Chapter 423: Chapter 251: I Hope You Reunite with the One You Miss
Night of August 5th, Japan, Tokyo.
The coffee shop is brightly lit, a vintage gramophone on the counter playing a tune called "Edith’s Theme," while the aroma of rich coffee beans wafts from the blender.
Outside the glass door, the street is gently filled with voices.
Every night, there’s always a little girl wearing wooden clogs strolling down the street, holding her father’s hand in one, and her mother’s in the other, walking forward with a clatter, as her parents occasionally lift her up, as if swinging her.
Ayase Origami doesn’t like being a night owl; when she does stay up, it’s mostly to accompany other brigade members. So after returning to Tokyo, she immediately resumed her usual routine, and at this moment, she’s quietly asleep in the loft upstairs.
As for Xia Pingzhou, he’s downstairs in the coffee shop, playing cards with Robert and the hacker, two night owls.
The three are playing Landlord. Initially, the brigade members didn’t know what "Landlord" was until two years ago when Lan Duoduo from Hong Kong joined the White Crow Travel Brigade and taught them the rules within just ten days.
At first, Lan Duoduo enjoyed the game and managed to swindle quite some money from the brigade members. But later, she realized what a talent gap was: Anluns crushed her effortlessly right after starting, making her unable to enjoy the game.
After that, Lan Duoduo repeatedly lost to Anluns.
But these losses only continued until half a month ago, when Lan Duoduo arranged for Xia Pingzhou, who plays like an undercover agent, to team up with Anluns, finally snatching a win from Anluns’s hands.
Now, the three in the coffee shop are having a see-saw battle, with the piles of cards on the table growing larger and larger.
In this round, the hacker is the landlord, and Xia Pingzhou and Robert are the farmers. The hacker struggles hard, but falls into a disadvantage, cold sweat dripping down his little face. He secretly hacks into the other two’s phones under the table using the camera to sneak a peek at their cards.
However, at this moment, a sudden fierce knocking on the door behind him gives him a scare. He reacts like a cat with fur on end, with pores expanding and hair standing.
Xia Pingzhou glances up from his cards, casting a suspicious gaze at the hacker.
The hacker coughs twice, quickly putting his phone into the pocket of his outfit.
"Who’s here?" he asks.
Robert turns his head to look at the silhouette outside the glass door, only to see a girl in a red dress leaning against the glass door, browsing her phone with her arms crossed, while the neon lights outline her crisp profile.
Perhaps due to a mismatch between her age and appearance, the Bloodline always appears detached when she’s not smiling.
Even though she’s nearly a hundred years old mentally, her appearance remains that of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old. No matter how maturely dressed, her youthful features are still evident, so she often works on her makeup to appear more mature.
Today, however, the Bloodline hasn’t done much makeup, possibly because she just got off the plane without having time, so her features are as bright and lively as a girl’s.
Xia Pingzhou remains motionless as he stares at the hacker, as if looking at a criminal caught stealing.
Moments later, he speaks expressionlessly, "Why did you react so strongly just now? Were you cheating under the table with your phone?"
"The boss isn’t here, why are you yawning at everyone?" The hacker frowned, "Cheating in a game of Landlord? What would I use for cheating?"
"Like using your phone to open a simulating card-playing program, letting the system choose the cards for you or something."
"Haha, am I that kind of person?" The hacker props his chin with a hand, saying disdainfully, "Your skills, my skills? A Robot, a Cat, I could beat you guys with my feet."
"Alright, I can tell you’re anxious." Xia Pingzhou remarked expressionlessly, "Speak properly, no need to use foreign languages."
"I will use them," the hacker says, "The Young Mistress loves a cat."
Xia Pingzhou retorts, "The Priest loves a little boy."
The hacker’s face twitches.
"Alright, stop bickering, who’s going to let the old lady in?" Robert scratches his mechanical head, "Or else be careful she’ll kick the door down."
Saying this, he glances at the two.
Seeing Xia Pingzhou and the hacker, two lazy dogs, unwilling to get up, merely staring into each other’s eyes, he sighs and stands up from the table, going over to open the door for the Bloodline.
As the Bloodline steps into the coffee shop, lifting her eyes from her phone, her red eyes take in her surroundings.
"Where’s the Young Mistress?" she asks curiously.
"Sleeping, what’s up?"
Xia Pingzhou replies without lifting his head, not even willing to glance at the Bloodline.
Clearly, he still holds a grudge over the incident at the Bergen tavern, during which the Longevity Love-Chasing Old Lady argued with Bai Tanlang and him. If Yanmo Lin and Ayase Origami hadn’t protected him, they might have ended up in a brawl at the tavern.
"Perfect, care to chat outside with me?"
The Bloodline tilts her head slightly, her light golden strands swaying gently.
"Why?" Xia Pingzhou asks, lifting his head.
The Bloodline gazes at him steadily, saying after a moment, "I wanted to apologize for what happened last time."
"Apologizing is just apologizing, no need to chat outside," Xia Pingzhou says, "Can’t I enjoy playing Landlord?"
"I accompanied you battling demons in Venice, and now you act like strangers?" the Bloodline asks.
After a brief silence, Xia Pingzhou says, "Alright, let’s chat then."
He places his cards on the table, looking at the hacker, "Letting you go, kid."
"As if I’m letting you off." The hacker snorts, leaning back on the sofa, waving at him.
"So no game tonight?" Robert scratches his head, stretching lazily, "Ugh... I really can’t stand you sentimental youth, it’s only fun when Jack the Ripper sister arrives in Tokyo."
"A hundred-year-old girl?" The hacker mutters.
"Shut it." The Bloodline smiles at him.
