QT: Against My Will

264 5.7 – No World Story – The Sleepless Elite’s Wife

Lu Kai didn’t want to owe anything to that Bing Shi; he didn’t want to feel indebted to anyone.

Xue Bi’s and his parents cut out their stream of money because they refused to attend a party with Zu Kai. In short, they had no interest in meeting other people. Xue Bi made a small fortune with her lab by having other companies bring her their products to be tested. There was also him, accompanying her the whole time. With the saved up money, they opened their first business, which wasn’t very successful due to them having unrealistic visions and expectations. They were too hyped up to start an independent life. It collapsed fast.

Nobody took them seriously, always taking them for children who only knew how to play around. For how long could they last against their powerful families? Not for too long. Getting out of their comfort zone, they ended up going to the parties, realizing how socializing and connections were important to a person’s path to success, more than their academic achievements. They learned a lot from that failure. If only his health condition didn’t worsen.

The toilet Lady gawked at the 6.2 feet tall (189cm) man that rushed out of the public bathroom. That man had to be of mixed race. When passing by, he didn’t forget to send her a slight nod as a farewell sign. Water dripped down his black hair as his cerulean eyes locked her in place with such intensity that it was hard for her to pull away. When he left, the toilet lady kneaded her chest, ‘Ahh... who was that handsome man?’ She felt how that man stole her heart with his magnificence.

· · — · ???· — · ·

After pawing away a few gold nuggets that he borrowed from the ring, Lu Kai bought a few necessities and decided to stay a few nights in a cheap motel. Dropping a steamy hot bag on the desk table, he could finally stuff his starving stomach with some homemade delivery. Throwing his table manners over his shoulders, he put the spoon away and poured a whole congee down his throat while unpacking his new laptop.

Switching it on, he surfed the web for a few hours, searching for an opportunity to earn fast money, legally. This world was a lot more developed compared to his previous one, especially in the IT department. He wasn’t confident enough to go against those top-notch experts.

Rubbing his eyes, Lu Kai sent an application to every low-tier college in the vicinity. Changing his mind, he sent a few to high-tier ones too. His past academic problems would affect his admission chances, but he didn’t mind. He carefully described to those admissions “experts” his family issues and his lack of maturity. Of course, he didn’t forget to add a little detail that would probably give him a straight ticket inside.

A few days passed by, and Lu Kai received one phone call after another.

.....

· · — · ???· — · ·

Institute of Nuclear Engineering...

“...” After the phone calls, the school authorities decided to meet up with Lu Kai as soon as possible. The old dean switched his gaze between the monitor and the young man before him, “Ehm...Mr....”

“Lu Kai... I want to keep my identity a secret.”

“...” The Dean picked up the ID with Lukas’s name, “Mr. Lu Kai... How long did it took you to come up with this?” He scrolled through the detailed project ‘BiBi18’s radioactive-waste disposal capability’, thinking about how this had to be a stolen work from a foreign organization.

“A few months,” Lu Kai answered with half-truth, “It was hard for me to focus in school when all these ideas occupied my mind the whole time.”

“Self-study?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Lu Kai. There really is going to be a Global Science competition in country A in three months... Are you sure you can win?” the dean asked. Their school didn’t have students that would be interested in participating in such competitions. Most didn’t even know how to speak English!

“I don’t know... But the winner gets 100000 dollars.” Lu Kai showed him another stack of papers, “If not this one then try to see if this one would have a higher chance of winning.”

“...” So he applied to their school only because he wanted to earn money? After making a deal, both signed a contract, where Lu Kai would get the main prize while the school and his teammates would receive prestige and fame.

Lu Kai switched off the camera and left the office after thanking the dean for their blooming cooperation. Never ever try to make a deal without evidence. He repeated the process with two other schools that caught his interest.

The news didn’t register a thing about a group of students that won competitions right and left. And if yes, it was easily forgotten as the information wasn’t exciting enough for the public eye, which often focussed on the latest celebrity gossip.

