Love, Gun, Cupid

"At least from my perspective, she didn't cast any contact curses or illusions on you, or try to break your confusion spells."

“People who don’t play by the rules are the hardest to deal with… Could you mobilize the resources under your control to help me monitor her, madam? This is also for your peace of mind,” Mu Mian said.

“The deeper the knockout stage goes, the more anxious you become, Mian. You should adjust your mindset first.” Jianlan patted her shoulder. “I can agree to your request, but you also have to agree to one condition.”

"What?" Kapok said.

Gladiolus blinked: "Dispel the confusion spell and communicate with Lin Jiade in your true form."

Extra chapter added

Chapter Sixty-Four: "Jasmine, I'm Sorry"

“You’re jealous of the relationship between Jasmine and Lin Jiade, aren’t you? What’s preventing you from becoming the second Jasmine is that confusion spell that’s never been removed from your head,” Jianlan said.

"What good will this do you?" Kapok asked.

“If Lin Jiade continues this relationship with you, he will pay more attention to you, and I long to win back his attention… It’s not hard to understand the feeling of wanting someone you like to look at you.”

"But I promised Jasmine that I would settle things with Lin Jiade after the competition..."

Gladiolus blinked: "You've already disappointed Jasmine, and it's almost impossible to win her back. The most realistic thing to do is to say 'I'm sorry, Jasmine' while making amends to her. Seeing her sulking and helpless, you'll realize that the offspring of the Red Dragon are such adorable creatures."

Kapok now believes that scumbags attract each other. She, a scumbag, attracted Lin Jiade, Lin Jiade attracted Du Juan, and Du Juan then brought in Jasmine and Gladiolus. The latter two seem innocent, but they can't be called simple victims either.

Mu Mian had no reason to refuse Jian Lan's deal. She watched as Jian Lan transformed into a crow and took flight to track and monitor Cui Mu Feng Lian, while she went to find Lin Jia De and took out her phone to call Tian Long on the way.

From the moment the match was fixed, Mu Mian and Tian Long became allies. In a society where self-interest reigns supreme, such shifts in allegiance are commonplace. Mu Mian and Tian Long agreed to contact each other immediately in case of an emergency to protect their shared secret.

"Hello?" Tianlong's voice came through the crack, "What happened?"

“Our match-fixing was discovered. It was Cui Mu Feng Lian. She came to me today to make a deal and revealed this information.”

"What did you say? Bullshit!" Tianlong's volume and tone rose simultaneously. "Where have we gotten to?"

"She hasn't said anything yet, claiming it's a deal, a deal where I pay her money to fail."

After recounting the events of the evening to Tianlong, Mumian added, "My men are monitoring her."

“This is a destabilizing factor. Let’s find an opportunity to shut her up forever,” Tianlong said.

"Listen, Cui Mu Feng Lian can't die on my turf. Besides, she's my direct competitor. If she dies, I'll definitely be investigated. Don't expect me to withstand the interrogation. We'll both be finished then!"

"Keep her calm for now. I'll also check on the intelligence from the Second Section of the Special Transportation Bureau...fuck! What kind of lunatics are in this qualifying tournament?"

Tianlong hung up the phone, cursing. Mu Mian saw Lin Jiade carrying Jasmine out, so she came over and gestured for him to come home. Lin Jiade nodded, and Mu Mian took him home. They didn't say a word the whole way, and Jasmine slept soundly on Lin Jiade's lap.

As they got off the bus, Lin Jiade carefully picked up Jasmine, his expression gentle and his eyes brimming with love. At these moments, Kapok always felt a bitter taste welling up inside her. If she hadn't done something wrong, she should have been the one receiving the princess-like care and affection in Lin Jiade's arms.

She recalled the deal with Jianlan, took a few deep breaths, and finally pressed her hand to her face. The black mist dissipated, and she said in a trembling voice, "Lin Jiade."

Lin Jiade turned around, and Kapok's face came into his view. Although her eyebrows and eyes were different from those in his memory, her emerald green eyes, reddish-brown short hair, and the same voice made the image of Xia Tian, ​​who was 14 years old, suddenly reappear before Lin Jiade's eyes.

Lin Jiade's heart felt like it was being clenched. Memories caused pain, joy caused pain, excitement caused pain, and the pain made his body tremble. He wanted to say something, but tears welled up in his eyes first.

When Kapok lifted the confusion spell, she had mixed feelings but no desire to cry. However, when she saw Lin Jiade crying, her own tears welled up uncontrollably.

The December night was cold, and people went home early to rest, so the streetlights cast three lonely shadows. Lin Jiade and Mumian looked at each other in silence, only tears, carrying the warmth from their bodies, flowed out, blurring their vision, and the suddenly cold tears made their cheeks itch.

"I'm leaving... See you tomorrow."

Mu Mian wiped away her tears, preparing to turn and leave, but Lin Jiade didn't want to sever the bond of their reunion. He strode over to the space between Mu Mian and the driver's seat. Mu Mian smoothed her hair and whispered, "You're still holding Jasmine in your arms!"

