Xing Ye had always remembered Lu Mingze as an especially obedient young master. That day, it was in the middle of winter. He wore a furry coat and white wool turtleneck, giving others a very cute and innocent feeling.
At that time, Xing Ye had even specially instructed the hoodlums to not beat him too hard and to absolutely not touch his face. He just wanted to scare him.
The hoodlums twisted their hands and asked Xing Ye, boss, do you really want us to beat him up? Itâs hard hit such a cute child...
Lu Mingzeâs development was a little slow. He was in his first year of high school but was only 160 cm. However, he had very good proportions and long legs. At that time, Xing Ye had thought, that when he grew up, he would definitely become a shockingly handsome man.
> Note that high school in Chinaâs only three years long, making Mingze around 15-16.
Although he still hadnât blossomed, there were already traces of it from his face. His eyes were especially pretty, almost big enough to speak.
To this day, Xing Ye still remembered when Lu Mingze fainted in the van. It had already been incredibly difficult rushing into the van and fighting them off. There was simply no way he had the energy to run off with him, so all he could do was hug Lu Mingze firmly.
Back then, he was already a tall, 20 year old man. He kept the tiny, unconscious Lu Mingze safe in his embrace, pressing him under his body as the kidnappersâ wooden sticks struck his back.
He reaped what he had sown. If he hadnât had the hoodlums draw his bodyguards away, Lu Mingze wouldnât have fallen into danger.
As he was being beaten, Xing Ye thought: people truly shouldnât do bad things. Karma would always be swift.
Thankfully, the bodyguards came back in time and Xing Ye had studied martial arts before, so he knew how to protect his organs and vital areas. In the end, he had just broken a rib. In addition, the arm that was protecting Lu Mingze suffered a fracture and his nose was also broken.
That experience taught Xing Ye how important it was to make himself stronger. After everything was settled, he requested a discharged soldier to train him and Xing Shuo again. That was the reason for his strength and the absolute advantage he held in the game. It was something Lu Mingze taught him.
When the little Lu Mingze went to the hospital to visit Xing Ye, there had been a large plaster over his nose and he couldnât really talk. Seeing this, Lu Mingzeâs big eyes blinked twice and started to cry.
âSob, itâs my fault, I shouldn't have refused to take the car because I wanted to go play. I shouldâve just gone home. And now youâre hurt because of me, sob⊠thank you for saving me.â
Xing Ye had thought: You little fool, it was I who had your classmates tell you there was something interesting in the area, making you decide to walk so it would be easier to beat you up.
Even when he cried so much, he hadnât forgotten to thank Xing Ye. It made Xing Ye wonder how there could be such an adorable person in this world. He was both sweet and foolish. If he were sold, heâd probably even help them count their money.
So Xing Ye raised his hand and gently rubbed the little foolâs hair, enduring the pain on his nose to speak. âAs long as youâre safe.â
Right. As long as Lu Mingze was safe.
If, that day, he had really harmed such a good and honest person, Xing Ye didnât know what kind of person he wouldâve become.
He secretly pledged: from then on, no matter what difficulties he encountered, he would never cross his bottom line. He couldnât discard his own morality just because of another personâs malice.
While Xing Yeâs head was filled with thoughts, the little fool was still bawling next to him. âSob, your nose has to be okay! If itâs not, Iâll find you a good plastic surgeon, you canât end up disfigured!â
He didnât mention his rib or arm at all. In the little foolâs heart, only the face was the most important.
Right now, he was the same. Even after becoming a mirror, he still insisted on being the most beautiful mirror.
Xing Ye poked the middle finger on the mirror. The mirror was still angrily swaying back and forth. It looked like this time, he was truly mad.
Back then, in the hospital, Xing Ye had too much gauze covering his nose. Before he was discharged, Lu Mingze had already been sent abroad and they never met again. When he was protecting Lu Mingze, he had already fainted and never saw Xing Yeâs true face.
Thatâs why the little mirror never discovered who he was.
After reminiscing, Xing Ye felt like his intimacy points with the mirror might climb to an unimaginably high degree after this. After all, the young master back then was just too adorable.
If it was somebody else, there would be no way Xing Ye wouldâve put down his guard. However, Lu Mingze was different. He saved him.
When he woke up and saw Lu Mingze in the hospital, Xing Yeâs first thought was: thank god youâre okay. Otherwise, I would never be able to forgive myself, even for a lifetime.
That experience made Xing Ye see how weak and timid he was. He realized that he shouldâve faced them head on instead of shrinking backwards. Even if he lost the company, he couldnât lose his backbone and cross his bottom line. Otherwise, he would only be the same as the people who schemed against him.
