Chapter 1.25

On a winter day in March, the sky was clear, and the air was crisp, giving way to a gorgeous sunset. The horizon swallowed the sun, coloring the sky a breathtaking array of hues. The originally bleak day seemed to light up at this moment.

In a small town, a girl and a boy were experiencing their first date. The nerd and the cheerleader sat at a street stall while enjoying their fish and chips and their date's company. They talked and laughed sweetly with each other, their bashful yet passionate feelings present with every word they said.

In the midst of their happy date, a jock stalked up to them with his team of football players behind him. "Yo! What are you doing with my girl?" he growled, grabbing the nerd by his collar. He pulled the nerd closer to him, breathing down his neck intimidatingly.

But the nerd, a usually shy kid, didn't back down like the cheerleader or the jock expected. His eyes hardened, and he kneed the jock in his stomach. The jock bent over, clutching his stomach with an offended look on his face.

The nerd stood, now the one looking down on the other. "She's not your girl. She's not anybody's girl," he declared, his expression defiant. The cheerleader was horrified but glad at the same time. She never expected her bookworm boyfriend to be able to knee a man like that. Her horror soon transformed into a giggle she couldn't stop..

The jock's face twisted as the pain became unbearable for him, and he keeled over. The two lovebirds left the stall hand in hand, and the jock and his crew were left there, not knowing what to do.

The cheerleader smiled sweetly. Sometimes, the people who appeared to be the weakest were just hiding their strength. She wouldn't judge a book by its cover again.

On the other side of the world, as day broke, a man with hundreds of years under his belt was having the same revelation…

"You want to help us build the case against Mu Ninghua?" Ling Xia asked incredulously, staring at Bu Huai as if he was insane. He glanced over his shoulder quickly, calling out to them "I'll be back." He stepped into the frigid winter air and pulled the red door shut behind him.

As soon as the door closed, he demanded an explanation. "I thought you said you weren't going to help put the person you love in jail," he protested, doubts rising in his heart about what Bu Huai's intentions actually were.

"Yes." Bu Huai nodded with conviction on his face. Ling Xia raised an eyebrow, and Bu Huai finally understood what Ling Xia actually meant when he asked that question. He was asking why Bu Huai chose to do this. "It's, um, it's a long story."

Ling Xia blinked. Well, that didn't tell him anything. He still needed to verify if Bu Huai was actually on their side! "Tell me?" he suggested, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall to get ready for the story.

Bu Huai took a deep breath. He had never told anybody this, and he was nervous. Not for how Ling Xia would react, but just because he was finally putting it out there. It was nerve-racking, a feeling he hadn't felt for many matters. After letting out his breath, he swallowed. He felt like there was a big lump in his throat that was preventing him from speaking.

Every passing moment made his fear grow. Life had never felt more real to him. He was truly telling somebody something he had hidden away for his entire life. Even if that person was a close friend, he had the right to be nervous and jittery, right?

"Bu Huai," Ling Xia gently called out, seeing the other's predicament. He uncrossed his arms, assuming an idle stance. "Calm down. Nothing's going to happen if you tell me. I won't tell anybody," he promised slowly.

Bu Huai swallowed again, forcing himself to talk. "I–I know you won't tell anybody. You would never do that." Ling Xia almost took a step back in surprise. Wow. He never knew that Bu Huai believed in him so much.

Bu Huai breathed in deeply. He closed his eyes and exhaled, trying to calm himself. When he opened his eyes, he wore a nervous smile. "Okay, I'm ready," he said, which earned him a relieved smile from Ling Xia.

"Well, you know how my parents were part of an arranged marriage right?" Bu Huai started after slight hesitation. Ling Xia nodded. "They were always angry at each other, and although I knew they loved me and my sister, they were more invested in their work and picking fights with each other.

"When I learned that they were getting a divorce, my first thought was 'I'm so glad.'" Bu Huai let out a short mocking laugh as he hung his head. "I know. Pathetic, right? I care more about my own well-being than keeping our family together.

