Chapter 127 - The Return

Cheng Xiu called her dad again after San Zhe left.

After coercing her dad into believing she was not dating anyone or planning to elope, and that she did know that he would support all her decisions so she had no reason to elope, Cheng Xiu laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling for a moment.

Everything that happened in the span of a few weeks and her mind in chaos.

The ability to feel the Qi, the loss of that feeling, the exhilaration of playing a game that hooked her heart was tremendous. She knew that she was getting addicted to it already, but Cheng Xiu found herself unwilling to change…and was there even a need to change? She was not the only person in the world to have an addiction to VR games, and she was doing it for genuine reasons. Like the feeling of having Qi…or active Qi centre…and the ability to fight the way that she was able to do in the Other World was amazing.

But would the experience be the same anymore?

Her eyes went to the black and cream gaming pods in the corner of the room.

She could not use that anymore as the technology seemed to be malfunctioning.

It was lucky that she did have an S Ranked Mental Strength, otherwise, she would have died already.

Cheng Xiu frowned for a moment. Where did she put her old Gaming Helmet?

Cheng Xiu got up and looked under the bed.

There, a small red metallic box was stuffed in.

Cheng Xiu pulled it out and placed her hand over the lid of the box, that had a hand scanner.

There was a beep sound.

Cheng Xiu touched the corner buttons of the lid, and a virtual keypad came out.

Cheng Xiu pressed the relevant buttons, and the lid opened.

Inside the lid sat two VR Helmets. One was a deep purple, with jagged yellow lines that imitated lightning on the headphones.

The other was a completely black VR helmet, that had golden circles etched on its sides.

Her eyes went to the purple one first. It was the one Gu Shu had mocked about. Her father had bought it for her for the Chinese New Year to replace the black one, which was even older than the 2159 model that Gu Shu had mocked. And it was her favourite because her mom had helped her choose.

Cheng Xiu sat back on the bed and then looked at the gaming pod.

She shook her head and put the helmet down.

Cheng Xiu picked up her Fold and started to call Gu Shu.

It rang for a moment before she cut it off.

Cheng Xiu pursed her lips. Was she overreacting? So what if Gu Shu did not call, she only left after she found out that Cheng Xiu would wake up only a few days later. Neither Gu Shu nor the doctor had predicted that Cheng Xiu had the amazing healing capacity that she did.

And Gu Shu was not obligated to tell her everything that happened in her life, right? Did she need to know who was visiting the Gu Family and for what reason?

Cheng Xiu thought for a moment and then shook her head again. She was overcomplicating things. Whatever the reason, she would not know what that reason was unless she contacted Gu Shu herself. And even if she had not called her, cheng Xiu could call her to update her health her best friend.

Was there a need to stand on ceremony about such matters?

Cheng Xiu sorted out her thoughts and called Cheng Xiu again.

It rang for some time before it was picked up.

"Hello?" a soft voice said on the other side.

Cheng Xiu blinked. "Who is this?"

"This is Maid Sui of the Gu Residence," the voice said proudly.

Cheng Xiu smiled. "Hello, Ms Sui. Is Gu Shu there?"

"Yes. The madam here."

Cheng Xiu frowned. She was? Then why did she not pick it up? Gu Shu had put everyone's number with its caller tune to make sure she knew who was calling her. So she should have known it was Cheng Xiu if she was in the room right? Why did she not pick up?

"Can you give her the phone, please?" she asked Sui.

"Please wait a moment as I ask," the woman said from the other end.

There were muffled voices.

"Hello?" Gu Shu's voice came through.

Cheng Xiu frowned. There was something wrong with her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Why did you call?"

Cheng Xiu felt her heart sink. What? Why was Gu Shu talking to her in that tone?

"You didn't call or message me," Cheng Xiu said in a fake happy voice. "That is not like you at all. I expected you to have questions or something or the other or at least rant about the latest news about that Ren Dao."

"I am sure that you know more about Ren Dao than I do now," Gu Shu said. Her voice seemed like she was talking through gritted teeth.

"What are you talking about now?" Cheng Xiu asked.

"Didn't you meet his cousin?"

It did not take the IQ of a genius to realise what had happened. "You are jealous because I met some cousin of his? Really?"

"Ren Yin said that Miss Xiu Xue was very impressed by you."

"So?" Cheng Xiu asked. "Have I ever shown any interest in that Pimping Moron before that I will show it now? What nonsense!"

"I...I just..."

Cheng Xiu sighed. "I guess we will discuss these idiotic theories of yours in detail once you get back."

"But Ren Yin-"

Cheng Xiu cut the call off.

She pursed her lips. Her eyes filled with tears and her hold on the Fold increased.

"All for a boy," Cheng Xiu said in a mocking voice. "She did not call all for a boy."

Her phone vibrated.

Cheng Xiu looked at the text, thinking it was Gu Shu. It wasn't.

It was a forwarded message from San Zhe.

She opened it.

[Want to meet up soon? -Yaksha]

Cheng Xiu sighed. She typed 'Yes. See you in five at the forest.' and then grabbed the gaming Helmet.

Even though the Doctor had told her to take it easy for a few days, Cheng Xiu felt too agitated and angry at the moment.

She walked towards the gaming pod, the VR Helmet in hand.

She pressed a button at the head of the gaming pod.

It opened to reveal a large container of blue liquid.

She detached the tank from the pod and connected it to the Helmet in her hand.

A green light on the sides of the Helmet woofers appeared.

Cheng Xiu sighed and put the helmet on.

She lay on the floor.

"Activate Visor 4444," she said in a steady voice.

There was a beeping sound and everything in her vision disappeared.

All she saw was black.