A Race to (Be) The Top

Although Ji Meng agreed to eat together, he didn't talk much. If Ling Xiaolu didn't open his mouth, the two of them would basically face each other in silence.

But Ling Xiaolu's first goal is to eat together, he doesn't care if Ji Meng's attitude is good or not.

Thinking of Ji Meng's complete confession, Ling Xiaolu was very happy, watching him eat several more bowls.

Ji Meng felt a little uncomfortable being watched by him.

"Am I very hungry?"

"En!" Ling Xiaolu nodded frankly.

"..."

Ling Xiaolu carried out his point of view to the end, staring at him to finish the rice in the bowl, and if someone else did this kind of thing, Ji Meng probably would have left with a dark face.

Ji Meng's mood is complicated, he can't like others anymore, but he can't hate Ling Xiaolu for no reason.

After dinner, various activities were launched on the campus of Yanda University.Part-time job promotions and club recruiting, although there is no square dancing to add to the atmosphere, there are also extreme sports enthusiasts shuttled among the crowd.

"Student, please pay attention to the charity fundraising activities!"

A girl handed a flyer to Ling Xiaolu: "No matter how much the donation is, it's all from the heart."

Ling Xiaolu took it and saw the title on it: "Huh?"

Special Disease Research and Prevention Center, the name of this fundraiser is a bit familiar.

Ji Meng only glanced at it, the logo on it was very obvious, and he didn't need to read the introductory text below.

"Where to donate?"

The girl immediately led him happily. The simple booth has a donation box and a code scanning machine.

Ji Meng scanned it with his terminal and entered the amount.

"Student, wait a moment, I will help you enter and issue a certificate of love."

Ji Meng wanted to say no, but there was a sudden exaggerated "Huh".

"Student, did you enter the wrong amount? If you make a mistake, we can refund it."

"There is no typo." Ji Meng denied lightly.

"I want to donate too." Ling Xiaolu stretched out his hand from behind, scanned the terminal, and was taken aback by the account balance that popped up.

Xinshan gave him a part-time job fee and a hush money, and Lizheng also forced him to transfer the money to buy a dragon. Now Ling Xiaolu is also a little rich man who doesn't show himself.

Thinking that he had so much money at his disposal—some of which was obtained by sacrificing his love—Ling Xiaolu also entered a considerable number in the transfer amount without thinking. His love cannot be sacrificed in vain, and must die well.

The girl was shocked by the extravagance of one or two, and hurriedly found the person in charge of the center's public welfare activities who was distributing leaflets on the other side.

"Brother Yan, what should you do if you take a look at this?" Excited but at a loss, she showed him the transfer records, "Should I issue a certificate in this situation?"

Brother Yan looked at the record, raised his head in confusion, and felt relieved after recognizing the donor.

"Ji Meng, why is it you? What kind of money do you donate? You usually help the center so much. How can I ask you to donate again?"

It turned out to be an acquaintance, the girl relaxed her mood and looked at Ji Meng again - this classmate is handsome, wealthy and kind-hearted, he is simply perfect.Of course, the one behind him is also good, these two people are quite a good match standing together.

She thinks it is very good to issue a love certificate or a marriage certificate.

Ji Meng didn't take it seriously: "It's a coincidence that I met it, and it's easy to do....The second sum just now was donated by my friend."

Ling Xiaolu noticed that this time Ji Meng introduced himself not as a classmate but as a friend, so he peeked at him in surprise.

Ji Meng didn't know how much Ling Xiaolu donated, but judging from the other party's reaction, the amount should not be low, which made him a little unexpected.

Brother Yan: "Oh, your friends are just like you. They are very caring at a young age. They are really divided into groups."

He went to shake Ling Xiaolu's hand: "Thanks to this kind classmate for helping our center."

"No, no, it's easy." Ling Xiaolu imitated Ji Meng's words, "I've heard about your center for a long time, and I've been wanting to do something. Today I was lucky enough to meet you."

"Really? You've heard of us?" Young people of this age don't know much about them.

"Of course, you are an organization that provides free medical care for people with congenital diseases. I also know that you will provide job opportunities for people with disabilities, which will be of great help to society."

"Yo!" Brother Yan didn't expect that Ling Xiaolu didn't just say it politely, but really understood something, even Ji Meng cast a surprised look at him.

"That's fine." Brother Yan quickly classified him as one of his own like Ji Meng, and he was no longer polite, "Come to the center if you have time."

