Ch121 – The Cycle of Karma, What Goes Around Comes Around (End)
No matter how the Lord G.o.d appraised it, once the contract came into effect, there was no way to go back on it.
The superst.i.tious little Song Chunyang was very grateful towards Chi Xiaochi, to the point that he even planned on going to a temple to ask for a longevity memorial tablet, to pray for a life of happiness and peace for Chi Xiaochi, who was already in some other world.
In contrast, Xi Lou wanted to strangle Chi Xiaochi to death already.
Upon realising that Song Chunyang had still been in his body all this time, Xi Lou still didn’t give up, asking Song Chunyang, who had just woken up from his fever, “……Did you hear what I said.”
Song Chunyang pulled up his quilt to cover the lower half of his face, laughing foolishly, “I heard. Heh heh. You like me.”
Xi Lou’s vision went black, his mind filled with “Chi Xiaochi, you motherf.u.c.ker, if you have the guts, don’t run”.
Seeing Xi Lou go quiet, Song Chunyang called out to him, “Loulou.”
Xi Lou struggled to maintain his calm despite his bright red face. “……What?”
Song Chunyang said in a small voice, “Actually, I’ve known that you like me for a long time already.”
……He had retained all his memories of what had happened after his death.
In that patch of complete darkness, Xi Lou was his only light; warm, everlasting, and unchanging.
The Xi Lou who stayed with him, unwilling to leave, was extremely handsome.
As for Xi Lou, he felt like he could perform a folk stunt of spontaneously combusting on the spot right there and then, and simply played dead.
Song Chunyang had never feared awkward silences, continuously prodding Xi Lou to speak.
His experience of dying once hadn’t made his personality change by much.
His anger, sadness, and hatred, should all have dissipated like smoke with Yuan Benshan’s death. There was no need for him to keep them to torment himself. What’s more, he had regained a stable, smooth-sailing life, and he even had Xi Lou.
He wanted to do his best to completely abandon his dark past, only leaving the best of him for those who were worth it.
Song Chunyang asked for a week of sick leave. His sickness came quickly, and also left quickly. After a few days, he was pretty much cured.
And he’d also gotten the reward that Chi Xiaochi had earned for him: the keys to their new apartment.
He and Xi Lou had chosen the apartment together. It didn’t have a very big floor area, with just two bedrooms, two common areas, one kitchen and one bathroom. The floor area of about one hundred square metres wouldn’t be very difficult to clean, and was enough to house two people. The apartment allowed pets, and was very close to the hospital where Song Chunyang worked.
As soon as Song Chunyang vacated his original house and moved into the new house, Xi Lou planned on ending his contract with the Lord G.o.d and leaving his body.
The day that he left, Song Chunyang asked, despite knowing the answer, “Loulou, when you get your new body, will you come find me.”
Xi Lou was still a little angry. He said, “No.”
Song Chunyang, “What kind of cake would you like to have when you come.”
Xi Lou, “……Matcha.”
Song Chunyang beamed. “En. Then I’ll be waiting for you.”
After a few more minutes, he called out again, “Loulou.”
However, no one replied. Xi Lou had already left.
Song Chunyang was stunned for a moment, then began to clean up, arranging the furniture, humming a little tune as he happily began to search online for which brand had the biggest and softest double bed.
About an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Song Chunyang thought that the new sofa he ordered had arrived, jumping up and going to answer the door.
Huffing heavily, he tried to speak, “I……”
The heterochromatic little kitten lunged towards him without a word. His warm, steady embrace, made the script he had carefully worked on for several days vanish in a puff of smoke.
Xi Lou reached out and locked his arms around Song Chunyang.
Song Chunyang rested his head on his shoulder.
This was Xi Lou’s first time being in a relationship, as well as his first time being hugged so intimately by someone.
Like a wet blanket, he thought, really heavy.
But he still couldn’t bear to let go, greedily leading the other man into the house and using his foot to close the door behind him before carrying him to the sofa and settling him on his lap.
He said, “I’m here.”
Song Chunyang’s eyes were bright, curiously reaching out to touch his plump lower eyelids. “En.”
Xi Lou said, “How did you know it was me.”
Song Chunyang, “I knew it was you the moment I saw you.”
As he spoke, Song Chunyang gently poked the corner of his mouth with the tip of his finger. “I guessed that you’d look like this.”
Xi Lou did his best to keep the corners of his lips down, not letting them curve upwards too obviously, pretending to be indifferent as he said, “My cake?”
