Chapter 72: Another Alienated Being

“Wait, so that wasn’t the case?”

Even after Yuhua pointed it out, Lin Ling still failed to realize where the problem lay.

Yuhua was genuinely worried about Lin Ling’s emotional intelligence, so he had to painstakingly explain it to her.

“Setting aside the detail that she didn’t seem to feel anything regarding Xiao Wang’s transformation, let’s just look at it from the perspective of logic and morality. What kind of person asks their younger brother… well, younger sister now, who is younger than them and doesn’t even have a formal job yet, to support them while they retake the postgraduate entrance exams? This doesn’t sound like a romance; it sounds like she’s looking for a sucker to be her meal ticket.”

Liu Shuxing also stopped her chopsticks.

Even she realized something was wrong.

“Mm-hmm. And when she said things like ‘just a little bit short’ or ‘my family doesn’t support me,’ it felt like she was guiding Xiao Wang to volunteer to support her. No matter how you think about it, it’s weird, right?”

Yuhua had noticed it a while ago, but seeing Wang Zeqi completely immersed in that sense of happiness made him feel that things were heading in a bad direction.

After chatting for a while longer, the two over there seemed to become even more intimate.

Gu Yanzhen took the initiative to link arms with Wang Zeqi.

The two of them rose while laughing and chatting, then left the restaurant.

“What should we do? Xiao Wang seems to have fallen completely for that woman’s schemes.”

Yuhua quickly settled the bill and walked out, following the pair.

The couple quickly entered “date mode.”

Gu Yanzhen held the sunshade umbrella for her, while Wang Zeqi snuggled into her arms like a delicate little bird.

They strolled along the commercial street, occasionally ducking into shops to look around.

Soon, they found an outdoor cafe, sat down, and continued their intimate conversation.

The smile on Wang Zeqi’s face never faded; he looked exactly like someone who had fallen head over heels in love.

Liu Shuxing held up her own sunshade umbrella and hurried to keep up, standing to the side with the others to observe.

“It’s over, it’s over. Xiao Wang has completely surrendered. He’s beyond saving.”

The classic plot of roommates offering earnest advice while the person involved turns a deaf ear — even thinking everyone else is being nosy — was already playing in Yuhua’s head.

Eventually, their money and feelings would be drained, and they would be heartlessly discarded like a used rag…

Most importantly, as an onlooker, Yuhua had no standing to forcibly interfere with Wang Zeqi’s romantic freedom.

He could only watch and worry.

“Wait, something seems a bit off,”

Lin Ling, who had been quietly following them, suddenly said.

“Wait, are you only just realizing now that she’s here to scam him for money and feelings?”

Lin Ling made a gesture with her hand.

“I don’t mean that. I mean, Xiao Wang’s childhood friend seems to be an Awakened Entity.”

“Huh? How can you tell?”

Lin Ling, however, tilted her head to look at the two of them.

“Shouldn’t it be obvious?”

Since Yuhua hadn’t undergone his Transformation, he didn’t know what the Awakened Ability reaction of Wang Zeqi’s childhood friend was like.

Under these circumstances, there was no harm in trusting Lin Ling’s judgment.

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Because at first, I thought she was also a Hero. I only just realized that the Core Meme of her Awakening is ‘White Moonlight.’ This appearance of hers must also be a product of the Awakening.”

Liu Shuxing felt the terrifying nature of the Awakened Entity.

“What a vicious meme. So she relies on the ability to turn into the ‘White Moonlight’ in someone’s heart specifically to scam people out of their feelings and support?”

Yuhua, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief.

“Lin Ling, since the opponent is a practitioner of the dark arts, we don’t need to worry about any codes of honor. Once she separates from Xiao Wang, let’s take her out.”

The three of them followed sneakily behind Wang Zeqi.

Soon, Wang Zeqi and Gu Yanzhen arrived near the subway station.

It seemed it was time for them to part.

The two of them spoke reluctantly for quite a while before Wang Zeqi finally walked away, turning his head back every three steps to look at her.

***

Seeing that the timing was right, the three of them immediately split into two groups.

Liu Shuxing was responsible for catching up with Wang Zeqi, using the excuse that Yuhua and Lin Ling had already left and that they should return to the Dormitory together.

Meanwhile, Yuhua and Lin Ling chose to deal with the Awakened Entity, chasing after the direction Gu Yanzhen had gone.

Since Lin Ling was a Hero, she didn’t need to wait for a moment when no one was around to check someone’s identity on the street.

She blocked Gu Yanzhen’s path directly and flashed her credentials.

“Hello. I am Magical Girl Gilded from the Ability Bureau. I suspect you are an Awakened Entity. Please cooperate with our investigation.”

To their surprise, the Gu Yanzhen before them didn’t show any panic.

Instead, she unhurriedly pulled a card out of her small handbag.

“You misunderstand. Although I am an Awakened Entity, I hold a Special Social Integration License and am a legal resident.”

In human society, the “Humanity” meme itself was an extremely important meme.

Many objects could be transformed by memes related to humans, producing thoughts and forms that approximated human beings.

As for these Awakened Entities that possessed the Humanity meme and human thoughts, it was clearly inhumane to destroy them, but keeping them locked up in a Containment Facility was a massive expense.

Therefore, the Ability Bureau would issue special permits to Awakened Entities who could pass a strict evaluation and prove they were rational, harmless, and able to adapt to basic social rules, allowing them to integrate into human society.

In short, although the Gu Yanzhen before them was an Awakened Entity, she enjoyed human rights just like any ordinary person.

Because of this, if she hadn’t committed any illegal or criminal acts, Yuhua and Lin Ling really couldn’t just deal with her in a simple or crude manner.

They could only continue to communicate.

Yuhua remained aggressive.

“Even if you have a license, what is your purpose for impersonating Gu Yanzhen and approaching Wang Zeqi? Where is the real Gu Yanzhen? And how are you using her social media account to send messages to Xiao Wang?”

“I am not impersonating Gu Yanzhen. Or rather, instead of saying I’m impersonating the real Gu Yanzhen, it would be more accurate to say I am the Gu Yanzhen from Wang Zeqi’s memories.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Yuhua and Lin Ling as she explained.

“The truth might be… more ordinary and more cruel than you imagine.”

“The parents of Gu Yanzhen and Wang Zeqi were old acquaintances and had a good relationship. When they were young, Gu Yanzhen only played with this little brother from next door because of her parents’ wishes and instructions. To her, it was merely a task that needed to be completed, rather than something done with genuine feelings.”

“Wang Zeqi’s repeated confessions later on were not some cherished memories for Gu Yanzhen. Instead, they made her more and more embarrassed and at a loss. She didn’t know how to handle this troublesome little brat, so she could only brush him off time and again with words used to coax a child.”

“Once the two reached adulthood and went to universities in different cities, this connection born out of obligation naturally broke. The real Gu Yanzhen had long since changed her mobile phone and accounts, ridding herself of everything from home. At the same time, she discarded that troublesome, clingy brat along with her accounts and phone.”

“And I am that abandoned mobile phone. Through Wang Zeqi’s obsession — his constant fantasies of Gu Yanzhen replying to his messages and reconciling with him — I was transformed into this form. I am the ‘White Moonlight’ in his heart.”