly advised him not to wander around.

 

The door closed again, and Chu Shici sat at the dining table, nibbling on the biscuit.

 

He had no teeth or tongue, he just chewed it as a plaything.

 

The house seemed not that old, but it was really rundown now that the light was on. The wall was moldy and dusty. It had rained heavily last night, and water seeped into the kitchen near the window. On the wall, there was a dishcloth placed on the tiled floor by a man surnamed Liu to wipe up the water.

 

They must have tried to save money during the renovation and didn’t hire professional craftsmen. They used inferior materials and did it themselves, but they didn’t understand it well, so it became damp and moldy.

 

The cabinets and tables were all handmade, using the cheapest wood boards. There weren’t many decent pieces of furniture, indicating that Uncle Liu was not well-off.

 

A calendar hung on the wall, with “July 2006” written on it. The dates were not circled, and Chu Shici couldn’t guess what day it was.

 

The house had two bedrooms and a living room, with poor orientation and a messy layout. Only the master bedroom had a little exposure to the sun. The living room and the second bedroom where Mingzhe was located were completely blocked by the neighboring building, so they never saw sunlight throughout the year.

 

Even during the daytime, the house felt gloomy.

 

The refrigerator kept humming, and it was unclear how many hands it had passed through. Its surface was covered in stains, and there was a foul smell inside. The bathroom was a red plastic basin, where Mingzhe usually took a bath. Next to the toilet, there was a large red bucket filled with flattened plastic bottles.

 

Chu Shici flew a few circles in the room, and the system chatted in his mind: 【Isn’t this an elevator building? Why does Uncle Liu’s house look so poor?】

 

“Maybe they bought the house with a loan to settle down in the city.”

 

【But if they don’t have money, why did they buy such an expensive house?】

 

“This house isn’t that expensive if you look outside. Apart from this residential area, there are many small bungalows nearby, and it seems like there are several unfinished buildings over there. There are very few cars on the road, and I didn’t see any malls or schools. It must have been a market miscalculation, trying to drive up housing prices. But things didn’t turn out as they expected here, and it didn’t develop. It’s a bit considerate, at least they finished building the towers, so they didn’t rot here; otherwise, it would have been troublesome to fight for their rights.”

 

He leaned by the window and looked outside. “There aren’t many cars parked downstairs, and the people in this building probably aren’t wealthy. Mingzhe’s family can’t even rent out their house; hardly anyone comes here.”

 

【How do you know so much?】

 

“I lived in this kind of building too. The property management doesn’t do their job, and the residents’ cultural level isn’t high enough to think about reporting or fighting for their rights. My stepmother always argues with my dad, saying that they didn’t choose the house properly and ended up buying one in such a remote location, inconvenient for going anywhere. They had a fight, but it’s just that they moved to the city recently and got fooled because they were poor and ignorant.”

 

After flying around the house, Chu Shici returned to the second bedroom.

 

On the wall of Mingzhe’s bedroom were several celebrity posters and a few anime stickers.

 

Chu Shici didn’t recognize any of the people on them. This was a world generated by the novel, and it had significant differences from reality.

 

Mingzhe seemed to have the habit of not carrying a cellphone and left it by his pillow.

 

It was an old-fashioned phone, probably not a color screen. It didn’t have many functions, mainly used for making and receiving calls and sending text messages.

 

This phone, with its worn-out buttons and paint, was probably an old phone discarded by his parents, given to him for convenience.

 

Bored and idle, Chu Shici leaned on Mingzhe’s phone and played Tetris for a while.

 

Just as he stared at the pixel blocks on the phone, holding his breath and trying to poke into the gaps, the phone suddenly rang.

 

The sound was loud, and Chu Shici was startled and flew in place.

 

He covered his heart and looked down. It was a new message.

 

The sender was a series of numbers, and the content consisted of only one sentence, 【#Why haven’t you died?#】

 

Chu Shici tilted his head in confusion.

