Chapter 139
Drip—
A raindrop landed on Jiang Liu’s face, startling her eyes open from a moment of daze.
Her senses seemed to be slowly returning from a void. She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the road opposite, with a tide of cars and people. A passerby was complaining to a friend on the phone about the sudden drizzle.
A cool, damp sensation landed on her eyelashes, and the whole world seemed to be tinged with a layer of mist, blurring the line between realities.
The mall on the street no longer advertised the words “Lost Way,” but the bustling traffic and pedestrians were still hurrying about their lives. A rain shower poured down, and her chaotic thoughts gradually came back to her.
Jiang Liu blinked, her gaze passing over the bustling metropolis to the distant horizon. A white light seemed to have not yet dissipated, and Qiao Ke’s figure flickered within it.
Compared to before, he looked much more disheveled, leaning against a wall somewhat dejectedly, staring at Jiang Liu, wanting to speak but saying nothing.
At the same time, Jiang Liu felt something and turned to look behind her. That person’s footsteps were just crossing the crosswalk opposite, ignoring the glaring red light, looking around everywhere.
Jiang Liu stood up, ignoring Qiao Ke’s unspoken words, and turned without hesitation to run toward Yang Caisi.
The rain gradually grew heavier, pattering against the puddles on the roadside. She ignored the splashing rainwater, her eyes fixed only on the figure at the end of the road.
As she ran, the face in the sky gradually distorted, disappearing into the air with resentment.
“Thump.”
At the same time, Yang Caisi, after fifty years, once again embraced her reality.
“I’m taking my sister home.”
Yang Caisi took her cool hand, holding it tightly just as she had imagined in her memories countless times, and led Jiang Liu step by step toward home.
An autumn rain washed the entire city clean. Returning to a familiar place, the insignificant little details from past memories also revived in her mind.
When Jiang Liu woke up, it was already morning. The spot on the bed next to her was still warm, but the person was gone.
She didn’t look at her phone, just lay in bed staring at the blank white ceiling, still not quite feeling that she had left the game.
There was a very obvious mark from a ring on her ring finger, the skin there slightly pale. Now she always felt that something was missing and would unconsciously touch it.
The sound of the door lock turning came, but Jiang Liu didn’t move from the bed, listening to the familiar footsteps approaching, followed by the aroma of hot steamed buns.
“A new breakfast shop just opened downstairs. Come and try it.”
Yang Caisi placed the food on the dining table and slipped into the bedroom with a smile, still carrying the morning chill.
Jiang Liu’s eyes softened, and she leaned over to hug her, resting her head on her chest as usual.
“It’s cold!” Yang Caisi exclaimed, wanting to push her away but reluctant to part with the warmth. She could only sigh helplessly.
Cool fingers playfully traced her face, slowly outlining her features from her eyes to the corners of her lips.
Something softer than fingers replaced them, covering Jiang Liu’s lips. The cool morning air seeped into Jiang Liu’s skin, gradually being replaced by the warmth of the bed.
Jiang Liu was kissed until she was dizzy. The two bodies sank into the soft mattress, half of the thin blanket slipping to the floor, but neither of them had the heart to pick it up, giving all their soft passion to each other.
Yang Caisi was like a woodpecker pecking lightly on a branch. Jiang Liu couldn’t help but recall the yacht in the Instance, where the two of them were the only ones left in the vast world, drifting with the waves.
In a daze, a cool, hard object was pressed into her palm by Yang Caisi. Jiang Liu opened her eyes in surprise, only to meet her serious gaze. “Sister, let’s buy a big house.”
…This single bed is too small.
The unfinished whisper gradually faded in Jiang Liu’s ear. Before she could catch it, she had already sunk into the endless waves again.
Breakfast eventually became lunch.
Jiang Liu went to the kitchen to heat the buns. Looking down at the new ring on her ring finger, she was speechless. She glanced at the other person. “When did you prepare this?”
They had only been back for a day, and she had already prepared a ring while just going out to buy breakfast?
Wasn’t this a bit too obviously premeditated?
Yang Caisi leaned against the door and raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of slyness, like a fox squinting. “A long time ago.”
She grinned proudly and planted a kiss on Jiang Liu’s lips. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”
The countless fantasies of the past had finally become reality at this moment.
***
Finally managing to get all the goods displayed, the pastry shop employee let out a sigh of relief and sat idly at the counter, watching the street scene.
Their shop was located in an old residential area. Although customers said the taste was good, many people were too lazy to travel so far, resulting in a loss of customers.
She was quite content with the current quietness, but unfortunately, the boss had already set his sights on a new location and seemed to be preparing to move.
The employee sighed softly, then looked up and saw that it was already ten o’clock. She quickly got up and took the freshly baked pastries out of the oven to display.
This batch was old-fashioned tea cakes. Their appearance was different from cakes, and the taste was too sweet, requiring tea to make even half a piece palatable. Young people rarely bought them.
Speaking of which, two figures couldn’t help but appear in the employee’s mind.
There really were young people who loved to eat this.
There was a sister who came almost every day, without fail, for a pot of tea and a portion of cake. She always came with a smile and would sometimes share snacks with her.
The sister who came with her was also very beautiful. Sometimes she would even borrow the equipment to make things herself. Her skills were excellent, and she was very talkative, telling interesting stories that she had never heard before.
