Reality Programming Association

Chapter 156 -65: Waiting for You After Class

When she went out this evening, she hadn’t seemed to be wearing this beige fleece jacket that now stood out so brightly among the drab crowd. With her hair tied up in a small bun, the girl looked a bit absent-minded, almost bumping into the people stopping to open their umbrellas in front of her several times.

There were many people in the teaching building. Yu Xian didn’t immediately call out to this socially anxious little girl. Instead, he followed her out of the lobby, only approaching her from behind when she stood at the edge of the steps preparing to open her umbrella.

“Wen Xiao.”

The sudden voice gave Wen Xiao a start. She jolted, turning around stiffly. Seeing it was Yu Xian, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but immediately shrank back a little, burying her lower face in the fluffy jacket.

“Yu… Yu Xian?” Her voice was soft, but the surprise in her tone was unmistakable. “Why are you… here? Did things go smoothly… with Professor Ning?”

“I was waiting for your class to end.” Seeing Wen Xiao’s ears slightly red from the cold, Yu Xian quickly cut to the chase. “Let’s go. I’ll walk you back to the North Campus. There’s also something I want to talk to you about in private.”

“Ah? O-Okay.” Wen Xiao nodded quickly. Looking at Yu Xian standing outside the covered bridge with his umbrella open, she opened her own beige umbrella. Yu Xian stepped into the rain, with Wen Xiao following closely behind.

After walking for a while, the number of students around them gradually decreased, leaving only the elongated shadows cast by the streetlights and the continuous patter of the rain.

“Let’s stop here. The wind is a bit weaker.”

This area was lined with low, single-story houses where some small shops operated. It was late at night now, and they were all closed, making it a perfect place to take shelter from the rain.

“Okay.” Wen Xiao closed her umbrella, stood beside Yu Xian, and shuffled a few steps closer to him.

The awning over the convenience store’s rolling shutter blocked most of the rain. Yu Xian closed his umbrella as well and looked at the girl beside him. “Wen Xiao, have you and Shao Yiyi known each other for a long time?”

Wen Xiao froze for a moment. She seemingly hadn’t expected Yu Xian to call her out specifically just to ask this. Tucking her chin into her fluffy collar, she thought about it and said, “It’s been a long time… We were in the same class in high school and were best friends. Later, we both got into JCU together.” She sneakily glanced up at him. “Why… ask this all of a sudden?”

Yu Xian didn’t answer directly. Staring at the puddles rippling in the wind on the ground, he continued to ask, “Then do you know what’s the deal with her ‘Master’ and that ‘Martial Uncle’?”

Wen Xiao recalled earnestly, “I never specifically asked about her family matters… But I’ve heard Yiyi mention before that her father is in business and is a pretty big entrepreneur. Her master seems to be an old friend her dad knew before he struck it rich. They have a very good relationship.” She tilted her head in thought. “That kind of relationship should be similar to a godfather, right? Yiyi said her master was the one who named her. The character ‘Yi’ is quite rare to use in a name.”

“So she said she learned all this because of her family’s influence?”

“Not entirely.” Wen Xiao couldn’t help but smile. Talking about her best friend seemed to relax her a lot. “She’s always liked mystical things, but unlike her master’s school of thought, she’s been into tarot cards, horoscopes, and stuff like that since high school. Even though her master seems to know a lot about Zhou Yi and the Eight Trigrams, Yiyi is actually quite afraid of reading those thick, ancient books with vertical traditional characters. She says just looking at them gives her a headache.” She cupped her hands over her mouth and gently breathed out a puff of hot air, the white mist dispersing through her fingers. “That’s why she insisted on dragging me into making that AI fortune-telling large model—mainly just so she could slack off.”

Yu Xian nodded thoughtfully, then pressed on, “What about her martial uncle? That Su Mingyuan.”

“I’m not too sure about him.” Wen Xiao shook her head. “The first time I ever heard her mention this martial uncle was at the reading sharing session last time. I’d never heard her talk about him before.”

“That day backstage at the auditorium.” Through the curtain of rain, under the dim yellow streetlights, Yu Xian stared intently at Wen Xiao’s expression. “When you went to find Su Mingyuan, what did they talk about? Do you remember?”

