Song Wenzhao went upstairs and saw Si Yiheng at the corner.
Si Yiheng spoke first, "Big Brother."
Song Wenzhao: "..."
Song Wenzhao: "Mm."
Song Wenzhao hinted, "Aren't you heading back to A City? Is your work that easy?"
Si Yiheng lifted his eyes slightly, "I want to stay and keep Baby Yu company a little longer."
Song Wenzhao: "..."
Just go home.
Si Yiheng acted as if he couldn't take a hint.
Song Wenzhao: "What do you want from me?"
Si Yiheng couldn't possibly be waiting here for Shu Yu.
Si Yiheng: "When and where did Baby Yu go missing?"
He had a guess.
Shu Yu said she left him for reasons she couldn't explain.
Song Wenzhao remembered it clearly: "It was on the evening of September 15, 2009, around eight o'clock, when we discovered Little Yu was missing, right at home in A City."
To this day, Song Wenzhao still didn't understand how Shu Yu could have disappeared from the house.
Si Yiheng pressed on, "When was the last time you all saw Baby Yu?"
Lost in the memory, Song Wenzhao's thoughts were also hazy, "At seven, Mom was still blowing Baby Yu's hair dry."
Si Yiheng noted down this time and place.
Back in his room, Si Yiheng opened his notebook.
His notes were filled with handwriting.
At the bottom was the location and time where Shu Yu's adoptive parents had found her—a certain amusement park in C City, around dusk on September 15, 2009.
C City, September 15, around dusk, roughly seven to eight o'clock.
Si Yiheng stared at these two lines, his gaze heavy.
A City and C City were a thousand miles apart. Shu Yu couldn't have vanished and appeared in C City in less than an hour.
The timing and location of Shu Yu's disappearance and the child's "appearance" didn't match.
It seemed more like Shu Yu had left this world, and another child had come into it.
Si Yiheng lowered his eyes and looked at another part of the notebook.
Every sum of money he had transferred to Shu Yu.
Next to the amounts were the transfer times for each payment, spanning about four months.
And the personality traits of "Shu Yu" as described by her adoptive parents, compared with the current Shu Yu's personality.
Next to the notebook were the sketches of "Shu Yu" that Assistant Wang had brought back.
There were no photos of "Shu Yu," but the sketches clearly revealed more about a person's state of mind and skill.
Finally, all clues led back to the moment when the change occurred.
It all came to rest at the moment Shu Yu sent him a message asking for a hundred million.
The note Shu Yu left behind said it was a trick.
What was the trick?
Tricking him out of a hundred million?
Then leaving him.
Not being able to see him, so if he went looking for her, Shu Yu would run away?
Shu Yu lay on the bed, her long black hair spread over her white shoulders, holding her phone and reading a novel.
Iron Egg suddenly appeared, "Dada da, Little Treasure, I'm back!"
Shu Yu: "Our Lord Iron Egg has returned, huh."
The cheerful electronic tone of Iron Egg told Shu Yu there was good news.
Iron Egg said, "First good news: System 001 has been wiped out. It won't threaten us anymore."
Iron Egg added, "Second good news: You can now tell Si Yiheng the truth, but if he breathes a word of it, he'll face consequences."
Shu Yu blinked slowly, "Mm, mm."
She decided to ask Si Yiheng if he wanted to know this potentially life-threatening news.
Iron Egg continued, "Third good news: After I pleaded and fought for it, I managed to get you a lot of rewards."
Its host had gone through so much unnecessary suffering.
No more hardships from now on.
Iron Egg said, "Baby Yu, this is a Pain Blocking Card. It works even for something as minor as a scraped knee."
"And this is a One-Time Healing Card. It can cure serious illnesses that this world can't heal."
"And this is a Sleep Aid Card. Eating well and sleeping well will keep your spirits high."
Iron Egg kept pulling out items as it spoke.
Seeing the tools Iron Egg handed out, Shu Yu felt a little moved.
She never asked for them, but Iron Egg never let her lose out.
It always found a way to get her rewards.
Shu Yu: "Iron Egg, you're the best system in the world."
Iron Egg sniffled proudly, "You're my fated host."
Iron Egg said, "Last good news, Baby Yu: I got promoted, from a junior system to a Level Two system."
Shu Yu's eyes lit up, and she cheered enthusiastically.
"Iron Egg, you do such a great job—you deserve this promotion."
"One day, you'll definitely become the most amazing system."
Shu Yu's praise had Iron Egg floating on air. It would work hard to become a system that all little systems admired.
After all, it had completed this first task with Shu Yu so brilliantly.
Just as the two were excited, Shu Yu suddenly heard a knock at the door.
She slipped on her shoes and went to open it, finding Si Yiheng outside.
She had been planning to look for him, but it turned out Si Yiheng had come to her first.
Shu Yu: "What are you doing here?"
"Did Big Brother see you?"
Shu Yu quickly pulled Si Yiheng inside and then poked her head out to scout the area.
She checked if Song Zhaozhao was anywhere nearby.
Watching Shu Yu peek around like that, Si Yiheng wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Baby Yu..."
Suddenly enveloped by the cold, crisp scent of Si Yiheng, Shu Yu softly closed the door.
She turned around, looped her arms around Si Yiheng's neck, and looked up at him, "Si Yiheng, I have something to tell you."
Si Yiheng gazed steadily at Shu Yu, "What is it?"
Shu Yu bit her lip, hesitating slightly, "What I'm about to say might be hard for you to believe."
"And if you know these things, you can't tell anyone. If you try to say them out loud..."
"You'll be punished."
"Do you want to hear it?"
Si Yiheng held Shu Yu's hand. He had a faint idea of what Shu Yu might be about to say.
"If you tell me, will you be punished?" Si Yiheng's voice was crisp, and he gently patted Shu Yu's head.
"If so, you don't need to say it."
"I probably already know what you're going to say."
Shu Yu grabbed Si Yiheng's hand, confused, tilting her head, "Huh?"
No way?
Seeing Shu Yu's dazed expression, a smile played at the corners of Si Yiheng's lips, "Then let me say it, and tell me if I'm right?"
Shu Yu blinked slowly, skeptical, "Go ahead?"
Si Yiheng: "You and the original Shu Yu are not the same person."
Shu Yu: "!!!"
Iron Egg: "!!!"
Shu Yu: "You're right."
Si Yiheng continued: "You were given some special mission by some organization—to trick me out of a hundred million?"
The first time he spoke to her, Shu Yu held her breath, nervously deciding to go all in and bet big—win the bet and complete the mission.
Just picturing the scene at that time made the corners of Si Yiheng's mouth twitch up.
His baby was so adorable, it melted him.
That was their first interaction, their first contact.
After hearing Si Yiheng's words, Shu Yu was silent for a moment. She hadn't expected that when she initially decided to gamble it all to see if she could complete the mission, she'd left Si Yiheng with evidence.
Shu Yu: "Anything else?"
Si Yiheng: "You completed the mission, and then you wanted to leave me?"
"But you were a little reluctant to part, so you recorded that video. Not so we could watch it together when we're old."
"You left that recording because you wanted to watch it yourself after you left me?"
