“I’ve forgotten what she looked like after all these years,” Anla sighed.
After saying that, he raised an eyebrow and grinned, revealing the gold tooth in his mouth.
“Hey, do you have a name?”
There was no way Li Leyou was going to tell him her real name. The researchers had called her M089 along the way, so she cautiously repeated it.
“M089?”
“Not bad. You can even talk.”
Anla didn’t seem particularly interested in what her name actually was and continued asking, “You understand what’s going on now, right?”
“I… roughly understand?”
“Very good, very good. You can understand what people are saying. You don’t look particularly smart, but at least you’re not stupid either.”
Li Leyou: “……”
“Originally, you were supposed to be destroyed. But I’m giving you a chance to stay alive. I have an older brother named Laoumu. He’s dying. Since you look exactly like the lover he once deeply loved, I’m going to take you to him so he can see you. At least he’ll have some comfort before he dies.”
Wow.
They had suddenly gone from a law-enforcement documentary straight into a melodramatic replacement-lover story.
What else could Li Leyou do?
Of course, she immediately agreed!
As long as she could stay alive, she didn’t care if she had to be a substitute lover. She’d even be willing to act like his granddaughter if necessary.
Her mother had always told her since she was little:
Better to live miserably than die well. Nothing is more important than staying alive!
“Okay! Sure! I can do it!”
Li Leyou’s enthusiastic willingness to cooperate pleased Anla even more.
“Excellent. Since I happen to have some time today, I’ll take you to Laoumu later.”
Huh? That fast? Aren’t I supposed to get some training first?
The man carrying the folder looked like he had some objections too.
He glanced at Li Leyou, who was still looking relieved to have survived, and said to Anla, “That’s not exactly according to regulations. Under the previous laboratory laws, experimental subjects like this are supposed to be humanely destroyed…”
Anla casually draped an arm around his deputy’s shoulder.
“That law was proposed by Laoumu himself. And he’s dying anyway. Besides, this is a special situation. You admire him too, don’t you? Since he’s about to die, what’s wrong with letting him have a little happiness? Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, put the blame on me. I’ll handle it!”
The deputy wasn’t entirely convinced.
“Even so, there are still many unknown factors about this experimental subject. We should probably have her examined first to make sure she isn’t carrying any viruses or something dangerous before sending her to Laoumu.”
Anla burst into exaggerated laughter.
“What? You’re worried that an experimental subject who can barely stand will somehow hurt Laoumu?”
“He’s not that fragile. Even on the verge of death, he can still summon storms across the sea. No one can hurt him.”
He paused.
“And if we really follow your suggestion and keep her here for a few days of observation, Laoumu might already have returned to the sea by then.”
The deputy stared at his captain with an indescribable expression.
“Is it really okay to keep emphasizing that Laoumu is dying? You don’t look sad at all.”
Anla shrugged.
“He isn’t sad about it himself, so why should I be? Maybe returning to the ocean is actually what he wants.”
Li Leyou pricked up her ears and secretly listened to their conversation for quite a while.
Finally, when they finished talking, the deputy took the researchers away with the rest of the team.
Anla grabbed Li Leyou with one hand and carried her onto another aircraft.
This was Li Leyou’s first time riding such a strange flying machine.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been fascinated.
But right now, all she could think about was the nervousness of starting a new job without having prepared for it at all.
What if Laoumu rejects me on the spot?
Will they drag me back and destroy me?
“Sir?”
After a moment of silence, Li Leyou cautiously spoke.
“Do you think I should prepare something?”
“Prepare what?”
“For example… change my clothes?”
She looked down at herself.
She was still wrapped in nothing but a white lab coat. Parts of it were damp from the liquid in the cultivation tank and felt sticky against her skin. Her feet were filthy, and after the crash and explosion, her hair was a complete mess. Her entire body was covered in bloodstains and dust.
Seriously, what interviewer would hire someone dressed like this?
“Oh, no need,” Anla said casually while piloting the aircraft.
Li Leyou took a deep breath.
