Chapter 140 Extra (I) What is he?
Ruan Nanzhu realized that Lin Qiushi seemed to have discovered his little secret one afternoon after they left the door and returned to reality.
That day, Ruan Nanzhu had nothing to do, so he sat on the balcony flipping through a book. He happened to come across a sentence that he found interesting, and he read it aloud to Lin Qiushi. He said, "When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."
Lin Qiushi had been sleeping, but after hearing this, he drowsily said to Ruan Nanzhu, "What you do to the abyss will always reflect back upon you, right?"
"Is that so?" Ruan Nanzhu didn't think much about it and lowered his head to kiss Lin Qiushi.
Then he heard Lin Qiushi say, "Should I unzip my pants in front of you?"
Ruan Nanzhu was silent for a moment, then he laughed softly. At this moment, he understood that Lin Qiushi knew everything.
"Yes," Ruan Nanzhu replied, "So, you must be nice to the Abyss."
At first, Lin Qiushi did not notice the abnormalities in his life because all the attention was on Ruan Nanzhu. Later, when Ruan Nanzhu looked back, these abnormalities slowly surfaced like an iceberg hidden under the water.
In Lin Qiushi's memory, he didn't smoke. Even if he carried cigarettes, it was to pass them on to others at work. But after leaving the office, he unexpectedly developed a smoking habit, even going so far as to smoke several packs a day, without even the slightest bit of discomfort that comes with starting to smoke for the first time.
His family, who had previously maintained a distant relationship with him, suddenly began contacting him frequently, their words mostly expressing concern for him. And Bai Ming, who was clearly a good friend of Ruan Nanzhu's, seemed to have known him for years...
Lin Qiushi saw all these things, but did not delve into them.
For some questions, whether or not he got the answer was no longer important. As long as Ruan Nanzhu was by his side, he felt that was enough. As for who Ruan Nanzhu was...
Lin Qiushi reached out and pinched the earlobe of his lover beside him, then leaned close to his cheek and whispered, "Dear, what are you?"
Ruan Nanzhu was reading a book. He looked up at Lin Qiushi and suddenly laughed. He said, "I'm your milk tea."
Lin Qiushi: “…”
Ruan Nanzhu said: "Aren't you going to ask me why it's your milk tea?"
Lin Qiushi raised his eyebrows. "The last time I heard this joke, I was still a virgin. Now I'm a mother of three."
Then the two of them laughed, and the atmosphere was filled with joy.
Ruan Nanzhu originally thought that Lin Qiushi would continue to ask questions, but Lin Qiushi stretched, got up from the bed, said he was going to take a shower, and ended the topic.
Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi's back and opened his mouth to make some lip movements. If Lin Qiushi turned around at this moment, he would find that Ruan Nanzhu was saying something to him - I am the door.
I am the door. That’s right, what Ruan Nanzhu said is that I am the door.
He is the twelfth door.
But in truth, Ruan Nanzhu hadn't realized this before experiencing the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. His memory was flawless, as if he were truly the leader of the Obsidian, an ordinary person who had begun entering the gates as a teenager, overcoming countless obstacles, and finally passing through the tenth gate. Ruan Nanzhu had no other memories of the gates and firmly believed that he was an ordinary human.
This belief was suddenly shattered after the night of the One Hundred Demons Night Parade that he and Lin Qiushi had spent together ended.
The days grew longer, the nights shorter, and Ruan Nanzhu's time with Lin Qiushi began to count down. When night finally stopped, Ruan Nanzhu thought he'd never see Lin Qiushi again. He frantically tried to find the key to leave, but he vaguely sensed that some things seemed beyond his control...
What he hadn't told Lin Qiushi was that he also saw ghosts during the day. Initially, it was out of fear that Lin Qiushi would worry, but later, it was because he realized these ghosts wouldn't harm him. Terrifying ghosts existed in every corner. Even when Ruan Nanzhu opened his suitcase, he saw a terrifying box girl hiding inside—though she looked innocent when Ruan Nanzhu pulled her out.
It took Ruan Nanzhu about half a month to go from the initial surprise mixed with fear to the subsequent indifference and numbness.
When he realized that he would never see Lin Qiushi again, Ruan Nanzhu was able to kick the female ghost squatting at the head of his bed with a cold face, and told her in a cold tone not to squat on top of his head, because she would not grow taller... He didn't know if it was his illusion, but after he said this, he actually saw a hint of grievance on the female ghost's face.
Ruan Nanzhu thought angrily, why are you feeling aggrieved? I haven't even had the chance to feel aggrieved yet.
However, although the situation around him was becoming more and more weird, Ruan Nanzhu was still confused and didn't understand what was happening. He even thought it was a punishment from the sect. Until one day, a little ghost in red clothes led him to a place.
