Chapter 19

When Shi Changyuan heard the word "partner", he finally understood what was wrong with him before.

He wanted his seeds, his flowers, to be his companions.

He saw the more intimate relationships in human social relations, and he had an irresistible desire to get closer to his little flower.

They are the closest people to each other in this world, and they are inseparable.

Neighbor, friend, family member, partner, no matter what their status or relationship, it should be him and only him.

Just as Shi Changyuan was about to speak, he heard Xiaohua speak first.

"But we are just family!" Xiaohua almost blurted out, her ears reddening as she retorted in a very loud voice, as if she wanted to cover up other emotions in her tone.

Shenyuan was stunned for a moment, and did not notice the other emotions in Lin Ling's words. He lowered his eyes, and the words he wanted to say circled around his lips before he swallowed them back.

His little flower didn't seem to think so.

Shi Changyuan felt as if his heart was being pinched, constantly compressed and filled with waves of bitterness.

"That, that's all human misunderstanding." Xiaohua glanced at Shi Changyuan standing beside her, and then said dryly, "It's all their fault!"

Xiaohua explained dryly, and Shenyuan also hummed dryly, and the atmosphere between the two suddenly became weird.

"So you two are still a couple?" Lu Jiajia was a little surprised. Her eyes moved between the two of them and she immediately realized that Lin Ling had no idea at all.

As for the latter one, she estimated that even if she hadn't been enlightened yet, the previous one was enough to enlighten her.

Lu Jiajia smiled, looked at Lin Ling, and deliberately said, "Oh, everyone made a mistake, but it's time for Lin Ling to find a partner. I wonder what Lin Ling's criteria for choosing a partner are?"

"I, I haven't thought about it."

Lin Ling seemed to be stumped and answered hesitantly. He looked at Shen Yuan for help, hoping that the other party would find an excuse to skip the topic or leave.

But this time, Shenyuan also stood still and listened very carefully. He seemed to be very interested in this topic.

"Then think about it now." Lu Jiajia pressed on, "Does Lin Ling like boys or girls? You should know this, right?"

Xiaohua was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Shi Changyuan again and stammered, "Boy, boy...right?"

"So does Lin Ling prefer tall people or short people?"

"T-tall?"

"So are you the type who likes to wear black clothes, is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and is more capable of being kind to others?" Lu Jiajia said almost in the same way as Shi Changyuan.

Xiaohua didn't react at first. She nodded first, then glanced towards the abyss beside her again. She realized it belatedly and her whole body began to turn red with embarrassment.

Seeing Lin Ling's reaction, Lu Jiajia immediately said, "Oh, oh, oh, although you are a family, you should not be related by blood, right? And you are definitely not in the same household registration book, so it doesn't matter if you are in a relationship."

Looking at the two of them, Lu Jiajia actually wanted to say that it didn't matter if they were related by blood, as there were many people working in orthopedics in the apocalypse.

"But if you are not a couple, the current situation is too intimate. It's best to keep your distance." Lu Jiajia changed the subject and said half-truthfully.

"Humans place great emphasis on boundaries. Your future partner may mind your relationship, but it will be difficult to deal with. It may end up with a breakup."

"There are even many who have become enemies. You must be careful about how you handle things."

So when Shi Changyuan and Lin Ling walked out of Lu Jiajia's shop side by side, the atmosphere was no longer as stiff and awkward as before, but there seemed to be some other indescribable emotions in it.

After this commotion, Xiaohua no longer had the heart to wander around the base, so she and Shi Changyuan returned to the villa prepared for them.

The villa is different from the Abyss. Two people don’t need to sleep in one bed and squeeze on a single sofa. There are many rooms here, and each room has a bed and a sofa.

According to the general psychology of human beings, if conditions permit, these rooms should only be occupied by one person, rather than two people squeezed together.

"Jia Jia said we were a little too close."

When the two of them reached the second floor of the villa, Xiaohua, who had been silent all the way, suddenly spoke up and mentioned this matter. Xiaohua seemed to have made sufficient mental preparations, looking into the abyss in front of her, trying to make things right, "Otherwise, let's just get along with each other as normal intimacy..."

