Chapter Ch63.2 - Love Song on Ice (20.2) (End)
Chapter Ch63.2 - Love Song on Ice (20.2) (End)
translator: baumkuchen editors: serefina, glitterypanda
After coming back from Finland, Dong Ge and He Changsheng took a trip to the neighbourhood he used to go to every week.
He asked He Changsheng to wait downstairs for a while while he walked up the stairs, step by step, until he reached the fifth floor.
When he went further up, what met him was no longer a warm home, but a staircase leading to the roof.
Dong Ge walked to the top of the staircase, and slowly sat down.
This old apartment building had never had a sixth floor, just like how he’d never had an uncle.
Ever since “Dong Feihong” went abroad, the memories the people around him had of him had all gradually began to fade. First, it was He Changsheng and the rest, then, it was his parents.
Only Dong Ge still remembered this person clearly.
When Chi Xiaochi was still in his body and he first saw Dong Feihong, he had found it strange.
He remembered very clearly, his father had no brothers.
He had gone to the police station to check, and even the record of Dong Feihong saving them had been erased completely. On the file, it was written that it was a passing policeman who had resolved their crisis.
……Everyone knew that a person’s time on earth was like a goose’s footprint in the snow.
Everything related to Dong Feihong had gradually disappeared. The only thing that hadn’t disappeared was the manga Dong Feihong had promised to draw for him.
He pulled out the manga from his bag and casually flipped it open to a random page.
“Dong Ge” had just finished his leg stretches and was now resting. He unscrewed the cap off of a bottle of mineral water.
As if he’d sensed someone’s arrival, he looked over, out of the page.
The Dong Ge in the manga and the Dong Ge in reality met eyes.
The look in that person’s eyes was incredibly like Dong Ge’s, three parts wariness, three parts pride, like a little stray cat who wouldn’t admit defeat.
But the remaining four parts, however, were an alienation and a melancholy that made one’s heart hurt.
Dong Ge closed the manga, wondering, that person called Chi Xiaochi, how was he able to act so much like him?
A quarter of an hour later, the He Changsheng downstairs finally couldn’t wait any longer, going upstairs himself to look for him.
Seeing Dong Ge sitting on the steps, He Changsheng asked, “Where’s your friend?”
Dong Ge replied, “Moved away.”
He Changsheng asked, “Was it a very good friend?”
Upon speaking of this, He Changsheng thought about Lou Sifan once more. His expression changed slightly.
Yesterday, he’d found out that Lou Sifan had turned in his application to withdraw from the team. It seemed like he was planning on going abroad for treatment.
Lou Sifan didn’t come to see him, and he hadn’t gone to see Lou Sifan. The former best friends, just like that, plainly and without any fanfare, went their separate ways.
Dong Ge said, “They saved my life.”
Upon hearing this, He Changsheng was pulled out of his emotions. He stared at Dong Ge, rather shocked.
Dong Ge said, “But I didn’t even get to say a single k2018;thank you’.”
k2026;k2026;If at that time, he could speak, even if he only had a single sentencek2026;k2026;
He Changsheng sat down next to Dong Ge and took the hand he had placed on his knee in his without a word.
He was wearing a loose black hoodie, on it written QUEEN.
The Dong Ge who was wearing KING looked up at He Changsheng, the look in his eyes turning gentle. “Qianbei, your hair’s gotten long.”
He Changsheng touched his hair and said, “I haven’t cut it in a long time.”
Dong Ge said, “I’ll help you tie it into a half crown braid.”
He Changsheng said, “You know how to?”
Dong Ge, “Yes. Someone taught me.”
He Changsheng then turned his back to him, letting him do as he wished.
As Dong Ge ran his fingers through He Changsheng’s thick hair, his heart gradually settled down.
He Changsheng, his back to him, said, “Come visit my new house today.”
More than half a year ago, He Changsheng had used all the prize money he had accumulated over the years to buy an apartment. The renovations had been completed three months ago.
Dong Ge said, “Okay.”
He Changsheng lowered his voice even further, “……Bring your toothbrush.”
Dong Ge laughed, “Okay.”
The nightmare was over. What he held in his hands now, what he embraced in his arms, was the truth.
Back to one and a half months earlier.
In the “Space Between Moments”, all the data from Chi Xiaochi’s third world was already displayed on the databoard before the Lord God.
Host number: No. 1198
Host name: Chi Xiaochi
World Difficulty Level Assessment: B-rank (Normal level)
Degree of world completion: 100
Host status assessment: All functions are good and stable, can be transmitted at any time.
Total entropy value: 1370 (Below average of 4120)
Although the data was still far from the passing mark, and the original host’s entropy value was still 0, it was still very pleasing when compared to the data from before.
The Lord God observed several key points of fluctuations in Chi Xiaochi’s entropy value, in a rare happy mood.
