Volume Two: The Many Faces of Youth—False Yet True Chapter 102: I Am By Your Side

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Shangguan Yudie felt lost as Xiao Ai pushed her out of the room. She knew Alice was trying to help create an opportunity for her, but at a time like this, Huo Ye was clearly troubled! What opportunity was there? One wrong word from her could make things even more complicated.

Should she try reading his mind? Or not? Huo Ye seemed to hold many secrets, and maybe it wasn’t good to uncover them. Everyone has their secrets. After the last incident, Shangguan Yudie had developed a shadow of doubt over her own abilities.

Without even turning his head, Huo Ye asked, “Who is it? Xiao Ai or Xiao Yu?”

Shangguan Yudie was at a loss. She thought about just running away, but Alice would surely block the door—there was no way back! Then she thought, she could hide in Xiao Ai’s room!

Before she could even reach for the doorknob, Huo Ye said again, “Silent for so long, it must be Xiao Yu. Since you’re out, come over and keep me company for a bit.”

Knowing she couldn’t avoid it, Shangguan Yudie mustered her courage and approached him. This was the first time since she discovered Huo Ye’s true identity that they were this close. Under the moonlight, Huo Ye gazed into the distance, but sadly, the cityscape only stretched a few dozen meters to the wall of another tall building, its windows glowing faintly.

His eyes were vacant; he wasn’t really looking at anything but lost in thought. Yet she dared not casually peek into his mind—that realm was a forbidden zone for her.

“How do you see me?” Huo Ye finally asked, then added, “Tell me your true feelings, don’t mind how I feel.”

Huo Ye looked uneasy; Shangguan Yudie sensed it and guessed what troubled him. Humans tend to treat those with special abilities like monsters. Just like the gifted ones now—if they hadn’t been born in turbulent times to save people from disaster, the first of their kind would surely have been captured for dissection by the authorities.

And now, Huo Ye had devoured a calamity in broad daylight—a spectacle as shocking as watching someone eat pickled seabird eggs with herring cans, slathered in authentic stinky tofu sauce from Changsha, all while proclaiming how delicious it was. The effect was so intense many people ran straight to the bathroom to vomit.

Shangguan Yudie pondered for a long time, unsure how to respond without hurting Huo Ye’s fragile heart.

Before she could speak, Huo Ye continued, “I don’t need you to say it—I know you must think it’s disgusting. Honestly, before I actually did it, I myself thought it wasn’t something a human could do, but… forget it, I’m afraid you’d throw up.”

Shangguan Yudie was stunned. So just now, you were describing the taste and texture?

Huo Ye looked up at the sky. “After what happened today, how will others see me? Will I be considered a monster? These questions keep haunting me. I asked my father for help; he would do everything he can, but if possible, I want to solve this on my own. I want to be independent, to make him proud—because to me, he is my real father.”

Finally, Shangguan Yudie answered, “At first, I found it incredible and a little scary. But as long as it’s you, Xiao Ye, it’s okay. You will definitely use your powers in the right way.”

Huo Ye was stunned by her words. He muttered, “Good and evil don’t depend on power, but on the person who wields it? Haha, if everyone in the world were as pure as you, what would I have to worry about?” He turned, leaning against the balcony railing, sighing, “Life is dull, full of worries and thoughts. Covered in wounds no one sees, I face the world with a smile. With countless masks upon my face, which one is the real me? Living is really tiring.”

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Shangguan Yudie stared blankly at Huo Ye. The warm, sunny Xiao Ye she knew—he could be so melancholy? Was his constant smile just a mask? Suddenly she recalled a chapter from Huo Ye’s “Rainy Night Rhapsody” they once discussed: “The Mask Terminator.” The protagonist, like herself, could read people’s thoughts and had painstakingly tried to get close to a bright, lively girl only because he saw beneath her smile the tears she had long since dried, a depression so deep it numbed her heart.

Could those two characters have been modeled after them? Shangguan Yudie looked at Huo Ye and felt a sudden surge of impulse. Summoning all her courage, she stepped forward and opened her arms to embrace him.

