It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 154

 

ITOTIABSAM | The Immortal on Liuyun Mountain | 154

"You know?"

Know what?

Deeply suspecting that his train of thought was not on the same channel as Xie Ye's, Gu Cong blinked, trying to confirm, but his mouth was forcefully pressed shut by the young man's fingertip.

"The mission, right?" Speaking deliberately with ambiguous words, conveying content only understandable to each other, Xie Ye's left hand hung down, subtly tightening the puppet strings entwined around it.

"I've known for a long time that you're not Song He."

As soon as these words were uttered, the system's built-in OOC radar began to beep incessantly, and 0028, immersed in the deepest part of Gu Cong's consciousness, even popped up with a worried expression. "It's over, it's over."

[As a quick transmigration agent, being exposed by the natives of the small world, you're done for. The agency will immediately transfer you out and send a new agent in!]

This level of catastrophic mistake meant that Gu Cong's next mission would undoubtedly be punished with the highest difficulty.

Transfer out?

Automatically capturing the most important keywords, Gu Cong unconsciously tightened the puppet strings hanging from his little finger amidst the chaos.

That was their most profound connection.

Initially meant for protection, aside from silencing him, Xie Ye hadn't placed many other restrictions. The tangible manifestation of their connected puppet strings gradually became apparent. They couldn't infinitely extend anymore. Gu Cong exerted great force, to the point where he almost caused the unsuspecting young man in front of him to stumble.

He was only a little bit close to breaking the other's nose. Xie Ye barely managed to use the hand that had been covering the boy's mouth to support his shoulder, lifting his gaze. "What are you doing?"

The close proximity made the height difference, usually easily overlooked, clear. Gu Cong temporarily lost his voice, only able to follow his instinct, bowing his head and opening his arms, embracing him tightly.

He didn't want to leave.

And he certainly didn't want Xie Ye to go back to the miserable trajectory of the original story.

“The world will restart, so hugging him won't help," 0028 muttered with a stubborn yet compassionate tone. "I've warned you before, don't invest too much emotion into NPCs."

Once the data was wiped clean, everything returned to zero.

But the memory of it all was even more painful.

However, as time passed second by second, 0028 gradually realized that something was off: the OOC alarm kept blaring incessantly, yet there were no signs of Gu Cong's soul being pulled away.

It seemed like it was just ringing for the sake of ringing—so engrossed in playing that it completely forgot to contact the higher-ups at the Quick Transmigration Bureau.

This was a situation that had never occurred before.

Concerning the existence of the Quick Transmigration Bureau, the confidentiality protocol could not possibly be mistaken.

Gu Cong also noticed that the subsequent events mentioned by the system seemed not to have happened; he remained standing in place, and the sensation in his arms was vivid.

Xie Ye was very slender, but he always liked to wear looser robes. It wasn't until this moment that Gu Cong realized, with astonishment, that he could easily encircle the young man's waist with just one arm.

The faint scent of pine, tinged with warmth, lingered gently in the air. The rhythm of their breaths slowed down, and Gu Cong felt a hint of unease.

Yet, he was keenly aware that this was not awkwardness but a kind of nervousness he had never experienced before.

"Have you hugged enough?" The cool breath brushed past his ear, sounding no different from usual, devoid of annoyance. Understanding that his actions might have been abrupt for Xie Ye, Gu Cong intended to release him. Yet, the next moment, the incessant beeping in his mind made him retract his hand once again.

"Wanted to talk." With his fingertip pressing against the young man's back, he wrote earnestly.

Shocked into speechlessness, 1101 exclaimed, "What's going on? What just happened? Why did the host end and Gu Cong end up hugging? And the mission? It couldn't be what it's thinking, could it?"

"That's right," calmly, Xie Ye dropped a bombshell that could have shattered the system on the spot, "Inside his head, there should be others of your kind."

[Wanna meet them?}

1101 shook its virtual head frantically.

Meanwhile, from Gu Cong's perspective that he couldn't see, countless strands of puppet threads were tightly entwined around every strand of his soul, acting as both a cage and a shield, ensuring that he couldn't be taken away by any entity.

