VAP - Chapter 146

Chapter 146: The Intersection of Illusion and Reality (11)

Now that it was confirmed there would be no other missions for the time being, the string that had been constantly taut in Yue Du's data core slowly loosened.

However, after lazing around with her host for several days, Yue Du suddenly realized this wouldn't do. It was one thing for an adult system like her to be idle, but how could a child like Ji You do nothing but lie around at home like a salted fish?

This was the age for learning—learning knowledge, reason, and empathy. The transition from childhood to maturity was the same in any era.

It would be a different story if the host possessed memories that didn't belong to this small world, but right now, Ji You clearly didn't. She was just a slightly precocious child.

—She had to make her host study properly.

Having set her goal, Yue Du began to quietly research the education industry of this era. Since there was nothing else to do, she decided she might as well act as a private tutor for her little host.

She wouldn't have known if she hadn't looked, but in this era fraught with danger where everyone was exhausted just trying to survive, the education industry was incredibly half-hearted. The illiteracy rate was extremely high, as people were pushed to pour all their skill points into combat ability.

After visiting the stronghold's nursery—which also served as a semi-enclosed school—Yue Du found it unacceptable. Her child could not receive such a crude education.

A well-rounded education, adapted to the characteristics of the era, was necessary. She would start with the written language of this small world.

Ji You had been disliked by the Ji family since childhood and was completely left to her own devices. It was a wonder she could even speak, let alone recognize most written words.

Ji You, forced to accept tutoring that was far beyond the standards of the era: "..."

She never would have imagined that this would be the consequence of pretending to be a child.

However, time could not be turned back, and the act she had committed to could not be undone. On the surface, Ji You obediently played the part of a good student, but inwardly, she felt a profound sense of helplessness.

After all, everything Yue Du was teaching her, she already knew. Having to feign ignorance and eagerness to learn it all from the beginning was sheer torture.

In the end, however, the satisfaction of being with Yue Du won out. When Yue Du looked at her, teaching her, her own reflection was the only thing visible in those beautiful, deep amber eyes, which brought her an indescribable sense of pleasure.

Sometimes, Ji You would even deliberately slow her learning pace, asking questions with a serious air, just for the opportunity to see more of Yue Du's expressions and receive more of her encouragement.

Yue Du, unaware of the truth, thought Ji You genuinely didn't understand certain things and taught her with great dedication.

But she couldn't help but think to herself that it seemed each host's intelligence was different. Compared to Qi Jiu, who could sleep all day and still effortlessly secure first place, Ji You was clearly a bit inferior.

One day, as Yue Du was resting her chin on her hand and watching Ji You practice writing the new characters she had learned, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

She stood up, casually ruffling her little host's hair, and went to open the door. It was Wen Yilan.

All this time, Wen Yilan had been responsible for cooking for the pair of "sisters." She had the title of a private chef but was doing the work of a cafeteria head chef, and on top of that, she couldn't just make perfunctory cafeteria food. It was an incredibly difficult job.

Fortunately, the pay was considerable and did a great job of soothing her soul, which was the only thing keeping her from angrily throwing down her wok and resigning.

But over the past month, Ji You's appetite had decreased, and Wen Yilan finally had some leisure time. She started going out for strolls and would sometimes leave the stronghold to hunt low-level Scarlet Beasts nearby to keep her skills from getting rusty, lest she be unable to protect herself when a critical moment arrived.

So, she had been living a rather fulfilling life recently and usually wouldn't visit outside of mealtimes. But it was clearly too early for a meal now, and Wen Yilan wasn't carrying any food.

Yue Du paused for a moment. "Yilan, is something the matter?"

Wen Yilan's eyes sparkled. "I just heard that in the stronghold, there's—" She stopped mid-sentence and asked with a curious look, "Is your sister not here today?"

"She's in her room learning to write," Yue Du said.

Wen Yilan's focus shifted. "Learning to write? Why bother with that? It's useless, isn't it? Do you want her to take a clerical job inside the stronghold in the future?"

Wen Yilan herself couldn't write many characters. Being able to recognize them and speak was enough for daily life. At most, she could write her name and other basic information needed for registration.

Like many people in this era, she was semi-illiterate.

Yue Du took a deep breath, patted her on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Knowledge is power. You should study more when you have time."

Wen Yilan, only half-understanding, replied, "Oh."

"Let's put that aside for now. What were you saying about something happening in the stronghold?"

Wen Yilan finally snapped back to the topic and said excitedly, "Someone's putting up posters advertising Miss Dai Mi's opera! Our stronghold is on her tour list, and she'll be here next month. She's going to perform the Epic of the Yun Dynasty!"

Yue Du understood. "Oh, no wonder you're so excited."

Wen Yilan smiled sheepishly. "She's the opera star I admire most."

The opera of this small world was not the same art form Yue Du was familiar with. Although it also used singing to tell a story, the opera here was strictly a solo performance and placed high demands on the performer's appearance, voice, and mental abilities.

This was because this type of opera was not merely for entertainment.

In humanity's current predicament, the reason most people hadn't suffered mental breakdowns and could maintain a baseline level of sanity was largely thanks to espers with mental stabilization abilities. Opera was one of the most effective applications of these abilities, providing a powerful calming and soothing effect.

