Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 6: My senior brother gave me so much!
"Hiss, my memory is still pretty good..."

Lu Mingfei gasped in pain, answered blankly, feeling somewhat bewildered.

What does it mean to "remember him"?
The way Chu Zihang gripped him, and the tone of his voice, made it seem as if he remembered that man as something quite bizarre.

"Feel sorry."

Chu Zihang realized what was happening, quickly let go of her hand, closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, and then slowly opened them.

"Could you tell me more details?" he asked, or more accurately, he requested.

"In detail... Actually, it all started when I overheard my classmates gossiping." Lu Mingfei dribbled the basketball as the countdown warning sounded, trying hard to recall as he dribbled.

"Initially, someone said, 'Brother Chu, your family is really rich. Sometimes you drive a Mercedes-Benz, sometimes a Maybach, and you even have different drivers for each car!'"

Then someone retorted, saying, "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. The one driving the Mercedes is the driver, that's true, but the one driving the Maybach is Senior Brother Chu's father. Last time, he personally heard that man call Senior Brother Chu 'son'."

Then someone said, "Huh? No way, that middle-aged man looked just like a driver of a Mercedes-Benz, all eager to please." Then someone else retorted, "What do you know? That's a father's love for his son!"
After hearing that gossip, one time we were dismissed from school early, and I curiously glanced at your father a few times at the school gate. At that time, your father was leaning against the car lighting a cigarette. He noticed me and asked me if I wanted one.

I saw him several more times after that, but only from a distance.

Lu Mingfei finished speaking in one breath, and even added a compliment.

"If you ask me, although your father looks dejected, he's obviously putting on an act. He's definitely very impressive!"

Of course, with Lu Mingfei's practically nonexistent ability to judge people, he obviously couldn't see that "the middle-aged man is awesome," it was just a casual compliment... anyway, it was true.

How could someone who isn't incredibly talented afford a Maybach? Is it possible to have a prodigy like Senior Brother Chu, or is it a genetic mutation?

Chu Zihang took a deep breath, almost certain that this wasn't made up... Asking a middle school student who was underage if he wanted a cigarette was something that man would do!

“…His name is Chu Tianjiao.” After a moment of silence, Chu Zihang said.

"The name itself sounds impressive!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed.

Chu Zihang thought to himself, "Of course that's awesome. Nobody would have thought that a useless old man who likes to eat braised pig intestines could pull out the demon sword Murasame from the door of a Maybach at any time, drive the Maybach towards the god king Odin, and even jump up to slash!"

That happened five years ago, during a torrential rain and typhoon. They entered the Nibelungen... and only Chu Zihang came out.

But that's not all.

Chu Zihang soon discovered that Chu Tianjiao had not only disappeared in a physical sense, but the Nibelungen was like an abyss that devoured everything, stripping away everything related to Chu Tianjiao, even his memories.

Apart from Chu Zihang, no one remembers what Chu Tianjiao had done.

It seems that the man was just an ordinary driver, insignificant before the divorce and still so after. The only time he appeared was on that stormy day, when he drove to pick Chu Zihang up from school for the "first time," and then he died.

People around him were saying it was good that Chu Zihang was alright; a man who dies is just a good-for-nothing anyway… mistakenly believing that Chu Zihang’s pale face was just because he had suffered a great shock.

That's it.

But how could it be just that!

After the divorce, that man came to pick up Chu Zihang many times. So many people have seen it, so many people know about it... How could he possibly forget?
However, the more Chu Zihang investigated, the more alarmed he became.

Surveillance footage? No. Work experience? No. Even other people who had dealt with Chu Tianjiao... only knew of his existence; when asked for details, their answers were vague.

Chu Zihang kept everything buried deep in his heart. He found the Kassel College that Chu Tianjiao had mentioned and verified the existence of Deadpool and the Nibelungen. Just when he thought he was about to find the answer...

Everything was blank.

There was no trace of Chu Tianjiao's existence in Kassel College.

Logically, most people would suspect there's something wrong with them at this point, but Chu Zihang was a resolute person. He firmly believed that the problem wasn't with him, but with the entire world.

If God exists, it's not impossible that He can modify the world's files and memories!
At this point, Chu Zihang was certain that in this world, only he, as someone who had also been in Nibelungen and had faced Odin, the King of Gods, remembered Chu Tianjiao.

But now... Lu Mingfei remembers too.

Chu Zihang had a deep impression of Lu Mingfei because on that stormy day, he had thought of asking Lu Mingfei to give him a ride, but Lu Mingfei had already run off into the rain before he could even speak...

Therefore, logically speaking, Lu Mingfei should have no memory of Chu Tianjiao at all!
But Lu Mingfei not only remembered it several times, but could even accurately describe Chu Tianjiao's characteristics.

What's going on here?

Is it just made up, a lucky guess?
“Lu Mingfei…”

"Senior brother, I'm here!"

Lu Mingfei was practically standing at attention and saluting. In his eyes, Chu Zihang's facial expression was so solemn that it seemed he was about to announce something that could affect world peace.

Do you know how to sketch?

"No..." Lu Mingfei immediately deflated and chuckled awkwardly.

"Okay." Chu Zihang nodded. "You practice first, I'll go buy paper and pens."

