Deep in the Living
Chapter 55 - 55 51 Eve

55: Chapter 51: Eve 55: Chapter 51: Eve The day before Admissions, overcast, 27°C

No.1 Settlement District

This district is among the first batches built for ordinary Residents in Jupiter City and is nearly thirty years old.

It is even older and more dilapidated than No.13 District where Luo Di lives.

Many buildings are labeled for imminent demolition due to stability issues, and few people still live here.

Building Three, Apartment 502

A two-bedroom with a living room, simply furnished with outdated furniture, but the cleanliness is maintained exceptionally well.

The birdcage that should be hanging in the house is empty, without any sign of the bird.

Midnight,

The lights inside the house are all turned off, relying solely on the streetlights outside for illumination.

A woman in her forties sits before the dressing table in the master bedroom, surrounded by expensive cosmetics that seem out of place in this home.

It is time to sleep, but she is applying makeup.

She applies some kind of powder and pulls at her facial skin with her fingers.

As the current makeup application nears its end, waves of gentle, motherly voices emanate from her mouth, without her lips appearing to move.

“Wen Ya~ make sure you go to bed early.

Tomorrow is the most important Admissions exam.

Our entire family’s hope is on you.

You must perform exceptionally, otherwise, Mom’s efforts for over a decade will have been in vain…

in vain for raising a piece of trash like you.”

The woman’s voice carries directly into the adjacent bedroom, which has its door ajar.

Still, no reply is heard.

The woman proceeds to use tweezers to clean her nostrils and remove foreign matter from her mouth,

“Sorry, my dear daughter.

Mom went too far just now.

I shouldn’t put so much pressure on you.

I should have known long ago, having such a useless father; you couldn’t turn out much better.

You must have inherited the same inferior traits, which is why your grades never improve.

Don’t worry, just take the exam boldly tomorrow, it doesn’t matter how it goes, Mom always loves you.”

The room next door still offers no response,

The woman then takes out a razor, shaving the hair on her thighs and armpits, her tone changes again, becoming severe and resolute:

“I’ve decided, since you’re an utter waste, there is no need to embarrass yourself.

I will take the Admissions exam for you tomorrow.

And I’ll select a student without inherited defects from your school as a gift for you.

Then, you can be Mom’s treasure again.”

The camera slowly pulls out of the master bedroom and pans towards the adjacent bedroom that has not responded.

Peering through the slightly open door,

A girl wearing the uniform of Fourth Middle School hangs from a ceiling fan.

…

In the middle of the night,

A network repairman at a small new media company in Jupiter City stayed overtime until ten o’clock to rectify an issue with the company’s internet.

The repairman looks to be just over thirty years old, but his hair is thinning rapidly.

Due to prolonged sitting and a lack of exercise over the years, his belly is also much larger than average.

After everything is fixed, he approaches the boss’s office with a leave request form in hand, but is met with a barrage of criticism upon entering.

“How could it take you so long to fix a network?

Tonight’s live stream had to be postponed, do you realize how much money this cost us?”

“The network is stable now.”

“Of course, I know.

Now get lost!”

“I want to request a day off, tomorrow is my Alma mater’s Admissions exam, and I would like to go back and see…”

“What the hell does Admissions have to do with you?

Furthermore, our company relies on you as the only network repairman.

What if there’s a problem tomorrow?

Your salary won’t cover the costs.

No leave granted, we’ll talk when everything is completely stable.”

“Can I resign then?”

Hearing this, the boss is even more infuriated, “Of course, you can!

According to the contract, it takes half a month to hand over work, and you still have to come tomorrow.

Otherwise, absence from work means you forfeit your salary and resignation compensation.”

“Oh, then I’ll still take the leave.

If I go back without money, my family will be angry.”

“Hey!

Gong Xin, can you not understand what I’m saying?”

Gong Xin, the network repairman, shows little change in expression and walks straight towards the boss, who is not much older than himself.

Strangely, Gong Xin begins to unbutton his clothes along the way, revealing the “belly” underneath.

The boss, who was just moments ago full of arrogance, tenses up in fright at the sight of the “belly” concealed beneath the clothing.

But he had also received compulsory education and systematic physical training.

The boss quickly regains his composure and reaches for the guns hidden under the desk.

However, what his fingers touch is not the cold metal of firearms, but warm, moist flesh.

The next second…

crunch, crunch~

Only the squishing sounds of flesh can be heard in the office.

Gong Xin appears to have no need to deal with the body, leaving the company with a leave request form stamped with a Blood Hand within two minutes.

