Chapter 20

"It looks like we can't leave Luocheng," Jiang Xue said after failing to buy a train ticket and then trying to buy a plane ticket, with the same result.

Both attempts failed.

This mysterious organization had far-reaching influence. Qingchen didn't want to be confined to one city, so no matter what the other party's intentions were, it was best not to reveal himself for now.

Jiang Xue suddenly asked, "By the way, Qingchen, why haven't I seen your parents for the past two years? Do you live here alone?"

"Um," Qingchen nodded, "They got divorced. I live here alone. By the way, Aunt Jiang Xue, what do you do for work?"

"I'm an art teacher at the nearby Bai Ma Elementary School," Jiang Xue said without elaborating further. She got up and picked up the bowls and chopsticks on the table, "I'll wash the dishes."

"No, you can just leave them there. I'll wash them later," Qingchen said.

"No way, you've already cooked, I can't let you wash the dishes too," Jiang Xue said, ignoring him and heading into the kitchen, leaving Qingchen and Li Tongyun in the living room.

At that moment, the little girl Li Tongyun suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Brother, you never used to look at my mom properly. Did you invite her in today just because she's pretty?"

Qingchen was speechless, "What are you talking about? Don't overthink it."

"My mom is really pretty," Li Tongyun muttered softly.

Qingchen was at a loss, kids these days have too many thoughts.

But it wasn't because Jiang Xue was pretty; it was because she had information he needed, like the mysterious organization and the Inner World.

Jiang Xue worked quickly and soon washed all the dishes in the sink. Seeing that the bathroom still had dirty clothes, she gathered them in her arms, "Qingchen, living alone isn't easy. If you have any dirty clothes, just bring them to Auntie, and I'll wash them for you. Let's go, Xiao Yun, we're going home. Your brother Qingchen still needs to study."

"Wait, I can wash them myself..."

Before Qingchen could finish his sentence, Jiang Xue had already pulled Li Tongyun away, not giving him a chance to react.

Qingchen stood in the dimly lit room, completely taken aback by her actions.

He returned to his bedroom and lay down on the bed, thinking about what to do next.

The class WeChat group already had 999 unread messages, with everyone discussing the穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越者" in English, but in this context, it means "穿越者" or "穿越者").

Even the events of tonight involving Jiang Xue were slowly becoming a topic of discussion among the people of Luocheng, and might even make the trending list tomorrow.

Students, office workers, and even the true elite were all paying close attention to the word "穿越者" (穿越者).

He glanced at the chat history in the class group. Whenever someone discussed the characteristics of the "穿越者," Nan Gengchen would always chime in, saying that these "穿越者" must be very outstanding...

At that moment, to be honest, Qingchen kind of hoped that Nan Gengchen would be transported to Prison No. 18.

Although that would mean he couldn't hide his identity, Nan Gengchen's expression at that time would probably be very interesting.

Qingchen opened the search engine, wanting to see if He Xiaoxiao had posted any strategies, but her live stream was still black, with no new updates.

He checked his WeChat again, but his mother still hadn't sent any messages.

Just as he was about to go to bed, his phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID read: Mom.

Qingchen sat up and answered the call, "Hello?"

On the other end, Zhang Wanfang said, "Xiaochen, Mom has already transferred the living expenses to your dad."

However, Qingchen hadn't seen the living expenses in a long time.

"Mom, this week..."

Qingchen was about to say that he needed to pay for his textbooks, but before he could finish, Zhang Wanfang said, "Hao Hao suddenly has a fever, so we won't be able to visit you this weekend. Go to bed early and don't fall behind in your studies."

"Okay," Qingchen said and hung up.

He finally got the call, but it seemed the other party had already forgotten about his truancy.

But it didn't matter.

At that moment.

"Qingchen, Qingchen, are you there, are you there, are you there?" Nan Gengchen sent a message in the middle of the night.

"What's up?" Qingchen asked.

"I just found a group online that welcomes all '穿越者' to join and exchange. Do you want to join? I'll send you the group number," Nan Gengchen said enthusiastically, already acting like a "穿越者."

Qingchen said, "We're not '穿越者,' why should we join?"

Nan Gengchen paused, "To join in the fun? Maybe we can learn some new things. If we ever become '穿越者' one day, we can have some information in advance."

"I'm not going, you go if you want," Qingchen said.

He wasn't interested in the '穿越者' group at all. What if it was a trap set by the mysterious organization, waiting for everyone to fall into it?

Maybe it wasn't dangerous, but he didn't want to be restricted either.

Only someone as naive as Nan Gengchen would join in any excitement.

"Fine, I'll go in and play," Nan Gengchen said.

After that, Nan Gengchen went silent.

A little while later, just as Qingchen was starting to feel sleepy, Nan Gengchen appeared again, "Qingchen..."

"What now?" Qingchen asked, exasperated.

"The group owner says he's a '穿越者' and brought back hundreds of high-tech socks from the Inner World. They're not only odor-resistant and sweat-proof but can also make you walk faster and live longer, using nanotechnology to stimulate acupoints... Do you want a pair?" Nan Gengchen asked.

Qingchen: "???"

What the hell, socks from the Inner World!

Nowadays, scammers are too outrageous, they can exploit any hot topic?

He knew the '穿越者' group wasn't reliable, but he didn't expect it to be this unreliable.

Qingchen asked, "Did you buy any?"

Nan Gengchen replied, "I don't have money. If I had money, I might buy a pair to try..."

Qingchen was speechless for a moment, "…Impressive."

Nan Gengchen continued, "There's another '穿越者' in the group who says he got a gene serum from the Inner World. Drinking it can make you a superhuman."

"Um, what else did people in the group say?"

"There's another '穿越者' who says he met a few rich women looking for children and can help introduce them."

"Um... What else did people in the group say?" Qingchen was starting to understand; this group was truly a nest of scammers.

He even suspected that everyone in the group except Nan Gengchen was a scammer, and only Nan Gengchen was the fool.