Chapter 40: Yaoxing Academy 40 Part 2

“By the way, before coming to the wedding, I went to visit your mother.” She pulled out something wrapped in a plastic bag and handed it to Lu Zhou. “I cleared the dead branches and weeds around her tombstone and found this buried in a hidden corner by accident. It looks valuable, so I was afraid it might get lost if left there. I put it in the bag and brought it back. You don’t mind my meddling, do you?”

Lu Zhou took it, puzzled. “What is this?”

Kong Jing was mildly surprised. “You don’t know? But it has your name on it.”

Lu Zhou opened the plastic bag.

Inside was a filthy strip of cloth, stained by long-term exposure to soil, its original appearance unrecognizable. Something hard was wrapped in the middle. Lu Zhou peeled away the layers of cloth, and a white object fell into his hand.

Plain and oval, with a smooth, warm touch. The front was engraved with “Peace” in relief, and the back had a small “Zhou” incised into it.

Lu Zhou’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared blankly at the white jade in his hand.

This was the Peace Jade his mother had given him. At the start of his second year of high school, Xun Ji had thrown it onto the road. He had watched it get crushed under car tires, shattering into pieces.

Yet now, the jade lay perfectly intact in his palm.

“How is this possible…” he murmured softly. “This can’t be…”

“What’s wrong? Isn’t it yours?” Kong Jing asked, puzzled. “It was hidden behind your mother’s tombstone.”

“It is mine.” Lu Zhou picked up the dirty cloth strip and examined it closely. “But it shouldn’t be here…”

Suddenly, he froze completely.

He recognized what the cloth strip was.

It was very familiar—he had worn one every day to school. But this one wasn’t his.

—“Young Master, I noticed one of your uniform neckties is missing while organizing your clothes.”

A long time ago, one morning, Uncle Li had said this to Xun Ji.

How had Xun Ji replied back then?

—“Whatever, just order another one.”

He hadn’t cared about the mysteriously missing necktie—not because he didn’t mind, but because…

Lu Zhou clutched the mud-caked necktie tightly, his heart pounding fiercely.

Because he knew where the lost necktie had gone. Xun Ji had repaired his Peace Jade, wrapped it in his own necktie, and personally hidden it in the corner by his mother’s tombstone.

“Lu Zhou, what’s wrong?” Principal Kong asked anxiously, seeing the boy bend over as if he couldn’t bear it.

Xun Ji had visited his mother.

If Principal Kong hadn’t found it by chance, he might never have known about this in his lifetime.

Lu Zhou pressed the necktie to his chest, where an intense, unstoppable emotion stirred.

What had Xun Ji said to his mother? He hadn’t returned the Peace Jade to him but had given it back to her instead. Why?

Because… he couldn’t?

Lu Zhou recalled the time during the Hunting Shadow Game, in the abandoned Botanical Garden, when he had asked Xun Ji,

—“Why did you do that to me at the Winter Sports Meet?”

—“I didn’t intend to really hurt you. It was just an accident.”

That was Xun Ji’s answer.

Lu Zhou didn’t know why Xun Ji had thrown away his Peace Jade or set up the Sonic Bomb at the sports meet, but none of that mattered anymore.

Because those actions hadn’t come from Xun Ji’s true heart.

Only now did Lu Zhou finally understand what Xun Ji’s true heart was.

It was the Peace Jade, secretly repaired and delivered to his mother’s tomb.

It was the nights spent in the Physics Lab, developing a Sonic Bomb that ensured no real harm.

It was the Luxury Watch placed on his wrist when Lu Jianming had taken his Scholarship.

It was every night patiently explaining Physics Competition problems.

It was the Safety Rope securely tied around him on the Bell Tower.

It was the kiss in the Botanical Garden without resistance.

…

It was telling him… “I plan to stay here for a long time. Before I leave, make yourself the most important person to me.”

“Principal Kong, you’re wrong. I’m neither smart nor strong,” Lu Zhou said, looking up at her with a smile. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have kept my head down, lost in my own world, taking so long to realize that this isn’t a dream.”

Kong Jing stared at him in a daze for a long moment before gently touching his head.

“Lu Zhou, will you be happy married to Xun Ji?”

In the solemn Ancient Castle, the black-haired youth in pristine white formalwear held the filthy necktie to his heart like a treasure. Tears streamed endlessly from his eyes, but his smile came from the depths of his soul—gentle and resolute.

“Yes,” Lu Zhou said. “I believe in him.”

【Ding! Warm reminder: The protagonist’s current Blackening Value: 0%.】

Xun Ji checked again, unwilling to believe it.

【Host, stop looking. The System isn’t glitching—the protagonist’s Blackening Value has been cleared to zero!】

“He just went to change clothes. How did it clear to zero?” It was utterly baffling.

【Isn’t zero good? Isn’t that what the Host has always wanted?】

“It is good, just… a bit too sudden.” Xun Ji muttered, “I haven’t even said goodbye to Lin Yule yet.”

【Host…】

“He must be in the next Small World by now, right?” Xun Ji couldn’t help worrying. “I wonder what kind of world it is, if it’s dangerous…”

【Host… Lin Yule is still here.】

“What do you mean he’s still here? Didn’t you say he could leave once the Blackening Value hit zero?”

【Normally, yes.】 The System hesitated. 【But Lin Yule… he seems a bit off.】