“This… you…” Huo Ye’s scalp tingled; it was so sudden he was unprepared. Their chests pressed together, and he could feel her heart racing. He said nothing more, fearing that if he spoke, her heart might burst from the intensity.

Shangguan Yudie hugged him briefly and then dashed to her room. Without a word, she flung open the door, and just as the door was about to close heavily behind her, she paused, peeked out with half her face, and whispered softly, “Keep going, I’m by your side.”

Half a second later, the door slammed shut with a thud.

Huo Ye stood there utterly baffled. What was that just now? An encouraging hug? And what was that line? Girl, have you been reading “Rainy Night Rhapsody” too much? That was the protagonist’s closing line from “The Mask Terminator.” How much do you like Ye Yu Hanya? If you liked me as much as you like Ye Yu Hanya, would you be with me?

Alice grabbed Shangguan Yudie’s arms, shaking her repeatedly. Shangguan Yudie’s face was as red as a monkey’s behind—something must have happened. Not hearing the gossip would be an unforgivable sin!

“Hurry, tell me!” Alice pleaded.

“No!”

“Tell me, aren’t we sisters?”

“No!”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just ask my brother!”

“Wait!” Shangguan Yudie caught Alice just as she tried to open the door, biting her lip with tears in her eyes. “I’ll tell you!”

The next morning, Huo Ye left breakfast outside his door and then retreated straight to his room. He had planned to lay low at home for a couple of days, but after last night’s scene, it was best not to show his face, or it would be too awkward.

What goes around comes around—Huo Ye now understood Shangguan Yudie’s previous helplessness.

Alice and Shangguan Yudie ate breakfast together, with Shangguan Yudie stealing glances at Huo Ye’s door. Remembering Shangguan Yudie’s shy demeanor last night, Alice teased, “Was all that really necessary? You used to be so bold—remember when you rode on my brother’s shoulders raiding bird nests as a kid?”

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“Shut up!” Shangguan Yudie said, unusually firm.

“Alright, alright, I won’t say more. Guess what my brother’s doing now?” Alice asked.

Shangguan Yudie shook her head.

Alice smiled. “He’s like anyone else at times like this—escaping reality through the internet, just in a different way. He’s probably battling in VRF as Ye Yu Hanya. After all, he never neglects training, no matter the circumstances. He never misses a chance to make himself stronger.”

Shangguan Yudie looked at Alice in a daze. Indeed, this little sister understood Xiao Ye better.

True to Alice’s words, Huo Ye was training under the alias Ye Yu Hanya, also learning to wield the “Chaos Bloom Dragon Binding Rope” gifted to him by Huo Xialan.

Soft weapons were difficult to master; a slight mistake could hinder or even injure oneself, much like the nunchaku, which wasn’t even a soft weapon. Several times, Huo Ye nearly tangled himself up, causing opponents to mock him. Fueled by passion, he fought them barehanded, later regretting his lack of restraint and wondering why he’d let such training opportunities slip by.

Earlier, Huo Ye had teamed up with Shangguan Yudie, but because her hidden score was too high, they matched against Huo Xialan, whose hidden score was lower due to his dislike of fighting humans.

Now, as the relatively new account Ye Yu Hanya, Huo Ye couldn’t get many high-level matches, mostly facing opponents he could defeat within five minutes.

Since arriving in Bankroft, Huo Ye’s battles never ceased; fighting was his way to relax during free time. Random matches followed the hidden score system, but accepting or issuing challenges could bypass it.

When using the account “Doom,” Huo Ye avoided matches with the big boss, instead accepting or issuing challenges to others. This was common among the big bosses—since facing only a few opponents would quickly get boring.

Now both “Doom” and “Ye Yu Hanya” had undefeated win streaks: Doom with 178 wins, zero losses; Ye Yu Hanya with 167 wins, zero losses. Huo Ye’s combined record was 345 wins, no defeats. Yet he remained humble, firmly believing he was the top among his peers.