To be honest, right now he really wanted to throw away whatever Qiao Yunxue had sent him straight into the trash.
Now that his image of Qiao Yunxue had been completely shattered, he didn’t want anything to do with her at all.
Based on his guess, there was no way Qiao Yunxue would send him anything good—the most likely thing was the little finger of some unlucky soul.
In Shen Yao’s mind, a scene appeared:
A sullen-faced Qiao Yunxue sat in the shadow cast by the interrogation lamp, with a pair of burly bodyguards standing behind her, and a few little punks kneeling in front, trembling with fear.
Qiao Yunxue said coldly, “Cut off his finger and send it to Shen Yao! Let him see what happens when you cross me!”
By the time he opened the package, he’d already prepared himself mentally—if it was a finger, he’d call the police.
But then again, could the police even arrest Qiao Yunxue? Was she considered an international friend or a domestic citizen?
But when Shen Yao saw the Disc case wrapped in bubble wrap, he suddenly froze.
What the heck? Was Qiao Yunxue always this roundabout? Instead of directly sending him a finger, was she sending him the process of the punishment?
Didn’t she mention something before, something like… Blacknet? Or was it some other net?
So that’s how it is—turns out she was plotting a crime.
A faint smirk lifted the corners of Shen Yao’s mouth, but Qiao Yunxue still miscalculated.
There wasn’t even a DVD Player in his house, so this Disc was no different from trash to him.
He tossed the Disc case directly into the trash can and sat down at his desk to start his summer homework.
Though he was doing homework, his eyes kept wandering toward the trash can.
He was never really a cold-hearted person—otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept thinking about the past.
Now, he no longer felt anything for Qiao Yunxue.
He was certain: was Qiao Yunxue just a stranger to him now? Or an enemy?
It didn’t quite fit either—she was somewhere between an enemy and a stranger…
What a strange relationship.
A figure with red hair appeared in his mind:
—He staggered back a few steps, barely dodged the truck, and hurriedly glanced up, not seeing the driver, but catching sight of the rear window lowering. An astonishingly beautiful young girl passed by him.
She had striking red hair, like the orange-red flames of winter, billowing in the wind.
She sat in a black car, her eyes filled with disdain and contempt for the world.
She was stunning, but also made people hesitate to approach.
—“Shen Yao, this world is a huge cage made of paper. Now you have a chance to pierce through this cage—are you really willing to give it up?”
—“Shen Yao, we still have to hunt anomalies in the future, uncover more strange tales, and gather more clues about the Zero Dimension!”
—“Shen Yao, I don’t actually need you anymore, but after all, you’ve made a great contribution to me and helped me break through a seven-year bottleneck. Do you really not want to stay and enjoy the final reward?”
Arrogant, aloof, despicable, selfish, selfless…
It was hard to imagine all these words could describe one person.
“So clingy, just like a haunting ghost!” Shen Yao cursed, got up, picked up the Disc case from the trash, and went downstairs to leave the house.
Aunt was cooking in the kitchen. She poked her head out: “Shen Yao, dinner’s almost ready. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to Cheng Orange’s house, I’ll be back soon.”
“Hurry back!”
Cheng Orange’s house had a DVD Player—back when they rented movies, they’d often watch them together.
Cheng Orange opened the door.
When she saw it was Shen Yao, she froze for a moment, because ever since they became aware of the differences between boys and girls, Shen Yao rarely knocked on her door at night anymore.
Cheng Orange bit her spoon, “Shen Yao?”
She glanced inside, “Where are Auntie and Uncle?”
“They went to my uncle’s house today. I didn’t feel like going, so I’m home alone.”
That was good—it saved a lot of explanations.
Shen Yao raised the Disc case in his hand. “Can I borrow your DVD Player?”
Cheng Orange nodded rapidly, stepping aside to let him in. “Of course! But what movie is this?”
“It’s not a movie, it’s something Qiao Yunxue sent me.”
Cheng Orange’s eyes widened, “Didn’t you guys… fall out?”
“Yeah. So I have no idea why she suddenly sent this.”
Seriously, couldn’t they just part ways peacefully?
But then, it didn’t really seem like they parted peacefully at all.
Cheng Orange nodded knowingly. “I’ll go do my homework then.”
She knew Shen Yao wouldn’t want to share anything related to Qiao Yunxue.
She didn’t blame him anymore, at least not now.
Shen Yao nodded, took a few steps, then suddenly turned back. “Cheng Orange, come watch with me. Let’s see what Qiao Yunxue is really up to.”
Cheng Orange pointed to herself in disbelief, “Me? Really? But you… you never said anything before.”
True, Shen Yao had always kept everything he went through with Qiao Yunxue hidden from Cheng Orange.
But after breaking with Qiao Yunxue, Shen Yao realized that hiding things only led to one person getting hurt.
He didn’t want to become like Qiao Yunxue.
He might be a mess, but for the people around him, for Cheng Orange, for his Aunt, he should try to become better.
“It’s fine…” he said. “Besides, I think as my best buddy, there are some things you should know.”
Cheng Orange’s stunned expression instantly turned to joy.
She laughed, leaped up, and hugged Shen Yao like a monkey.
“Shen Yao! Wuwu… I’ll never encourage you to confess ever again…”
This girl really had some athletic skills—Shen Yao couldn’t jump that high himself.
But what did this have to do with encouraging him to confess?
Shen Yao caught her and set her back on the ground. “Alright, alright, let’s get down to business first.”
“Okay, okay.”
Shen Yao turned on the DVD Player and put the Disc inside.
He and Cheng Orange sat solemnly in front of the TV, waiting for the screen to light up.
Shen Yao suspected it wouldn’t be anything good, and Cheng Orange was even more prejudiced against Qiao Yunxue.
The Disc spun, making a buzzing noise, and before long, the screen came to life.
Unexpectedly, Shen Yao didn’t see any mafia, didn’t see any threats, didn’t see that high-and-mighty madwoman.
He only saw a different Qiao Yunxue—a gentle, elegant Qiao Yunxue.
She was dressed beautifully, sitting quietly in a chair, exuding a gentle aura.
Is that really Qiao Yunxue? Was it really her?
He and Cheng Orange exchanged a glance, both with disbelief on their faces.
Just a change in temperament, and it was like a completely different person.
If someone told him this was Qiao Yunxue’s younger sister, Qiao Yunbing, Shen Yao might have believed it.
On screen, the Qiao Yunxue with that gentle yet sorrowful aura slowly began to speak: “I am Estelle von Campbell, Chinese name Qiao Yunxue. What follows is my Testament, recorded at 10:00 a.m. on July 16th. I hereby state that this Testament was made without any coercion, that I am of sound mind, and that no third party or other Testament may alter the content of this Video Testament…”
Testament?!
Shen Yao felt a splitting headache—was the world about to end?
“I hereby declare that, as a citizen of Germany, when I die, I designate Shen Yao, who has no familial relation to me, to inherit one-fourth of the Campbell Family Fortune.”
She spoke calmly, but her words were enough to shatter Shen Yao’s world.
“The legal process will be handled by Mr. Vayero’s foundation and his attorneys. This Testament is effective immediately and shall take precedence over the three previous Testaments I set before.”
Cheng Orange’s jaw dropped, almost forgetting to close her mouth.
The picture flashed, as if the scene had changed.
Qiao Yunxue now sat closer, with none of the earlier seriousness, more like she was having a casual chat between friends.
“Shen Yao, I’m really glad you were willing to open the package I sent you. Thank you, truly. I have a few things I want to say to you, if you still have the patience to listen on…”