Naming Technique of the Night

Qing Chen had made some judgments about Zard1991's identity.

This incredibly erratic chatterbox must be the person who had been following him in Weiyang Lake Park all along. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire

That night, it had taken quite an effort for Qing Chen to shake off his pursuer.

But for some reason, the guy kept his distance, no matter how vulnerable Qing Chen appeared or pretended to be exhausted after a fierce battle, the young man never approached to make a move.

He pretended to fall several times while carrying a puppet, and pretended his legs and back were weak, but to no avail.

All of Qing Chen's brilliant acting skills were wasted.

This person was extremely cautious, very fond of his own life.

That was Qing Chen's previous assessment of Zard.

Now, after reading the group chat, Qing Chen thought this guy was a bit foolish... yet somewhat endearing.

After all, who doesn't like being praised by others?

Originally, Qing Chen had planned to use "Winning People Over With Virtue" to kill this guy mid-way, but thinking about it now, it was a good thing he hadn't pulled the trigger, otherwise how lonely He Xiaoxiao's chat group would've been without a chatterbox.

After all, which group doesn't need a qualified mood maker?

Now, Daytime's appearance had fully unleashed the chatterbox trait on Zard.

But after hyping up Daytime, Zard seemed to have really retreated, no longer responding to anyone's inquiries.

He Xiaoxiao's group chat didn't quiet down because of Zard's departure, because he had left behind many puzzles in the group.

Li Si asked, "Who exactly is this Daytime boss? Can someone enlighten me? Suddenly such a formidable figure appears in the Time Traveler circle, and we knew nothing about it?"

Lu Ya, who had been absent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, "It's only you who didn't know, though this person has always been mysterious, his presence looms large in many matters."

Li Si was somewhat displeased after being rebutted, "It seems you know a lot? Then tell us, what's the name of this Daytime boss?"

Lu Ya confidently said, "I don't know."

"Speaking of which, this evening's big event led to silence from Kunlun and Kyushu," Li Si said, "Why don't we see people from these two major organizations? Taboo ACE-999, Jing Shan, come out and chat, I think Kunlun and Kyushu definitely know the identity of this Daytime boss."

Taboo ACE-999: "I don't know."

Hisss!

Many members of the group gasped, now speculating that this Taboo ACE-999 might be Kyushu's decision-maker He Jinqiu, or at least his spokesperson.

It didn't need to be said how wild Kyushu's ways were now, an identity even Kyushu didn't know was indeed mysterious enough.

Suddenly, in many people's minds, the organization Daytime became shrouded in mystery.

"Eh, wasn't it said that the Time Travelers controlled by Deer Island had already arrived in Xian City?" Li Si asked, "Why haven't we heard anything? Is there any result from that matter?"

This time, Jing Shan and Taboo ACE-999 didn't respond again.

He Xiaoxiao's group chat finally returned to its previous quietness.

Qing Chen put down his phone and went to sleep peacefully.

Ever since entering the Mysterious World of "Winning People Over With Virtue," he hadn't had a good night's sleep.

He hadn't been practicing sniper rifles, he had been practicing facing death over and over again.

Every moment, he was racing against time.

Now, Qing Chen finally calmed down.

After a while, Jiang Xue came barefoot to the bedside and gently covered him with a blanket.

She looked at Qing Chen's furrowed brows and could feel the pain he was enduring.

This young man only unconsciously revealed his suffering to the outside world when he was asleep.

If Qing Chen were awake, he would probably still maintain a nonchalant demeanor.

Jiang Xue touched Qing Chen's forehead to ensure he did not have a fever before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Yet she didn't go back to sleep on the couch in the living room, but instead quietly sat down on the floor and leaned against Qing Chen's bed.

Because she worried that if Qing Chen woke up in the middle of the night needing water, he might not be able to wake her by calling across the room.

Though Qing Chen called her Auntie, in Jiang Xue's heart, Qing Chen was more like a younger brother, having taken on all family responsibilities at such an early age.

At this very moment, no one knew that in a hotel in a northern transportation hub city, a girl with a charming appearance was checking her phone's chat records over and over again, trying to verify something.

The girl muttered to herself, "Qing Chen... could it be him? If he is the Time Traveler, would he know what I said to him previously? Oh, it would be so embarrassing if he understood."

"No, no, he probably didn't understand, right? Many locals don't understand Japanese, and he didn't have a translator back then."

"Right, he definitely didn't understand."

"He had better not have understood."

Saying that, she tiptoed to the door and peered through the peephole at the hotel corridor.

After making sure no one was there, the girl finally relaxed.

Her cautious demeanor was almost as if someone was after her.

"Right, where is Los Angeles City? I don't even know how to get there," the girl muttered softly.

...

...

Countdown 144:00:00.

Late at night.

In the bar of the Vienna Hotel, Zhou Xuanying was still whispering complaints, "We have such an important competition tomorrow, but tonight we can only cram at the bar. If I don't do well tomorrow, whose fault is it?"

"It's Qing Chen's, of course," Xia Xiaoran said. "But, it's been several hours, where is Qing Chen? Why hasn't he shown up?"

The few people spoke quietly, but the most worried of all was Tian Hailong, if something happened to Qing Chen, he would become the villain of Los Angeles Foreign Language School.

The educational level of a small city was laid out there, in the whole Los Angeles Foreign Language School, perhaps one student every ten years made it to elite universities like Tokyo University. Typically, each senior year graduation class, might have about one tier-one university student, three tier-two university students.

That was the scenario of the college entrance examination in Los Angeles.

That's why the teachers treated Qing Chen like a treasure.

This was a rarity encountered once every ten years...

Everyone had waited ten years for this prestigious Qingbei student, and just like that, he was gone?

