Chapter 3 – Linshui

Jing City's Meng Family was one of the top big families in the local community. Although recent generations had begun to engage in politics and business, their scholarly temperament remained in their bones.

Song Yu's grandmother had been a standard Jiangnan1 beauty when she was younger. Even though she'd grown old, her delicate gentleness hadn't lessened at all. Her pale hair was neatly combed back and she was currently standing at the carved iron gate on tiptoe, looking towards the other end of the road nervously and expectantly .

Song Yu got out of the car.

Warm light illuminated the youth's pale face.

Grandma Meng's eyes reddened when she saw him and she rubbed at the corners of her eyes, "Yuyu has grown up. Grandmother couldn't recognize you for a moment."

Song Yu smiled slightly, supporting her as they walked, "Grandma must have waited a long time. The wind is strong outside, let's go in first."

Grandma Meng's eyes were still red as she smiled. She patted the back of his hand and spoke softly, "It wasn't a long wait, and it's fine now that you're here."

Song Yu saw many people inside when they walked in. They were all from the Meng Family, and most of them were from the younger generations. All of his older and younger cousins had been gathered together.

They all got up to welcome him warmly when they saw him come in. It was just that the gazes they used to look at him weren't very pure.

Song Yu clearly understood their purpose. It was likely that they were all obeying their parents and had come to try and establish a relationship with him due to A City's Song Family's renown.

"These are all your cousins, and we're all one family. In the future, if there's anywhere in Jing City that you want to go to, you can look for them. They're more familiar with the city than you are."

Grandma Meng introduced them one by one. Her purpose was very simple; she was afraid that Song Yu would be lonely after coming to Jing City for the first time and wanted him to know more people who were around his age.

But Song Yu wasn't interested in them.

Song Yu's family situation in his original world wasn't bad, and he could handle this kind of situation with ease. His smile was well behaved and polite, but his attitude was cold and indifferent.

After settling down, the family had a quiet meal together.

Grandma Meng was a well-bred lady from a good family. Her family had been strict when she was young, and she still kept with the tradition of not holding conversation while eating. She didn't speak, and the younger generations in the family naturally wouldn't dare to act presumptuously. Although their gazes were anxious enough to poke holes in Song Yu's body, they didn't try to start a conversation without permission.

For Song Yu, this was actually a good thing.

After he finished eating, he used the excuse of being tired from sitting in the car for a long time and went upstairs to wash up and go to bed.

He left the group of people with complex and gloomy expressions behind at the table who wanted to talk, but didn't know what to say.

After taking a bath and drying his hair, Song Yu splayed himself out on the bed.

There was a faint fragrance of jasmine on the quilt and pillows. The air in Jing City was fresher than in A City. Grandma Meng had planted many flowers in the garden, and the evening breeze was gentle, making the atmosphere seem particularly peaceful.

Song Yu stared at the ceiling, thinking about what to do next.

If he suddenly went to look for Xie Sui, he would definitely be regarded as a psychopath.

How about waiting until school started?

They were going to be in the same class anyway.

No way.

Song Yu covered his eyes with an arm, thinking about how Xie Sui's finger would be broken during this summer vacation, leaving behind a pain that lingered for a lifetime. He had better go and save him.

"But where does he live?"

Oh, right, he'd forgotten the most important thing––

Where did Xie Sui live?!

When he thought of this, Song Yu suddenly sat up, his eyes wide open.

Damn. Couldn't he just?

"008! 008!"

Song Yu began to shout for 008 like mad.

After a while, 008's faint yet complex voice rang out in his mind. "I'm here, what can I do for you?"

Song Yu sat up straight, "Do you have Xie Sui's present address?"

008 replied reflexively, "Of course." However, it quickly reacted and shot a question back at Song Yu in alarm, "What do you want this for!"

Song Yu laughed briefly, "Of course it's because I want to go find him."

008: "???!!!"

008 was both anxious and angry. It projected its avatar in front of Song Yu. After looking at the environment around it, its heart was completely wretched. It suppressed its outrage and said, "Host, what are you doing? Why are you in Jing City!!!"

Song Yu said, "Didn't you say that I could do whatever I wanted in these five years?"

008 was so anxious it was going around in circles, "But my prerequisite for that is that you don't affect the plot. You can't be in Jing City right now, and you can't meet up with the protagonist. It's not time for you to show up yet, hurry up and go back."

Song Yu raised his eyebrows.

008 was a little afraid of Song Yu, so it could only try to persuade him earnestly, "Host, go back! Go back to A City. You can't appear in front of Xie Sui with your identity as Song Yu. This will cause the plot to go off track."

Song Yu sat cross legged on the bed and smiled particularly indifferently, "That's simple. I don't need to use Song Yu's identity. I remember that in the original book, Xie Sui always addressed Song Yu by his English name. Besides, he's so young right now, and there's no way he remembers me from back then. I'll just casually make up an identity and show up by his side."

008's tone was anxious, "You can't do that!"

Song Yu snapped his fingers, "I can do exactly that. I think that there's nothing wrong with it. You just have to give me Xie Sui's address."

008 was so angry that it was rendered speechless. Smoke was coming out of the top of its head.

When Song Yu saw this, he toned down his smile and said lightly, "You guys didn't ask me if I was willing and forcibly pulled me into this world. You should've thought about the consequences."

008 bowed its head and pressed its lips together.

008 was really incredibly vexed. It was just that it was a system that was also full of human feelings. They were the ones who'd been wrong to start with, and there was nothing they could do.