When Ruan Nanzhu walked there, he recognized at a glance that this was the location of the apartment where Lin Qiushi once lived. However, the apartment had not been built yet, and in front of him was a group of very old-looking tube-shaped buildings.
The little ghost stood on the fifth floor and waved at Ruan Nanzhu. Ruan Nanzhu looked up at her and frowned, "Fifth floor? Why did you bring me here?" He carefully observed the little ghost's appearance and was a little surprised, "You are not Zuozi?"
After he said this, he saw the little kid smiling shyly... although making this expression with a pale face was not cute at all.
Ruan Nanzhu was anxious to leave, but he had no idea where the key was, so he decided to try his luck and go see what Zuozi wanted to show him.
Ruan Nanzhu went up to the fifth floor and walked to a room at the end. He pushed open the half-closed door and saw a room. There was no one in the room except for an old, broken TV placed on the bedside, which seemed to be playing some program.
Ruan Nanzhu's gaze fell on the TV, and a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes. He even thought he was seeing things. He quickly walked in front of the TV and was sure that the person on the TV was indeed the appearance of Lin Qiushi as a teenager.
Lin Qiushi was walking on a small path when two people appeared beside him. Ruan Nanzhu also recognized these two people. They were Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke, whom they had seen in a door before. Ruan Nanzhu held his breath and stared at the picture on TV without moving.
"Where are we?" The young Lin Qiushi's expression was childish, fear lingering in his dark eyes. He asked cautiously, "Who are you?"
The screen continued to play, and Ruan Nanzhu finished watching the entire content. What was shown on TV was actually how Lin Qiushi passed through the first door without Ruan Nanzhu.
Ruan Nanzhu's fingertips touched the cold screen and gently stroked Lin Qiushi's cheek through the glass. Even the young Lin Qiushi was so fascinating.
He is like an undiscovered rough diamond. Anyone who knows the treasure knows what kind of dazzling treasure will be found inside.
A person who is smart, brave, calm, not blindly kind and sticks to the bottom line, Ruan Nanzhu thought, his lover is so attractive no matter what the circumstances.
The TV program had become a serial drama, all about Lin Qiushi, how he got in, how he met a bunch of friends, how he took over Obsidian...
Ruan Nanzhu was so fascinated by what he saw that a thought even popped into his mind: why wasn't he by Lin Qiushi's side when Lin Qiushi did these things? What a wonderful experience it would be if he could be with him... Then Ruan Nanzhu woke up with a start and realized that something was wrong with him.
He had indeed accompanied Lin Qiushi and helped him through the test of the eleven doors, but if that was the case, then why did the thought just now appear so naturally in his mind?
Ruan Nanzhu felt something was wrong.
And this abnormality began to expand and spread along with the TV series in front of us, like an unstoppable plague.
Ruan Nanzhu saw Lin Qiushi's family on TV, and the way they interacted was surprisingly identical to his own. Ruan Nanzhu also saw Bai Ming, who was supposed to be his good friend, but on TV, he was Lin Qiushi's best friend...
Lin Qiushi grew up slowly, from a teenager to a mature man. People around him came and went, but his original intention remained unchanged, as if the darkness shining on him would not even cast a shadow.
After watching Lin Qiushi for three consecutive days and nights, Ruan Nanzhu finally realized something... He didn't seem to be human.
He worked without sleep for three days, but he didn't feel hungry or tired. He was still energetic and in the best condition.
Time is invalid for him.
The little devil who brought him here squatted beside him, looking at him eagerly.
Ruan Nanzhu was initially wary of her, but later felt somewhat helpless. He said, "Why are you showing me this? Are you trying to tell me I'm not human?"
Zuozi turned his head and looked at Ruan Nanzhu without saying a word.
Ruan Nanzhu wanted to say something else, but Zuozi pointed at the screen, indicating Ruan Nanzhu to continue watching.
Ruan Nanzhu thought that things couldn't get any worse, so he might as well keep watching. He couldn't leave here, and he couldn't see Lin Qiushi, so it didn't matter if he continued watching.
So Ruan Nanzhu watched Lin Qiushi's time continue to move forward.
Like a voyeur, he observed every phase of Lin Qiushi's life since he came into contact with the Gate. He watched Lin Qiushi cry, watched him laugh, watched him smile brightly as he made new friends, and watched him weep bitterly as he lost a close friend. Time passed by little by little, and Ruan Nanzhu, who needed no rest, had lost track of time.
Finally, there was a decisive change in the picture.
Ruan Nanzhu saw Lin Qiushi walk into his twelfth door, and then the scene changed, and Lin Qiushi appeared in a familiar rental house.