 

After a while, another message arrived, 【#Why didn’t you jump off the building?#】

 

Chu Shici didn’t understand what was going on and didn’t dare to reply randomly.

 

Then the phone rang twice more. He was really curious and opened them one by one to check.

 

【#Don’t think that just because you don’t reply to messages, we don’t know you’re still alive.#】

 

【#Now everyone knows you’re a fraud, Mingzhe.#】

 

Afterward, the phone returned to calm.

 

Chu Shici looked bewildered and asked the system, “Was this part in the original text?”

 

The system was also confused. 【The original male protagonist makes his appearance at the age of 16, but the current male protagonist is only 12. It’s impossible for such a plot to exist in the book.】

 

Judging from the tone of the messages, it was clear that the person on the other side had sent messages to Mingzhe before.

 

Chu Shici opened the inbox, but there was no message inside. Mingzhe probably deleted them all.

 

Anyone with a brain would find something fishy about this.

 

Chu Shici and the system looked at each other for a while, wanting to discuss but unable to find a starting point.

 

However, from those few messages, it was evident that someone was urging Mingzhe to commit suicide.

 

Someone wanted him dead.

 

…

 

At four o’clock in the afternoon, the old main door opened once again.

 

Mingzhe returned, looking weary and with a grim expression on his face.

 

When Chu Shici flew over upon hearing the sound, he saw Mingzhe leaning against the wall, retching.

 

Chu Shici was startled. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

 

Mingzhe spoke softly, “Motion sickness.”

 

As he got closer, Chu Shici caught a strong smell of smoke from him.

 

He stood on Mingzhe’s shoulder. “Where did you go after leaving the hospital? You smell like smoke.”

 

Mingzhe paused in his footsteps. “Someone was smoking on the bus.”

 

His voice remained flat, and his expression unchanged.

 

But his eyes were evasive, clearly lying.

 

Chu Shici flew in front of him and crossed his arms. “A pool hall? An arcade? A disco? An ice-skating rink? A mahjong parlor?”

 

Mingzhe didn’t react.

 

“A cybercafe, then? You went to a cybercafe.”

 

Mingzhe took out a set of old clothes from the wardrobe, preparing to change.

 

Chu Shici landed on his wrist. “You went to an illegal internet cafe.”

 

Mingzhe blinked his eyes rapidly, and his ears turned slightly red. “No, someone was smoking on the bus.”

 

His lying skills were terrible, even the system could see through his abnormality.

 

Due to family reasons, Chu Shici had been rebellious during his teenage years and had been to all sorts of shady places. In illegal internet cafes, they would bring their own pile of fake IDs. As a minor, all they needed to do was say how long they wanted to play, pay the money, and they could directly enter.

 

The fees were low, only a few bucks for an entire night. But the place was dirty and messy, filled with all kinds of people.

 

Chu Shici had been there a few times and often encountered thugs and perverts because he had a face that was easy to deceive. He had a very negative impression of the place and would rather sleep on the streets when he ran away from home than spend the night there.

 

Mingzhe looked left and right, a well-behaved child to the extreme. Why would he go there?

 

Perhaps knowing that he was not good at lying, Mingzhe changed into his new clothes and headed to the kitchen with a gloomy expression.

 

He walked ahead, and Chu Shici flew behind, chasing after him and advising, “An illegal internet cafe is not a good place. The people inside are very mixed. You’re only 12 years old. What if you encounter bad people? Fights break out there, and no one will intervene. When you grow up, go to a legitimate internet cafe at least. They are clean, well-ventilated, and have good fire safety systems. Fires easily happen in illegal internet cafes, and it’s difficult for people to escape in case of a fire.”

 

Chu Shici kept rambling on, giving various examples, and persuaded Mingzhe for over half an hour.

 

Mingzhe, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly lowered his head and whispered, “I don’t like it either.”

 

Chu Shici was taken aback. “If you don’t like it, why would you still go? Your pocket money is already limited. Is someone forcing you?”