Just as she was thinking this, the bell at the door rang abruptly, and three customers entered the shop, chatting and laughing.
“The usual, three portions,” Yang Caisi said, tapping on the counter and signaling for Jiang Liu to take the other person to find a seat first.
The employee blinked, thinking to herself that you really can’t talk about people behind their backs. The person she was just thinking about had arrived.
She was already very familiar with Jiang Liu’s order. While skillfully brewing the tea, she glanced toward the corner and asked curiously, “Do you have a guest today?”
“An old… colleague from before,” Yang Caisi replied after some thought.
The employee said “oh” and didn’t ask any more questions, just thought for a moment and said, “We’re moving soon, so don’t make a wasted trip next time.”
This was also the boss’s instruction, but she didn’t think that people living here would travel to the city center for some pastries. The traffic there was always congested.
“Where are you moving to?” Jiang Liu’s ears were sharp, and she asked upon hearing this.
“Huh?” The employee didn’t expect to be asked by her. She blushed and stammered, “The new business cards haven’t been printed yet, so I don’t know either…”
“It’s okay. Give me one in a couple of days. We’ll be sure to visit.” Yang Caisi smiled gently to soothe the nervous young girl in front of her and took the teapot from her hand. “Thank you, that was a lot of work.”
Watching her back, the employee took a deep breath, and the heat on her face finally subsided.
“You two seem to be doing well.” Lin Jiao leaned back in her chair, her gaze sweeping over the two of them before finally settling on their clasped hands with a knowing smile.
Jiang Liu propped up her chin and stirred the tea leaves, her tone much friendlier than before. “Thanks to you, I’m in a great mood.”
Lin Jiao shrugged and took out a gift box from her bag, pushing it forward. “Gao Yuan helped you apply to keep this. But it seems you won’t be needing it anymore.”
She stared at the shining rings on their hands, couldn’t help but look a little longer, her expression somewhat wistful.
“It’s meaningful to keep it.” Jiang Liu accepted it politely. “Are they doing well?”
“Are you referring to this kid?” Lin Jiao sneered and pulled up a page on her phone, handing it over.
No one was more familiar with the contents of that page than Yang Caisi. It was the game’s employment contract.
The two large characters at the top caught her eye—Jiang He.
“He has a good personality. With time, he can take Qiao Ke’s place. We’ll take good care of him.” Lin Jiao first gave her affirmation, then sighed at the end. “I also didn’t expect him to choose to stay.”
Jiang Liu pursed her lips and said nothing.
When they were surrounded by the white light at the bottom of the well, Jiang He had briefly exchanged a look with her before following Gao Yuan away.
She couldn’t figure out when the kid had made up his mind, but she could guess who it was for.
He was still young and had the ability to bear responsibility.
“By the way, the others have all returned to their original lives. Those memories will be forgotten before long. Do you want to meet them?”
Lin Jiao seemed to have remembered something and said calmly, “After all, you went through life and death together. It would be a pity to forget like this, right?”
Jiang Liu was puzzled. “Is this allowed by the rules?”
Lin Jiao glanced at Yang Caisi. “Just consider it a little privilege for an old colleague.”
She had clearly heard Xiao Si’s answer earlier and was now teasing her with it.
“I appreciate the thought.” Yang Caisi lowered her eyes and squeezed Jiang Liu’s hand.
Life is a mixture of joy and regret. There is no need to deliberately seek perfection in reality.
They should all meet by chance in reality, walking peacefully on the streets, chatting about trivial matters, laughing and enjoying themselves, not being in the midst of an Instance crisis, baring their souls to each other.
Let those game memories that disturbed their dreams gradually fade away with time.
Whether it was Tang Ruo or Xu Meng, they would only wake up in the warm sunlight, vaguely thinking they had had the same nightmare, and then stand openly in the spring sun, hand in hand, heading toward the future.
Just like the two of them.
Their gazes met again, and they smiled at each other.
Seeing their expressions, Lin Jiao knew she didn’t need to say more. She picked up her bag and left gracefully.
When the employee came to clean up, she saw that Lin Jiao’s portion had only been tasted once and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Did that customer not like it?”
Jiang Liu looked at her retreating back and explained softly, “No, she loves the atmosphere of life here.”
Everyone is like a branch of a river. They may look the same, but the paths they must travel are vastly different. Yet, in the end, they all flow into the vast ocean without any divergence.
The employee seemed to understand, yet not quite. She watched the two of them leave, paying as they went. As the doorbell rang, Jiang Liu’s suggestion drifted into her ear on the wind.
“Let’s go on a trip. How about we go see my hometown?”
Jiang Liu seriously considered her own suggestion, thinking that revisiting her old home after a hundred years would have its own unique charm.
“Then we have to hurry. It’s almost winter,” Yang Caisi replied.
“Let’s go now!”
Before Yang Caisi could react, she had already been pulled several meters away.
The autumn wind, mixed with fallen leaves, whistled past the two of them, blowing the scarf on her chest behind her and revealing the pendant that bounced joyfully with her steps, twinkling like a sprite.
The sparrows on the telephone pole spread their wings. The two of them went against the current, chasing the freedom that had been waiting for many years.
(The End)