Song Jiaru was shocked. Big Brother actually even had the phone number of a business goddess like Lin Ruoxuan; that's too amazing!
She hurriedly took out her phone, dialed the number, and after a long waiting tone, ultimately only a cold and standard system notification came through:
"Sorry, the number you have dialed doesn't exist..."
Xu Yunzhou fell silent.
Doesn't exist?
Only a little over half a year had passed, and this private number of hers that used to be turned on 24 hours a day became an empty number?
After the peak of her life, what kind of sudden drastic change exactly happened?
Perceiving his unusual silence, Song Jiaru carefully observed the "complexion" of his illusory figure. Like a small animal that had just found a home, terrified of being abandoned by its master, she asked softly:
"Big Brother... are you... are you... going home with me...?"
Xu Yunzhou subconsciously rubbed his nose:"What, are you unwilling?"
To be honest, as he became increasingly aware that the characters in this "game" were highly likely to truly exist, and that he was going to be intimately "getting along" with this adolescent girl 24 hours a day, a wave of indescribable awkwardness and some kind of subtle moral pressure indeed surged in his heart.
Unexpectedly, Song Jiaru's eyes instantly lit up, nodding profusely:
"I am! I'm too willing! This is great! From now on, someone will finally play with me! I'll never be alone again!"
Her family background could be considered quite affluent. Although her parents divorced when she was young, her mother was a successful local businesswoman who bought a large luxury flat in the city center.
It was just that her mother was busy with business all year round, and in the huge house, there was usually only a nanny named Aunt Yang responsible for taking care of her daily life.
"Aunt Yang, I... I'm back."
Song Jiaru opened the door with her key and nervously stepped sideways, as if letting an invisible "guest" enter first.
Aunt Yang, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen upon hearing the sound.
Seeing her strange mood and somewhat messy school uniform, her gaze immediately fell on the abrasions and redness on her knees, frowning with heartache:
"Aiya Ruru, what happened here? Did you fall? Or... were you bullied by someone? Tell Aunt Yang!"
Song Jiaru's heart tightened, terrified that Aunt Yang would perceive "Big Brother's" existence. She hurriedly waved her hands:
"No, no! I just... just accidentally fell! Aunt Yang I'm fine, I'm going to take a shower first!"
After saying that, like a frightened little rabbit, she zoomed toward her room, not forgetting to give a "hurry up and follow" look to the empty air.
As soon as she entered the room, she backhandedly locked the door. She immediately leaned her back against the door panel and let out a long breath.
Seeing that Xu Yunzhou's illusory figure indeed followed her like a shadow and stood steadily in the middle of the room, a pure and radiant smile instantly bloomed on her face, carrying unprecedented peace of mind and huge joy:
"This is great! Other people really can't see you! Big Brother, we really can be together all the time from now on!"
She excitedly pulled Xu Yunzhou's illusory figure, ran to the soft carpet by the window to sit down, and like offering a treasure, dragged out an exquisite wooden box from under the bed.
Inside was a somewhat old set of Aeroplane Chess, the edges of the pieces worn somewhat smooth.
(TL: Aeroplane Chess is a popular(for 90s and 2000s kids) Chinese cross-and-circle board game, similar to the Western game of Ludo. Different from "regular" chess.)
"Big Brother, let's play chess!"
Her eyes were sparkling, carrying cautious expectation,
"Never... nobody has ever played this with me."
Xu Yunzhou silently "sat" opposite her (although it was just the illusory figure adjusting its height).
And so, on this evening when the city lights were just turning on, in this luxurious yet empty apartment, a soul from the future accompanied a lonely young girl, playing game after game of Aeroplane Chess that was simple yet extraordinarily meaningful to her.
He also "accompanied" her to watch her favorite, somewhat childish cartoons, listening to the relaxed laughter she let out because of the plot, which she had suppressed for a long time.
Finally, the two sat shoulder to shoulder in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at the myriad twinkling lights of the city outside gradually lighting up like a brilliant river of stars.
