vncnus Chapter 8 Different Worlds
Chapter 8 Different Worlds
"How long will it take to fly?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Twelve hours," Nono said. "You can take a nap, and I'll wake you when it's time."
Lu Mingfei nodded, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Too many thoughts were churning in his mind, making it impossible for him to calm down.
He looked at Nuonuo. She had her eyes closed, seemingly resting. The light of the setting sun shone through the porthole, casting a soft glow on her face, and her long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes.
Very beautiful.
Lu Mingfei was somewhat lost in thought.
Just then, Nono suddenly opened her eyes.
Eyes facing each other.
Lu Mingfei hurriedly looked away, his face turning red again.
Nono laughed: "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"
"N-no," Lu Mingfei stammered, "It's just... I thought the sunset was quite beautiful."
"Really?" Nono turned to look out the window, her profile bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. "It is indeed beautiful."
After a few seconds of silence, Nuonuo suddenly asked, "Lu Mingfei, what are your expectations for the future?"
"The future?" Lu Mingfei paused, "I... haven't thought about it much."
That's the truth. Before meeting Nuonuo, his future was to go to an ordinary university, find an ordinary job, and live an ordinary life. But now, everything has changed.
"Then think about it now." Nono turned to look at him. "Kassel isn't an ordinary university, and life there isn't ordinary either. You'll be exposed to another side of the world—dangerous, but also exciting. You need to have goals, to have someone you want to become, otherwise... it's easy to get lost."
Lu Mingfei fell silent. What did he want to become? He didn't know.
From childhood to adulthood, his only goal was "not to cause trouble for his uncle and aunt," and then "to get into university." And then what? He never thought about it.
"I..." he began hesitantly, "I want to know the truth. About my parents, about myself, about... why I was accepted into Kassel."
Nono nodded: "This is a beginning."
"And..." Lu Mingfei mustered his courage and looked at Nuonuo, "I want to... become stronger. At least not always hold others back."
A flicker of surprise crossed Nono's eyes, then she smiled: "That's a good goal. In Kassel, becoming stronger is a necessity for survival."
"And you?" Lu Mingfei asked, "Why did you go to Kassel in the first place?"
Nono's expression softened: "Me? I was adopted. The Chen family—adopted me. Going to Kassel was the only option; I had no other choice."
Her tone was calm, but Lu Mingfei detected a hint of bitterness in it.
"Don't you want to go?" he asked.
"Whether I wanted to or not isn't important," Nono said. "What's important is that I went, and I'm doing quite well. That's enough."
Looking at her, Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that this radiant girl might also be hiding many unknown things in her heart.
"Nono." He called her by her name for the first time, without adding "senior sister".
Nono looked at him.
"Thank you," Lu Mingfei said earnestly. "Thank you for coming to find me."
Nono was stunned, then smiled, this time a genuine smile: "You're welcome, junior."
The plane continued flying through the night sky. Lu Mingfei gradually felt sleepy, closed his eyes, and his consciousness began to blur.
He had a brief dream.
In his dream, he stood amidst ruins, surrounded by burning flames and collapsed buildings. The sky was dark red, as if soaked in blood. He held someone in his arms, a red-haired person whose body was light, as light as a feather, yet whose warmth was slowly fading away.
He looked down and saw a familiar face—Nono's face.
Her eyes were closed, but a smile played on her lips, as if to say, "See, I told you I'd protect you."
Lu Mingfei wanted to shout, but no sound came out. He wanted to cry, but no tears would fall.
Only the excruciating pain emanating from my heart felt terrifyingly real.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
The cabin was dimly lit, and most people were asleep. Nono was also asleep, her head resting against the window, her breathing steady.
Lu Mingfei clutched his chest, where a dull ache still lingered.
It was a dream, just a dream.
He said to himself.
But why is it so real?
"Because that's something that might happen in the future, brother." Lu Mingze's voice rang out softly. "Or perhaps, the past? Time is always an ambiguous thing."
"What does that mean?" Lu Mingfei asked himself.
"It means your fate and that girl's have been intertwined for a long time. Past, present, and future," Lu Mingze said. "So don't even think about running away, brother. You can't escape."
Lu Mingfei fell silent. He looked at Nuonuo sleeping peacefully, and a complex emotion welled up inside him.
If fate truly binds them together, what will he do?
To accept or to resist?
he does not know.
All he knew was that at this very moment, on this plane bound for the unknown, a red-haired girl had burst into his gloomy life like a ray of light, showing him another possibility.
This is enough.
At least for now, that's enough.
Lu Mingfei closed his eyes again, and this time he was truly asleep.
What he didn't know was that Nono opened her eyes after he fell asleep.
She looked at the sleeping boy across from her, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Professor Schneider's words echoed in her ears: "Chen Motong, your mission is to safely bring Lu Mingfei back and gain his trust as much as possible. He is the key to the plan, and you are... the most suitable person to approach him."
The most suitable? Why?
Because of her bloodline? Because of her abilities? Or because of... something else?
Nono didn't know. All she knew was that when she first saw Lu Mingfei, she had a strange feeling—familiarity, heartache, and an impulse to protect him.
The feeling was abnormally intense.
It's as if... they've known each other for a long, long time.
She raised her hand and touched her chest, where a necklace hung, with a small silver cross as a pendant. It was given to her by her adoptive mother before she passed away, who said it was the only item left by her biological parents.
The cross gleamed faintly in the dim light.
Nono closed her eyes, suppressing her chaotic thoughts.
Regardless, a task is a task. She accepted it, and she will complete it.
As for those inexplicable feelings... we'll talk about them after the mission is over.
The plane continued its flight, piercing through the clouds and the darkness, heading towards the mysterious academy across the ocean.
But there, a completely different world awaits Lu Mingfei.