After Saving My Cannon Fodder Omega - Chapter 6

The night view of F City was quite spectacular, but as a born-and-bred local, Chi Wei had long grown accustomed to it—bored by it, even.

She gazed at the streetlights and landscaped trees draped in fairy lights, which looked exactly as they did in her memory. Her expression remained somewhat numb until her dark, night-sky eyes reflected a signboard framed in warm yellow LED strips. Only then did a distinct ripple disturb her otherwise still chest.

Under the lights, the four characters for Xuan’s Tavern looked somewhat dim. As a cold wind blew, the shadows beneath the eaves shifted slightly, giving off a faint, unsettling sense of desolate chill.

Her pale-colored Porsche pulled into a temporary parking spot across from the restaurant. Chi Wei rolled down the window, carefully studying the storefront that felt entirely different from the one in her memories.

On the wide asphalt road, traffic flowed incessantly, punctuated by the occasional sound of car horns. Chi Wei simply stared blankly at that signboard, completely indifferent to the flashing lights reflecting in her eyes.

The only thing making her feel uneasy was the sense of “strangeness” produced by a storefront that was identical to her memory down to the last detail. She couldn’t quite understand why her heart felt this way when the thing hanging there was clearly the same.

Chi Wei hadn’t been back for long, and her opportunities to pull off secret little schemes were few. Amidst her confusion, her gaze shifted downward, looking across the shuttling traffic toward the dark, heavy doors of the tavern.

What flashed through her mind—aside from the now-blurred image of Xuan Nian’s smiling face—were the abusive headlines about the restaurant she had searched for on her phone earlier that afternoon in the ride-share.

In her past life at this time, Chi Wei didn’t know Xuan Nian, nor did she know this shop belonged to her. When she had seen the related news pushes back then, she had only offered a lukewarm, detached sigh: “People remain, but things change; how fleeting it all is.”

She remembered Feng Zhi laughing and patting her shoulder after hearing that sentiment: “There are plenty of restaurants out there. If you can’t eat at this one, just find another. What? Are you going to stop living just because you missed out on a couple of dishes?”

Ming Rui and Xie Yueyue had laughed along, and the news was promptly forgotten by them.

Looking at it now, Chi Wei let out a soft sigh, her heart feeling incredibly heavy.

—How awful. How could I have said such cold, flippant things back then?

Turning her body to face the tavern, Chi Wei was filled with regret. The cold wind swept in ruthlessly through the wide-open window. She gave a bitter smile and pressed the window switch; the glass slid to the top with a faint click.

But at that exact moment, through the tea-tinted glass, her dull eyes suddenly flashed. They reflected a white Volvo across the street and a woman wearing a milk-white down jacket.

The woman was dressed softly. Her long, shoulder-length hair fell in wavy curls, and her thick, fluffy crown was illuminated by a hazy yellow streetlight. That enchanting atmosphere caused Chi Wei’s chest to suddenly burn.

Sitting in the car, she lost her voice as she cried out the name: “Xuan Nian!”

The white Volvo’s lights flickered on. It left the parking space and began to drive forward slowly.

Chi Wei was filled with both joy and alarm. She hurriedly released the brake, shifted gears, and made a U-turn at the nearest dashed line to give chase.

The rear of the white Volvo drifted in and out of sight. As Chi Wei gripped the steering wheel, deep dimples appeared on her cheeks, following that playful car tail. Even though they hadn’t actually met yet, she felt as if she could already feel the joy of a reunion.

It’s so good to be back. It’s so good to meet again.

This is wonderful. Everything is wonderful.

As she smiled, Chi Wei’s eyes—reflecting the taillights of the car ahead—gradually became moist in the night.

Red and green lights alternated; yellow and white headlights converged and separated.

She had chased for three streets when a silver-gray Buick GL8 suddenly nosed out from an intersection. Chi Wei instinctively yielded, but when she sped up again, the intersection ahead was empty. Where was the shadow of the white Volvo?

Where is Xuan Nian?

Chi Wei’s heart hammered with panic. She hurriedly changed lanes to continue the search.

Half an hour passed. The Porsche, now severely off-course, finally pulled over slowly to the side of the road.

She missed her. She hadn’t caught up.

Chi Wei, who had been holding it in all day, looked at her palms—damp with excitement—and let her mouth droop in disappointment. The next second, she buried her face into her arms crossed over the steering wheel and began to wail uncontrollably.

At 8:00 PM, Chi Wei—her nose tip red from crying—pulled out the lighted vanity mirror. She used a tissue to carefully dab the tears from her face, sniffed, and continued her drive toward the bar.

Fortunately, the distance she had covered during the chase hadn’t added too much to her journey; it was only an extra ten minutes or so.

Back when she used to hang out with friends, Chi Wei had been to her fair share of bars, but she had truly never been to this one called Starry Sky. It was far from home, and she’d never heard of it having any special features.

So, when she saw a girl through the transparent glass wall passionately singing and playing an acoustic guitar, her movements getting out of the car became somewhat stunted.

Chi Wei couldn’t quite understand it—can a place this quiet really be called a bar? Talk about an eye-opener.

Standing in front of the car, Chi Wei adjusted her breathing and pressed a hand against her pounding heart. Finally, she opened her phone’s selfie camera, checking herself over and over on the screen with the beauty filters turned off. Only after a long while did she let out a deep breath and walk toward the bar door that looked like a gateway to something momentous.

If Feng Zhi had seen this scene just now, she would have laughed her head off.