At the same time, the scene around Ruan Nanzhu began to change. The old decorations began to fade away, and the environment around him became exactly the same as on TV.
On TV, Lin Qiushi lay soundly asleep in bed. A dark shadow appeared beside him. The shadow's features were unclear, just a dark mass. The shadow extended a finger and carefully touched Lin Qiushi's cheek, moving from forehead to nose and then to lips. The movements were gentle, as if afraid of disturbing the slumbering Lin Qiushi.
Then the shadow's body began to change. The black color gradually faded from his body, and he looked more and more like a human. At a certain moment, he even became exactly the same as Lin Qiushi lying on the bed.
But the shadow didn't seem to want to have the same face as Lin Qiushi, and soon changed its appearance. When the shadow finally took shape, Ruan Nanzhu, who was watching all this outside the TV, smiled bitterly - the shadow actually looked exactly like him.
That’s right, the shadow is Ruan Nanzhu.
Anyone else would have gone crazy after seeing this scene, but Ruan Nanzhu remained calm. In fact, he had already guessed about this while watching Lin Qiushi's life over the past few days, but seeing it with his own eyes was still a bit thrilling.
Ruan Nanzhu on TV gave Lin Qiushi a longing smile, then his figure faded and disappeared beside Lin Qiushi.
When Lin Qiushi woke up the next day, the first thing he discovered was that Li Zi didn't want him to hug her anymore.
Li Zi, the cat who was usually very attached to him, was actually breathing heavily at him, his fur standing up in anger, as if he didn't recognize him at all. Cat lover Lin Qiushi was completely at a loss when he saw this. He could only look at Li Zi, who was standing tall and with a very disdainful expression, and said aggrievedly, "Li Zi, why don't you want your daddy anymore, Li Zi?"
Ruan Nanzhu looked at Lin Qiushi and his shoulders began to tremble slightly. Then he finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. He knew that the story between him and Lin Qiushi was about to begin.
Sure enough, a few days later, Lin Qiushi opened the door.
Inside the door was a scene he should have seen once, but because his memory had been modified, there was only unfamiliarity in his eyes, and this time, there was a strange face on the road ahead.
Ruan Baijie, dressed in women's clothing, walked up to Lin Qiushi pitifully, tears in her eyes, and asked Lin Qiushi where he was.
When Lin Qiushi asked Ruan Nanzhu's name, the three words Ruan Baijie came out of Ruan Nanzhu's mouth.
This is how they met.
At that time, Ruan Nanzhu also thought that he was an ordinary person. He finally got his wish and joined Lin Qiushi's journey in another way, becoming an indispensable and important role in Lin Qiushi's life.
This made Ruan Nanzhu very satisfied, but everything must come to an end, and the twelve doors would also come to an end.
Ruan Nanzhu still hadn't recovered his memories of being a non-human. He only knew he wasn't human, but what exactly was he? Ruan Nanzhu pondered this question, glanced at Zuozi, who was staring at him eagerly, and said in astonishment, "Could I be the NPC guarding the Twelve Gates?"
Zuozi looked at Ruan Nanzhu without saying anything, but Ruan Nanzhu actually saw contempt in her eyes.
Ruan Nanzhu: “…” Damn, it seems to be true.
To be honest, Ruan Nanzhu felt that he could actually do something like erasing his own memory, which seemed like it could never be recovered. Moreover, his goal had been achieved and he had gotten his beloved.
"I'm actually a little happy, what should I do?" There's no one here, only endless ghosts. Ruan Nanzhu sits in the darkness, smiling gently, "When I think about being able to go through so much with him, I feel so happy."
Zuozi next to him naturally would not respond to him.
"But now the problem is, how am I going to get out?" Ruan Nanzhu raised his head and looked at the unfamiliar rental house. "I can get out, right?" He thought for a moment and shifted his gaze to Zuozi. "What else do you know?"
Saeko glanced at the clock on the wall.
Ruan Nanzhu: "Clock?" He stood up and looked at the clock with twelve numbers that was still moving forward. After thinking for a moment, he reached out and took the clock down.
Then he took the clock cover apart and saw nothing inside. He then pressed the button that controlled the paper hour hand. Just as he was about to turn it, he suddenly remembered something and asked Saeko the last question. He said, "By the way...when Qiushi and I cross the threshold, will we die if we don't make it through successfully?"
When Saeko heard this, her expression became a little strange, as if she was feeling pity, or as if she was looking at a mentally ill person. In the end, she actually nodded.
Ruan Nanzhu laughed and thought that this was really his style. Everything had to be done to perfection and everything had to be true to reality.
Ruan Nanzhu turned the clock, and after a moment, two keys fell to the ground. He picked them up and saw the words engraved on them. He couldn't help but smile again.