"But… There was also sadness. The divorce meant that one of them was going to leave us. I didn't know which one, but I could tell that they were both considering it. If they left us, they could leave their entire past behind, marry the person they love, start a new life, and not feel any emotional attachment to their past.

"They were willing to forget us and move on! Their own children!" Bu Huai paused, taking another slow breath. "Sorry about that," he apologized for letting his emotions get the better of him. Ling Xia smiled with understanding.

"So anyway, their divorce was going through, which was a relief but also a burden on both my sister and me. We were also expected to get high scores during this time. My sister was balancing both of those and also her time with her boyfriend of one year. Then he broke up with her.

"And suddenly, she was crushed by the pressure, the divorce, and the heartbreak. So she… she tried to commit suicide." Bu Huai had to take another break. He couldn't bear to remember the moment when he got the phone call from the hospital. He shut his eyes, trying to banish the memory from his mind, but it seemed to be seared into the back of his eyelids.

Ling Xia's eyes, on the other hand, were wide open. He never could have imagined that these were the conditions Bu Huai grew up in. Truly, the cover of a book spoke nothing of the volumes of pages inside.

"So… is she okay?" Ling Xia asked worriedly. The space in between his eyebrows began to form creases.

"No. She's alive, but she's not well. She stays at a mental hospital these days. I told my parents that would make it seem like we don't care for her enough to help her by ourselves, but they didn't listen. I hope she's doing well and she made some friends," Bu Huai explained. Reminiscent feelings swept across his eyes, glazing them as he walked down memory lane.

Ling Xia's eyebrows loosened up. "That's good." He was relieved, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away. He opened his mouth to ask what happened next, but hit the pause button when he saw Bu Huai's face. He let Bu Huai wander through his memories.

It took a while, but Bu Huai snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry. After that I met Mu Ninghua. She was… the only person that was determined to stay with me. Even after I incessantly pushed her away, she always wanted to be with me."

After a few moments of silence, Ling Xia realized that Bu Huai's story was over. Once again, Ling Xia's eyebrows furrowed. "But she still wants to be with you. Why would you want to help us?"

Bu Huai took a deep breath, trying to put his thoughts into words. "In certain situations, both the result and intentions have to be correct from the very start."

Ling Xia connected the dots, reaching an epiphany. He didn't think of it like that because he was thinking from his point of view, but Bu Huai wasn't aware that the people here were fake, and even he was fake.

It was the same contrast between Ling Xia and Mu Ninghua. He despised her because she killed so easily and was careless in the matters concerning others. Think him a hypocrite, but even though he was apathetic towards the fleeting lives in this world, incomparable to those of his own world, he at least knew the truth, whereas Mu Ninghua lived while believing a lie yet still committed crimes worthy of her impending doom.

"Oh. Even if she did want to be with you, it wasn't for the right reason." He had never considered Bu Huai to be such a person. Originally, he had thought Bu Huai was one of those people that had unwittingly owned an extremely dark pair of rose-colored glasses, and only his white moonlight shone through.

"Yes." Bu Huai nodded. "Can we…" he started, motioning back to the house they had just exited.

"Of course." Ling Xia swung open his front door to find Ji Shengge on the other side. His face instantly turned annoyed. For the past few days, he had tried to meet with Wei Liqin and Yang Lizhen privately, but after Ji Shengge lost track of him during that party when he met Wei Liqin, he had been following him everywhere like a stalker.

Though, he supposed that was because he kind of promised Ji Shengge that he would let him in on their plans. So he gave up and let Ji Shengge help them.

Still, he was incredibly annoyed that this was the sight he was greeted with when he opened the door expecting to find his friends. "What are you doing?"

Ji Shengge apparently didn't care enough to lie. "Listening in on the conversation," he nonchalantly replied.

Ling Xia's mouth twitched. He heaved a breath and schooled his expression into a stern one. "You better not tell anybody, alright? An-y-bo-dy." He said, enunciating his syllables clearly, so that even a fool could understand.

"Of course. So anyways, what do you have?" Ji Shengge stepped back to let the two men in. Wei Liqin next to him looked at Bu Huai intently as they headed back to the study upstairs.

