The wooden floor creaked along with a pair of feet walking on it. Only the light but fast sound of footsteps filled the hallway. A man fastened his pace as he got nearer to the exit. He immediately closed the door as fast as he opened it after he got out of the house.
The man looked up the dark sky. The moon light reflected on his deep blue eyes as he stared at it.
" A-Yun*? What are you doing out here so late? "
A raspy voice called out to him, causing him to turn around. There, at the door, stood Qin Xiu. A tired look rested on his face along with a forced-smile.
Xu Lingyun stared at him for a moment before slowly walking up to him and hugged him. Qin Xiu's smile stiffened for a bit before eventually returning the action. " What's wrong? Another nightmare? ", Qin Xiu whispered.
Xu Lingyun only frowned at that. His thoughts once again brought back his feelings. He thought that once his goals has been achieved, including his revenge, he would finally be able to feel complete. But that never happened.
Xu Lingyun 's left hand slowly reached towards his pockets and grabbed the knife hidden inside of it before plunging it towards Qin Xiu's chest.
" Uk-! ", Qin Xiu let out a pained sound as he tried to reach for the knife, only for it to be painfully removed and stabbing through his throught, blocking any of his attempts in speaking, causing him to fall down to the ground.
Xu Lingyun's dull eyes watched as the man before him moved around frantically until his body finally settled down.
It's only expected. Xu Lingyun used to think that being with that man will help him feel complete. He used to think Qin Xiu was a blessing sent to him. But he now understands.
Both of them were only using each other. And it's only right that only one of them can win.
End Of Epilogue
Zhao Ai stares in disbelief at the screen in front of him.
No! What?! How?!
He's utterly confused. This ending was certainly an unexpected outcome for him. Weren't the pairs originally in love with each other? So why?!
After a few minutes, Zhao Ai sighed for the 13th time. He really doesn't get it. What happened for it to escalate like this? After an additional minute of pondering, he finally stood up from his chair and decided to go to the nearby convenience store to eat noodles.
The convenience store was only 3 minutes away from his house so it didn't take long for him to get to it. As he waited for his food to heat up, he brought out his phone and texted his little brother.
[ Aiaiai : I'm at the convenience store. Do you want me to buy something for you? ]
Even after his food is ready, he still didn't get a reply. He figured that his little brother is probably still in school. He silently ate his food and decided to just get some cupped noodles to give to his brother once he's home.
Just then, his phone in his pocket vibrated. He brought it out and found that it was a friend who texted him.
[ Meng : Aiai! Your date just texted me! ]
Zhao Ai's face turned into shock for a moment before he quickly composed himself and texted back.
[ Xiao* Ai : Already? But didn't you just find them yesterday? And what did they say, Ge?* ]
His friend Fu Meng is a year older than him. He is someone he just met at school this year after they coincidentally bumped into each other on the road. But there was a group of dogs nearby that ran after them, causing them to climb on top of a random house's gate wall. Thankfully, the owner of the house was kind enough to call her neighbor to fetch their dog. After that, they became close.
[ Meng-Ge* : Yeah! They're very excited to go on their first blind date so they asked me if you two can go out on a short date later at the night market. ]
Just like his blind date, it's also his first time having one. He wasn't even planning on going on a date with anyone. The first reason for it is because he's too busy taking care of his little brother, Zhao Ru. The second reason is his brother definitely wouldn't let him. The first and last time someone confessed to him, his brother threatened her for a whole week. He only agreed for a blind date because his friend wouldn't stop bothering him about it.
Now that he's having his first date, he's actually quite excited. But he needs to be careful so his brothers won't find out.
[ Xiao Ai : Okay. What time? I need to prepare myself first. ]
Fu Meng went silent for a bit after seeing his message, probably asking his date about later. By that time, Zhao Ai cleaned his table and went out to go home. He was crossing the streets with other people on green light when his phone vibrated once more.
[ Meng-Ge : They asked if you're okay with 8pm. Since they also need to prepare. ]
That's fine, there's still 2 hours left. He began typing his reply when he suddenly heard shouts from multiple people. He raised his head and found people who were crossing with him, running into the other side. Then, some of them began pointing at him.and shouting unclear words.
Zhao Ai looked around in confusion and caught sight of a car moving straight towards him in a fast speed. He didn't even get to move before he felt a painful impact on his left shoulder for a second. And then, the whole world went dark.