Since there was nothing she could do about her appearance, she’d have to work on her professional skills instead.
“Then… what was the woman I’m supposed to imitate like? How should I behave when I meet him?”
Anla fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he said, “I honestly don’t remember what she was like. I’m not Laoumu. I don’t spend all these years obsessing over an old lover.”
His patience seemed to be running thin.
“Forget it. You don’t need to worry about that. I’m just taking you there so he can look at you for a few minutes.”
So casual?
Li Leyou suddenly felt that she had been far too optimistic.
Her chances of surviving still seemed pretty slim.
Since there was nothing she could do externally, Li Leyou turned inward instead.
She tried her best to comfort herself and adjust her mindset.
Surprisingly, it worked.
She even fell asleep on the aircraft.
When she groggily woke up again, the aircraft was already descending.
Outside was an endless expanse of deep blue ocean and a long, deserted crescent-shaped beach.
Standing along the coast was an ancient-looking castle built directly over the sea.
With its pointed towers and breathtaking location, the enormous castle radiated an expensive, secluded elegance, as though it existed in a world completely separate from the hustle and bustle of civilization.
Wow… a giant castle on the sea!
Li Leyou pressed herself against the window and looked down, completely amazed.
A poor university student like her had never seen anything like this.
The aircraft landed on an extended platform.
“We’re here. Get out.”
Wrapped in her thin white lab coat, Li Leyou secretly rubbed the dirt from her feet against the floor mat of the aircraft before stepping onto the platform.
When she turned around, she saw Anla unloading a huge pile of things.
There was everything imaginable—food, drinks, household supplies, entertainment items…
Li Leyou spotted beautifully packaged fruits and delicacies. There were even enormous prawns, each nearly the length of her forearm, waving their claws around in a water tank.
“You’re here, sir. I’ll take care of these,” an elderly woman wearing an apron said as she came out of the house.
She took over and directed a slow-moving, clumsy robot to carry everything inside while chatting casually with Anla.
“You brought so much food for Mr. Laoumu again.”
Anla complained, “He won’t see anyone these days. I’m already busy enough, yet I still have to keep bringing him things. He’s treating me like a delivery boy.”
The elderly woman sighed.
“He doesn’t really eat much anymore.”
Anla fell silent for a moment before casually saying, “Whatever. If he wants to eat, let him eat. If he doesn’t, you can eat it.”
The old woman smiled.
“I couldn’t possibly eat all of this myself.”
She pushed up her round glasses.
Then she finally noticed Li Leyou, who had been standing silently behind the mountain of food.
“Oh my!”
The old woman jumped in surprise, her squinting eyes widening.
“Where did this person come from?”
Only then did Anla remember to introduce her.
“Oh, right. I brought her here for Laoumu to see. Take care of her.”
Li Leyou gave an awkward smile.
Honestly, at that moment, she felt like she was just another item in the pile of fruits, vegetables, and giant prawns.
“To see? See what?” The old woman clearly didn’t understand what Anla meant.
“You’ll know once Laoumu sees her. I have somewhere to be. I’ve delivered everything, so I’ll be going.”
Li Leyou blurted out,
“Wait!”
You’re leaving without even waiting for him to see me?
The old woman was surprised too.
“Leaving so soon? Aren’t you going to see Mr. Laoumu?”
Anla had already jumped back into the aircraft.
His actions answered the question for him.
Once the aircraft flew away, all that remained was a helpless university student who knew nothing about this strange place and a confused old woman.
“All right, all right. He’s always like this…”
The old woman sighed.
“You come inside with me first. I’ll find you some proper clothes.”
The woman looked so kind and warm that Li Leyou immediately decided she must be a good person.
She nodded repeatedly and hurried after her into the enormous castle.
The tiles on the landing platform were scorching hot beneath her feet. But once they stepped into the shade, the floor became so cool that Li Leyou shivered.
They entered through an open side door.
The white doorframe was decorated with glass panels painted with purple irises, while colorful flowers bloomed in the flowerbeds outside.
Unlike the castle’s ancient exterior, the inside was surprisingly modern.