 

Mingzhe skillfully plucked the green beans. “No.”

 

“Then why did you go?”

 

Mingzhe fell silent again. He tightly pursed his lips, and his eyelashes kept fluttering.

 

No matter how much Chu Shici pressed for an answer, he refused to say another word.

 

The system sighed, 【It’s useless to ask. His Vitality level is too low, and the little kid is shutting himself off.】

 

Chu Shici observed Mingzhe’s expression. “It’s not just about the Vitality level. It seems like he has some hidden difficulties.”

 

…

 

Mingzhe’s dinner was a stew of green beans and potatoes, without a single piece of meat.

 

As Chu Shici was growing up, he pondered how he could get some meat for Mingzhe considering his own current form.

 

The bedroom door was broken, so Mingzhe brought a chair to block it.

 

He grabbed Chu Shici, who was flying around him, and pulled off his head, replacing it with a new body.

 

The new body was made of black modeling clay, with red underwear and a red cape, all changed to black.

 

Mingzhe made a quick measurement and drew a circle on the chest of the miniature figure, writing a capital ‘M’ inside it.

 

Chu Shici stared blankly at the yellow ‘M’ on his chest, and the system laughed hysterically in his mind.

 

【DC’s Superman has an ‘S’ on his chest, but you, you have an ‘M.’ This little shota is truly talented, it cracks me up. He actually sees your yellow nature through your innocent appearance.】

 

Chu Shici raised his head in confusion. “Xiaozhe, what does this ‘M’ mean?”

 

Mingzhe wiped the paint off his hands. “The first letter of ‘Ming.'”

 

He paused and picked up a piece of drawing paper from the table. “Your current appearance is designed by me. Unique, exclusively mine, a little Superman just for me.”

 

While saying this, Mingzhe’s eyes became slightly teary.

 

He picked up Chu Shici and stared into his dot-like eyes. “You belong to me.”

 

Earlier this morning, Mingzhe hadn’t been like this.

 

Chu Shici didn’t know what happened outside, but after coming back, Mingzhe became even more sensitive and restless.

 

Chu Shici soothingly touched his fingers. “Do you have something on your mind? It’s okay, Xiaozhe. I’ll be with you all the time.”

 

It was a simple sentence, but Mingzhe’s energy level instantly increased by 5 points.

 

The system shook its head in amazement. 【Indeed, he’s just a child. So easy to coax.】

 

Mingzhe repeatedly touched the miniature figure’s head, and Chu Shici rubbed against his finger.

 

Mingzhe remained silent for a long time, then brought Chu Shici close to his mouth and gave his little clay face a kiss.

 

The system exclaimed, 【I just witnessed that up close! Rounded up, it’s a shota kiss! Ah, expressionless little shota, so adorable.】

 

“Bro, calm down.”

 

【Your mouth is almost flying to the sky, what qualifications do you have to say that to me?】

 

“I couldn’t help it either, being kissed by an adorable kid. That’s the joy of raising a child.”

 

【Don’t call me “male mommy.”】

 

“…”

 

Su Zheyan was a boring adult who wouldn’t play with a little robot.

 

Mingzhe, being a 12-year-old child, brought the clay figurine onto the bed. Kissing and touching it, as if wanting to be attached to his little Superman.

 

Chu Shici didn’t need to do anything, and his Vitality level gradually increased.

 

Mingzhe lay on his side on the bed, his face fixedly looking at Chu Shici without turning away. “My parents don’t want me.”

 

“?”

 

“I’ve been living here for two years, and they only come to see me on holidays.”

 

“Maybe it’s inconvenient for them to come from another city.”

 

“They’re not in another city, just on the other side of this city. It takes several buses, about four hours.”

 

Chu Shici widened his eyes in astonishment. “In this city?”

 

Mingzhe nodded. “Today, my grandmother told me their address, so I went to find them. I told them that Uncle Liu hit me, and I wanted to go home.”