The worst-case scenario he had anticipated hadn't occurred yet. Xie Ye slightly relaxed the puppet threads wrapped around his fingertips and spoke gently, "You can speak now."

Inside Gu Cong's buzzing mind, he thought, Although, if the alarm isn't working, could it be paused for a moment? It's affecting my communication with Xie Ye.

Silently, 1101, feeling utterly disgraced by the failure of the Quick Transmigration Bureau and its predecessors, lowered the volume of the alarm to the minimum level.

"If everything were to start over, don't trust me again," Gu Cong's first instinct wasn't to defend himself but to remind Xie Ye urgently, "Destroy the puppet directly. Remember?"

Knowing that after the data reset, Xie Ye would forget everything they had experienced together in the past few months, Gu Cong couldn't help but worry. He carefully urged, wanting to leave even the slightest impression on Xie Ye.

However, Xie Ye didn't respond directly. Instead, he patted Gu Cong's back reassuringly and said, "There won't be a restart."

Because this little world was just a passing experience.

Or perhaps, it was a illusion tailor-made for him.

That's why the system couldn't reach the Quick Transmigration Bureau, and why time continued to move forward steadily even after he attempted to expose Gu Cong's disguise. Because everything that happened here wouldn't affect reality.

In the small world that reached its conclusion, it was difficult to backtrack. In reality, the immortal Xie Ye had indeed died a long time ago, but someone, hundreds or even thousands of years later, wanted to provide him with a fresh possibility.

So here he stood, with awakened memories, peeling away the layers to slowly uncover a truth that he had once ignored, even forgotten.

"I haven't asked for your name yet." Sensing the reason why he could meet Gu Cong time and time again, Xie Ye felt a sourness in his nose. Suppressing the lump in his throat, he smiled.

Gu Cong with his head resting on his shoulder obediently replied, "Gu Cong."

Despite being half a head taller and broader in the shoulders, there was a pitiful air about Gu Cong at this moment. 

Finally feeling the relief of finding someone like himself, regardless of the constraints imposed by the system, Gu Cong couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "And you? Are you also a Quick Transmigration employee?"

Xie Ye shook his head. He hadn't actually agreed to the system's invitation yet.

"Xie Ye," he introduced himself seriously, "I guess you could call me a consciously awakened villain, no longer confined to the NPC category."

0028 was shocked: "He knows what NPC means?!"

How was the protagonist supposed to win now?

"Not a villain," Gu Cong countered as he straightened up, "No one can define you, not even the original author."

Gu Cong, who had been drooping with a defeated air like a large dog, suddenly regained his vigor, Xie Ye raised an eyebrow teasingly, "Are you willing to let go now?"

Looking at Xie Ye's rumpled appearance, Gu Cong realized, ...Well, maybe he did use a bit too much force.

But he didn't feel an ounce of regret; in fact, he wanted to hug the other person a few more times.

"Were there others like me before?" Gu Cong asked, selecting the most important question from the many swirling in his mind. "Did they hurt you?"

Otherwise, how could Xie Ye have guessed his new job?

Calm and composed, Xie Ye adjusted his robe. "No."

Perhaps the Quick-Transmigrate Bureau had indeed sent employees to conquer him, hidden among the men and women who had once shown interest in him, but before meeting Gu Cong, he hadn't accepted anyone.

Much less been hurt by them.

"You're special," Xie Ye admitted, unusually candid. "That's why I want to help you complete your mission."

—To hell with his mission.

"In my heart, you're more important than any mission," Gu Cong blurted out without hesitation, his gaze shifting to the young man who looked so natural, as if he were ready to entrust his life to him. Clenching and unclenching his fingers, he finally acted on his impulse.

"Xie Ye," he said, "I want to hug you."

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Author's Note:

Gu Cong: Consider this a notification.

Gu Cong: I'll hug you even if you refuse.

The plot just happens to stop here, a bit short.

PS: Because this is a scenario formed from the past, there won't be any punishment even if Gu Cong's mission fails. It's a happily ever after ending.