Love, Gun, Cupid

Is my son here too?!

Lin Jiade hesitated. The only thing this greasy middle-aged man could do better than young people was his ability to be sarcastic and sarcastic online. In reality, he was completely outmatched.

Should we go back? Back to that empty house, back to a place without food, to lie in wait in the darkness like a mouse, waiting for our chance to strike?

Do not!

Lin Jiade didn't want to wait any longer, so he went to the front door and knocked. After a short while, Jianlan asked from the doorway, "Who is it?"

"Lin Jiade, your tenant, regarding the rent for the second half of the year..."

Jianlan had no suspicions. Lin Jiade was the poorest of the tenants, but also the most concerned about his image. So he never missed a payment for his rent and always made sure he was clean and tidy before leaving the house. This time was no exception. He put on his best clothes, as if he were going to a job interview rather than committing a crime.

When Jianlan opened the door, Lin Jiade pulled out a fruit knife and held it to her neck, whispering, "Don't make a sound!"

What are you going to do?

"Stop talking nonsense and go inside obediently! Otherwise..."

Lin Jiade closed the door, pushed her into the kitchen, locked the door from the inside, and said, "I just came to get some food. You can call the police, I won't hurt you... I'm sorry to bother you."

"I won't call the police... Please, you can take the money and food, just don't hurt my husband and children... Please, I'll do anything for you..."

Prologue Shoot!

At 7 p.m., Lin Jiade was all ready to go, preparing to welcome the most important moment of his life in his living room... perhaps the second most important moment after the college entrance examination.

The young man's black hair was neatly combed, the hair wax reflecting the light from above, and his brown jacket was without a single wrinkle.

His tall, strong physique, coupled with the unwavering determination in his brown eyes, gave him a dangerous and wild charm, a quality somewhere between a Middle Eastern bandit and a Western cowboy.

His pockets were bulging, filled with the tools he would use to woo her that night—yes, this was a blind date, or more accurately, the end of a blind date.

He and the woman have reached a deep consensus, and tonight, he will make their relationship public at a location chosen by her.

He had been preparing for today's confession for a whole week. Fortunately, he was not alone in the battlefield of blind dating, as he had a relationship mentor by his side.

Now, his relationship coach is hiding in his bedroom, with the door slightly ajar, ready to witness the moment the couple is born.

He glanced through the crack in the door, and the relationship coach, as if on cue, opened it. The room was dark, yet a pinkish glow illuminated the darkness. This light came from the relationship coach's heart-shaped pupils, as well as from her long pink hair and pure white wings.

"Do you need a little encouragement?" the relationship coach smiled at him.

He nodded, knelt down, and the relationship coach left the room. A shadow fell, and her wings folded around the young man, his head sinking into her soft embrace, so warm, like returning to his mother's arms.

Finally, the love guru placed a wet kiss on the young man's forehead and said with a grin, "This is a blessing from Cupid. With the messenger of fate by your side, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"I know you've seen Magical Girl O!"

Lin Jiade laughed at himself. His love mentor wasn't human, but a divine messenger who called herself Cupid. She came from an extraordinary world, dismantling his ordinary life and reconstructing his extraordinary one with passion and happiness.

She guided Lin Jiade in his pursuit of marriage, allowing him, at only 19 years old and still a university student, to step into a realm that was previously unattainable. Lin Jiade felt only gratitude towards her; otherwise, he would never have had the chance to go on blind dates with beautiful girls in his entire life.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Cupid slipped into the bedroom, closing the door only a crack. She didn't make a sound, but her voice echoed in his mind—

"Go, go, charge! Charge!"

There was no room for "next time," and urged by Cupid, Lin Jiade opened the door, welcoming today's heroine into his home. The heroine's petite shadow was cast on the wall. The moment Lin Jiade closed the door, the shadow on the wall began to distort.

His blind date was a beautiful, doll-like human outside the door. When he turned around and looked at her inside, he saw that her medium-length hair had lost its color and turned as white as snow, while horns emerged from the white snow and pointed diagonally to the sky.

Scales clung to her neck, her vertical pupils were adorned with gold and red, her painted nails became sharp as hooks, and her thick tail peeked out from under her skirt, its patterns resembling Damascus steel illuminated by the light.

The appearance of Cupid challenges common sense, a 19-year-old college student's blind date challenges common sense, and the marriage guided by Cupid naturally challenges common sense in the same way.

