If I don't have money to go to college, I can only go to slay the dragon.

The sound of footsteps came from far away. On the platform of Line 7, Mandy Gonzalez sat in front of the chess board, holding her crossed knees and gently swaying from side to side, humming Adele's hit song " someone like you》：

I heard That you are settled down.

That you found a girl And you are married now.

I heard that your dreams came true.

Guess she gave you things.

I didn't give to you.

"Listening to such a sad song, it seems like you just lost your love or your ex just died."

The boy's voice sounded behind her. She didn't stop humming. Instead, she hummed higher and higher. She grabbed her ankles and looked up at his face behind her. The other person was also looking down at him, because she was carrying her back. There are chandeliers on the ceiling, so the facial features are cast in deep shadows.

But no matter how deep the shadow is or how blurry the outline is, Mandy will never mistake the person. She happily said, "If you want to die from your ex, just listen to Rolling in the Deep, "21" Adele's new album, which has been dominating the charts for a long time. , they are playing in the streets and alleys in Europe and the United States,”

"I heard that Xiaoqiang has been playing those songs on a loop."

"Which song on that album is your favorite? Let me see if the two of us have a good rapport."

Lin Nian took out his mobile phone and clicked on the music player. He clicked play without selecting a song. The song that was halfway through continued to play, which was Adele's "Don't You Remember".

"It suits you at this stage. When listening to songs, do you read the lyrics line by line and resonate with them?" Mandy glanced at the slowly rotating vinyl record on the phone screen and teased with a smile.

"I'm past the age where I can write short essays in the song comment section." Lin Nian said, "Sentimental people feel like they are singing about themselves when they listen to every song."

"You can't say that. The creators of the songs all write the lyrics based on their surroundings or their own life experiences. There are only a few annoying and sad things in this world, and you can find your own reflection in the lyrics. It’s empathy, but it’s too hurtful to be sentimental.” Mandy waved her hands and said with a smile, “Maybe now you think this song is your heart’s love, and every lyric is sung into your heart, but go away. Looking back after this stage, the song that was played badly may have disappeared from the playlist - I think that every stage of life has a song as a footnote. "

Lin Nian threw the sack aside and knelt down to sit next to Mandy. Mandy glanced at the sack that clattered to the ground and said, "Have you gone to the market?"

"Do you still understand what going to the market means?"

"The man who sells bean juice on the street in Bei'an recommended several Daji restaurants to me. I bought a lot of snacks and snacks, and the watermelons from Pangezhuang were also very big and sweet, but I suspected that the boss's scale was too heavy. I got a magnet, but I’m not familiar with it, so I can only suffer a loss.”

"If you stand up to a golden retriever and a European, who will weigh you down? You should call the market management department or the mayor's hotline." Lin Nian said, "Okay, I'm not here to chat."

"You took the initiative to bring up the topic for me. You can't complain first." Mandy rolled her eyes at him, "Why did you come so late? Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang have been gone for a while."

"Are they two okay?" Lin Nian raised his eyes and glanced at the nail-headed weirdo sitting across from the chess board. From the moment he sat down, the other person stared at him intently, with the expression in his dark and sunken eyes. It is difficult to distinguish good from evil with sight.

Lin Nian has seen a lot of strange things, so naturally he is not surprised at all.

"Depends on how you define okay." Mandy turned around and pulled the sack over, took out a few rice popsicles, held them between her fingers, bit open the package and gnawed, "Here After all, it’s the Nibelungs. It’s impossible to go to such a deep place without getting hurt at all.”

"is it serious?"

"Who are you specifically asking?" Mandy bit her rice pops and looked sideways at Lin Nian.

"Don't be so mean." Lin Nian didn't even look at her teasing eyes.

"Oh." Mandy shrugged, "It's okay. They're all skin injuries. People in our profession would be embarrassed to say they were licking blood even if they didn't get any injuries. But Lu Mingfei was in terrible condition. His body was always injured. Being in a compensatory state is like a fuel tanker that has bottomed out, but there are no gas stations around, so you can only fill it with Erguotou. The volatilization of alcohol can help maximize the use of gasoline, but it can easily damage the internal components of the car. This principle You understand."

"How long can he last?" Lin Nian could tell that Lu Mingfei seemed to be working hard in the Nibelungs.

"It depends on whether his bloodline and horoscope are strong enough. If both are strong, he will suffer some sequelae at most."

