Warm Market

Time froze between the two clasped hands.

The touch on his wrist was a mixture of icy cold and chill, a trembling and stiffness corroding each other. That shattered "Don't go" was like the most sophisticated virus code, instantly paralyzing all of He Yuan's processes, leaving only a blank and intense humming deep within his core.

He froze in place, unable to move.

Not bound by rules, but fixed in place by some greater force that he could not understand.

He could clearly feel the hand that grasped his wrist, exerting an almost desperate effort. The fingertips dug deep into his skin, trembling as if on the verge of breaking, yet stubbornly refusing to let go.

It seems that if you loosen your grip even a little, you will fall into eternal nothingness.

Xiang Jinyang was also stunned by his own actions.

Those two words, that action, were completely beyond his control, the most instinctive and embarrassing product of an emotional dam bursting. Intense shame and immense panic instantly overwhelmed him, and he almost wanted to immediately throw his hand away and retreat back into his cold, safe shell.

But... the cool touch on his wrist, which did not leave and even responded with a hint of clumsiness, was like a subtle but firm anchor, tying down his consciousness that was about to completely collapse.

He didn't move. He didn't move either.

Silence is spreading.

A new, disconcerting "connection" was established between the cold fingertips and the slightly cool wrist.

It is no longer an exchange of energy, no longer a flow of data, and no longer even a transmission of thoughts.

But the most original and direct one——

Skin touch.

Body temperatures blend.

I don’t know how long it took, maybe just a moment, maybe it was eternity.

He Yuan's nearly stalled computing core finally struggled to restart. Countless garbled signals flashed frantically, attempting to analyze the current situation and define this contact, but to no avail.

Ultimately, all complex analysis processes were forcibly terminated.

Only one simplest and most basic instruction remains, which is executed with the highest priority:

'Maintain connection.'

Very slowly, taking the initiative, he moved his captured wrist.

Not to break free.

Instead, he adjusted the angle, and then with an equally awkward but unquestionable force, he turned his wrist and held the cold and trembling hand more firmly and tightly with his own hand.

Five fingers carefully and tentatively inserted into each other's fingers.

Ten fingers slowly intertwined.

“!”

Xiang Jinyang's body shuddered violently, as if burned by this sudden, deeper contact. He subconsciously tried to pull his hand back, but the other person held it tighter.

The force was not rough, and even carried a strange sense of cherishment, as if holding a fragile treasure.

"...Let...go..." He uttered the two words with difficulty, his voice so low and hoarse that it was almost inaudible, with a panic that was difficult to conceal.

He Yuan did not let go.

He even used the clasped hands to slowly, once again, close the distance a little bit.

So close that he could clearly see the pale blue veins under the other's pale skin, the violently trembling, moisture-stained eyelashes, and feel the interweaving of each other's chaotic breaths.

He stared at Xiang Jinyang's glassy blue eyes, which were forced to raise and filled with panic, shame and a hint of bewilderment. The chaotic streams of code in his eyes gradually settled down and turned into a bottomless, extremely focused inky black.

"...No," he replied, his voice low, yet filled with an unprecedented, unwavering certainty.

This was the first time he had rejected the other party's instructions so clearly and directly.

It is not based on logical judgment or weighing of interests.

Just... don't want to.

Xiang Jinyang's pupils shrank slightly, as if struck again by this blunt rejection. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. All his struggles, all his coldness, all his defenses, seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this tight, undeniable interlocking of fingers.

He could only stand there, allowing the warmth of the other's hand to penetrate his cold skin bit by bit and stubbornly, soothing the trembling that penetrated deep into his bones.

An unfamiliar, surging heat swept over him uncontrollably, destroying his last bit of perseverance.

He suddenly closed his eyes and turned his head away, trying to avoid the gaze that seemed to see through his soul. However, the warm liquid that quietly slid down the corner of his eye betrayed all his disguise.

One drop. Two drops.

It fell silently on the two people's clasped hands and on the cold ground, leaving small, dark wet marks.

He Yuan's whole body shook violently.

He clearly felt the temperature of the dripping liquid.

Piping hot.

Burning.

It was different from any form of energy he knew.

What was that? The database frantically searched, returning countless irrelevant information. The logic module attempted to analyze its composition and cause, but all efforts failed.

But he doesn't need a database anymore.

A sharp, almost painful throbbing shot up from their clasped hands and slammed into his core.

He raised his other hand almost unconsciously.

With a barely perceptible tremor, her fingertips very slowly and carefully stroked Xiang Jinyang's cheek.

Trying to touch the trace of tears.