A long corridor stretched through the building.
One side was lined with walls covered in enormous oil paintings, while the other side had transparent glass windows overlooking the deep blue sea.
Black-and-white patterned tiles reflected the pearlescent chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
More than a dozen open windows allowed the sea breeze to blow through the hall, making the pearlescent lights chime softly.
The castle was enormous, almost unnaturally spacious.
And incredibly quiet.
Li Leyou followed the old woman for a long time, hearing nothing but their footsteps.
She didn’t see another living creature anywhere.
“All right. This is a guest room. You can stay here and rest for now.”
Li Leyou peeked out from behind the old woman.
There was a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, and even a large balcony overlooking the sea.
If this were a seaside hotel, wouldn’t this cost at least five figures a night?
“As for clothes… there isn’t anything suitable for you here. I’ll give you a few of my dresses. They’re all freshly washed.”
Li Leyou was so touched that she almost bowed to the old woman.
“Thank you! Thank you! This is already more than enough.”
The dresses the old woman gave her were simple and comfortable, with hemlines falling around Li Leyou’s calves.
As soon as the door closed, Li Leyou rushed onto the balcony.
“Wow!”
She stared out at the ocean in amazement.
Flowers grew along every protruding section of the castle, and there was even a green garden on the lowest platform.
She turned around and carefully lifted the pearl curtain beside the balcony door.
“Wow… are these real pearls?”
She spent quite some time touching and examining everything in the room before finally taking a shower.
By the time she finished and changed into the dress, the sun was already setting.
The ocean outside the balcony had turned golden beneath the sunset, the shimmering waves resembling the scales of a giant fish.
Li Leyou patted her chest and took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself before opening the door.
Now everything depended on whether her supposedly dying employer would spare her life simply because she looked exactly like his long-dead lover.
Except the legendary Laoumu didn’t show up at all.
The small living room on the first floor contained only the old woman.
The table was covered with mouthwatering dishes, and the delicious aroma drifted through the air.
Only then did Li Leyou realize just how hungry she was.
Her legs had nearly given out while she was walking downstairs.
She had thought it was because she was nervous.
Turns out, she was simply starving.
“Come, sit down and eat first,” the old woman called.
“Grandma, is it just the two of us?”
Although Li Leyou was practically drooling from hunger, she obediently sat at the table without touching anything.
“Yes. This used to be Mr. Laoumu’s private residence. As he got older and began having difficulty taking care of himself, he hired me to look after him.”
“There used to be gardeners and cleaners who came occasionally, but over the past two years, Mr. Laoumu hasn’t liked seeing outsiders. So normally, it’s just him and me here.”
“Though most of the time, I don’t even see him. He doesn’t eat with anyone either.”
The old woman smiled.
The wrinkles around her eyes gathered into soft, flower-like folds.
“So don’t be nervous. It’s just the two of us having dinner. Go ahead and eat, child.”
Li Leyou finally relaxed.
She stopped hesitating and eagerly reached for the food in front of her—
Half an hour later, she was leaning over the toilet, vomiting violently.
“Urgh—”
The old woman anxiously patted her back.
“You must have been hungry for too long and ate too quickly. That’s why your stomach is upset.”
How embarrassing.
But after reaching the absolute peak of embarrassment, Li Leyou somehow became strangely calm.
Haha. Whatever happened today, I’ve stopped trying to understand it.
It’s fine. It’s fine.
As long as I’m alive, that’s all that matters.
Li Leyou weakly sat at the table, her hands trembling as she drank the porridge the old woman had prepared separately for her.
“Thank you, Grandma. I’m sorry to trouble you.”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”
The old woman smiled.
“My name is Su Wei. What should I call you, child?”
Li Leyou hesitated for a moment.
She didn’t want to brush off this kind old woman by giving her the experimental designation M089.
So she answered honestly,
“My name is Li Leyou.”
When pronounced quickly, her name sounded like “Liuliu,” which was why her friends often called her that.
“Grandma, you can just call me Xiao Li.”