aristocratic engagement

Darcy knelt in front of the bed, tightly grasping Annie's cold hand with both hands, rubbing it, panting, trying to transmit his own warmth to her.

He had never been so afraid before, calling her name in a low voice.

But her eyelashes didn't move, as if really... no, no, how could she leave?Could it be that these days, everything is his fantasy?

Darcy looked at the wooden box beside the bed and the bouquet he threw on the ground in horror, and his heart was shocked.

Darcy picked up the bouquet from the ground and put it on Anne's chest, imagining that at the wedding, Anne was holding flowers and walking towards him slowly.

But such fantasies are false after all.

Darcy gritted her teeth and forced herself to look away from her face.

"Calm down, Darcy, she hasn't left, she's waiting for you to bring her back..." Darcy repeated to himself.He tried hard to recall all the things just now, and suddenly, that strange pattern suddenly appeared in his mind.

The ring has two distorted curved surfaces, as if a piece of paper was twisted, but it is difficult to distinguish the positive side from the negative side at first glance.In other words, the two sides can be reversed arbitrarily, no matter which side is true.

Darcy picked up the lock that fell on the ground, stared at it, and seemed to touch the truth faintly.He opened the drawer roughly, found a necklace, tore off the pendant, and put the clasp back on.

Suddenly there was a rush of footsteps outside the door, and Lady Catherine's scream and Fenrir's growl sounded like a needle piercing into his mind.

The door was pushed open and slammed against the wall.

Georgiana and Mrs. Catherine rushed in regardless of the servant's support, and were stunned less than two meters away from the big bed.

Madam Catherine saw clearly the pale face of the person on the bed, and fell down sobbing.

Georgiana ignored her and stared at her brother's face: "Annie, she..."

Darcy's heart throbbed in pain, he bent down silently, and kissed lightly on the cold forehead.His voice was extremely hoarse: "I don't believe she is gone, she was still talking to me just now...she will come back."

"Brother, Annie, she has-" died.

"Shut up!" Darcy yelled angrily.

Georgiana shuddered at the violent look on his face.

Darcy closed his eyes, grief and anger swelled in his chest, almost bursting him.The faint sobs from the servants made him extremely irritable, and suddenly there was a rush of footsteps, and the servants scattered to both sides rustlingly.

"Dr. Layson is here," said Mrs. Reynolds' voice.

Darcy opened his eyes and moved away a little.

Dr. Layson frowned, and took out many complicated tools from the medicine box.Darcy was unwilling to let him lift the quilt, but he finally failed under the disapproving gaze of Dr. Leyson.

"Get out." Darcy waved his hand.

Even... Anne should be decent.

Mrs. Reynolds took the order, and sternly ordered the servants to disperse.The crowd left the bedroom quietly, only Du Li tearfully clutched the doorknob, refusing to leave.

Darcy looked into her eyes, bright red from crying, and could hardly refrain from cursing.

——It’s all because of what she brought!It was she who killed Annie!

— Darcy!Can you have some brains!Don't blame innocent people!

——She is not an innocent person!Neither would Anne if she hadn't brought Rommel's stuff!

——It was you who wanted to find Rommel yourself, you are the culprit!

Darcy froze, not knowing what to do under the accusation in his heart.Did he kill Anne?If it wasn't for his confession, if it wasn't for him to write a letter to get Rommel back, if...

Darcy stared at the bright red eyes, raised his head, and suddenly fixed his eyes on the diary beside the bed.

Like a drowning man, Darcy finally grasped the life-saving straw, grabbed the diary roughly, and opened it violently.Lady Catherine and Georgiana were startled by his sudden madness.

Those deeply engraved words are like phantoms, and the black ink evaporates, and it seems to drip into the spring water, disappearing in a dense atmosphere.

It was as if the traces of her existence had been erased by the hand of God one by one.

"Miss Anne still has a heartbeat!" Dr. Layson's voice was like sunshine in the mist, pulling Darcy out of endless self-blame and pain.

The instrument in Dr. Lyson's hand was pressed tightly to Anne's chest, and he shouted again: "Really! She's not gone yet! Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine, listen!"

As soon as Mrs. Catherine took a step forward, Darcy snatched the instrument from the doctor's hand and stuck it to his ear.

The heartbeat was very faint and very slow, but it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

At the same time, deep fear is hidden in the bottom of my heart: is she, or is she?

