Chapter 46: Met Again

Xia Jiuwei braced both hands against the sofa on either side of Lu Nian’an's head, one knee pressing into the cushion as she pinned her beneath her.

Yet Lu Nian’an merely looked up at her, the corners of her lips slowly curving into a sly smile.

"Mia."

She blinked innocently.

"If you can feel my emotions, do you really think I can't feel what you're feeling too?"

Xia Jiuwei froze.

Lu Nian’an lifted her arms and gently wrapped them around Xia Jiuwei's neck, her fingers slowly tightening as she drew her closer. The distance between them gradually disappeared until their breaths intertwined, their faces so close they were almost touching.

Then, in one swift movement, Lu Nian’an rolled over.

Their positions reversed instantly.

The sofa sank beneath their weight as she propped herself up slightly, putting just enough distance between them while never taking her eyes off Xia Jiuwei.

"Do you know something?"

Her voice dropped into a softer whisper.

"I can almost always tell what you're thinking."

Xia Jiuwei immediately turned her face away, but another emotion quietly drifted into her mind.

Amusement.

And a playful mischief she wasn't even trying to hide.

A heartbeat later, Xia Jiuwei stiffened.

Oh no... does that mean she saw all those messy thoughts in my head?

Without another word, she grabbed the nearest cushion and buried her face in it.

Darkness filled her vision, muffling the sounds around her as though separated by a thick layer.

After a while, a familiar warmth approached from behind.

Someone wrapped their arms around her.

The cushion was gently pulled away, and Lu Nian’an gathered her back into her embrace.

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Mia... now, whenever you're hurting, I can feel it too."

She paused.

"I know that even though more than twenty years have passed inside the Under-Reality, none of those things have truly gone away."

Her arms tightened around Xia Jiuwei as she rested her chin lightly on her shoulder.

"If time can't erase everything..."

she murmured,

"...then let me become your everything instead."

Xia Jiuwei mumbled quietly,

"You already are my everything."

Lu Nian’an gently shook her head.

"No."

"I'm going to spend a very, very long time making sure you don't have to be sad anymore."

"I'm going to give you more happiness than you can possibly count."

She reached up, her fingertips lightly brushing across Xia Jiuwei's cheek before playfully flicking the tip of her nose.

"Hey—"

Xia Jiuwei blinked in surprise.

"Lu Nian’an!"

She immediately reached out to get even, but Lu Nian’an caught her hand with ease.

Not willing to admit defeat, Xia Jiuwei swung with her other hand, only to have that one captured as well.

"You're cheating!"

She began twisting and squirming helplessly.

"Let me go!"

Lu Nian’an laughed.

"Alright, alright."

The moment she loosened her grip, Xia Jiuwei instantly shot her hand forward and flicked Lu Nian’an's nose in return.

Lu Nian’an stared at her for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh.

"You really..."

Clack.

A soft sound interrupted her.

Both of them turned toward the sofa.

A greenish-gray bead had fallen onto the floor. It rolled several times before disappearing beneath the television cabinet.

"...What's that?"

Lu Nian’an looked toward Xia Jiuwei.

Xia Jiuwei fell silent for a moment.

"...Mm."

Her voice became noticeably quieter.

"My grandfather gave it to me."

Silence settled over the room.

A slight crease formed between Lu Nian’an's brows. The last thing she wanted was for Xia Jiuwei to be dragged back into painful memories.

But Xia Jiuwei spoke first.

"I've already accepted it."

She paused before adding softly,

"I still miss him... that's all."

She forced a faint smile toward Lu Nian’an.

"...Mm."

Lu Nian’an answered quietly before standing and walking over to the television cabinet. After glancing at the narrow gap beneath it, she paused briefly.

The shadows beneath her feet began to ripple, flowing across the floor before slipping under the cabinet. They wrapped around the bead and gently carried it back into her waiting palm.

The darkness dispersed, leaving only the greenish-gray bead resting quietly in her hand.

But before she could hand it back, black substance—like living shadows—suddenly seeped from its surface and wrapped around her fingers.

It spread with frightening speed.

Across her palm.

Up her wrist.

Over her shoulder.

Along her neck.

Within an instant, darkness swallowed her entire body.

The next second—

Lu Nian’an vanished before Xia Jiuwei's eyes.

Shadow-like darkness consumed Lu Nian’an's vision.

When it finally receded, she found herself standing inside a wooden building.

Her eyes swept across the surroundings, and her expression immediately darkened.

The shadows at her feet writhed as several massive silhouettes crawled up from the floor.

"No need to be so tense."

A voice echoed from the far end of the corridor.

Lu Nian’an turned instantly.

The person standing there made her stop short.

It was—

Xia Jiuwei's grandfather.

"Why are you here?"

She became fully alert, her eyes never leaving him.

Ashes spread his hands.

"Relax. I really am dead."

"What you're looking at is only a remnant—a lingering shadow."

He sighed softly.

"Take a closer look."

