Chapter 78 Please continue your conquest, host. I'll recognize you next time...
Mingjian opened his eyes.
The Never-Sleeping Pavilion was dimly lit, and almost everything in sight was completely wrapped and encased by layers of cold, white bone chains, making it airtight, like a giant cocoon.
He felt no fear whatsoever.
Instead, he instinctively turned around, gently hugged the waist of the person beside him, and buried his face in that embrace that carried a familiar, cool fragrance.
Ming knew Xiao Bumian was awake. His voice was muffled, hoarse from just waking up, with a hint of barely perceptible dependence, as he whispered, "Can I kiss you?"
Xiao Bumian had indeed regained some of his rationality at this moment. The aura of the Demon Tribulation stage seemed to be slowly calming down, and it should be completely over soon.
He didn't know how Mingjian had accessed his chaotic and painful memories, but he didn't mind being seen by him in his most unbearable past.
However, this time, he didn't have any later memories, a fact that made Xiao Bumian somewhat unhappy.
He lowered his eyes, reached out a finger, and gently poked Mingjian's soft cheek. Then, following his heart, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Mingjian's.
"Why are you sad?" Xiao Bumian asked.
Mingjian did not answer immediately, but her thick, curled eyelashes trembled slightly, as if they were still slightly damp.
Xiao Bumian paused, thinking that Mingjian must be angry because the young Mingjian didn't recognize him.
The young Xiao Bumian was unaware of their brief encounter, but the adult Xiao Bumian, with his complete memories, knew.
He suddenly remembered something Yun Guiyuan had said when he was at the Gu residence: that the two of them still had a karmic connection.
Looking back now, the thread of cause and effect may have been tied to Mingjian from the very beginning.
Xiao Bumian's cool fingertips lingered for a moment on Mingjian's slightly reddened eyes. She curved her lips into a faint smile and said, "Mingjian, don't cry."
He leaned forward again and kissed Mingjian's lips tenderly, as if comforting a fragile treasure.
"I'll recognize you next time," he said softly, brushing aside the slightly disheveled hair on Mingjian's forehead.
—
Because the Everlasting Pavilion was entangled by Xiao Bumian's bone chains, and because he had no intention of letting Mingjian out, Mingjian could not see the sunlight or the bright moonlight outside.
Time has become a vague concept for him.
Especially after accompanying Xiao Bumian through a long period of memories, Mingjian's perception of time became even more dulled.
How long did he sleep with Xiao Bumian?
What happened while they were asleep?
In the past, Mingjian probably wouldn't have thought about this much.
He only thought about leaving with Xiao Bumian after completing all the messy storyline tasks in the system, and living a carefree life.
They can go to the north to see the snow falling all over the sky, or they can go to the warm Jiangnan region to take a boat trip on the lake and live a life that belongs only to them.
But ever since he learned that Xiao Bumian's biological father was Xie Wuwang, that Xiao Bumian and Xie Linzhao were half-brothers, and that Ji Sui had not really died, Mingjian had always had an ominous premonition, as if some bigger storm was brewing.
The waste system was actually quite useful, though.
System: [Fifteen days have passed now]
"Oh." Mingjian nodded, having a slight idea of what was going on.
Fortunately, he didn't know what Xiao Bumian fed him, but he saw that the effect was not much different from fasting, so he didn't feel hungry.
It's just a bit boring.
He sat listlessly at the table, one hand supporting his chin, the other rummaging aimlessly through his storage bag, trying to pass the time of being "imprisoned".
As he was reading, the system suddenly popped up in his consciousness with a question: "[Host, do you think your current situation is like one of those 'dark room' scenarios often described in storybooks?]"
Mingjian's fingers, which were turning the pages, suddenly stopped: "..."
"Probably," Mingjian sighed.
Xiao Bumian felt completely insecure. Whenever he got up and took a few steps, Xiao Bumian's eyes would immediately follow him closely, as if he were afraid that he would disappear.
However, Xiao Bumian cannot be entirely blamed for this.
Mingjian thought to himself that if he hadn't been too slow to appease Xiao Bumian and had handled things in a bad way, Xiao Bumian's trust in him wouldn't have plummeted to zero, leaving him in such a difficult situation.
He raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Bumian not far away.
Xiao Bumian simply looked at Mingjian quietly, and everything became exceptionally quiet, as if Mingjian was the only person in his eyes and in his world.
"Too sticky." Mingjian muttered to himself, but a small smile unconsciously curved his lips.
