Priceless Baby: 101 Bedside Stories

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Ruan Miaomiao said, “We need a ruler. We are not gatekeepers, and we are unable to get the support of the masses. We can only place our hopes on you all. You all have emerged victorious in the selection and are considered to have passed the gatekeeper’s assessment.”

Shen Qianshu asked, “You all have a selection once every four years. How many people have had to die because of this?”

“This is our rule.”

“We also never force anyone to take part.”

“If you want to change this kind of system, you can be our gatekeeper.”

…

The few of them spoke their minds and each had his or her own reasoning.

Ye Ling had been silent all along.

Shen Qianshu asked, “Why were your gatekeepers’ lives so short?”

“Our internal department had a fierce clash of intentions. The first appointed gatekeeper was plotted against. As for the others, they had their own tragedies. Hongxiu and Fei Er were… it was the fight they had amongst the three of them that was the cause.”

Shen Qianshu said, “They seemed to be cursed, wasn’t it?”

The few of them were startled. Indeed, the outside world had rumored that the Black Rose seemed to be cursed. Its gatekeeper could not live beyond 30 years old. The only one who had lived past 30 years old was a living dead now.

“Qianshu, if you believe in this kind of matter, then it’s true. Otherwise, it is not true,” Ruan Miaomiao said. “I’m an atheist.”

The few of them nodded their heads and looked at Ye Ling one after another. They wanted to know his opinion very much.

It was inevitable that they had to choose one out of two as the gatekeeper.

Shen Qianshu held Ye Ling’s hand tightly. Ye Ling asked, “You all have checked on me so clearly, and you should know what kind of person I am. If you want me to be the gatekeeper, your motive is not that simple.”

“You have misunderstood,” Ruan Miaomiao said. “We, the Black Rose, do not need to draw support from the strength of anyone. We only need a gatekeeper who can make us utterly convinced.”

Shen Qianshu thought, This tone is very harsh.

“More than 20 years have passed, and you all could not find someone who could make you all utterly convinced as the gatekeeper?”

Shi Cheng said, “You didn’t know that when we chose the first gatekeeper, it had to be someone who could touch the hologram. As long as the person could touch the hologram, he or she could become our first appointed gatekeeper. But it has been so many years, and not a single person could touch the hologram.”

Beck said, “We are an organization with deep-rooted beliefs and tradition. During the selection process, any of the scenes could be sent to every member’s personal computer. They could see the ending.”

“Every appointed gatekeeper’s bloodline has established a DNA connection with the hologram. Hence, your blood could activate the hologram. Once you have touched the hologram, it will appear on all of our computers.”

Ye Ling sneered. “That being said, the one who stimulated the hologram was Qianshu. It was not me. The gatekeeper you all want is her and not me. Why am I chosen?”

Ruan Miaomiao said, “It was you who discovered the museum. Qianshu inadvertently activated the hologram. Both of you are counted.”

“Misconception!” Ye Ling said. “If it not for Qianshu, we would still be killing one another in the desert.”

“You can treat this as destiny,” Shi Cheng said. “We admit that it was both you and Shen Qianshu who activated the hologram at the same time. Both of you are indispensable. You all have passed the selection.”

The talk went into deadlock.

Shen Qianshu also did not know how to undo the deadlock.

Shen Qianshu said, “Very sorry, the Black Rose gave us too many negative impressions. Our impression of it is not good.”

“We understand!”

Rui Qiu said, “Everything that Yang Ping did has nothing to do with us. Her radical group has always managed external affairs and could never come into contact with internal affairs. Technology was our core. She brought Black Rose onto an extreme path. We had warned her before, but we didn’t expect her to become worse.”