Chapter 42: Concave

Six months?

How could that be possible?

For someone like her, who had almost never been to school, getting into a university in six months was no less than asking a newborn baby to learn to speak within six months—and speak properly, well enough to get a Mandarin proficiency certificate.

But…

Even though it was incredibly difficult, if she didn’t try, how would she ever know?

The conditions were harsh, but she still wanted to try, to test her own limits.

Luo Yun, sitting beside her, watched her the whole time.

The corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

The script she had written long ago was finally beginning.

What expression would a mentally broken little pet show when she saw her master again?

Luo Yun was really looking forward to it.

As for those who had conspired with her, it was already set that He Rou would not have a good time at school.

—

The car drove slowly through the murky, pitch-black air.

Luo Yun didn’t care. There was plenty of time anyway.

But He Rou, sitting next to her, didn’t feel the same.

She got carsick, and Luo Yun wouldn’t let her sleep.

The contents of her stomach churned inside her like waves in the sea.

The whole time, she struggled to keep her throat closed, terrified she might throw up, and then Luo Yun would order her to eat it.

But fortunately, just as He Rou was about to reach her breaking point, the airport finally arrived.

As soon as she got out, He Rou took a deep breath of the outside air—and immediately felt a sticky sensation in her throat.

Even more nauseating.

Luo Yun didn’t look at her.

She simply told her to grab the things from the trunk and follow.

After resting for a moment, He Rou obeyed the order again, trotting along behind Luo Yun.

They boarded the plane.

After takeoff, He Rou sat by the window and looked down.

The entire city below looked like the demon-occupied zone in a hero’s tale.

Surrounded by vast clouds of toxic gas, the people living there seemed to be suffering unbearably.

No wonder they had left in such a hurry—Luo Yun simply couldn’t stand the air here anymore.

As for Luo Yun, she had no mind to care about anything else.

If that city’s pollution was due to those evil capitalists, then everything Luo Yun enjoyed prohibited her from complaining.

Her family’s business spanned the globe.

But there were few children.

Luo Yun had to work hard so that a suddenly appearing cousin or younger sibling wouldn’t snatch away what was rightfully hers.

Though her father was a devoted man, he was the king of the entire empire, with many people under his command to support.

He didn’t dare gamble everything on his daughter.

So Luo Yun also had to undergo her father’s assessment.

After New Year’s, due to policy changes,

factories there would be shut down en masse.

Her family’s assets in that city had taken a huge hit.

Originally, her father had planned to give her the “throne” of that city on her birthday.

But now, that thing was a hot potato.

Her first step absolutely could not be trying to save someone who chugged paraquat like beer.

So now, she would go directly to where her father was and confront him face to face.

As for the trip, that was just a side benefit.

—

They reached their destination.

As soon as they left the airport, the air here, though not exactly clean, was at least breathable.

He Rou and Luo Yun were to stay at a Sino-Western style residence hidden in the mountains.

It was usually uninhabited, only used occasionally when her father wanted some quiet.

But for the next few days, it was hers.

When the car engine died, they were on a mountainside halfway up.

It was quiet all around.

No more endless honking like in the city.

The air here was so clear—clear like a giant block of ice just taken out of the fridge, suddenly shoved into He Rou’s lungs.

“Let’s go.”

Luo Yun’s voice echoed in the silent mountain air, carrying a faint reverb.

He Rou followed.

The path was covered in gravel; the car couldn’t drive in.

He Rou’s knees still hurt.

This kind of road was a challenge for her.

After climbing a small slope, He Rou stopped, panting, bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air.

Her physique was really too poor.

She had almost failed to keep up with Luo Yun the whole way.

But when she lifted her head,

she saw a building nestled on the mountainside.

It was strange, yet beautiful.

Large floor-to-ceiling glass panels reflected the rippling waves of the mountain—that was Western flamboyance.

But the overlapping gray tiles and upturned eaves were the deepest, most orthodox Chinese solemnity.

“This… is where we’ll be staying from now on.”

Luo Yun walked over to He Rou and casually straightened the slightly crooked scarf around her neck.

The touch of her fingertips against her skin was icy cold, but He Rou didn’t dare flinch.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes…”

—

The following days became extremely blurred.

There were no class bells… though there weren’t usually any either.

In He Rou’s eyes, time turned into the green leaves falling with the wind outside.

So the South really was the South.

The leaves were still growing even in winter.

This strange sight was something He Rou had never witnessed before.

And the towering mountains standing all around—He Rou had never even seen them.

In her memory, whether it was the countryside of her childhood or the city, everything was flat plains, flat without any undulations.

If she hadn’t learned that the Earth was round, she would have truly believed it was flat.

The novelty of this place lifted her spirits.

Luo Yun took her to the top floor of the house.

There was a completely transparent art studio.

Sitting inside, it felt like floating in midair.

He Rou’s daily task was to read books and draw at that huge art table.

It was the life she had always dreamed of.

But one thing was a bit strange—Luo Yun hadn’t bullied her recently, and she seemed to be coming back here less and less.

He Rou couldn’t figure out what Luo Yun was so busy with.

But… whatever.

It wasn’t like she was in love with her.

Outside the window, the mountain mist gathered and then scattered.

He Rou watched the teacher’s lectures on her tablet and read the knowledge in her textbooks.

She thought about it every day.

Luo Yun had said she would give her six months.

Six months.

She didn’t know if she could make it, but she felt that a person should at least live once for themselves.

—

The night before New Year’s Day.

Luo Yun accompanied He Rou as they walked through the city square.

Tonight, there would be a drone show and fireworks.

Around the square were many vendors.

Luo Yun gave He Rou some money and told her to buy whatever she wanted.

These past days here had truly exhausted Luo Yun.

The strange desires in her heart had faded considerably.

It seemed the cure for psychological illness was just to give someone a lot of work… of course, it might eventually drive them to kill themselves.

These days, she had been catching up with her father, chatting, and discussing her future, work, and studies.

Her father’s words were reserved, but between the lines, there was pressure.

But who was Luo Yun?

Someone who absolutely did not cave to pressure.