Chapter 6: Do You Believe in Love?

Do you believe in love?

Bai Qi grew up in a single-parent family. His mother hadn't died; instead, she abandoned him and his father when he was just two years old, running off with a wealthy man.

He never heard from her again, and Bai Qi retained no memories or impressions of her.

His father told him about this after he turned eighteen. When he learned the truth, Bai Qi felt nothing.

To him, that woman was a complete stranger. Why would he expect anything from a stranger?

Before his untimely death, Bai Qi's father had considered remarriage and was fortunate enough to meet a woman who seemed kind and virtuous.

After dating for a while, their relationship progressed smoothly to the point of discussing marriage.

However, after Bai Qi's father paid the bride price, she vanished without a trace.

It was then that the honest and naive father realized he had been scammed by a bride price con artist whose sole motive was money.

From that moment on, he completely abandoned the idea of finding a partner. Instead, he buried himself in work, tirelessly saving every penny for Bai Qi's future home down payment.

In recent years, incidents like the "First Sword on Shore" (where a man murders his lover), the "Zhangjiajie Bride" (who flees her wedding), and the "Warrior Running Wild for Love" (who loses everything chasing after a woman) have become increasingly common.

While the last case eventually revealed the netizens as the real fools, that reversal only applied to that specific incident. Such scams are undeniably real.

Take the man at Chengdu Liberal Arts College, for example, publicly lamenting his failed romance—wasn't he just another "Warrior Running Wild for Love"?

Or consider the woman from out of town who married a man in Shanghai. After becoming pregnant, she convinced her husband to sell their house, claiming it would secure their child's future schooling. They then jointly purchased a new property near a good school, only for her to divorce him afterward and walk away with the multimillion-yuan asset.

Of course, the cases Bai Qi had witnessed might be isolated incidents, not representative of entire gender groups.

So, the question remained: Did he believe in love?

Bai Qi did.

Life and death, separation and union—we made this vow together.

Hand in hand, we will grow old together.

He believed that even in this cold, callous world, beautiful love existed—true love that inspired longing.

Bai Qi had seen elderly women with wrinkled faces and stooped backs pushing their disabled husbands in wheelchairs, strolling beneath the setting sun.

But he didn't believe true love could ever happen to him.

In this era, it was far too rare, as scarce as morning stars.

Adults had no right to dream, so he kept his dreams locked away.

Love was sacred and grand.

Marriage was mundane and frigid.

Bai Qi had no interest in marriages treated like business transactions, and his father's experience had even instilled a fear of the institution in him.

That was why Bai Qi had never actively pursued a girl. His rationality stifled any romantic inclinations.

He had felt attraction to girls before, but it was merely superficial, a primal impulse to pass on his genes.

This, combined with his plain looks and otaku lifestyle, made him even less popular with women.

Bai Qi remained completely unfazed.

No one understood him better than himself, and he was convinced that no soul in this world could truly resonate with his own.

To be honest, Bai Qi couldn't even imagine what he would be like in love.

He couldn't fathom falling for anyone. Even if, against all odds, he were to hypothetically fall for a girl someday, she could only be another version of himself!

Yet, this absurdly improbable scenario had somehow become reality.

Dawn broke, the sun rising in the east.

Golden sunlight streamed into the room, filtered by the curtains, casting shimmering patterns in a corner. Dust motes danced lazily in the gentle breeze.

Silky blue hair cascaded down Bai Qi's pristine, jade-like back, accentuating the delicate, almost translucent skin that blushed with a faint pink.

Jade-like arms, elegant shoulders, and refined collarbones led to slender, perfectly aligned legs. This divine masterpiece, as if sculpted by God himself, ended in dainty toes curled like nascent flower buds.

The blue-haired girl lay draped over Bai Qi, her eyes locked with Ren's in an easy, serene gaze, like two exquisite narcissi blooming freely in perfect harmony.

Hmm, I never imagined a girl's... would feel like that...

A faint blush lingered on Ren's fair cheeks as she replayed the previous night

Bai Qi controlled his two bodies with practiced ease, dressing himself with a coordination that no ordinary carbon-based lifeform could comprehend.

Next on his mind was one of his daily trio of questions: "What should I have for lunch?" The other two, of course, were "What should I have for breakfast?" and "What should I have for dinner?"

Bai Qi opened his phone and began browsing takeout options. He could now ignore the prices of those high-end restaurants he'd never dared to even glance at before, focusing solely on his cravings.

