XG 160 - A smiling mask that hides his benefit seeker trait
After Chen Yibo recovered until he could lift the spoon by himself, Father Chen bluntly told him to eat by himself and urged his eldest son to go back to work.
There were no thoughts, so he was telling the truth. His father's only concern was his research.
But that worked in easing Chen Yibo's heart. It was certainly much better than being hated or a disappointment, which was his main fear of the reason for his father's indifference towards him.
"I will call Xue Guo to accompany you," Chen YiWen left a sentence and left quickly, not allowing Chen Yibo to even have a chance to say anything. He must have wanted to use this chance for his brother to mend their friendship and his action was viewed as one that consented to share his ability with Wong Xue Guo.
Not that Chen Yibo would decline her visit anyway.
Surprisingly, he found that he looked forward to seeing her.
Even if she avoided him, he still cared for her. It was unavoidable that after hearing her confession, he could no longer see her as an ordinary friend, neighbour, comrade in arms, or even sister.
In his eyes, she was a person with a hard mouth and soft heart, but that was not without doubting his own assumption. Until she figured out his ability, he wanted to peek into her mind. That way, he could see if her words were true, or if it was just a heat-of-the-moment confession.
Despite being known as the flower boy at school and receiving countless love letters and confessions, he had rejected them all without any wave of regret in his heart. His priority was all on his studies and had zero intention of having a girlfriend. He viewed it as an unnecessary distraction and only planned to get married when he reached thirty to a suitable person.
His curved upward lips make it difficult to eat, but he just could not stop smiling at the possibilities.
After a few days of self-reflection, he discovered that he was actually not that averse to starting a relationship, but only if the other party was Wong Xue Guo. After all, they had gone through many things together and his view of her was rather positive. They even have a decent understanding of each other and when they were alone, they were comfortable enough to discard the pretences they would put on when they were in public.
The son of Director Chen Zhang Bei, the lead researcher and co-founder of Musihada Laboratory. The daughter of Director Charles Wong, co-founder of Musihada Laboratory and the largest shareholder.
It was an equal relationship without a large imbalance of power.
He was clear about himself that he was actually an opportunist gentleman, acting to his own benefit and improving his image in others' eyes at the same time.
A gentleman with a smiling mask that hides his benefit seeker trait.
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"Miu, you don't need to come along," Wong Xue Guo insisted. "We don't want your ability to drive you insane, or even worse, having you stuck between time."
Miu's ability had become stronger, which was the only explanation for her ability's sudden change. She could now see the different probabilities of the future but it nearly drove her insane.
Wong Xue Guo being considerate of Miu was mainly because she felt guilty, as she was the reason why Miu ended up this way. The power upgrade was good news but the direction of the upgrade was not an ideal one!
Who would want to know the branches of possibilities without knowing the exact answer?
"Maybe I will learn more about my new ability after testing it out more," Miu said, but she could not hide her exhaustion from her face. The upgrade took a great toll on her body and she became even thinner than before. She looked way older than her actual age.
It was Miu's appearance that saved Wong Xue Guo from being harassed to upgrade everyone's ability. The directors also keep a tight lid on her ability and want her to test out exactly what her ability was.
Boosting one's ability was an asset, not a threat to the Lord. Unless the Lord has special circumstances? Where over boosting him would annihilate him?
"You will just end up being loaded with information about how many ways a gun will fail, or how many directions a rock can fly to. Your ability is not useful in battle, but in strategizing and other stuff." Wong Xue Guo picked up the rabbit plushie seated on her shoulder and passed it to Miu. "Here, why don't you recuperate properly and take care of Dal for me?"
"How could I...? I don't know how to speak Korean..." Flustered, Miu carefully holds the rabbit plushie like how one does to a newborn baby.
Back when Miu had a suspicion about the rabbit plushie after the first time she used her ability on it, she was not hundred percent sure if her guess would be true.
If there was indeed a soul inside the rabbit plushie, it would be very weak and very close to dying, which was Miu's own words. Either way, they had to confirm if the boy's soul was really inside, hence Miu suggested using her ability at the same time Wong Xue Guo used hers.
It was then that something big happened.
Both of them were not really sure what exactly happened, and the onlookers only saw them being motionless before Miu rapidly grew thin, her skin dry and darken from the sudden nutrient loss.
What bothered everyone the most was the floor underneath Wong Xue Guo had a large crack, revealing the dry soil right underneath it. It was also thanks to the crack that unbalanced Wong Xue Guo, pulling her consciousness back to her body and stopping Miu's rapid dried-up process.
From that unexpected accident, Miu's ability was strengthened until she could see multiple possibilities of the future, but it was in exchange for her vitality. She had consumed a lot of food to gain any resemblance of normality, but the doctor had reported her lifespan was reduced.
How could Wong Xue Guo not feel guilty after knowing that, especially when there was no change in her?
Other than Miu, the boy inside the rabbit doll had regained consciousness and could move the rabbit plushie as his body. The researchers reasoned that it was thanks to the soil's vitality being given to the boy using Wong Xue Guo's ability.
Since the boy's soul had strengthened, Miu could no longer use her ability on the doll, deeming it now as a 'living being'. Even Wong Xue Guo could no longer possess the rabbit now that its occupant took control again.
That also explained why her shadow only worked on the rabbit, as it was actually possessed by the soul of an ability user.
Much to Wong Xue Guo's relief, the soul was not conscious all the while she shared her consciousness in it. It would be very awkward if it was. It was also a good thing for the boy because it would be horrifying to be unable to move and speak while aware of everything.
And how he would feel during those times when she had tossed Mr Rabbit around.
"But you are the one I trust to keep Dal safe," Wong Xue Guo said.
The rabbit plushie obediently let Miu hold him, but his head was facing Wong Xue Guo. His body language was showing his reluctance to leave her side. It was normal as Wong Xue Guo was a Korean speaker and was able to speak to him.
Wong Xue Guo rubbed the rabbit's soft head appeasingly. "Sorry Dal, but where I'm going to go will be dangerous for you. I would most likely fling you off somewhere accidentally. Then you will get trampled, and lose a part of your body if the sewing got torn off."
She removed a tiny pouch strapped to her hip and passed it to Miu. Inside it was a small notepad with red ink bottle. "If Dal wants to write something, just let him. You can ask anyone to translate for you. Even better, you can pass Dal to Chen YiWen to be taken care of so that you can rest properly."
Although Wong Xue Guo learned the Korean language well, that does not mean she was good at reading Korean characters. She learns better in speaking, so reading and writing lessons were neglected thoroughly.
At that time, when Dal moved for the first time, only Wong Xue Guo knew how to speak Korean, so it became her job to speak to the trapped soul. The boy was terrified at not knowing where he was and why he was trapped inside a doll, as well as who were these strangers speaking in an unknown language surrounding him.
Poor boy, the entire body of the plushie was shaking pitifully.
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