A long time later, it gritted its teeth and scratched its head. Its expression was extremely unsightly as it finally made a concession, "About this… I have to go and ask the Host World for instructions. You, you shouldn't do anything rashly… Even if you appear at Xie Sui's side, you can't expose your identity."

Having obtained a satisfactory answer, Song Yu smiled slightly, "No problem. In this world, A City's Third Young Master Shao isn't the only person with the name Song Yu."

008 didn't want to deal with Song Yu at all right now. Dejected, it turned into a wisp of smoke and returned to Song Yu's mind.

Song Yu was stunned for a moment, "Hey, you still haven't told me Xie Sui's home address!"

"I don't know!"

This reply was an angry roar that came from the flustered and exasperated 008.

Song Yu: "..."

So, what exactly had he called the system for?

He hadn't obtained any information and, instead, it had given him a whole bunch of restraints.

What a garbage system!

Other than blocking him, it couldn't do anything else.

Song Yu sighed, laid back down, and went to sleep.

Looking for a person in such a big city might seem like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it wasn't impossible for Song Yu. After all, he had an uncle who was a mayor, and a group of cousins who were anxious to get along well with him. However, he didn't even need to make use of these networks and somehow still managed to meet Xie Sui through a strange combination of events.

On the third day of his arrival to Jing City.

Grandma Meng was afraid that he would feel too suffocated at home, so she tried to persuade him to go out and walk around.

Unable to bear his grandmother's urging, Song Yu had gotten into his cousin Meng Guang's car.

Meng Guang's sports car was wine red and just as flashy as its owner.

He took off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of slightly uptilted peach blossom eyes, looked at Song Yu who was seated in the copilot seat, and said, "Isn't my grandma really annoying?"

Song Yu laughed, "Not really."

"What do you mean, not really." Meng Guang chuckled and stepped on the gas pedal, "She has so many rules that I want to die. Every time I come over, I can still deal with it for the first two days, but I end up being scolded by her from morning till night by the third day."

Song Yu laughed and didn't say anything else. He liked the food that Grandma Meng made, and he'd been living very comfortably over the past few days.

Meng Guang's eyes were focused in front of him. He suddenly curved his lips in a smile, "Little cousin, how old are you?"

Song Yu was surprised, "Fifteen."

Meng Guang's smile became even happier. He shot him an ambiguous wink, "That's old enough. Your older cousin will take you to a fun place. Wanna go?"

Meng Guang was his uncle's only son. As the mayor's son, he was a prince who could run rampant anywhere in the entire city. If he said it was fun, then it must be an extraordinary place.

Song Yu was a little interested, but made sure to remind him, "Cousin, I can't drink."

Meng Guang laughed, "Don't worry. I won't let you touch even a single drop of alcohol. If something happens to you, not just my grandma, even my short-fused aunt would fly over first from A City and peel off my skin."

Song Yu was amused.

Meng Guang continued, "Consider it an apology for not going to pick you up three days ago. I'll take you to a fun place. All you have to do is nod. Wanna go?"

Song Yu had nothing to do. Since he was idle anyway, he simply agreed directly.

Meng Guang smiled, "Alright, this is a secret between the two of us. Remember our brotherhood and don't turn around and sell me out."

Song Yu couldn't help laughing, "I won't tell grandma."

Having obtained Song Yu's assurance, Meng Guang switched directions and drove the car south.

Although Meng Guang loved to play around and have a good time, Song Yu was his cousin, and he wasn't yet an adult. His mind was pure and clean, and he naturally wouldn't take him to places that weren't suitable for children. Otherwise, he'd be no different from a beast.

Meng Guang took Song Yu to a high-level club named 'Linshui'2. After they went in, he showed his membership card to the front desk and was led inside by the waiter.

They passed through a magnificently decorated imperial hall, a dark corridor, and then out the other side to an antique style courtyard. The walkway, which was covered with red wooden planks, was built over a pool of water. When looking down, they could see koi swimming around in the clear water.

Meng Guang said, "Let me take you to meet some of my friends."

Song Yu nodded.

Meng Guang's friends were all famous young masters of Jing City. They had actually planned a small private party amongst themselves that day.

Normally, it would've been a rich young men's carnival with music and women, but due to Song Yu's presence, these older brothers weren't shameless enough to call over any hostesses to keep them company.

So, it became more like a round of karaoke. They all went for the mics, and demonic sounds filled their ears.

Meng Guang was upset, "Are you all trying to attack my younger cousin's ears?!

One of them sneered, "Real devastation would be giving you the microphone."

Meng Guang was angry and slapped the table, "Who are you looking down on!"

"..."

Song Yu, who was drinking water on the sofa, basically understood the situation.

He'd been played by his cousin. He made it sound so ambiguous and mysterious, then took him here. In fact, it was because Meng Guang couldn't evade Grandma Meng anymore, and he didn't want to bail on his brothers, so he'd put on an act and tricked him over.

He'd fallen for it.

Song Yu was driven to the limits of his endurance by this group of people who couldn't carry a tune and went outside, saying, "Cousin, I'm going outside for some air."

Meng Guang was already engrossed in having fun. He waved his hand, "Okay, don't run around randomly."

Song Yu wanted to go get some air, and he also wanted to go to the bathroom. However, he walked around the courtyard filled with fake rock mountains for a long time, but still couldn't find a bathroom. As he wound around and around, he ended up walking out of the courtyard and inexplicably arrived at the Linshui club's second floor.