Lu Li was astonished by the change in surroundings and looked toward Chang Fei.
However, the girl’s expression remained calm, quietly observing the chaotic crowd as if deep in thought.
Chang Fei sensed the gaze behind him and turned around.
The girl with long black hair styled in a deliberate Three-Seven part was curiously scrutinizing him.
Compared to simply being a girl, Lu Li’s boyish appearance made her look even more like a handsome young man than Hua Sha did.
She definitely possessed a pair of very sharp phoenix eyes.
Those eyes weren’t clear like the ones Chang Fei was used to seeing on other girls; instead, they were bottomless, imbued with an unfathomable depth that made them impossible to read.
It was precisely those eyes that compelled Chang Fei to look longer—not because they were beautiful, but because the woman he remembered as his Mother had eyes just like that: enchanting, wise, and inviting exploration.
“Your eyes are so much like my mother’s…” Chang Fei couldn’t help but say with a sigh.
Lu Li was momentarily stunned and averted her gaze, not responding to the comment. Instead, she asked, “What were you trying to do just now? It doesn’t seem like you were simply asking for directions. But I still don’t understand what your intention was. Normally, when you ask for directions, you try to lead the other person to reveal the most dangerous or secretive places to investigate, right? So why didn’t you ask about that at all from the start? Even if it’s to lower their guard… now it seems like the whole situation has completely spiraled out of control.”
“Don’t overthink it. I just wanted to see a scene like this,” Chang Fei said with a smile when he saw her frown, dropping the previous topic.
“Just to see this kind of scene?” Lu Li pondered. She didn’t want to get an answer from Chang Fei because she had known since childhood that getting anything—even a simple answer—from someone else would always come at a heavy price.
Seeing her deep in thought, Chang Fei didn’t push further.
From the way she looked at him, he felt that even if he explained, she might not appreciate it.
But there was no time for Lu Li to dwell on it.
The two men who had been gone hurriedly returned, each holding a map.
Both men simultaneously handed their maps to Chang Fei, but he could only look at them without taking either, wearing a troubled expression.
The two exchanged a glance, and the deep affection that had existed between them suddenly turned into hostility and anger.
One restrained his displeasure and pulled his partner aside to talk, but the conversation soon escalated into a fight, with fists flying.
Lu Li watched in surprise, suddenly understanding: “You’re stirring up trouble? You want things to get more chaotic?”
“Let’s go. We can check out the places they pointed out,” Chang Fei shrugged with a smile, picking up the map that had fallen to the ground and heading in a direction.
Lu Li grabbed the other dropped map and studied it carefully.
The locations marked weren’t many: a swimming pool, gym, amusement park, memorial hall, hotel, and hospital.
Seeing Chang Fei walking ahead, Lu Li hurried to catch up. “Wait.”
“Hm?” Chang Fei turned with a puzzled look, as if to ask, “Aren’t you going to investigate what you want?”
Lu Li clearly read the meaning behind that expression.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she continued, “I don’t trust you wandering around this world alone. I’ll go with you. Where exactly are you headed?”
Chang Fei blinked in surprise.
He didn’t think Lu Li liked playing the role of protector or bodyguard, and her question sounded strange.
“To the hospital. Isn’t it marked on the map?”
Lu Li paused, opened the map to check again, then glanced back hesitantly.
She opened her mouth but closed it without speaking.
Chang Fei raised an eyebrow and suddenly laughed.
“Oh, I think I got it wrong. The hospital’s direction is behind us…”
Lu Li immediately nodded seriously.
“Yeah, I was about to remind you; we should head that way.”
“Ah… no, wait, I’m mistaken. It’s to the left. I accidentally flipped the map over,” Chang Fei corrected with a smile.
Lu Li was surprised and quickly checked her own map again, hesitating before secretly tilting her head, trying to decipher it, but…
“Alright, stop looking. I got it. Three-Seven Parting Brother, just follow behind me. I’ll lead the way,” Chang Fei said, scratching his ear, deciding not to tease her further.
Lu Li felt a bit embarrassed.
She realized Chang Fei’s earlier behavior was probably testing whether she really knew how to read a map.
Though she wanted to hide it, she just couldn’t understand what those circles and crosses on the map’s paths represented or how they should proceed.
She silently followed behind Chang Fei without saying a word, her cheeks flushed red all the way to her ears.
Any words now would feel awkward.
What she felt most keenly was that in this little rivalry with the slightly younger boy, her small flaw had caused her to fall behind.
Chang Fei almost laughed but felt a prickling sensation on his back.
He didn’t want to foolishly provoke hostility by speaking first.
After all, this elder sister reminded him of the time before he was four, when he was with his Mother.
Thinking of Mother brought a pang of sorrow to Chang Fei’s heart.
Just outside the hospital, Lu Li and Chang Fei witnessed a flamboyant male couple showing off their affection.
Chang Fei couldn’t bear to watch and covered his eyes with one hand, unwilling to witness any more.
He even heard sounds that suggested a passionate encounter…
This was so decadent.
He vowed that when he grew up, he would never become an adult like that.
Seeing such things for the first time had left a deep shadow on his innocent heart.
He even doubted whether he could ever contribute to the Great Plan of Procreation with the one he loved…
Or, wait, half-human?
Demigod?
Yeah… to the Great Plan of Procreation for Demigods or Immortals!
Well, even now, in his current state, no matter how willing he was, he couldn’t contribute to the Great Plan…
Chang Fei painfully pressed his hand to his chest, touching his soft, small chest.
His expression of heartbreak could only be described as that of a child who had lost his parents.
Seeing his face, Lu Li suddenly spoke, trying to comfort him: “Don’t be too sad. What’s lost might never come back… but maybe they’re watching over you from heaven.”
‘What? My virginity and future happy life that I never even said goodbye to are already watching me from heaven? Is this really necessary? That’s just cruel!’ These words rang in Chang Fei’s ears, making her furrow her brows tightly, wanting to cry but without tears.