AYLS – Chapter 140

Gu Huayuan carefully examined the contours of the photos. Compared with his memory, they were exactly the same.

“What did you notice?”

Gu Huayuan asked, “Uncle Lin, these photos seem quite old. I wonder if Xiao Qiao can see them clearly.”

Uncle Lin replied, “Do your best. These photos aren’t that important. We’re just checking to see if there’s anyone in them we might have overlooked. After all, Yuan’an, where the Song family lives, is just a small city. Even if there were something, it wouldn’t be anything big. The ones that needed to be caught have already been caught.”

At this moment, Gu Huayuan couldn’t calm his mind.

To maintain composure, he lowered his head and put the film away, then said, “Uncle Lin, I’ll take these back for Xiao Qiao to see. I originally wanted to bring her here to meet you, but she’s busy training the troops. I couldn’t tell her about your investigation, so I didn’t bring her out.”

“That’s fine. It’s not suitable for me to have too much contact with outsiders anyway. As long as you think it’s okay, that’s enough. I’ve heard your father mention this before. This daughter-in-law of yours is a good one. She went through hardships as a child, so you need to treat her well. She’s the child of a martyr, after all.”

“I will,” Gu Huayuan said with a gentle nod and a small smile, then casually added, “Uncle Lin, when you went to Yuan’an this time, did you visit Xiao Qiao’s old home? How are her family members? I haven’t had a chance to go since we got married. If they’re easy to get along with, I’ll find time to take her back to visit them.”

Uncle Lin chuckled. “Of course I went. Everyone in the Song family… including your wife, Lin Xiao Qiao, we investigated them. You should understand this process.”

Gu Huayuan nodded. “I understand.”

“After visiting and investigating, these people have no issues. As for the others in Xiao Qiao’s hometown, you don’t need to go back. Xiao Qiao’s only family now is you.”

Hearing this, Gu Huayuan understood. Those people back home probably no longer cared about Xiao Qiao.

Thinking of Xiao Qiao, his heart still felt uneasy.

He held the photos in his hands. “I’ll take these back for Xiao Qiao to see. But… could these photos be fake?”

“How could photos be faked?”

“…That’s true.”

Uncle Lin didn’t say more and left. He had other important matters to attend to.

On the way back, Gu Huayuan should have felt relieved. After all, Xiao Qiao had been investigated by someone like Uncle Lin and no issues were found. This proved his earlier suspicions were wrong.

But these photos…

Every photo of Xiao Qiao looked like it was the same person…

What kind of trick was this?

In this era of abolishing feudal superstitions, Gu Huayuan was a staunch materialist.

Yet in front of these strange events and strange people, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of speculation.

Xiao Qiao was Xiao Qiao, and yet… not quite.

She could be recognized by the Yuan’an Public Security Bureau and brought to him, which obviously meant she had been verified. The elderly from the Song family must have known her and confirmed her identity.

If that’s the case, why go through the trouble of faking photos later?

It made sense for a servant to have no photos. Even without them, nothing unusual would occur.

Yet, despite her identity being verified, these fake photos were made… Gu Huayuan’s heart jolted. He realized—it was because of him.

Because he didn’t trust Xiao Qiao and privately hired someone to investigate her, searching for old photos, these photos ended up existing.

Though he didn’t know how she had done it, it was clear—the girl was really naive.

If photos could be faked, why weren’t the negatives faked as well?

This mind…

At least after Uncle Lin’s investigation, it was clear Xiao Qiao wouldn’t do anything harmful to others.

He still didn’t know whether the Xiao Qiao born to his mother-in-law was truly this girl, or if something had changed later—like possession by a spirit or something.

But Gu Huayuan believed that no matter what, Xiao Qiao would never harm anyone.

A person who couldn’t even kill a chicken could never harm another human.

Knowing Xiao Qiao wouldn’t harm anyone or do anything that endangered the country, Gu Huayuan’s mood gradually relaxed. Whether materialist or idealist, as long as they could maintain this life, it was enough.

Gu Huayuan didn’t rest in the provincial city and kept traveling, so by the time he returned, it was already dark.

Xiao Qiao dozed in bed.

Fat Cat said, “You’re still able to sleep. I’ve detected a bug in this game.”

Xiao Qiao replied, “Obviously. I am this bug. Wasn’t this game world originally without me?”

“No, there’s a real problem. Unfortunately, I can’t detect it fully.” Its energy was insufficient.

Even though this was just a game world, it was incredibly real.

To monitor the whole world required enormous energy. But this player was cheerful every day, with no negative energy. It was hungry all the time.

“Don’t just focus on raising chickens. Have you forgotten your mission? You need to finish it quickly.”

Xiao Qiao mumbled groggily, “No rush. Zhenzhen is still having a baby. I’ll deal with it after the child is born. I promised her.”

Fat Cat stomped angrily.

Always waiting, always waiting. Where did such a player with zero ambition come from?

Infuriating.

Just then, Gu Huayuan gently pushed the door.

Seeing Xiao Qiao half-asleep in bed, he quietly went over to her.

Her face was warm. She was clearly a normal person, and his worried heart finally relaxed. Although he couldn’t figure out the ultimate truth, he wouldn’t seek it any further.

Xiao Qiao’s face was slightly hurt by his rough hands. She opened her eyes in surprise. “Gu Huayuan, what are you doing? You scared me.”

“Hm,” Gu Huayuan smiled.

So timid, yet a person.

“You’re still smiling, annoying! I’m not talking to you. I’m going to sleep.”

Lin Qiao continued lying down, fast asleep.

Gu Huayuan didn’t pay her any attention either; instead, he took the photo negatives out of his pocket and placed them in the box he normally used for documents.

