LRAB Chapter 5 The Future World
Chapter 5 The Future World
But just as he was about to go back to his room, his uncle suddenly called him back.
"Mingfei, come here for a moment."
Lu Mingfei stopped and walked to the sofa.
The uncle put down the remote control, took an envelope from the coffee table drawer, and handed it to him: "This is your letter, received this afternoon. The sender's address is... Illinois, USA."
Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat.
He took the envelope. It was an ordinary white envelope, but the paper was of good quality and had a substantial feel. His Chinese name and address were written in beautiful cursive English on the front, and the sender's name was simply: Cassell.
Kassel.
Lu Mingfei's fingers trembled slightly. He looked up at his uncle.
The uncle's expression was complex, containing doubt, worry, and also a hint of... relief.
"That school your parents mentioned, right?" the uncle asked, "the one that specifically recruits...special talents?"
Lu Mingfei nodded. Of course he knew about Kassel College. His parents had mentioned it in their few correspondences and phone calls; it was where they worked and also a "special" university. They had said that if Lu Mingfei wanted, he could study there after graduating from high school.
But he always thought it was just talk.
After all, how could someone as ordinary as him possibly get into a place like that?
"Let's open it and take a look," the uncle said.
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and carefully tore open the envelope.
Inside was a piece of fine stationery, also written in cursive English:
[To Mr. Lu Mingfei:]
We are pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to Kassel College. Given your special circumstances, the college has dispatched a representative to China to contact you and explain the relevant details. The representative is expected to arrive within three days; please keep your contact information accessible.
Specific enrollment details will be provided in person by a specialist.
Sincerely yours,
Principal Hilbert Jean Angers
Kassel College Board of Trustees
Below the letter is the emblem of Kassel College—the half-decayed World Tree.
Lu Mingfei stared at the letter, remaining silent for a long time.
His mind went blank.
He got accepted? It was that simple? He didn't even apply, didn't take any exams, didn't have an interview, and just... he got accepted?
Moreover, the admission notice was personally signed by the principal?
"How is it?" Auntie leaned closer and asked, "Is it an acceptance letter? Which school?"
Lu Mingfei handed her the letter. His aunt took it, looked at it for a long time, and frowned: "It's all in English...what does it mean?"
"I've been accepted to Kassel College," Lu Mingfei said, his voice a little hoarse.
"Kassel? That's the American school you mentioned?" the uncle asked.
Lu Mingfei nodded.
"What about tuition? What about living expenses? What about those?"
"The letter said that a specialist would come to explain in person."
The uncle and aunt exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming even more complicated.
"Mingfei," his uncle said cautiously, "is this school... reliable? Although your parents work there, we still need to be careful about these things. Perhaps we should wait for notifications from other schools? Your grades are good; you should be able to get into a decent domestic university..."
"I want to go," Lu Mingfei interrupted him.
The uncle was stunned.
Lu Mingfei raised his head, and for the first time, a resolute look appeared in his usually droopy eyes: "I want to go to Kassel."
He spoke calmly, but there was an undeniable determination in his tone.
His uncle looked at him, opened his mouth, but ultimately just sighed: "Since you've made up your mind... then go. I'll call your parents and tell them."
"Thank you, Uncle," Lu Mingfei said.
He took the letter and went back to his room.
He closed the door, leaned against it, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.
The letter in my hand was slightly warm, as if it had a life of its own.
"Brother, I told you, the time has come." Lu Mingze's voice echoed in his mind, tinged with a hint of amusement. "Your destiny has begun."
"Shut up," Lu Mingfei said in a low voice.
But he knew in his heart that Lu Mingze was right.
Something is really about to begin.
The real world, outside the golden screen.
The faculty and students of Kassel College were even more perplexed by what they saw.
"So... Lu Mingfei was admitted through the normal process?" a student asked, puzzled. "But isn't he of mixed race? According to the rules, shouldn't there be a bloodline assessment first, then an interview, and only then be the admission notice?"
"And the principal personally signed it... isn't that too much of a privilege?"
"Also, the letter says 'given your special circumstances'...what special circumstances does he have?"
"More importantly," a senior student said in a deep voice, "did you notice? The letter says 'the commissioner is expected to arrive within three days,' but the title on the screen is 'First Arrival in Kassel.' That means what follows should be a show of the commissioner picking him up and how he 'first arrives' in Kassel."
Everyone nodded.
Indeed, what the screen is showing now is only Lu Mingfei receiving his acceptance letter; the real "first day in Kassel" is yet to come.
"Who will pick him up?" someone asked curiously.
"Generally, admissions officers are professors or senior specialists at the college," said a student familiar with the process. "But in special circumstances, it's also possible to send a student..."
Before he could finish speaking, the image on the screen changed.
The scene in Lu Mingfei's room faded away, replaced by a private jet flying in the clouds.
The aircraft's interior was luxuriously decorated, featuring genuine leather seats, a solid wood bar, and even a small conference room. Outside the windows, a sea of clouds rolled in, the sunlight turning the clouds golden-red, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty, like a fairyland.
The camera moves inside the cabin.
The first thing you see is a man in a black suit, exuding a cool and aloof air, pouring drinks at the bar. He looks to be around thirty years old, with deep-set features and sharp, eagle-like eyes. His movements are elegant and precise, as if he's performing some kind of ritual.
"That's... Professor Schneider?" A student recognized him.
"It really is Professor Schneider! The head of the executive department!"
"He went to pick up Lu Mingfei? That's way too much!"
The head of the executive department personally greets a new student? This kind of treatment is simply unheard of.
But what happened next was even more shocking.
The camera pans to the side of the porthole.
A girl in a red dress is leaning against the window, looking at the sea of clouds outside. She is turned to the side, so only her perfect profile and long, fiery red hair can be seen.
She held a glass of champagne in her hand, but didn't drink it. She just gently swirled the glass, watching the golden liquid rotate inside.
Seemingly sensing the camera's gaze, she suddenly turned her head.
A face that is breathtakingly beautiful.
Her features were as exquisite as a work of art, her skin as white as porcelain, and most striking were her eyes—deep, inky black, yet seemingly containing the entire starry sky, lively, cunning, and carrying a hint of vicissitudes beyond her years.
Chen Motong.
Nono.
In the real world, Nono herself suddenly opened her eyes wide.
"Is...it's me?" she murmured.
Although she looked more mature on the screen, probably in her early twenties, that face and that aura were definitely hers.
Nono looked up at her future self on the screen, her red hair soaked in the night rain, but she was completely unaware.
My heart pounded violently in my chest, each beat like a knock on the door of some deep-seated memory. It wasn't a parallel world—it was the future, a reality yet to come, but destined to unfold. The girl in the light screen was twenty, a sophomore in college, sent to China as a representative from Kassel to pick up a boy named Lu Mingfei.
And that boy will become the last principal of Kassel.
"The future..." Nono murmured softly, raindrops sliding down her cheeks, indistinguishable between rain and something else. "How could I do something like this?"
Picking up a new student was completely out of character for her. Chen Motong was a well-known loner in Kassel, a red-haired witch known for her eccentricities and unpredictable behavior. Voluntarily applying to be an admissions officer? And with such seriousness?
unless……
Unless that boy named Lu Mingfei is very special to her.
The images on the light screen continued to play.