"Okay!" Ling Xiaolu readily agreed.

"Is everyone okay?" Ji Meng asked.

Brother Yan hesitated to speak.

"Did something happen?" Chu Ya's words flashed in his mind, "How is Nan Xun?"

"Nan Xun?" The girl next to her interrupted, "I know, it's that girl who can't go anywhere, right? She's so pitiful."

Brother Yan sighed: "She may be in a bad mood recently, which has affected her body. If you have time, go and see her. That girl is the happiest every time you go."

"I'll go too!" Ling Xiaolu said immediately.

Afraid that Ji Meng would not take him with him, Ling Xiaolu shook his arm without thinking: "I really want to go, can you take me there?"

Ji Meng looked down at his arm. In the game, whenever Lubi asked him for something, he would make this little move, and even the position of the grasp was very consistent.

"If your friend wants to come, let him come with him." Brother Yan said, "Nan Xun is also happy to have a new friend."

"Yes, yes." Ling Xiaolu quickly agreed.

Ji Meng wanted to say that this was not a trip, but he somehow compromised against the bright expectation in Shang Ling Xiaolu's eyes.

"……when are you free?"

……

It was only when he visited the Special Disease Research and Prevention Center that Ling Xiaolu experienced firsthand that what Nan Xun said to him back then was by no means an exaggeration.

Almost everyone here recognizes him. The medical staff who met along the way would smile and nod when they saw Ji Meng, but no one took the initiative to lean over and courteously, maintaining a comfortable intimacy.

Ling Xiaolu understood why Ji Meng often came here.

Passing by the ward, the door was open, Ling Xiaolu looked in subconsciously, there was a separate hospital bed, on which the patient lay motionless, surrounded by high-tech instruments that Ling Xiaolu couldn't understand.

"Don't look." Ji Meng reminded him without looking back.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ling Xiaolu followed quickly, thinking that his behavior had violated the patient's privacy, but in fact he didn't see anything.

"Seeing too much," Ji Meng hesitated, "will be in a bad mood."

So Ji Meng was thinking of him?Ling Xiaolu misunderstood him.

"Is that why you don't want to bring me here?"

Ji Meng stopped in front of a door and was silent for a while.

"Every time I come here, I only have one thought...

"It would be nice if it didn't exist here."

He pushed open the door, and there was a research room inside.The doctor in white uniform is a foreigner, but he speaks fluent Chinese.

"Ji Meng? You haven't been here for a while, how was your holiday?"

"Fortunately."

"Nan Xun often tells me about your game status. Thanks to you, she has good physical indicators some time ago."

"I heard she's been unstable these days."

The hand of Nan Xun's attending doctor holding the information was obviously stiff: "This... is more complicated, and it can't be said that it happened in the past few days. You should go and see her first. This one behind you is...?"

"My friend. He also wants to see Nanxun."

The doctor was quite surprised: "It's rare, you will bring friends."

Ling Xiaolu stretched out a hand to say hello: "Hello doctor, my name is Ling Xiaolu."

"Really, Nanxun likes people to come to see her, so go and change your clothes."

A few minutes later, Ling Xiaolu and Ji Meng were fully armed with hats, masks, gloves and shoe covers, and isolation suits, with only their eyes exposed.

He knew that the environment where Nanxun lived was isolated, but he didn't expect that the requirements for the environment outside the sterile room were so high.

"Before going in, the whole body needs to be disinfected once. The children inside have very weak resistance, and the steps are relatively cumbersome."

"Even if it's so troublesome, I heard from the doctors outside that you often come here." Ling Xiaolu said, "I think you are very caring, and it's good for some people to donate money. rare."

Ji Meng would not praise others with his mouth open like him. While waiting for the ultraviolet disinfection process, he finally came up with a sentence: "You are not the same."

Ling Xiaolu wanted to blow him a few more words, the door opened, and he followed in, seeing the "mask" Nan Xun was talking about with his own eyes.

The enclosures will be no bigger than the capsule dormitory they are now living in.Although the space for them to rest is only so big, after all, there is an infinite and vast world that they can enter and exit at will, and Nan Xun can only live in such a palm-sized space all his life.Hearing with your own ears and seeing with your own eyes are two concepts. No matter how many times you hear or imagine, there is no more shocking picture than actually seeing it.

Put yourself in the shoes and imagine, if the person inside is Ling Xiaolu, he will go crazy within a month.

"Why," Ling Xiaolu asked subconsciously, "won't the quarantine area be made bigger?"