"You could even treat me like one of your own shadows and control me."

After a brief silence, Lu Nian’an cautiously manipulated the surrounding darkness.

Instantly, Ashes' body collapsed into a puddle of black shadow before reforming exactly as it had been.

She continued watching him, her guard never lowering.

"What happened to you?"

Ashes pulled out a nearby chair.

"As for me..."

"I'm simply a copy of the memories I left behind before I died."

"Sit down. Let's talk."

Lu Nian’an didn't move.

"This is a Domain, isn't it?"

"Why am I here?"

She paused before asking another question.

"And why can't Mia enter?"

Ashes was silent for a long moment.

"...I don't want to stir up her emotions."

"Perhaps it's better this way."

He glanced around the room.

"This Domain belongs to you by its very nature."

"That's why you can enter."

"As for me..."

"I'm nothing more than a copy created from the shadows I had left before death."

He turned back toward Lu Nian’an.

"You won't bring her here... will you?"

"You know she wouldn't be able to endure seeing hope appear before her again, only to have it taken away."

Lu Nian’an remained silent for several seconds.

"I don't know."

"Whether she comes or not isn't something I get to decide."

The next instant, her body distorted into a streak of shadow and disappeared.

Xia Jiuwei stood in the living room, staring at the place where Lu Nian’an had vanished.

Immediately, she tried to locate her through the mark connecting them.

Nothing.

Not a trace.

A surge of anxiety rose within her.

She shot to her feet, quickly picking up the greenish-gray bead from the floor.

Black energy poured endlessly from her palm into it.

The bead remained completely unresponsive.

At the same time, she could faintly sense emotions from the other side.

Alertness.

Tension.

A deep caution held firmly in check.

Countless terrible possibilities flashed through her mind.

"Where did you go...?"

Her voice trembled.

Her face slowly turned pale as she stared fixedly at the bead.

For a brief moment, she even wanted to crush it in her hand.

Suddenly, the shadow beneath her feet stirred.

Darkness swelled upward, gradually taking the shape of a young woman.

As the shadows faded, Lu Nian’an stood before her once more.

"Sorry."

"I came back later than I meant to."

Xia Jiuwei lowered her head.

After a long silence, she finally spoke in a quiet voice.

"...Can I choose not to forgive you?"

Lu Nian’an pulled out a tissue and gently wiped away the moisture gathering at the corner of Xia Jiuwei's eye.

"No."

She crouched slightly until they were looking directly into each other's eyes.

"One kiss, and you won't be mad anymore. Okay?"

"N-No, I—"

Before she could finish, her lips were sealed.

Xia Jiuwei was gently pushed back onto the sofa.

Lu Nian’an sat beside her, holding her hand tightly.

Neither of them spoke.

Only after Xia Jiuwei's breathing gradually steadied did Lu Nian’an quietly ask,

"If... you had the chance to see your grandfather one more time..."

"...even if he was only a copy..."

"...would you want to?"

The moment she heard the way Lu Nian’an said it, Xia Jiuwei whipped her head around, disbelief filling her eyes.

"I..."

"I can still see Grandpa?"

Lu Nian’an hesitated.

Then she nodded.

"...Yes."

"Take me to him."

The next instant, darkness swallowed them both.

Inside the sunlit wooden building,

Lu Nian’an pulled out a chair for Xia Jiuwei.

She sat down slowly, her eyes never leaving the elderly man before her.

"Grandpa..."

"Why are you here?"

Ashes first glanced toward Lu Nian’an sitting beside her, his brows knitting together slightly.

After several seconds, he rubbed his forehead with a helpless sigh.

"Little Xia."

"I'm only a shadow carrying Ashes' memories."

"I have his memories, his thoughts, even his reasoning."

"But in the end..."

"I'm nothing more than a copy that was left behind."

Xia Jiuwei stared at him in silence.

She had imagined this reunion countless times.

Yet now that it had truly happened, she felt none of the relief she had always expected.

After a long pause, she spoke softly.

"Grandpa..."

"You're dead..."

"...aren't you?"

Ashes looked at her, momentarily unable to answer.

"...Yes."

"I've already died."

Silence lingered between them.

Then Xia Jiuwei managed a faint smile, though her eyes still reddened despite herself.

"Grandpa..."

"I'm..."

She paused, gently leaning her shoulder against Lu Nian’an.

"I'm very happy now."

"There's someone who's always by my side."

"Someone who truly cherishes me."

She stopped again, swallowing once before steadying her voice.

"So..."

"You don't have to worry about me anymore."

Looking at Ashes, she spoke slowly.

"You can..."

"...finally move on."

Ashes quietly watched the young woman before him.

If the real him had been alive to hear those words...

He probably would have been deeply comforted.

After a while, he finally spoke again.

"The truth is..."

"I left this copy of myself behind because there are things I need to tell both of you."

He looked at them in turn.

"About how to deal with the Under-Reality as it exists now..."

"...and how to truly merge with the Under-Reality."