He wanted to guard against the systemâs traps, but Lu Mingze wasnât a trap. Even if he was, Xing Ye would walk in willingly.
But what to do now? They currently had an intimacy value of zero, the lowest theyâve ever had. Xing Ye was sure that his intimacy value with the mirror was growing higher and higher, but right now, the mirrorâs intimacy value with him was zero.
âHey,â Xing Ye poked the mirror, âDonât be angry, we all have times when we make mistakes. At least in the end, I stopped in time and didnât cause any real harm. I still remember how you look crying in front of my hospital bed.â
The mirror grew even angrier, its whole surface turning black, not even giving Xing Ye the middle finger anymore.
Xing Ye thought before smiling, âBut you really are handsome. Iâve never seen anybody look so beautiful even when theyâre crying.â
The mirror immediately brightened up.
âBack then, I even specially instructed the hoodlums not to touch your face. Not even a scratch was alright. Harming your face would be a loss to the world.â
The beauty-loving mirror swayed on the bed, seeming very happy.
Xing Ye continued to flatter him, âItâs a pity we havenât seen each other in nine years. I wonder how you look grown up now. You must look even better than before, probably handsome enough to make people swoon on sight.â
Xing Ye didnât forget to look at his phone as he spoke. He watched as their intimacy points went from zero to ten, and then to fifteen.
âLook at my nose, it ended up fine. Donât worry, I didnât need plastic surgery and it wasnât disfigured.â Xing Ye picked up the mirror and showed off his nose, trying to appeal to his emotions.
Their intimacy value jumped up to 30. Was it because he was thinking about the worry he felt before?
âAfter this game ends, Iâll immediately investigate what happened to your body and how your parents are doing. Iâll tell you what happened next game.â Xing Ye also used news of the real world to entice the little mirror.
The mirror finally couldnât help it anymore and with a few âhmphsâ, he spoke. âYou have to take a photo, and make sure that photo of me is beautiful. The system lets you show photos on your phone, so I wanna see.â
âSure, sure.â
âAlso my parents, I want to see them too.â He heard a sob in the mirrorâs voice.
Xing Yeâs heart felt sour when he heard the sob.
In his mind, Lu Mingze was like a proud son of heaven who had everything since birth. He shouldâve lived a life free of worries, passing every day with happiness and kindness. He shouldnât have to suffer like this, becoming a mirror and turning into someone elseâs tool.
âIâll become a high level player.â Xing Ye suddenly said, âIn every game, Iâll learn more and more about the systemâs malice and that slight trace of kindness within it. I feel more and more like the system is fate itself, giving people despair while also rewarding those who donât give up.
âYou turned into an item, but your consciousness is still there. That means thereâs still hope. I believe that after I become a high level player, thereâll definitely be a way for me to make you a player again and bring you back to the real world.â
âReally?â The mirror suddenly turned excited.
There should be a way, but it would definitely be difficult.
âDonât give up. Iâll definitely bring you out with me.â Xing Ye promised, âIf you canât get out, it means thereâs no way I would be able to escape the clutches of fate either. Besides, the system said the rewards for winning the final game would be very generous.â
âButâŠâ The mirror hesitated for a moment, âThe final game is what turned me into a mirror.â
Their intimacy points were already high enough to talk about this?
Xing Ye glanced at his phone-
Intimacy Points: 60. You two are close friends who can tell each other everything. Although youâre still a few steps away from becoming brothers who would give up their lives for each other, you two are close enough to say your true feelings when youâre drunk and comfort each other.
Xing Ye had let go of all his reservations. The 60 points should be because of him. Could it be that the mirrorâs intimacy points were even higher than his?
It was at zero just now, and he was even mad that Xing Ye asked people to beat him up. It was a little cute how quickly his temper came and went.
The system said âclose friends who could tell each other everythingâ, meaning he should be able to ask more questions. âCan you tell me about the final game?â
âThereâs nothing really special about it. You know my luckâs always been good, so it only took me 5-6 games to become a high level player. I found the games pretty fun. I only played three games when I was a high level player before somehow being sent to the final game. I donât know the trigger condition. I didnât know what I wanted after beating the game. To be honest, I didnât lack anything. Rewards didnât really seem to matter. If possible, Iâd just wish for my parents to have a healthy life.â
He really was a kind hearted mirror. Xing Ye couldnât help but reach out and rub him, but could only feel the cold, hard surface of a mirror.
When he recalled the feeling when he rubbed the boyâs hair that day, Xing Ye suddenly felt his hand was a little empty.
The mirror continued to tell his story. âThe system said the final game is different for everybody and that fateâs final opponent was myself. My final clearance game was a thousand-mirror world. I was transported to a room filled with mirrors, all reflecting my face. The system told me that there were countless rooms here that connected to the real world, but each room also contained a vice of humanity. Only by finding the right mirror, overcoming the vice, and finally, defeating myself, would I be able to leave the game world and clear the final game.
