Chapter 195 Fireworks, lies, and the last wish of a 17-year-old girl
July 7, 20pm, on the Beijing Ring Road No. 7 elevated bridge.

Watching the red and black dice slip out of the strange thing's hand, Bai Qiuwu frowned slightly.

I wanted to raise the golden cudgel to stop it, but I couldn’t help thinking in my heart.

"What the hell is this weird thing doing?"

Thinking of this, her movements slowed down slightly. Before she could raise her stick, the dice had already cut through the night sky and fell straight to the ground.

The next moment, a sudden explosion made her stunned for a second. She turned her face to the right, looked at the sky around Beijing through the empty eye sockets of the monkey mask.

In the blink of an eye, bright fireworks engulfed her vision.

Bang, bang!
The sound of fireworks exploding resounded in the night sky. People's exclamations and praises could be heard faintly in the mix. It came near and far, lingering in my ears.

She raised her snow-white neck and stared at the night sky silently. It was as if she had forgotten to maintain her golden eyes, and the flames in her eyes slowly went out.

The red-gold color that lingered in the pupils dimmed, and seemed to be covered by flames.

The sky full of fireworks was reflected in the girl's deep eyes.

The evening breeze blew from the horizon, passing through the sky dotted with stars, and silently blew off her hood. The hair behind her head fell like a waterfall, swaying in the wind, gently scratching the back of her metal coat.

Bai Qiuwu was silent for a long time before turning his head.

She raised her clear eyes from behind the mask, stared at this strange man whose thoughts were difficult to understand for a few seconds, then opened her mouth slightly, but closed it again.

"Uh...you seemed to have something to say just now?" asked the strange thing.

Bai Qiuwu hesitated for two seconds and asked slowly, "You seemed to have said that you couldn't control the outcome of the dice?"

"Oh, you remember it so clearly?"

The strange thing turned around and met her eyes, "Yes, I can't control this dice very well."

"What else?" Bai Qiuwu said, "You said it was a gift carefully prepared for me, but now it's exposed." She paused and whispered, "It's just the result of a random throw."

Hearing this, the strange thing first raised its right hand and gently stroked its chin, then tilted its head and asked in a confused tone: "How strange... did I say the word 'meticulous'?"

Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a moment, opened his mouth slightly, lowered his eyes and thought carefully for two seconds. Then he turned his head and said coldly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was too sentimental."

"You know what? I actually want to summon a band for you to dance. Michael Jackson, the Beatles, anything you like."

"Are you serious?"

Bai Qiuwu hugged his shoulders, tilted his head, and the monkey mask on his face swayed.

"Okay. I also think that doesn't quite suit your personality. You should prefer music with a calmer atmosphere."

"No." Bai Qiuwu said, "I don't like listening to music. I wish my ears could be quieter."

"Because of the monkey in your head that keeps making noises?"

"I've tried wearing headphones before and turning the volume up to the highest setting, but it still can't drown out the noise," Bai Qiuwu said softly. "It's already noisy enough, and adding music makes it even noisier."

"Let's put it this way. On your birthday, someone invited a star band to celebrate this important day." The weird thing said, "Are you really not going to be happy?"

"You speak as if... you know me very well."

Bai Qiuwu said softly, sitting on the bridge railing, looking down at the city. On the prosperous streets, those children were shouting excitedly at the sudden fireworks.

The strange thing shrugged, walked slowly to her side and sat down on the bridge railing.

It said: "I do know you very well... a girl who is too serious and likes to keep everything to herself. Facing the erosion of divinity all day long, you are helpless and lonely, but you can never muster up the courage to speak to the people around you, and you dare not even say "help me". So you can only hide all the distress signals in your heart, like a swamp, holding them and sinking deeper and deeper."

The strange thing spread his hands and said, "You know, most of those martyrs and ascetics are men. This is the first time I see a woman with these labels on her head. She is not even a woman, but a 17-year-old girl..."

It sighed and said: "Human beings are like goldfish: no matter how good they are at swimming in the water, they still need to surface to take a breath occasionally, otherwise they will drown in the water."

"He's started again, saying these weird things." Bai Qiuwu sighed and said in a low voice.

"So you don't like it?"

"Based on my observation of you, you can definitely act more normal." Bai Qiuwu paused, "It's just that you don't want to."