He thought for a moment, then pushed the storybook in his hand towards Xiao Bumian, "Xie Hanwei, are you playing this game with me?"
Ever since he learned that the name Hanwei was given to Xiao Bumian by that human couple, Mingjian has been particularly fond of calling Xiao Bumian by that name.
Xiao Bumian had never been interested in these romance novels, but since Mingjian had pushed them to him, he obediently accepted them and glanced at them casually.
The story is about a man who accidentally wins the favor of a general of very high status. The two gradually fall in love. However, just before their marriage, the man unexpectedly discovers that the general's true love is not him. He is only being used as a substitute because he looks very much like the general's beloved.
The man was heartbroken and left the general. But then the general realized he had fallen in love with the man. So, on the eve of the man's imprisonment, the general used his power to kidnap him and imprison him in a secluded mansion in the capital, staging a scene of forced abduction.
Xiao Bumian's brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, repeating this several times, clearly puzzled by the logic in the story.
Finally, he raised his eyes, looked at Mingjian very seriously, and clarified with a firm tone: "But I only like you. You are not a substitute for anyone else."
Mingjian: "..."
Is that the main point?! The main point is clearly the scene in the dark room and the forced love scene! He's trying to hint at their current situation!
Seeing that he was still not giving up, Ming tried to persuade him from a different angle, pointing to a description at the back of the storybook, "Look, this man was locked up for too long and never saw the light of day, so he became depressed and sick. That's not good."
Xiao Bumian understood this time.
His eyes were deep and his lips still curved in a smile as he looked at Mingjian for a long time before asking in a very gentle tone, "Junior Brother, do you want to go out?"
Upon hearing Xiao Bumian address him as "Junior Brother," Mingjian's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately sensed something was wrong.
However, after much hesitation, Mingjian still felt that he should fight for his freedom.
He forced a smile, nodded, and tried to make his tone sound enticing. "If we go out together, we can even look at the stars together. There's a Flower Festival in March, and I've heard there are lots and lots of beautiful flowers. Shall we go see them together?"
Xiao Bumian tilted his head, seemingly considering the suggestion.
Then, he stood up, walked slowly to Mingjian, bent down, and naturally slipped his arms under Mingjian's knees, easily lifting him up in his arms.
"No way." Xiao Bumian refused, showering Mingjian with kisses that silenced his unspoken protest.
His voice became muffled between kisses, "You promised... you would agree to anything I asked."
That includes locking him up and then staying with him forever.
Mingjian's expression instantly crumbled, and he felt like crying but had no tears left.
No way, it's no way!
Why do we have to do it again?!
After this communication failed, Mingjian completely gave up.
Fine, keep him locked up then. He refused to believe that Xiao Bumian could really keep him locked up here for the rest of his life.
—
Mingjian had another perplexing issue these past few days, so he asked the system, "Now that my storyline is complete, why haven't you left yet?"
The system, which had been engrossed in reading a storybook while hiding within Mingjian's consciousness, belatedly realized its mistake after being asked this question: "I...I don't know either."
Yes, since the host's task has theoretically been completed, why hasn't it received the main system's settlement instruction or been forcibly recalled?
The system is offline again.
Mingjian sighed, feeling deeply worried about the system's intelligence.
He felt inexplicably uneasy.
As it turned out, his premonition was not unfounded.
One night, Xiao Bumian suddenly hugged his waist, buried her face deeply in the crook of his neck, and said in a muffled, aggrieved voice, "We may have to leave here for a while."
Akira was taken aback by the fact that these words came from a yandere. He blinked and asked incredulously, "Did something happen?"
He didn't believe that Xiao Bumian would agree to leave the dark room for no reason.
Although Mingjian sometimes felt bored being locked up, when it came time to leave, he felt a pang of reluctance.
He liked Xiao Bumian, so naturally he wouldn't avoid the dark room like a jackal or a beast. On the contrary, he found it quite interesting.
Xiao Bumian remained silent for a long time, and Mingjian asked him again.
From an angle that was neither visible nor invisible, Xiao Bumian's eyes grew even more profound, but his tone remained as gentle as ever, as if he were talking about a trivial matter, "It's nothing, it's just that a lot of guests have come uninvited."
At this moment, the system, which had been offline for only a few days, suddenly reconnected.
The system's voice rang in Mingjian's mind.
[Emergency testing in progress...]
[Warning! Warning! After re-evaluation, the host's progress on Mission 2, "The Substitute Bride," is incomplete! A key node is missing! Please continue the strategy to complete the storyline.]
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