"I won't let you leave! I thought, I thought I'd never see you again in this lifetime, I don't want to wait until tomorrow!"

Lin Jiade glared with bloodshot eyes, his expression ferocious. The leaked energy made his hair stand on end, making him look like an enraged lion. Intimidated by his imposing presence, Mu Mian changed her mind and followed him home.

"what?"

Gladiolus, Cuckoo, and Warbler, three people with teleportation abilities, were playing cards at home. A crow was perched on Gladiolus's shoulder. They all looked at the blooming kapok flowers behind Lin Jiade with the same expression.

Lin Jiade handed Jasmine to Jianlan. He reached out and touched Jasmine's forehead. Looking at the girl, who was exhausted after the battle and her homework and was sleeping soundly, he felt a pang of guilt. Then he took Mumian's hand and led her to the bedroom.

After closing the door to block the curious gazes of the two celestial observers, he turned around and suddenly hugged the other person tightly. At this moment, it didn't matter if the cotton tree had no gender. The memories and the long separation overwhelmed Lin Jiade.

He held her tightly, feeling the heartbeat of the cotton tree, her resistance and submission. As her hands closed around his back and tightened inward, the last gap between them was swallowed up, and Lin Jiade's happiness reached its peak.

They hugged for five minutes, ten minutes? Lin Jiade didn't know; he wanted to keep hugging like that, to continue through the summer of his 14th year.

"Why... even though you've returned to my life, do you hide your identity and pretend you don't know me when you interact with me?" Lin Jiade asked.

“Because knowing you was a mistake, I regret it deeply, even though I was happy at the time,” Kapok replied.

"If you regret it, why did you show me your true self and let me relive my memories?"

"Because I don't want my escapism to become a second regret in the future... If you really don't intend to dwell on the past, then there will only be happy memories between us."

Lin Jiade, I want to be with you, as a sword and a swordsman, as a swordsman and a sword, as a kapok and Lin Jiade... as a woman and a man.

Jasmine, I'm sorry, the separation I promised was just a lie. What I truly longed for... was always just to be together.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Recalling the Past (1)

Despite the many problems that still existed, Mu Mian was now overwhelmed by her passion. She stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Lin Jiade's neck, and kissed him passionately, while Lin Jiade stroked Mu Mian's reddish-brown short hair and the lines of her back.

He followed his instincts, and when he regained his senses, he and Mu Mian lay hand in hand on the bed. The cold wind howled, the aluminum alloy window frame trembled, and the lights of the tall buildings outside the window lit up the darkness in solitude.

“I still remember nights like that. Even though it was summer, I was still lonely at those times. Maybe it’s because I was a 14-year-old with an overactive sense of self, or maybe people are just creatures who feel lonely in quiet moments… I hate the night, I hate quiet moments.”

Lin Jiade turned to look at Kapok, whose emerald eyes reflected his own. He continued, "However, that summer, the quiet night came alive because of your intrusion."

I hope I'm not mistaken, on some night, as we were going to or leaving the burger joint, you grabbed my hand, which had been washed under the tap, and we walked forward together. Above us was the starry sky, beneath our feet was a stone path illuminated by streetlights, fireflies danced, and the sounds of cicadas and the fragrance of flowers accompanied us.

I don't think I fell in love with you back then, because my mind was completely focused on football. But it was a wonderful memory. Your presence made me truly see girls as girls; you were my sexual awakening.

As Lin Jiade spoke, he felt Mu Mian tighten her grip on his hand. He asked, "Is there something wrong with my memory?"

“No…this is good, very romantic,” Kapok said. “Let me tell you something you don’t know, like the summer we spent together, the time between when I ran away from Jiuhua Mountain and when my family finally caught me.”

"You can imagine."

"I ran along the highway to a small town, relying on leftover food from fast food restaurants, on the charity of kind people, and on... robbery."

A kid who looks like a middle school student wandering the streets alone is easy to spot, isn't he? There are people who are kind to me and want to help me, and there are people who want to harm me, and I will rob them.

These kinds of people are too afraid to call the police after I rob them, so it works every time. I even started to have the fantasy of a female knight-errant from a martial arts novel who, after mastering her skills, descends the mountain to punish evil and uphold justice.

“If I were 14 years old, I would also think it’s pretty cool,” Lin Jiade said. “There’s no need to be shy. Everyone starts from being a level 3 anti-law imprinted and gradually becomes a level 3 submissive imprinted. That’s what growth is.”

"There are only so many bad people in the city. After sending the adults who tried to harm me to where they belonged, I wandered aimlessly through the city. Punishing evil no longer stemmed from morality, but from an inner emptiness."

I kill stray cats and dogs because they damage the ecosystem and endanger passersby; I vandalize places where people dance in public squares because they disturb the peace; I beat up all the delinquent teenagers who bully classmates outside of school because they have never learned to be good since childhood.

I meddle in everything, not for justice, but for my own amusement, yet I pretend to be some kind of righteous messenger, doing whatever I please in ordinary society.

“Logically speaking, the special tactics and rescue team of Fuxing City should have been dispatched by now,” Lin Jiade said.