"For example, how do you define normal?" The strange thing said sarcastically, "Those who care too much about the eyes of others, suppress their inner feelings, and live in this society as cautiously as animals are 'normal'; and people like me who express my thoughts frankly and are not understood by others are 'abnormal'?"

It paused and said, "Then don't you think that it is this society that is sick?"

Bai Qiuwu shook his head.

"When I say normal, I just want you to stop talking in such a weird way," she said. "You are still very normal sometimes."

"Like, when?"

Bai Qiuwu thought for a moment and said, "For example, that day under the viaduct, you said, 'There are two voices in my head talking.' Although I forgot what you said at that time, your tone of voice was very normal, not so neurotic, as if you were speaking from your heart."

"Really?" The strange thing thought thoughtfully, "Maybe it was just because my acting skills exploded at that time, covering up my weirdness. How credible can the words of someone like me be?"

“It’s unbelievable.”

She was silent for a moment, and whispered: "But you know, I will die soon. So... I don't care that much."

"Yes, you will die." The strange thing shrugged and said calmly, "Soon, you will lose your mind due to the backlash of the divine path and become a puppet in name only. In the self-destructive tendency prompted by divinity, you will kill yourself, or... someone else will kill you who has lost control."

It paused, "It's a really tragic story, but you know what's even more touching?"

"what?"

The strange thing said slowly: "What's even more touching is that you clearly know that you will end up with the same ending no matter what, but you still have to maintain this cautious lifestyle, fearing that everything you have will collapse in an instant."

"Otherwise..." Bai Qiuwu lowered his eyes and asked softly, "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should be a girl with more personality, instead of wasting your time in textbooks every day to meet your parents' expectations, or wearing an ugly combat uniform and rushing to the city to protect those who have nothing to do with you, letting your clean hands be stained with blood."

“This is what I chose.”

"You don't have to choose that." The strange thing said, "Everyone has the right to choose, let alone a girl who doesn't have much time left to live."

"No, it's enough for me to live like this."

Bai Qiuwu said, shaking his head gently, "In fact, when I met you, I sometimes thought that there were times when I could take off my disguise... At home in front of my family, outside in front of those criminals, heroes, and police, I seemed to wear a mask in front of everyone, and even if I felt that I was about to die, I didn't know who to tell, who I could tell... So, only when I chat with you can I breathe a sigh of relief."

She paused and said softly:
"Weird thing, you're my only friend."

Hearing this, the strange thing was silent for a while.

It said: "Okay, I admit that I am honored to hear you say that. But please don't get me wrong... Although I may be the only person in the world who understands you, and I have done something as touching as setting off fireworks to celebrate your birthday, I still hope that you will not build your psychological support on a super villain of unknown origin."

After speaking, the strange thing paused for a moment, then continued chattering.

"Maybe I'm secretly recording your words with a recorder right now, and will post it on the dark web someday, with the title 'Black Goku's Little Secret' and the description 'Look at this hypocritical girl, she actually calls herself 'Black Goku'? It turns out that her heart is so fragile, like a lamb to be slaughtered, hehe, she actually believed my words so easily, she's so stupid, it feels so wonderful to play with the feelings of a superhero', what do you think?"

"Doing something this despicable, do you qualify as a super villain?"

Bai Qiuwu disagreed and asked unhappily.

"Doesn't it count?" The strange thing raised a finger and said seriously, "By the way, I attacked your brother's superhero team a few days ago and killed a runaway superhuman. He killed a lot of people, so I was able to get rid of a threat to the people."

"I had forgotten... When I came here I wanted to ask you, why did you do that?"

Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at him, her tone turning colder.

The strange thing explained calmly: "There are many reasons: I want your brother to return to the right path; I want him to recognize his own strength; I want him to give up his identity as a superhero as soon as possible."

It sighed, "Anyway, I didn't do anything to him, nor did I kill his teammates, um... I guess. But from what he's seen so far, that guy seems to be getting more and more excited, and he has no intention of giving up his identity as a hero. Are the people in your Bo Ke family so stubborn?"

Bai Qiuwu was silent for a moment, then said softly, "He has always been like this. He seems to care nothing about anything. But when it comes to things he believes in, he is always as stubborn as a bull and won't listen to anyone."