Song Chunyang’s eyes turned. He patted his chest. “Here.”
In the end, Xi Lou couldn’t hold back his smile. After having a few bites of cake, the two squeezed together in front of the computer, picking beds. After the new sofa arrived, the two then helped the workers a.s.semble the sofa, talking all the while.
Within these few years of interacting, they had long since become friends. Everything that needed to be worn in had been worn in. Now, they needed to learn how to become lovers from the beginning.
As far as the current situation showed, they had adapted well.
After returning to the hospital, Song Chunyang, with the consent of Xi Lou, went to the place where he remembered Gan Yu’s office was with home-baked matcha cookies, planning to express his grat.i.tude.
But even after he walked through the whole floor of the building from the east side to the west side, he couldn’t find Doctor Gan’s office.
He stopped a young doctor on his way to get water from the water room and asked politely, “Excuse me, which room is Doctor Gan in?”
“What Doctor Gan?” The young doctor raised an eyebrow. “Did you get the wrong place? We’re neurosurgery.”
Song Chunyang stilled. He confirmed the floor number. “He’s from neurosurgery, I didn’t get it wrong.”
The young doctor said, “Then you’re in the wrong place. We don’t have any doctors called Gan here.”
Song Chunyang, holding his cookies, was stunned for a long time. In a daze, he thanked the doctor and returned to his post.
He called Xi Lou and told him about what had happened.
In the beginning, Xi Lou thought that he was joking, but hearing Song Chunyang anxiously explain “It’s real, he’s really gone”, only then did he realise something was wrong. He dialed Gan Tang’s number from memory.
When Chi Xiaochi was still there, the four had left each other their contact information, to make it easier to keep in touch.
China Mobile informed Xi Lou, the number he was trying to call didn’t exist.
Holding his phone, Xi Lou thought for a long time.
He thought about the abnormal attachment and interest the siblings had shown towards “Song Chunyang”, thought about the story of the clownfish, thought about that double kiss under the moonlight, thought about how they had risked their lives to protect Chi Xiaochi in the fire and in the clown’s games, and thought about Gan Yu’s strange reaction to Gan Tang getting hurt.
He thought, he seemed to truly have gotten something wrong.
If that pair of siblings, were both the “Liu-laoshi” Chi Xiaochi had so longed for, then everything started to make sense……
……
Make sense my a.s.s!
A perfectly fine person splitting into two, even splitting into a male and a female, what kind of mentality must he have?!
Making him so worried and afraid at that time that he couldn’t even sleep well!
Song Chunyang unexpectedly accepted this reality very well. After a period of dazedness, he placed the issue of setting up the longevity memorial tablet back on his agenda, just adding Gan Yu and Gan Tang’s names on there as well.
They made plans to go to the temple with the most fragrant incense in the area on a holiday. According to Song Chunyang’s survey, this place had the strongest spiritual energy in the air.
The night before, they took a shower together. As they washed up, things became a little steamy, but considering that they still had proper matters to attend to the next day, they just kissed and hugged for a while, before falling asleep in each other’s arms.
The next morning, Xi Lou got up early to prepare french toast with warm milk. Song Chunyang was still sleeping in.
After spreading jam on the toast and carrying the cups of milk to the table, Xi Lou wiped his hands and went into the bedroom. “Time to wake up.”
The big lump on the bed shifted slightly, and half a face poked out, looking out dazedly,
Xi Lou, “……” Ai.
He picked up the two sets of milk and french toast and carried them into the room, placing them on the bedside table. After the two ate, Xi Lou cleaned up the plates and chopsticks. When he returned to the room, he found that Song Chunyang had actually slipped back into the quilt.
Helpless, as he unb.u.t.toned his pajama top, he urged, “Quickly get up.”
Song Chunyang opened an amber eye, sneakily glancing at him.
When their gazes met, Song Chunyang closed both his eyes.
Xi Lou let out a slight sigh. As he turned around to pull off his pajama pants, he couldn’t help but turn back to look at him.
This time he glanced back, Song Chunyang had his blue eye open, watching sneakily.
Xi Lou couldn’t hold back any longer. With a few quick steps, he strode over to the window and pulled the blinds closed once more, picked up that disobedient, heterochromatic little kitten, and dragged him under the quilt.
Song Chunyang hesitated anxiously, “Are we not going today.”
Xi Lou said forcefully, “Push it back to tomorrow.”
Song Chunyang thought about it for a moment. Only after confirming that in the Tung Shing, these two days were both suitable for praying for blessings, was he rea.s.sured. He placed his arms around Xi Lou’s neck, opened his mouth, and took a gentle bite.
