Love Letter to Code
Pure energy, like warm spring water, continuously poured into Jin Yang's nearly depleted core. That energy carried the unique, icy, orderly aura of He Yuan, yet was guided by an unprecedented gentle will. It carefully avoided any areas that might trigger rejection, precisely nourishing the deepest, most subtle cracks.
It's a completely different experience.
It is no longer forced indoctrination, no longer a bargaining chip, but pure, selfless giving...
Xiang Jinyang's tense body finally relaxed, bit by bit, completely, under this constant and gentle nourishment. His frozen limbs and bones gradually warmed up, and the chill that had penetrated his soul was gradually dispelled, replaced by a warmth that was both exhausting and reassuring.
He still leaned against He Yuan's shoulder, his eyes closed, his long lashes drooping quietly, masking all emotion. Only his gradually steady and long breathing and the slight flush on his cheeks indicated that his condition had improved.
Silence fell again.
But it is no longer tense, confrontational or ambiguous as before.
It's a kind of... calmness that comes with a bit of helplessness, like surviving a disaster.
He Yuan maintained the hugging posture, motionless, as if afraid to disturb the moment of peace in his arms. His chin gently rested on the top of Xiang Jinyang's head, feeling the cool hair brushing against his skin, bringing a strange itchy feeling.
His computing core was still running at high speed, but it was no longer analyzing threats or optimizing solutions. Instead, it was repeatedly replaying and analyzing everything that had just happened.
Xiang Jinyang's tears, his trembling, his resistance, his final whispered explanation... and his own confession about "code" and "system" that came out of his mouth.
He belatedly felt a slight... embarrassment.
Those basic cognitions that he regards as commonplace may sound shocking and incomprehensible crazy talk to the creatures in this world.
What would she think of him? A true, incomprehensible "monster"?
A strange emotional data stream called "anxiety" is quietly generated.
He couldn't help but tighten his arms slightly and hold the person in his arms more firmly, as if this was the only way to confirm that the other person did not disappear because of his "weirdness".
"...Did you get scared?" he asked in a low voice, his voice muffled in the other person's hair, with a barely perceptible hesitation.
Xiang Jinyang's body stiffened imperceptibly, but he didn't struggle. After a long moment, he gently shook his head, his voice still a little hoarse: "...It's just... I never thought about it..."
I never imagined the world could be interpreted this way. I never imagined that this being before me, possessing a real body temperature, capable of clumsy hugs and forceful kisses, could be so... beyond imagination.
"Do you think it's... ridiculous?" He Yuan asked, his tone filled with the persistence of a technician, as if he had to get clear feedback data.
Xiang Jinyang was silent.
Is it ridiculous?
Nature is absurd.
Treating the vast heavens and all living things as cold data and codes? Such thoughts themselves are the greatest disrespect and blasphemy against heaven and earth.
However……
He recalled the other party's astonishing efficiency in analyzing the formation and optimizing the rules. He recalled the purely technical curiosity when he mentioned "Qingling Moss" and "Silently Nourishing Things." He recalled the unfeigned honesty and... a hint of cautious nervousness in his eyes when he confessed just now.
All these incredible behaviors, if placed within the framework of "code" and "system", strangely become... understandable.
An extremely complex and indescribable emotion spread in his heart.
He shook his head again, this time a little harder, and his hair gently brushed against He Yuan's jaw.
"...I just feel that...the world you live in must be completely different from this place..." He carefully considered his words, trying to understand the incomprehensible scope.
Feeling that he had no rejection or fear, He Yuan's uneasiness quietly dissipated, replaced by an inexplicable... desire to share.
He wanted her to know. He wanted her to understand the world he saw.
"Yeah, completely different," he replied, his voice unconsciously tinged with the subtle excitement that only appeared when discussing his area of expertise. "No spiritual energy, no spells. But we have... the 'network.' It's like an invisible spiritual web covering the entire world, through which all 'information'—well, content similar to that transmitted by divine thoughts—can flow instantly."
He tried hard to explain in words she could understand.
"We construct everything through 'code'... a special, absolutely logical 'contractual text'. From the simplest calculations, to simulating the operation of all things, to... creating virtual worlds."
He paused, looking down at the quietly listening face of the person in his arms, and continued, "What I do is understand, write, and even break these 'contracts' in order to control the operation of the 'system.' In my world, this is called 'hacking.'"
Xiang Jinyang listened quietly, his glass-colored eyes slightly opened, looking at a certain point in the void, as if trying to imagine what kind of world that was.
Without spiritual energy, one can build a world? With a contract called "code"?
This is even more incredible than the most bizarre strange stories.
"So..." he said softly, "You consider me the 'administrator' of this 'system'?"
"Initially, yes," He Yuan said frankly. "It had the highest authority, yet it was running an ancient, bug-ridden administrator." He even subconsciously complained, then immediately realized the mistake and added abruptly, "...Not anymore."
Xiang Jinyang didn't pay any attention to his complaints. Instead, he grasped something deeper: "Then...what about 'emotions'? What about 'feelings'? In your eyes, they are also... 'data'?"
When he asked this question, his heart beat faster involuntarily.
He Yuan was silent.
This is a more core and more difficult to explain issue.
He thought for a long time, so long that Xiang Jinyang thought he would not answer. Then he slowly spoke, his tone more serious and confused than ever before:
"Yes and no."
"They do induce specific energy fluctuations, producing measurable physiological signals... In a sense, they conform to the characteristics of the 'data,'" he analyzed rigorously, "but..."