"Oh, this is really a brother-sister relationship. I am very touched to see that you care so much about your brother."

The strange thing shrugged and spoke sarcastically.

Bai Qiuwu stared at the prosperous city in the distance, raised his hand, took off the monkey mask on his face, and placed it on the bridge railing.

She looked up at the night sky.

This is a fish-scale sky, with wavy cloud patterns everywhere, waves filling the deep blue night sky.

A ray of moonlight appeared in the clouds.

The girl's clear face was shrouded in moonlight, and her beautiful hair fluttered in the evening breeze.

She said, "When I die, I want you to do me a favor."

"Tell me, what is your last wish?"

"First, protect my sister, Bai Zini, for me."

"Miss Ashes?"

"Well, she is not like me, a very reckless girl. You just need to help me protect her until one year later... After one year, when the comet comes, she will no longer be a magical girl and will no longer be involved in danger."

"Of course, any other last wishes?"

Bai Qiuwu rested his hands on the bridge railing, lowered his head and thought for a while, then continued, "And my younger brother, Mingye."

She paused and said, "I never thought he would become a superhero. I hope... after I leave, you can help me take care of him, or at least remind him more often and don't let him fall into danger."

"Uh...excuse me, but what if I say no?" the strange thing asked seriously.

Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected to be rejected, and his eyes flickered.

The weird thing smacked its lips, shook its head, and sighed deeply: "Okay, actually I will help you. I can't stand seeing girls sad."

Bai Qiuwu slowly raised his head and stared at it.

"Really?"

"Oh really."

The strange thing met her gaze as he spoke, suddenly changing the subject.

It said, "By the way, you know... I actually never liked your fiery eyes. I prefer your natural color, which is much prettier than the fierce red eyes."

Bai Qiuwu's face turned slightly red. She frowned slightly, turned her face away, and cast a vague look towards the city.

They were both silent for a while, sharing the quiet air on the viaduct.

"By the way...how long has it been since you tried yelling?" the strange thing suddenly asked.

Bai Qiuwu thought for a moment and said, "A long time... a long time. It's better to say that I feel like I have never yelled at anyone since I was a child, let alone tried to yell at a place where no one is."

"Then how about doing what you call a stupid thing and yelling at the city?"

"No."

"You rejected me so straightforwardly. I'm hurt." The strange thing lowered its head and held its chest. "Since today is your birthday, it's not bad to do something extraordinary occasionally."

"This is too strange."

"What's so strange about that? Could I be stranger than you?" said the strange thing.

Hearing this, Bai Qiuwu raised the corners of her mouth slightly and said, "That's true. There may be no one in the world more weird than you." As she spoke, she lowered her head and thought for a moment.

After a while, he slowly raised his head and asked, "What are you shouting about?"

"Say what's on your mind."

"Would you like to demonstrate it first?" "No problem at all."

Weird Thing spread his hands and shook his head, speaking calmly, then turned his head, looked at the Super Hero Building with the SHA logo in the distance, and shouted, "I really want to be treated as a super villain! You damn superheroes, one day I will let you see how powerful the super villain Weird Thing is."

Bai Qiuwu was stunned for two seconds, then her cheeks puffed up slightly, and she couldn't help but raise her hands and mouth, and chuckled twice.

The strange thing shouted out of breath and raised his hand to cover his chest, "Then it's your turn next, Miss Bai Qiuwu."

Bai Qiuwu hesitated for a moment after hearing this, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After a moment, she suddenly opened her mouth and shouted at the brightly lit city: "I don't want to..."

Halfway through her words, her voice seemed to get stuck in her throat. Two seconds later, she opened her mouth again and said in a voice so soft that it was difficult to hear, "Forget it, I still can't do it."

"You can be a little louder."

"I do not want……"

Bai Qiuwu raised his voice slightly.

"It can be a little bigger. There's no one else here except me..." The strange thing said, and suddenly covered his ears. "If you don't want me to hear, I can cover my ears."

As soon as he finished speaking, in front of its eyes, in the dead silence, Bai Qiuwu suddenly held his breath, raised his right hand wrapped in a gauntlet to make a trumpet shape, opened his mouth and shouted something in a low voice.

The girl's shout echoed in the empty viaduct, but was drowned out by the whistling wind in just a few seconds.