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Annie's eardrums were ringing, and she woke up from a fog in a daze.The sound seemed to be a heartbeat, coming from all directions around her.

Annie was a little dazed, she opened her eyes, but found herself in a long corridor.

'Where am I? '

'who I am? '

For a moment, her mind went blank.

Looking back and forth, she found herself in what seemed to be the very middle of a long, twisting passage.There is a faint light at both ends, which is warm and full of allure.

Annie looked in the direction of the two ends from a distance, and the twisted trajectory made her dizzy again.

'I can't just sit here. ’ she thought, ‘but where am I supposed to go? '

Both sides are bright, and it seems that either way is the right way to go.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The heartbeat seemed to be urging her, and the rhythm became faster.

She scratched her head: "Well, I can't figure out why, so just go in any direction."

She took the first step, but she was still not on her feet, as if she had fallen into a downward track.Like sliding down a slide, it shuttled down a twisted corridor.

Like a movie screening, scenes appeared in front of her eyes:

The silent man stood by the bed without saying a word, and a pale woman lay on the bed;

The man is drinking at the window, handling official business, and chatting with the empty chair opposite;

Under the willow tree by the lake, a man and a woman embrace each other under a thick cloak, as if there is only one figure;

At the ball, they danced gracefully under the attention of everyone, and the eyes of the men never shifted an inch;

On the steep hillside, a man stood in front of her with a shotgun, overcoming thorns and thorns;

In front of a mansion, a man was wrestling with another man, and she was watching coldly under the eaves;

In the oak forest, the two walked side by side, but the gap and alienation were hard to hide;

In the port, the girl bid farewell to the young him in the crowd;

Under the dim fireplace, she awkwardly urged him to kiss him good night;

On a winter night, a team of carriages came staggeringly, the girl stood in front of the window, snorted coldly, turned and left;

……

A bouquet of flowers came towards her, she subconsciously closed her eyes immediately and turned her face away.

The dizzy corridor made her suddenly queasy, and she grabbed her throat hard, trying to hold back the malice from the inside out.

"Annie, what's wrong with you? Are you uncomfortable?" A soft female voice came, "Are you staying up late again? Hey, I'm not talking about you. Even if you are in a hurry to finish the translation, you shouldn't stay up late every day. If you do this again If you go down, you will either be bald or die suddenly..."

"Bah, bah, how can you say such things at a wedding? I'm not dead, I'm just a little tired!" Annie heard herself saying, "Yesterday my efficiency was surprisingly high, I really don't want to waste such a good state , just boiled for a while."

"Xiao Bo? What time did you go to bed?" The bride looked suspiciously at the black eyes under her eyes in the mirror.

"...didn't sleep." Annie shrugged embarrassingly, and pinched the zipper on the back of the bride's wedding dress at the request of the makeup artist.

"..." The bride almost didn't bring it up in one breath, rolled her eyes and said, "I'm going to throw you a bouquet later, you won't be able to catch it even if you don't connect!"

"Who are you underestimating!" She pushed hard unconvinced.

"Ah——you're deliberate revenge!!!" The bride immediately turned her head and gave a shudder in pain.

Annie touched the little bag on the top of her head, "It's so violent! How can you put the wedding dress on without me trying...Are you getting fat again?"

"Ahhhhhhhhh - I'm going to kill you! Don't say that word!"

The two had a fuss, until the makeup artist helplessly interrupted, pressed Annie on the seat, and began to make up for her, the bridesmaid.

While putting on earrings for herself, the bride looked at her best friend who was obediently putting on makeup and said, "To be honest, I will really throw you a bouquet later! You must catch it."

"Why throw it to me? I don't even have a boyfriend, so you throw it to—" Eh?What's the name of the other bridesmaid.

Annie blinked suspiciously, her memory seemed to be short-circuited for a while.

"It's because I don't have any, that's why I want to pass on good luck to you!" The bride sat in front of her, "Staring at those books every day, burying myself in the pile of books, translating, and writing papers , how do you meet the right person?"

"I'm a careerist!" She said unconvinced, "Besides, no matter how good people are in reality, there can still be Darcy..."

Darcy?

Isn't that the hero of the book she is translating?

Why did she bring up this name?

Annie frowned, did she really stay up all night?Can't tell the difference between reality and fiction?

"Look, it really is stupid to stay up all night." The bride touched her hair and sighed, "Hair volume is also less!"

