040
Summers in Nanshi are scorching hot, with daytime temperatures so intense they feel like they're baking you. You could fry an egg outdoors and it would be so hot you could dance if you took off your shoes and walked around on the ground.
It was just 8 a.m.
The sun has risen, radiating heat continuously.
But it was still early morning, and the temperature hadn't yet reached an unbearable level.
The air conditioning in the room was set quite high, and the curtains were tightly closed, completely blocking out the glaring sunlight.
Jiang Huali woke up in a cool, refreshing atmosphere.
"..."
She tried to move away, wanting to get away from the constant chill emanating from her.
Just as she was about to move to the edge of the bed, the hand that had been around her waist pulled her back.
Having failed to escape, Jiang Huali had no choice but to move back to her original position.
It was summer after all, and the temperature was actually quite comfortable, so Jiang Huali fell asleep again.
When I woke up again, it was already ten o'clock.
The seat next to her was empty, and the air conditioner had been readjusted to a comfortable temperature. Jiang Huali stared at the ceiling with her eyes open, letting her mind wander.
Ten minutes later, she got out of bed.
After washing up, Jiang Huali walked out of the room.
The porridge was still warm in the kitchen, and the sheets and clothes had been washed and were drying on the balcony.
The flowers on the balcony were also watered.
Jiang Huali sat down at the dining table, drinking porridge while checking messages on her phone.
Qi Man sent her a message, inviting her to dinner that evening.
Qi Man: [Bring your partner along, everyone come.]
Just as I finished replying to Qi Man, there was a noise at the door.
Jiang Huali stood up, walked to the entrance, and saw the person changing their shoes.
She picked up the vegetables from the cabinet, preparing to put them in the kitchen.
Suddenly, my left wrist was grabbed.
Jiang Huali gently stroked the pale gold mark on her wrist with her fingers, then turned around, as if remembering something, and said, "Qi Man invited us to dinner tonight."
Mo Ci bent down slightly, his cool breath approaching, leaving a soft touch on her lips.
He then asked, "What time?"
Jiang Huali pushed him away, carried the groceries he had just bought into the kitchen, and her voice came from inside:
"Seven o'clock."
"I won't stay out too late, I have to go to work tomorrow."
I'll take you tomorrow.
Jiang Huali put the vegetables down and came out. She glanced at Mo Ci, who had been unusually enthusiastic about driving her to and from get off work lately.
She thought it to herself, but unconsciously said it out loud.
“I saw it last time,” Mo Ci sneered, “your colleague.”
"My colleague?" Jiang Huali thought for a moment. "That bouquet of flowers wasn't for me."
"Flowers?" Mo Ci's expression turned even colder. "Who is this? That's not what I meant."
Jiang Huali's lips twitched: "A misunderstanding? Then who are you talking about?"
She couldn't figure out who the Ink Shrine was referring to.
Mo Ci softened his expression, unwilling to discuss the matter further.
She didn't care about these things, so of course she didn't notice.
But how could he not see that when he went to pick her up that day, the man standing next to her had a clearly strange look in his eyes?
...
7 PM.
Jiang Huali and Mo Ci arrived at the agreed restaurant on time, and everyone was already there when they entered the private room.
Qi Man, Yin Mengshu, Qi Feng, Cun Ke, Zhou Cui, Xin Mingqing.
Not one was missing.
Zhou Cui doesn't live in Nanshi regularly; she's only here for tourism recently.
“You guys are always the last to arrive, so punish yourselves with a drink.”
Qi Feng said from the side.
Jiang Huali doesn't like drinking, and Mo Ci doesn't want to get his hands on alcohol, otherwise Jiang Huali won't want to kiss him.
Qi Man glanced at Qi Feng and said, "Don't worry about him, he's just wasting his time."
Qi Feng silently withdrew his hand that had been holding up the wine glass.
Jiang Huali couldn't help but smile, and picked up the tea beside her. "Let's use tea instead of wine."
Those present raised their glasses and clinked them together.
"Will you stay in Nanshi after graduation?" Qi Man asked.
Jiang Huali nodded and said, "I was originally from Nanshi."
"How is the work at your bureau?"
Qi Man shook her head. "It's just like that."
Jiang Huali was a little dazed; she had been here for two years.
After the game collapsed, all the survivors returned to the real world.
The sudden return of a large number of people who had disappeared without a trace naturally caused a great sensation.
After learning about the situation, the relevant departments established an administration bureau, and all those who came out of the game were registered and placed under unified management.
After all, they came from games and spent too much time in the world of bloodshed, so they all have some psychological issues to some extent.
