Chapter 77: Why Are You Not Willing to Stay?

Jiang Zihan curled his fingers tightly, wanting to reach out and catch the person in front of him. "Who are you—?"

He stood up, and walked toward him, but before he could touch him, the scene in front of him suddenly shattered into countless fragments, leaving him only darkness.

He opened his eyes again and saw Ling Xiao staring at him with concern. "Zihan, are you feeling uncomfortable anymore? Need me to take you to the school infirmary to do a small checkup?"

He didn’t answer Ling Xiao’s questions immediately; instead, he looked around at his surroundings. The dining hall in front of him was just as it always was, and Ling Xiao was still sitting across from him. Everything is so normal that he started to believe that the scene he saw before was just his own imagination.

"I’m fine. I guess I’m just a little tired today," Jiang Zihan forced a smile on his face before answering.

Ling Xiao still looked at him, feeling a bit worried. "Are you really okay? If you’re feeling uncomfortable anywhere, remember to tell me."

Jiang Zihan quickly nodded and took another bite of the fried chicken.

——

Over the next few days, Jiang Zihan’s life continued just as usual. He lived a few blocks away from Ling Xiao’s house, so they would usually go to school together in the morning. During lunch, they would meet with each other in the dining hall. At the end of the day, they would also discuss his experience with the games that Ling Xiao recommended to him the day before.

Except for that time when he saw that strange scene in the dining hall, everything seemed to be pretty normal.

He never saw that blurry figure ever since, which made him let out a sigh of relief, though he felt somewhat depressed at the same time. But every time he looked at his face in the mirror, he still had the feeling that something wasn’t right.

The classes in the past weeks had been pretty easy. While he was working through a complicated math problem one day, Ling Xiao suddenly leaned over.

Jiang Zihan: "...?"

"Zihan, come home with me today. I just discovered a new game that you might like," Ling Xiao whispered in his ear.

"Oh? What is it called?" Jiang Zihan asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Moon Pact: Song of Destiny," Ling Xiao replied.

Jiang Zihan immediately froze in place as the pen dropped to the floor from his hand. His head began to hurt again as he grabbed his head with both hands.

"What... What is this feeling?" he muttered as he suddenly fell to the floor, losing consciousness.

"Zihan...? Jiang Zihan!"

The second Jiang Zihan snapped his eyes open, he found himself sitting on Ling Xiao’s bed, holding a phone in his hand.

Where am I... right now?

He lowered his head, his sight landing on the phone screen, which was still lit. It displayed the launch screen of a game—Moon Pact: Song of Destiny.

Jiang Zihan’s pupils shrank when he unconsciously dropped the phone to the bed.

Hearing the soft sound, Ling Xiao shifted his gaze away from his phone screen and looked toward Jiang Zihan. "Zihan, what are you doing? Let’s start the game!" he said with a cheerful voice.

Jiang Zihan swallowed before asking, "Ling Xiao, why am I at your house?"

Ling Xiao stared at him, his face filled with confusion, as though he did not understand what he was asking such a weird question. But he still answered him honestly, "Weren’t you the one who asked me to play this new game with you?"

"Was it?" Jiang Zihan asked in a low, hoarse voice.

"Zihan... why do you feel a little strange today? Is there anything wrong?" Ling Xiao asked.

So that’s what happened...

Jiang Zihan fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. Then he looked up and met Ling Xiao’s eyes. He let out a light smile and said, "Ling Xiao... I’m so happy to see you again. Really... I never thought that I would be able to go back to my world and relive the life I had before. Even though all of this is fake, I’m still very grateful that I was given a chance to have such a beautiful dream."

The smile on Ling Xiao’s face froze for a second before he said, "Zihan... I don’t know what you mean."

Jiang Zihan did not explain. He carefully examined the person in front of him. That familiar face, that familiar expression—everything was exactly as it was in his memories. He did not want to believe that everything here was fake... and he did not want to wake up from this beautiful dream so soon...

But... a dream is just a dream. He knows for a fact that the person sitting in front of him was not the real Ling Xiao.

Jiang Zihan slowly lowered his gaze, his fingertips gently tracing the edge of the phone. "I’m very sorry," he whispered.

"What...?"

"Ling Xiao, I’m very sorry for breaking our promise. We once said that we would be friends forever... but I wasn’t able to stay by your side forever. I know that you must be very angry right now..."

He looked at Ling Xiao and said with a confirmed tone. "You aren’t him."

"Ling Xiao" stared at him blankly, as though he wasn’t able to process his words. After a moment, he let out a soft laugh and asked, "Zihan, what are you even saying? How would I not be Ling Xiao?"

"You aren’t. You look just like him, but I know that you aren’t," Jiang Zihan shook his head and retorted.

The bright smile on "Ling Xiao’s" face slowly disappeared as he asked, "Why aren’t you willing to stay in this world?"

"What do you mean...?"

"Ling Xiao" reached out a hand toward him, his tone sounding persuasive. "There are no Hunters in this world. You do not have to face monsters that you are scared of, and could always be together with Ling Xiao. You don’t have to worry that you’ll be killed by Mo Shiyan one day either. It’s so peaceful in this world; why are you not willing to stay here forever?"