……
After this mission, Chi Xiaochi asked for an entire fortnight of break.
Upon returning to that snow-white s.p.a.ce, for the first time in a few months, he finally heard 061’s voice.
061 asked him, “Are you going back to the tube-shaped apartments again?”
Chi Xiaochi shook his head. He pulled out a bed from his storage, then lay right down, even preparing a particularly comfortable set of bedding for himself.
He curled up in the warm, dry quilt, closed his eyes, and said, “Liu-laoshi, read me a fairytale.”
……If he went out, 061’s abilities would be restricted once more, and he wouldn’t be able to hear his voice again.
061 understood the meaning hidden behind Chi Xiaochi’s words.
He really wanted to tell him that story of the clownfish searching for its home, but when he tried, he couldn’t utter a single word.
The confidentiality system again.
He was a system. Every idea of his would form corresponding data, and what the confidentiality system limited was his subjective desires. As long as it sensed his desire to disclose the secret, his speech system would automatically shut off.
061 tried many times, but in the end, was unable to do anything. He dug out a fairytale from his database, and told Chi Xiaochi the story of the Little Mermaid.
Chi Xiaochi didn’t say anything. Whatever story 061 told him, he would listen.
Halfway through, Chi Xiaochi drifted off to sleep. He lay there quietly, not even turning over, making one feel affection yet also heartache.
061 materialised, still in the usual white shirt and black pants.
He sat by Chi Xiaochi’s bedside and gently stroked the little mole by his eyebrow. He really wanted to kiss him, but was afraid of waking him from his shallow sleep.
He knew, according to the role of the confidentiality system, that the moment Chi Xiaochi woke up, his ability to materialise would disappear, automatically returning him to Chi Xiaochi’s body, so he wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity, to spend a little more time with him.
061 carefully leaned over and lightly touched his lips with the tip of his finger, then pressed that finger against his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.
After indulging in that feeling for a long time, his ears slightly red, he got up and returned to the Lord G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce.
As he peeled mangosteens in his room, 009 just so happened to pa.s.s by his window.
The moment 009 saw the mangosteens, he started to feel hungry, but he wasn’t the type of person to casually ask other people for their food. Thinking that he would go buy a bag for himself later, he knocked on the door, and stuck his head inside. “061-ge, it’s been a long time since I saw you back here.”
061’s head was bowed as he carefully cleaned the mangosteens. There was a smile on his lips. “En, I’ve been very busy lately.”
009 said enviously, “What big mangosteens.”
061 stored the crescent-shaped mangosteen sections in a transparent gla.s.s bowl, then gave the remainder to 009. “I spent more than ten minutes in the shop picking out the best and biggest mangosteens. If you go there to buy some for yourself, you might not be able to buy any that are as good. Take these.”
Then, carrying the gla.s.s bowl, he started walking to the transmission point.
009 called after him, “Are you in such a rush, leaving just like that?”
061 looked back. “En, I’m in a hurry.”
After leaving Chi Xiaochi for even a little while, he would become incredibly uneasy. He needed to hurry back to calm down.
Besides, he still had a lot to do.
In the morning, Chi Xiaochi woke up. He lay on the bed, hugging his bolster as he woke himself up. When he looked up, he found that the transmission s.p.a.ce had been decorated in a neat and tidy manner. It looked just like a home now, with light gray wallpaper plastered over the piercing white walls, several beds, and even a little kitchen and a bathroom. On his bedside table was even a bowl of peeled mangosteens, the fresh, snow white, tender fruit glistening with water, incredibly tempting.
Did 061 do all this when he was sleeping?
He actually hadn’t heard anything?
Chi Xiaochi lay on his side, looking around the room for a moment, then retracted his gaze and closed his eyes, reaching out and pressing his hand against his heart at the same time.
Ever since Lou-ge left, that place hadn’t felt peace or happiness in a very long time, to the point that Chi Xiaochi felt that this kind of feeling was quite unfamiliar.
As he rubbed his hand against his heart, he heard 061 call out to him from inside his body, “Xiaochi.”
“……En?”
“Xiaochi.” That voice was unbelievably soft.
“En.”
061 explained with a smile, “It’s been a very long time since I last called out your name, I want to do it a few more times.”
After explaining, he called again, “Xiaochi.”
Chi Xiaochi stretched, lazily pushing back the quilt, his slender waist arching into an alluring curve. He obediently answered, “En.”