Round One (02)

The system responded sluggishly, but at least it managed to connect, however faintly. After a long while, it finally spoke: "You are now... let's say... sss... a ghost."

Si Jiu was baffled.

"And... sss... you live inside a mirror."

She was speechless.

"For the... sss... specific situation... you'll have to wait... ssssss... for updates."

"Listening to you is exhausting. I have to guess half the words, and your static makes my teeth ache. You may take your leave now."

The system retorted indignantly, "Heartless woman! Hmph!"

So she was a wandering spirit residing in a mirror!

Emmmm... somehow, that felt oddly exciting.

Si Jiu gazed for a while at the fixed perspective, then began to try moving.

Of course, she attempted for ages, but she couldn’t feel her "body" at all. Apart from the sensation of being weightless, she couldn’t move a single bit.

Time trickled by. Exhausted from her fruitless "efforts," she gradually settled down, and without realizing it, she found herself staring blankly at the bed.

Until the sound of wheels rolling across the floor drifted in from outside, stopping at the doorway. Then, with a creak, the door opened and the wheels rolled in again.

This sound struck Si Jiu as strangely familiar for a moment, but she didn’t need to think hard—the answer was soon clear.

It was the sound of a wheelchair, and someone sitting in it came to the bedside.

As he approached, his profile entered Si Jiu’s view.

Jet-black short hair, long and upturned eyes, a high, straight nose, and lips pale—not too thin, not too full.

Si Jiu was stunned.

"System! Hey, system! I see... Shen Huai!!!"

The system crackled twice but didn’t respond; soon, even the static faded, leaving only silence.

The man arrived at the bedside and sat quietly for several minutes, then softly called, "Tang Tang."

Si Jiu was startled.

It was Shen Huai.

What was going on? How had she landed in the first mission world? And what happened to Shen Huai’s legs? Weren’t they healed before?

She called the system repeatedly, but there was no reply.

Meanwhile, Shen Huai had already lifted the bed’s gauze canopy.

The face of the person lying on the bed was fully exposed to Si Jiu.

It was Tang You. Tang You’s corpse.

One glance was enough. That was not a living person; no living person could have such a rigid, pale complexion.

Had Shen Huai lost his mind? Why was he keeping Tang You’s body?

The next moment proved Shen Huai could be even crazier.

He maneuvered himself onto the bed, took off his jacket, lay beside "Tang You," wrapped her in his arms, and tenderly kissed the crown of her head.

Then, as if nothing were amiss, he began to converse with "Tang You."

"Did you sleep well today? Did you dream?"

"The daisies outside are blooming beautifully. When you wake, I’ll take you to see them."

"And the swing—do you want white or pink? White, I suppose. Pink wouldn’t suit you."

"Are you cold?"

As he spoke, he tucked the quilt around "Tang You," and brushed her face with the back of his hand, just as he used to do when she was alive.

"This attempt at summoning your soul failed again. But don’t worry, the next try won’t be far off."

Shen Huai raised his right hand, and only then did Si Jiu notice the deep scar on his wrist—layer upon layer, old wounds atop new, the marks of repeated cuts.

"Looks like blood from here isn’t enough. Next time, I’ll try blood from the heart."

He curved his lips into a gentle smile, nuzzling "Tang You’s" hair affectionately. "Will you feel sorry for me, Tang Tang? If you care for me, wake up soon.

I have...

waited for you a hundred years."

Si Jiu felt a surge of rage when she saw the scars on his wrist, and hearing his intention to use heart’s blood made her chest burn with fury. She didn’t even notice him saying he’d waited a hundred years.

The Shen Huai in her memory was someone who would be afraid to see a stranger die in an emergency room, who seemed composed but was actually quite fearful of pain and discomfort, a pampered young master not fond of hardship.

This lunatic!

This fool!

How could he have become like this?

She had painstakingly (or so she thought) nursed his broken body back to health, not so he could ruin it!

Show some respect for another’s hard work!

She couldn’t tell if it was anger or heartbreak.

An invisible force welled up inside her, prompting her to struggle with all her might.

In an instant, she felt it—she moved.

"Bang!"

A sound echoed from the bronze mirror on the dressing table by the window.