“Let me think…” Wen Xiao tilted her head. “They didn’t really talk about anything special. It was mostly small talk. He asked about Yiyi’s recent studies, and I think he also asked how her master’s health was doing…” As she spoke, her voice suddenly trailed off. She stared at Yu Xian with some confusion. “Yu Xian… why are you so interested in Yiyi’s affairs today?”

Yu Xian was pondering just how deep Shao Yiyi and Su Mingyuan’s relationship went, and subconsciously replied, “Mhm. Her identity is very important.”

Hearing Yu Xian’s answer, Wen Xiao lowered her head to look at her toes, muttering softly, “Oh… I see.”

“Wen Xiao.” Yu Xian took a deep breath, his expression grave. “There’s something regarding Shao Yiyi that I need to tell you first.” He took a step closer to her and lowered his voice. “Today, we learned a very important piece of information from Professor Ning. Su Mingyuan—Shao Yiyi’s martial uncle—is very likely the mastermind behind the series of incidents that befell the professors of the JCU School of Physics, or at the very least, he’s an insider.”

Wen Xiao’s eyes widened instantly, her small mouth slightly agape, almost crying out in shock. “Wh… what?”

“Professor Ning said it himself. The day after Professor Gao committed suicide, Su Mingyuan personally went to his office and warned him to stop his research, otherwise it would bring about ‘Torrential Calamity Water’.”

“Then… then Yiyi…” Wen Xiao’s voice trembled slightly. “Will she…”

“That’s also what I’m worried about.” Yu Xian looked at Wen Xiao, analyzing the situation seriously. “But from the looks of it so far, Shao Yiyi doesn’t seem to know about Su Mingyuan’s actions. When we were discussing these matters about the School of Physics that day, her reaction didn’t seem faked.”

“It definitely wasn’t faked!” Wen Xiao hurriedly defended her best friend, her voice urgent. “Even though Yiyi usually seems carefree, she’s actually really timid, and she’s terrible at hiding things. If she really knew some inside scoop, she definitely would’ve spilled the beans long ago. She couldn’t fake it at all.”

“I also lean towards her being innocent.” Yu Xian nodded. “However, her relationship with Su Mingyuan might be a hidden danger. If we tell her directly, will she go straight to her master and martial uncle to ask? If she does, we’ll be completely exposed.”

“She won’t! Yiyi will definitely listen to me. You can rest assured on that.” After saying this, she looked at Yu Xian with some concern. “Besides, I think… if we really want to keep investigating along this clue, Yiyi is an unavoidable link…”

Yu Xian paused, looking at Wen Xiao in some surprise, and gestured for her to continue.

“Su Mingyuan is her martial uncle, and this relationship is currently our only avenue to access clues. If we keep hiding things from her, what if we need to go through her to obtain some information, or what if Su Mingyuan initiates contact with her? We’d end up in a very passive position.”

Yu Xian pondered deeply. Wen Xiao was right, and she had even thought further ahead than he had. Keeping it a secret from Shao Yiyi was definitely not a long-term solution. On one hand, Shao Yiyi was a potential risk, but on the other hand, she might be the only bridge currently connecting them to that mysterious organization. If they could secure her cooperation and use her special identity to get closer to the truth, it might be far more effective than them stumbling around blindly outside like headless flies.

Moreover, thinking carefully, although the so-called “masterminds” acted secretively and used ruthless methods, their target seemed to have always been clear—the physics community. From Professor Gao’s suicide to the evacuation of the School of Physics, and then to Professor Ning’s ruined reputation, every strike was accurately aimed at the bullseye of physics.

In contrast, the indiscriminate mental pollution of the “Midnight Bus,” or the horrifying mass deaths of the “Smiling Suicide Case,” seemed more like some kind of out-of-control byproduct, or perhaps another faction fishing in troubled waters.

BUZZ—

His phone gave a muffled vibration in his pocket. Yu Xian took it out. Beside him, Wen Xiao subconsciously tilted her head, looking over with some curiosity.

Flashing on the screen was:

Yang Liu Yiyi is inviting you to a voice call.