 

“What did they say?”

 

Mingzhe didn’t answer, he just covered his head with the blanket. From under the blanket, Chu Shici could hear his suppressed sobbing.

 

Chu Shici crawled into the blanket to comfort him.

 

In the darkness, Mingzhe’s barely audible sobbing could be heard.

 

“They said I was an accident, that they didn’t originally want me.”

 

He only said that one sentence and remained quietly wiping away his tears.

 

Chu Shici patted his back, wanting to give him some comfort.

 

In fact, since that phone call yesterday, Chu Shici could tell that Mingzhe’s parents didn’t care about him.

 

They probably knew about him being beaten but didn’t care and didn’t want to get involved, pretending to be ignorant.

 

The system had already set up the side quest.

 

Headquarters replied again, 【Side quest submission failed.】

 

The system scratched its head. 【The male lead’s Vitality level has plummeted to negative values, and it’s not because of being abandoned by his parents?】

 

Chu Shici pondered for a while and thought of another possibility.

 

Young children lack self-defense abilities and need adults to be by their side in order to grow up safely.

 

Mingzhe, who had just turned twelve, his parents left, was taken care of by Uncle Liu. Uncle Liu would either hit or scold Mingzhe and never provide him with any sense of safety.

 

Without the protection of an adult and lacking a support system, with limited access to information due to the underdeveloped internet at the time, Mingzhe’s daily routine consisted of only home and school, leaving him with very few sources of information.

 

He had limited exposure to self-defense knowledge.

 

At a time like this, if someone took advantage of the situation, it would be easy to gain a child’s trust, and Mingzhe would unquestioningly listen to the only adult around him willing to extend a helping hand.

 

Chu Shici became extremely concerned.

 

When Mingzhe’s emotions stabilized a bit, Chu Shici nervously held his finger and asked, “Have you encountered any strange people?”

 

Mingzhe had cried for a while but quickly calmed down.

 

From his reaction, it could be inferred that he didn’t have a close relationship with his parents.

 

Mingzhe stuck his head out to take a few breaths of fresh air, and his voice regained its calmness. “Such as?”

 

Chu Shici flew in front of him and gestured to his own body. “For example, pedophiles, those perverts who like to touch children inappropriately. Sometimes they might ask others to touch them too.”

 

Mingzhe shook his head. “I dislike close physical contact with people.”

 

“Has anyone fed you strange things, like powder or small pills?”

 

“I don’t eat things with unknown origins.”

 

“Has anyone instilled strange thoughts in you? For example, believing in supernatural beings and promising happiness. Or listening to someone’s words, claiming that you’ll have a good life.”

 

Mingzhe furrowed his brow and contemplated. “…No.”

 

“Really? None at all?”

 

Mingzhe pondered for a few more seconds and finally affirmed, “None at all.”

 

Chu Shici felt that something was off.

 

…

 

After playing with the little Superman for a while, Mingzhe also saw the messages on his phone.

 

His expression instantly became complicated.

 

Chu Shici floated behind him, sneaking a peek and seeing him send a reply to the other person: “Don’t bother me.”

 

Then he proceeded to delete all the received messages.

 

Chu Shici asked him about the messages, and Mingzhe slightly turned his head and said “I don’t know.”

 

The system clicked its tongue. “His ears turned red. He’s lying.”

 

Based on Mingzhe’s various behaviors, Chu Shici felt that he hadn’t been influenced by anyone.

 

Although his life was difficult, his mind was clear.

 

The abandonment by his parents and the abuse from Uncle Liu had indeed caused him great sadness and psychological trauma.

 

But he was able to temporarily adjust his emotions within a short period of time.

 

Last night, after being beaten up badly and waking up from sleep, he regained his normal state of mind.

 

He spent the whole day searching for his biological parents and learned that they didn’t care about his well-being. He cried in bed for a while, but quickly calmed down.