Bu Huai opened his mouth, but he paused when Yang Lizhen abruptly stepped in. "Wait. He's fine, correct?" Yang Lizhen looked at Ling Xia for confirmation.

Ling Xia nodded as he pushed the glass doors of the study open, letting everybody in. "Yeah, he can be trusted."

"Great. I have information on Mu Ninghua's life at college. It'll help set up a personality in the judge's head for her," Bu Huai continued. He zipped open his laptop case and took out a black laptop. He placed it on the table softly as he logged in. The correct page was thankfully already pulled up, and the five of them read through it together.

It was a huge chunk of information. To put it simply, it would paint Mu Ninghua as a bad person, so the jury's first impression of her would make all these things she had done seem more reasonable.

Unspoken, Ling Xia's thoughts travelled in a different direction. What if he could also put Chu Yan in jail with this? If Chu Yan knew that this information was just to put an image in the jury's head, would he get triggered enough to threaten everybody with his still-active gang?

Ling Xia stilled as this thought crossed his mind. It didn't take long for somebody to notice his daze and nudge him in the ribs. He looked to his left in surprise.

It was Wei Liqin. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, his face cold as ice while he played Burt Danvef for the two non-real people in the room.

"I know a way to get Chu Yan in jail too," he declared with a smile. He told them his plans briefly, and they agreed that they could work. And if they didn't, what did they have to lose?

"That means almost everything is set now," Yang Lizhen said, his usually serious face breaking into a smile.

"Almost?" Bu Huai inquired. "What else are you guys planning?"

"It's not necessary, but we want to stop Mu Ninghua from using her own lawyer. Or whatever lawyer Chu Yan or Bai Xian get for her," Ling Xia explained.

Puzzled, Bu Huai asked another question. "I get Chu Yan, but Bai Xian? What does he have to do with this?"

Ling Xia's eyes unnoticeably darted to Wei Liqin's and Yang Lizhen's before landing on Bu Huai again. "We did some research. He's completely infatuated with Mu Ninghua. He also stalks her, which is also something Chu Yan does. It made us think they are working together to some extent."

Bu Huai nodded thoughtfully. He realized that this type of flexible thinking was what he needed to build his own business. Right now, he was basically just living off of his parents, even if he did work at the company. But he stored this thought away, wanting to focus on the main topic.

"Luckily, most of the top lawyers have something in common, they're all part of the same law firm. Somehow, one of the law firms managed to create a monopoly unnoticed by most. But putting all your eggs in one basket is a strength and a weakness, so… if we shut it down, even if only for a few days, they probably won't be able to find a good lawyer," Ling Xia continued detailing out for the newcomer.

"We're still trying to figure out what to do with that 'probably' though." Bu Huai looked a little perplexed at this statement from Ling Xia, but Ling Xia had already turned back to his own laptop, researching.

Yang Lizhen filled his shoes though, noticing his hesitation caused by confusion. "Mu Ninghua probably won't be able to find a good lawyer," he explained. He then turned back to do his own work on his laptop. Everybody was preoccupied with their work, trying to help the situation even a little bit.

Bu Huai stayed still, though, not really knowing what to do with the information Yang Lizhen gave him. Luckily, Yang Lizhen noticed him once again. "Well? Help us." he insisted. Bu Huai started, rushing to his laptop as soon as the instructions were given.

Well, it seemed pretty normal. Any 26 year-old would be lost when working with people that lived for hundreds of years… and one guy that was also 26 years old…? How the heck did Ji Shengge get such heaven-defying abilities?

But, whatever, because Wei Liqin was ready to announce something. "I have a list of all lawyers that could help Mu Ninghua even if we shut down that law firm."

Only Bu Huai looked up, the rest absorbed in their work. "Did you send it to us?" Yang Lizhen asked in a monotone voice.

"Yes." And so began the silent work time once again. It was broken very quickly when Ji Shengge spoke up for the first time.

"You missed a lot of foreign lawyers,"

Ling Xia hummed in agreement.

"Add them," Wei Liqin told Ji Shengge.

"Okay."

