Chapter 21: You are mine.

The half-drawn curtains blocked out some of the light, and the afternoon sunlight fell on the small pieces of wooden floor, making the whole living room half-lit, half-obscure.

A soft, low voice echoed in the quiet parlor: "...... The little beauty's tail turned into human legs, and she went ashore to her prince ....... And the prince didn't really love her, and in the end she turned into foam on the sea."

Xu You closed the storybook and looked down at the sleeping person beside her.

She hadn't seen him for what seemed like eons, and she didn't feel real, and even her breathing slowed down involuntarily.

The shadows falling on the side of his face made his features more three-dimensional, white skin and red lips, sleeping calmly.

Xu You quietly watched, eyes straight sour, and curved his lips, raised his hand to trace his eyebrows.

At that moment, Min Duan opened his eyes, sat up and grabbed her hand, tears falling silently onto the back of her hand.

Xu You froze. When he was confined to the basement as a test subject, his agonizing reaction to the disease didn't cause him to shed a single tear, and when he looked at her stone monument in the field of white flowers, he chose to commit suicide, but he didn't shed a tear either.

Until now, when she was back, close to him, and all he could see was her, tears fell one after another.

The hot liquid ran across her wrist and her hand trembled as if burned, but Xu You didn't pull away, instead she held his hand back, "Why are you crying?"

"I ......" Min Duan opened his mouth, his throat dry and tight, his voice hoarse beyond words, "I had a dream about you ......"

He couldn't go on.

Xu You blinked and smiled gently, " Min Duan do you believe me, nightmares and reality are opposite."

But that dream was too real for him, and an infinite flood of fear swept through his heart and wrapped it in a downward spiral, and he remembered how cold the stone tablet had been, so much so that the warmth of her hand sent shivers down his spine.

Seeing his clear eyes wet with tears, clean and transparent like a glass ball, and inside this glass ball is reflected in her, Xu You could not restrain himself any longer, leaned in and kissed him.

The warm and soft touch reached the nerve endings, and his heart seemed to be passed by electric current, Min Duan instantly suffered from breathlessness.

Tears were still falling from his eyes as he looked at her without blinking.

The temperature is real.

The breath is real.

This dream ...... Is it true?

--

Xu You asked Seven Eight, "How come Min Duan still remembers those things?" It's all pulled back to the timeline, not a little more thorough, to be honest, she was just so afraid of a scalpel in her hand, the shadow of her heart was too profound.

"External systems have limited intervention in mission objectives, and it's good enough to pull back the timeline and fill things into a dream." Seven Eight was still in the midst of pining over the fact that her points were zeroed out causing it to be unable to purchase its beloved yo-yo, and her speech wilted.

Xu You : "Then check what both the trust value and the blackening value are now."

Seven Eight: "Trust value is 100, blackout value is 0."

Xu You's alarm bells went off, and with a mouthful of blood in his throat he said, "Am I going to have to leave again?"

"No," Seven Eight said mournfully but not sadly, "It's not like I have to punch my performance anyway."

七八："The points earned by those formal systems of them are only linked to the host's final comprehensive score, there is also a system points ranking at the switchboard, I am a trainee system, I am not qualified to participate, and I don't have any of my own points, it's all about the host earning when I temporarily spend a little bit of enjoyment."

Xu You : No wonder she was earning a little bit of points in the first place, it's so eager to enjoy the capitalist luxury life.

Seven Eight continued, "One point for ten energy, supporting the host in the world is a huge amount of energy needed, usually the system will let the host end the mission as soon as possible to save points. I don't participate in the ranking of points, you just earn more points on your own to stay in the world and watch the mission target not blacken."

So the fact that she returned to this world with zero points wasn't a punishment for deducting them, but rather a support for her to continue to use in this world, "So how much longer can I stay in this world?"

Seven Eight lifted its wooden hand and counted with its fingers, "Gou a thirty years."

Now Xu You is relieved.

But she found Min Duan less reassuring.

It was fine when he napped with her, but he didn't sleep at night, and every morning he was seen with bloodshot eyes, bloodless lips, a somewhat pale face, and obvious exhaustion.

For a moment I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him at night, did he not sleep well, or did he have an attack?

She didn't hear anything at night, and Xu You was so distressed that she ran to Min Duan's door with a brown bear on her arm.

As before, Min Duan opened the door before she even knocked.

Xu You looked up and said succinctly, "Sleep together." With that, she was about to break into Min Duan's house with her brown bear.

Min Duan fished in his arm and encircled the bear with him in his arms.

Xu You: "?"

Min Duan picked her and her bear up easily, walking smoothly.

With her feet dangling in the air, Xu You subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his firm chest and listening to his heartbeat.

Soon after, Min Duan laid her down on the bed and released her, lowering his head and kissing her brow, his voice softening as he said, "Good night, Xu You ."

