Ark, they don't revolve around you

From somewhere in the darkness, a bitter, self-deprecating laugh came out: "Looks like I'm the arrogant one."

Zhuang Ning walked to the second spot of light and shook his head silently: "Year-old, you have never been arrogant. From the beginning, you have been a monster that is too cunning to be a giant beast."

"Can I take that as a compliment?"

"If you think so." Zhuang Ning held the light in his hand.

This is...year.

Zhuang Ning raised his eyebrows slightly: "Shall we start?"

"Anytime." The voice echoed.

It can be done at any time. Even if I lose a game, this monster is still extremely confident and convinced that the advantage is mine.

Zhuang Ning smiled and sank into the light.

take a day off

If so, please take a day off

I started having a low-grade fever last night and had no energy to type. I felt a little better this morning and wanted to make up for it by writing some more, but I was not in the right state. I wrote two thousand words, but I felt that what I wrote was completely unsatisfactory.

I have to adjust my state of mind. After all, it's already reached the climax of the pre-order. Although this volume has a lot of problems, I still want to finish the rest.

I'll take a day off today, take a rest, and try to post more tomorrow, just to make up for today's...

Chapter 9 I Will Not Forgive You (k)

A drizzle of rain fell on the ground, and it had not stopped since Zhuang Ning arrived here.

The whole sky was gloomy. He walked through the streets, raising his head from time to time and gazing into the distance.

In the distance, you can vaguely see continuous mountains, but there are more gray buildings, like a jungle made of concrete.

Dead and lifeless, this was the first thought that came to Zhuang Ning's mind after seeing it. If this was a reflection of Nian's mood, she must be in a gloomy state of mind, right?

Just at this moment, the green light at the intersection ticked and lit up instantly. Zhuang Ning was in the middle of the road, and countless men and women passed by him.

There is a huge flow of people, and the distance between people is closer than ever before, but no one will look at the people next to them. Everyone is in a hurry, busy with their lives.

The world was so quiet that the only sound was the dripping rain.

Zhuang Ning looked at the neon lights reflected on the glass curtain wall and felt inexplicably desolate.

"Boss, Erguotou!" He arrived at the alley when he heard the voice, which was as light as an auditory hallucination.

Zhuang Ning followed the source and saw a small hot pot restaurant hidden in an alley.

The girl was in a rather conspicuous position, smiling playfully, as she picked up the tripe with chopsticks.

The red oil hot pot was steaming hot and sprinkled with peppercorns and chilies. Just one look at it would make her mouth spit fire, but she didn't mind and kept putting food into her mouth.

This free and easy attitude is very different from others in terms of painting style.

Zhuang Ning looked at her for a moment and called out her name: "Nian."

Through a door, the two found each other.

The girl was slightly stunned, as if he had known that she would come and was not surprised. She just gave a helpless smile.

Zhuang Ning stepped over the threshold and walked in, sitting down opposite her. He was so busy ordering that he didn't go to see the doctor.

The TV in the store was still playing an old version of Journey to the West. Bajie and Wukong were bickering, while Sha Seng was carrying his load and not saying a word.

...Journey to the West?

Here it comes again, how could there be a Journey to the West in this world? How did Nian know about Journey to the West?!

Feeling a slight sense of disobedience, Zhuang Ning felt as if he had been electrocuted.

He felt that he shouldn't react too strongly, but what did this mean?

Is this really just a world created unintentionally by the fusion of my subconscious and time?

"Doctor." A leisurely whisper interrupted Zhuang Ning's deep thoughts.

The little hands on the chopsticks picked up the food, Nian turned around, smiled slightly and said: "Long time no see."

"You knew I would come, which means that I have already told you the truth."

"As expected of a doctor, you are still so smart. You can see exactly what Sui wants to do."

Nian clapped exaggeratedly, but his tone was very subtle, "So you are here to find me and take me back?"

Zhuang Ning looked at her.

"If that's the case, there's no need for you to bother trying. I'm fine, so fine that I don't even want to go back." Nian stretched lazily, not caring about his image at all, and leaned his waist on the chair. "Why bother about it? This is my last paradise."

"You clearly know that you will disappear." Zhuang Ning frowned, and his voice became more turbulent.

He had anticipated the opposite situation, but he thought that Nian should not be a person who would indulge in depravity. Nian once said that he did not want to disappear, otherwise why would he struggle?