 

These experiences, in Chu Shici’s view, were like a living hell, but they didn’t seem to have a significant impact on him.

 

According to Mingzhe, he grew up in the countryside with his grandparents.

 

He only returned to his parents’ side after his grandfather passed away and his grandmother was hospitalized. His parents took care of him for less than two years in total.

 

Their relationship was not close, and when he was being beaten, he instinctively sought help from his mother.

 

When Chu Shici first arrived in this world, Mingzhe was preparing to commit suicide.

 

Before Uncle Liu returned home, Mingzhe had repaired Chu Shici’s body, still intending to jump off the building.

 

This suicide plan was interrupted by Uncle Liu’s sudden return, and Mingzhe didn’t go through with it. Instead, he received a beating.

 

Mingzhe was indeed afraid of being beaten by Uncle Liu, but the long-term abuse wasn’t the direct cause of his suicidal thoughts. At most, it worsened his psychological issues.

 

Otherwise, last night, when Uncle Liu fell asleep, the protagonist wouldn’t have chosen to simply go to sleep but would have jumped out the window to end his life.

 

The pressure from Uncle Liu and his parents didn’t crush Mingzhe. He didn’t have much hope for these three individuals in the first place.

 

He had the courage to go alone from one end of the city to the other to file a complaint against his parents as soon as he learned their address. It showed that he was obedient but not weak.

 

Mingzhe held a secret in his heart, and after being free from the protection of adults, he encountered something.

 

It could be due to concerns, or it could be for other reasons. He can’t tell his parents, nor can he tell his little Superman.

 

And this secret has already shattered his mental defenses, pushing him to the edge of the cliff.

 

Chu Shici’s message appeared on Mingzhe’s phone, “Xiaozhe, I’m your little Superman. If you have anything on your mind, you can tell me.I won’t betray your secret.”

 

Mingzhe lowered his gaze, deep in thought.

 

He seemed to have gone through a difficult psychological struggle. “It’s not just my secret alone, I can’t say it.”

 

If the most challenging part of the first world was the mastermind having complete control and causing the timeline to become chaotic, resulting in the loss of a lot of information.

 

Then the difficulty of this world lies primarily within Mingzhe himself.

 

He was born into a twisted family and grew up in a harsh environment. He lacked a sense of security and became accustomed to hiding his troubles.

 

Coupled with his young age, his way of thinking is different from that of adults.

 

The same thing that adults wouldn’t bother about. But in the eyes of a child, it could be an insurmountable mountain.

 

The secret that was suffocating Mingzhe might be easily resolved if he just spoke up about it to Chu Shici.

 

Children have their own way of thinking, and Chu Shici, combining his past and present experiences, is a monster who has lived for over a hundred years.

 

He racked his brains but couldn’t fathom the thoughts of a 12-year-old child, especially one with psychological issues.

 

Chu Shici wanted to know what was on his mind, but first, he had to earn his trust.

 

Mingzhe likes him now and sees him as his one and only little Superman, but that’s about it.

 

Mingzhe doesn’t see him as an adult, so naturally, he wouldn’t think of relying on him.

 

Chu Shici flew in front of Mingzhe and pinched his tender cheek.

 

“System, do you think what he’s facing is really a big deal? Those messages made me very uncomfortable; someone is urging him to commit suicide.”

 

【I’m not sure. All I know is that he’s quite pitiful. He doesn’t even have someone to confide in; he carries everything on his own.】

 

Smelling the lingering scent of smoke on Mingzhe, Chu Shici sighed.

 

“Perhaps it’s not that he doesn’t have someone to confide in, but rather that I’m not that person.”

 

…

Around 8:30 PM, the main door was pushed open again.

 

Uncle Liu came back carrying a large black bag. He entered the house and warmly greeted, “Xiaozhe, Uncle bought pork and hairtail fish. I’ll make braised pork and pan-fried fish for you later.”

 

Mingzhe stayed silent in the bedroom, hiding.