These interactions were as lifeless as a doll and meant only for communicating information, not emotions. Except for the occasional cracking of a joke, nobody was willing to put in more effort into the conversations because they were so focused on their work.

It was a good thing they started at sunrise, because they finished formulating a plan only at noon, just in time for lunch. They were starving. As they ate their first bite of the fruit of Ling Xia and Ji Shengge's cooperation in the kitchen, they felt the tension leave their bodies.

All five of them were grown men. Their appetites were bound to be large, so they gobbled down the food like it was nothing. Still, they were satisfied in the end. The food relaxed them. It was a huge relief after being cooped up in that room for so long.

"So glad we finished that," Ling Xia said, getting out of his chair to stretch. He reached down to touch the floor and then straightened, happy he could feel the stretch in his limbs.

"Yeah, that took a long time," Wei Liqin agreed, getting up to give his plate a quick rinse in the sink. Footsteps followed him there, the others having the same intentions as him. They formed a somewhat orderly queue as they waited for their turn.

In the middle of scrubbing the miniscule grains of rice he missed off his plate, Wei Liqin's face suddenly turned cold. He had accidentally slipped up and let his real personality show! Hopefully, Ji Shengge and Bu Huai didn't notice. That, fortunately, was exactly the case.

Ling Xia did see that Wei Liqin's body had become tense though. He jabbed the other in his back with his index finger, hoping to jolt him out of his unreasonable thoughts. "Now we just have to make sure our lawyer isn't killed in some untraceable attack," Ling Xia said, his thoughts about Wei Liqin far away from his words to distract the others.

Ji Shengge let a laugh slip through his should-be sealed lips. "Sorry, it's just funny to me that you called the lawyer that represented China's government 'our lawyer'."

The beginnings of laughter left Ling Xia's mouth. "I don't understand why you're explaining yourself. Nobody asked," said Ling Xia, wanting to shut Ji Shengge down and also goad him on.

Ji Shengge did continue, as was their unspoken agreement for "joking" around. "I also don't get why you said 'untraceable attack'," he noted.

"Yeah, it's as if you don't care if the lawyer dies, you only care if it's unable to be connected to Mu Ninghua, Chu Yan, or Bai Xian," Bu Huai piped up, supporting Ji Shengge. He had no idea how right he was. Luckily, Ling Xia was kind enough to let the innocent stay a bit innocent.

He chuckled, effectively dismissing this claim with this one sound. From behind him, he heard Ji Shengge's deep voice once again. "You want me to do your dishes?" he asked. Bu Huai and Yang Lizhen placed their plates on top of Ji Shengge's.

"Thanks," Bu Huai called out as he was turning to leave.

Realizing his own impoliteness, Yang Lizhen followed Bu Huai's lead in the matter and thanked Ji Shengge. "Thank you."

As the two were taking their first steps away from the sink, Ling Xia turned and dropped his plate onto the quickly growing pile in Ji Shengge's hands. Even though they had only truly known each other for a short time, he was confident the other could handle catching it. This fact proved to be true as the sound of ceramic colliding rang in Ling Xia's ears.

Ji Shengge inched to the right, so the plate landed on top of the stack, but its skewed position put it in danger of slipping off. A simple lean to the left, and the plate righted itself, nestling comfortably in the dip of the one below.

With a grateful smile, Ling Xia thanked him. "Thanks, you can just leave the plates in the sink after you're done with them." He patted Ji Shengge on the shoulder as he slipped away, partly to push him toward the sink and partly to encourage him.

He knew everybody's eating habits from his time working at the military canteen in the real world, and there was no way anybody would have an easy time rinsing Yang Lizhen's plate off. That was a fact.

Ling Xia pitied Ji Shengge, but there was a bit of glee from his small form of revenge after the other stood by while he fought with five well-trained people. Ling Xia leisurely walked up the stairs, the impact of his feet against the wood floor dulled by the thin layer of material of his soft slippers.

His footsteps went unheard by the three people above him who were sprinting to the study as if the three of them were neck and neck in the final stretch of an Olympic race, or maybe more like a follow the leader game with Wei Liqin playing the leader.

