Chapter 51: The Eve

The Day Before Graduation, Cloudy, 27°C

[District 1 Housing Estate]

This was considered one of the earliest residential complexes built for ordinary citizens in Jupiter City, with a history of nearly thirty years.

It was even more dilapidated than District 13, where Luo Di lived. Many buildings had been tagged for imminent demolition due to structural instability, and very few people still lived here.

Building 3, Room 502

A two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with simple decor. All the furniture was outdated and old-fashioned, though the place was kept spotlessly clean.

The birdcage that should have been hanging in the home was completely empty, with no sign of any bird.

Midnight,

All the lights in the apartment were completely turned off, relying solely on the streetlights outside for illumination.

A woman in her forties sat in front of the vanity in the master bedroom, pricey cosmetics that did not match the modest household spread across the tabletop.

Even though it was the time for sleeping, she was putting on makeup.

As she smeared a kind of powder onto her face, she used her fingers to pull and stretch her skin.

Just as her makeup routine was coming to an end, a gentle, motherly voice came from her mouth, though her lips did not seem to be moving at all.

"Wenya~ You must go to sleep early. Tomorrow is the most important graduation exam.

All of our family's hopes rest on you. You must perform beyond your usual level, or else Mom's hard work over the past decade or more will have been for nothing... You useless disappointment of a daughter."

The woman's voice carried straight into the adjacent second bedroom, whose door was left open, but received no response whatsoever.

Following closely, the woman began using tweezers to clean out her nasal hair and foreign matter from between her teeth.

"I'm sorry, my precious daughter.

Mom shouldn't have spoken so harshly just now, and shouldn't have put this much pressure on you.

I should have known long ago that since you ended up with that worthless father of yours, you couldn't possibly turn out any good. You surely share his same inherent flaws, which is why your grades have never improved.

Don't worry, just take the exam boldly tomorrow. No matter how well you do, it doesn't matter. Mom loves you forever."

Still, there was no response from the neighboring room.

The woman then took out a razor to shave the hair off her thighs and underarms, her tone shifting once again—turning stern and resolute:

"Mom has made up her decision. Since you are a complete and utter disappointment, there's no need for you to go out and make a fool of yourself.

Tomorrow's graduation exam, Mom will take it for you. By the way, I will select an outstanding student from your school who lacks any flaws to be your gift.

When that time comes, you can be Mom's precious baby again."

The camera slowly pans out from the master bedroom, shifting horizontally toward the second bedroom that had remained completely silent.

Peeking inward through the slightly ajar door,

A female student wearing the Fourth High School uniform was hanging from the ceiling fan,

...

Late at night.

Inside a small new-media company in Jupiter City, because of internal network issues, the only IT support technician had to work overtime until ten o'clock to finally fix it.

The technician looked to be just over thirty years old, but his hairline had already made a hasty retreat.

Due to prolonged sitting and a lifelong lack of exercise, his belly was much larger than that of an average person.

With everything fixed, he clutched a leave application form and walked into the boss's office, only to be hit with a torrent of abuse the moment he stepped inside.

"I told you to fix the network, how could it take you this long? Tonight's livestreaming session had to be forcibly postponed. Do you have any idea how much money that cost us?"

"The network is stable now."

"I know that much, now get lost!"

"I'd like to take a day off. Tomorrow is my alma mater's graduation exam, and I want to go back to school to take a look..."

"What does graduation have to do with you? Besides, you're the only network technician in our company. What are we supposed to do if something goes wrong again tomorrow? Even if we dock every penny of your salary, it won't be enough to cover the losses.

Leave denied. Wait until things are completely stable for a few days."

"Then can I resign?"

Upon hearing this, the boss grew even angrier. "Of course you can! According to your contract, handover takes half a month, so you still have to come in tomorrow. Otherwise, it will be treated as truancy, and your salary as well as your severance compensation will naturally be forfeited."

"Oh, I guess I'll just take leave then. If I don't bring money back home, my family will be upset."

"Hey! Gong Xin, are you completely incapable of understanding human speech?"

The network technician named Gong Xin showed no emotional fluctuation as he walked straight toward the boss, who was not much older than him.

Bizarrely, along the way, Gong Xin slowly unbuttoned his shirt, exposing the "belly" hidden underneath.

The boss, who had been arrogant just a moment before, instantly froze in terror at the sight of the "belly" concealed beneath the clothing. But having received compulsory education and systematic physical training in the past,

the boss quickly regained his composure and instinctively reached for the firearm hidden under his desk.

However, what his fingers touched was not cold metallic machinery, but warm, moist, fleshy tissue.

The next second... Squelch, squelch~

Only the sounds of writhing flesh echoed within the office.

Gong Xin seemed to have no need to dispose of the body whatsoever. In less than two minutes, he left the company holding a leave request stained with a bloody handprint.

