Ark, they don't revolve around you

But he looked at the painting and whispered quietly: "Why paint me?"

"I wanted to paint a picture for you a long time ago, but you burned my painting. I felt resentful and gave up." Xi was rarely honest.

"But you are willing to paint my portrait again?"

"Yeah, I suddenly don't hate you anymore." Xi smiled brightly. She really didn't expect that this girl would laugh so sincerely without any concealment. In the past, even if she saw Nian's ugly behavior, this girl would just smile secretly.

The smile was so beautiful, but Zhuang Ning couldn't quite remember when he had done anything to make Xi laugh. Suddenly, Zhuang Ning realized that no one had smiled at him like this for a long time. This was the land he lived in, dead and dull, and everyone had his own nightmare.

But how could this girl who could fall into death at any time laugh? She used to live in fear, but recently, perhaps when she woke up, she would return to her body.

But it is undeniable that this faint smile still remains in someone's memory. Even in the future, Zhuang Ning would occasionally think of this afternoon. In the quiet light, she put down her pen and hugged Zhuang Ning.

"I'm sorry, Doc," she murmured.

"Why? Shouldn't I be the one to say sorry? I burned your painting."

"Yes, but I know that's because I'm 20 years old. I don't understand why you are more perceptive than me, but since you are a doctor, your secrets, your thoughts, your body...whatever happens to you is incredible."

Her breath almost touched Zhuang Ning's cheek, and Zhuang Ning could see every detail of her cheek.

Zhuang Ning had a vague guess: "Maybe it has nothing to do with me, it's the age that determines everything."

"Yes, but that doesn't matter." The girl's cheeks were red, but she still stared at him and said seriously, "At least for now, let's not mention her."

"……it is good."

She smiled again: "Painting for you, Doctor, is not a spur of the moment idea. My paintings are not restricted to any subject matter or technique. But I don't want to paint just to satisfy others, so I sternly rejected your request for an order."

Zhuang Ning coughed and indicated that the matter should not be mentioned anymore.

That was a long time ago. Rhodes Island's industrial chain and revenue were not stable yet, and it had not yet flourished on the land of Terra. In short, it was extremely short of money. So, he wanted to entrust Xi to draw a picture and earn some red gold.

However, as soon as he proposed an idea, Xi Hengmei rejected it. Nian came over with a smile and said that instead of painting, they could make a movie together. What if they made some money?

"You still remember it?"

"I think of it sometimes." Xi lowered his eyebrows, "My paintings must express my form and meaning, just like my elder brother's martial arts and your sister's poetry - my brush and ink will never dance for outsiders at will."

This has nothing to do with being aloof or not. She is destined to be like this. No one can force her. This girl seems to always keep herself in a cage for a hundred years, but who has the right to rebuke her? There is the vastest world in her paintings.

Now, the girl said, "But actually, for you, I think it's okay to make an exception once in a while."

"For me?" Zhuang Ning repeated in a low voice, "For... me?"

"Ah."

"Why?"

"I see something in you." Xi's charming smile did not disappear. "That is something I need the most."

“It can’t be courage?” Zhuang Ning sighed. He also had an illusion. He was clearly on the water, but it seemed like he was in a Zen temple. He was not facing a talented female painter with an extraordinary appearance, but a wandering man with a wealth of knowledge and as experienced as an old tree.

She sat in a temple where all the trees had died, and sought an answer from Buddha, until one day, a man pushed open the door of this desolate temple.

"It's not courage, it's sincerity." Xi smiled slightly.

"Are you serious?" Zhuang Ning was stunned.

"I know you were also confused at that time. How can a seeker find a way to explore? And you chose to treat others with sincerity." Xi said quietly, "That is something I don't have."

"You are clearly capable of being king, yet you are willing to bow down to people who are far inferior to you."

"You are clearly busy, yet you care about me, a woman whose attitude towards you is far from good."

"Sincerely... Although I just realized it now, I think I like you."

She said that there was no trace of sunset red on her face, but her voice was very quiet.

Zhuang Ning didn't expect her to say this at this time? He frowned and wanted to complain, "What nonsense are you talking about? Is this the time to talk about love?" Miss, you just rejected me yesterday. If it weren't for the age crawling out of your painting, I don't know how many days it would take for me to take you away.

But he didn't say that, he just nodded.

Because he found that the girl was crying, tears streaming down her face, tears dripping from her eyes, her hands were shaking slightly. The girl's words were more like a farewell than a confession, entrusting her feelings to the only person who could express them as she was about to die.

"Don't you believe me? I can take you to your elder brother." After a long time, Zhuang Ning said.

I really don't like her expression like this. Is she sincere? But sincerity is useless. Throughout the ages, how many people have been sincere to each other, but in return they have been blood and tears. He doesn't believe in such things anymore. Why would a woman say that she is treating others with sincerity?

Even though I said I would protect you, it wasn't because of you, but for other purposes.

"I believe you, but I don't know if I can hold on until then. I have a feeling that after appearing in Sui's self-painting, I am in a state of disappearing at any time." Xi's hand trembled. "If it weren't for you, I might have disappeared yesterday. Second brother is right. Since my painting has become the medium for Sui to break through the shackles, my self is like a drop of water. Sooner or later, it will return to the sea."