The more Lin Ling spoke, the quieter his voice became, and the weaker his breath became. At the end, even his tone was uncertain.

"good."

But Shen Yuan quickly agreed.

Compared to Xiaohua's confusion and entanglement, from the beginning he agreed to move out of the abyss, so he had the space to keep a little distance between the two of them and think clearly.

Shi Changyuan looked at Lin Ling whose brows were unconsciously wrinkled, and almost subconsciously wanted to reach out and help him smooth them out, but his hand stopped as soon as it came out.

Crossing the line.

He took another deep look at the little flower in front of him and sighed silently.

That's perfect.

If no one had pointed out the truth and he hadn't figured out his strange emotions before, and had suddenly started to distance himself from Xiaohua, Xiaohua would probably have felt alienated and disliked and would have been angry.

Now it is Xiaohua who has taken the initiative to ask for control, so Xiaohua shouldn't be sad.

"Lingling, sleep here. I'll sleep downstairs." Shi Changyuan's hand finally fell on the top of Little Flower's head and patted it. Then he gently pushed Lin Ling into the room.

"Okay, okay."

Lin Ling walked into an unfamiliar room alone, and almost subconsciously turned around, trying to find the familiar figure that could give him a sense of security.

But before he could take a few glances, Shi Changyuan closed the door with a very gentlemanly and polite look.

Xiaohua felt a little lost all of a sudden.

He raised his foot angrily and wanted to kick the closed door, but he seemed to think that this was impolite, so he turned around, ran to the bed, and punched the cotton pillow.

He was going to be angry when he left so mercilessly!!!

Thinking of this, Xiaohua rolled over in bed again, punching the quilt and kicking the air.

Shi Changyuan stood at the door. At first he could still hear the movements in the room, but soon Lin Ling's footsteps faded away and he could only hear rustling sounds, which should be the sounds of playing.

The longer he stood in front of the door, the longer the alarm in Mo Cheng's surveillance station sounded.

Humans have detected dramatic, unprecedented abyss fluctuations. If it had happened two or three months ago, I'm afraid everyone would have thought that this was a sign of an "imminent volcanic eruption," and that this was the first step for the abyss to destroy the world.

From the images sent back by the helicopter, they could see that the abyss itself was not expanding, but instead several black shadows suddenly leaped into the air from the cenote and waved violently in the air like tentacles.

The tentacle-like shadows slapped the ground crazily from time to time, and even attacked each other, almost affecting the helicopter in the air.

According to the pilot in the helicopter, he did feel the breath of death at that time, but the moment the tentacle swung over and hit the helicopter, it was like a shadow that only attached to the surface of the helicopter and just brushed past.

But the chilly atmosphere also took the excellent pilot three months to recuperate.

But now, looking at this scene, looking at the shadow that could almost be described as "impotent and furious", what could Mo Cheng not understand?

She sighed and said firmly, "Maybe he had a quarrel with Xiaohua."

"I'll go ask Xiaohua what happened."

When Mo Cheng called through the communicator, Shi Changyuan had already left, but Xiaohua was still punching the air.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

When the communicator rang, Xiaohua was startled. This was his first time using a communicator. He pressed several buttons in a daze before finally getting through.

"Hello, is this Xiaohua?" Mo Cheng spoke cautiously.

"It's me."

Lin Ling recognized Team Leader Mo's voice right away, so when the other party said "I'm Mo Cheng", Xiaohua immediately narrowed her eyes, twitched her tail, and said proudly, "I recognized it!"

Xiao Hua's overly proud tone made Team Leader Mo unable to hold back a smile, and then he asked, "Xiao Hua, did something happen between you and Shen Yuan? Why does Shen Yuan look... a little angry?"

"Did he come to you to complain?" Lin Ling was stunned for a moment and asked back, judging by his own experience.

"...Not really." Mo Cheng adjusted his words, "It's just a little obvious, so I came to ask and see if I can help you solve the problem."

