MORIC - Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Metasequoia Under the Moon
Xi Zhoumeng hardly ever kissed, nor did she have any particularly romantic ideas about her first kiss.
Ordinary people have all sorts of memorable "firsts."
The first word spoken, be it "mama" or "papa," the first time eating by oneself, the first time leaving home, the first friend made…
Or perhaps the first crush of adolescence, the first time dating someone…
Xi Zhoumeng had forgotten who she first kissed.
Perhaps it was her mother, or maybe her godmother?
Just as kissing is a tangible form of intimacy in many people's eyes, to Xi Zhoumeng, it was merely the pressing of lips, nothing special.
The phrase "lips and teeth intertwined," mentioned in books, was a sensation she found repulsive. It was as if a person, from birth, had to have a special attachment, an absolute driving force to carry them forward—that very thing called love.
How could that be possible? Even with a change of dynasty and her own rise to supreme power, Xi Zhoumeng had never experienced this kind of "driving force."
Even dating someone hardly gave her any profound experience.
She even felt she had no need for the kind of "spiritual anchor" her parents had once been so crazed about.
The filth that ran in her bloodline was a sinful creation.
Even though her godmother told her how wonderful love was, in Xi Zhoumeng's eyes, it remained just a noun.
If giving is love, then if I raise a dog, I can also love it with all my might.
Her godmother was a brown-haired woman with gentle eyes that aged as Xi Zhoumeng grew up. Compared to Xi Zhoumeng's biological mother, who still looked like a young girl in her thirties, her godmother was more like a true mother.
"That's different."
Xi Zhoumeng's identity destined her to endure all the unbearable condemnations.
Her biological father and mother had long since married other people. To the world, she was the daughter of the woman who was both her grandmother and her maternal grandmother.
But everyone seemed to have a crystal-clear understanding of her origins.
Xi Zhoumeng had seen too much disgust and astonishment. The bastard child possessed beauty surpassing her parents and a status that towered over them.
She was required to call her biological mother "sister" and her biological father "brother."
Yet she had more right than anyone to inherit this planet.
The innate talent of her family gave her unparalleled value; the numerical value of her soul chain perfectly matched the ancient meteorite, but genetic defects followed her like a shadow.
She was violent yet calm, sickly yet resolute, as if born with two faces, capable of making people both love and hate her.
"How is it different?"
The fifteen-year-old Xi Zhoumeng had never stepped outside the castle. She was a fairytale princess atop the high walls.
She needed someone to cross over and save her from this cold structure that pierced the clouds.
The large dog was snow-white with pointed ears, personally chosen by Xi Zhoumeng.
The young girl's thick, dark hair cascaded down her back. Shackles that gleamed with a faint blue light were clasped around her wrists, looking like expensive bracelets.
She bent down to hug the dog, a smile in her eyes.
"It loves me too."
The large dog licked her cheek.
Her godmother stood to the side, looking somewhat helpless.
"It's different. It can't accompany you to the very end."
Xi Zhoumeng let out an "oh."
"I can have many dogs."
She had no attachment to the concept of "the end." It was merely about ruling this planet, saving this planet.
The populace didn't care much for politics, nor for the royal power that had ruled the planet for centuries.
After all, the price of this rule was that every hundred years, someone from the clan had to sacrifice their life to secure peace.
This generation had waited a long time for the advent of Xi Zhoumeng, this God's Arbiter.
No one asked if Xi Zhoumeng was willing.
"Next year, you can attend Aisuoer University. There are many handsome noble boys there. You can have a proper…"
The woman in the blue dress said.
Xi Zhoumeng hummed in acknowledgment. She ruffled the dog's head, then sat by the window, gazing at the city below the floating clouds.
As dusk approached, the city lights flickered on, like an inverted starry sky.
She was the mortal world, only without the fireworks—just solitude.
"But I don't like men."
She flicked her hair. It was a scandal that had been exposed and had never left her for all these years.
She had special tutors for all her studies. Xi Zhoumeng's impression of love came from the films played daily and the outdated theories from old, classic books.
Even more so, it came from her parents' sordid union based on blood.
Was that love?
Her godmother paused for a moment, then smiled again.
"There's nothing wrong with girls either. Aisuoer University also has a women's ice hockey team, if you're inter…"
Xi Zhoumeng shook her head.
She wasn't very old that year. From birth, she seemed to live in a sterile world, yet this environment was still filled with an unspeakable contempt.
