My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 252 Wishing you a reunion with the one you miss (Seeking monthly votes)

The night of August 5th, Tokyo, Japan.

The café was brightly lit, and a vintage gramophone on the counter was playing "Edith's Theme," while the rich aroma of coffee beans wafted from the blender.

Outside the glass doors, the sounds of people on the long street were gentle and quiet.

Every night, little girls wearing wooden clogs would stroll along the street, holding their father's hand in one hand and their mother's hand in the other, walking forward with a clattering sound. Sometimes their parents would pull them up, as if they were swinging on a swing.

Origami Ayase doesn't like being a night owl, and when she needs to stay up late, it's usually with other band members. So, after returning to Tokyo, she immediately resumed her usual routine and was already sleeping peacefully in the attic upstairs.

Meanwhile, Xia Pingzhou was in the coffee shop downstairs, playing poker with Robert and the hacker, two night owls.

The three of them were playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game). It was said that the members of the troupe originally didn't know what Dou Dizhu was, but after the Hong Kong girl Lan Duoduo joined the White Crow Troupe two years ago, she taught them the rules of Dou Dizhu in just ten days.

At first, Lan Duoduo was having a lot of fun, even ripping off her teammates of a lot of money. But later, she finally realized what the difference in talent meant: Anlens crushed her from the very beginning, making her lose all her fun.

After that, Landodo suffered repeated defeats against Anlens.

However, this defeat only lasted for half a month before Lan Duoduo arranged for Xia Pingzhou, a guy who was as bad as an undercover agent, to be Anlens' teammate, and finally managed to win back a round from Anlens.

Meanwhile, the three people in the coffee shop were playing a very close game, with more and more cards piled up on the table.

In this round, the hacker was the landlord, while Xia Pingzhou and Robert were the peasants. After a hard-fought battle, the hacker fell into a disadvantageous position, his face covered in cold sweat. He had no choice but to secretly hack into the other two's phones under the table and peek at their hands through the cameras.

But at that very moment, a sudden, aggressive knocking sound came from behind him, startling him. The hacker reacted like a cat with its fur standing on end, pores dilating and hairs standing on end.

Xia Pingzhou looked up from his hand and cast a suspicious glance at the hacker.

The hacker coughed twice and quickly put his phone into the pocket of his overalls.

"Who's here?" he asked.

Robert turned to look at the figure outside the glass door. He saw a girl in a red dress with her arms crossed, leaning against the glass door and scrolling through her phone. The neon lights outlined her cool profile.

Perhaps it's because her age doesn't match her appearance, but when she's not smiling, she always seems aloof.

Although her mental age is nearly 100, her appearance remains that of an 18 or 19-year-old. No matter how mature she dresses, she can't hide the youthfulness in her features, so she often works on her makeup to make herself look more mature.

Today, the Bloodline didn't wear much makeup, perhaps because she had just gotten off the plane and didn't have time, so her features were as bright and beautiful as a young girl's.

Xia Pingzhou remained motionless, staring at the hacker as if he were looking at a criminal who had committed a petty theft.

After a moment, he said expressionlessly, "Why did you react so strongly just now? You weren't secretly cheating with your phone under the table, were you?"

"The owner isn't here, so why are you breathing on everyone you see?" The hacker frowned. "You can even cheat at a game of Dou Dizhu? What are you using to cheat?"

"For example, you can open a card game simulation app on your phone and let the system play the cards for you."

"Haha, do you think I'm that kind of person?" The hacker raised his hand to his chin and said disdainfully, "What kind of technology do you have? What kind of technology do I have? A robot and a cat, I can beat you guys at cards with my feet."

"Alright, I know you're panicking." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly. "Let's talk this out, don't use foreign languages."

“Fine, I’ll pull it,” the hacker said. “The Young Mistress loves a cat.”

Xia Pingzhou retorted, "The Priest loves a little boy."

The hacker's face twitched.

