Chapter 135#
“I am yours, willingly.”#
Qin Mu’s consciousness drifted in the void. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes slowly.
The scene he expected upon opening his eyes did not appear. Instead, before him was 77’s electronic display screen, magnified several times.
He blinked and sat up.
The four large characters [Task Complete] were clearly displayed on the screen.
77’s calm, waveless electronic voice considerately cleared his confusion: “Host, congratulations on your successful redemption. Jian Yunchen has successfully cleared the suspicion of you being framed and found important evidence. Currently, all the Yan family members involved in the case are under investigation. As for the mastermind behind pushing Jiang Sheng down the stairs, clues have been found regarding Jiang Yunhan. You have successfully shed your villain identity. Congratulations on successfully suppressing the villain and completing the task!”
Qin Mu rested his chin on his hand, his lips curling into a lazy smile.
Subsequently, a countdown began to emerge on the blue-lit screen.
A massive ‘30’ filled the screen as the electronic voice announced ruthlessly: “You have successfully completed the task. Countdown 30 seconds. You are about to leave the mission world and return to your original world. 30! 29! …”
Qin Mu froze instinctively and slapped the screen with his palm. He growled, “Who gave you permission to decide on your own?”
77, still counting down, blinked in bewilderment. “Task complete. You can live a second life; wasn’t that your original request?”
Qin Mu pursed his lips tightly. The numbers continued to dwindle, a sense of urgency pressing heavily against his chest. He said coldly and impatiently, “But I never said which world I wanted to live my second life in!”
77 paused. There were indeed no explicit regulations in its programming. It slowly ‘frowned’: “Do you mean—you want to stay?”
Qin Mu paused. The countdown had reached 10. In those final ten seconds, Jian Yunchen’s aggrieved, downcast eyes and his cautious touch instinctively flashed through his mind.
He sighed softly, his fingertip poking the system screen: “I want to stay. Send me back!”
If he left, wouldn’t Jian Yunchen cry himself blind?
The system fell into an eerie silence for two seconds before confirming again: “Host, are you sure you want to stay?”
Qin Mu frowned slightly, finding 77 to be dawdling: “Yes, I’m sure. Send me back.”
The countdown paused at “3.” The next moment, the screen turned into points of light and disappeared. 77’s voice echoed in the air: “Very well, Host. Sending you home now.”
Qin Mu slowly opened his eyes. Pain began to transmit to his brain’s nerves. Qin Mu couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan, his fingers twitching slightly—
Sensing the pressure in his tightly held hand, Jian Yunchen jerked his head up.
“Qin Mu…” Jian Yunchen murmured, his voice as light as a dream.
Qin Mu curled his lips slightly, which tugged at his wound. He let out a soft “hiss” and clutched his chest.
This sound brought Jian Yunchen back to his senses. Realizing what was happening, he pressed the call bell and gripped Qin Mu’s hand tightly, saying nothing.
Before long, the ward was crowded with doctors, examining and recording. Jian Yunchen firmly occupied the position beside Qin Mu throughout, refusing to let go of the held hand or speak a single word.
After the examination, the doctor’s expression relaxed. “Mr. Qin is out of danger now. For now, everything looks fine—”
“Get out—” Jian Yunchen dropped those two words coldly without even turning his head.
The doctors looked at each other and tiptoed out of the room.
As the door slowly closed, Qin Mu finally had time to take a proper look at Jian Yunchen’s current state.
His face was as pale as paper, his lips dry and peeling, and there were dark circles under his hollow, vacant eyes.
His clothes hung loosely on his body. Even as he tried to control them, his tightly clasped hands couldn’t stop trembling. Qin Mu’s heart ached; Jian Yunchen looked more like a patient than he did.
He tightened his grip, squeezing back firmly. As their body heat slowly merged, Jian Yunchen’s eyelashes fluttered, and a crack appeared on his expressionless face. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his dry voice sounded like it had been rubbed by sandpaper: “You… you’ve been asleep for three days. I thought…”
Jian Yunchen closed his mouth again upon seeing Qin Mu’s brow furrow in the next second.
He didn’t know why he brought this up. Now that Qin Mu was awake and well, wasn’t that enough? Why was he still talking about what he had thought before?
Qin Mu let go of his hand. Jian Yunchen panicked instinctively, filled with helplessness, wanting to grab it but not daring to.
Qin Mu reached out and slowly stroked his cheek, his thumb grazing lightly. His tone held a heartache he wasn’t even aware of: “How did you lose weight again?”
All things considered, Qin Mu had been away from Jian Yunchen for less than half a month. The flesh he had finally managed to nurse back onto that face had vanished completely. He gave it a light pinch as punishment: “Disobedient.”
Jian Yunchen stared into his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
All the helplessness, grievance, lingering fear, and worry from this period, along with the relief of surviving a disaster and the joy of regaining what was lost, surged forth at this moment.
With trembling fingertips, he gently cradled Qin Mu’s hand, turning his cheek to nuzzle against it slowly.
Tears began to fall silently from the corners of his eyes, dropping into Qin Mu’s palm.
Qin Mu’s movements paused. He opened his palm and gently cupped half of Jian Yunchen’s face.
“You were unconscious…” Jian Yunchen looked at him almost accusingly. “I was so scared. I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up…”
The more he spoke, the redder Jian Yunchen’s eyes became, and the grievance in his tone grew heavier: “I almost thought… you didn’t want me anymore.”
Tear after tear fell, soaking into Jian Yunchen’s clear black eyes. Qin Mu felt a sharp pang of sorrow in his heart, and in the next instant, he leaned forward and embraced him.
Jian Yunchen’s tears wouldn’t stop, falling into Qin Mu’s chest: “I was so scared… so much blood, you were covered in blood. You were pushed in for several hours before coming out. I was so scared…”
Accusation after accusation crashed unreasonably into the softest part of Qin Mu’s heart. He rubbed Jian Yunchen’s head, saying almost like a sigh, “Please stop crying, okay? I’m not leaving. I promised you I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
Jian Yunchen’s crying weakened. He gripped the lapel of Qin Mu’s clothes and asked softly, “Is it true, Qin Mu? You’re never leaving again?”
Qin Mu paused and pulled back from the embrace. He looked into Jian Yunchen’s eyes. “You know?”
Jian Yunchen’s eyes flickered, and he pursed his lower lip tightly. He gripped Qin Mu’s hand, a trace of undetectable pleading in his eyes: “Qin Mu, I don’t care where you came from. As long as you are willing to stay, I will give you whatever you want. Just don’t leave—”
Qin Mu couldn’t help but frown. “How did you find out?”
Jian Yunchen’s fingertips tightened, and his heartbeat began to accelerate faintly.
He looked at Qin Mu timidly for a long while, staring until Qin Mu began to yield.
Qin Mu helplessly softened his voice: “I didn’t mean to blame you. It’s fine that you know. When I said I wouldn’t leave, I really meant it. I said it before…”
He laughed, his lips curving in that familiar, seductive arc:
“I am yours, willingly.”