Illusory life, real death, no matter what kind of world Lin Qiushi wants, Ruan Nanzhu can give it to him.
He can choose cruel reality or beautiful dreams. Ruan Nanzhu put the power of decision in Lin Qiushi's hands.
But now that he thought about it, all of this was probably unnecessary. Ruan Nanzhu knew Lin Qiushi's answer without even having to think. He took the key, turned around and left the house. He opened the door, but saw only one door in the hallway. It was filled with a gentle white light. Ruan Nanzhu walked to it and stepped inside.
The world line began to change.
The Obsidian group, who originally had no memory of Ruan Nanzhu, seemed to have something more in their minds. So when they saw Ruan Nanzhu walking down from the second floor of the villa, no one showed any surprise. Ye Niao even excitedly called Lin Qiushi and told him that Brother Ruan was back.
Lin Qiushi on the other end of the phone was ecstatic.
Ruan Nanzhu sat in the living room, observing the surrounding scenery calmly, making sure that the scenery was no different from what he remembered.
"Brother Ruan, you're finally back." Ye Niao was still talking to him, "You don't know how Brother Lin has been living over the past year."
"A year?" Ruan Nanzhu was slightly surprised. "It's already been a year?"
"Yes," said Ye Niao, "it's been a year."
Ruan Nanzhu thought, it's a good thing he didn't hesitate. Otherwise, if he had delayed for a few more days, Lin Qiushi's child would probably be three years old by the time he came out...
Then the two met and embraced each other happily.
Lin Qiushi didn't ask Ruan Nanzhu why he showed up just now. In fact, as long as Ruan Nanzhu could come out, Lin Qiushi wouldn't blame him.
But immersed in happiness, Ruan Nanzhu soon discovered something bad. Since he came out of the door, the twelfth door of other people who passed through the door was actually sealed. There was a seal on it, as if telling people outside that the inside was empty.
With Lin Qiushi's intelligence, seeing this scene and considering the other anomalies, it wasn't difficult for him to guess Ruan Nanzhu's non-human identity. After realizing this, Ruan Nanzhu panicked a bit, as he wasn't sure if Lin Qiushi would mind. After all, knowing his lover wasn't human but a gate god didn't seem very pleasant.
So when Ruan Nanzhu took the phone that was browsing the forum from Lin Qiushi's hand, he carefully observed Lin Qiushi's expression. When he found that his lover's expression did not change and seemed to be completely unaware, Ruan Nanzhu breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, Ruan Nanzhu later realized that Lin Qiushi was not ignorant, but pretended not to know. He didn't care at all about who Ruan Nanzhu was.
"How did you become friends with Bai Ming back then?" Lin Qiushi sat on the sofa, watching TV with the remote control and chatting casually with Ruan Nanzhu.
"He happened to have clues about a high-level sect. I needed to lead someone through the sect, so I went with him." Ruan Nanzhu replied.
Lin Qiushi turned to look at Ruan Nanzhu and asked, "Then why does he come to chat with me every day?"
"Hey, can you guys please stop pretending I'm not here and keep chatting?" Bai Ming said angrily as he ate Ruan Nanzhu's freshly roasted melon seeds. "Can't we just move on to other places to flirt? Besides, I just fell in love with you, Lin Qiushi, right?"
"No." Ruan Nanzhu said, "Take your claws off him."
Bai Ming: "Humph, stingy."
Lin Qiushi smiled but didn't say anything.
Bai Ming stood up and said goodbye, saying that his girlfriend had sent him a text message, asking him to have dinner together.
"Does he still have time to have dinner with you?" Lin Qiushi said casually, "Isn't he busy with his new movie?"
"Yes." Bai Ming sighed, "But I like him because he makes movies. Have you seen his movie 'The Way of Kings'? To be honest, that time on the set, we..."
"Shut up." Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu said in unison. They quickly stopped Bai Ming's attempt to tell a dirty joke. After all, they didn't want some bad images to appear in their minds while watching the movie.
"Okay." Bai Ming spread his hands, "You two are becoming more and more alike."
"Isn't it good?" Lin Qiushi asked.
"Would you like to date someone with a similar personality?" Bai Ming said.
"I like it." Lin Qiushi laughed, but his tone was serious. "I have such a good personality, why wouldn't I like it?"
Bai Ming: "..." He realized that these two people were deliberately feeding him dog food, so he turned around and left cleanly, cursing the two bastards.
Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu laughed heartily, then looked at each other, both seeing some deep meaning in each other's eyes, but within that deep meaning, there was still a love that could not be concealed.
Why bother thinking so clearly about some things? Lin Qiushi thought, as long as he was by her side, it was enough.
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