The strange thing covered its ears and heard nothing clearly.

After a while, it let go of my hand and asked curiously, "What did you say?"

"I said..." Bai Qiuwu lowered his head, took a deep breath, and then shouted at the brightly lit city, "I don't want to die——!"

Her hair fluttered in the wind, and her hoarse voice drifted far away in the night sky.

The strange thing was stunned for a long time and scratched its ears with its fingers.

Bai Qiuwu seemed to be unsatisfied and took a few breaths before continuing to shout towards the city.

Although no one responded to her words.

After a while, she was silent for a long time, and whispered to herself: "It feels really good to shout out..."

"You did surprisingly well. Miss Bai Qiuwu, are you really the type who surprises people after unleashing your true nature?" The strange creature narrowed its eyes and looked at her.

Bai Qiuwu whispered, "It always feels weird to hear you call me by my name."

"So, Miss Qiu Wu?"

"Isn't it the same?"

"Ms. Sun Wukong?"

"Yeah, I'm used to it."

"Oh, you know, actually, 'Miss Bai Qiuwu' and 'Miss Qiuwu' are holiday limited editions." The strange thing said seriously, "Today is your birthday, so I call you that. You won't hear me talk to you like this in the future. Don't you think it's a pity that you insist on me calling you 'Miss Sun Wukong'?"

Bai Qiuwu hesitated for two seconds, then said, "Okay then. But after my birthday, you have to call me normally."

"Okay, Miss Qiu Wu." said the strange thing.

"You said you would help me protect them." Bai Qiuwu paused, "But don't you hate Mingye?"

"I really hate him because he looks disgusting, arrogant, insolent, unruly, and always uses his sense of humor at inappropriate times."

Bai Qiuwu asked, "Like you?"

The strange thing was stunned for a moment, rubbed its chin with its hand, and lowered its head to think for a while.

"Yes, just like me," it said. "So I hate him. But I don't hate him that much."

They were both silent for a moment, and Bai Qiuwu smiled gently, as if relieved.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, the weird thing raised a finger and said, "Well, although you may be sad to hear me say this, celebrating your birthday is just a coincidence."

As he spoke, he sat on the bridge railing and said, "Actually, the main reason I asked you to come here is to talk to you about something."

"what's up?"

The strange thing said: "Remember to keep an eye on the two people in your family during this period, the cute white-haired sister, and the little guy who likes to dress up as an owl to fight criminals."

Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a moment: "Why?"

"They will be in danger." The strange thing said, "Especially the white-haired girl. It's best to keep an eye on her and don't let her leave the house."

It paused and said, "I should leave soon. I suggest you go home early. Something very important and serious will happen in your home tonight."

"Serious matter?" Bai Qiuwu was stunned, then frowned, "Don't scare me."

"You'll know when you get back."

The strange thing said faintly, stood up from the bridge railing, and fell towards the building immersed in neon light. Its body gradually cracked and heated up, and finally flames burst out from thousands of fine cracks, turning into a strange laugh and disappearing into the air.

Seeing this, Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a long time, her heart beating very fast.

Something happened at home? How could it happen?
Thinking of this, she quickly put on a mask to cover her face, then gathered her long black hair together and covered her head with a silver and black hood.

Then, a rolling cloud slowly emerged from under her feet. Then, amid a loud roar, she rode the cloud into the night and disappeared without a trace.

Ten minutes later, in the old Jingmai district, in a duplex apartment building, on the 12th floor corridor.

Bai Qiuwu walked out of the brightly lit elevator with her head slightly lowered, looking as if she was troubled by something.

"Important things? What on earth did the strange thing say?"

Bai Qiuwu thought about it, and with a nervous heart, he quickly entered the password of the electronic lock and put his hand on the door handle.

He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with a force so weak that it was almost insignificant.

Then, through the tiny crack in the door, she glimpsed the scene inside the house.

The entire entrance hall, and even the living room at the end of the entrance hall, was dark, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

"It's only seven o'clock, and no one's home?"

Seeing that the room was completely dark and there was no movement at all, and thinking about the words of the strange thing, Bai Qiuwu could not help but be stunned for a moment, and his heart beat faster.

"In the end what happened?"

Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Thinking of this, she leaned over and pushed open the door.

