Having confirmed his plan, Zhou Mingrui immediately found calmness in his mind. The feelings of fear, uncertainty, and insecurity retreated back into a corner.
Until this time, he was finally in a mood to carefully examine the remnants of Klein’s memories.
Zhou Mingrui got up habitually, closed the pipe valve and watched the wall lamp slowly dimmed until it went out. Then he sat down again, while subconsciously rubbing the brass wheel and holding the head of the revolver. He sat quietly in the dyed red ambiance slowly feeling the “aftertaste”. He felt almost like a focused audience in the movie theater.
Perhaps influenced by the passage of the bullet, Klein's memory was like a broken glass. Not only was it losing continuity, but also obviously missing contents in many places. For example, where did the exquisite revolver pistol came from? Was it a suicide or murder? In the notebook, what did the phrase “Everyone will die, including me” meant? He did not participate in any strange activities in the days before the incident.
Not only did these specific memories become fragmented and broken, it was the same with his acquired knowledge. According to the current status of his mind, Zhou Mingrui believed that if Klein returned to university, he would not be able to complete his studies. However, in actual fact he had only left the campus a few days ago.
[Two days later, attend an interview at the Department of History at the University of Tingent…]
[The Universities in the Ruen Kingdom have a tradition where graduates do not stay in their own school… His tutor at Hoey University gave him a recommendation letter for Tingent University and another letter for the University of Beckland…]
…
Zhou Mingrui silently “watched” his memories. The red moon shifted westward from the window and gradually sank until there was a slight light in the east. The horizon became stained with gold color rays.
At this time, there was a movement in the room and soon the sound of footsteps appeared next to the isolation door.
[Melissa woke up… she was really on time, as always.] Zhou Mingrui smiled as he was affected by Klein’s memories. He had a feeling of seeing his own sister in Melissa.
[Previously, I did not have a sister…] He immediately uttered a sentence.
Melissa was different from Benson and Klein. Her primary education was not completed at the Sunday School of the church for the Goddess of the Night. When she was of age for school, the Kingdom of Ruen enacted the “Basic Education Law” and established the Secondary and Primary Education Committee. It specifically provided funding to increase investment for education.
In less than three years ago, under the premise that numerous church schools were incorporated, many public elementary schools were established to strictly maintain the principle of religious neutrality. They would not involve in the conflicts between the Lord of Storms, the Goddess of the Night, and the God of Steam and Machinery.
Compared with the Sunday school where only one copper penny was used every week, the public elementary school’s tuition fees were rather expensive at three-pence a week. However, the former only provided one day of learning a week on Sundays, whereas the latter had six days of classes in one week. From the perspective of prices, it seemed almost free.
Melissa was different from most girls. She liked gears, clockwork, bearings and other things since childhood and she was determined to be a steam mechanic.
The elder brother Benson, who had suffered a lack of learning and understood the importance of education, fully supported Melissa's dream just as he supported Klein's college education. After all, the Tingent Technical School was only a secondary education institution and students did not need to come from a grammar school or a public school.
In July of last year, Melissa, passed the entrance exam when she was fifteen. She realised her dream of becoming a member of the Steam and Machinery Department at the Tingent Technical School. The weekly tuition fees had also increased to nine pence.
At the same time, the import and export company that Benson worked at was affected by the situation in the Southern Continent. Both profits and business deals had shrunk dramatically. The company had to lay off more than one-third of the staffs. In order to keep his job, Benson had to accept more arduous tasks, often working overtime and traveling to places where the environment was harsh. Therefore, he was out in the past two days.
Klein had thought about helping his elder brother, but he was also born as a peasant and was admitted to an ordinary grammar school. When he entered college, he strongly felt his own lackingness. For example, the ancient Fusaq was the source language of all the nations of the North Continent. For the children of the aristocrats or the wealthy class, it was something that they would learn from a young age. Yet Klein did not come into contact with it until he was in the university.
In many other similar aspects, Klein almost had to exhaust all his energy, often up staying up late at night only to barely catch up with others and graduate with a moderate result.
The memories of the brother and sister passed through Zhou Mingrui’s mind until the knob of the door turned and the door frame creaked open slowly. He suddenly woke up and remembered that he was still holding a revolver in his hand.
[This is a semi-regulated item!
It will scare children!
Also, there is a wound on my head!]
Seeing that Melissa was about to come out, Zhou Mingrui quickly opened the desk drawer while holding down his temple. He dropped the revolver into the drawer with a bang.
“What happened?” Melissa heard the motion and looked up in confusion.
She was in the most youthful stage. Even if she did not have a very nutritious diet, her face was thin, slightly pale and her skin was still full of luster, giving off the air of a young girl.
Seeing her sister’s brown eyelids exploring and looking, Zhou Mingrui calmed down and picked an object close to his hand. Then he closed the drawer and concealed the existence of the revolver. The feeling of the other hand on his temple made him determine that the wound had healed!
He had grabbed a silver-white vine-leaf pocket watch from the drawer. He pressed lightly on the top of the pocket and its cover flicked open.