Tian Hailong couldn't accept this outcome...

He looked at Xiao Ying and asked, "That, can I ask what exactly happened to Qing Chen?"

Xiao Ying, while looking down at his phone, said hesitantly, "There are some things I can't disclose yet. It seems he's suffered serious injuries. I don't think he'll be able to participate in tomorrow's competition."

"Serious injuries?" Tian Hailong was stunned. "How severe? Which hospital is he in now? I have to find him. I was the one who brought him to Xian City; I have to take him back whole."

"Sorry, I can't find him right now either, but please believe me, he must still be alive," Xiao Ying quickly explained.

Xu Zimo couldn't hold back, "How can you not know where he is?"

Xiao Ying, seeing Xu Zimo and Tian Hailong approaching him, suddenly said, "Okay, the crisis is over, you can all go back to your rooms and rest, and I wish everyone good luck in tomorrow's math competition!"

After saying that, he turned and ran away. How could he clearly explain everything about the Daytime Boss!

He also wanted to join the Daytime Boss, but he hadn't yet, had he?

Xu Zimo watched Xiao Ying's retreating figure with furrowed brows.

The next morning, the clearly sleep-deprived Tian Hailong, with his panda eyes, led the team to the examination venue.

"Everyone ready your admission tickets, stationery, and ID cards," Tian Hailong instructed while yawning.

However, at that moment, everyone froze. They looked toward the lobby of the Vienna Hotel where a young, beautiful woman was pushing a wheelchair occupied by a pale-faced Qing Chen.

They couldn't understand what Qing Chen had gone through the previous night that had left him so weak.

Tian Hailong rapidly approached Qing Chen in three strides.

But before he could get close, Jiang Xue had already stepped in front of Qing Chen, raising her hand to block Tian Hailong's path.

"Please stop," Jiang Xue said calmly.

Her mechanical arm, hidden beneath her sleeves and gloves, revealed glowing blue patterns.

Jiang Xue understood Qing Chen's purpose for appearing today. Thus, anyone mysteriously appearing beside Qing Chen could potentially be an enemy.

Therefore, her responsibility today was to safely escort Qing Chen into the examination venue and then safely back to the hotel.

If she couldn't do that, she would have failed her duty.

Although Qing Chen hadn't actually lost his combat ability.

Tian Hailong and the students stared blankly at Jiang Xue, also unclear about her relationship with Qing Chen.

Because Jiang Xue always wore gloves, nobody could see her mechanical arm.

"These are my classmates and teachers," Qing Chen said with a smile.

Hearing this, Jiang Xue slowly relaxed her expression and stepped aside.

"Are you really the Time Traveler?" Tian Hailong asked, his expression complicated. Although he already knew the answer, he still wanted to hear Qing Chen admit it.

Qing Chen gave a weak smile but didn't directly admit it, "Mr. Tian, the examination time is almost here; let's go."

"You still want to take the exam in this condition?" Tian Hailong was shocked.

"Yes," Qing Chen smiled. "I promised you I would qualify."

Everyone looked at Qing Chen with mixed feelings, then reassessed their classmate.

They hadn't expected someone who was seriously injured to still attend the exam, especially when they had only stayed at the bar until midnight; Qing Chen was far worse off than them.

Given his condition, how could Qing Chen score in the exam? It was likely to be very low, as pain would impede normal cognitive functions.

He would do well only by a fluke.

"Why don't you rest and heal," Xu Zimo suddenly suggested. "You don't need this competition anyway."

"No need," Qing Chen smiled. "Thanks for your concern."

Xu Zimo pursed her lips; it was the same response, only with two extra words.

She glanced at Jiang Xue standing beside Qing Chen, still somewhat unclear about the relationship between Qing Chen and this young woman.

Jiang Xue, pushing Qing Chen, headed outside. The examination venue was next to the hotel, very close.

As they walked out, she also adjusted Qing Chen's coat collar to prevent the cold wind from blowing into his neck.

"Are you hungry? Shall I get you a piece of bread?" Jiang Xue asked in a low voice, bending down.

"I can't eat right now," Qing Chen replied with a weak smile.

Behind them, Xu Zimo observed everything, her grip on her stationery bag tightening.

Saying Jiang Xue was Qing Chen's elder was one thing, but Jiang Xue was too young for that.

Saying Jiang Xue and Qing Chen were lovers seemed off too; there was an age difference.

Xu Zimo guessed Jiang Xue to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, while Qing Chen was only seventeen.

The students and teachers entered the examination room, however, without an admit card, Jiang Xue couldn't go in. She turned to Xu Zimo, "Are you Qing Chen's friend?"

Xu Zimo hesitated, puzzled over how to reply; was she really Qing Chen's friend? She couldn't be sure.

Yet, she heard Jiang Xue continue, "Could you please help push him to the examination room? I can't enter the school."

"Sure," Xu Zimo responded softly.

She took over the handles of the wheelchair and started pushing Qing Chen inside. After a long hesitation, she finally asked, "Qing Chen, are we friends?"

Qing Chen was slightly surprised she had asked this question, "Yes."

"Oh," Xu Zimo stopped talking.

After she had taken Qing Chen to his exam spot, she whispered, "Just wait for me in your seat after you finish the exam. I'll come to pick you up."

"Thank you," Qing Chen nodded.

"I was worried you'd say no thanks again," Xu Zimo muttered. "You don't have to stress this time, I know you're injured. I won't compete with you over grades this time, no matter how poorly you do in the exam."

Saying that, she even took out all his stationery, neatly arranging it on the table before she left.

Qing Chen stared at the stationery, so neatly arranged it was almost absurd. Each pen was placed in parallel, none even slightly out of line.

He thought to himself, does this girl have a bit of OCD?

...

Please vote.