"He has a tougher character than me." Lin Nian said lightly, "What about you? What's your reason for helping them pass the level?"

"How do you know I helped them?"

Lin Nian silently lowered his head and glanced at the chess board in front of them. The answer was self-evident.

"Oh, sometimes being good is a mistake." Mandy sighed, "We are all juniors and juniors. It's unjustifiable for seniors not to help them. When we were in the academy, we didn't have the chance to help them, so we should always do it on the battlefield. Protect them for a while, right?"

"I've never seen Hu Zhouquan escort people to the front line." Lin Nian said, "What are the last two levels? Are they dangerous?"

"It's a matter of opinion. I subjectively think nothing will happen to the two of them. After all, they are both part of the 'Emperor's' plan." Mandy said nonchalantly.

"Then you still help them there." Lin Nian said, "Are you still working for the emperor?"

"What a shame!" Mandy raised her eyebrows and was filled with indignation, "I was fired by that unscrupulous boss a long time ago. I didn't sign any contract except a verbal agreement. If it weren't for his great power, I would have asked the Labor Association for help. If you arbitrate him, you still have to pay me 1.8 million dollars or euros! I still have some dignity!”

"Then why are you deliberately helping them pass this test?"

"Uh." Mandy touched the back of her head, "What else? Let them sit here stupidly and wait to rush?"

"This is the best choice." Lin Nian glanced at her, "Someone is deliberately staggering my route and theirs, so that I can never catch up with them. Do you have any clues about this?"

"Not at all!" Mandy gnawed the rice pops faster, lowering her head and "crunching" like a chipmunk.

Lin Nian rested his elbows on his knees and gently rubbed his hanging forehead. His hair and forehead rubbed against each other, making a small noise. After a long time, he asked, "Mandy, why did the emperor choose you in the first place?"

Mandy slowed down her chewing of rice crispy sticks, chewed the snacks in her mouth carefully, and after swallowing, licked the particles at the corners of her mouth, "You asked a pretty good question. In fact, for a long time, I also I'm asking myself, why did the emperor choose me? There are so many people in the world, why did the maid who was accompanying the prince just pick my name?"

"Am I super talented? No, in terms of layout and brains, that little dwarf Paco can use a lever to knock the entire Wall Street to the roof to watch them perform a trapeze. Am I good at flying? No way, In terms of force and skills, Wonderpus has been with the emperor for decades, and she has practiced counter-reconnaissance to the point where I followed her out, and I couldn't even find a hair on her face when I turned a corner. She even opened a skylight for Kennedy. 'Sacred Cut' refers to where you are. Could it be that I am naturally beautiful? Uh, this seems really possible." Mandy touched her big wave and fell into thought, "Is it really because I am a beauty? A good candidate for a honey trap?"

Lin Nian looked at Mandy, read it from beginning to end, and then sighed.

"Hey, hey, are you sighing and knitting?" Mandy was stunned, "Don't I deserve this little capital?"

Lin Nian lowered his head and rubbed his eyes vigorously with the palm of his left thumb. He seemed a little tired. "Maybe it's to help you get better at chess."

"Don't tell me, it's really possible." Mandy slapped her palm and nodded in agreement, "At that time, the emperor found me through the online chess software. He lost to me for a long time, and finally played tricks. He made a big bet with me, and then I exported myself. Maybe he was anxious because of my win, so he captured me as a black slave, so I was just the one who made up the numbers!"

"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Maybe you have strengths that you haven't discovered yet."

"It's so comforting. Junior brother has grown up and knows how to comfort senior sister. I no longer look like a straight man who used to treat me like a human chair cushion. This is the change of a boy growing into a man!" Mandy sighed with emotion.

"What about you, senior sister, have you changed?" he asked suddenly.

"Life lies in sports, success lies in change, of course I have changed." Mandy smiled, "If you remain unchanged, you will be eliminated by the environment sooner or later. Your senior sister, I have never been willing to be the outcast of the version. I have always followed It depends on the environment.”

"So. Senior sister, what are you and the group of people behind you planning to do?" Lin Nian opened his eyes, his red pupils looked down at the ground, "No matter what you want to do, what you are doing now It’s already bothering me.”

He said: "Sister, I hope to get an explanation. To be honest, I really don't want to kill you with my own hands in this situation."