If everyone behaves themselves, that's fine, but there are bound to be some criminals.
In addition, the abilities they gained in the game were also brought out exactly as they were.
The Administration Bureau does not restrict the freedom of these law-abiding individuals. If they wish, they can be formally employed by the Administration Bureau; if not, they can simply undergo psychological examinations and routine registration at the local Administration Bureau periodically.
When Jiang Huali returned, two years had passed since she "disappeared." After careful consideration, she decided to return to school and become a college student.
After all, the original owner was just a sophomore when he entered the game.
Since her return, the original owner's parents have been very worried about her. They don't want her to get involved in any dangerous things anymore, and they just want her to live a good life and be safe and sound.
Fortunately, the monsters in the game didn't run out; they seemed to have disappeared forever along with the game.
The Administration mainly targets those who leave the game but then go astray due to their own abilities.
At this point, it's necessary for someone who also came from the game to solve these problems.
Jiang Huali did not join the Administration Bureau, while Mo Ci became an unofficial member of the Administration Bureau.
Occasionally, I go out on fieldwork to catch criminals and earn some money to support my family.
Jiang Huali was nearing graduation, and she found an internship at a company in the city.
After leaving the game, Jiang Huali returned to school, but instead of staying at the school dormitory, she moved out.
After her parents learned of her thoughts, they bought her a small house near the school.
The mission in this world was completed when she left the game, but the original owner's lifespan had not ended, so she stayed.
"Anyway, it's not bad that we came out alive," Zhou Cui said with a smile.
She didn't join the management bureau; her main daily activity was traveling all over the world to see the sights she hadn't had a chance to see before.
...
It was around 10 p.m. when we finished dinner.
After saying goodbye to Qi Man and the others, Jiang Huali returned to the residential area with Mo Ci.
Instead of going home, they took a walk in the park near their neighborhood.
The weather was lovely tonight; surprisingly, it wasn't very hot, and instead, a pleasant breeze was blowing.
Jiang Huali held Mo Ci's hand as they walked under the moonlight.
"You two look so romantic like this."
The system suddenly exclaimed.
Is that so?
Jiang Huali smiled inwardly.
After exiting the game, the system told her that there had been a program error and the soul of Mo Ci had not been successfully retrieved.
Jiang Huali later learned that this was related to the mark that Mo Ci had left on her wrist.
Most of the power of the Ink Shrine was sealed within the mark, and the remaining power was completely lost in the process of destroying the game.
That's why he wasn't destroyed along with the game.
The power sealed within that mark also provided him with the energy to continue his activities after leaving the game.
The system fabricated an identity for Mo Ci so that he could live in the real world.
The two walked side by side, their shadows cast on the ground, a perfect pair.
A gentle breeze was blowing, and the cicadas' chirping was mixed with soft whispers.
The protective force he left on her eventually became his anchor, allowing him to break free from the endless darkness and land by her side.
-
Jiang Huali felt that Mo Ci had been acting strangely lately.
At first, Jiang Huali only occasionally woke up in the middle of the night to find her pillow empty.
Humans have three urgent needs, so it's not unusual to need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night...
Wait a minute, but Mo Ci isn't a person.
But the bathroom light was indeed on, and Jiang Huali couldn't understand what Mo Ci was doing inside.
Overwhelmed by drowsiness, she temporarily put the matter aside.
For several days afterward, Jiang Huali forgot about the incident.
The company has been busy lately, requiring frequent overtime. Jiang Huali is overwhelmed by the work atmosphere every day. When she gets home, her mind goes blank, and she falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow at night, without even thinking about the matter again.
After working overtime less frequently, Jiang Huali discovered that Mo Ci seemed to get up every night in the middle of the night and tinker with something in the bathroom.
Another thing Jiang Huali noticed was that her skincare products were being used up at an alarming rate.
"..."
On a dark and stormy night, Jiang Huali fell silent as she watched Mo Ci doing his skincare routine in the bathroom.
"……What are you doing?"
Jiang Huali asked, somewhat puzzled.
Upon hearing this, Mo Ci's face showed a hint of grievance.
Seeing the way the other person looked at her as if she were a heartless man, Jiang Huali fell silent again.
After her careful questioning, she finally understood what had happened.
The incident began when Mo Ci, on his way back from a mission, saw a couple arguing about breaking up.
"Look at yourself now, you're completely different from when I first met you!"
"What's different? Didn't you say you'd love me forever?"
"Look at yourself with your hand on your heart. I was bewitched by your face back then. Brother, let's part ways amicably. I really can't accept my partner becoming ugly!"
