Love, Gun, Cupid

When he awoke, he found himself in a white, misty world, with Du Juan appearing beside him in her true form. She came from the heavens, but more than her sanctity, Lin Jiade sensed her allure.

She captured his heart, and depending on her mood, she either made his heart race or made it unbearable.

Her personality was unpredictable; she could be as kind as a girl next door, but her coldness was terrifying. Lin Jiade could talk to her, but he could never truly understand her heart.

According to Vermouth, secrecy makes women more feminine. This is true; mystery is indeed an effective ingredient in azalea's charm.

“Take my hand and describe the scene you most desire in your heart, and I will make it come true in my dreams,” Du Juan said.

The young man grasped Du Juan's hand. To overcome the snake-like, unsettling touch of her skin and to better concentrate, he closed his eyes and imagined the scenery he longed for.

His thoughts were conveyed to Du Juan, who took out the Dream World Projector she had bought from Tianjie Jingmao.com, converted Lin Jiade's thoughts into data, and input them into the projector.

She saw the earth covered with four-colored lawns, with white lines and circles dividing the lawns; she saw steel and cement rising up all around, converging upwards; she saw the sky confined in a square space, filled with the colors of night.

She saw searchlights shining down from all sides, the lawn, trimmed to the same height, allowing no shadows, and water droplets gathering in the drooping leaves, emitting a hazy light.

A football is placed at the center line of the center circle, waiting for the moment of kickoff.

"So, why is it a football field?!" she complained.

Lin Jiade ignored Du Juan. He looked around with delight, taking in the fresh, moist scent of grass, which made him feel refreshed.

It wasn't until the cuckoo poked his ribs with its wing that he explained, "Because there's no professional football field here. Those multi-purpose stadiums have a lawn surrounded by a synthetic running track and athletic fields, and I don't like that design."

Thank you for making my dream come true. A professional golf course is fantastic; I feel as excited as a believer arriving in Jerusalem.

"A blind date at the football field? Are you sure?" Du Juan asked.

"For me, this is the best stage!"

“This could be a disaster for your blind date,” Du Juan whispered.

"What did you say?"

"It's nothing, good luck... Get ready, Lin Jiade, your blind date is here!"

To Lin Jiade's horrified gaze, Du Juan raised the revolver in her hand and aimed it at him, but instead of shooting, she turned the weapon into a key and inserted it into his chest, turning it as if it were a keyhole.

The door opened, and his body split in two. Dujuan stepped inside and then reached out to close his body back together. Thus, he and Dujuan became one—

He is the outside, while the cuckoo is the inside; he is the form, while the cuckoo is the core; he is matter, while the cuckoo is thought. He can clearly feel the presence of the cuckoo within him, its form, and its power.

He envelops the azalea, but he won't envelop it forever. The inside and outside will switch, the surface and the interior will alternate, and eventually he will fall while the azalea floats up.

Lin Jiade looked up, and the stadium spotlights illuminated his heart-shaped eyes, with pink threads symbolizing marriage stretching towards the north stand.

He picked up the soccer ball with his toes, held it in his arms, and walked towards the north stand, while his blind date, Jasmine, was walking downhill. When he emerged from the inner passage and reached the highest point of the stand, Jasmine had already reached the lowest point.

As if by telepathy, he saw Jasmine at the bottom of the sloping stairs, and Jasmine also turned around and looked up to see Lin Jiade at the top of the sloping stairs.

Lin Jiade felt a sense of déjà vu about this scene. He loosened his grip, and the soccer ball fell downwards, stumbling and falling on the steps before finally rolling to the feet of his blind date.

He hurriedly went downstairs and bent down to pick up the soccer ball. His blind date took two steps back and looked him up.

“Speak,” Du Juan prompted. “Her common sense has been altered; she can say anything. Just don’t let things get awkward.”

At her urging, Lin Jiade said, "Hello, neighbor. I've run into you sometimes these past few years, but it seems we've never spoken. It's really nice to meet you."

"0.5 out of 10," Du Juan commented. "I'm speechless. You're free to do whatever you want."

