mtl008 Chapter 172 Deserted Island Game 16 (End)
Chapter 172 Deserted Island Game 16 (End)
"Grandma! Your bastard is calling again! Grandma! Your bastard is calling again!" This sudden and humorous ringtone shattered the morning tranquility and abruptly pulled Zhou Zhixia out of her slumber. Her eyes were bleary, her consciousness still drifting in a hazy cloud. Reluctantly, she reached for her phone on the bedside table. Relying on long-standing habit, she expertly swiped the answer button on the screen, her voice lazily and impatiently suffocating, "Hello? Who's that?"
A roar like a volcanic eruption suddenly came from the other end of the receiver: "Who? Zhou Zhixia, are you getting too bold? Look at the time and you haven't come to work yet. Don't you want to work anymore? If you don't want to work anymore, get out of here as soon as possible!" The high-decibel roar made Zhou Zhixia's ears buzz, and the remaining sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
Hearing this voice that couldn't be more familiar, Zhou Zhixia seemed to be under a spell. He sat up straight in an instant, his face filled with a familiar and ingratiating smile, and his words were full of apology: "Ah! Boss, I'm so sorry, my alarm didn't go off. I'll be there now..."
Before she could finish her words, however, the barrage of criticism erupted even more fiercely. Zhou Zhixia reluctantly held her phone far away, her eyes casually glancing at an unread message on the screen. Curious, she tapped the screen to open it, only to see a bank transfer message. The amount, a staggering ten million yuan, sent a sudden blank. Bewildered, she opened her bank app and froze for a moment when she saw the transferee was Duan Yizhou.
"Duan Yizhou?" She muttered the name, and suddenly it felt unfamiliar. Then, like a flash of lightning, she suddenly remembered that she was participating in the game. How did she come back? And even got the ten million.
After a brief moment of shock, she instantly jumped up on the bed in excitement and started laughing. The supervisor on the other end of the phone was furious when he heard her cheerful cry: "Zhou Zhixia, you dare to laugh?"
With this huge sum of money at her disposal, Zhou Zhixia instantly straightened her stance, like a completely different person. Undaunted, she immediately countered, "Why wouldn't I be afraid? You're taking your crappy job like no one cares. I'm telling you right now, I quit. Remember, you're not firing me, I'm firing you all. And don't let my salary go down a penny, or I'll sue you!" Without hesitation, she hung up the phone. "That's awesome!" A triumphant smile spread across her face.
Then, she began dancing around the room, her phone in hand, bursting into laughter. "Hahahaha! I'm a rich woman too!" As she laughed, she envisioned a beautiful future: first, she'd buy the big house she'd always dreamed of, then put the remaining money in the bank, and then, with the interest, she'd travel around and enjoy a life of freedom.
Across the city, Duan Yizhou slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was an incredibly familiar room layout. He was back, back from that thrilling, dreamlike gaming world. At this moment, he only clearly remembered one thing: dividing the prize money between Mu Zheng and Zhou Zhixia.
He quickly picked up his phone, his fingers flicking across the screen. After completing the transfer, a strange feeling of emptiness washed over him like a tide. He sat quietly by the bed, brow furrowed, feeling as if he had forgotten something crucial. It was a hazy feeling, shrouded in a fog. No matter how hard he searched through his memory, he found nothing. What had he missed? This uncertainty, like an invisible hand, gently tugged at his heart.
His thoughts drifted back to what the person in the game had said to him: if he could complete the mission, he could change his innate bad luck. Now, filled with curiosity and anticipation, he wanted to go out and verify it.
He stood up and headed to the bathroom. After a quick wash, he carefully selected a change of clothes and drove out of the house. In the past, his journeys were always plagued by red lights, but today, a miracle happened. He drove smoothly without even encountering a single red light. This smooth journey made him feel a sense of gratitude, as if his luck had really changed.
He drove slowly along the road, unknowingly arriving at the edge of a lake. The water shimmered in the sunlight. Yet, as he gazed at the water, the strange feeling within him grew stronger. His hand unconsciously touched his chest, and the faint pain in his heart deepened his frown. He wandered by the lake, repeatedly asking himself: What had I forgotten? Why was this feeling so strong?
For the next few days, he was completely distraught, enduring a lifeless state. Then, one night, he dreamed of a woman. She stood quietly beneath the warm sun, the light seeming to drape her in a golden veil. Even in the dream, he could clearly feel his heartbeat disrupted by her presence, losing its usual calm.
When he woke up from his dream, he tried hard to recall the scene in his dream, but the woman's face seemed to be covered by a layer of gauze, hazy and unclear. No matter how hard he tried, he could not see through the mist to see her appearance clearly.
In an instant, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten what the most important thing was: the person he liked.
The next day, his contemplation was broken by a call from Duan's father. On the other end of the phone, Duan's father told him that there was a banquet in the evening hosted by a good friend of his. Duan Yizhou happened to have nothing to do, so he agreed.
In the evening, he arrived at the banquet venue on time. He sat on the sofa with a glass of wine in his hand, in a daze. From time to time, people came to toast and greet him, but he just responded mechanically.
At this moment, the host of the banquet, Ji Qing, my father's good friend, stepped forward with a smile on his face and announced today's happy event: "First of all, I sincerely thank you all for taking the time to visit my humble home. Today, I would like to introduce my eldest daughter, Ji Jiu, to everyone."
As soon as these words came out, the crowd immediately started talking. "When did Ji Qing have an older daughter? Didn't he only have one daughter?"
"Yes, I've never heard of it before!" Doubtful voices came one after another.
Seeing this, Ji Qing raised his hand slightly to signal for everyone to be quiet, and then explained: "My wife gave birth to twins that year. Because Xiaojiu has been in poor health since birth, she has been recuperating in another place. Now that she has recovered, I brought her back home." After speaking, he turned towards the stairs and shouted loudly: "Xiaojiu, come out and meet all the uncles."
As the crisp sound of high heels hitting the ground gradually approached, Duan Yizhou subconsciously raised his head, his gaze searching towards the stairs. When the woman's face came into view, the previously bustling hall suddenly fell silent, with only exclamations echoing in the air.
The moment Duan Yizhou saw the woman's face clearly, the wine glass in his hand slipped uncontrollably and fell to the ground with a crisp cracking sound. Everyone turned around in astonishment and saw that Duan Yizhou had already stood up and walked towards Ji Jiu.
Ji Qing was puzzled and asked, "Yizhou? What's wrong with you?"
However, Duan Yizhou seemed to be deaf to his question, and walked straight past him and in front of Ji Jiu.
His eyes were filled with affection and certainty as he whispered, "I found you, Lingjiu." At this moment, the missing piece in his heart was filled.