A Beautiful Day

Su Mu awoke, alone in the 1.35 by 1.9 meter double bed.

He glanced at the small floating bed in the air, where Su Xiaoqian was wrapped in a little blanket, a snot bubble at her nose and a soft ‘hehe’ of laughter escaping her lips. Was she having a sweet dream? He wondered what it could be.

The sky outside was just beginning to pale. The clock on the coffee table read 5:44. For once, he had woken up earlier than Xiaoqian.

Stretching lazily, he carefully got out of bed without disturbing the little one.

He washed up and brushed his teeth.

Meanwhile, he turned on his phone.

Sure enough, the hashtag ‘#Su Mo’ had reclaimed the top spot.

Not that he expected any kind words.

The crowd, whose dreams of demolition compensation had been shattered, were attacking with venomous words. Countless bystanders had joined the fray. Even the official authorities had stepped in to condemn her, labeling Su Mo a scourge that would bring disaster to the nation and its people for millennia.

Su Mu read with a certain morbid fascination. He gargled some mouthwash and spat it out.

“The benefits of this ‘Dungeon’ are so clearly laid out by the officials—stimulating the economy, enhancing overall strength, turning Hehe City into a first-rate metropolis with a shot at becoming the next central hub. Tsk, isn’t it obvious?” Su Mu clicked his tongue. Even he, an outsider, could see the logic.

“Huh?”

He paused, noticing a related recommendation: a video titled “#SaintLilyMakesTroubleAgain?”

The thumbnail was a photo of Saint Lily.

A voice came through.

“Mm… I was also surprised when I learned of Su Mo’s actions.”

“I wouldn’t say I approve, but when it happened, I felt somewhat relieved.”

“Because, as far as I know, if that Dungeon had surfaced without timely evacuation, casualties would have been inevitable—especially for a Dungeon of that scale.”

“Now, at least, that scenario has been averted.”

“…….”

Su Mu opened his mouth, then helplessly rubbed his forehead.

Did she even know what she was saying?

And the title, and the editing—it was clear the video’s creator had deliberately framed the interview to stir up controversy.

Bullet comments scrolled past.

[What does she mean? Are we supposed to thank that bastard Su Mo?]

What else?

[The authorities would have handled it. Who asked you to worry?]

If they were going to handle it, would I need to worry?

[You’re not that important. Why meddle?]

You sure love your freedom—I can tell you’re an orphan with no one to care about you. Who’d bother with you?

[Saint b*tch, go die!]

Piss off!

[Wasn’t it all for saving her in the first place? Why doesn’t she just die?]

You too, piss off!

A wave of irritation washed over Su Mu. He felt like smashing his phone.

Do you think this was about any of you in the first place?

If it weren’t for Saint Lily, none of this would have happened.

You don’t deserve to be saved.

……

Su Mu exited the video. He scrolled through interviews of other teams, all of which unanimously condemned Su Mo with righteous indignation.

See! There were so many ‘correct’ examples. Why couldn’t that idiot learn from them?

He opened his chat app, staring at Saint Lily’s profile picture. He typed and deleted, finally settling on one line:

– Saint Lily, are you okay?

After sending it, he glanced at the sky and added:

– Send me a voice message when you’re awake.

……

****

Bai Ruoli yawned and glanced at her phone. A little past six. So early.

Who had messaged her?

It was from Red Spider Lily!

“……”

“Ah…” She rubbed her face, instinctively wanting to reply with voice, but remembered she wasn’t transformed and was at home. Instead, she typed:

– I just got up, voice isn’t convenient.

“Ding~”

– Why? You’re not crying, are you?

“Uh…” Bai Ruoli paused. Crying? Me? Why?

In her mind, six dots floated by. She exited the chat and opened her browser.

“Just as I thought.” She sighed, having already guessed.

Bai Ruoli couldn’t understand Su Mo’s final actions, but she knew that destroying the core was something Su Mo could have done alone, before anyone noticed. Yet she had contacted Bai Ruoli, triggering this whole incident.

Su Mo didn’t have to, but she did.

And in the end, she had hoped Bai Ruoli would accomplish something, but Bai Ruoli hadn’t quite succeeded, forcing Su Mo to clean up.

After a moment’s thought, Bai Ruoli opened the official forum.

“……”

She scanned the announcement, reading quickly. She absorbed everything useful.

“Hmm…”

She pondered for a long time.

“Ding~”

Another notification pulled her back.

– Saint Lily, don’t let the internet get to you. They don’t know you at all. Once there’s hype, they’ll say anything. I’ll fight them for you!

“……”

– Red Spider Lily, don’t bother. I don’t care about this, and don’t drag yourself into it. Plus, if you defend me now, the drama will never die down.

“Ding~”

– Are you really okay?

Bai Ruoli sent a SpongeBob smiley face.

After a moment’s thought, she tapped the voice button.

“I’m fine. This is my voice before transformation—maybe not as energetic, but I really am okay. Red Spider Lily, don’t worry about me. Besides, since I’ve left the team, even if they curse Saint Lily, I’m just an ordinary person now. They won’t care.”

She sent it.

A moment later, a reply came: a pat-on-the-head sticker.

– If you ever feel down, you can talk to me anytime. I’ve got nothing but time.

“Red Spider Lily…”

Bai Ruoli pressed the phone to her chest. She imagined the girl on the other end, anxious and worried for her. Was it the phone’s warmth or the warmth swelling in her heart?

She truly had a good friend.

……

“Sister, time to get up~”

“?”

Bai Ruoruo opened the door and saw Bai Ruoli already dressed. A big question mark formed in her little head.

“Sister got up on her own?” she said, incredulous.

“Mm-hmm, I’m up!” Bai Ruoli smiled. “Ruoruo, what’s for breakfast?”

“Egg congee~”

“Yay! With Ruoruo’s egg congee, I can be energetic all day!” (=^▽^=)

“……” Her own sister… was she running a fever?

“I’m going to work really hard, write lots, and earn enough to buy Ruoruo a big house!”

“Please no~ Cleaning a big house is such a pain~” Bai Ruoruo looked at her sister, who was striking a muscle pose like she was aiming for the sky. She felt speechless but didn’t want to burst her bubble, so she said that instead.

“Don’t worry, we’ll use magic—I mean, buy a cleaning robot! One button to rule them all!” Money magic, she was sure.

Bai Ruoruo nodded, saying ‘yes, yes’.

Seeing her sister’s sparkling eyes, little Ruoruo scratched her cheek and spoke again:

“Sister.”

“?”

“A big house is nice, but I prefer our home together. So as long as I’m with you, I’m happy.”

“Eh?”

“Okay, since you’re up, go wash your face and brush your teeth. Then breakfast~” Rubbing her nose shyly, Ruoruo turned and left.

“Yes, Lady Ruoruo~”

Today was truly a beautiful day~