ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 191
"I'm willing," came the immediate response from Gu Cong.
He had silently prepared himself for a long wait, even for possible rejection. Xie Ye seemed surprised, almost as if he wanted to ask, ‘Are you sure? Have you thought this through?’
But the determination in Gu Cong's eyes stopped him from voicing those thoughts. He could sense the intense warmth hidden in those eyes, causing his own heartbeat to quicken and his ears to flush with heat.
"I've considered it," Gu Cong spoke slowly, as if possessing a special ability to read his mind, "I considered it for a long time."
Since the moment he saw Xie Ye again, Gu Cong had been progressively putting the mission out of his mind. While he maintained his rationality, his heart had its own inclinations.
0028, who had quietly purchased a warehouse of fireworks, remained silent for two seconds. Ultimately, considering the rare occasion of the host's willingness to open up, it refrained from asking the mood-dampening question, ‘Shall I still set them off?’ (fireworks)
Xie Ye, on the other hand, was no longer in the mood to pay attention to the game system's antics. With the loss of control from its master, the scattered black mist condensed once again, covering the sky tightly. Only a vague glimpse of a distant, hazy red moon could be seen.
The moon was particularly round today, somewhat fitting for the occasion. Therefore, even though Xie Ye knew it was related to the system, he tolerated its presence.
Beside the cake, there were plastic knives and forks provided by the landlady as a gesture of goodwill. Xie Ye lowered his head and carefully cut the round cake into several slices, placing them on small paper plates.
Most of them were irregular in shape, varying in size, resembling a pile of offcuts expertly cut with a knife. Yet, they still retained the complete cream flower.
Including the winding branches and leaves, the delicate and sweet "pink rose" sat steadily on the largest piece of cake.
Then, lifted by Xie Ye's hand, the rose was gently nudged to the edge of the paper plate, and pushed towards Gu Cong:
"Gift."
Without fireworks, there was still the cream flower he had spent a long time making.
Gu Cong, sitting across the small table, was momentarily stunned.
Setting aside the role he played in the Quick Transmigration task, as "Gu Cong," he had never received flowers other than celebrating graduation.
He is constantly shuttling between worlds, experiencing ups and downs, he should have been mature and steady. Yet, whenever facing Xie Ye, he always felt like his eighteen-year-old self was "possessing" him.
Knowing he was being impulsive, Gu Cong couldn't control his mouth and asked:
"Do you know what roses mean?"
Seemingly caught off guard by such a strange question after a simple food-sharing moment, the bewildered Xie Ye blinked.
Gu Cong suddenly felt abrupt.
He understood Xie Ye's personality. Whether in the Immortal Realm or in the Infinite World, the other party shouldn't have known much about these things.
But just as he was about to open his mouth to change the subject and brush off the awkwardness that only he could feel, Xie Ye suddenly seemed to snap out of it and nodded at him. "I know."
Roses, generally speaking, symbolize love. Pink roses, in particular, are often associated with expressions of love, first love, and eternal love.
In just a few seconds, he searched through all his memories related to plants before coming up with the answer. The black-haired Xie Ye excitedly embarked on a "mini knowledge lecture," emphasizing at the end as if to reassure himself, "I know."
Gu Cong couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. He found Xie Ye both adorable and clueless. Suppressing the slight embarrassment in his heart, he casually pushed the plate back, saying, "Even though you know, you still gave it to me?"
But suddenly, Xie Ye understood something.
He might not understand social norms, but he knew "Jiang Chuan" very well. He was skilled at capturing even the slightest of Jiang Chuan's fluctuations.
Worried that pushing too hard might ruin the cream flower, he quickly set down his fork, twisted his wrist inward, spread his five fingers outward, and intercepted the plate that was about to be pushed back to its original position. "I want to give it to you."
Under the warm light, Xie Ye's dark phoenix-like eyes were as deep as an abyss, yet remarkably clear.
With solemnity, he made an effort to recall his past, as if confirming something. He said, "I've never liked anyone else or any ghost... So, would that make it my first love?"
In that moment after his words fell, Gu Cong's heartbeat drummed loudly, echoing like a drumbeat in his ears.
His throat inexplicably parched, his Adam's apple bobbing, he heard himself say, "You like me?"
The dark-haired Xie Ye nodded honestly, as usual. "Mm-hmm."
"I like you."
Faced with luck far beyond his expectations, the natural tendency of humans to fret and worry resurfaced, urging Gu Cong to utter some supposedly responsible words:
"Is it because I've been good to you? But Xie Ye, you deserve to be treated well regardless. In the future, you'll definitely meet someone who treats you even better..."
Creak—
The chair, pushed back by the impact, made a grating sound against the floor as Xie Ye opposite him stood up.
Feeling anger so vividly after a long absence, Xie Ye leaned forward, bending over the gap in the table, getting closer to the man:
"I have a physical desire for you."
Each word was pronounced deliberately. "Do I have to be like this with everyone who's nice to me?"
Just the thought of such a scenario made Gu Cong unwilling.
Their breaths intertwined, increasingly urgent. It wasn't clear who initiated it, but near the expansive floor-to-ceiling window, standing and sitting, their lips awkwardly met.
In this regard, Gu Cong had little experience, let alone Xie Ye. At first, it was just innocent rubbing and bumping, but the innate aggression ingrained in males was like a tide, like a raging fire, urging them on, unable to stop at a shallow level.
Xie Ye didn't close his eyes.
He was a ghost, unfamiliar with the unwritten rules of human social etiquette during kissing, nor did he understand desire or romance. He just instinctively felt that Gu Cong was beautiful at this moment.