"At that time, they were dealing with more serious superhuman incidents. As for me, a kid who didn't endanger other people's lives and whose damage and contribution to social order were about equal, they temporarily listed me as a secondary target."

"And then you came to my house?" Lin Jiade asked.

"It was an accident. I chased the thief into the community, but I felt dizzy. The exhaustion from the past few days had depleted my energy, and the shadow of my parents taking me back home made it impossible for me to rest properly... so I took refuge in the community."

I used the last of my energy to cast a spell, drastically reducing my presence in people's eyes, so people came and went in the neighborhood, but no one noticed me... until you arrived.

“But I’m just an ordinary person…” Lin Jiade said.

"Your memory may have a beautiful and romantic filter for our meeting, but in my memory, we met on a sweltering afternoon. The sun scorched our skin, turning it into a burning pain. Even when we were hiding in the pavilion, the sweltering air still made us dizzy."

Then, while I was dozing off, I met you. You weren't as tall then, and you were darker than you are now, like a sapling growing up, with a gloomy and unhappy expression on your face.

You're in a bad mood, so you're kicking a ball aimlessly around the neighborhood square, sweating buckets like a fool. Soon, you'll get heatstroke.

"what?"

“I was the only one there. Although I didn’t want to get involved in your affairs, I carried you to the pavilion and bought you salt soda and iced mineral water. I’ve done good and bad things, and this is the first time I’ve taken care of someone.”

"So..." Lin Jiade smiled, "some strange thought has sprouted in your mind?"

Kapok denied it: "No, I remembered my Ragdoll cat. These cats don't digest very well. They look beautiful in photos, but their pooping... well, they're a real pain."

Lin Jiade was a little sad that he was seen this way in Mu Mian's mind, so he said, "I don't remember this."

“That’s normal. I left as soon as I saw you were awake, so it’s normal that you don’t remember me,” Kapok replied.

So, when did we first meet?

"Another sweltering summer, to be precise, July 2nd, the day after you suffered heatstroke, you came out again, grumbling as you carried a soccer ball. This time you didn't have heatstroke, but your powerful shot sent the ball crashing directly into my face. I dispelled my spell and appeared to beat you up. That's how we met."

"Is there something wrong with my... my memories of youth?"

Mu Mian shook her head: "I hit you, but not completely. After all, you almost broke my nose with a soccer ball first, so the matter was left unresolved."

On July 3rd, you came again, this time with your homework. You struck up a conversation with me, and I looked at your homework too. That's how we met.

Lin Jiade scratched his cheek: "I see."

Mu Mian turned around and hugged Lin Jiade, resting her head on his arm and saying, "At first, I looked down on you a little because I am a superhuman and you are an ordinary person, but soon, my pride was mixed with jealousy towards you."

Because you have dreams, you have a life planned out for yourself, and you persevere in your relentless efforts to achieve them. But I don't know what I want to do; my life is planned by my parents, and I live aimlessly. When you describe your struggles about wanting to play football, you have no idea how dazzling your own dreams are.

The word "dream" saddened Lin Jiade, a bitter taste spreading in his mouth. He tilted his head and pressed it against the top of the cotton tree, saying, "I'm a little jealous of myself back then."

Chapter Sixty-Six: Recalling the Past (2) (26→25)

Kapok's voice was low and deep: "Back then, you were so dazzling, like the summer sun, radiant yet painful, so I couldn't help but search for you, only to be scorched by the pain of the hope in your eyes."

It's not your fault. What's wrong with someone having a dream, being willing to fight for it, and striving to become excellent? It's the right thing to do. It's just that your positivity highlights my negativity, your health reflects my apathy, your life is on the rise, while mine is on the fall.

I envy you, even somewhat...hate you, but on the other hand, you've made me feel respected. You treat me as a human being, as a beautiful person, and respect and admire me. Before that, I was just a tool.

My parents loved me first because I was a medal that brought them further honor and power, and then a tool for procreation that nurtured hope; the masters of Shiwang Peak taught me because I was a malleable talent.

They love my various functions, but I don't feel respected as a person, so your respect for me is very important. For the first time, I felt like I was living as a human being... only, by then I had become a sword.

So I kissed you, and the taste of ice cream lingered on your lips. You stared at me wide-eyed, so I kissed you a second time.

If I were human, I would probably be smitten, but after kissing you, I remain calm, while you are like a balloon about to burst.

All summer long, we saw each other almost every day. You showed me around the neighborhood, and I played with you. I treated you like my brother; we were two stray cats abandoned in the neighborhood.

"That's why we're like stray cats, finding warmth in each other," Lin Jiade said.

"No, stray cats fight for food and territory, are not friendly to other creatures in their habitat, are dirty, infected with diseases, full of parasites, and disgusting."

Neither of us are truly stray cats. You're a house cat, and I'm a house cat that will eventually be taken back by my family... We just met by chance during the summer when adults were less vigilant, and then our meeting ended at the end of summer.

The day after you told me your family agreed to let you go to that youth training program, on August 30th, my parents also found me and brought me back to Brilliant City. At 18, I returned to this city.