"Alright, you two stop arguing. Who's going to open the door for the old lady?" Robert scratched the robot's head. "Otherwise, she might kick the door down."

As he spoke, he looked up at the two of them.

Seeing that Xia Pingzhou and the hacker, both lazy dogs, were unwilling to get up and were just staring into each other's eyes, he could only sigh, stand up from the table, and go over to open the door for the Bloodline.

After entering the coffee shop, the bloodline man looked up from his phone, his crimson eyes scanning his surroundings.

"Where is the young lady?" she asked curiously.

"I'm asleep. What's up?"

Xia Pingzhou spoke without looking up, not even wanting to glance at the bloodline.

He was clearly still holding a grudge about what happened at the Bergen tavern, where the old woman, Long-lived Love Chaser, and White Wolf had argued with him. If it weren't for Enma Rin and Ayase Origami protecting him, they probably would have already started fighting in the tavern.

"That's perfect, will you come out and talk with me?"

The bloodline tilted its head, its pale golden hair swaying gently.

"Why?" Xia Pingzhou asked, looking up.

The bloodline stared at him without moving, and after a long while said, "I want to apologize for what happened last time."

"An apology is fine, but there's no need to go out and talk about it," Xia Pingzhou said. "I wasn't having fun playing Dou Dizhu?"

"Sister, I even fought demons with you in Venice, and you're already turning your back on me?" Bloodline asked.

Xia Pingzhou was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright, let's go talk."

With that, he put down his cards on the table and looked at the hacker: "I'll let you go, you little brat."

"I was the one who let you off the hook." The hacker sneered, leaned back on the sofa, and waved his hand at him.

"So there's no card game tonight?" Robert scratched his head and stretched. "Ugh... I really hate you sentimental teenagers. It'll be more interesting when the Ripper sister comes to Tokyo."

"A girl over a hundred years old?" the hacker muttered.

"Shut up." The Bloodline looked at him with a smile.

Hackers fell silent in fear.

"gone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Pingzhou got up from the sofa and walked out of the coffee shop with Xueyi.

The wind chimes tinkled and swayed as the glass door closed, shutting out the aroma of coffee behind them.

Looking around, the streets are filled with all kinds of neon signs, seagulls flying in from Tokyo Bay shuttle between billboards and power lines, and nonsensical advertising slogans never stop.

"Not angry anymore?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "I've lived to be a hundred years old, I'm not that vengeful," the Bloodline replied with a slight smile.

"Let me do the math. Bai Tanlang has lived for more than a hundred years, you've lived for a hundred, and the two of you combined are several hundred years old. How can you take it out on a nineteen-year-old like me?" Xia Pingzhou said. "Can't you be a little more mature like me?"

“You’re right. Actually, I should thank you,” Bloodline suddenly said. “If it weren’t for this series of coincidences, I wouldn’t even know that 1001 was still alive.”

"I was just in a bad mood at the time, so I went to a bar and had a drink. There's nothing to thank me for."

“So this is fate.” The Bloodline smirked and turned to tease him, “No wonder I felt your eyes were somewhat similar to 1001’s. Could it be that you were sent by heaven to guide me?”

"To be so immature even at over a hundred years old, you'd be hard-pressed to find a competitor."

"What's the matter?"

"So, are you really sure that the boy in the photo is 1001?"

"It's not certain yet, but we'll know when we see it," the Bloodline said calmly. "At least there's something to look forward to, and that's what people live for."

"Why do you think about him so much? You only spent a few days together in Verdun, didn't you?"

"No matter how many hundreds of years you live, some feelings are just hard to forget."

"Then where did your feelings come from?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "You've lived for over 30,000 days, but you've only spent a week with him."

“You science guys are so boring,” Bloodline said. “Then let me tell you something realistic: I used to be a homeless child and almost died on the battlefield. 1001 saved my life, so my life belongs to him.”

She paused for a moment, then turned to look at Xia Pingzhou: "Doesn't this sound much more reasonable?"

