Chapter 471 - 234: Good Night Mom, See You Tomorrow.

Chapter 471: Chapter 234: Good Night Mom, See You Tomorrow.

"Oh? What residential complex does he live in for it to be that expensive?"

"Duh, isn’t it obvious? Autumn Water, the most expensive in the city. His unit is the crown jewel of the most exclusive building there. It costs tens of millions, almost a hundred million..."

Xie Yuan nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Got it."

"Like hell you do. What, are you planning on buying it?"

Wang Yibing said, giving him a sideways glance.

But he was in low spirits and utterly dejected.

"Let’s go. We can’t stream anymore. I’ll take you home first. If it really comes to it, I’ll just have to give in to him. At least I’ll get something out of it, even if it’s peanuts... Ugh, my ass is on the line."

Before leaving, Wang Yibing went to the flashing, nightclub-style Buddha statue and prayed again, muttering under his breath,

"Buddha, you have to help me get all that money..."

But the statue remained silent, flashing on and off, its grinning lips seeming to mock the man below.

The two of them sat in the car, a heavy silence between them.

Xie Yuan had the window down, his arm resting on the sill as he watched the city at night.

The neon lights were a hazy blur in his eyes, like an illusory reflection.

"Yuanzai, what are you thinking about?"

Wang Yibing looked to his right and asked with some concern.

Xie Yuan turned his head and shook it.

"It’s nothing."

Wang Yibing sighed.

"Don’t worry, even if this path doesn’t work out, I’ll still help you. Five hundred thousand isn’t the end of the world. You’re in good shape now. Worst comes to worst, we can throw on the yellow jackets and do deliveries for a few years to pay off the debt, right? It’s hard to strike it rich, but it’s not hard to earn a little cash."

"You... it’s like you’re planning to shoulder this debt with me. I still owe you seventy-three thousand, nine hundred sixty yuan, and fifty-two cents. Damn, I can forget the fifty cents, but you even transferred the two cents? Don’t tell me you starved yourself for two days to send that?"

"Don’t worry about my money. I was already treating it as money I’d burned for your funeral anyway."

Wang Yibing shook his head.

"If things get really tough, I’ll help you pay it back. We’re two able-bodied young men; we can even do manual labor to pay it off. But don’t give me that look. For the past two days, I keep feeling like you’re about to leave this world... Yuanzai, you’re the only brother I’ve got. If you go, what’s your dad here gonna do?"

Xie Yuan looked at his half-joking, half-serious cry and felt a little helpless.

"When you’re like this, it makes me want to leave even less..."

"What, were you actually thinking of doing something stupid?"

Wang Yibing’s eyes widened.

’But it’s no solution to just let things go on like this.’

Xie Yuan murmured to himself, his voice so low that Wang Yibing couldn’t hear him.

"Don’t worry. I’m not going to die. It wasn’t easy for me to be alive again."

Wang Yibing let out a breath of relief.

"That’s more like it."

When they arrived downstairs from Xie Yuan’s building, Wang Yibing watched him get out of the car and called out,

"Go home and don’t overthink things, ’kay? Take a nice hot shower, give yourself a little treat, and you’ll sleep like a baby. But your place is small, so remember to wear headphones."

"Get lost," Xie Yuan cursed with a laugh.

"Hahaha—"

Wang Yibing stomped on the accelerator and sped off. Xie Yuan watched his green-plated car drive into the distance, then looked toward the neon lights of the city center.

This place wasn’t far from the heart of the city. Just past a dark, old neighborhood—one that had been rumored for ten years to be demolished but never was—were the CBD skyscrapers, their lights shooting out and piercing the sky.

Even from the entrance of this community, with its broken streetlights, he could see the vibrant colors over there.

It had rained during the day, and the roads were still damp.

The layers of clouds in the sky had not dispersed, hiding the moon and stars, making the night sky feel deep and heavy.

Xie Yuan stood there for a long time. Cars came and went, their glaring headlights approaching and then receding, their roaring engines merely sounds of passersby.

The night felt lonely.

Xie Yuan suddenly started walking, but not toward his residential complex.

Both sides of the street were lined with shops that had closed for the night. The dim yellow streetlights mixed with the car headlights, casting one shadow after another on the shop windows.

Xie Yuan’s shadow flickered across one glass door after another, accelerating, appearing and disappearing in time with the rhythm of the passing cars.

Then, in a blind spot under an awning, Xie Yuan walked in, but his shadow never came back out.

The damp, post-rain sidewalk was completely empty.

The Celestial Concealment Skill was the powerful tool Xie Yuan had used to defeat strong enemies many times.

Its power lay in how it not only altered the light around the user’s body but also distorted the surrounding air and even blocked an opponent’s perception.

In other words, it provided concealment at the source, along the path, and at the terminal.

This was how Xie Yuan, with strength far below that of a Grandmaster, was able to move stealthily before Grandmasters time and again.

This also meant that even though cameras lack perception, the Celestial Concealment Skill, which distorts both the user and the ambient light, was still effective against modern equipment.

And it was exceptionally useful.

Xie Yuan had already experimented many times with his phone’s camera and had come to this conclusion.

However, Xie Yuan originally had no intention of resorting to these methods.

Every world has its own rules. Xie Yuan just wanted to live a good life here, with this identity, for however long it might last.

If he used other means, it would feel like cheating;

and if he cheated, it would feel... even less real.

Xie Yuan was captivated by the immersive experience of this dream-like world.

Even though the small apartment had felt completely unfamiliar at first, it had come to feel like home.

Even though his friend had seemed distant when they first reunited, he was still the same as always.

He didn’t want to pop this vibrant bubble; he was reluctant to let it go.

But someone was forcing his hand, reminding him that things were the same everywhere.

The déjà vu of it all kept reminding him of the past, and the instinctive thoughts that surfaced made him feel out of place here.

’But this is who I am now. The real me.’

And so, to ensure the end of this dream would have no regrets...

Xie Yuan had no choice but to become the self that didn’t belong here once more.

He picked up his phone, composed a message, and sent it.

Then he looked up at the distant neon lights and skyscrapers, and melted into the endless flow of the city.

「The Xie family.」

Wang Yafang was lying on the sofa, absent-mindedly watching TV, when her phone suddenly vibrated.

She subconsciously picked it up. Seeing it was a message from her son, her spirits lifted slightly, and she tapped it open.

"Son:

"I’m not coming home tonight. I’m staying over at Wang Yibing’s place, so you guys get some rest.

"Good night, Mom. See you tomorrow."