After selecting several visually appealing set meals he'd previously hesitated to order, Bai Qi closed the food delivery app and opened the pharmacy app.

I hope human contraceptives work on Edel Raids...

He also added some small ribbons printed with "Let's be friends~!" to his cart.

Honestly, Bai Qi had never imagined he'd actually need something like this one day.

Meanwhile, Ren pulled out her laptop and searched for "Elemental Gelade" on Baidu, preparing to compare the anime's lore with her own memories.

The manga and anime adaptations of Elemental Gelade differed significantly. The anime underwent substantial revisions, and the manga's artwork was far superior.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Despite possessing extraordinary power, Bai Qi hadn't left his room once in three days.

He spent his days catching up on the anime, reading the manga, and scouring platforms like Bilibili, Tieba, and various forums for information about Elemental Gelade. He even considered traveling to Japan to discuss the series with author Higashi Mayumi.

As he pondered, Bai Qi realized something crucial.

Though he didn't understand the principles governing information exchange between universes, Ren's world was undoubtedly real.

Whatever connection that world might have had to the fictional creation born from the author's imagination would likely vanish the moment Ren used the Mysterious Space to intervene in this world.

The previously established settings and "story" remained valuable as reference points.

After a long day of gathering information, Bai Qi and Ren looked forward to their evening reward.

They had gone through three of the largest boxes of Durex condoms in just three days.

With the body of a super-beautiful girl, what man could resist such temptation?

Bai Qi certainly couldn't. He coveted his own body, and he was honest about it!

While Bai Qi indulged in self-pity, something both unexpected and perfectly logical was unfolding.

In Shanghai, a group of elderly men with faintly graying hair sat around a conference table.

"Cut all data connections, seal all entrances and exits—no one in, no one out. Confiscate all communication devices immediately..."

The old man with the general's insignia on his shoulder issued a series of orders.

Anyone who had recently had direct contact with Bai Qi was summoned to a waiting room.

This included his former boss and colleagues, his landlord, the caregiver Big Sister, the Didi driver who had driven Bai Qi and Ren, the chief physician treating Bai Qi at Shanghai's top hospital, and even casual acquaintances who had struck up conversations with them.

All of them waited anxiously for questioning.

Alone in the room, Gu Wu wore a complex expression, glancing nervously at the elderly man beside her. "Grandpa, what exactly is going on?"

At this critical juncture in her father's career, Gu Wu had believed she had taken every precaution to minimize the fallout from the car accident.

Yesterday, she had been utterly bewildered when her grandfather called, his tone unusually grave, to inquire about Bai Qi.

"Little Wu, this matter is classified as top secret. You understand what that means," her grandfather said, his perpetually kind face now stern.

"Top secret? How is that possible?!" Gu Wu's voice faltered, betraying her shock.

Despite this momentary lapse in composure, her impeccable training allowed her to quickly regain her composure. She fell silent, her gaze unfocused, her expression blank.

Just who exactly did I hit?!

In the brightly lit conference room, an oppressive silence hung in the air.

Four video feeds flickered on the large screen, seemingly random footage from surveillance cameras and bystanders' phones.

The focus was on a shadowy figure in the background of these clips. Advanced technology had isolated him, piecing together the fragments into a coherent sequence.

The final result showed a black-haired youth in dark robes soaring through the boundless sky with a thunderous cry, his speed far surpassing any conventional aircraft, his flight utterly free and untamed!

A human being, unequipped with anything, soaring through the sky!

Watching that carefree figure, reminiscent of a mythological immortal, against the backdrop of Shanghai's bizarre celestial phenomenon—where the sky seemed to turn itself inside out—even those who had long occupied the pinnacles of power couldn't suppress a thrill of awe.

Long after the video ended, the conference room remained so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Finally, someone broke the stillness.

Speculations, opinions, and policy proposals erupted in rapid succession, creating a palpable sense of impending change.

A faint cough cut through the air, instantly silencing the debate. All eyes turned to the figure seated at the head of the table.

"Before we proceed with further discussion," the old man said calmly, though faint traces of worry lingered between his furrowed brows, "let's review his profile."

Secretaries distributed sealed document pouches and withdrew from the room. The assembled elders swiftly tore open their pouches in unison.

"This..."

"Hiss..."

Hesitant murmurs, sharp intakes of breath, and heavy sighs of concern rippled through the room.

The top-secret document contained Bai Qi's personal history, from childhood to the present, with increasingly detailed information as the timeline approached the present day. Every place he had been, every meal he had eaten—all meticulously logged in the backends of his smartphone apps.

