XG 24 - Humans do not change easily

The houses in their compound were semi-detached. Chen and Wong had lived next to each other, sharing a wall. It does not take more than a minute to reach the next door. The Chen family had moved into the neighborhood five years ago when Chen Yibo and Wong Xue Guo were both thirteen years old. Yet, Chen’s house interior was the same for five years.

Even if Suzie Yap preferred things and furniture to be in the same place for quick and memorized access, she could not resist moving things around to make the place look fresher.

Earlier on, Suzie Yap had advised Chen Yibo to dismiss his employees and tell them to leave immediately, which he obeyed. There was only a live-in housekeeper and a chef, which were actually siblings, so it did not take much time to send them away.

"Aunt Pang, Uncle Li, the infection will spread quickly and the scientist has yet to discover the cure. Take this time to quickly leave the country and go to hide in a winter country. The infection spread slower in cold climates. It’s best to stay away from people if possible." It was easy for Chen Yibo to guess that after hearing Suzie Yap telling his family to hide in winter climate countries.

Wong Xue Guo watched silently as Chen Yibo persuaded the two elderly to leave.

As always, the class monitor was a kind-hearted person and strived to help others as much as he could. But this type of person was always the first group of people to die. She had read plenty of characters with that kind of trait who ended up being a hero if they were strong enough, or would suffer from betrayal in the apocalypse era if he was extremely unlucky.

She does not have the determination to change Chen Yibo’s mind-set as she does not want to be the villain. Some may say it was better for that person to learn his lesson after experiencing suffering. Yet she fears that Chen Yibo's lesson would injure him deeply or even permanently.

The web novels she read usually have a kind-hearted main character that died from betrayal. They will be given a second chance to go back in time, with a golden finger and knowledge of the future that will aid them change their fate!

However, those were works of fiction and Chen Yibo will not have a second chance once he dies.

The two elders did not leave immediately and stayed to help Chen Yibo pack his essentials, filling his backpack to the brim. Luggage was not advised as there was the possibility of needing to discard vehicles to travel on foot.

Seated in the living room while waiting, she was making her own list to pack using her mobile phone’s memo when Chen Yibo approached her. "Can I speak to you?"

"You already did though?" Was Wong Xue Guo's automatic response that had not gone under review in her mind.

He treated her response as positive and took a seat opposite her. "Why don't you like me?"

Wong Xue Guo: '...' F*ck, a confession?! Σ(°ロ°)

The distorted expression on her face quickly pointed out to him that his words were rather misleading.

"I should rephrase my question. Of all the years I've known you, you set a boundary between us, not allowing me to befriend you. There are also times where I notice you seem to dislike me."

Shit.

"If we are going to travel together, we need to solve the matter so that you can trust me to protect you."

Wong Xue Guo had thought she had hidden her dislike towards him well by always acting politely to him. Yet he had already known about it for a long time but did not change his behavior towards her. He only approached the topic because he wanted her to trust him to protect her.

Silly Yibo.

She knew he would not lie about his reason to solve their ‘enmity’ because that was not his personality. Silly Chen Yibo was a nice guy from the start to the end, and will not use emotional guilt to get his way or answer from her. He only used his own capability to get others to trust him.

But that was also the main reason why she disliked him.

There was no reason to hide her distaste now that he already knew and she also does not want to embarrass herself by pretending otherwise. Wong Xue Guo leered as she raised a question. "If I continue disliking you, will you stop protecting me?"

"I won't stop protecting you. I just want to know why so that I can fix it-"

"Fix it?" She cut him off with a scornful look. "Do you always change yourself whenever people dislike you? Don't you have a spine?"

Instead of getting angry, Chen Yibo smiled as if he had reached his goal. "You finally stop acting."

The mockery on her face immediately disappeared. She gazed at him coldly as if watching an incurable idiot. "So what if you are rather good at reading people? Why do you still stubbornly cling to those people that dislike you even if you know it? Do you aim to be a Holy son or something?"

Chen Yibo's brow knitted, pondering over her words. After a long while he hesitantly asked, "Are you angry because of my father?"

Her eyes flickered, which answered his question.

Chen Yibo smiled as if relieved. "I know he preferred my elder brother more than me. Even I would pick my elder brother instead of me. My elder brother is talented in science, just like my father and he could help him with his work. I could not lack behind them, so I study hard to improve myself so that I could be of help-"

"Stop that idiotic smile," Wong Xue Guo cut in coldly. "Also stop with those idiotic nonsenses. Be of help? They want none of that. That's why your father abandoned you here instead of bringing you along with them. How many times did you see your father anyway? Less than a month's time per year? Is it worth it to work yourself tirelessly to get that heartless father of yours' attention?"

"What kind of attention do you want from him anyway? Love? Respect? He only gave it all to your protégé brother.” Wong Xue Guo leaned forward, cradling her cheek with a palm, and smiled like a seductive devil that tempts a poor mortal to walk down the dark path. “Why bother with all these when you could live for yourself? Acting like a good boy all the time is so tiring, isn't it? Why not just have fun?"

"It's not tiring for me," Chen Yibo replied genuinely, feeling warmed from Wong Xue Guo’s worry for him. "Studying and learning new things makes me feel fulfilled. I'm also doing it for myself, to make myself a better person that could contribute to society. I believe there will be one day my father will praise me for doing a good job."

Truthfully, his words made her even more irked, but it also had her swim up from the sea of red haze that nearly swallowed her completely. She had thought she had made peace with it, at least most of it, but today she realized the injured little girl hiding deep in her could easily overpower her when she let her guard down.

"That would take days, weeks, or years. Or maybe that won't happen even after you die," Wong Xue Guo taunted and the only sign that she was affected by his words was the slight trembling of her hands.

Naturally, as someone that had visited her house occasionally and had seen the Wong family interaction, Chen Yibo knew her parents were the same as his father, with great distance between the parent and child. "I notice your mother is treating you very well. I'm happy for you."

...How Gary Stu of you.

When Chen Yibo did not speak, he was like a cool handsome boy that charmed everyone. Just like a perfect male lead in the romance novels she read. But once he started speaking, he was like a sunshine boy that only saw the good of the world.

You and I could never coexist with each other!

Chen Yibo was easily satisfied by sprinkles of love, but Wong Xue Guo had learned her lesson long ago and hardened her heart to love herself more. Her mother's sudden change of attitude towards her did warm her heart, but she was wary that it would suddenly stop and her mother would go back to normal.

After all, she had heard her parent’s indifference towards her safety when she got kidnapped and the kidnapper called them for ransom. She suffered for two days while her parents ignored the kidnapper’s warning not to call the police if they wanted her to be alive.

Fortunately, the kidnappers were not cruel and did not go through with their threat when the police arrived, or else Wong Xue Guo would have died at the age of twelve.

Humans do not change easily.

Suddenly feeling tired, she no longer has any interest in talking and ignores the envy shooting at her from Chen Yibo’s eyes.