In a city teeming with humans according to common sense, he found a descendant of the red dragon, who was neither human nor inhuman. From her habits to her values, there was a pitiful, thick barrier between them.

But so what?

Cupid taught him that love can break down walls, and he believed it. So he looked up at his blind date, who seemed to realize something and gave him an encouraging smile.

“Shoot!” Cupid said in his mind.

Lin Jiade, who loves football, will not misunderstand the meaning of Cupid's words: if love is a football match, then he has entered the shooting range and is about to kick the football of confession into the other person's heart.

So, the young man said to the dragon girl in a trembling voice, "I like you. Will you go out with me?"

He prepared this confession for a week, finally cutting out all the sweet words and leaving only this brief statement. Upon hearing his confession, the Dragon Girl didn't speak; she nodded vigorously, tears of joy welling up in her eyes.

“Shoot!” Cupid repeated in his mind.

As Cupid's chosen lover, Lin Jiade could not misunderstand the meaning of Cupid's words: if love is a war, then he has entered firing range and is about to shoot the bullet of love into the other's heart.

So he pulled out his courtship weapon from his pocket, a .44 caliber revolver aimed at the Red Dragon descendant, the silver muzzle gleaming.

"I love you."

The moment Lin Jiade confessed his love to her again was punctuated by a gunshot.

Let's go back to September 9th, the day before Teacher's Day, a time when people often wear dogwood. Lin Jiade was asked by the class monitor to buy a gift for the teacher.

His first thought was Balotelli's famous quote, "Why always me?", but there was no need to refuse such a small matter, so he went to a nearby shopping mall that evening.

At the mall entrance, Lin Jiade witnessed someone snatching a bag. A woman in high heels chased after the thief with despair and helplessness, while the thief embodied the spirit of "higher, faster, stronger."

The young man's courage far outpaced his reason, so he chased after the purse snatcher without thinking, watching the man, who was relatively short compared to him, disappear into a nearby alley.

The alley was dark and silent, with no light from any direction able to penetrate this dark eggshell. This was unusual beyond belief, but Lin Jiade, in his frantic dash, failed to notice it.

He took advantage of his size and chose to chase after him, and then he paid the price for his actions.

As soon as he stepped into the alley, darkness and silence assaulted his senses, leaving him bewildered and helpless. But a sudden flash of cold light in the corner of his eye ended his confusion.

Something like an armor-piercing spike burrowed into his lower abdomen and twisted violently, causing his flesh and bones to scream in agony.

The moment the unidentified weapon that attacked him was pulled out, Lin Jiade felt like a water balloon with a hole pierced through it. He covered his wound, and blood kept gushing out from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground, and a sweet, fishy smell gradually filled the air.

The young man's vision suddenly blurred. He staggered and turned around. The purse thief... no, the murderer's figure was disappearing. The only features he could remember were the yellow raincoat, the short stature, and the breathing mask covering half of his face.

Blood rushed out of the wound, and Lin Jiade's body became cold and weak. He fell to the ground, and the hand covering the wound gradually stiffened. The wound was submerged in warmth and gradually turned into excruciating pain.

What do people see before they die?

Just last week, he had been pondering this question while daydreaming during his ordinary differential equations class. Now, he has found the answer through practice:

Emptiness, coldness, pain, as if I were sinking in mud, being swallowed up little by little, with a hint of pink...

pink?!

"That looks a bit tragic."

Pink rain began to fall from the sky, the strands of hair falling from the head of the person observing him from above. The observer was speaking, but Lin Jiade could only hear a noisy buzzing. He struggled to lift his head, his blurred vision vaguely encompassing the figure.

"Help me," he said.

His voice was barely audible, but the person observing him still heard it. The other person responded by prying Lin Jiade's arm open and placing their palm on his wound.

The young man arched his body like a shrimp thrown into hot water, the burning sensation engulfing his entire body. He scrambled to his feet in a disheveled state, clutching his throat and coughing desperately.

At that moment, Lin Jiade realized there was a shadow on the ground he was looking at. He looked up and saw a pair of legs emerging from the woven canvas shoes, the view above them obscured by the hem of a skirt and hands covering the knees.

His gaze rose and met the face of the young woman. She smiled at him, her lips curving like a crescent moon. Pink heart patterns lit up her eyes, and wings extended from her back. Moonlight-tinged pink hair clung and wrapped around her wing roots and shoulders.