If that was the case, why did he see deep disappointment and self-mockery in this girl's eyes when facing Nian?

"I know you want to take me away, Doctor. You have your own reasons, and you told me all of them."

Nian was very sincere, "I was told every detail."

Including your thoughts, your conspiracies, your... despair.

Before entering this chaos, Sui explained everything to Nian one by one, and then created this world for her.

This was His last sympathy for His daughter, but it was also cruel, because this world was a cage.

But Nian no longer cares. It doesn’t matter what happens. Maybe he feels that disappearing is also a kind of redemption.

"I did something that made you sad, but I also made a sword for you." Nian stared at Journey to the West on the screen, "I know you are using me."

"Doctor, please ignore me. What does a mere fragment mean? One less fragment won't affect your grand plan, right?"

Nian smiled without any gloom. Some people say that sincerity is the greatest killer skill, and this is her attitude now.

"Just let me disappear here - disappear completely, okay?"

It's more like resistance than begging.

After feeling irritated, he simply chose death, but he was in a beautiful dream before he died.

Zhuang Ning had a blank expression on his face, feeling helpless in his heart.

Sui was indeed a cunning guy. He guessed that he would give priority to people who were close to him, so he struck first.

Over a long period of time, exposing Zhuang Ning's dark side was like hammering a steel nail into his brain. One day, Nian would give up on himself, right? From then on, he would ignore him and it would be useless no matter what he did.

But Zhuang Ning did not show any sadness. Instead, he asked curiously, "How many years have you spent in this world?"

The speed of time flow in this world is different from that in the outside world. Perhaps one second in the outside world is a huge change for this place, which is enough to see the changes in the secular world.

"Many years, many years." Nian murmured, "Long enough for me to calm down and think about things that I should have thought about, long enough for me to forget the time, long enough for me to just want to quietly welcome my end."

She just wanted to wait for this world to break apart and fall apart naturally, and then she would be truly liberated.

Zhuang Ning listened but did not react, like a tombstone.

Nian stood up and said, "Doctor, I ordered something for you. Eat it and leave. Go find those who need you more."

She left with light steps.

There was a noise behind him, and Zhuang Ning naturally did not listen to Nian's words. He followed her without explaining or comforting her.

He didn't say anything, but when he turned around occasionally, he could see Zhuang Ning's face.

Nian Lue was a little helpless: "Doctor, didn't I tell you? I know you want to use me, but I don't want to be used."

"I do want to use you." Zhuang Ning did not deny it. After all, it was meaningless.

He just murmured in a low voice: "But this is what I have to do, Nian."

"You really don't listen to me." Nian sensed the determination hidden in his words and turned his head away unhappily, "Whatever you say, Doctor."

By this time she had returned to the old apartment and closed the door with a click.

The iron door is very thick, blocking the inside and outside.

Zhuang Ning also noticed something else. In just a short while, the buildings around him had gone from brand new to somewhat shabby.

The paint on the concrete fell off, the roads became muddy and dilapidated, and only the city was hazy in the rain and fog.

Zhuang Ning put his hands on the railing and vaguely guessed the reason.

The rain continued all night without stopping.

The next day, when Nian went out, he still saw Zhuang Ning, who stayed at the door for a long time.

With his current physical condition, he no longer needs more rest, but to Nian, this is a different feeling.

She bit her lip and said, "You are really persistent. I have already told you that it is useless."

"No matter what you do it's useless."

She went out again in the year and went to see a movie.

The cinema was empty, with only the deafening dialogue on the screen.

"After thousands of years, who will remember you?"

Zhuang Ning sat in the seat behind her, blinking his eyes hidden in his hood, his thoughts surging like a torrent.

The plot of the movie was boring, full of affectation and whining. Nian also expressed the same feeling and even fell asleep while watching it.

But she was disturbed by the sentence "Who will still remember you after thousands of years?"

When Nian woke up, the cinema was empty. There was no one in the cinema. The girl yawned.

I returned home again and closed the door.

Dr. Nianxiang will probably give up soon, right? Even if he doesn't give up, it's okay, just ignore it.

She hung her head, counting the time. She would disappear soon, but how far away would that soon be?

On the third day, the door was opened and the morning glow shone in.

The light outlined a silhouette, and the doctor was bathed in light in the corridor.