He is not at all concerned about this being exposed; it seems he only needs to wait until tomorrow to retreat to a depth beyond the reach of Investigator.

…

On the eve of admissions,

Non-senior students have already started their holidays, while the seniors will leave school at 4:30 PM, except for the boarders.

With the last forty minutes before school lets out rapidly ticking away,

most students have stopped their training and are instead relaxing in small groups with close friends, wandering around the campus.

Luo Di has also changed from before; not continuing with extra practice before the exam but instead sitting in the classroom, idly chatting with the class monitor, Gao Yuxuan, and Xiao Ying.

Among the four, Gao Yuxuan and Li Xiaoying are the most anxious,

one wanting to prove himself in non-academic subjects,

the other wishing to achieve scores close to the class monitor’s in order to apply to the same places,

Gao Yuxuan brought up a topic, “I wonder what the lot drawing will be like tomorrow?”

The class monitor, with a bag of snacks bought from the tuck shop in hand, said as he ate, “As long as we don’t draw Luo Di, anything is fine.

Otherwise, no matter how well we perform, he will overshadow us all.

Right?

Luo Di.

You can handle a takedown by yourself now, can’t you, as a Pseudo-Person of less than half a year?”

Luo Di replied cautiously, “Not sure about the opponent’s abilities, so I can’t conclude recklessly.”

Tch~ The class monitor stared at Luo Di for a moment, then shifted his attention back to the snacks in his hand.

“Anyway~ what are you guys planning to do after graduation?” Xiao Ying mustered the courage to join the conversation.

Gao Yuxuan also wanted to talk about this topic, or rather, took the opportunity to inquire about the class monitor’s situation, “Both Luo Di and I want to head to the Capital City, but I’ll be going through the research bureau while Luo Di might go directly to a big company there.

What about you two?”

“I…

I have to see my final results before deciding,” Xiao Ying answered, then turned her gaze to the class monitor.

The class monitor, still snacking, paused, licked seasoning powder off her fingers and pointed to her nose, “Me?

My family will decide for me based on my final results.

All I need to do is finish the admissions well.

I’ll see if I can try to join everyone in the Capital City~ Of course, I can’t really decide on my own.”

Little Gao pushed his glasses up, “Can’t you make such decisions on your own?”

“I can’t at all.

After all, my dad is also a prominent figure in the elite circle.

He has a broader vision, and his decisions tend to yield good outcomes.”

Gao Yuxuan nodded, “That makes sense.

Anyway, with your capabilities, it’s only a matter of time before you head to the Capital City.

By the way, let’s plan a dinner gathering after graduation like we used to, and invite Miss Anna too.”

The class monitor glanced again at the snack bag, “Let’s talk about it after admissions are over, everyone do your best tomorrow.”

Time often flies quickly during leisure, and the bell for school dismissal soon rang, with day students leaving the campus in groups.

In the classroom,

Luo Di, who had packed his bag, was about to leave when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.

Gao Yuxuan, witnessing this, immediately made up an excuse to slip away.

Xiao Ying, who had intended to return to the dormitory with the class monitor, also left through the back door with her head down, waiting silently by the exit downstairs on her own.

This left only two people in the classroom.

Before Luo Di could say anything, he felt something “soft” and “warm” press against his back.

At the same time, two arms tightly embraced him.

Without a word,

without any excess movement,

the embrace lasted for a full five minutes before slowly letting go.

“Luo Di, you have to be in your best shape tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing much.

Just feeling a bit sentimental before graduation, and we may have a hard time seeing each other in the future.

Go on back, I reckon you’ll still stick to your night run tonight, maybe start a bit earlier, and then get some rest sooner.”

“Okay.”

Just when the class monitor thought Luo Di would leave directly,

a palm gently rested on top of her head, not patting or rubbing, just laid there.

“See you tomorrow.”

…

[School Gate]

Gao Yuxuan waited under a tree just outside,

Since the class monitor boarded, they had almost always taken the car home together throughout the entire semester of their senior year.

He had expected to wait quite a while today due to the special circumstances but surprisingly, Luo Di came out in less than ten minutes.

“That quick?

You don’t know how to chat with the class monitor a bit longer.

By the looks of her, she must be under a lot of pressure, or rather, her family is putting a lot of pressure on her.”

“Deputy class monitor, aren’t you overstepping a bit?”

Luo Di responded by slapping Gao Yuxuan’s back,

who immediately dodged and countered with a punch,

Both movements were quite simple, and after evading each other, they couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and in Luo Di’s eyes, there was a different luster from the days he used to go home alone.