Chapter 1646 - 526: Malice-Filled Balance City (Part 3)

Chapter 1646: Chapter 526: Malice-Filled Balance City (Part 3)

Wen Xishu smiled.

At this moment, Wen Xishu uncharacteristically felt uncomfortable, but his acting skills were excellent, so he suppressed any change in expression.

The rules of Balance City were too cruel.

He knew he was actually breaking down Nini’s defenses, then entering the girl’s heart. If he could truly become family, that would be correct.

But if everything he did was for leveling up, for moving to the next ring...

For Nini, this was practically a great disaster.

Wen Xishu’s smile appeared gentle, but watching Nini finally nod, he already felt some self-doubt.

Especially because this girl was not nearly as tough as she appeared.

...

...

Shopping for groceries gave Wen Xishu a sense of déjà vu from his past life.

He bought eggplants, tomatoes, beef brisket, carrots, potatoes, and some pork belly. He also bought a cake for Nini.

Yes, he remembered that when he was in Deceit Tower, Nini had asked him to buy a cake. He purchased one that was likely too expensive for a delinquent girl, an exquisite cake.

For a child, this type of cake cost months of saved "breakfast money."

When Wen Xishu was younger, before his adoptive parents’ true nature was revealed, he would also receive breakfast money daily, around two yuan.

He chose not to eat breakfast, saving two yuan every day, and many days later, he bought himself a toy car.

He had never experienced loving parents.

In fact, Nini wasn’t really a normal "daughter" either. What nineteen-year-old boy plays the father to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl?

But this was Balance City.

In truth, Wen Xishu couldn’t insert himself into this role. He knew he was acting.

To the extent that he felt somewhat nauseated, disgusted to the point of retching. It was as if he was doing what his adoptive parents had done before.

He had long since moved on from that experience.

Some monsters from his past had stirred memories inside him before, and he had lightly shattered those memories.

People shouldn’t be trapped in the past.

But at this moment, his nausea wasn’t because of the past; it was because he was becoming the person he despised the most.

He needed to use "feigned kindness and warmth" to hurt another child once more, using this child to accomplish his plan to enter the Inner Ring.

Nauseating, damn nauseating.

Just like years ago when his adoptive mother used him to shoot parent-child videos to gather resources from the internet.

Wen Xishu suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He took several deep breaths, gradually suppressing the irritation in his eyes.

"I can’t be lost, can’t be confused."

"If my ultimate aim is to break this system, then those I harm only need to endure it once more."

"If my intention is to save them, and this is a path I must take... then I shouldn’t hesitate."

The logic was sound, and Wen Xishu quickly resumed his steps.

But when he returned to his temporary home and saw Nini had tidied up the kitchen, hearing her fake a fierce voice and say, "If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll laugh at you," he...

He felt a twinge of unease, a sense of compassion growing within.

"The cake... it’s for you. I guess you like sweets; girls your age tend to like sweets."

Nini was a little surprised, wanting to display anger and fierceness upon seeing the cake. Because as a child, her father had been so kind, buying her cakes, only to be replaced later.

She feared all the good things would disappear from her life, so she instinctively made herself fierce to resist the arrival of good things.

If you never possess, it won’t disappear. In such a place, people naturally feel unworthy.

But she really wasn’t the best actress; she was easily moved.

"You..."

Facing Wen Xishu’s face, she found herself unable to speak harsh words, her expression becoming complicated as if emotions named anger and sadness mixed, blending into a new color.

Wen Xishu immediately turned away, beginning to prepare the groceries.

He was also afraid of seeing the child’s real reaction, afraid that he would soften.

He couldn’t soften.

He wasn’t wrong, nor was Nini; it was the city’s twisted rules.

If the path to the right answer necessitated hurting those who lost their loved ones... then he had to be ruthless.

This was a place where even obsessions were oppressed.

Love unattainable was an obsession, a core element of many tragedies Wen Xishu experienced in Deceit Tower.

But love dared not love, hate dared not hate, suppressing emotions intensely was another form of suffering. He had to end this suffering.

"You don’t need to address me by title; you can just call me Wen Xishu. Nini, I’ll make sure you live happily here. I hope we get along well."

Quickly, a smile reappeared on Wen Xishu’s lips, and his gaze became gentle again.

This time, he no longer hesitated or felt conflicted.

Nini was slightly taken aback, her expression less fierce.

The "father and daughter" quickly began eating.

The two ate in silent silence.

Occasionally, Wen Xishu would smile and pick up food for Nini. Nini simply picked up her bowl, hiding her face behind it, quickly shoveling food with her chopsticks, creating a slight sound.

She suddenly felt like crying because it had been so long... since she had eaten such a meal.

The taste wasn’t reason enough to cry; instead, it was that she missed her father dearly.

"Grow up, stop thinking of him as a good person. No one in this world cares about you, and your dad is gone forever!"