Intense, vibrant, tearing away that layer of gentle tenderness that made one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze, it was a beauty that transcended gender.
It made him reluctant to look away.
But soon, Xie Ye had no energy left to think about such things.
Perhaps sensing his distraction, the sudden deepening of the kiss felt like a tiny electric current, striking his heart and tingling down to his abdomen, causing Xie Ye’s waist to inexplicably weaken, his fingertips whitening as he gripped the edge of the table tighter, yet still feeling a bit unsteady.
Despite this, the small delicate cream flower on the tabletop remained intact under his protection.
Two minutes later, Xie Ye, worried that he might collapse if he continued, decisively pushed Gu Cong away, his lips flushed, his breath ragged, and he returned to his original position.
He satisfied his "physical desire."
But it seemed that a stranger "discomfort" surged up.
Gu Cong, who was pushed away, was momentarily stunned, then opened his eyes and saw the expression on Xie Ye's face, feeling a sense of satisfaction in his heart. He raised an eyebrow, "Physical desire... Do you mean the desire to kiss me?"
Xie Ye: "Yeah."
He didn't know when this thought had started, perhaps it was from the time when Gu Cong had bitten his straw, his thin lips stained with hot cocoa, making him want to leave the same mark.
It's just a pity that his impulse was interrupted by the system's broadcast that time.
As for Gu Cong, who got the expected answer, he chuckled and adjusted his sitting posture slightly. Under Xie Ye's expectant gaze, he carefully ate up the beautiful cream rose.
0028, who almost got locked up in a dark room: "I’m very innocent, okay?"
Unlike its host, who could cause a mosaic just from a kiss...
Tsk.
Considering the possibility of things getting heated after mutual understanding, Gu Cong intended to maintain a certain distance from Xie Ye that night. However, Xie Ye had no intention of avoiding him and continued to snuggle up to him as usual.
Gu Cong's waist, hidden under his new pajamas, was tightly encircled by the fabric. Unable to do anything about it, Gu Cong could only restrain his thoughts and serve as a human-sized pillow obediently.
Until this moment, he slowly realized that he had missed something. He gently stroked the back of Xie Ye's neck, like petting a cat, and whispered, "I forgot to mention."
"Xie Ye."
"I like you too." Very much.
Perhaps due to drowsiness, Xie Ye leaned against his chest with closed eyes, giving a vague "mm" in response.
With an affectionate smile, Gu Cong remained silent.
He thought he would have trouble sleeping, but to his surprise, he slept deeply. The black fog that had never attacked him quietly spread, like the thorns surrounding Sleeping Beauty in a fairy tale, protecting him within its embrace.
In the darkness of the night, Xie Ye, who should have been entering the realm of dreams, opened his eyes. He draped himself in the coat Gu Cong had initially lent him and quietly left the room.
The elevator descended floor by floor.
As if someone could perceive his thoughts, a voice echoed in his mind repeatedly, with an indescribable tone, "You are the BOSS, a product of the infinite game. Guarding it is your mission."
【Players are your natural enemies.】
As far as he remembered, Xie Ye had never experienced anything like this before.
But he found himself inexplicably disliking this voice.
Natural enemies? Xie Ye thought, I have eyes, I have a mouth, and I have my own consciousness. Why should I blindly accept the cognition that the unknown voice is imposing on me?
Crash.
At that moment, it seemed like something abruptly shattered, and the world in Xie Ye's eyes suddenly became clear.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened, and the usually timid landlady, who had pretended to hibernate for over ten days, seemed like a puppet being controlled. Her eyes devoid of life, she acted out of character, holding scissors she seemed to have pulled out of nowhere, and lunged at him.
With calm agility, Xie Ye watched as the scissors created a deep dent in the elevator compartment. With a light touch of his fingertips, he instantly put the landlady puppet into a deep sleep.
One, two;
NPCs, players...
The relentless attacks came one after another, as if the entire world was trying to stop him from reaching the inner city, from reaching the stations leading to various instances.
But Xie Ye insisted on going.
"Eternal Sleep" was a graveyard, a mortuary, an artificial hell, and also the energy furnace that kept the game running. Once ignited, it had the power to blow up the system, and even the entire game.
Originally, he wanted "Jiang Chuan" to stay in the outer city forever to accompany him. Whether conflicted or hesitant, as long as the other party agreed, he would never give them a chance to go back on their word.
However, when the man firmly said those words, "I'm willing," Xie Ye suddenly changed his mind.
He wanted to send the other person back.
Back to reality, back home.
Such a good person shouldn't stay in the malicious arena of the infinite game, and definitely shouldn't live in the lifeless darkness.
The red moon hung high in the sky.
The ghosts and players forced into slumber were like corpses, twisted and distorted, lying behind Xie Ye.
The station that had once sent him out of instances was right in front of him, but the whispers calling him "home" day and night were as quiet as a choked rooster.
In the vast city, Xie Ye walked at the forefront alone. He didn't understand the emotions surging in his chest at this moment, urging him to make such a choice, but he felt that it must be something deeper than just liking.
It seemed that giving was more meaningful than mere taking.
Unexpectedly, at the moment he was about to step into the station, a mechanical voice filled with tears suddenly broke out, loud and piercing:
【Wuwuwu... Host! Xie Ye! When will you listen to me talking!】
【Wake up quickly!】
【I miss you so much.】
Author's note:
Ding ding ding, Yao Yao is online.
Note: Princess Aurora = Sleeping Beauty.
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