Though Lu Kai always refused to take a group picture, his name was always mentioned.

There was no wealth to Lu Kai’s name. He couldn’t pull out a huge amount of money to buy a car or a house without ending in prison for tax evasion. A few months later, his worth increased by a hundred thousand, after taxes. Taking advantage of his poor background and student benefits, he didn’t have to pay as much taxes as he would initially do.

He also caught the attention of a few sponsors; moved out of the country, received a few scholarships, and got to know some capable students that agreed to work with him on his new company, Binfinity. This company would first start with designing and later manufacturing apparatus for power reactors, boilers, machinery, and other mechanical appliances; placing its main focus on environmentally friendly power ecosystems.

· · — · ???· — · ·

Lu Kai placed a big gold nugget into the ring, with few additional things. When was Bing Shi going to appear? He really needed to ask her a few questions. Entering his one-bedroom apartment, he dropped tired on his bed after a quick shower.

‘Xue Bi...’ Curling up, he scratched his chest. He missed her. He missed her so so much.

· · — · ???· — · ·

Repeating the same old routine, Lu Kai put a black jumper over the scars on his chest. Putting on a pair of black sunglasses and face mask, he grabbed the white lab coat on his suitcase, and left the one-bedroom apartment, towards the airport. Just a moment ago, another device appeared out of nowhere. The phone kept jumping around crazily until it finally flew out to whoever knew where.

While waiting for a taxi, Lu Kai hoped that his baby would arrive at a new destination safely. When the taxi arrived, he stared at the returning phone that disappeared a few hours ago. Looking around the streets, nobody seemed to notice it. He stood rooted on the spot when a feminine voice passed through the speakers, making his ears tingle like electrical sparks, which made their way to the ground, gathering in his toes.

|”Thank god you put a tracking function on baby Shiro, otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to contact you without Kuro. Ah, I’m so glad you found me. I just got transferred here today, you too? Things got a little bit complicated on my side. After seeing no new messages, I guess you lost your memories again. Oh right, my phone number...”|

Stepping inside the taxi, Lu Kai took out his phone a little bit nervously and dialed her number, “Four years...”

“Hm?” Bing Shi looked up at the starry sky in confusion.

“I’ve been here for four years.” Lu Kai grabbed his chest, tilting his head at the ring on his left hand, he got a little bit excited. Did she say he lost his memories? So he wasn’t just another one of her new targets? “Do you remember something about Xue Bi?”

“Xue Bi... who is that?”

“You must have lost your memories too,” a glimmer of worry forged in his cerulean eyes, the corner of his lips turned upwards into a bitter smile as he sent her a portrait of the girl in his memories.

“It’s you...You’re Xue Bi.”

· · — · ???· — · ·

Back to the time when Bing Shi received her new mission...

Bing Shi shook her head from left to right, scrunching her eyes at the little boy curled up in the corner of her white room, “Where is Kuro?”

“Kuro is being upgraded. You’ll receive your points from it later.” XiaoPu turned around with a tear stricken face. He’s been answering Bing Shi’s questions for a while now. “I was assigned to be your temporary system.”

“Oh.” Bing Shi walked up to XiaoPu, “What happened to your host? I don’t really want to work with Guan Fei’s system.”

“You don’t have a choice.” XiaoPu ran to another corner, slapping his sharp mouth at the same time. She was the terrifying Bing Shi! He was too afraid to make a mental connection with her.

“True... I don’t.” He knew how to avoid questions? Bing Shi didn’t pursue the topic further, “Can you change your form?”

“No.” Xiao Pu shook his head, “Wuwuwu, I’m a humanoid system with similar emotions, skills, and brain capacity.”

“I could see that.” Bing Shi thought about her last conversation with Kuro. For safety reasons, it cut its connection with baby Shiro before leaving the world. “Would you please show me your system store?”

XiaoPu nodded his head. Did he hear right? Did she say please?