Love, Gun, Cupid

He said to Jasmine, "I've thought about what happened to my knee, Jasmine. I plan to have surgery to replace the damaged one."

I was furious watching the women's football team yesterday, and even more furious at the official media's feigned indifference and double standards. I was in a bad mood, so I didn't post an extra update today.

Abyss Jasmine

When Lin Jiade called to say he planned to have surgery, Jasmine wasn't surprised at all. Lin Jiade had shown a strong drive in the finals, but his injured leg was a hindrance.

Jasmine naturally agreed. Lin Jiade's voice was full of exhaustion, so she quickly hung up the phone, giving him time and space to celebrate and rest.

"Wow, he only called you." Jianlan said with envy and jealousy, "I'm angry. When I get back, I'm going to teach him a lesson for his favoritism."

Jasmine knew that Gladiolus wasn't angry. On the contrary, Gladiolus possessed unparalleled tolerance, probably related to her feigned maternal instincts.

After the competition, Wei Ying transformed back into Lin Jiade to deal with Lin Jiade's parents. Jian Lan also had work to do and returned to her room. Jasmine went to take a shower. She took off all her clothes, turned on the hot water, and the showerhead sprayed water down from above, making a pattering sound on the floor between her feet.

Jasmine reached out and brushed her hair aside, splashing water droplets that left trails on the misty mirror, distorting her sullen expression.

Lin Jiade's brilliance once made Jasmine proud, but soon she remembered that this brilliance originated from the kapok tree and was taught by the reed warbler, and her mood was naturally not very good.

Lin Jiade knows her all too well. He won't forgive Mu Mian now, but he will one day, because he remembers not only the bad things others have done, but also the good things they have done.

If we look at what Kapok did before it was cut off, from September to December of last year alone, Kapok did so much for Lin Jiade. These memories will continue to have an effect, easing the tension between them.

In the end, the kapok tree will still intrude into her life, occupy a fixed space, and take away her Lin Jiade.

Another concern is Reed Warbler, the foolish younger sister of Cuckoo who doesn't understand love, but she enjoys having fun with Lin Jiade and has gained some influence over him.

The reed warbler is free; she regards human morality and law as nothing. Freedom symbolizes unpredictable risks. Jasmine has no idea what the reed warbler might do with Lin Jiade when she's in the mood. Besides the cuckoo, no one can resist the reed warbler's brute force. Even if Lin Jiade expresses resistance, as long as the reed warbler is pleased, she can get what she wants.

Finally, what made her unhappy was loneliness. On the first day after separating from Lin Jiade, she went about her life in peace, occasionally drifting off into daydreams about what he was doing;

The next day, she hid under the covers, pretended that the pillow was Lin Jiade, wrapped it tightly around her tail, and rubbed it against her cheek. After venting her unhappiness, she was able to fall asleep peacefully.

On the third day, which is today, Jasmine felt a void in her heart, while her body longed for Lin Jiade, for his broad and sturdy body, for his embrace, for his gentle movements and nimble lips and tongue, and for the adorable way his cheeks flushed red under her care.

There are still five months until the college entrance examination, and perhaps only five months until she and Lin Jiade get married. Five months is such a long time, making Jasmine's throat dry and her skin burning.

“Lin Jiade…”

She whispered her lover's name, the sound of the flowing water masking all traces, and when she opened the bathroom door, a gentle smile appeared on her flushed cheeks.

"what……"

Jianlan came out carrying the documents. Seeing the lingering flirtatious look in Jasmine's eyes, she knew what had happened. She smiled and said, "Are you still waiting for me?"

"Hmm, no more trouble tonight, we need to make up for the missed work."

"It's the New Year holiday today, there's no need to work so hard. Let's relax."

"January 2nd is coming soon."

"Okay, I'll get you some late-night snacks."

“Thank you…but,” Jasmine said somewhat awkwardly, “I’m a little worried that I’ll gain weight.”

Gladiolus chuckled, speechless. "How could you have such a thought?"

"My female friends were chatting and they said that if a boy prefers short girls, it must be because he likes girls with slender figures..."

Seeing Jasmine's anxious and uncertain expression, Jianlan only found her adorable. "Mother" leaned down and pinched her cute "daughter's" cheek, saying, "Don't worry, your project to reshape your dragon body is about to enter the second stage, which is also the most expensive stage. You will need a lot of nutrients to build the parts of your body."

"Then trouble you."

Jasmine was a glutton, and like all doting elders, Gladiolus did her best to satisfy Jasmine's desires. When Jasmine finally finished revising her essay and rewrote it, a fragrant aroma wafted into her bedroom.