There was a knock at the door. Subsequently, 061 appeared in the “Space Between Moments”.
061 said, neither overly humble nor overly arrogant, “You were looking for me?”
The Lord God said, “Yes. I’m informing you in advance that for your next world, your host will be entering an A-rank world.”
061’s expression changed slightly, “You……”
The Lord God cut him off, “However, I will give you the authority to create an identity for yourself, so that you can have a real and effective identity in the next world and can help your host complete his task.”
061 didn’t instantly agree. “Why are you doing this?”
The Lord God said, “I’ve always wanted to reform the criterion for choosing hosts, to make arrangements for hosts with different personalities and different capabilities. Chi Xiaochi’s appearance has let me catch sight of this possibility. He should do his utmost to carry out high-rank tasks to provide us with even more experimental samples and data. Last time I conducted the experiment, I didn’t think it through enough. Now with you being by his side to provide assistance and protection, you should be able to be at ease.”
061 thought, Chi Xiaochi was indeed unlike any other host.
061 asked, “Under the precondition that I can have a body, will I still retain my abilities?”
The Lord God replied, “Yes.”
061, “Can I tell the host about my identity as his system?”
The Lord God said, “No.”
061, “Why?”
The Lord God said, “If you tell him, can you guarantee that he won’t become reliant on your existence? If he becomes reliant on you, the experimental data will lack appropriate evidence.”
061 didn’t say anything else, thinking about this plan proposed by the Lord God.
The Lord God added, “If you’re willing to continue with my plan, I will implant a secrecy program into your body. Once implanted, you won’t have the power to declare your true identity. Moreover, the terms I’m offering you haven’t changed: Instead of 200 tasks, you just need to carry out 120 tasks before being able to leave.”
After coming out of the “Space Between Moments”, 061 let out a long sigh.
……He had agreed to the Lord God’s proposal.
He dared to agree, firstly, because Chi Xiaochi had already accumulated enough cards, secondly, because he believed he’d be able to protect Xiaochi, thirdly, because……
Thirdly, because he was selfish.
He remembered he needed to keep an appointment.
There was someone waiting for him. He’d been waiting for a long, long time now, so he couldn’t bear to make him wait even longer.
Probably because he’d thought of the person who was waiting for him, 061 suddenly missed Chi Xiaochi to an unbearable extent now.
Upon returning to his room, he paced around for a bit, then read for a while, before finally, he couldn’t bear it anymore. He stood up and sent himself back to that white space.
Going by his search history, he sent himself to that set of tube-shaped apartments and found Chi Xiaochi.
Because this wasn’t a task world, 061 practically lost all of his abilities, only retaining his basic sensory abilities.
It happened to be in the evening. Chi Xiaochi was lying on his bed, already asleep.
Just as 061 entered his body, he saw Chi Xiaochi jerk up from the bed, rub his face and look around anxiously.
Slowly, his eyes, which had still had some light in them, dimmed.
Then, 061 heard him let out a hoarse laugh.
The corners of his eyes curved, the corners of his mouth curved, outrageously alluring.
Chi Xiaochi had just been dreaming.
In the dream, Chi Xiaochi had been watching 《Les Misérables》. Upon watching the ending, he laid down on the table and cried.
When Lou Ying came back from outside and saw such a Chi Xiaochi, he was given a big shock.
Patting his back, he asked, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”
Chi Xiaochi had cried himself into a weeping Niobe. His eyes clouded with tears, he looked at Lou Ying, “He died, Jean Valjean died……”
Lou Ying took him into his arms and stroked his head. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”
Chi Xiaochi buried himself into Lou Ying’s embrace, sniffling.
But when he looked up once more, the embrace was gone, Lou Ying was gone, even his tears were gone.
Chi Xiaochi remembered that he already hadn’t cried in a long time now, outside of for his work.
That last time he cried had been when he’d learned of Black’s real ending in 《Harry Potter》.
Upon finding out about Sirius’ death, he’d taken a fifteen minute break and hid in the bathroom.
He needed ten minutes to fix his makeup, so he gave himself five minutes to cry.
He pressed his head against the walls of the cubicle. As his tears streamed down his face, his mouth kept repeating the same words over and over, reminding himself, “Five minutes. Five minutes.”
Now, he couldn’t cry, and he didn’t really want to cry.
After sitting in a daze for a while, he called in his mind, “Liu-laoshi, Liu-laoshi.”
061 snapped to attention, immediately sending him back to the space.
A little too ashamed to say that he had been secretly peeking at Chi Xiaochi just now, he just asked, “How was your rest?”
Chi Xiaochi indifferently raised the corners of his lips, looking careless and casual, as if nothing could shake him. “It was very good. Let’s go, on to the next task.”
The author has something to say:
The next world is ABO~
baum:
Author says they’re vers~
sere: excited for ABO