He had no worries about this matter being exposed, as if once tomorrow arrived, he would depart for the depths where investigators could no longer pursue him.

...

The eve of graduation,

Students outside of the senior year were already on break, and senior students would also leave the school at [16:30] in the afternoon, with the exception of boarders.

There were still forty minutes left before dismissal,

Most of the students had stopped training and instead formed small groups with their close friends to roam around the campus, relaxing as much as possible.

Luo Di was different from before. Instead of continuing to train extra hard before the exam, he sat in the classroom chatting idly with the Class Monitor, Gao Yuxuan, and Xiaoying.

Among the four of them, the most nervous were undoubtedly Gao Yuxuan and Li Xiaoying,

One wanted to prove himself in a field outside of academic subjects,

While the other wanted to score close to the Class Monitor in order to strive for the same destination.

Gao Yuxuan tossed out a topic of conversation, "I wonder what the drawing of lots will be like tomorrow?"

The Class Monitor held a bag of snacks bought from the school canteen, munching as she spoke, "Anything is fine, as long as we don't draw Luo Di. Otherwise, no matter how well we perform, we'll still be overshadowed by him.

Right, Luo Di?

A [Sub-six-month] mimic—you could probably take one down all by yourself by now, right?"

Luo Di answered quite cautiously, "Without knowing the entity's specific traits, I can't jump to conclusions."

Tch~ The Class Monitor glared at Luo Di, then turned her attention back to her snack bag.

"By the way~ Where do you guys plan to go after graduation?" Xiaoying mustered the courage to join the conversation.

Gao Yuxuan had also been wanting to bring up this topic, or rather, use it as an opportunity to inquire about the Class Monitor's situation, "Both Luo Di and I want to head to the Capital. However, I'll be taking the route through the Research Bureau, while Luo Di might go straight to one of the major corporations there.

What about the two of you?"

"I... I have to see my final scores before deciding," Xiaoying replied, her gaze shifting toward the Class Monitor beside her.

The snack-eating Class Monitor froze for a moment before snapping back to reality, licking the seasoning powder off her fingers and pointing toward the bridge of her own nose.

"Me? My family will decide for me based on my final scores. I just need to get through graduation smoothly.

Let's see if I can strive to make it, strive to head to the Capital and reunite with everyone~ Of course, I don't really get to make that decision myself."

Little Gao pushed up his glasses, "You can't make your own decisions about things like this?"

"Not at all. After all, my dad is a bit of a figure in the elite circles; his vision is broader, and the decisions he makes usually lead to better outcomes."

Gao Yuxuan nodded, "I suppose that's true. Anyway, with your standards, Class Monitor, heading to the Capital is only a matter of time.

Right, after we graduate, should we still get together for a meal like we used to? Let's invite Miss Anna along as well."

The Class Monitor looked back down at her snack bag, "Let's talk about it after graduation. Everyone, do your best tomorrow."

Time always flies when things are leisurely. The dismissal bell rang shortly after, and non-boarding students left the campus in groups.

Inside the classroom,

Luo Di, having packed his schoolbag, was just about to leave when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.

Gao Yuxuan, seeing this scene unfold, immediately found an excuse and scurried away.

Xiaoying, who had originally intended to return to the dormitory with the Class Monitor, also kept her head down as she slipped out the back door, quietly waiting alone by the exit downstairs.

Thus, only the two of them remained in the classroom.

Before Luo Di could even speak, he felt his back press against something "soft" and "warm."

At the same time, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around him.

No words were spoken,

No extra movements were made,

It lasted for a full five minutes before she slowly released him.

"Luo Di, you must bring out your absolute best state tomorrow."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing much. I'm just feeling a bit emotional before graduation; perhaps it'll be hard for us to meet again after this. Hurry back. You'll probably still insist on your night run tonight, so you might as well start a bit earlier and get some rest sooner."

"Alright."

Just when the Class Monitor expected Luo Di to walk away directly,

A hand gently rested upon her head. There was no patting, no rubbing—it just rested there.

"See you tomorrow."

...

[School Gate]

Gao Yuxuan was waiting under a tree outside the entrance.

Since the Class Monitor lived in the dorms, the two of them had ridden home together almost every day throughout the entire second semester of senior year.

He had expected today's situation to be special and thought he would have to wait quite a while, but less than ten minutes later, Luo Di walked out.

"So fast? You didn't even spend a little more time chatting with the Class Monitor. Judging by her expression, she must be under a lot of pressure, or rather, the pressure from her family is immense."

"Vice Monitor, aren't you sticking your nose into things a bit too much?"

Luo Di gave Gao Yuxuan a light slap on the back,

The latter instantly dodged and threw a playful punch in return.

Though they were simple movements, the two of them dodged each other and unconsciously burst into laughter. In Luo Di's eyes, there was a noticeable glimmer—one entirely different from when he used to walk home alone.