Combining entertainment, aesthetic appeal, and the effects of a tranquilizer, it was only natural that opera was widely beloved and followed by the public.

Yue Du had heard of Dai Mi before. She was an outstanding opera performer, famous throughout the nearby strongholds.

Wen Yilan looked at her with pleading eyes.

"You want to go, but you can't get in on your own?" Yue Du asked.

"Yes. This tour is specifically for soothing hunters, so ordinary citizens aren't qualified to enter." Wen Yilan fidgeted with her fingers and said hopefully, "I know your squad only has two people. Can you take me with you? Name your price!"

Yue Du said, "You don't have to join the squad. You should be able to get in just by coming with us, right?"

"Right," Wen Yilan said. "I know you don't want to add anyone to your squad, and I don't want to join one either. I just want to see the opera."

Wen Yilan was about to say something more when she was startled by a small face peeking out from a nearby doorway. Having been discovered, Ji You stopped peeking through the crack in the door. She walked over, hugged Yue Du's arm, and sized up their private chef with a blank expression.

"Do you want to go listen to the opera?" Yue Du asked.

There should be a balance between work and play, thought Yue Du, who was well-versed in the ways of raising children.

Ji You looked as if she was about to shake her head, but she stopped herself and then nodded.

Yue Du was a little surprised, thinking her host wouldn't want to go out and would dislike crowded places. But then again, children always love excitement and fun.

In reality, Ji You felt the complete opposite. But on second thought, the one who would be outside in a month wouldn't be her, so she decided to leave the problem for her other self to deal with.

Yue Du agreed to take Wen Yilan along, and the girl immediately jumped for joy, muttering about presenting flowers and asking for an autograph.

Yue Du: "..."

People really were different. The Wen Yilan from another world was the one giving autographs, while the Wen Yilan here was the one asking for them. It was all too much.

Having settled the matter, Wen Yilan tried to slip away.

"Wait a moment," Yue Du called out, stopping her.

"What is it?"

Yue Du looked at her sincerely. "Are you busy? If not, how about you come over and practice writing with Ah Jiu?"

Wen Yilan shook her head like a rattle drum, her face twisting into a pained expression. "There's no need, is there? I'm not going for a clerical job."

Yue Du cut right to the heart of the matter. "When you saw Miss Dai Mi's poster, how many characters could you actually recognize?"

Wen Yilan deflated. "Just a few... I can't remember clearly. But I'm already so old. It's kind of embarrassing to start learning characters now."

"Live and learn," Yue Du said. "Are you in or not?"

Wen Yilan: "...I'm in!"

The home school gained another student, a part-time one at that. The faint, obedient smile on Ji You's face vanished. The moment Yue Du turned away, she shot Wen Yilan a critical and icy glare.

Wen Yilan: "?"

Had she done something to offend the little girl?

In the end, she confidently concluded that the girl's anger was misplaced. The little girl was being forced to study but didn't dare throw a tantrum at her guardian, so she was taking it out on her instead.

Wen Yilan decided not to hold it against a child.

Half a month into Yue Du's tutoring sessions, Ji You's appetite suddenly returned to normal.

That afternoon, Ji You had just woken up from her nap when she grabbed the front of Yue Du's shirt and burst into tears, looking incredibly wronged. When Yue Du asked what was wrong, she didn't answer, finally sobbing that she was just so hungry.

Wen Yilan was urgently called back to work and cooked a full table of food for her. Only after eating did Ji You's mood stabilize somewhat.

"Do you want more?" Yue Du asked.

Ji You nodded pitifully.

Yue Du went to ask Wen Yilan to make another spread. When she returned to the room, she found Ji You hugging a blanket and staring blankly into space. The moment she saw Yue Du enter, her little host's eyes immediately reddened, and she looked as if she was about to cry again.

Yue Du sighed and ruffled her hair. "You're that hungry, huh."

Ji You said in a small voice, "It's not just hunger. I'm also a little scared. Stay with me."

Yue Du soothed her. "I'm always with you."

She was completely unaware that Ji You was currently arguing with her other self.

"Playing pitiful? You're even better at it than I am. Not bad," the other Ji You said gloomily.

Gluttony retorted righteously, "Who's playing? Who's an actor like you? This is a genuine expression of my feelings."

Jealousy: "..."

Gluttony: "I think you're just jealous that Sister is comforting me and stroking my hair."

The Ji You whose time had just run out, forcing her to relinquish control of the body, was so angry she had a headache.

This headache-inducing frustration reached its peak during writing practice the next day.

Looking at the characters little Ji You had just written, Yue Du was very pleased to see that her learning speed was more than twice as fast as before. She rewarded her with another affectionate head-pat.

Wen Yilan, who was now lagging far behind, began to question her life choices.

Jealousy was having even more doubts than she was.

Because she hadn't been sure of the situation, Jealousy had deliberately slowed her own learning pace to avoid revealing any flaws in her act.

However, she hadn't expected her own learning ability to be stronger than she imagined. Even having never studied before, her rate of mastery was faster than anticipated.

In comparison, her deliberate slowness now seemed rather clumsy.

Maybe Yue Du had been secretly worried that she was a slow learner and had just never said it to her face!

Jealousy, having overdone her act, gritted her teeth in frustration.

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