 

Chu Shici, who was discussing with the system, looked suspiciously at the wooden door.

 

“Has that beast changed its nature?”

 

【I have no idea.】

 

The aroma of the food drifted in through the cracks, and Uncle Liu called from outside, “Xiaozhe, come and eat. Uncle also bought  rolls today. Don’t you love eating rolls the most?”

 

Under his repeated urging, Mingzhe reluctantly stepped out of the room.

 

Chu Shici grabbed a shirt and hung it on Mingzhe’s back as they entered the living room together.

 

Dinner was plentiful with two meat dishes and three vegetable dishes, plus a small plate specifically filled with sliced rolls.

 

Uncle Liu poured a glass of cola for Mingzhe. The face that was hideous yesterday had become friendly today.

 

Mingzhe sat across from him, eating quietly, while Uncle Liu occasionally picked pieces of meat for him.

 

When they had almost finished eating, Uncle Liu suddenly apologized, “Uncle drank too much last night, and the work pressure has been high lately. I couldn’t control my emotions for a moment and accidentally hit you. Sorry, Xiaozhe, can you forgive Uncle?”

 

Mingzhe made a sound of agreement.

 

Uncle Liu approached and hugged him. “Where are you hurt? Uncle will apply medicine for you. Don’t dwell on what happened yesterday. If Uncle didn’t like you, why would he spend money to support you and buy you delicious food? In a few days, it’s your birthday, and Uncle will take you to the amusement park to ride roller coasters.”

 

Mingzhe wanted to break free, but Uncle Liu held him tightly.

 

He pushed Mingzhe onto the sofa and started talking about his own difficulties, hugging him and bursting into tears.

 

“Don’t blame Uncle, Uncle didn’t mean it. Xiaozhe, doesn’t Uncle usually treat you well, caring for you like a son? Your parents don’t have time to take care of you; it’s always Uncle who takes care of you. Don’t be angry with Uncle, okay?”

 

Mingzhe’s body stiffened.

 

Uncle Liu continued to talk incessantly in his ear, and Chu Shici listened beside them, feeling a chill in his heart.

 

The points Uncle Liu made in his words could be summarized into three main arguments.

 

“Your parents don’t want you anymore; only I take care of you. Without me, you wouldn’t even have enough food to eat.”

 

“Even though I hit you, I didn’t mean to. It’s all the fault of alcohol, not Uncle’s fault. I’m also pitiful. You need to learn to understand.”

 

“I will treat you well as long as you don’t talk about me hitting you. Adults only like obedient and well-behaved children. If you dare to spread rumors, I will kill you.”

 

Chu Shici couldn’t believe that there were people in the world brainwashing a 12-year-old child.

 

The room was dark, and the TV across the sofa played an advertisement made with catchy songs.

 

Mingzhe was firmly held down, unable to escape.

 

Forced to listen to Uncle Liu repeatedly saying in his ear how much he loved him, more than his own parents.

 

Mingzhe closed his eyes.

 

His parents said they loved him, but once they considered him a burden, they threw him away.

 

Uncle Liu said he loved him, but every time he was in a bad mood, he would beat him mercilessly.

 

He couldn’t find anyone to trust in this world, and he felt exhausted.

 

Uncle Liu continued to forcefully instill nonsensical reasoning, while Mingzhe just wanted to quickly go back and do his homework.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small dark figure flying past Uncle Liu’s head. His little Superman floated in mid-air and shot a laser beam towards Uncle Liu’s head.

 

Uncle Liu, who already had little hair, instantly caught fire.

 

He panicked and screamed, giving the opportunity for the little Superman to dive into Mingzhe’s pocket.

 

Mingzhe reached out to touch him, watching Uncle Liu cover his head and rush into the bathroom.

 

He pursed his lips, revealing a faint smile, and took out Chu Shici, giving him a kiss before standing up and returning to the bedroom.

 

How great would it be if the little Superman was a human?

 

Then he wouldn’t have to be afraid.

 

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