Xu You was still immersed in his gentle and loving gaze like a moon spring under the stars, until the door closed and she was the only one left in the room, then she reacted, wait a minute, this is her room, Min Duan carried her to bed in order to send her back to sleep by himself?

No, she didn't mean it like that. She just wanted him to sleep better.

Xu You lowered her head, looking at the large expanse of skin revealed by her halter nightgown and the brown bear clipped between her arms.

Was she being too forward, she mused, something that should still come from him as a man?

So Xu You began a long life of all kinds of explicit hints, but Min Duan took it all in stride, and only in the afternoon when the sun was shining did the two of them lounge together on the double sofa in the living room.

Xu You fear that he did not sleep enough, had to extend the nap time, so the two people from the sunshine melt all the way to sleep to the darkness of the sun and the moon.

But it's always a punch in the cotton, and Xu You is still upset, glaring at him and saying, "Are you no good?"

Min Duan tried to lower his head to kiss her, but was covered by her slap, so he had to raise his hand to smooth her fur, rubbing the top of her hair and saying, "Not yet, wait a little longer."

What the hell, what do you mean it's not working now, it's working, it's not working, it's not working, and it'll work later? Does Min Duan know what she's talking about?

Originally, her starting point was very pure and flawless, perhaps day and night thoughts in her heart, and now she has evil thoughts?

But under his doting, harmless gaze, Xu You could only say with a wooden face and a clear-eyed look, "Oh."

That being said, she subconsciously made supplements for Min Duan, euphemistically called them to strengthen her body.

In addition, Xu You made a bookmark of a jasmine flower every day and gave it to him, which Min Duan cherished and kept on his pillow.

Xu You then watched as the bookmarks took over his territory, so much so that Min Duan had to shrink pitifully in the corner of a bed big enough for four, and she couldn't stand it any longer, so she bought a one-meter round pillow and hollowed it out to put the bookmarks in.

Min Duan was able to lie contentedly in bed every night, hugging the long row of pillows like a wombat hugs a tree trunk.

Xu You had developed many more desserts, and as I watched Min Duan eat them quietly with a spoon, my heart swelled with emotion and satisfaction.

Both had a tacit agreement to keep their mouths shut about the strawberry jam.

One morning, Xu You woke up and saw the man sitting beside her bed, his gaze had been on her for who knows how long, always gentle and loving.

The early morning sunlight fell into the window, his eyes contained a fine light, " Xu You , let's go to the mountainous Chiba Lake."

Xu You was stunned, what is there not to understand, Min Duan was afraid of not being able to keep up with her pace of going to the world to see the sights, chose to step out on his own first, and refused her company every night, but only in order to secretly go out to adapt to the outside world.

After repeated and sustained stress, he has been able to go out without medication.

Xu You's eyes instantly reddened:" Min Duan , you ......"

Min Duan wiped the wetness from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips and said in a low, slow voice, "I told you so."

He'd said it, he'd accompany her to see the sights of the world.

They'll never be apart again.

--

After two days, they went to Lake Chiba in the mountains.

Xu You had been observing his condition and was relieved to see that it was quite stable.

Perhaps because the mood is different, this time holding a relaxed and joyful mood, she looked at the lake in front of her flat as a mirror, red like fire maple leaves feel more beautiful, as if the faded paintings reappear on the bright colors.

Xu You looked at the scene, Min Duan looked at her, and he didn't know what was filling his heart, it was incredibly warm.

He could finally stand outside with her, close side to see her smile so bright in the sunlight, he no longer had to worry about being left behind by her, he could go anywhere with her, and the fear in his heart finally dissipated in this moment.

Xu You turned around to look at him, maple red background of him, white skin, red lips, tea brown eyes better than a pool of blue water, so that the sky maple red light color.

"You're a little lower."

Xu You wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

A few maple leaves drew a few nice arcs in the air as the light wind whipped by, and in the distance were people embracing each other in close proximity.

Later, they went to many places, holding hands on the shore of Lake Wakamine, watching each other in the peach forest of Weishan, in the northernmost place at the same time also in each other's eyes have seen the most beautiful aurora borealis, and they have also embraced each other in the cold night, listening to the crunching sound of hailstones crashing down outside the window.

Time moves backward, the attractions change, the only thing that remains the same is the gaze in the eyes and the hand held tightly, and around and around, they will return to the original house.

......

Thirty years have passed, Xu You's face is no longer young, and a gentle smile appears on his pale face: " Min Duan , my time is almost up."

Min Duan gripped her hand, did not say anything, the corners of the eyes continue to redden, gradually the entire eye sockets are dense with water vapor.

" Min Duan , I've earned thirty years." Worth it, so worth it for the struggling woman who had died five times before she was able to come back.