"Winter melon, seaweed, and fish ball soup. I didn't add an egg, according to your taste."

Gladiolus pushed the steaming bowl of soup over, her black fingernails leaving shiny marks on the bowl as she adjusted the temperature.

Jasmine grabbed a spoon, put the fish ball and broth into her mouth, chewed it carefully, and swallowed. The fish balls were freshly made by Gladiolus from the market every day. Because she was pretty and bought large quantities, the shopkeepers always gave her the best quality ones.

Gladiolus didn't need to ask Jasmine about her tone; Jasmine's expression was the standard of judgment. After Jasmine finished eating and she cleared away the dishes, Gladiolus sat with Jasmine for a while longer until Jasmine went to rest.

The late-night snack gave Jasmine a sweet dream. When she woke up, it was January 2nd. Lin Jiade would stay in Dongfeng Valley for another day and then return here on January 3rd. In other words, she would see Lin Jiade again tomorrow.

She had so much to tell Lin Jiade, and she wanted to hear his stories. She wanted to hug Lin Jiade tightly, learn to be mischievous under his guidance, play on the sofa, find satisfaction in the bathroom, and fall asleep beside him in the darkness under the covers.

Thinking of all this, Jasmine felt elated. She threw back the covers to get out of bed, but the phone rang just then.

She hoped the caller was Lin Jiade, but disappointingly, the screen displayed an unknown number. Jasmine hesitated for a moment between answering and not answering, but because she was in a good mood, she finally chose to answer.

"Hello?" a man's voice came from inside.

Jasmine asked, "Hey, who are you?"

A burst of laughter came from the phone, an unpleasant sound. Jasmine frowned; she recognized the voice immediately. The dullness that her warm and peaceful daily life had dulled completely vanished in the man's laughter. She almost roared, "Ragnar Sigurdsson!"

"That's right. It's been a long time since I last greeted you, son of the Red Dragon. I've heard your new name is Jasmine, so I'll call you that from now on."

The annoying voice of the Red Dragon's nemesis announced the end of Jasmine's daily routine: "I was busy with other matters before, and the people I hired were not capable enough. It seems that they did not make Miss Jasmine feel my sincerity."

I will be traveling to Fuxing City soon to discuss the issue between the Red Dragon and the White Dragon.

Jasmine hung up the phone, slammed her fist against the wall, and then remained silent.

Abyss·Sword Orchid

When Jasmine came out, Gladiolus could tell she was in a bad mood, so she asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Jasmine shook her head: "I want to wait for Lin Jiade to come back, and then we can discuss this together."

"Okay, but you'd better get yourself ready. Lin Jiade's parents are going back to their workplace today, so you, as his girlfriend, should see them off."

Gladiolus reached out and ruffled Jasmine's hair: "Hurry up! Miss Reed Warbler is usually reliable, but surprisingly careless. You two conspired to fool the old folks for days, giving them happy memories. What if you're exposed in the end..."

With the example of Kapok as a precedent, Jasmine knew that if she was going to lie, she had to be prepared to lie for the rest of her life, so she forced herself to dress in a way that would make her presentable.

Gladiolus watched Jasmine leave with a hint of worry, but she had her own things to do. An hour later, she arrived at the police station and began her work.

In theory, as the leader of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service Team, Jianlan is only responsible for handling matters involving superhumans in Fuxing City. However, she is also a master of top-level sorcery, and in order not to waste her talents, she is assigned to take on some other projects.

As she walked in, everyone greeted her and looked at her from behind. The new employees who had joined the department were especially curious—a master of sorcery and a junior magic researcher had fallen in love and given up their jobs at the Special Transportation Bureau to come here, just like a real-life Romeo and Juliet.

The reason this marriage is described as a tragedy is because the man is weak and the woman is infertile. In the minds of the superhumans, equal strength and the ability to have children are the two pillars of a harmonious family. Since their strengths are not equal and they do not have the ability to have children, no one is optimistic about this marriage.

Gladiolus usually doesn't care, but occasionally, she feels sad. How much she wants a child with her and Lingard's blood flowing through her veins, but she is a ghost, a dead thing occupying Korobochka's identity, and has no chance of having children in this lifetime.

Jianlan was an older woman, a mother without children, but she was still a woman. Sexual desire and emotional longing prompted her to dial Lin Jiade's number. A few seconds later, Lin Jiade's hoarse voice came through.

"gladiolus?"

"Long time no see, Lin Jiade."

"Gladimir? Your voice sounds strange, and we've only been apart for a few days."