She had taught herself what discrimination was, as if she were born cold-hearted and emotionless, with no particular preferences.
She used whatever was given to her.
The dog was her choice, but the dogs she could choose from had already been pre-selected.
The milk was the best because she lived in the Sky Tower, the most prestigious building on the planet.
Even her godmother was a woman chosen from ten thousand, well-versed in etiquette, flower arrangement, tea ceremony, drama, and more.
Once Xi Zhoumeng had mastered these, specialists would come to teach her other things.
Looked at from another angle, she was the purest bloodline born from the union of a top-tier princess and a top-tier prince.
Yet she was utterly devoid of "preference" and "liking."
"I'm not interested."
That year was the halfway point of her life, the golden age of her youth, yet she was listless about everything.
Love was nothing more than a character in a word.
Extreme boredom would give rise to a desire for destruction.
After transmigrating into the book, Xi Zhoumeng had looked back on her short life more than once.
Perhaps it was a genetic defect from inbreeding; when her head throbbed with pain, she would fly into a rage, a fury that fractured into destruction.
Until the monarchy was overthrown, she slaughtered her entire clan, extended the planet's life without the public's knowledge, and then quietly changed her identity.
She became a proper, ordinary person for once.
At twenty, she went to university, did an internship, and looked for a job.
The only problem was that she had inexhaustible money, and every company she joined went bankrupt, so she simply stopped working.
Everything was new.
She had never used social media, never read a web novel, never truly been to a movie theater, or squeezed through a crowded amusement park.
Only then did she realize how boring her first twenty years had been.
She tried to be a fan of a celebrity, but alas, no one is perfect. Idols were packaged products, and these products had an expiration date. Once the illusion shattered, the admiration was gone.
A 2D character was an end result; she wanted a beginning, like a new product being pushed onto a production line conveyor belt.
While she was binge-reading a novel series to the point of obsession, she saw the author write in the author's notes—
A new character will appear in the Guyun Academy arc. I'm collecting nice names from everyone!
Xi Zhoumeng never commented when she followed a series. If she was in a good mood, she would donate, just like the princess in an ancient novel who, after killing her father and slaughtering her clan, still knew to donate to charity.
There were more than enough people who hated her. Besides, she had never been loved, so she couldn't care less about a little hatred.
Money was meant to be spent.
Late that night, on a whim, she wanted to give it a try. Clicking on the comments, she saw many people had suggested names after their donations.
"Too tacky…"
"Ugly."
"Are you kidding me, Cuihua?"
She was wide awake. Outside the window of her high-end apartment was the city's nightscape. A hovercar passed on the sky-rail, its exhaust fumes a rainbow of colors. It was probably some rich kid drag racing.
Xi Zhoumeng was originally just going to laugh it off, but she noticed that many people actually agreed with that one suggestion.
The reason was that the reader was the second-biggest donor.
-DuckDuckDuckQuack: The #2 sister is so funny!!! I also think this name is refreshingly unconventional!! I'm all for it!
-I'mADogIfIEverFollowASeriesAgain: Speaking of which, I've never seen the #1 whale post a real comment. So aloof, I feel like she doesn't even read the author's notes.
-NotWorkingToday: I disagree! How can someone who likes our baby Xinghuo have a name like that!!
-AlmondsAreGross: Cuihua is so not a female supporting character name, even random passersby aren't called that anymore!!
-987897ii: Support +1!
-DoneWithStudying: Damn! No way! Why is this turning into a donation war! If it's decided by donations, then our #1 whale should have the naming rights!
Perhaps the last comment was a bit provocative. The #2 donor started spamming donations again. When Xi Zhoumeng refreshed the page, she had almost been overtaken.
People are prone to be impulsive in the middle of the night. Even someone like Xi Zhoumeng, who had little competitive spirit, felt a bit displeased.
With a casual tap, she spent her entire balance, then recharged a significant amount more, to the point that the website's senior customer service had to call her.
The site-wide announcements were all filled with her ID, so arrogant it was like it wanted to poke people's eyes out—【I'm the Tycoon, I Call the Shots】.
The customer service representative was trembling, afraid it was a minor making the purchases and that they'd get into trouble. They asked tentatively, "Is this you, the account holder?"
Xi Zhoumeng's new identity was one she had created herself. The newly appointed ruler of the planet had yet to show her face; everything was handled by proxies.
No one knew that person had given herself a surname.
And no one knew that a female supporting character in a web novel shared that same name.
