Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The curtains were half-drawn, blocking out some light. Afternoon sunlight fell on a small patch of wooden floor, casting a dim, half-lit glow over the living room.
A soft, low voice echoed in the quiet room: “…The little beauty’s tail turned into human legs, and she went ashore to find her prince…but the prince didn’t truly love her, and in the end, she turned into sea foam.”
You Xu closed the storybook, looking down at the person sleeping beside her.
It felt like she hadn’t seen him for several lifetimes; it all felt unreal, and even her breathing became softer.
The shadow cast on his profile made his features more defined— fair skin, red lips, a serene sleeping expression.
You Xu watched quietly, her eyes stinging, then curved her lips into a smile, raising her hand to trace his features in the air.
Just then, Duan Min opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, grabbed her hand, and silently let tears fall onto the back of her hand.
You Xu was stunned. When he was imprisoned in the basement as a test subject, the painful reactions to the disease didn’t bring him to shed a single tear. But when he looked at her silent tombstone in the white flower field, he chose suicide, but he didn’t shed a tear then either.
Until now, she had returned, so close to him, and all he could see was her, tears streamed down his face.
The hot liquid flowed down her wrist, and her hand trembled as if burned, but You Xu didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she grasped his hand in return. “Why are you crying?”
“I…” Duan Min opened his mouth, his throat dry and tight, his voice hoarse beyond belief. “I had a dream, a dream about you…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
You Xu blinked and smiled gently. “Duan Min, do you believe me? Nightmares and reality are opposites.”
But that dream was too real for him. An endless fear welled up in his heart, enveloping him and making him sink. He remembered the coldness of the tombstone, so much so that the warmth of her hand made him tremble all over.
Seeing his clear eyes glistening with tears, clean and transparent like glass marbles, and her reflection in those marbles, You Xu could no longer restrain herself and leaned in to kiss him.
The warm, soft touch reached her nerve endings, her heart felt like it was being electrocuted, and Duan Min’s breathing became erratic.
His tears were still falling, his eyes fixed on her without blinking.
The temperature was real.
The breath was real.
Was this dream… real?
….
You Xu asked 78, “How come Duan Min still remembers those things?” They’d already pulled back the timeline, but it wasn’t thorough enough. To be honest, she was just afraid she’d conjure up a scalpel; the psychological trauma was too deep.
“External systems have limited intervention in mission objectives. Being able to pull back the timeline and smooth things out as a dream is already quite good.” 78 was still haggard because her points had been reset, preventing it from buying its beloved yo-yo, and its voice was listless.
You Xu: “Then check your trust value and corruption value now.”
78: “Trust value 100, corruption value 0.”
You Xu’s alarm bells went off, and she said with a lump in her throat, “Am I going to have to leave again?”
“No need,” 78 said sadly but not sadly, “Anyway, I don’t need to boost my performance.”
78: “The points earned by those official systems are linked to the host’s final overall score. There’s also a system points ranking list at the switchboard. I’m a trainee system, I’m not qualified to participate, and I don’t have my own points. I only enjoy a little bit when the host earns them.”
You Xu: No wonder it was so eager to enjoy a capitalist luxury life when she earned a few points.
78 continued, “One point is exchanged for ten energy points. Supporting the host in this world requires a huge amount of energy. Generally, the system will have the host end the mission as soon as possible to save points. I don’t participate in the points ranking; you just need to earn more points to survive in this world and keep an eye on the mission target to prevent them from turning evil.”
So, her points being reset to zero upon returning to this world wasn’t a punishment deduction, but rather a means to continue supporting her in this world. “So how long can I survive in this world?”
78 raised its wooden hand and calculated with its fingers: “About thirty years.”
You Xu felt relieved.
But she noticed that Duan Min wasn’t so reassured.
He was fine when they napped together, but he didn’t sleep at night. Every morning, she saw his bloodshot eyes, pale lips, and a somewhat ashen face, clearly exhausted. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him at night— was he not sleeping well, or was he having an attack?
She didn’t hear any noise that night, and You Xu felt really sorry for him. She tucked a brown bear under her arm and ran to Duan Min’s door.
As before, before she even knocked, Duan Min had already opened the door.
You Xu looked up and said succinctly, “Let’s sleep together.” With that, she was about to barge into Duan Min’s room with her brown bear.
Duan Min scooped her up, pulling her and the bear into his arms.
You Xu: “?”
Duan Min easily lifted her and her bear together, walking steadily.
With her feet dangling in the air, You Xu instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his strong chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Soon, Duan Min placed her on the bed, released her, lowered his head to kiss her forehead, and said gently, “Goodnight, You Xu.”
You Xu was still immersed in his gentle, moonlit gaze until the door closed, leaving her alone in the room. Then she realized, wait, this is her room! Duan Min carried her to bed to bring her back to sleep alone?
No, she didn’t mean that; she just wanted him to sleep peacefully.
You Xu lowered her head, looking at her spaghetti-strap nightgown, the large expanse of skin exposed, and the brown bear tucked between her arms.
She pondered whether she had been too forward; shouldn’t this kind of thing be done by him, the man?
So You Xu began her long journey of subtle hints and overt suggestions, but Duan Min pretended not to understand. Only in the afternoon, when the sun was high, would they rest together on the double sofa in the living room.
Afraid that he wasn’t getting enough sleep, You Xu extended his nap, and so the two slept from the warm sunshine until the sun and moon were completely out.
But it was always like punching cotton; You Xu was still annoyed, glaring at him and saying, “Are you impotent?”
Duan Min wanted to lean down and kiss her, but she slapped his hand away, so he could only raise his hand to stroke her hair, rubbing the top of her head, saying, “Not yet, wait a little longer.”
What the hell? What did she mean by “not yet”? “Yes” means “yes,” and “no” means “no.” Did Duan Min even know what she was talking about?
Originally, her intentions were pure and innocent. Perhaps, after much thought and resentment, a wicked thought had arisen?
But under his doting and harmless gaze, You Xu could only keep a blank face, feigning indifference, and say, “Oh.”
Though she said this, she subconsciously started preparing tonics for Duan Min, ostensibly for his health.
Besides this, You Xu also made him a jasmine flower bookmark every day, which Duan Min treasured, placing it by his pillow.
Then, You Xu watched helplessly as the bookmarks gradually took over his territory, until a bed large enough for four people could only be pitifully huddled in a corner. Unable to bear it any longer, she bought a meter-long round pillow, hollowed it out, and stuffed the bookmarks inside.
Every night, Duan Min could lie contentedly in bed, hugging that long pillow like a koala hugging a tree trunk.
You Xu invented many more desserts, and watching Duan Min quietly eat them spoonful by spoonful filled her with a burgeoning sense of satisfaction.
They both tacitly avoided mentioning the strawberry jam.
One morning, You Xu woke up and immediately saw the person sitting beside her bed. His gaze had been fixed on her for a long time, always gentle and tender.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window, and his eyes held a soft, shimmering light: “You Xu, let’s go to Qianye Lake in the mountains.”
You Xu was startled. What did she not understand? Duan Min was afraid of falling behind her pace of exploring the world, so he chose to take the first step, refusing her company every night, simply to secretly go out and adapt to the outside world.
After repeated and continuous stress responses, he could now go out without medication.
You Xu’s eyes instantly reddened: “Duan Min, you…”
Duan Min wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips, his voice low and slow: “I told you.”
He had said he would accompany her to see the world.
They would never be apart again.
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