The next second, Bai Qiuwu suddenly noticed someone sticking to the wall of the entrance and walking towards her quickly from the darkness.

Bai Qiuwu felt the breath coming from the figure, was stunned at first, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"So that's what happened."

As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a "pop" sound in her ears.

Then, silver flowers fell on Bai Qiuwu's head. Someone pressed a button on the wall, and the entrance light was turned on, with warm orange light covering her profile.

Bai Qiuwu pretended to be frightened, opened his eyes wide, and slowly stood up after a while.

"Happy birthday, sis."

Ke Mingye held the cake and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Why do you always let me hold the cake? Don't you have hands?"

"Happy birthday."

Bai Ziling put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and her snow-white hair swayed gently.

"Happy birthday, sis, we love you!"

As Baizini spoke, she took back the salute and hid it behind her.

"Happy birthday."

Ke Yongzhu took a sip of Wanglaoji, looked away, and spoke lightly.

"Happy birthday, our classmate Qiu Wu has finally reached adulthood."

As he spoke, Ke Yinzhi leaned his tall and thin body against the door frame, holding a bottle of beer in his hand, and said to her with a smile, "After tonight you will be eighteen years old. It's time for you to drink with me and your second brother. Don't run away at this critical moment."

Ke Xiaomo sighed, and pushed Ke Yinzhi away while saying, "Don't listen to his nonsense, I don't drink." He paused, "You don't drink either, don't learn bad things from him."

"You're so boring, Xiaomo." Ke Yinzhi looked at him sideways.

"Boring. Don't lead your sister astray." Ke Xiaomo said expressionlessly.

"Hey, you naughty kids, you had to do this. What if your eldest sister got a heart attack?"

Bai Wenna turned on the light in the living room, walked over from the living room, and said with one eye closed.

Bai Qiuwu covered his chest and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I was almost scared to death. I thought there was a thief in the house..."

Then he raised his hand and placed it on Ke Mingye's shoulder: "But I forgive you. Thank you for preparing so much for me, and thank you for celebrating my birthday."

"You're welcome." Ke Mingye said, "It's all this guy's idea." As he said that, he looked at Bai Zini with contempt.

Bai Zini put her face on his shoulder and said angrily, "Brother, how can you say that? We celebrated our second brother's birthday the same way last time."

"I'll forget about it next time." Ke Xiaomo recalled the scene that day and said with his shoulders folded, "I really lost my appetite when I saw the birthday cake after I came out of the toilet."

"I told you so?" Ke Mingye said sarcastically as he brought the cake into the living room.

"Brother, you clearly said 'I am very touched' at that time! You guys just ganged up on me and bullied me."

Bai Zini glared at Ke Xiaomo, then followed Ke Mingye into the living room.

Ke Xiaomo shook his head and sighed.

"Oh, I haven't asked you yet, how does it feel to celebrate your birthday at the door of the toilet?" After hearing what the two said, Ke Yinzhi couldn't help but teasing Ke Xiaomo.

"It's hard to put it into words." Ke Xiaomo said deeply.

Bai Qiuwu patted his shoulder sympathetically and said, "I'll make it up to you on your next birthday."

"It's your birthday now, don't worry about me." Ke Xiaomo said.

"By the way, it actually contains orange juice." Ke Yinzhi shook the beer bottle in his hand and teased, "Shh... don't tell the elementary school student that he secretly drank beer from the refrigerator last time and actually thought the beer was orange flavored."

"Wow, you guys are really mean."

Bai Qiuwu commented.

"This is to prevent minors from drinking alcohol secretly. Yongzhu likes to put anything in the refrigerator into his mouth." Ke Xiaomo said lightly, turned around and walked into the house, "Okay, stop chatting at the door, we'll wait for you in the living room."

Ke Yinzhi glanced at Ke Yongzhu and whispered, "Don't tell the elementary school students what you just said." As he said that, he smiled slightly, turned around and followed the others back to the living room.

"Well, I'll come right after I put on my shoes."

Looking at the backs of several people, Bai Qiuwu raised the corners of his mouth slightly as he spoke.

She stopped at the door, recalling the strange thing's gloomy tone, and thought, "So this is what that guy meant by 'very important, very serious matter'?"

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(End of this chapter)