The crucial details highlighted in the file painted a deeply troubling picture.

Abandoned by his mother at a young age, Bai Qi grew up in a single-parent household.

During middle school, he endured severe bullying, forcing him to transfer schools twice.

Throughout high school and university, he faced various forms of unfair treatment, including denial of financial aid for low-income students. The document meticulously listed each incident.

In high school, he helped an elderly man who had fallen, only to be targeted by a scam artist who claimed Bai Qi had injured him, forcing him to pay tens of thousands of yuan in compensation.

During university, his family fell victim to a bride price scam.

After graduation, he worked for three companies, each demanding grueling 996 (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week) or even 007 (24/7) work schedules. He also had a labor dispute with his first employer, which ended in a failed arbitration.

All of this, while unfortunate, could still be considered "ordinary."

The most devastating event occurred when Bai Qi's father, a migrant worker, was denied his wages by the construction company. When he joined his fellow workers to demand payment, the authorities labeled their efforts as a "malicious wage arrears claim" and summoned him for questioning.

Naturally, the wages remained unpaid. Soon after switching to a new construction site, Bai Qi's father was killed in an accident when a falling steel bar struck him.

Faced with the young Bai Qi, the construction company offered only the bare minimum compensation.

At the bottom of the file was a personality analysis of Bai Qi by a national-level team of psychological experts. The junior doctor who had previously provided him with counseling was still trembling at the memory.

The industry titans, who treated even the institute director with utmost deference, surrounded Bai Qi, peppering him with questions about his encounter with the depressed young man. They were practically demanding to know how many sips of water he had taken that day.

After reviewing Bai Qi's psychoanalysis results and personality profile, a deathly silence fell over the conference room. The elders exchanged uneasy glances.

"Fortunately, it's not the worst-case scenario," the lead elder sighed. "However, we still can't directly engage with Bai Qi for now. Every step we take must be meticulously planned, prioritizing stability and a gentle approach."

"Wait a minute... Gu Wu... isn't she that girl from the Gu family?" A white-robed elder exclaimed in delight, scanning the report on Bai Qi's car accident.

"Gu Guo? You mean...?"

All eyes in the conference room turned to the white-robed elder.

Gu Guo held a respectable position, but he wasn't authorized to attend today's meeting. As the white-robed elder explained the situation, the presiding elder swiftly recalled Gu Guo's profile.

"That girl handled things quite thoroughly. It's the only good news we've had all day."

He had been fretting about how to approach Bai Qi naturally. Now, the identity of the car accident victim was perfect, providing a "legitimate" reason to compensate him.

"From now on, all contact with Bai Qi will be led by her. We must ensure we don't arouse even a hint of his resentment or suspicion!" The presiding elder sternly laid out their strategy.

His gloomy expression abruptly shifted to fury.

"Furthermore, it's time to clean up some messes!"

Given what Bai Qi had endured, it was understandable that his personality profile came across as so "cold."

As midnight approached, the conference room remained brightly lit.

For some, tonight would be a sleepless night.

"Mmm..."

Ren's delicate mouth released a soft, melodious murmur, like a lark's song.

Bai Qi paused, exhaling deeply as he entered a state of detached serenity, free from worldly desires.

"We didn't buy enough," he murmured, tucking Ren's long, flowing hair behind her ear. "It's already running out."

Her warm, soft body curled against him, Ren nestled comfortably in Bai Qi's embrace. She picked up her phone, ordered more supplies online, and then relaxed, closing her beautiful eyes.

That's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow!

As the night deepened, Bai Qi and Ren's breathing gradually slowed.

But then, in an instant, they both abruptly sat up in bed, their eyes wide with surprise as they met each other's gaze.

A new person had entered the Mysterious Space!

As the central consciousness of the space, Bai Qi could faintly sense the newcomer's presence.

He quickly lay back down, his awareness instinctively reaching deep within his soul, while Ren remained vigilant outside.

A sensation of weightlessness and mild dizziness washed over him. When Bai Qi opened his eyes, he saw three pale figures standing some distance away.

Well, it's perfectly normal for a soul entering the Mysterious Space for the first time to struggle with replicating clothing. Bai Qi himself spent ten days running around naked before finally figuring out how to "dress."

No matter whose body he transmigrated into, Bai Qi would never develop an exhibitionist streak. That was one thing he could safely guarantee.

Now, the only problem was... why did those three newcomers' figures seem so off?

They appeared to be... possibly... perhaps... maybe... all girls?!

Damn it, why?!