Before Lu Mingfei could even call out, Chu Zihang jogged away.

So did you hear me or not? I said no, no!
Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, but under the countdown warning, he once again immersed himself in practicing shooting.

Aside from fatigue, Lu Mingfei now quite enjoys playing basketball. In just over two hours, his basketball proficiency has already increased from 13 to 52!
The visible increase in proficiency, which was immediately reflected in the mastery of skills, was something Lu Mingfei had never felt so clearly before, except when he first started playing StarCraft.

So engrossed in his work, he didn't even notice that Chu Zihang soon returned and sat down to sketch with paper and pen.

……

Warning, it's time for dinner. Please proceed immediately...

Considering the physical condition required for the next plan, rest time has been allocated, and will be distributed according to physical fitness and current condition... Countdown, one hour.

Amidst the warning, Lu Mingfei stood at the two-point line and launched his last basketball with a jump shot. With a "whoosh," it swished through the net!

"I feel incredibly strong right now!"

Despite being physically exhausted, Lu Mingfei was all smiles and full of energy. His gaze shifted, and he quickly noticed Chu Zihang putting away his pen beside him, and he froze.

Is it possible...

"Finished practicing?" Chu Zihang asked.

"Okay, I'm done practicing. Thanks, senior. I'm going to have dinner now..."

"Not urgent."

Chu Zihang walked forward with a few sheets of paper in his hand.

"look."

"This……"

Lu Mingfei was somewhat flattered. After carefully taking the paper, he was stunned for a moment, "This?"

"How is it?" Chu Zihang asked.

"Um, senior, your sketching skills are amazing! But... did I originally look like this?"

Lu Mingfei asked blankly, hardly believing that the middle-aged man drawn so vividly on the paper was himself.

Chu Zihang remained silent for a long time before saying, "This... isn't a drawing of you."

"Oh, I see!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed in sudden realization.

"If you want, I'll draw another one for you later."

"Thank you, senior brother!" Lu Mingfei nodded repeatedly. If this treatment were auctioned off, it would probably fetch an astronomical sum from the rich kids at Shilan Middle School. Why not take it if it's free!

"Wait, what is this sketch about?" Lu Mingfei realized.

“My dad,” Chu Zihang said.

Lu Mingfei fell silent for a moment, then looked at the sketch again with some uncertainty. "This...maybe I remembered it wrong? Or maybe I mistook someone else for someone else? It doesn't look like this..."

Surely it's not that Senior Brother Chu's sketching skills are too poor?
Chu Zihang did not speak, but instead took the sketch from Lu Mingfei's hand and replaced it with another one.

The middle-aged man depicted above has changed again.

Lu Mingfei then realized that Chu Zihang was asking him to recognize people by looking at sketches!
My senior brother is truly upright on the surface, but in reality he's incredibly cunning. He's trying to trick me by thinking I'm Japanese!

Why...why is it like this?

Lu Mingfei couldn't understand it, nor did he think about it in detail; he simply kept trying to identify it.

"It's not this, and it's not this either..."

When Chu Zihang switched to the fifth sketch, Lu Mingfei's gaze froze, and he handed the sketch back to Chu Zihang.

"Yes, that's it! Senior brother, am I mistaken? My memory is really good!"

Chu Zihang didn't speak, but simply lowered his eyes.

His hand holding the paper trembled slightly, but quickly regained its composure.

"Thank you."

Chu Zihang looked up at Lu Mingfei and said seriously.

"Small thing!"

Lu Mingfei waved his hand nonchalantly, continuing to move forward, "Um, senior brother, I really have to go get dinner..."

Even if Lu Mingfei had no fitness knowledge, he still knew that he shouldn't do strenuous exercise shortly after a meal.

The schedule has been proactively allocated for rest time!
Therefore, he must finish eating as soon as possible and then use the remaining time to rest for a while.

Lu Mingfei's thoughts were simple; he felt that his fortunate meeting with his senior brother today should come to an end.

It's already a huge favor that your senior is willing to spend his precious time teaching you basketball. You can't just shamelessly ask for dinner, can you?

But what Lu Mingfei didn't expect was—

"What to eat?"

Chu Zihang stepped forward and took the initiative to speak.

"I'll treat."

"This is something I can't accept without merit, senior brother..." Lu Mingfei was unusually embarrassed.

If someone in the class were treating him, he would have already been groveling over with a fawning smile, but Chu Zihang... his senior brother gave him way too much!
This even made Lu Mingfei a little suspicious, wondering if his senior brother had ulterior motives.

After all, Chu Zihang was known for his aloofness towards women. So many beautiful girls and rich young ladies were attracted to him, yet he remained completely untouched by any of them!

Such rumors had circulated in the school before, but they were completely suppressed by the girls who couldn't accept them.

"You have done a good job."

Chu Zihang said calmly, and asked again.

"What do you want for dinner?"

What's it like to be a tyrannical ruler who thinks, "If I say you've done something, then you've done something"? His word is law, and there's absolutely no room for refusal!

Anyway, Lu Mingfei couldn't think of any merit he had made, so he could only scratch his head.

"Anything is fine, just needs to be quick..."

(End of this chapter)