Yan Chiyu paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, as if he were thinking about something. But he quickly bent down and sat down next to Wu Yue. He could clearly feel the coolness coming from the girl's arm, like the lingering warmth of dusk taking away the sky, and the sudden chill that emerges at the turn of day and night.

The pause icon appeared on the TV screen, and the girl's tense expression relaxed for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"There's still a chance to back out."

"It's not a big deal..." She pursed her lips slightly, meeting the young man's sidelong, smiling gaze, and then changed her words with feigned composure: "It is indeed a big deal for me, but since I took the initiative, there's no going back. Look! Let's do it!"

Yan Chiyu smiled slightly, showing no intention of exposing her. He had anticipated the worst possible consequences of tonight's "major event," but all of them were within his control, so he simply let her be.

"If you really can't stand it and are scared, just leave it here." A slender, fair hand with distinct knuckles swayed forward from Wu Yue, drawing her eyes, which were tinged with a bluish-white coolness from the television light, and the index finger gently rested on her chest.

Wu Yue nodded, bringing her bent knees close to her abdomen, her slightly curled-up posture resembling that of a pitiful person who had run away from home and had nowhere to go but to sit huddled under a streetlamp by the roadside.

Young man: "Stop shaking."

"You'll get used to this pace." The girl reached behind her and pulled the wool blanket over herself, covering herself from her shoulders to her back. She hunched her neck and shrank half her face, revealing only a pair of eyes that were both frightened and trying to appear calm, filled with complex emotions.

The voice came from inside the wool blanket, low and somewhat hoarse: "Let's begin."

"..."

Before the movie started, Yan Chiyu let Wu Yue choose the film herself, and she was lucky enough to pick the most valuable horror movie. The movie started off terrifying: a long staircase, a ceiling dripping blood, a mother and child with horrifying expressions, and music that didn't quite reach the high-energy warning level.

Sitting at the foot of the bed, Wu Yue felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles, as if she had thorns in her back, and as if she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.

Help!

The physical discomfort triggered a wave of nausea and discomfort in her.

But she had chosen this path, and she would see it through, even if she had to crawl. The girl tightened her eyelids, then opened them again.

"Brother Yan?"

"..." A hint of surprise flashed across the young man's eyes. "Hmm?"

"Let me hold your hand." With that, she took the young man's naturally hanging hand, pulled it over, and placed it on her knee. Feeling the unique coolness emanating from him, her unease and trembling were slightly soothed, like a gentle, soothing lullaby waking her from a dream.

“If you’re scared, why don’t you talk to me? For example—” Yan Chiyu turned his head and glanced at her. The girl’s eyelashes trembled slightly when she heard his voice, and her eyes narrowed to almost a slit, as if doing so would reduce the range of fear in her field of vision.

The young man withdrew his gaze and asked slowly, "What was your identity before you started this quick transmigration mission? You wouldn't happen to be a princess who ran away from some country, would you? Or perhaps someone who needed to survive an accident?"

Yan Chiyu had read many novels of this kind in his early years, mostly to pass the time. In short, he wasn't someone who knew nothing.

The reason he was chatting with Wu Yue in this way at this moment was probably because, during their first meeting after a long separation, he unexpectedly saw something.

The doubts in his heart had grown larger and larger during this time, weighing heavily on his mind. They often talked about trust, and now might be the right time to ask them.

Ironically, she should know better than anyone else about such a simple question concerning herself, but apart from some vague fragments existing deep in her mind, like a dusty box full of fabric and books in the corner of a warehouse, she has never had the chance to open it.

Because I felt it was useless.

“It seems… I’ve been here before, briefly.” A ghostly figure flashed past in his squinted vision, and it was this tension in his heart that eased a little. “Wearing a green dress? It should be green, I can’t remember.”

Despite being her first time here, she was extremely resistant.

Yet, due to this unspoken, underlying connection, she tacitly agreed to stay.

-

A side note.

Ouch.

I stopped updating for a while because I wasn't feeling well and was recuperating. I'm still taking traditional Chinese medicine to regulate my body. On top of that, my work has left me exhausted and unable to update.

I apologize to everyone.

It won't be left unfinished, but updates will be irregular until I recover. Sorry, I hope you understand.