âThere were doors behind the mirrors. Pushing open the wrong one meant being consigned to eternal damnation. I was very confident in my own luck, so it didnât matter how many mirrors there were in the room, Iâd always be able to pick the right one.
âI donât know how long I pushed until the system finally told me I arrived at the last room. I would be able to leave after pushing open the last door.
âJust like the countless doors before, I picked one and pushed it open. I saw my house in the real world and happily walked through it. However, with that step, I fell down into the abyss.
âAfter I woke up, I became a mirror. The narrator prompted me to find a girl called Claire and become her demonic mirror, assisting her to defeat the queen.
âI had a small range of influence over the mirror, so just like that, I climbed, little by little, for god knows how long until I finally crawled out of the river. I finally managed to find the dirty-faced Claire, but then bam, who knew Iâd get kicked right back into the river.â
Xing Ye: â...â
He wanted to apologize to the mirror.
But the mirror was still busy scolding Claire, âIâve never seen such a filthy person in my life! She was so ugly that even reflecting her face on my surface made me feel disgusted. After being kicked back into the river, I had to struggle back up and crawl to Claireâs doorstep. The whole way, I was terrified somebody would see me and this mirror world would be destroyed.â
Xing Ye: â...â
âAnd then she made me knock on the door for such a long time!â The mirror was furious now, âI had to climb out of the river! I was dirty and cold and tired!â
Xing Ye saw their intimacy points on his phone quickly declining and knew if it dropped further, the mirror wouldnât be able to speak anymore. He hastily interrupted, âThereâs a lake in the campus. Iâll jump in and flounder around for a hour then run around the school shouting âLu Mingze, Iâm sorry!ââ
âNonono, Iâm not that mad. Thatâs too embarrassing and what would happen if there was someone else in the school named Lu Mingze? Besides, these people donât know me so thereâs no point even if you shout it. Besides, you even traded a special QR code to get me from the system. Overall, youâre still pretty good.â
Their intimacy points returned to 60, finally settling Xing Yeâs worries.
He couldnât let the mirror recall their previous experiences together. Xing Ye recalled how he stuffed the mirror between his chest, threw him in the bathtub, and the cheap inn filled with cockroaches they stayed at...
If he let Lu Mingze think of that, their intimacy points would definitely fall to the negatives.
âIn the final game, you clearly saw the real world, so whyâd you fall into the abyss? Was it a trap?â Xing Ye worked hard to change the topic.
The mirrorâs voice suddenly turned gloomy, âNo. I chose the right mirror and the world beyond the mirror was also real. However, I couldnât leave.â
âWhy?â
âWhen I fell down, I heard the systemâs voice saying: you chose to be blessed by fate, which also means fate can control you as it wishes. Even if victory is right at your fingertips, fate has the power to bring you to the highest peaks and throw you to the bottom of the deepest valley.
âThe moment we following fate players chose to accept fateâs blessings, we lost the right to leave the game. We are forever fateâs tools.
âPlayers have always treated ordinary people in the game worlds as NPCs, when in fact, following fate players are the real NPCs. We chose to walk on the wrong road from the very beginning and we can never go back.â
If the mirror had a body, it definitely wouldâve been crying right now.
âWhen I made my decision back then, I didnât think too much. I just thought being blessed by fate sounded pretty good. But who wouldâve known that one step wrong ended up making everything wrong.â
The mirror realized he was currently in Xing Yeâs palm. He struggled to shift his body, rubbing against Xing Yeâs palm.
Just like a person using a warm hand to pat their head, comforting themselves.
Nobody could understand the mirrorâs story more clearly than Xing Ye.
He used to be somebody everyone admired, a proud son of the heavens. He came from a wealthy family, grew up handsome, and was always first at everything in school.
But fate was just as the system said. At the highest point of his life, fate stripped him of everything. He lost his parents, was framed by others, got expelled from school, and his only remaining family member was being bullied because of Xing Yeâs reputation. In less than three months, Xing Ye got to know all the different faces people had and suffered all different kinds of hardships and pain.
Because of this, he never believed in fate. He swore to grasp everything in his own hands.
So when he was faced with that choice, Xing Ye didnât hesitate to choose to oppose fate.
When fate turned on him, it was Lu Mingze who saved him.
And now, with another twist of fate, Xing Shuo died and Xing Ye met Lu Mingze again.
Xing Ye couldnât speak when he looked at the mirror who was smaller than his own palm.
But in his heart, he told himself that this time, he had to free Lu Mingze.
Both to repay Lu Mingzeâs kindness and to fight against this game.
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