Xiao Qiao would never touch that box, so he didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing it.

Tomorrow, he would just take out those few films and let Xiao Qiao identify the others.

He didn’t realize that Fat Cat, in Xiao Qiao’s head, saw the items in his hand. After a brief scan, it almost crashed.

Had they been discovered?!

Probably not.

Fat Cat trembled and glanced at Lin Qiao, who was sleeping soundly, almost wanting to wake her.

Better wait.

The next day, Lin Qiao woke up feeling refreshed. She saw breakfast laid out on the table, along with the snow cream and some snacks Gu Huayuan had bought for her. She tapped her head, “I didn’t dream it—Gu Huayuan really came back last night.”

She was a little annoyed, “But he didn’t wake me up.”

Fat Cat said, “You were sleeping like a pig yesterday.”

“Shut up.” Lin Qiao glared at it, then got up to wash up and eat.

Seeing her so happy, Fat Cat stomped angrily, “You can still eat? We’re doomed!”

With her cheeks puffed with food, Lin Qiao asked, “Doomed? What do you mean?”

“We might have been discovered.”

Lin Qiao almost choked. “What did you say? Who discovered us?”

“Gu Huayuan.”

“…Impossible. I didn’t say anything. What could he have discovered?”

Fat Cat felt guilty.

Seeing its expression, Lin Qiao knew the problem was its fault. “What exactly did you do?”

“You’re scolding me, but I did it all for you!” Fat Cat clenched its tiny fists. “At first, I just wanted to help you cover up your identity. That’s why I photoshopped the pictures—you knew about that.”

Lin Qiao nodded, “Yeah, I knew about that. Then?”

“I forgot—the photos in this era all have negatives. I forgot to photoshop the negatives. And it seems Gu Huayuan has already found the negatives.”

Lin Qiao truly choked this time, slapping her chest hard until she finally caught her breath.

“How could you be so stupid?!”

“You didn’t realize it back then either. I did it all for you,” Fat Cat said righteously.

Lin Qiao was furious. “You mess up and blame me? So what do we do now? Should I confess and hope for leniency?”

“No, you can’t say anything. The dog planner designed it so no shortcuts are allowed. Nothing about the game can be revealed. If you say anything, the world will collapse.”

“That serious?”

“Think about it—if you discovered that your world is just a game someone designed, wouldn’t your worldview collapse?”

“…”

“So you absolutely cannot reveal anything. If the world collapses, and we haven’t finished our game tasks, we’ll collapse along with it.”

Lin Qiao thought further—if the world collapsed, everyone in it would be gone. Strangers, friends around her… even Gu Huayuan, and her father.

So many people would vanish.

Lin Qiao broke out in a cold sweat. “Then what should we do? Can we just photoshop the negatives now?”

“He probably already saw them. Doing it now would just draw more attention.”

“Then what do we do?” Lin Qiao panicked, nearly in tears.

“Stay calm. No matter what happens, don’t reveal anything about the game. Don’t say you’re from another world, don’t reveal any game details.”

“So just flat-out deny it.” Lin Qiao wiped her tears.

“For now, that’s the only option.” Fat Cat shrugged.

Lin Qiao rolled her eyes. “All your fault. Be careful in the future—don’t drag me down.”

“…”

If you hadn’t acted so strangely when you arrived, making people distrustful, would I even have to deal with this evidence?

Because of this, Lin Qiao couldn’t focus on work, constantly on edge while doing anything.

Su Weizhen worriedly asked if something was wrong.

Lin Qiao dreaded anyone asking her anything.

“Nothing, really. I just feel unwell.”

Su Weizhen touched her forehead—it was slightly abnormal, a bit cool with sweat. “Then you should go back and rest.”

“I don’t want to. I’ll stay here.” What if Gu Huayuan came back—how should she face him?

“It’s fine, you can rest. It’s not busy now. You need to rest so you can attend class in the afternoon.”

“…” Lin Qiao pouted, feeling uneasy.

If this world disappeared because of her, what would happen to Zhenzhen and the others?

“Zhenzhen, I’ll do my best.”

“Mm, I believe you,” Su Weizhen said with a smile.

After returning, Lin Qiao couldn’t help muttering, “Fat Cat, it’s all your fault!”

“Don’t worry too much. I think Gu Huayuan may not have noticed. Otherwise, he would have asked you yesterday.”

“…That makes sense.”

“So let’s see if he brings up the photos today. If he doesn’t, that’s best.”

Lin Qiao breathed a slight sigh of relief. “He definitely won’t mention it.”

At noon, Lin Qiao had no appetite, thinking that if Gu Huayuan didn’t come back, she might as well rest. After all, all the anxiety since morning had taken a toll on her.

But at noon, Gu Huayuan actually came back with food.

“I heard you weren’t feeling well,” Gu Huayuan said as he entered.

Seeing him, Lin Qiao instinctively took a step back.

Gu Huayuan frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You came back suddenly, I wasn’t prepared. I’m not unwell, just didn’t sleep well.”

Gu Huayuan smiled. “You didn’t sleep well? I thought you slept fine yesterday.”

“That was yesterday. Maybe I won’t sleep well today,” Lin Qiao muttered.

“Come eat.” Gu Huayuan placed the food on the table.

Lin Qiao sat down, looking a bit tense.

Her mind raced—had Gu Huayuan noticed anything?

Please don’t mention the photos, please don’t.

“Eat first. Afterward, I’ll need your help with something.”

“What thing?” Lin Qiao asked.

“Some photos and negatives. I’ll need you to help identify them. It’s the Song family you worked with before—they have a small problem again.”

Hearing that, Lin Qiao’s chopsticks almost fell out of her hands.