[
[ -iating binding. Soul locking starts in 3...2...1. ]
Zhao Ai opened his eyes and found himself staring on a white ceiling. He looked around inside the white room. There was a table on a corner with three chairs, two couches at the left wall with a coffee table, and a television on the right wall.
Is he in a hospital?
Zhao Ai tried to recall what happened earlier and found this situation fitting. Right, he got into an accident. Of course he ended up in a hospital.
The first thing he does is sitting up, and damn was that painful, before looking for his phone. He needs to call his brother to let him know he's okay now.
[ Greetings, host. ]
Zhao Ai flinched at the sudden robotic male voice and the blue screen in front of him.
[ This system knows that all of this is surprising for you. But please do not panic and let me explain your situation. ]
The system explained how he got here. Turns out, his body is in a comatose in his world. And the system's boss snatched his soul temporarily to throw him inside of a novel. The very same novel that he read earlier.
[ Host just needs to experience this novel however he needs. Your confusion and irritation after reading this novel seemed to have reached so high that the boss noticed your soul when you got into an accident. So he decided to send your soul here. You can either fix the story or just live how you want here until the novel has reached its end. ]
Zhao Ai began to panic. Not because he entered a novel, but because his little brother is waiting for him in the real world. Just thinking about his brother pitifully sitting beside his bed at the hospital sent him into tears. He's ready to leave everything and everyone except his brother.
[ Do not cry, host. Once you have completed this novel, you will be able to go back in your world. And time between this world and your world is very different. A year here is merely a week in your world. ]
Even after the explanation, Zhao Ai still continued to cry. He can't even last a day without his brother! What more if a week?! After a few more minutes of crying, he's finally able to calm down.
He can't keep crying like this. He needs to do everything in order to see his little brother again. He knows that he can't oppose this system because he has heard multiple novels with a similar situation as him. He just needs to have faith.
Just then, a nurse walked inside the room. Upon seeing him, the nurse momentarily froze in shock before running away.
[ It seems that now will be a great time to introduce myself. I am System #246. You can call me 246 whenever you need me. ]
Zhao Ai can only nod in daze.
He flinched in surprise when two men suddenly barged inside. Their face were full of shock. One of them, the green-eyed man was in tears. They ran to his side and began asking him some questions.
" Aifei-er*! Goodness! My baby! Why are you crying?! Does it hurt anywhere?! ", The man who was crying exclaimed while holding his face.
" Aifei, are you feeling better now? ", the other man asked calmly, though his face showed worry.
" My baby, we're taking you home okay? I'm so sorry... ", The other man embraced the two of them as he tried to calm the green-eyed man who was mumbling apologies.
It seems like he took over a male cannon fodder who had a feminine name.
After a few seconds of thinking of what to do in this situation, Zhao Ai, or Zhao Aifei, finally came up with an easy solution.
He turned his face into confusion before asking, " Who... Who are you? "
The two immediately went silent at his words, their faces turning pale. Just then, a man in a white coat who seems to be the doctor came inside.
The man who embraced him quickly walked towards the doctor before pulling his collar. " You! What did you do to my son?! You said he was okay! ", The man, his father, yelled out.
The green-eyed man snapped out and began crying even more, albeit silently as he embraced him.
" Sir Zhao, please calm down. Your son was just fine when we checked him. What happened? ", the doctor asked as he carefully removed the hands on his collar.
" My son has lost his memories! "
His father and the doctor continued to speak while the green-eyed man continued to lock him in a tight but gentle embrace. By that time, nurses began to walk inside to check up on him and to calm his father.
And all that was in Zhao Aifei's mind is what he needs to do next. He's also wondering if his date is still waiting for him at the night market.
__________
Author's Notes :
Ge/Gege : Something people in china call men who are older than them. (Ex : (name)-ge or (name) Gege or just Gege and Ge. )
Er : It is a term of endearment which means " child ". It is added after someone's name. (Ex : (name)-er )
A : It's what people add to someone's name. It is added before the name. (Ex : a-(name) ). It is a friendly or close way of calling someone.
Xiao : It means little. Just like " a ", it is added before the name. It is a friendly way of calling someone younger than you. (Ex : Xiao (name) )
Please let me know if there are any errors so I can fix them.