"Is this why you've been so cold to me lately?!"
Looking at the man who was weeping bitterly and was extremely heartbroken, Mo Ci, who was not far away, couldn't help but touch his own face.
Thinking of Jiang Huali, whose close contact with him had decreased sharply recently, Mo Ci felt a sense of crisis.
"So... you do your skincare routine every night in the middle of the night?"
Jiang Huali was both amused and exasperated.
“You haven’t been paying much attention to me lately,” Mo Ci said in a low voice.
"That's because I work overtime until very late and don't have time."
"There's no goodnight kiss either."
"...I was too sleepy and forgot."
"Alright, alright," Jiang Huali pushed Mo Ci out of the bathroom, "Staying up late at night won't help with skincare, and it'll make you ugly."
"Do you dislike me?"
"...No, you're a ghost, not a human, so you won't become ugly."
"What if I become ugly?"
"...There is no such 'if'."
Mo Ci wanted to say something more, but Jiang Huali silenced him with her actions.
"Goodnight kiss," she said.
"If I don't kiss you, won't you kiss me?"
Mo Ci's brows relaxed, and he finally stopped worrying. He fell asleep contentedly, holding Jiang Huali in his arms.
...
Jiang Huali stayed in this world for many, many years. When she was in her thirties, the people around her began to worry about her.
"You've been married for so many years, why don't you hurry up and have a child?"
"You're not young anymore, it'll be too late if you don't have children soon."
"Having a child is wonderful, especially while your parents can still help take care of the child."
...
Such remarks were heard repeatedly, mostly from colleagues or relatives.
The original owner's parents, on the other hand, didn't care about this at all.
As long as their daughter is happy, that's all that matters; nothing else is their business.
As for the Mo Temple, needless to say.
It was something whose origin was unknown, and it had no desire to reproduce.
He only wants Jiang Huali.
I just want to be with her forever, until death, until we disappear.
When Jiang Huali was in a good mood, she would brush off these encouraging words; when she was in a bad mood, she could leave the other person speechless.
Putting aside the fact that she herself had no intention of having children, employees of the Time and Space Bureau were not capable of having children in the small world.
Besides, Mo Ci isn't human, so how could he possibly give birth to a half-human, half-ghost?
Due to the limited remaining power, after the game collapsed, the lifespan of the Mo Shrine became no different from that of humans.
This energy is only enough to sustain him and Jiang Huali through this lifetime.
In order to resemble a normal person, Mo Ci's appearance has changed continuously as he has aged.
But in private, Jiang Huali would occasionally make him look younger again.
Jiang Huali finds it quite interesting to be able to see her young and handsome partner anytime.
In this world, Jiang Huali lived a complete life.
When the original owner's parents passed away, they held Jiang Huali's hands tightly and whispered in their final moments:
"Was our daughter happy when she left?"
The two elderly people left one after the other, and Jiang Huali spent a long time alone that day.
The original owner's parents treated her very well, no different from their own daughter.
It turns out that someone who truly loves you can discern the difference in your soul even if you look alike.
Mo Ci and Meng Zhiling look alike, especially when they are close in age; there are many differences between them...
But there are also many similarities.
Sometimes she can't tell the two apart, but in reality, there's no need to.
Because they were originally one person.
The seed sprouted and grew continuously, and in her life she experienced many things she had never encountered before.
hope……
We may meet again someday.
[Beep—The world is disengaging...]
-
Spacetime Bureau, Management Center.
Jiang Huali stood aside, listening to the system's rambling.
Before her stood a cylindrical instrument, covered by a glass dome. Inside the dome was a blue beam of light containing two fragments of souls, radiating a soft glow.
Staff from the management center came in to conduct a routine inspection of the soul fragments stored there.
When the staff checked Jiang Huali's area, they heard the person in front of them ask, "How was this fragment collected?"
The staff member looked at the fragment and seemed to recognize it. "Oh, you mean this? The specialist found it in a villa when he went to that world."
"When we found it, it was in fragments. The villa looked like it had been uninhabited for a long time and was covered in dust."
Because it is rare for a fragment of a soul to spontaneously remain in one place, the staff member remembered it fairly clearly.
"Yeah."
Jiang Huali stared absently at the two fragments of soul in front of her.
Jiang Huali didn't stay there for long. As she left, she asked the system, "When is the next mission?"
"It'll be four days from now, host. How about we go relax a bit? There are so many fun things to do in this domain!"
Jiang Huali poked the system floating beside her.
"Let's go."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com