Neverland

After nightfall, Neverland is peaceful and quiet. A crescent moon hangs quietly in the sky, and the dazzling starlight falls on the sea, floating and sinking with the tide.

No matter from which angle you look at it, Neverland looks like it has nothing to do with the "underworld".

But Xu Muzhou also knew that Yan Cen was not lying to him this time, he was telling the truth.

Ever since Qin Wei's incident, Xu Muzhou has been wondering where Neverland is, and why Qin Wei was able to find a way to "go to Neverland" in such a short period of time.

In fact, Xu Muzhou vaguely guessed something at the time, but he was suppressed by him later on. He didn't know why his subconscious stopped him from wanting to dig deeper—maybe he was also afraid of the truth instinctively.

But now there is still something that I don’t understand. In Qin Wei’s eyes, those who will disappear without a trace at any time, whose origins can’t be traced, come from “another world”—then only ghosts are left. .

These "truths" that Xu Muzhou had chewed over and over again made him toss and turn, thinking about it hundreds of times in his mind.

But when everything was unfolding in front of his eyes, he didn't want to think about anything.

Xu Muzhou was washed by the emotions of great joy and great sorrow, and washed away all the messy thoughts. He only felt that his whole body was sore and limp, and he was too lazy to think.

He was still afraid, even if he returned to Neverland, the previous shock and panic would still follow him like a shadow, so he simply abandoned the habit of constant thinking for a short time, and only relied on instinct to comfort himself.

So Xu Muzhou simply sat on the floor beside the bed, leaned against the edge of the bed and lay down on the edge of the bed, his hands loosely embracing the arm that Yan Cen gave him.

"...It's night, and the ground will get cold in a while." Yan Cen lay on the bed next to Xu Muzhou, he turned his head to look at Xu Muzhou, and gently hooked his fingers, pulling Xu Muzhou Shaking his right hand, he continued, "...Go and close the balcony window."

The balcony of the bedroom is not as big as the one in the living room. At this time, the window is half opened, and the cool evening breeze swirls in. The fresh water vapor is mixed with the spray of the aromatherapy machine, and it smells cool and pleasant.

The four seasons of Yongwu Township are like spring, but it's actually not that cold, Yan Cen just wanted to find an excuse to let Xu Muzhou move, so that he won't be stuck here all the time, even if he is called to bed, he won't be able to wake up.

Falling from the [-]th floor is not a trivial matter, Yan Cen is still very weak now, but he doesn't dare to rest at ease, for fear that if he falls asleep on his front feet, Xu Muzhou will think that he is really dead on his back feet.

——Little troublemaker, Yan Cen thought helplessly.

"No." Xu Muzhou pulled the quilt to Yan Cen's waist, then lowered his head and lay on his forearm, refusing: "It's not cold."

Xu Muzhou is now like a restless cub, only by clinging tightly to the opponent can he gain a sense of security.He tilted his head and rested on Yan Cen's arm - it was an angle where he could see Yan Cen without turning around.

Thanks to his personality and growth environment, Xu Muzhou has always been very independent. He is not inferior to anyone in Neverland. He also performs his own duties with Yan Cen at work, and has never shown his weakness so clearly.

Yan Cen was a little soft-hearted, and reached out to touch his eyes.

"Are you going to sit here all night?" Yan Cen asked.

"...I'm a little tired and don't want to move." Xu Muzhou said matter-of-factly, "I'm just leaning here to rest for a while, and I'll get up when I have strength."

Yan Cen knew that he wasn't trying to hold on, because Xu Muzhou didn't blink his eyes, he looked obedient and quiet, and looked at him very intently, as if he didn't think about anything.

——In fact, he really didn't think about anything, his mind was blank, he just wanted to enjoy the feeling of relief from "the rest of his life".

Yan Cen's left forearm was a little numb from his pressure, but he didn't make a sound, he just moved his arm slightly, and changed into a position as comfortable as possible, allowing Xu Muzhou to hug him.

"Then don't turn it off." Yan Cen said softly: "I'm too lazy to move it... Change it tonight, I'll sleep on this side, you sleep on the outside side."

Yan Cen's voice was a little weak, but his tone was very relaxed, as if he was discussing what to have for dinner casually, Xu Muzhou blinked, hummed, and agreed.

Xu Muzhou already knew Yan Cen very well, and knew that this conversation was just an opening sentence, and he must have something else to say later.

Yan Cen did have a stomach full of words, but he looked at Xu Muzhou and worded several words to and fro in his heart, but in the end he could only sigh.

He moved his left hand in the posture of Xu Muzhou hugging him, gently pinched Xu Muzhou's earlobe, and was about to speak, but Xu Muzhou preempted him.

"...that mission." Xu Muzhou paused, he still seemed to have lingering fears, and his tone was low and quick: "The last punishment mission——does the forensic doctor have to die?"