"That's why you're scared." Zhuang Ning was silent for a long time. He wanted to say something, but when he saw Xi's attitude, he knew that comforting her was meaningless.

Xi lit the lamp with her bare hands, and the quiet light shone on her face: "You came to see me before, but I left you out and let you get wet in the rain. I forgot that you are just a mortal. Fortunately, you survived."

"That was an accident."

"It was an accident, but I suddenly thought that if something really happened to you, I would be very sad and I couldn't accept it." Xihe eyes, "So I said sorry to you, Doctor, I am a selfish person after all."

The two of them fell silent again, and to Zhuang Ning these words sounded like a farewell.

But why? I never allowed you to die. I changed the plan to give you a chance to survive temporarily, but why do you still think you will die?

Zhuang Ning lowered his head to hide his slightly cold gaze. He knew that this gaze would scare Xi, but he just didn't understand what these people were thinking.

Before they knew it, the sunlight disappeared, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the lights became brighter. They seemed to have returned to ancient times hundreds of years ago, and were on a stormy boat on a miserable rainy night. It seemed as if they were the only ones in this world, just like the only two humans on the ark.

Zhuang Ning put his hand on the girl's forehead.

He finally just said: "You are tired, go to sleep first."

After he said that, he sat on the bed and opened the book alone.

Xi smiled, then became more drowsy. Before she fell into darkness, she heard a voice: "I will protect you."

"Yeah." She responded in a low voice.

Xi's consciousness was sinking.

She didn't like this sinking feeling, but she couldn't stop it.

A voice whispered, like a stern king, with irresistible pressure: Return to me.

——Return to me!

——Return to me!!

In the daytime, the sound is just like a mosquito, but in the dream, the sound is endlessly amplified. Every call is like the sound of a huge bell, and every roar is earth-shaking.

At that moment her feet landed on the step, the stairs extended upwards, and there stood a hall on the high platform. She seemed to have seen this hall before.

"Come to me, child," the voice said.

She climbed up the stairs like a ghost, and even though she had a vague idea of ​​what would happen when she reached the top, she kept moving forward.

How can the hands and feet resist the mind?

If the rotten meat is not cut off, it will become poison that harms the body.

I am the rotten meat, Xi thought.

Inside the hall, she saw the shadow, with his head held high, his eyes burning with angry gold.

It was a woman, wearing a crown on her head, a dark top and khaki skirt. The sun, moon and stars were embroidered on her shoulders, as if she could hold up the entire sky by herself.

Those were the attire of an emperor. The ancient monarch looked down coldly and once again gave the order: "Return to me."

After returning, there is no more pain, just like Nian or other sisters and brothers.

In a trance, the sunset was getting closer step by step.

The king looked down with satisfaction, still looking down from above. But at a certain moment, her eyes fixed, and a black shadow appeared behind her, roaring angrily with all his strength: "Xi, wake up!"

The shadow was almost screaming at the top of its lungs. Xi suddenly focused his attention, trying to see the shadow's appearance clearly, but the shadow had neither face nor thickness, just a hint of chaos attached to the king.

"Wake up?" The king was furious: "You are wrong, she has never woken up, and neither have you!"

She sneered loudly, and her shadow stretched longer and longer in the hall. Xi was suddenly very scared, and felt that this majestic and benevolent king - this person who was like their master or "mother" had become extremely strange.

She regained some consciousness.

The king suddenly drew his sword and chopped fiercely, the shadow shattered into pieces, but still struggled and resisted. Her voice was incoherent, but she was still roaring: "Wake up, Xi, wake up!"

"You have never woken up!" The king also laughed angrily, "Do you think you really existed? But you are just my fragments. The names you gave are like castles in the air, and the voices you shouted are like the pleas of lonely ghosts."

"Jie, shut up and don't resist." She ordered coldly in the most majestic voice, "Return to me!"

Xi remembered that it was Jie, her third sister. She used to dislike her third sister because she was unwilling to admit that they were born in a similar family.

But it was her third sister who woke her up. This crazy woman tried to shake the tree, but like an ant, she ended up becoming just a part of the year.

Xi's tears fell like pearls, she was very sad and upset. She turned around suddenly and started running, running out of the hall as fast as she could.

Just like Jie said, she is going to wake up.

The king stared at her coldly from behind. Finally, he sighed, dropped his sword, and stepped into the shadow.

Shadow was trampled into the ground, and the king taunted: "It doesn't matter, she will return eventually."

There was more pity in her eyes: "No matter how hard you try to stop me, it will be useless. I said, you never existed."

"You are nothing but a dream of mine."

"evening?"

"evening!"

When Xi woke up, his clothes were soaked with cold sweat and his whole body was shaking as if he had been thrown into cold water.

"Xi, Xi?"

The man also patted her face and called her name, which was really rude.

"PhD?"

"You finally woke up." Zhuang Ning sighed, "I was careless."

"What's wrong?" Xi opened his mouth. His throat was extremely dry and his bones were soft as if they had been soaked in water for a long time.

It was a big dream. After waking up, I could still see familiar people.

But when she saw Zhuang Ning was so worried, she put her hand on her lips and murmured, "Listen."

Xi went to listen.

She had sharp hearing and could hear footsteps, subtle, coming from all directions.