Similes aside, the group had one more thing to do to ensure the jailing of a certain Miss Mu today which was hopefully also the last thing they ever had to do for this. They had to make sure the lawyer was safe, which was what Wei Liqin, Yang Lizhen, and Bu Huai were currently doing in the study.

Somehow, the three ran so fast, and Ling Xia walked so slowly, that the three had already been working for a few minutes, immersed in their ideas.

As Ling Xia pushed open the door of the study, the brass hinges creaked as if to announce his presence to those inside.

Fingers stilled, pencils froze, and heads shot up. Wei Liqin, Yang Lizhen, and Bu Huai stared at the intruder with vigilance. After a brief moment of silence, their hearts calmed down because they realized the so-called intruder was actually their friend.

Ling Xia narrowed his eyes at this scene. It seemed their time in this world made the originally sharp reflexes and reactions of Yang Lizhen and Wei Liqin blunt. That was definitely not the optimal way to act when faced with an intruder.

Although, somewhere in their subconscious, they might have known that it was only Ling Xia or Ji Shengge entering this study, Ling Xia wasn't willing to take that risk. Hopefully, back in the real world they'll be retrained before they're assigned another mission like Ling Xia.

Perhaps the retraining was the only reason Ling Xia hadn't died in this world previously.

But none of these thoughts were said out loud, hence no other person in the room knew of them. They all returned to their work peacefully, and Ling Xia joined them.

Before long, an idea popped up in Bu Huai's head in the still Ji Shengge-free room. "Wait…" His head slowly raised as the idea came into form.

"Wait, what?" Ling Xia prompted, putting the pen he had been using to write the ideas he had generated nonstop for the past five minutes to give his hand a break.

"We don't have to do any work! We can just let the authorities know that Mu Ninghua had two people helping her from outside of her cell, and the lawyer will be protected," he exclaimed.

He was relieved that his work would finally be over. He knew that he said he was willing to help put Mu Ninghua in jail, but he didn't think it would take this much time and effort.

His bright eyes shone with unadulterated happiness, making Ling Xia frown at the thought of dimming them. "We can't do that," he said, and Bu Huai's spirit was immediately crushed.

"They already know that Mu Ninghua is Lotus. If we tell them, they'll put us in witness protection, so we don't end up dying before or after the trial either."

A frown formed on Bu Huai's face, and a little wrinkle in between in his brows. Put together, it seemed like he was pouting in contemplation. At the moment, he was trying to draw information about anything related to the "Lotus?"

Ling Xia started when he realized that Bu Huai had no idea about who Lotus was. "Lotus is a huge criminal on the loose, but she's actually just Mu Ninghua in disguise. With that identity, she's killed enough people to get her the death penalty. The authorities already know that she's Lotus, but if they know that she's got two people that'll do anything to get her out of there, they'll definitely put us under witness protection."

Bu Huai still had that look on his face, and he unknowingly picked up Ling Xia's pen, twirling it around in his fingers. It was safe to say he was confused.

"What's so bad about witness protection?" he asked. Wei Liqin's head, originally buried in his work, raised up with a look that was something like incredulity on his face.

"That means we have to start over with a completely new identity. We'll lose everything." Wei Liqin felt the great need to assert that last fact, but Bu Huai didn't seem to understand at all.

His frown deepened. The silence that hung over the room like thick fog on winter nights made Yang Lizhen look up as well. "So? It's worth it to get Mu Ninghua convicted."

"You want us to lose our entire lives because of whatever measly damage Mu Ninghua could do to us?" Wei Liqin asked. He stood, feeling a bit foolish, wondering if there was some hidden variable he was missing here.

Bu Huai was taken aback. "Measly? What? I thought you guys were trying to put her in jail because she had the potential to harm you. What's actually going on here?" he demanded answers as he took on an intimidating posture.

Ling Xia felt like it was finally time to break the news to Bu Huai. They weren't as innocent as they seemed. Still, he took it slow, not wanting to scare away the other. "We don't want to put her in prison because of that. We want to because she made my life in school a living hell. Remember all of those hypothetical scenarios I gave you, asking you if you would break up with Mu Ninghua if they happened?"