Before Mo Cheng finished her words, she and the inspectors beside her heard Xiaohua humming and saying how nice humans are.

Human beings looked at the shadows of the abyss that were swaying around: ...I dare not be bad.

Xiaohua briefly told Team Leader Mo what had happened before.

The people at the base's surveillance center were all stunned when they heard this. After all, among the top leaders of the base who knew Shen Yuan and Xiao Hua's true identities, almost everyone tacitly acknowledged that they were a couple. And yet they had only reached this progress now?

ah???

Do these inhuman beings really call this friendship?

All the human beings present were reflecting on themselves and the human race, wondering if they were too complicated.

When Mo Cheng heard the news, she was also stunned for a moment, but she quickly adjusted herself and gave very appropriate suggestions.

"Xiaohua, do you still remember what I said to you at the beginning?"

"Love is a relationship between people based on mutual admiration, driven by basic human desires and psychological needs."*

"I can see that Xiaohua has a psychological need for the abyss, and maybe a little admiration for it. After all, everyone will have some admiration for creatures that are strong, reliable, and partial to themselves."

"So, most importantly, is there desire?"

"You are now intimate and inseparable, but at the same time you need passion and commitment."

"I don't know how long you non-humans will live, but from my point of view, if Shen Yuan made a promise to Xiao Hua, it should be something that will never change, even if the seas run dry and the rocks crumble."

"He will take care of you, protect you, and love you forever."

"Can Xiaohua do it?"

Mo Cheng said these words with a heavy tone, even a little scary, but she actually had a selfish motive. She really hoped that Shen Yuan and Xiao Hua could be together forever, which would be beneficial to mankind and the world.

It's just a relationship, and it's normal to break up and get back together. It's just a process of getting used to each other. No one will promise each other to be together forever right from the start. That's all bullshit.

Passion and desire are all bullshit. Some human males can even get aroused by dead objects.

But if she scared Xiaohua like this and gave her such a heavy psychological burden of "eternity", would Xiaohua still have the courage to step out of that line and rush forward into the arms of the Abyss?

If that's not love, then what is it?

Love, no matter how short-lived, is eternal.

…

Mo Cheng's words really put a huge psychological burden on Lin Ling, almost suffocating her.

Xiaohua was lying on the empty bed, and suddenly she wanted Shi Changyuan to hug her.

Faced with an overly intimate situation, the unenlightened Xiaohua subconsciously retreated within the line. His movements and behaviors could indeed retreat within the line, but his emotions and subconsciousness could no longer retreat.

They are even on the verge of crossing the line completely.

Maybe this is what is called passion?

But... Xiaohua doesn't know how long this passion can last in the face of "eternity"?

Lin Ling thought quietly in the room for a whole day, almost thinking about all the pros and cons. He found that he was still thinking about Shi Changyuan and still wanted him to hug him.

So he isolated himself for another day.

But no matter how long he isolated himself, the emotion only grew more intense, instead of diminishing.

So at night, Lin Ling knocked on Shi Changyuan's door.

“Knock, knock.”

After just two clicks, the door in front of Xiaohua opened.

Xiaohua looked at the abyss in front of her that was so familiar, and wanted to throw herself into the other person's arms and cry, but she held back.

"I, I want you to explain clearly."

Shi Changyuan lowered his eyes and hid his clenched fists in his robe.

He stood in front of Lin Ling, as if waiting for the judge to read the final verdict to him.

"Well, you say."

Lin Ling's eyelashes fluttered violently, but his expression was extremely serious. With the courage of risking his life, he said, "I figured it out."

"I don't want to be just your seed, I don't want to be just your family anymore."

"I don't know if this is irresponsible, but eternity is too long."

Xiaohua spoke calmly, but a tear inexplicably fell from her right eye.

"So I was thinking, if, if one day I change my mind, you should lock me up in the abyss."

“It’s a terrible ending.”

"But I found that even so, I still want you to hug me, I still want you to kiss me, and I still want to be your partner."

Xiaohua looked at Shi Changyuan eagerly, "So, can you agree?"