“What if I save you once?” he asked.

The bloodline was taken aback.

She shook her head and said casually, "It's different. He made me feel like I was being treated as a human being for the first time. Before that, everyone looked at me like I was a dirty stray cat, and they would only show me a little pity occasionally."

"But you're a hundred-year-old cat now. If anyone looks down on you, just scratch them to death. Why hold onto the past?"

“It’s still different.” The Bloodline shook his head again. “What people gain is the most precious and unforgettable when they have nothing at all.”

"why?"

"Because once you get better, everything seems like a freebie, and it feels much cheaper."

Xia Pingzhou thought for a moment: "But objectively speaking, you never got him. 1001 is looking for that white-haired girl, not you."

The bloodline remained silent for a moment.

“Yes, I never had him,” she said softly. “That’s why I can’t forget him. Aren’t people just like that? I’ve thought about forgetting him, but he keeps calling my name in my dreams.”

As she spoke, she looked up and saw, under the neon lights, male prostitutes dressed in flamboyant attire soliciting customers on the street.

Tokyo nights are always the same; as far as the eye can see, neon lights are like toppled dominoes, lighting up in rows and stretching endlessly to the ends of the earth.

“I still don’t understand, why don’t you live by the name he gave you?” Xia Pingzhou said. “What if he hears that name and comes looking for you?”

"Where did you hear that?" Bloodline turned to look at him.

Without hesitation, Xia Pingzhou said, "As soon as you publish your name, your wanted posters will be everywhere online. It's a hundred times more effective than any missing persons website. If he's still alive and as powerful as you say, he'll definitely come looking for you soon."

"You're right, but I refuse."

"why?"

“Because many years ago, that name was a secret of a thirteen-year-old girl. Every time she heard that name, she would chuckle to herself. Sometimes she would wake up in her dreams to hear someone calling her that name… and then she would find no one around and suddenly burst into tears.” Bloodline said softly, “I don’t want to betray her, so… I won’t tell anyone that name.”

Xia Pingzhou fell silent.

The two entered the pedestrian walkway of the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo Bay from the Shibaura Wharf side entrance.

On the brightly lit bridge, vehicles moved back and forth like streams of light. The sea breeze from Tokyo Bay blew in from both sides, and the girl's long, pale golden hair fluttered in the salty wind.

"Have you ever thought about dying?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly asked. "I'm only a teenager and I can barely stand it, so I can't imagine what it would be like to live to be a hundred."

“I’ve thought about it… but as long as there’s someone I want to see, I can keep going,” the Bloodline said softly. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes; I’m living just to see him one more time.”

"Your feelings are far too heavy." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly. "He may have already forgotten you, and he has no idea that you have been looking for him for so many years. Your feelings for each other are completely unbalanced."

He won't forget.

"why?"

“Because he told me he would see me again,” the Bloodline said firmly.

"Sometimes you really act like a three-year-old," Xia Pingzhou muttered. "Is everyone like this when they're lying to themselves?"

“Didn’t you just ask me how to survive? Keep lying to yourself,” the Bloodline said. “Do you even have a reason to lie to yourself like this?”

"I?"

"The hacker told me that you were looking for your family, a little girl with white hair."

"Quite a coincidence, isn't it?" After a moment of silence, Xia Pingzhou asked.

“Yes, there are such coincidences in the world.” Bloodline said with a sigh, “I didn’t believe it before, but I have since I met you.”

They suddenly fell silent. The two strolled quietly across the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo Bay, gazing at the rising and falling waves. Under the dark night sky, the silhouette of Mount Fuji remained breathtakingly beautiful.

After a moment, the Bloodline suddenly spoke softly, breaking the silence amidst the clamor:

"Xia Pingzhou... I wish you could reunite with the person you miss."

Xia Pingzhou was slightly taken aback and turned to look at her profile.

"You too."

　Please vote for me! (orz)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)