Chapter 266 Epilogue - The New World Arc (Sixty-Three)
--prove?
Hearing the young man earnestly make his promise, word by word, in the darkness, Yu Qingzhou felt utterly helpless.
Even if it is proven, so what?
Regardless of whether the other person is sincere or not, one's life will not be drastically changed because of it.
Ultimately, who among them isn't a trapped butterfly in a cage?
Does being a pair of prisoners who cuddle and whisper sweet nothings make those who die alone seem superior?
Yu Qingzhou didn't understand.
It even evoked a sense of absurdity and ridiculousness.
"What can you use to prove it?"
"..."
"Your life?"
Feeling the dampness in her palm, Yu Qingzhou's fingertips moved down, groping and caressing E027's slender neck.
The skin here is very thin and warm.
Simply by holding it loosely, one can easily capture the activity below.
A subtle, trembling motion as saliva is swallowed—
A rapid, pounding pulse—
And, the tiny particles that suddenly appear on the surface of smooth skin—
Yu Qingzhou sensed all of this, feeling the changes in the other person's breathing rate.
Then, at a certain moment, he suddenly tightened his grip on both hands.
As his fingers dug deep into the soft side of her neck, the prominent veins throbbed faster.
The muscles tightened.
Yu Qingzhou heard a cracking sound emanating from deep within her throat, but the strength in her hands only increased—
Is it painful?
Are you feeling unwell?
So why... don't you push yourself away?
Is it because you have no strength left?
Is it possible for a person to die so easily?
Suddenly, Yu Qingzhou's mind flashed through the situation she might have to face next.
The thought of accidentally killing E027, and having to share a room, or even a bed, with a gruesome corpse before being discovered...
He suddenly felt bored.
At the same time, he let go of both hands.
A suppressed cough came from nearby.
The hands hanging at the sides were slightly stiff from maintaining a forceful posture.
My fingers became wet and slippery again, with an unpleasant feeling.
Yu Qingzhou recalled the sound she had just heard and wondered if she had actually swallowed some saliva this time.
I felt a bit disgusted.
But when it came to actually getting out of bed just to wash away the liquid that was most likely E027's saliva, Yu Qingzhou felt a little lazy.
He wasn't like that person who wandered around aimlessly all day, bored out of their mind, constantly looking for ways to have fun—
Every morning, Yu Qingzhou still has to participate in labor at the designated time and place.
However, just falling asleep like that is really...
So Yu Qingzhou finally decided to use E027's pajamas as a temporary hand towel.
The other party only reluctantly put on these pajamas after Yu Qingzhou's strong protests.
The idea of touching a naked body while half-asleep every morning was still a bit too much for Yu Qingzhou.
In particular, bad luck can bring an extra dose of fright.
After drying my hands, I felt a bit better.
But I always felt that there was still some warm and slippery sensation left.
Yu Qingzhou comforted herself by telling herself not to think too much.
At this moment, E027 seemed to have recovered from coughing and realized that Yu Qingzhou had already turned her back and lay back down without saying a word.
He seemed somewhat dazed.
After a while, Yu Qingzhou heard E027 also lie down.
After a rustling sound, he felt a heat source close to the back of his ear, and the breath brushing against the back of his neck stirred up a slight itch, causing Yu Qingzhou to involuntarily shrink his neck.
“Metaphor, light, boat—”
Yu Qingzhou heard E027 calling her softly, a hoarse and broken voice that sounded like it was coming from a grave.
Upon hearing this, his first thought was whether he had been discovered wiping his hands on the other person's clothes...
"Yu Qingzhou—"
E027 called out softly again, as if calling back a soul.
Yu Qingzhou almost got goosebumps.
Not wanting to continue pretending not to hear, he gave a perfunctory reply: "...What?"
He felt sleepy again and wished he could sleep soundly until dawn, without thinking about anything.
The next second, E027 said in a rising tone, "You still... like me a little, don't you?"
"..."
"You didn't just strangle me."
"..."
Yu Qingzhou belatedly realized that she had indeed hit her quite hard; E027's voice sounded like her vocal cords were damaged.
However, despite his hoarse voice, he still insisted on speaking in a cheerful tone into his own ear.
Yu Qingzhou simply didn't know whether to praise the other person for their strong will despite their disability, or for being mentally ill.
"...I just don't want to die with you."
He coldly uttered this sentence, then shut his mouth and ignored the other person.
E027 remained silent in the darkness for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly.
That hoarse laughter sounded truly eerie in the middle of the night.
Yu Qingzhou confirmed in her heart once again that the other party was definitely a complete lunatic.
After a while, E027 suddenly stopped laughing.
Then, as if talking to herself, she murmured softly, "Yes, everything you want will come true..."