Xi Zhoumeng found it novel and let out a laugh. "Otherwise? You want to check my citizen ID?"
Of course, the customer service representative had no such authority. They only felt that at three in the morning, the female voice coming from the receiver was bewitching to the bone, yet it made one feel they couldn't dare to approach.
The next day, the author, having come to their senses, sent Xi Zhoumeng a one-way private message in a state of awe and trepidation.
-You didn't have to do that!! Whale-sama! I'm kowtowing to you! The amount you donated is more than I make from writing a whole book!
Xi Zhoumeng slept until the evening update, then slowly replied: I'm not short on money. Can I have the naming rights?
The other party probably never imagined there was such a wealthy person in the world so insistent on naming a character instead of writing a book themselves. Their palms were sweating as they typed "yes."
-As long as it's not Cuihua.
The author probably didn't expect Xi Zhoumeng to be so casual. They were silent for a long time before asking.
-Please, just name her directly. I don't dare to. This character can be designed according to your wishes.
Xi Zhoumeng lay on her stomach on the bed, staring at the last half of the sentence for a long time.
According to my wishes.
She had never heard that phrase in her entire life.
She had no choice in her birth, no choice in her food, clothing, or shelter. Even her future was pushed upon her by a genetic defect.
It had turned into destruction.
She never expected to receive it from a novel she read to pass the time.
She stiffly curved her lips, as if she hadn't smiled naturally in a very long time.
-Let me think about it.
She thought about it for a long, long time, even while she was gambling for fun in an underground casino.
The people at the card table stared at this beautiful woman with a plastic-surgery face, terrified of her insane card skills.
This woman would bet on anything. She rarely lost, yet she could effortlessly win away others' most important things.
It could be a ring on a thumb, or an expensively modified artificial ear…
Xi Zhoumeng had no use for the things she took. After taking them, she wouldn't resell them. She would just toss them into a public pulverizer on the street, staring at the crushed remains for a moment before walking away.
She took pleasure in seizing others' treasures.
She would even bet her own organs.
Being covered in scars also seemed to be a source of joy.
Both mad and wild.
Someone seeing Xi Zhoumeng for the first time might covet her face and figure.
But upon seeing her again, they would run and hide, terrified of having their life reaped by her in this point-based casino.
Even with obvious signs of plastic surgery, the madwoman of the casino was still beautiful.
Xi Zhoumeng thought for several days but couldn't come up with anything. Late one night, she walked back to her apartment, staring blankly at the Sky City that pierced the clouds in the distance.
An ordinary person's life was both boring and not boring. In the middle of the night, someone was rummaging through a trash can, someone was riding a motorcycle into a small alley, and someone catcalled at Xi Zhoumeng.
With her hands in her pockets, Xi Zhoumeng's lip stud glinted silver under the moonlight.
She had taken a wrong turn and wandered into Metasequoia Park.
The moonlight spilled onto the lake's surface. The metasequoia forest looked like countless ghosts, watching Xi Zhoumeng with the hatred of the sacrificed.
But Xi Zhoumeng was brazen and had a clear conscience.
How could she not have wanted to die?
Xi Zhoumeng didn't know how long she stood there. The moon was hidden by the clouds. She lit a cigarette, and only after finishing it did she follow the navigation back to her apartment.
The next day, the author received a private message from their esteemed #1 whale.
-Let's just call her "Chi Yueshan."
My metasequoia under the moon, my lost age of innocence.
Xi Zhoumeng had thought the author was talking about a female supporting character of the nasty sort, one who would try to trip up Wen Xinghuo, a type that couldn't be brought into the light.
After all, it was a common trope in novels.
As filthy as herself.
She never expected the character to only be outwardly messy, but in reality, a passionate Wen Xinghuo fan, and exceptionally pure-hearted.
Every aspect of her was perfectly suited to Xi Zhoumeng's tastes.
Vicious with that sharp tongue of hers, pure in her body's reactions.
Even her eyes were Xi Zhoumeng's favorite color.
Xi Zhoumeng couldn't help but suspect that the author had designed the character based on her ID.
After all, her reader profile page had a very pretentious line—
The emerald of Planet M-13 is God's purest creation.
This world had M-series planets, and also a Planet 13.
But that place was not rich in emeralds.
It was the capital planet of the M-system, home to a native green-eyed race, said to be descended from the purest grains of sand from the fission of chenli stone.
At the very moment their lips met, an absurd question popped into Xi Zhoumeng's mind—
Will this emerald stay with me until the end?
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