Ling Xia waited for the lightbulb above Bu Huai's brain to flicker on. It didn't take long, as Ling Xia told him many 'hypothetical' scenarios. "Those were all true. Mu Ninghua did that to me. So I refuse to give up a single other thing for Mu Ninghua's sake. Be it for helping her or for casting her away.

"Also, my life is on the line here. I built a huge career on ice, and I'm not going to let that ice break underneath me just because I need to be in witness protection."

Both were true. He was showing Bu Huai his honest intentions, both the good and the bad. But it seemed Bu Huai was too angry to even process the good side. He focused in on the bad side, rage burning in his eyes.

"So you're telling me that you're not willing to get a new identity to put a criminal in jail?! What kind of logic is that? According to you, she killed people. Those people lost their lives, but you aren't even willing to change your identity for them?! You can build a new life afterward, but those people don't have a life anymore! You're just a coward!"

Evidently, Bu Huai was outraged. He never would have believed that somebody could be so selfish if he wasn't standing in front of a real-life example.

"Call me a coward, call me whatever, but everybody has different values. If you don't like them, you can leave," Ling Xia offered, showing him the door. He even kindly opened it for him, and pointed to the front door.

Because why would Ling Xia care for those random people? Sure, he felt horrified that Mu Ninghua would do that, but how could he care for a person he hadn't even met? He didn't know existed, even?

Bu Huai scoffed. "You really don't care if that lawyer dies, do you? You only care if it can't be traced back to Chu Yan or Bai Xian," he spat.

It took a moment for Ling Xia to remember what the other was referring to. Once the connection was made, his face didn't change at all. He still kept his position, pointing his index finger at the front door.

Bu Huai could leave at any moment. His strong sense of 'justice' that was just defined by society's arbitrary rules was not needed here.

But Bu Huai was not planning on leaving yet. He still had more questions."Do you even care about anything at all?"

It was Ling Xia's turn to be taken aback, offended that somebody could viably ask him that question. "What?"

"If you don't care about those people, then what do you care about?" Bu Huai pressed on, thinking that he was infallible in this area.

At this point, it seemed that Yang Lizhen and Wei Liqin, who both supported Ling Xia here, were also offended. If Bu Huai could ask Ling Xia that question, couldn't he very well ask them that as well?

"I care about my friends," Ling Xia protested, placing his hand on his chest defensively.

"Then who are your friends? Am I… Am I even on that list?" This seemed a bit too open and forthright for Bu Huai. He hastily blurted out, "Because the way you're acting suggests the opposite," as if that would conceal his feelings. He knew it wouldn't too, but he felt better that way.

Contrary to his hesitation and careful treading, Ling Xia opened his mouth impulsively, about to say "no". The other person was a fake person in a fake world, why should he give even the slightest consideration towards him? But the sight of Bu Huai's face stopped him in his tracks.

Ling Xia's heart trembled at the desperation in the other's eyes. It was as if Bu Huai was trying to use the answer to validate himself and his friendship with Ling Xia.

At this moment, an opposing side rose up in Ling Xia. He wanted to be void of all emotion towards the people in these worlds, but at the end of the day, he was human. Humans cared about everything if it entered their lives, no matter how insignificant it was. And humans couldn't control what they felt. How could he reel in the emotions he had no control over?

This hesitation elicited a response from Bu Huai, who, truly, was expecting Ling Xia to immediately say that he was a friend, and Ling Xia had no time to say that he did consider Bu Huai a friend before the other turned to leave.

"Of course you're a friend!" Ling Xia called out after him, trying to prevent him from leaving, but the quickly fading footsteps signified his failure.

Wei Liqin even pitched in, shouting, "We all consider you as our friend!"

On a whim, Yang Lizhen, the person that was probably closest to Bu Huai because of his identity as Ling Yu, raced after Bu Huai, barely being held back by Ling Xia. "Don't force him."

Ling Xia really wanted to go after Bu Huai too. He just knew how to hold himself back.

Silence reigned in the room, no person knowing what to do next.