Lin Jiade felt somewhat helpless. He looked at Jasmine, whose image in his dream remained from before March of this year. At that time, she still had family, and although she was aloof, she looked well, just like he remembered her.

However, the fact that Jasmine was wearing an ugly school uniform immediately calmed Lin Jiade down, leaving him with only sympathy for the students of that high school.

Although the school uniforms here are generally ugly, this was undoubtedly the ugliest he had ever seen. But he soon discovered that Jasmine's school uniform had the name of his alma mater written on it.

"Luckily, I graduated early," Lin Jiade said thankfully.

“My name is Lin Chia-te, and I’m a sophomore at Shannan East Road University,” he said, extending his hand to Jasmine. “I also used to attend the First Municipal High School; we’re alumni.”

"Jasmine is on leave from her senior year of high school. You should have heard the reason."

The girl reached out and touched him briefly before letting go; her gaze was cold, filled with wariness towards a stranger.

Lin Jiade smiled awkwardly: "I saw you in a wheelchair before. Your rehabilitation work is going very well."

"No, it's just that I don't use a wheelchair here, which is quite strange."

"Yes, but how does it feel to walk on two legs?"

"very good."

Lin Jiade scratched his head, unsure of what to say. Du Juan seemed withdrawn and stopped paying attention to him.

He had no choice but to suggest, "Why don't you go for a walk? It's a rare opportunity. This is a professional football stadium; the feeling of taking a stroll here will definitely be different."

Jasmine nodded and followed him down to the lawn.

Chapter Eleven Colt M1873

Jasmine's feet touched the lawn, and her expression changed slightly. Lin Jiade smiled and said, "It feels different from the lawns in the neighborhood or at school?"

Jasmine nodded. Lin Jiade admired Azalea's magic (he didn't know it came from a prop) while explaining to Jasmine how to lay, plant, and maintain the turf on the football field. There were many intricacies involved, which he had learned from reading popular science articles.

Before a match, the football field is watered, making it more slippery. Only by wearing cleats can you have the best experience on the football field. If you wear ordinary sports shoes, you will feel that your feet are slippery.

Lin Jiade knew this, so he took careful steps. Jasmine, however, was unaware of this. Eager to experience the feeling of walking in a dream, she took large, fast steps and stumbled and fell after only a few steps.

From center forward to goalkeeper, Lin Jiade has played various positions on the baseball field. The moment Jasmine fell, it was the goalkeeper's accumulated experience that came into play. He made a side dive, cushioning Jasmine's fall and catching her steadily.

In the dream, even the feeling of weight was restored. Lin Jiade held the soccer ball in his arms and could get up immediately, but Jasmine fell on him, making him a little dizzy.

"Thank you, and could you please help me up?"

Jasmine's voice rang out above Lin Jiade's head, and he suddenly realized that his posture while holding Jasmine was very indecent—

The goalkeeper demanded to hold the ball securely in his arms, so Lin Jiade's arms came together around Jasmine's stomach, pulling her towards himself. His knees pressed against the backs of Jasmine's knees, and his chin pressed against the top of her head, firmly imprisoning Jasmine's frail body in his embrace.

If this were happening in real life, passersby would probably have called the police by now.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

He quickly released her, and Jasmine helped him up by his knees. She sat up but still pressed down on Lin Jiade. The shift in her center of gravity made Lin Jiade's sensation of certain parts of her body even clearer.

After getting up, Jasmine moved further away from him as she searched for the stadium exit, intending to leave. They went to the stands, where the silent stadium had a slightly eerie feel to it.

Jasmine's pace slowed, and Lin Jiade guessed she was a little scared, so he struck up a conversation with her. Jasmine mostly just listened, making Lin Jiade increasingly awkward.

"Lin Jiade, now is an opportunity."

Du Juan's voice startled Lin Jiade. He glanced at Jasmine, who was walking ahead, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"You can communicate with me by thinking about me."

"Oh, okay, so what's up?"

"Feel your left pocket."

