COSMIC SERENDIPITY

Chapter- 24 (CONTENTMENT- PART TWO)

Xue Yang had gone back to playing with his friends uncomfortable by all the stares he got. He did not want to stand out. He was just happy getting food and a nice place to sleep. The addition of his two friends was like a bonus that he cherished deeply, though he couldn't shake the feeling of it all being temporary and him being back on the streets again. Earlier, when he hadn't seen all of this, he didn't feel much while trying to survive the harsh days and nights as a "street rat" as the people called him.

But now that he was well fed and well rested for the first time in such a long while, he was scared to lose it all. That's one of the main reasons why he had excitedly helped those people when they couldn't find the answer on the screen. It was an easy riddle. Also, he wanted them to know that he wasn't scared of such amputated arms or anything. He had seen his fair share of gore in his short life. He had hoped that one of those sects could take him under their wing so that he wouldn't have to return to the street life.

The moment he witnessed the shock in their eyes at his answer, he was scared because this gaze wasn't much different from how those kids in Yueyang looked at him when he did something that they were unable to. And instead of being thankful, they would shoo him off in the cruellest way possible.

Xue Yang never understood these two-faced people much. He wasn't asking for anything. He just wanted a single scrap of food because he would be so hungry that it would become painful after a while. It was easy for these people who had money to buy food and had a home to sleep. But he was only a kid that no one even wanted to help. Also, he wasn't even asking for free help. Instead, he was ready to do all sorts of jobs and earn his food. Alas! It seemed that the Heavens didn't even deem him deserving enough for such basic needs.

He was sad because he had no idea what to do after this dream, like life would be over, and he would have to go back to the streets. He was still pondering over some options and was being morose when his two new friends - who were unusual to the core but the best one he could ever find - came back to play with him. For the next few hours, Xue Yang was ready to forget all his miseries and played with his friends.
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The viewers were already distracted and were making small talks. They had been quite a bit surprised at Xue Yang for sure, but I thought it must be more of a game the kids were playing and didn't ponder over it much. But, the juniors, on the other hand, were wary. They had seen the manic and bloodthirsty glint of Xue Yang in the future. Seeing the young version of him unafraid of an amputated arm and still so intelligent, they were scared that it was already too late for Xue Yang to be brought back to the right path.

They were still thinking over the amputated arm and Xue Yang when the screen flared up, and once again, Wei WuXian's grinning face looked at them all. It seemed that in the future, his smile never diminished. One, who had no idea of YiLing Patriarch's real identity, would never be able to co-relate them both. Anyway, it was only a relief if he was happy in the future. Most of them had this same thought except a selected few who just couldn't help but scowl at the bright faced boy man.

'A-Xian, how are you?' Yanli asked with a gentle smile on her face, but her heart beating like crazy. She was nervous as she was still remembering the moment when both her brothers bawled like crazy witnessing her alive. She didn't want to cause them any kind of pain. And she knew, even if they were in pain, they would just grit their teeth and move on without letting her have any inkling of it. But that's not what she wanted. She wanted to be of some use. She didn't want to be just shielded at any and every turn. So, she determined to improve herself from this moment on. She had no idea what her future self did and would not know until the simulation showed. But she was sure that her future self must have done something idiotic if Wei WuXian' reactions were anything to go by. But she swore to learn from her alternate self's mistakes and not let her brothers down. Especially her son.