The moment his fingertips were about to touch——

Xiang Jinyang shrank back suddenly like a frightened trapped beast!

However, behind him was a cold wall of rules, and he had nowhere to retreat.

He Yuan's movements paused. He didn't force his way closer, but his raised hand remained stubbornly suspended in mid-air, maintaining the gesture of wanting to touch.

There was an extremely fragile tension in the air, ready to break at any moment.

a long time.

He Yuan's hovering hand fell down extremely slowly.

In the end, it did not fall on Xiang Jinyang's cheek.

Instead, it gently covered the two people's still tightly clasped hands.

Double overlapping layers.

Like a clumsy but firm oath.

“…Don’t be afraid.”

He spoke again, his voice low and hoarse, still carrying that unskilled yet stubborn gentleness.

"I am here."

These two words seemed to have exhausted all his language reserves. He was unable to utter more complex words of comfort, and could only repeat these simplest words, conveying the meager but scorching warmth with his clenched hands.

Xiang Jinyang's tense body relaxed little by little and extremely slowly in the face of this clumsy comfort and the faint but firm warmth that continued to come to him.

Although I still didn't look back, although tears still fell silently.

But it was a kind of... exhausted relaxation after giving up resistance.

He no longer tried to break free from the clasped hands.

Even under that warm embrace, his cold fingers curled back almost imperceptibly and very slightly.

A tiny, almost imperceptible response.

But it made He Yuan's heart (if he had one) feel as if it was being tightly grasped by something, and then suddenly loosened, bringing a suffocating and sour feeling.

He stopped talking.

He simply held her hand tighter, using his body heat to slowly and patiently warm that cold hand.

It was as if it wanted to completely warm up the ice that had been frozen for thousands of years.

Time loses its meaning again in this silent embrace.

Maybe for a long time, maybe just for a moment.

Until Xiang Jinyang's suppressed, subtle trembling finally subsided completely, leaving only occasional uncontrollable sobs.

Until his cold fingertips were finally stained with a faint warmth that belonged to a living thing.

Until the tears that slid silently gradually dried up, leaving faint traces on the pale cheeks.

He Yuan's hand, which was covering it, then moved away extremely slowly.

But he did not let go of the clasped hands, but just changed to a more comfortable and less easy-to-break-away position, still holding them tightly.

Then he made an even more unexpected move.

He took Xiang Jinyang's hand, guided him, and very slowly, placed their clasped hands gently on Xiang Jinyang's heart, which was still slightly beating.

Through a thin layer of fabric, one can clearly feel the faint but real beating underneath.

And... the forcibly awakened, yet not completely calmed, throbbing of "vitality" and "desire".

Xiang Jinyang's body trembled again, and his closed eyelashes trembled violently, as if he wanted to resist this overly direct touch.

"Feel it." He Yuan's voice sounded low, with an unquestionable guiding tone. It was no longer a question, but a statement. "It's beating."

His thumb gently stroked the back of the other person's hand that was pressed against his heart.

"It's because... 'life'." He struggled to organize his words, trying to express the abstract concept he had just vaguely grasped. "It's not a mistake. It's not a weakness."

He paused, his eyes fell on Xiang Jinyang's wet eyelashes, and his voice became deeper.

“…It’s ‘existence’.”

Xiang Jinyang was completely frozen.

All struggles stopped at this moment.

He felt the beating of his own heart beneath his palm, the warmth of the other hand, and the clumsy yet pointed words...

From deep within the frozen core, there was a clear sound of something completely shattering.

The shell that had been strong for billions of years collapsed at this moment.

The exposed inside is soft, fragile, bloody, but... real.

He still didn't open his eyes, but he no longer avoided it.

He just let the huge pain that almost drowned him and the strange, timid warmth rush wildly in his chest.

He Yuan stared at him, seeing that he finally stopped resisting and even revealed a hint of dependence. The world built by codes in his heart seemed to be raining silently and gently.

An unprecedented feeling of fullness and peace slowly flowed through his computing core.

He no longer tried to define or analyze anything.

He just sat there quietly, maintaining that intimate and protective posture, silently surrounding the other person with his body temperature and presence.

The broken Jintian Realm is still desolate and silent.

The sparks of rules flickered in the distance, and the cold code structure was still incompatible with the remaining silver light of the Heavenly Dao.

But in this small, nestled space built by their own hands,

The cold is driven away,

Loneliness is briefly isolated.

On the ruins,

Warmth grows.

Like the most tenacious vine,

Finally entangled

In each other's cold world

The first piece of driftwood.

Although the road ahead is still uncertain,

But at least at this moment,

They are no longer alone.