"Yeah." Yan Cen said.

Yan Cen didn't want to hide Xu Muzhou's identity, he was the one who got this identity from Xu Muzhou. He jumped upstairs for Xu Muzhou. To suffocate the little fox.

Xu Muzhou took a deep breath, he lowered his eyes helplessly, and the corners of his lips turned white.

"Why..." Xu Muzhou said softly, "...Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

He spoke in a softer tone, if it wasn't for Yan Cen's good ears, he might not be able to hear what he said clearly.

Rather than questioning Yan Cen, he was more like asking himself.

Yan Cen licked his lips, rubbed his face with his knuckles with a smile, and joked, "Aren't you afraid of ghosts?"

All along, Yan Cen's little thoughts that he kept hidden from him finally came to light. He no longer had to worry about when Xu Muzhou would find out about this matter, and he didn't have to worry about how to deal with Xu Muzhou. So even the jokes became calm.

Xu Muzhou didn't like him, he raised his head and looked at Yan Cen silently and calmly.

Yan Cen always had nothing to do with him, he sighed and was about to speak, but saw Xu Muzhou let go of his hand, straightened up, knelt on one leg on the edge of the bed and approached him.

Xu Muzhou's entire upper body bent down, and Yan Cen habitually opened his arms to follow him.Xu Muzhou rested his elbows on both sides of Yan Cen's body, carefully trying to hug him.

Yan Cen accepted all the hugs, and he wrapped his arms around Xu Muzhou's back, pulling him closer.

This is an extremely intimate posture, so close that there is no secret between them, and even the heartbeat has reached the same frequency unconsciously.

Xu Muzhou looked at him sadly for a while, then raised his head and leaned closer to him, gently kissing Yan Cen's slightly cool lips.

He kissed very carefully and carefully, as if he was treating a fragile treasure.He lightly rubbed Yan Cen's lips, first greeted Yan Cen superficially, and then licked Yan Cen's lips flatteringly when he saw that there was no response from the other party.

Yan Cen tolerated him gently, he let Xu Muzhou take the initiative of the kiss, and responded to him tirelessly under the other's careful probing and comforting.He stroked Xu Muzhou's tense back, trying his best to release the "safe" signal.

They exchanged a gentle and long kiss amidst the sound of the waves. When they parted, Xu Muzhou's eyes were slightly red. He didn't know whether it was because of lack of oxygen or something else.

"I'm not afraid of you." Xu Muzhou was overwhelmed by the sincerity that he missed earlier, but this time he became serious when faced with the real joke, and he repeated seriously: "No matter what you are, I'm not afraid of you... I like you you."

He was so frank that Yan Cen was stunned.

"The future is nothingness, and Neverland is an isolated island separated from all world lines." Yan Cen sighed softly, rubbed the corners of Xu Muzhou's eyes with his knuckles, and said, "The sky here is gloomy, The sea is dead, there is no living thing under the dull sea water, only a lonely castle, in which the most powerful undead in the world is imprisoned."

Xu Muzhou said, "You—"

"All the employees in Neverland are people who have been able to have an impact on the world line." Yan Cen said: "In other words, they are the task objects of the 'guiding mission'... The reason why we came to Neverland is that It's because our fate has gone awry."

"Me too, Song Yan too, everyone in Neverland is..." Yan Cen said softly, "We are people whose destiny has been changed."

"What does it mean to be changed...?" Xu Muzhou asked hesitantly.

"It's like Qin Wei." Yan Cen said: "Her fate has deviated from the established track, and the world line has been affected, so after she dies, she will come to Neverland and become an employee of Neverland... Come on. To remedy the impact of the world line."

Xu Muzhou said: "Is that why you say this is a prison? ... But why must it be you, it's not fair."

Everything is relative, and the world line cannot deviate for no reason. There must be some conditions that will cause these "protagonists" or "supporting actors" to make choices that they shouldn't have.

In this case, it is actually unreasonable to just "punish" them. Neverland has clear rewards and punishments, and it is hard for Xu Muzhou to imagine that it will do this kind of treatment.

"It's voluntary." Yan Cen said: "Everyone who stays in Neverland - there must be rules in this world, and the rules must be enforced, so that the world line can be extended for thousands of years. Someone needs to do it. As for those who definitely don’t want to be trapped here, it can be settled forever. Neverland will always protect us, and it will always be fair.”

It's hard for Xu Muzhou to imagine what kind of mentality Yan Cen is in to do this "work". He is like a lone martyr, silently and powerfully shouldering his responsibilities, without complaining.

"...How many years have you been here." Xu Muzhou knew that this question might not be asked, but he couldn't help it.

Yan Cen was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled helplessly.

"I'm not 32 years old, Mu Zhou." Yan Cen looked up at him and said softly, "...I was 32 years old when I died."