“How come you’re here?” Xia Yu asked Zhu Mei.
“Xiang Xiang invited me,” Zhu Mei replied with a grin.
Xia Yu couldn’t imagine how Xu Youxiang, who was usually quite sharp, could fall for Zhu Mei’s nonsense.
Although most of what was said was true, there were many artistic embellishments.
Forget it, it’s none of her business.
Xia Yu left the house, got into his car, and headed to the airport.
In order to be with An Siyao, Hu Lianglu caused quite a stir, transferring from Apeng to Yaoguang School. Today was the day Hu Lianglu was arriving.
After picking up Hu Lianglu from the airport, Xia Yu returned home.
Opening the door, Hu Lianglu saw the three girls sitting on the sofa playing games.
She turned her head and silently stared at Xia Yu.
“What are you looking at?” Xia Yu asked rudely.
“I was gone for only two months, and you’ve gathered so many women?” Hu Lianglu said.
Xia Yu tapped Hu Lianglu on the head: “Don’t talk like there’s something between us. Why should I explain to you?”
Weighing the gap in strength between herself and Xia Yu, Hu Lianglu endured the humiliation. She placed her luggage and went to snuggle with An Siyao for comfort.
Xia Yu stood behind the four of them, observing for a while. Xu Youxiang was very warm towards Zhu Mei, and Zhu Mei was enthusiastic not only towards Xu Youxiang but also towards An Siyao, yet An Siyao’s response was lukewarm.
My An Siyao indeed, not easily swayed.
Reassured, Xia Yu returned to his bedroom to play games.
Time passed slowly until evening. Zhu Mei was granted the right to stay overnight. The women chattered, ate dinner, and then went to their respective rooms.
Zhu Mei came to Xia Yu’s room, holding a jar of honey.
She dipped her fingers into the honey and tried to feed Xia Yu, but he turned his face away.
Zhu Mei moved her hand again, placing the honey in front of Xia Yu, but he still refused this intimacy.
“Don’t you want me anymore?” Zhu Mei’s eyes welled up with tears.
Xia Yu had no choice but to taste it.
Leaning against Xia Yu’s back, Zhu Mei said with some concern, “Tomorrow, the king of District 14 will come.”
“Is he coming personally to pick up Zhu Mengbing?” Xia Yu was surprised.
“He probably wants to come personally to get me,” Zhu Mei hugged Xia Yu’s neck. “I don’t want to go with him.”
“Don’t worry, in District 1, no matter what king or emperor, they all have to bow,” Xia Yu was somewhat worried. He was worried about how to elegantly and politely confront the other party if the king really came.
After all, the other party was a king; they had to give some face.
Zhu Mei clung to Xia Yu for an hour before Xu Youxiang came and dragged her away.
Although Xu Youxiang accepted Zhu Mei’s attachment to Xia Yu, she couldn’t allow the two to stay together for too long.
After playing games for a while, Xia Yu fell asleep.
The next morning, Xia Yu was shaken awake by Zhu Mei.
Drowsily opening his eyes, Xia Yu looked at Zhu Mei: “What’s wrong?”
Zhu Mei’s face was serious: “He’s dead.”
“Who’s dead?” Xia Yu immediately woke up, his mind flashing images of Zhu Mei wielding a cleaver, slaughtering everyone in the villa to monopolize Xia Yu.
“The king,” Zhu Mei replied.
“How did the king die?” Xia Yu asked in surprise.
“Didn’t you do it?” Zhu Mei looked into Xia Yu’s eyes.
“I didn’t even know his whereabouts. How could I do it?” Xia Yu refused to take the blame.
“I heard from Li Hua that he was killed by an assassin at the airport using a laptop,” Zhu Mei answered.
Xia Yu stroked his chin. He had originally been thinking about how to humiliate the king, but now the king had died on his own?
“Wait a minute, let me ask someone else,” Xia Yu took out his phone and called Yu Ningmeng.
Kings were different from ordinary people. When an ordinary person died, it was just that the killer might be condemned. But the death of a king would trigger a series of events.
Yu Ningmeng answered the call: “I’m busy. You have thirty seconds.”
“He’s dead,” Xia Yu replied.
“Who’s dead? Did you play too intensely?” Yu Ningmeng asked nervously.
“…The king is dead,” Xia Yu recounted what Zhu Mei had said to Yu Ningmeng.
“Wait, let me check,” Yu Ningmeng said and hung up.
Xia Yu and Zhu Mei waited together. Ten minutes later, the phone rang again, and Yu Ningmeng called back.
“Tell Zhu Mengbing to run away immediately,” Yu Ningmeng said.
“Did Zhu Mengbing hire the assassin?” Xia Yu was greatly surprised.
“Probably not. We don’t have that channel in District 1,” Yu Ningmeng explained. “Who did it isn’t important. What matters is that someone has to take the blame.”
Yu Ningmeng paused and continued, “Zhu Mengbing is the most suitable scapegoat. His motive is coveting the throne. Both District 232 and District 14 royal families are of the Zhu lineage. After killing the king of District 14, he becomes the only male heir of the Zhu family. District 14 can’t possibly find another illegitimate son who has been living among the commoners.”
“If he’s already the only heir to the throne, why would there still be a problem?” Xia Yu asked curiously.
“The pro-king and anti-king factions in District 14 have been in intense conflict. The previous years without a king were because of this. This time, the anti-king faction will probably use this opportunity to abolish the monarchy,” Yu Ningmeng explained briefly.
After hanging up, Xia Yu told Zhu Mei what Yu Ningmeng had guessed.
Zhu Mei’s expression remained calm. She didn’t have much affection for her younger brother Zhu Mengbing. Taking out her phone, she reminded Zhu Mengbing briefly and then ignored it.
Yu Ningmeng’s analysis was very accurate. Five hours later, District 14 began to issue a wanted notice for Zhu Mengbing, but Zhu Mengbing had already fled and was nowhere to be found.
Later, Xia Yu heard from Yu Ningmeng that they had also wanted to use Zhu Mei to replace Zhu Mengbing, but that idea was rejected.
Xia Yu and Zhu Mei remained very calm, while Xu Youxiang worried about Zhu Mei for several days.
A few days later, everything returned to normal. Xia Yu continued his life of making medicine during the day and playing games at night.
Half a month passed like this. There was a possible breakthrough in the medicine-making process, so Xia Yu took a break.
After resting well for a day, he clicked on a slot and entered Wen Ziying’s body.
Wen Ziying was lying on the bed, looking gloomy.
She had spent three days randomly writing a new book, which became a hit again.
Xia Yu sighed and comforted Wen Ziying: “My condolences.”
“What do you mean condolences? Why do people read such trash stories? It’s about animals, pigs, dogs, and sheep talking. Isn’t that ridiculous? The political struggles between those animals, isn’t that absurd? Why can those people analyze all kinds of metaphors and ideas from it? I really just wrote it randomly!” Wen Ziying lamented.
Xia Yu could only silently listen to Wen Ziying’s complaints. Her book “The Animal Forest” had been labeled as a dystopian fable and had overshadowed the death of the king of District 14.
“What are you going to do next?” Xia Yu felt that the task of collecting star fragments was too difficult.
“What else can I do? I don’t know what to do either!” Wen Ziying complained.
Just then, the phone rang. After getting Wen Ziying’s permission, Xia Yu answered her call.
The call was from the publisher, informing Wen Ziying that her book had been shortlisted for the Morning Award.
The Morning Award was the most influential literary award in this world.
Wen Ziying became even more desperate.
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