Following Du Juan's instructions, Lin Jiade reached into his pocket, and a cold, hard object slid into his hand. He pulled it out, and a revolver, somewhat different from the one Du Juan used, appeared before him.

"A replica of the Colt M1873 revolver, manufactured by Stellar, the No.1 manufacturer in the Celestial Realm specializing in the human weapons collecting market. Each weapon has a unique serial number."

Lin Jiade found the gun's serial number on the grip: SSLI 990. He asked, "And then?"

"A minimum of 50 affinity is the activation condition for this gun. Your affinity with the girl walking in front of you is 50/50, which meets the condition."

Every 15 points of affinity adds one bullet to its magazine. Your affinity with her is 50 points, so your gun has 3 bullets in its magazine.

Lin Jiade nodded: "And then?"

Du Juan's arm emerged from his chest, gripped his wrist, and aimed the weapon at Jasmine's back.

"Hey!"

"Cupid's guidance leads to four forms of love: pleasure, pain, submission, and resistance. Now, the hope of achieving love through submission lies before us—"

In your dream, on your own turf, with my assistance, shoot this gun at the lover who is destined to be together but is emotionally unstable and particularly vulnerable at this moment, strike her, and subdue her body and soul.

"Is this love?" Lin Jiade asked.

"Love is a broad concept. If you need, I can cite dozens of academic papers and hundreds of examples to prove that it is love."

From the perspective of Homo sapiens, the path of submission and its corresponding magic are categorized as things related to divine revelation. This simplifies the process of lovers testing and pursuing each other, directly creating harmonious and sweet love.

"But in my opinion, if you remove the process and only present the result, that's not love, that's fast food."

Lin Jiade shoved the gun back: "Besides, I'm not some evil white slave owner in history who forced people to submit and then grow cotton. Thanks for your trouble, but I don't need this gun."

"Why make things harder for yourself when there's an easy mode option?"

Lin Jiade retorted, "I don't think this is a good idea, and Miss Du Juan has no right to say this. You also chose the hard mode."

Du Juan backed down: "...Perhaps I was too hasty. Love is like instant noodles; its energy is only as strong as the taste of instant noodles."

He was distracted and talking to Du Juan in his mind. Before he knew it, he had slowed down a lot. When he looked up again, he found Jasmine standing high up, scrutinizing him with an expression he couldn't understand.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Jasmine shook her head, turned around and continued walking forward. Her vertical pupils disappeared from her eyes, and her sharp claws turned back into five slender white fingers.

The young man accompanied her, and after searching for a long time, they returned to the football field together. Jasmine sat on the grass, while the energetic Lin Jiade practiced football alone.

A pretty girl noticed him, and he deliberately showed off his most impressive, flashy, but utterly impractical moves. Jasmine just stared blankly until the ball rolled to her feet.

"Want to come and play?" he asked. "It's pretty boring sitting here."

Perhaps out of sheer boredom, Jasmine wasn't interested in football, but she still stood up and kicked the ball towards Lin Jiade.

"Do you like football?" she asked.

Lin Jiade answered without hesitation, "I like it!"

What were the initial reasons for liking it?

"I watched the live football match on TV with my family, and later went to watch it live. At that time, I didn't understand the game, but I thought the fast-paced game on the field was cool and the passionate shouts of the surrounding audience were very exciting."

Lin Jiade kicked the ball to Jasmine with a fancy footwork, but Jasmine kicked it off course. The ball spun outwards, and as she took two steps, intending to kick it back to Lin Jiade, Lin Jiade's foot shot out first, gently deflecting the ball. Jasmine only managed to kick a wisp of air.

The young man made a feint, his body swaying as the ball passed between Jasmine's legs. He then accelerated past Jasmine, completing a one-two pass.

After he stopped the ball behind Jasmine, Jasmine turned around like a gamer with a high latency, looking at him expressionlessly.

"Try shooting! Shooting is the coolest thing in this sport," he said.

Chapter Twelve: Cupid's Teachings

Jasmine carried the ball into the penalty area, and surprisingly, she knew how to place the ball on the penalty spot and tamp down the surrounding grass.