"Because this kind of disease has very high requirements for air purification, the larger the space, the higher the risk. For the same patients, some can only live in closed capsule warehouses, and they can't even stand upright. The medical environment here is already the best. It's gone."

The girl in the glass cover heard the movement and sat up from the bed, seeing Ji Meng, her big eyes immediately shone with longing.

Ling Xiaolu was startled, and stopped uncontrollably.

Nan Xun said that she was 12 years old, but the girl Ling Xiaolu met was obviously only eight or nine years old.Long-term malnutrition and restricted activities have frozen her time in this square, and her development is far behind her peers.

Her limbs were surprisingly thin, and her atrophied muscles were covered up by a large hospital gown. The most striking thing about her whole body was the special metal collar worn around her neck.

No wonder Ji Meng didn't recognize it when she first met in the game. How much imagination she used to perfectly portray her healthy 16-year-old appearance.

"Brother Ji Meng?" A childish voice came out from the loudspeaker, "Is that you?"

"it's me."

It's hard for Ji Meng to be wrapped like a zongzi, but Nan Xun can recognize him at a glance.

"You came to see me."

Nan Xun struggled to get out of bed, her thin bamboo pole-like legs supported her and approached the glass cover.

Ji Meng first looked at Nan Xun, and saw that she was in good spirits, and wondered if it was because she saw him coming.

"Chu Ya said that you haven't been online for a few days, I'll come and have a look."

"Brother Ji Meng is very busy at the start of school, just make a phone call."

"Why aren't you online?" Ji Meng said with rare tenderness in front of Nan Xun, "Dou Kou bullied you?"

Nan Xun hurriedly shook her head: "Dad is very kind to me, I don't want to go online because..."

She struggled for a long time, and finally raised her head: "Brother Ji Meng, they won't let me mention it to you, saying that you will be sad to hear about Brother Lubi."

Ji Meng was stunned.

There was a weak cry in Nan Xun's voice: "Is it true that brother Lubi will never come back again?"

"No!" Ji Meng said immediately, "There is no such thing."

Nan Xun didn't show any expression of trusting him.

"He'll be back."

Ji Meng's words were so convincing that Ling Xiaolu believed what he said was true.

"Not only can he come back, but I will bring him to see you."

"That's good." Nan Xun smiled through tears, "I trust Brother Ji Meng."

"Don't worry about it."

After Ji Meng finished speaking to comfort Nan Xun, he realized that Ling Xiaolu was not in front of him.

He looked back and found that the man was still in a daze at the entrance.

This guy was clamoring to come, but when he came he hid behind.

"Why don't you come over?"

"...Oh." Ling Xiaolu walked towards him as if he had just woken up from a big dream.

"...Brother Ruby?"

Ling Xiaolu froze halfway, and Ji Meng was also taken aback.

Through the glass cover, Nan Xun could only see the outline of Ling Xiaolu's whole body and a pair of eyes exposed outside.

"Are you Brother Ruby?" She asked again uncertainly.

Ling Xiaolu and Ji Meng exchanged puzzled looks.

"He is not……"

"It's me!" Ling Xiaolu suddenly interrupted him super loudly, "You guessed right, it's me."

Nan Xun was also stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled like a flower: "Brother Ji Meng, you obviously brought Brother Lubi here, why didn't you tell me?"

"..." Ji Meng looked at Ling Xiaolu who was winking at him uncertainly, "I... want to give you a surprise..."

"Then you lied to me just now!" Nan Xun pouted.

"I didn't lie to you," Ji Meng went on very fluently, "I said I would bring him to see you, and here he is."

Nan Xun giggled, "Okay, forgive you."

Ling Xiaolu finally faced Nan Xun across a transparent wall.

"Brother Lubi," Nan Xun called again, looking at him seriously, "You look exactly like I imagined."

Ling Xiaolu laughed: "You only have one pair of eyes, but you can see that they are exactly the same?"

"I imagined Brother Lubi's eyes to look like this." Nan Xun insisted, "Brother Lubi, can I take a look at your face?"

Ling Xiaolu glanced at Ji Meng subconsciously, and that look made Ji Meng's heart move.

He nodded.

Ling Xiaolu bowed his body and looked directly at Nan Xun at close range.

"Just one glance!" He stretched out his index finger.

Nan Xun nodded desperately.

Ling Xiaolu held his breath and took off his mask in front of her, fearing that the air he exhaled would pollute the environment.