The notoriously arrogant Third Miss of the Chi family actually has moments of being this cautious?

The tables have turned! Hahaha—

By the time she walked in and sat down, it wasn’t yet nine o’clock—exactly twenty minutes before the time Xuan Nian was supposed to appear in the book.

Thinking back carefully, the book’s description of the encounter between Chu Shirong and Xuan Nian was far too sparse. It was described like a flashback, but the details were blurry. It didn’t mention if Xuan Nian came alone, how she got there, or even a single word about how a drunken Xuan Nian left the place to go home.

Chi Wei had read quickly back then and hadn’t parsed it word by word. Now, waiting with bated breath, the more she thought, the more anxious she became.

Since her rebirth, many things had changed. What terrified her most was that many events today hadn’t followed the path of her memory. Now that Chi Tu was helping her hold back Chu Shirong, she didn’t know if that would change the circumstances of Xuan Nian’s appearance.

Feeling lost, she could only hope that “all roads lead to Rome”—that whether or not Chu Shirong showed up wouldn’t dictate Xuan Nian’s trajectory.

She hoped, but as time ticked by, people came and went from Starry Sky Bar.

As the time on her phone changed again, the figure she had seen not long ago still hadn’t appeared.

It was already 9:29 PM. Chi Wei, having sat for over half an hour, felt the anxiety in her chest growing. The glass in front of her emptied as her frustration rose.

By the time her third “Hallucination” cocktail was gone, Xuan Nian still hadn’t appeared.

An unnatural flush began to bloom on Chi Wei’s cheeks. The phone lying tilted by her hand vibrated incessantly. The ringtone was a piece of pure instrumental music, but it was drowned out by the melancholy love song being sung half-heartedly on the stage up front.

Her eyes had been glued to the bar entrance since 9:00 PM. She ignored the phone as it vibrated again and again, not even glancing down once. It wasn’t until the screen lit up for the third time that Chi Wei finally noticed Feng Zhi was calling.

The call connected, and Chi Wei’s voice was tinged with a faint drunkenness: “What?”

On the other end, Feng Zhi was startled by Chi Wei’s slightly raspy, chilly tone: “Whoa! That voice… hey Xiaoyu, where are you? Don’t tell me you went out drinking by yourself?”

Chi Wei hummed an affirmative: “Yeah. You want in?”

Xie Yueyue’s voice came through the phone as well: “Why are you drinking again? Can your stomach handle—”

Before Chi Wei could hear the rest, Xie Yueyue’s voice vanished abruptly, replaced by Feng Zhi’s hearty laughter: “We’re in! Where are you? Send the location.”

The moment Feng Zhi finished speaking, Chi Wei took another swig, blinking at the empty glass: “Starry Sky Bar on Hexi Street.”

“Got it! See you in a bit!” The moment Feng Zhi’s voice disappeared, a soft beep sounded, and the call screen automatically jumped back to the lock screen wallpaper.

Chi Wei stared at the blue-tinted image of a white deer in a forest and frustratedly ruffled her hair.

—Why hasn’t Xuan Nian come?!

Is it true that our appearances are all just meant to serve the protagonist?

Chi Wei irritably pinched herself. Pressing the corners of her eyes as tears welled up, she muttered stubbornly to herself: “It clearly hurts! We’re clearly living people of flesh and blood, so why on earth—why should we be controlled by some bullshit plot?!”

Her voice rose sharply on the last sentence, causing several guests nearby to turn around and look. Chi Wei hurriedly pursed her lips and signaled a server for a refill.

When Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue showed up, it was exactly 10:00 PM. Chi Wei looked at them in surprise: “Did you fly here? That was fast.”

“What are you talking about? When I called you, we were already on East Street. We could’ve been faster, but we got stuck in traffic for a few minutes,” Feng Zhi said with a laugh. Seeing the empty glasses on the table, she raised an eyebrow at the moody Chi Wei.

Chi Wei pretended not to understand the look and turned to Xie Yueyue: “You drove, didn’t you? Are you sure you want to drink?”

Xie Yueyue pointed a thumb back toward the door: “We hitched a ride in Sister Ming’s car. She’s finding a parking spot. I can join you for a couple of rounds tonight. But Sister Chui, you just drank last night and you’re at it again tonight—can your stomach take it?”

Feng Zhi glanced at Xie Yueyue and secretly mouthed to Chi Wei: “See? Doesn’t she sound like a nagging mom?”

Xie Yueyue seemed to sense something and turned sharply toward Feng Zhi: “Talking behind my back again, aren’t you?”

Feng Zhi played dumb: “Don’t talk nonsense. Did you hear me say a word?”

Chi Wei gave a dry laugh, not bothering to entertain them.

At the same time, Ming Rui, having parked the car, walked over quickly while spinning her key fob on her index finger like a child. Her smile was obvious: “I’m late! To show my sincerity, I’ll knock back three as a penalty.”

Feng Zhi and Xie Yueyue hurriedly moved to block the drinks just being set down, while Chi Wei looked up with a plastic smile: “What are you thinking? You think just three rounds will settle it? This whole night is on your tab, right?”

“It’s on me, it’s on me,” Ming Rui agreed with a laugh.

Feng Zhi clapped: “Director Ming is generous!”

Xie Yueyue echoed: “Sister Ming is mighty!”

Ming Rui’s smile broadened completely, but Chi Wei felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze. She waved her hand: “Drink, drink. Just don’t go crazy once you’re drunk later.”