The hacker falls silent.
"Let’s go."
With that, Xia Pingzhou gets up from the sofa, leaving the coffee shop with Bloodline.
As the glass door closes, wind chimes jingle, sealing the aroma of coffee inside.
Looking ahead, the street is filled with various neon signs, while seagulls from Tokyo Bay flit between billboards and wires, with erratic advertisements blaring nonstop.
"Not angry anymore?" Xia Pingzhou asked.
"I’ve lived a hundred years, no point holding grudges," Bloodline smiled faintly.
"Let me calculate, Bai Tanlang has lived over a hundred years, you have lived a hundred years, then the two of you add up to several hundred years, getting mad at a nineteen-year-old like me, isn’t that embarrassing?" Xia Pingzhou said, "Can you be a bit more mature like me?"
"That’s true, actually, I should thank you," Bloodline suddenly said, "If it weren’t for this series of coincidences, I wouldn’t even know 1001 is still alive."
"I was just in a bad mood, went to a bar and drank a little, nothing to thank for."
"That’s why this is fate," Bloodline teased him with a smile, "No wonder I felt your eyes were similar to 1001’s, could it be you’re sent by heaven to guide me?"
"Being this childish even at over a hundred years old, you would find it hard to find competitors."
"So what?"
"Are you really sure the boy in the photo is 1001?"
"Not certain yet, but I’ll know when I see him," Bloodline said calmly, "At least there’s hope, that’s what people live for."
"Why does he linger in your memory so much, didn’t you just spend a few days together in Verdun?"
"No matter how many years you live, some emotions are hard to forget."
"Then where do your emotions come from?" Xia Pingzhou asked, "You’ve lived over thirty thousand days, but only spent a week with him."
"You science guys are so boring," Bloodline remarked, "Let me give you something realistic: I used to be a wanderer, almost died on the battlefield, and then 1001 saved my life, so my life belongs to him."
She paused, turning to look at Xia Pingzhou, "Doesn’t this sound more reasonable?"
"What if I save you once too?" he asked.
Bloodline was taken aback.
She shook her head casually, "It’s different, he made me feel like a person for the first time, before that everyone looked at me like a dirty stray cat, occasionally showing pity."
"But now you’re an old cat of a hundred years, if anyone looks down on you, just scratch them to death, why still hold onto the past?"
"It’s still different," Bloodline shook her head again, "When a person has nothing, what they gain becomes the most precious and unforgettable."
"Why?"
"Because once you’re doing well, everything seems like an add-on, making it feel much cheaper."
Xia Pingzhou pondered, "But objectively, you’ve never had him. 1001 is looking for that white-haired girl, never you."
Bloodline was silent for a while.
"Yes, I never had him," she said softly, "That’s why he’s unforgettable, isn’t that how people are? I’ve thought about forgetting him, but he keeps calling my name in dreams."
As she spoke, she glanced up, noticing gaudy host boys solicit customers under the neon lights.
Tokyo nights always seem like this, at a glance, neon lights look like toppled dominoes, lighting up in rows, extending endlessly to the world’s end.
"I still don’t understand why you don’t live with the name he gave you?" Xia Pingzhou said, "If he hears that name, he might come looking for you?"
"Where would he hear it?" Bloodline turned her head to him.
Xia Pingzhou replied without hesitation, "As soon as you publicly reveal your name, your wanted list will be all over the internet, a hundred times more effective than any search site. If he’s still alive and as powerful as you say, he’ll surely come looking for you soon."
"You’re right, but I refuse."
"Why?"
"Because many years ago, that name was a 13-year-old girl’s secret, every time she thought of it she’d chuckle alone, sometimes hearing someone call her that name in dreams would make her wake up in surprise... only to find no one around, suddenly shedding tears," Bloodline said softly, "I don’t want to betray her, so... I won’t tell that name to anyone."
Xia Pingzhou fell silent.
The two of them entered the walkway of the Tokyo Bay Rainbow Bridge from the side entrance of Shibaura Pier.
On the brightly lit bridge, vehicles moved back and forth like streams of light. The sea breeze from Tokyo Bay blew from both sides, the girl’s pale golden long hair flapping in the salty wind.
"Have you ever thought about dying?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly asked, "I’m only in my teens and already find it unbearable, so I can’t imagine what it’s like to live a hundred years."
"I’ve thought about it... but as long as there’s someone I still want to see, I can hold on," Bloodline said quietly, "No matter how long, I live just to see him once more."
"Your emotions seem too heavy," Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, "He might have forgotten you long ago, not even knowing you’ve been looking for him for so many years, your feelings towards each other are completely unbalanced."
"He won’t forget."
"Why?"
"Because he told me we’d meet again," Bloodline said confidently.
"You sometimes seem as childish as a three-year-old," Xia Pingzhou muttered, "Is this how people are when they fool themselves?"
"Didn’t you ask how I get through life earlier? Fool yourself more," Bloodline said, "Do you have a reason to fool yourself like this too?"
"Me?"
"The hacker told me, you’re looking for your family, also a white-haired little girl."
"It’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it?" After a moment of silence, Xia Pingzhou asked.
"Yes, maybe the world has such coincidences," Bloodline said with emotion, "I didn’t believe it before, but after meeting you, I do."
They suddenly stopped talking. Quietly, they strolled on the Tokyo Bay Rainbow Bridge, gazing at the undulating waves. Under the dark night, the silhouette of Mount Fuji remained stunningly beautiful.
After a while, Bloodline softly broke the silence amidst the noise:
"Xia Pingzhou... I wish you could reunite with the person you long for."
Xia Pingzhou was slightly taken aback, turning his head to see her profile.
"And you too."