Nan Xun stared blankly at him with wide-eyed eyes, subconsciously drawing his outline on the glass with his index finger.

Ling Xiaolu couldn't hold his breath anymore, and took the mask back.

In fact, it wasn't so serious that he couldn't even breathe, but Ji Meng was touched by his careful care of Nan Xun.

"Did you see clearly?"

"It's the brother Lubi I imagined!"

"Your imagination is amazing!"

"Brother Ruby, are you back?"

"I never left."

"I'm worried if I don't see you."

"Then you don't worry when you see me now?"

Nan Xun pursed her lips, the corners of which turned up.

"Brother Ji Meng, brother Lubi is back, don't always be aggressive with him in the future."

Ji Meng's eyes showed an extremely uncomfortable emotion: "Who, who is always killing him?!"

"You have it!" Nanxun retorted firmly, "I've seen it many times! Sister Chuya said this is the way you get along, but sister Chuqing said that Brother Lubi accommodated you because he likes you. If he doesn't like it, he will dislike you very much."

Ling Xiaolu: Pfft——

Ji Meng was on the verge of going crazy: "The two of them have been instilling some messy things in you all day long!"

"Don't worry," Ling Xiaolu could imagine Ji Meng's big head at the moment with his toes, "Even if your brother Ji Meng is fierce, I'm used to it."

"I didn't!" Ji Meng said fiercely.

"And I wouldn't dislike him."

"Will you always like it?"

Ling Xiaolu said softly, "I will always like it."

Ji Meng: "..."

Nan Xun finally felt relieved: "Brother Lubi, when will you be able to go online? Why do they all say that your account has been deleted?"

"I've been busy with school recently, and it may take some time before I can go online."

"Brother Ji Meng starts school, will you start school too?"

"Yes, the school starts at the same time."

Nan Xun blinked: "I never went to school."

"I can tell you fun things about school."

"Okay, okay!"

"When you get better, I'll go online and tell you about it."

"It's a promise!"

Ji Meng interjected: "That's all for today, Nan Xun, take a good rest."

Nan Xun tried her best to nod, and Ling Xiaolu could also see her exhaustion.

"I'll come see you next time!"

"You must come!"

Nan Xun watched the two of them leave helplessly, and no one could bear to see her reluctant appearance on the glass cover.

The heavy door closed behind the two of them, and Ling Xiaolu felt a momentary sense of powerlessness.

When he was inside, he only wanted to make Nan Xun happy, but he didn't have such a strong feeling yet.

After he came out, all the sounds and images rushed up, and Nan Xun's eyes lingered in front of his eyes.

Ling Xiaolu regretted not seeing her sooner, regretted not donating more money...

It took a while for Ji Meng to say, "Thank you."

"what?"

"Willing to cooperate with her in acting."

Ling Xiaolu glanced at him without emotion, and said to himself, then I can be regarded as acting in my true colors——I will play myself.

"Anyone will do that when they see her." But what he said was another word, "Nan Xun is really distressing."

"She's not always like this." Ling Xiaolu saw that something was bothering Ji Meng, "Don't look at her poorly, but she has always been very optimistic."

Ling Xiaolu thought, yes, of course he knew.

But today's Nan Xun inadvertently reveals a fragile side.

"Can you," Ji Mengkaton, "wait for me outside, I want to have a private chat with Nan Xun's attending doctor."

Ling Xiaolu leaned against the wall outside the laboratory, kicking his right foot unconsciously.

Two people came to the left, both wearing hospital gowns, Ling Xiaolu remembered Ji Meng's words not to look casually, and deliberately lowered his head to wait for the two to pass by.

However, when they passed by, the people nearby turned their heads to look at him, Ling Xiaolu raised his head reflexively, and the two looked at each other.

The half of that person's face was exactly the same as that of a normal person, and there was no difference at all.On the other half of the face, there was something like a sarcoma, which collapsed completely, hanging down to the collarbone.

Seeing Ling Xiaolu looking at him, the man nodded his head very naturally, with an unusual smile on his healthy half face.

Ling Xiaolu was turbulent in his heart, but he tried his best to keep calm on the surface, and nodded politely at the other party.

The exchange ended here, and the two walked away side by side.Ling Xiaolu watched them leave, and his eyes fell on the metal bracelets on the wrists of the two.

The door finally opened, and Ji Meng came out expressionlessly, followed by the doctor to see him off.

"It's been a long time, let's go."