He tightened his arms again, resting his chin on Xiang Jinyang's head, his voice lowering. "But they can't be fully quantified, they can't be accurately predicted, and they can't be simply deleted. They interfere with logical reasoning, they can trigger irrational behavior, and they... make me feel 'uncomfortable', but... I can't let go."
"Especially..." He paused, as if searching for the most accurate description, "... related to you."
"They're like the most stubborn abnormal processes in the system, holding the highest priority. They can't be terminated or ignored. Forcible intervention will only lead to a more serious system crash." His metaphor still had a strong technical tone, yet it also revealed a sense of helpless indulgence. "And I... don't seem to want to truly 'clear' them."
He lowered his head, his lips almost touching Xiang Jinyang's ear, and said in a voice that was almost a sigh:
"Xiang Jinyang, you are the most complex, the most inexplicable, yet the 'bug' I don't want to let go of that I have ever encountered."
Xiang Jinyang trembled slightly.
bug...
A word that was completely unfamiliar to him.
But from the other party's helpless yet slightly doting (?) tone, he strangely understood the meaning.
Not a cold "administrator" or a ruthless "object".
It is a special, unusual existence that makes him helpless but unwilling to let go.
A sour and scalding warm current suddenly broke down the defenses of my heart.
He suddenly remembered the pure light that appeared in the eyes of that dull disciple under the old pine tree a long time ago when he finally learned the first magic formula.
At this moment, he seemed to understand that feeling a little bit.
To be understood. To be accepted. Even in such a weird way.
He slowly raised the hand that was not held, and hesitantly and gently hugged He Yuan's waist back.
Bury your face deeper into the other person's neck, which has a slightly cool breath.
This is an incredibly clear response.
He Yuan's body froze for a moment, and then, like an explosion, an indescribable, immense ecstasy swept through him! All the code streams seemed to be rendered in bright, cheerful colors!
He almost wanted to pick the person up and spin him around - if only there was such a way to celebrate in his database.
But in the end, he just hugged her back tighter and more tenderly, as if he was hugging the most precious and fragile source code in the world.
Silence flowed again.
But it is filled with a kind of warm and tacit warmth.
"...Are you still cold?" He Yuan asked in a low voice after a long time, his fingertips carefully combing the other's silver-white hair.
Xiang Jinyang shook his head slightly. His body was still colder than normal, but the bone-chilling cold had faded.
"Then..." He Yuan seemed to have remembered something, and his tone became a little hesitant, but also a little expectant. "Can I still... continue my 'research'?"
Xiang Jinyang's body tensed up again in an instant, and his ears turned slightly red.
He Yuan noticed it immediately and quickly added, "It's not the same kind as before! It's... another kind!"
He loosened his arms, distanced himself slightly, and his expression became extremely focused. He raised his hand, and the silver code light condensed on his fingertips again, but this time, he was no longer trying to repair or explore.
Those code streams jumped, combined, and transformed at his fingertips, like living elves.
They no longer constitute offensive instructions or analytical models, but rather... begin to take shape.
First, a few simple lines outlined the shape of spreading leaves. Then, more code joined in, converging into a bud ready to bloom. Finally, with a faint flicker of light, a lifelike, twin lotus flowers, composed of pure silver code, slowly spun and blossomed in his palm.
Each petal carries traces of precise codes, yet strangely emits a gentle and pure energy fluctuation.
It is not as soft as the real lotus, but has another kind of cold, rigorous and unique beauty.
"...This is..." Xiang Jinyang stared at the code lotus in a daze, his eyes full of amazement and disbelief.
"I condensed it my own way." He Yuan's tone was filled with a subtle hint of pride and nervousness. "I simulated the data structure and energy signature of the 'Twin Lotus'... well, that's the characteristic. It is said that this object symbolizes..."
He was stuck; the database seemed to lack information on "symbolic meaning".
"...of one mind." Xiang Jinyang continued softly, his gaze still fixed on the cold lotus flower that looked extremely moving because of the intention of its creator.
"Yes! We're of the same mind!" He Yuan's eyes lit up, and he breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had accomplished a major task. He carefully pushed the code lotus toward Xiang Jinyang.
"I'm giving it to you." He said solemnly, as if he was handing over supreme authority. "Although... it may not be of any practical use. The energy conversion efficiency is also average."
He couldn't help but start complaining about the technology again.
She reached out her hand to Jinyang, her fingertips trembling slightly as she touched the lotus.
There is no physical touch, only a gentle flow of energy and a wonderful "vitality" brought about by the operation of countless subtle codes.
Cold, yet gentle. Rigorous, yet romantic.
This was the first "gift" he had received in billions of years.
A unique "love letter" written in "code".
He raised his eyes and looked at He Yuan's eyes, which reflected the silver light of the lotus and looked a little nervous.
After a long time, a very faint but real smile, like the first sunshine breaking through the ice, slowly spread across the corners of his pale lips.
He gently closed his fingers. Although he couldn't really hold it, he carefully guided the code lotus into his own power of rules and kept it safely.
“…It looks great.”
He whispered, his voice still slightly hoarse, but it seemed to carry a hint of the sweetness of newly melted snow water.
He Yuan was stunned.
Looking at that light smile, feeling the other person's heartfelt, tiny joy...
He suddenly felt that one of the most important parameters deep within his core had been permanently and irreversibly rewritten.
The spring is chilly,
On the ruins,
A code lotus,
Blooming quietly.
clumsy,
But it is resounding.
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