Lin Jiade's confused voice startled Jianlan awake; she was equally puzzled as to why she had said something so foolish. The woman rubbed her temples and said, "It's nothing, maybe I was just distracted and blurted out what was on my mind. I miss you, and so does Jasmine."

"I'll be back tomorrow."

"Okay, did you have a good time over there?"

"No, I injured my knee. I took some medicine and went to sleep. My head is still spinning. Gladiolus, I'm considering surgery to get an artificial knee."

"Isn't this a good thing? You've finally broken free from the influence of the past and are looking forward."

“Yes, my leg still hurts a bit, but I feel... a bit more refreshed,” Lin Jiade replied.

“I will take care of you and keep you in the house. You are not needed by anyone else.”

“Miss Gladiolus, this joke is a bit scary. I almost thought Korobochka was talking to me.”

Lin Jiade's words threw the woman into disarray. She hung up the call dismissively, and Lin Jiade pointed to the fear buried deep in her heart—

Korobocka's knowledge shaped her personality, and now that she manages all of Korobocka's knowledge, will she become the new Korobocka?

Or perhaps Korobochka never truly died; her personality resides within knowledge, awaiting the moment to replace her.

What comforted Gladiolus somewhat was that in her most recent routine test, her personality remained Gladiolus and was quite stable, with no possibility of being overturned by Korobochka all at once, so things weren't too bad.

To prevent any accidents, she took leave to get tested again, and then went to West Ham Hospital to reinforce her mental defenses. By the time she finished all that, it was already evening when she got home. As soon as she got home, she saw Jasmine lying on the sofa like a salted fish.

Jasmine must have encountered some difficulties and is very distressed. Gladiolus's desire to confide in her vanished instantly. Jasmine couldn't solve the problem, and if she spoke up, it would only add to Jasmine's troubles.

"I'll talk about my problem after Lin Jiade returns and Jasmine finishes explaining and resolving things," Jianlan thought. "I still have time."

After she had made up her mind, she approached Jasmine as if nothing had happened. Jasmine was startled and sat up from the sofa. When she saw that it was Jianlan, she rubbed her eyes and lay back down.

“You’ve changed your style of dress; I almost mistook you for someone else,” Jasmine said.

Gladiolus lowered her head. Her attire was unusually different today. If she were to braid her hair into three braids, she would faithfully resemble Korobochka.

Gladiolus's voice was somewhat dry and urgent: "Is it strange?"

Jasmine was troubled by her own affairs. She shook her head and said, "It's nothing. This is quite novel."

“Jasmine, if you think there’s anything strange about me, you must tell me, or tell Lin Jiade.”

"Ah."

Jasmine casually agreed, unaware of what it meant. Gladiolus locked herself in her study, staring at the mirror. Most of the time, the mirror faithfully reflected her haggard and somewhat neurotic appearance, but occasionally, she could see an arrogant woman in the mirror giving her a cold smile.

"Lin Jiade and I finally killed you and reclaimed our happy life. I will never allow you to make a comeback."

She solemnly swore to the mirror that she would fight against herself and protect her current life. To this end, she devoured knowledge more thirstily than ever before, trying to find a way to completely eliminate Korobochka.

On the afternoon of January 3, Lin Jiade returned home. When he opened the door, a chilly feeling seeped out of the house. He touched the radiator curiously and checked the thermometer, finding that the room temperature was normal.

"You're back?"

Gladiolus was the first to greet him. Lin Jiade was a little surprised that she wasn't at work, but he still went over and gave her a warm hug.

The woman in his arms paused for a moment, then embraced him more passionately. Her embrace was cold and suffocating, and she used her body language to directly express her desire as a woman: to become one with him and seek pleasure.

“I miss you so much, Lin Jiade,” she said.

"Uh, I miss you too."

"No, you don't want to, there are so many girls around you." The woman chuckled. "Fine, I just love how sly you are. Welcome back, Lin Jiade, this time I won't let you go again."

She cupped Lin Jiade's face in her hands, lowered her head, and her three-strand braided hairstyle magnified in his eyes. Soon, the young man was intoxicated by her forceful and passionate kiss.

Abyss·Acacia (12→11)

One of the compensations the organizing committee offered to the participants for the changes in the competition format was a grand ceremony to honor the three participants from the First Continent who successfully gained senior professional titles.

The contestants were already exhausted, but they still had to endure a series of procedures. Qi Yanli, who came in third, was unhappy; she had saved herself, but lost the chance to save her people.

The second-place winner, Di Tao, couldn't smile either. The battle between her and Mu Mian for legitimacy was now over. She didn't know how Mu Mian would retaliate against her in the future, but it probably wouldn't be easy for her.