It was the most valuable item left by the Sergeant of the Royal Army, who was also the father of the three of them. However, it was afterall a second-hand good. Over the recent years, it had caused problems from time to time. Even when was repaired by watchmakers, the problems remained. Bensen, who had in many occasions embarrassed himself with the watch, had determinedly left it at home.
It must be said that Melissa might have had a mechanical talent. After mastering the theoretical knowledge, she began to use the tools from the technical school to play around with the pocket watch. She had recently even claimed to have repaired it!
Zhou Mingrui watched the open cover and saw that the seconds hand stopped motionless. He subconscious turned the top and intended to wind the watch.
However, after he twisted a few laps, he still could not hear the sound of the gearings and the seconds hand remained motionless.
“It looks like it’s broken.” He tried to find something to say as he looked at his sister.
Melissa glanced at him without expression, hurried over and took away the pocket watch.
She stood in the same place and pulled up the button on the top of the pocket watch. After only a few turns, there was a throbbing sound of the second hand moving around.
[Normally speaking, it should need to adjust for time right?]…. Zhou Mingrui’s expression suddenly becomes sluggish.
Right at this time, the bells of the cathedral in the distance came in. There were six chimes in a row. It sounded ancient and ethereal.
Melissa tilted her head and listened. She pulled up the button at the top of the pocket watch, followed by a continuous twist and corrected the time.
“It’s done.” she said briefly, without a little emotion and then pressed back to the top and returned the pocket watch to Zhou Mingrui.
Zhou Mingrui smiled awkwardly without losing politeness.
Melissa took a deep look at her brother and turned to the cabinet. She took her toothbrush, towels and other items and made her way out to the public washroom.
[What was her detest and helpless expression for?
Showing empathy for a retarded brother?]
Zhou Mingrui shook his head and smiled. “Pa!Da!” He closed the cover of the watch “Pa!Da!” He slammed it open.
Repeating this kind of action, he became engaged in thoughts.
[Klein committed suicide without a silencer on the gun. Um, for the time being, let’s say he committed suicide. The sound the gunshot would have been loud. Yet, Melissa, who was sleeping a wall away, was completely unaware of it.
Was she sleeping too well? Or was Klein’s suicide shrouded in mysteries? ]
“Pa!” Open. “Pa!” Close… Melissa came back from washing and saw the unconscious movement of his brother who kept opening and closing the lid of the pocket watch. Her eyes were once again mixed with frustration and she said in a sweet voice:
“Klein, please take out the rest of the bread. Remember to buy new ones today, as well as meat and peas. You are going to participate in the interview. I will cook lamb stew lamb with peas.”
While she was utterring, she moved the stove out of the corner and made a pot of hot water through the use of charcoal.
Before the water boiled, she opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet and took out a can of inferior tea. Looking at the can as if it was a treasure, she reluctantly threw ten leafs into the pot, pretending that it was real tea.
With two big cups. Melissa and Zhou Mingrui had tea and shared two pieces of rye breads.
There was no mixed wood chips nor too much gluten, yet it was still not delicious… Zhou Mingrui was now weak and hungry. He relied on the tea to help swallowing the bread while complaining about the food in his mind.
After a few minutes, Melissa finished eating, she adjusted the black hair hanging down her waistcoat and looked at Zhou Mingrui.
"Remember to buy new bread. We only need eight pounds. The weather is hot, too much bread will spoil quickly. And also remember the lamb and peas!"
[ Is it really about caring for a nerdy brother? She needed to emphasize it again…] Zhou Mingrui smiled and nodded.
“Ok.”
Regarding one pound of the Kingdom of Ruen, Zhou Mingrui believes that it was close to 0.5 kg, based on Klein’s measurable memory and his own comparison.
Melissa didn’t say anything more, she tidied up the table and packed the last piece of bread for lunch. She also put on the old shabby cap that was passed down by her late mother. She then picked up her self-sewed school bag and was ready to go out.
Today was not Sunday. She had a full day of classes.
It was a fifty minutes walk from this apartment to Tingent Technical School. There was also a public carriage, one kilometer for one penny, with a maximum limit of 4 pence in the city,and 6 pence on the outskirts of the city. Melissa wanted to save money by moving out early and walking.
As she was opening the door, she paused and turned halfway:
“Klein, don’t buy too much lambs and peas. Benson may have to wait for Sunday before he can come back. Well, do also remember that we only need eight pounds of bread.”
“Okay, good.” Zhou Mingrui answered helpless.
At the same time, he silently repeated the word “Sunday” several times.
In the Northern Continent, the year was also divided into twelve months, which ranged from 365 days to 366 days a year. There were also seven days a week.
The former was the results of astronomy and Zhou Mingrui suspected that it was a parallel world. The latter came from religion because there were seven orthodox gods in the Northern Continent: the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Goddess of the Night, the Mother of Earth, the God of War, and the God of Steam and Machinery.
Watching his sister close the door, Zhou Mingrui sighed suddenly and quickly turned his mind to the luck conversion ritual.
[Sorry, I really want to go home…]