"Big Brother..."
She raised her head, looking in his direction, her gaze somewhat unfocused, as if passing through time,
"Do you know... when I was little, my mom was always extremely busy with work. I was often alone at home. My mom was afraid it would be unsafe if I ran out, or... that I would cause trouble for her, so when she went out, she would always lock the door from the outside."
Her voice lowered even more, carrying a trace of undetectable grievance.
"At those times, I could only hug my old doll, or like just now, play chess with myself... and then, lean against the window."
"Downstairs, the kids from the neighbor's house would be running back and forth right there, chasing and playing ball, laughing super loudly... Their moms and dads would sometimes watch from the side, calling them to come home for dinner..."
"I would just keep watching, I could watch for a long, long time... I felt like their happiness would follow the wind and float up just a tiny bit until it was within my reach, but..."
"I could never reach it."
She withdrew her gaze, refocusing on Xu Yunzhou's illusory figure. She tried hard to squeeze out a somewhat shy, yet incomparably sincere smile on her face.
"So... Big Brother, having you to play with me now is really... really so wonderful. I feel like... like I finally don't have to lean against the window alone to watch others anymore."
...
The night grew deeper, and the clamor of the city outside the window gradually quieted down.
She curled up on the soft bed and asked softly, carrying a trace of uneasy confirmation:
"Big Brother... you'll still be here tomorrow, right? You won't be like Mom, suddenly disappearing, locking the door... leaving only me alone, right?"
Xu Yunzhou didn't answer immediately, but moved the mouse and gently clicked that [Reward] button emitting a gentle green light.
An invisible, reassuring warm current slowly wrapped around Song Jiaru like a silent promise.
Only then did his voice sound in her mind:
"I will always be here... until you become..."
"Then Big Brother will take me out to play tomorrow, okay?"
She immediately took over the conversation, her eyes shining with expectant light in the darkness, as if having him gave her the courage to oppose the whole world,
"With you by my side, I won't be afraid of anything!"
"Okay."
His answer was brief, yet resounding.
Only after receiving this definitive promise did Song Jiaru seem to finally swallow the last calming pill, and closed her eyes with satisfaction and peace of mind.
With a sweet, dependency-filled smile playing at the corners of her lips, her breathing gradually became even and long, slowly sinking into a peaceful dreamland guarded by "Big Brother."
Looking at Song Jiaru sleeping quietly on the screen, seeming to have laid down all her defenses, Xu Yunzhou knew that guiding her out of the shadow of social anxiety couldn't be rushed.
He must protect her like a delicate seedling, watering it patiently, and waiting quietly for the flower to bloom.
The most urgent matter was to solve her social anxiety problem first, letting this young girl who had been shrouded in loneliness for over a decade truly feel the warmth of the sun, becoming cheerful and confident from the inside out.
Only then could they proceed with the subsequent "Queen of Pop" nurturing plan, as well... as that hidden thought of using her to explore Lin Ruoxuan's whereabouts.
He exited the game and rubbed his somewhat dry eyes.
The bottom right corner of the computer showed that the real time was already 2:00 AM.
It was time to sleep, after all, he still had to go to the company tomorrow—to submit his resignation letter.
Holding Bitcoins worth hundreds of millions that could be cashed out at any time, who would still be willing to act like a machine with a set program, working nine to five watching people's faces, overdrawing health and freedom for that bit of salary?
Speaking of the Binzhou Hengchuang Technology Co., Ltd. where he was located, it indeed revealed a few points of weirdness.
The business volume was mediocre, and the profits seemed ordinary, but the employees' salary and benefits far exceeded their peers.
There had long been rumors in the streets saying that the big boss who was like a divine dragon whose head could be seen but not its tail had unfathomably deep background, and this company was nothing but one of the white gloves used for money laundering under some massive system.
In the past, for the sake of the mortgage and the so-called "future," he could only pretend not to know, but now... screw that!