The Seventh Base

"Miss Avril, although I don't know what has happened to you, if a relationship doesn't make you better but continuously worsens instead, then you should walk away from it," Xu Mo said to Avril, "In this world, no one is more important than yourself."

Upon hearing Xu Mo's words, Avril felt slightly moved inside. She looked at Xu Mo and realized that the librarian before her was incredibly wise; those eyes seemed like they could see right through her.

Half a year ago, she had started dating Douglas. Initially, everything was fine, but after some time, it turned into a nightmare.

"Miss Avril, I can see the kindness in your eyes. A kind and beautiful girl like Miss Avril should have light in her eyes, and you should let go of bad things. Miss Avril, you deserve the best of everything," Xu Mo sincerely said. His voice was like magic, stirring up Avril's emotions, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

Did she really deserve the best?

"I will have my friend play a few more pieces of music and give them to Miss Avril next time," Xu Mo continued.

"Okay," Avril nodded. "Your friend must be a very good person, right?"

Xu Mo nodded, "She has been through the darkest things in life, perhaps things Miss Avril can't even imagine, but she never gave up on kindness nor her pursuit of beauty. She is my best friend and the kindest, most genuine person I've ever met."

"You can feel it in the music," Avril said. "I'd love to meet your friend."

"There will be a chance to introduce you in the future. She will definitely like Miss Avril, and Miss Avril will like her too," Xu Mo said.

"Mm," Avril nodded. "Xu Mo, you can call me by my first name from now on."

"Okay," Xu Mo nodded, "Avril."

"Mm," Avril nodded. "I need to go now, I'll come to see you next time."

"Okay," Xu Mo said with a smile, watching Avril leave.

"Brother Xu Mo." After Avril had left, Sorey came up to Xu Mo from not far away, giving him a thumbs up and said, "Respect."

Admiration.

Was he actually going to succeed in undermining someone?

"Beat it..." Xu Mo cursed, detecting nothing good in Sorey's gaze.

"However, cuckolding is indeed a rather good form of revenge," Sorey seriously said. Probably no one could stand being cuckolded. Douglas was so proud, if he found out he was cuckolded... Sorey felt an inexplicable thrill at the thought.

Brilliant!

He had already imagined many scenarios.

Xu Mo looked down at his book, indicating he was not familiar with Sorey.

But after this interaction, Avril and Xu Mo got to know each other better, and she often came to the library to chat with Xu Mo.

In the following interactions, Xu Mo learned more and more information, all gleaned from the conversations that he spied from Avril's mind.

Avril had begun dating Douglas half a year ago, initially thinking it would be a wonderful love for her, but clearly, she was mistaken. She found Douglas gradually becoming cold towards her, suppressing her, and testing her limits step by step until it escalated terribly into humiliation and abuse.

Xu Mo could sense that Douglas didn't really care for Avril. At first, Prince Charles even thought of matching him with Elizabeth, but as their relationship deteriorated, Douglas knew it was unlikely now. Avril was just a substitute, becoming Douglas's object of venting.

Of course, if it were just these issues, it would have merely been a problem with Douglas's morality, and Xu Mo couldn't let Avril publicly expose these matters as that would ruin her.

But what Xu Mo discovered from Avril's thoughts was the existence of another person, Clay.

Douglas, aside from Avril, had another woman outside school.

Xu Mo was not surprised by this. For someone like Douglas, who was young and already indulging in power and scheming, women were just playthings to him.

But what was crucial was that Clay had died.

This was also one of the roots of Avril's agony. She realized that Douglas was far worse than she had imagined, not just humiliating and oppressing her.

"Xu Mo, I've decided to break up." In the library, Avril sat across from Xu Mo, her eyes conveying firm resolve.

Her interactions with Xu Mo during this period had liberated her from her muddled state; she saw that the world had light. Previously, her emotions had been in a state of collapse, stuck in a dead-end, aware that Douglas was not a good person but unable to walk away.

It was not until she met Xu Mo that she began to feel serene and reflective, and she realized more clearly that she needed a new start. She wasn't that terrible; even if Douglas were outstanding, it wasn't a reason for her to grovel, especially since Douglas wasn't outstanding. She had merely been deceived by appearances before.

At least at this moment, Avril thought that the librarian in front of her was much better than Douglas.

So, she let go.

"Mhm," Xu Mo said with a smile, "Congratulations on breaking free."

He was genuinely happy for Avril. During their days together, he had found Avril to be a good person—kind and gentle at heart, and also striking in appearance. However, she had been unfortunate in her relationships, being gaslit by Douglas to the point of doubting her own life. The term "gaslighting" didn't exist in this world, but some people naturally used such tactics against others, being extremely self-centered and selfish.

"Thank you, Xu Mo. It's a pity I didn't meet you sooner." Avril said with a bright smile. Planning to break up, she suddenly felt much lighter, as if the previous period had been a nightmare that often tormented her at night.

Now, it was finally over.

"Meeting now isn't late either," Xu Mo said with a smile.

"Mhm," Avril nodded.

At that moment, a figure appeared, silently sitting next to Xu Mo. Xu Mo was surprised, and so was Avril.

"My girlfriend, Zero," Xu Mo introduced to Avril.

"Hello," Zero said to Avril, nodding with a smile. Xu Mo noticed that Zero had changed, different from before.

Avril saw Zero's perfect face and radiant smile, and a trace of inferiority flashed in her eyes. Although she planned to break free, the inferiority still followed her. Seeing Xu Mo's girlfriend, so perfect, that insecurity involuntarily surfaced.

"Hello, I'm just a friend of Xu Mo," Avril hurriedly explained.

"Mhm," Zero nodded gently, glancing at Xu Mo, who suddenly felt a chilling breeze over his body.

"I'll leave you two alone then," Avril said, closing her book hurriedly and rushing off as if not to bother Xu Mo.

Seeing Avril's actions, Xu Mo sighed, which just showed how truly kind-hearted she was.

"It's a pity I didn't meet you sooner," Zero said looking at Xu Mo, who blinked, and Zero blinked back—this...

"I need to see Carter," Xu Mo could only feign ignorance and sent a message to Carter to check on Clay.

Soon, Carter found out that Clay was a somewhat famous actress in Lucas Star Capital, just twenty-one years old, her career still on the rise. However, she had committed suicide two months ago, reportedly due to mental health issues.

Xu Mo told Carter to investigate discreetly and not to expose anything. Clay's death could very likely be connected to Douglas.

This was a crucial clue. Xu Mo's interaction with Avril was specifically to uncover Douglas's dark side. Since Douglas aimed to destroy the Blue Star Energy Technology Group, they couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

Helping Avril was just something they did along the way.

Xu Mo was waiting for news from Avril, but she hadn't been seen since that day, which puzzled him.

According to Avril's character, she would have sought him out after breaking up.

Had she not successfully broken up?

Xu Mo dialed Avril's communicator, but the person who answered was not Avril.

A moment later, Xu Mo put down the communicator, feeling an icy chill to the bone.

Avril was dead!