"A deity?" Lin Jiade murmured.

"No, it's Cupid."

The girl, who called herself Cupid, answered while reaching out to pull Lin Jiade up. Lin Jiade shivered as Cupid's hand slipped into his palm, leaving a cool, slippery, snake-like sensation.

"My wound..."

There was no blood, no broken bones or torn flesh, as if the murderer's fatal blow was merely a figment of his imagination, while the large hole in the clothes faithfully depicted an attempted murder.

He looked up at Cupid, who wagged his index finger and said, “I just arrived here and saw a kind-hearted big fool being fished into an alley by a criminal duo.”

Then I thought, 'This is him.' I always trust my intuition, so I came here. As if sensing my presence, both the criminal pretending to be the victim and the criminal responsible for the ambush ran away.

However, I came here specifically for you, so I used magic to repair your body. Using life magic on this planet is very taxing, so you must make it up to me.

What are you talking about?

Lin Jiade looked confused. Cupid took a step forward and wrapped her hands around his. Her face appeared in Lin Jiade's field of vision from below, startling him and making him back away, but he couldn't escape.

This mysterious girl, who called herself Cupid, was about twenty centimeters shorter than him, but she was superior in strength. Lin Jiade felt like Shirou Emiya, who was trapped between Saber's legs, and could only stand there facing Cupid's face.

The heart pattern in Cupid's eyes shone even brighter, like a pink vortex, deeply attracting Lin Jiade's gaze.

Unbeknownst to him, the sweet, metallic smell of his blood in the air was replaced by the sweet scent of Cupid. Every breath made him dizzy, and a light, floating feeling enveloped him.

“You can call me…you can call me Azalea. I come from a world called the Celestial Realm, and I study at a professional school for nurturing Cupids. My graduation project is to bring together a couple of lovers on this planet.”

So I rescued you, chose you, and will do everything in my power to help you achieve your love... even if your lover is a dragon girl, a cat girl, a devil, a sword spirit, a ghost, a centaur, or a giant..."

Cupid stood opposite Lin Jiade, but her voice sounded as if she were speaking face to face, with the friendly and relaxed tone of someone who knew her well. However, Lin Jiade did not remember ever knowing Cupid; this was their first meeting.

In that voice, his reason crumbled, like a candle melting in a fire. Without a second thought, he nodded in agreement to this contract that would overturn his life and his very existence.

Cupid released his hand with satisfaction, reached behind his wings and groped for a revolver, finally pulling it out from the white feathers. The silver .44 caliber muzzle pulled Lin Jiade out of his pink fantasy and brought his thoughts back to reality.

He looked at Cupid with a bewildered expression, while the woman smiled smugly: "This is the bow and arrow of destiny; now I will use it to shoot you."

Sparks flew from the muzzle as the spinning bullet struck Lin Jiade in the heart. Before losing consciousness, he only had time to grasp the biggest one from Cupid's string of complaints and start ranting about it—

What kind of bow and arrow is a revolver?

Chapter One: Attempting to Repay a Kindness

At nine o'clock in the evening, Lin Jiade woke up slowly and found himself lying on the sofa, while Miss Cupid was sitting on the other side of the single sofa, engrossed in playing on her phone.

It's not hard to imagine that Du Juan only brought him back to his home after a series of actions that seemed to violate his privacy.

Noticing the commotion, she smiled at him and said, "You're awake. The magic worked. You're now lovers."

"Am I playing Werewolf?" Lin Jiade said blankly.

Miss Cupid turned around, leaving her back to him so that he could touch the base of her wings. Her wing base was embedded in flesh and blood, and emerged from near the shoulder blades. The closer to the base, the more downy the hairs, and the short downy hairs gave a warm and soft touch.

"If you're sure, could you please let go?" Cupid's voice was a little shy. "Even though I didn't feel anything, it feels strange once I started to care."

"Excuse me."

Lin Jiade released his grip, and at that moment he remembered the self-introduction that had accompanied the bullet—

The cuckoo, the name of Cupid who descended upon him, claimed to have saved him, and in return, he would go out of his way to arrange a marriage for her.

She gave several examples, like dragon girls and catgirls, but none of them were human; it was too strange.

"No, I'll ignore what you're saying for now."