Yu Qingzhou thought to herself, "The way they say that makes it sound like they really know what I want."
Then I found it a little funny; E027 was never a reliable person to begin with.
Delving into such details only makes you seem foolish, as if you're taking the other person's words to heart.
Ultimately, if even he himself doesn't understand something, how could E027 possibly know it?
"My life and my heart belong to you... Just wait a little longer, give me a little more time... that's all..."
E027's voice faded and disappeared completely into the darkness.
Only the sound of breathing rose and fell quietly.
After an unknown amount of time, Yu Qingzhou muttered something silently.
"...Who wants that kind of weird stuff?"
Giving him something meaningless is pointless; it would be like owing E027 something for nothing. It would be better for him to keep it himself.
Yu Qingzhou did not take what E027 said that night seriously.
Life went on without any change.
Yu Qingzhou felt that she seemed to have grown taller, but she was still far behind E027.
I don't know what's wrong with that guy. He looks like a piece of paper, a thin, pale person, but he's surprisingly tall.
Perhaps, all the nutrients meant for muscle growth are absorbed by the bones.
However, E027's strength was surprisingly great, unlike what it appeared to be.
It was probably sometime in February, not long after the Lunar New Year.
The Lantern Festival is just two days away.
E027 suddenly disappeared.
While they are called missing persons, similar cases have actually occurred before.
Because every so often, about once a month, E027 would suddenly disappear for two days, as if it were going to get a medical check-up or something.
Yu Qingzhou wasn't quite sure.
If E027 doesn't bring it up, he won't ask about it either... Anyway, when the time comes, the other person will appear in front of him, lively and energetic.
With a faint smell of disinfectant and an irritating smile, he ignored Yu Qingzhou's resistance and insisted on sticking to her.
But this time, it took a little longer.
As Yu Qingzhou watched the clock tick away, gradually approaching midnight, her mood began to grow somewhat anxious.
It wasn't that he missed E027 that much, or that he was particularly worried about the other party's safety.
I just didn't want to watch the glutinous rice balls dry out and crack because they had been left out for too long.
This is still required by E027.
[Make some glutinous rice balls, I want to eat yours.]
Yu Qingzhou didn't know where E027 got this whimsical idea from, suddenly having a craving for handmade glutinous rice balls.
【Isn't there one in the cafeteria too?】
Even if the cafeteria doesn't have it, it's just glutinous rice balls; Yu Qingzhou doesn't believe E027 can't get them.
Therefore, he suspected that the other party was deliberately playing a trick on him.
Taking advantage of the free time during the Chinese New Year, we specifically found him some work.
“But you didn’t do any of those things.” E027 smiled sincerely.
"Divine Gold" is used to describe how delicious his cooking is.
Yu Qingzhou was somewhat puzzled. He had hardly ever eaten glutinous rice balls in his life. And he was even making them himself…
I'm afraid it'll end up being nothing more than a pot of noodle soup. Let's see if E027 can still eat it with a smile like it does now.
Perhaps it's due to this mentality.
Yu Qingzhou finally picked up the pile of things that E027 had gotten before leaving.
Glutinous rice flour, sesame seeds, lard, white sugar, cutting board, rolling pin... and so on, almost everything is available.
When Yu Qingzhou saw the strange and varied lumps on the cutting board, she suddenly felt a little disappointed. What on earth was all this...?
However, he quickly recovered.
I originally did this just to kill time—
However, the person who promised to come back for tangyuan (sweet rice balls) did not appear as scheduled, even on the day of the Lantern Festival.
Yu Qingzhou realized for the first time how quiet the room was without E027.
After dinner, Yu Qingzhou fell asleep at her desk.
Half-asleep, he seemed to hear someone enter the house, and subconsciously felt that it must be E027 returning.
Feeling something soft fall on her shoulder, Yu Qingzhou groggily opened her eyes and, without turning her head, said to the person who came in, "Why are you only coming back now..."
After a moment of silence behind me, a voice rang out: "It's me."
Yu Qingzhou was taken aback. She straightened up and turned her head, only to be met with a pair of emerald green eyes... It was actually Shen Yingxue.
He instinctively looked behind the woman, but did not see the figure he expected.
Shen Yingxue came alone.
"It's you, Dr. Shen. Long time no see. Hmm... Happy New Year?" Yu Qingzhou greeted him politely, unaware of his purpose.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yingxue did not answer immediately, but instead quietly observed the boy for a moment.
Her gaze paused slightly as it swept over the handmade glutinous rice balls covered with plastic wrap placed next to her.
Following the other person's gaze, Yu Qingzhou suddenly became a little embarrassed.
That's actually—
"Li Nian is not coming back."
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