"No," Min Duan choked and said with difficulty, " Xu You , it's me, it's me who earned thirty years."

Feeling the clear white light in his head, Xu You gripped his hand and said, "Don't turn me into ashes, let me become a puppet, forever ......" Stay by your side forever.

......

The familiar scent of jasmine echoed in the open living room, where a light breeze, warmed by the afternoon sun, blew in.

A low voice slowly tells a story, "A snowman, born in the freezing cold, fell in love with the fireplace in the house ...... In the end the snowman melted in the arms of the fireplace."

Min Duan closed the storybook and looked at the bleary-eyed man in front of him and said, "Go to sleep."

The puppet Xu You obediently closed his eyes.

Min Duan held a strand of her black hair and lay with her on the couch, but he didn't close his eyes and stayed quiet as he watched her.

Her skin had long since gone gray, she had no lip color, and she was cold, but it was a good thing that Min Duan had protected her so well that she kept her looks, and there wasn't a single break in her body; if she accidentally scraped at a wound, she would never heal again.

He used to hate the scent of the living, now he feared the scent of the dead the most, but as long as it was her, he was fine with it.

He'll live a long, long time yet, much longer than the average person.

No matter how the outside world changes, Xu You will always be with him in this place.

At night, Min Duan carried her to bed, meticulously covered her with the quilt, and lifted the corner of the quilt from the other side himself, just about to lie down when he noticed the jasmine bookmark under the pillow.

Xu You used to put all the bookmarks on his bed in a round oblong pillow, now how ......

Min Duan picked up the pillow and realized that so much time had passed, and even though he had taken care of it, one end of the pillow had worn out and the bookmark had fallen out of it.

For so long, he had slept with her lying on his side and the familiar scent of jasmine in his pillow.

He stared blankly for a long time, somewhat at a loss for words, and only after a moment did he notice a white slip of paper inside a pale yellow bookmark.

Min Duan took it out and unfolded it. On the top was Xu You's handwriting: "The language of the jasmine flower is true and only love - you are mine.

Min Duan was stunned, his eyes trembled, suddenly remembering the young girl sleeping under the sky's scarlet evening, her hair slightly disheveled, picking and choosing from the windowsill, handing him a pot of jasmine flowers, half the side of her face reflecting the sky's reddish hue, her almond-shaped eyes curving as she said, "Here you go, jasmine flowers stand for a pure and beautiful friendship."

And how could he not have imagined that now, after decades, he would learn anew that the language of the jasmine flower is true love.

You're mine.

He squeezed the note in his hand.

In the quiet of the late night, the moonlight falls quietly on the white jasmine outside the window, its delicate petals swaying in the wind.

......

A man and a matchmaker appeared in the blank space, and Xu You squatted for half a day before slowing down, "Quick, quick, quick, I want to see the mission replay."

Seven Eight laid back in a comfortable position and gave her a look that said, "It's not like you have any points to look back on."

Xu You stood up: "Didn't I complete the mission, trust value 100, blackened value 0." this kind of newbie mission reset, some people also brushed the highest points, how come she didn't have a single penny.

Seven Eight said leisurely, "But you're a new treaty, we don't have any relevant new rules on our side yet, so we'll have to default your points to zero."

Xu You suddenly remembered another thing: "Didn't you bring the host to do the later quests, how come you're only a trainee system."

Seven Eight said slyly, "You have to realize that after dangling for a long time, it's not even the tail of the car anymore." Everyone else went from trainee to regular, it was regular to trainee.

Xu You: "How long have you been alive."

Seven Eight picked his brain, "It's been thousands of years."

"......." Mixing it up for a thousand years and still being a trainee can be really motivating.

"All right," Seven Eight said as he clapped his hands and stood up as well, "next world to go."

It then proceeded to transmit Xu You by drawing circles on its brain.

The white light in his head faded, and Xu You immediately felt a sense of reality, instantly sensing that this body had been extremely tense before, as if it had been shocked by something.

Immediately she felt some kind of sharp claw against her neck again, sharp and chilling, a threat to her life eliciting her body's instinctive response of fear, making her shirt wet with cold sweat.

Xu You : What the hell, how come once you cross over you have to be killed.

The room filled with the faint odor of blood, from the man behind him.

Xu You hasn't had a chance to read the world line yet, and is weighing his words to try to escape from the tiger's mouth.

At this exact moment, a voice rang out from outside the door, "Taking the liberty of disturbing Miss's rest, the Pill Valley has intruded a demon, we are searching for and apprehending it, dare I ask if Miss can be disturbed."

Xu You opened his mouth, before he could say a word, the claws on his neck pressed a little deeper, I don't know if the skin had been broken, there was already some slight stinging pain.

The threat is unmistakable.

Life hangs in the balance.

"What words to say, you know." Behind him, he said in a lowered voice, word by word.