Chapter 297 24 years old, a student

“Welcome back my friend, you’re back earlier than I thought.”

On the green lawn, a brown-haired man in loose casual clothes opened his arms enthusiastically and gave Ning Zhe, who had just got off the car, a big bear hug: “Have you finished your work?”

This person was none other than Van Dyke’s long-time friend: Fusolus Milicato, who rushed to greet him upon learning that Mr. Dyke had already flown back to Vivian Port on his private plane.

“The situation went better than expected, so I came back early.” Ning Zhe looked up at the dark night sky above his head and smiled, “It seems that God doesn’t want me to miss tomorrow’s swimsuit show.”

“Praise the Lord.” Fusolus laughed and patted Ningzhe on the shoulder. He said as he walked, “This is the last and grandest swimsuit show held in Vivian Port. After this week, the port residents will begin to evacuate and relocate… Ah, I know this is not what you want to hear.”

After keeping Ning Zhe in suspense, Fusolus approached him and whispered in his ear, “After the swimsuit show ends tomorrow at noon, the item you’ve been dreaming of will also be auctioned off.”

Ning Zhe narrowed his eyes slightly and took a few seconds to understand what he was saying.

So it was that thing…

“Then I can’t miss it.” Ning Zhe laughed and showed an impatient expression at the right time: “Thanks for your reminder, Fusolus, otherwise I would regret it for the rest of my life.”

Fusolus waved his hand and said, “We are friends, so there is no need to say this. Even if you were not here, I would buy that thing for you and send it to the Dyke family’s airship.”

“I knew you would do this.” Ning Zhe still smiled, and the two men walked into Fusolus’s penthouse apartment in Vivian Port in the night.

They talked about the past until late at night and both the guests and the host had a great time. After several attempts by Fuselus to persuade Ningzhe to stay overnight, he was refused and had to ask the servant to send the drunken Mr. Dyke back to his residence – an apartment on another floor of the same building.

“Oh my god, how much did you drink…” Xia Yubing took Ning Zhe’s alcohol-stained coat from the maid. The two maids worked together to put Mr. Dyke on the round bed. They asked if he needed their help in washing and changing clothes, but got a negative answer.

The two maids left the apartment and just as they closed the door, the drunken smell on Ning Zhe’s body instantly dissipated and he sat up from the round bed.

“Aren’t you afraid of surveillance or listening devices?” Xia Yubing reminded him as she brought him a glass of water.

“Don’t worry, there is no such thing here.” Ning Zhe took the cup of water, took a sip, and let out a long sigh.

“How’s your matter going?” Xia Yubing sat down next to him and asked, “You’re so mysterious and in such a hurry. Is it something important?”

“It is indeed very important.” Ning Zhe nodded and said, “But it has been resolved.”

The ‘tiger demon’, or ‘necromancer’ in Vanessa Castle has been captured by him. Ning Zhe has now freed himself from the mental stamp of having to solve the mystery of Vanessa Castle and has temporarily regained his freedom.

“That’s good.” Seeing that he didn’t want to talk, Xia Yubing didn’t ask any more questions and found another topic to talk about: “When you left, Fusolus took me to visit the Vivian Port hypermarket and said some strange things, as if he was hinting at something…”

Judging from Ning Zhe’s current appearance, he probably didn’t read the message he wrote in the notebook, so Xia Yubing repeated Fusolus’ words to him:
[…Flowers may bloom again, but people can never be young again. Once you miss some precious things, you will never see them again. Even if you can pick them up in the distant future, the people and things you pick up will no longer be the same as before.]

“That’s about it.” Xia Yubing thought for a moment and then said, “This guy is talking in a mysterious way, as if he’s hinting at something. Do you have any idea?”

“I roughly know what he is talking about.” Ning Zhe put down the water cup and said, “Don’t pay attention to what he said. It’s just some evil little game played by the powerful.”

“Okay… if you don’t want to tell me, then don’t tell me.” Xia Yubing shrugged, stood up and got the kettle from the bar, refilled the cup with water, then stood by the bed, silently seeming to be thinking about something.

“What’s wrong?” Ning Zhe looked up at her: “Is there something wrong?”

“There is a strange thing, but I’m not sure if it’s useful to ask you.” Xia Yubing sighed: “Just now when I asked you, you didn’t say this or that. I’m afraid this matter will be the same. It’s useless to ask.”

“How do you know if you don’t ask?”

“That’s right.”

Xia Yubing thought about it and agreed, so she unbuckled her belt, pulled out the hem of her clothes tucked into her waistband, lifted it to her chest, and showed him her well-defined belly: “Look, what is this.” “Belly?”

“What about watching again?”

“Abs?”

“Yes, abdominal muscles.” Xia Yubing nodded: “After leaving Qinzhou, I haven’t exercised properly for almost a week. My diet has also been rather casual, eating a lot of high-calorie fried foods and meat.”

“…So.” Ning Zhe frowned: “I remember you are prone to obesity, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

Xia Yubing lifted her clothes with one hand and pointed at her belly with her other hand: “I have been gaining weight easily since I was a child. If I eat one more bite of delicious food, my face will become rounder. If I eat another bite, my waist will become rounder. Although I have been exercising and controlling my body shape, if I am a little lazy and don’t exercise for a few days, I will gain weight again soon.”

But now?

Ning Zhe lowered his eyes and looked at the clearly defined muscles on her abdomen and her two python-like strong thighs. Every inch of her proportions was breathtakingly beautiful, and she didn’t look like someone who hadn’t controlled her diet or neglected exercise.

“Oh, there’s more.” Xia Yubing put down her skirt, stretched out her hand in front of him, and continued, “I was going to peel some fruit for lunch today, but I accidentally cut my hand. A layer of skin was peeled off my left index finger. I quickly went to find an alcohol cotton pad, and then do you know what happened?”

“The wound on my hand disappeared before the medical kit was even found.”

Ning Zhe held her outstretched left hand, clasped his palm and examined it carefully. Her skin was fair, her pores were delicate, her nails were neatly trimmed without any manicure, and there was no wound on her index finger.

“What’s going on?” Seeing Ning Zhe’s thoughtful expression, Xia Yubing asked nervously, “Ning Zhe, do you know what happened to me? What are you doing?!”

Ning Zhe said nothing. He held Xia Yubing’s left hand and put her index finger into his mouth. He bit it gently, breaking a notch on her nail. Then he held it in front of his eyes and observed it quietly.

5 seconds, 10 seconds, time passed by and nothing happened.

“Ning, Ningzhe?” Xia Yubing blushed slightly and asked softly, “What are you doing?”

“Close your eyes.”

“what?”

“Close your eyes.” Ning Zhe repeated.

“Okay, okay…” Xia Yubing didn’t understand what he meant, but she still closed her eyes obediently as he said. At the same time, Ning Zhe also closed his eyes.

After counting silently for about 10 seconds.

“You can open it now.”

Xia Yubing and Ning Zhe opened their eyes at the same time and were surprised to find that the gap on her nail was gone.

“How could this happen…”

Ning Zhe’s expression remained unchanged. He let go of Xia Yubing’s hand and asked, “How old are you this year?”

“Um… I was born in 1994, so I should be 24 years old this year?” Xia Yubing replied: “Why are you asking this suddenly?”

“Nothing.” Ning Zhe shrugged: “You will probably always be 24 years old from now on.”

(End of this chapter)