Annie did not refute her joke this time, and fell silent for a moment.For some reason, at this moment, her heart suddenly throbbed.

Auditory hallucinations also appeared in my ears, and the hoarse voice seemed to come from the distant sky, calling in a whisper: Annie, Annie, Annie...

"Why haven't the bouquets been delivered yet?" The bride called anxiously, interrupting her daze, "Hey! He insisted on using the freshest flowers for the bouquets, so they could only be delivered on the same day , if I didn't want to throw it to you, I wouldn't agree to such a hasty thing."

"Dong dong dong." There was a knock on the door of the dressing room.

The makeup artist immediately opened the door, and within a short while, she came back with a wooden box in her hand, and handed the wooden box to Anne.

"Here, come, take it!" The makeup artist took out a beautifully wrapped bouquet of lilies from the wooden box, with pink ribbons entwined among the green leaves.

Annie looked at the pattern on the wooden box, and her heartbeat rang in her ears.

"Now, please turn around, the bride!" The emcee's exaggerated voice shook everyone's eardrums, "The bride is about to throw the bouquet! The lady who receives the bouquet will receive the most sincere blessing from God. Marriage is you!"

Anne was squeezed in the middle by the excited female guests and could barely stand.

The bride on the stage winked at her and waved the bouquet in her hand, which aroused cheers from the guests.

The bride turned around, and the white wedding dress drew a beautiful arc.

"It's so beautiful." Annie thought enviously in her heart.

"three!"

There was a moment of restlessness among the ladies, excitedly following the bride's deliberately shaking arms back and forth in small steps.

"two!"

The excited shouts of men came from behind.

"one!"

The bouquet was thrown up.

"Ah! My, mine! That's mine!" The excited shouts of the ladies beside her ear made Annie a little breathless.

This moment seemed to be stretched very long, the whole world was pushed down to 0.2 times speed, and the bouquet was spinning in the air, slowly flying towards Anne.

Anne was dizzy for a while, and the deafening heartbeat overwhelmed the booing of the guests.

Annie wanted to avoid the flying bouquet, but was squeezed in by the surrounding ladies, unable to move.

Annie was anxious and out of breath. Suddenly, she seemed to see a tall and thin figure at the edge of the background.

He has an outstanding western-style face, exactly like the male protagonist that Anne had imagined countless times in her mind.

Deep eyes, high nose bridge, thin lips, slightly curly hair.He just stood there, as if he were the center of the world.

He was staring at himself, and seemed to be calling for something.

Annie shook her head vigorously, but her eyes were fixed on the pendant on his chest, unable to move away - the pattern on the pendant was very small, but she could see it surprisingly clearly.

That's a Möbius ring.

It symbolizes fusion, but also love, it is the fusion of two worlds.

The Mobius ring is getting bigger and bigger, enveloping the whole world.Anne felt as if she had turned into an ant, running endlessly on a runway without boundaries.

Suddenly, a head-on blow.

"Bam—"

"Bam—"

Annie fell into the water.

"Come on! Come on!" The woman's frightened and desperate screams reached her ears through the water ripples.Meanwhile, the cries of the more immature girls were deafening.

Annie flushed with pain.

Water squeezed in from all directions, and got in from her ears, eyes, and nose. She tried to cry out for help, but was filled with water.

Annie kicked her legs and looked up, but saw that there was a thick ice surface above her head, with only a faint hole.Annie tried her best to swim towards the ice hole.

But the heavy dress on her body made her efforts completely in vain. She finally struggled to get up an inch, and was dragged down by the wet clothes again.

'Am I going to die again? '

She was almost unconscious and lost all strength from the freezing water.

The oxygen in her chest was gradually squeezed out, and Annie couldn't even move her fingers.She closed her eyes in despair, waiting for the arrival of death.

"Bang bang bang." There was a muffled crashing sound above his head.

Annie looked up with the remaining strength, and saw a boy kneeling on the ice, holding a huge stone and throwing it desperately towards the ice.

Behind him, the servants wanted to come but didn't dare to come, screaming desperately, while holding the lady who was crying hoarsely who wanted to rush to the ice, they worked together to move the long pistol.

Of course, the edge of the ice hole was not impenetrable, and the ice surface cracked with a "click".The boy immediately took off his heavy wool coat, and jumped into the frozen lake without hesitation amidst the screams of the servants to stop him.

At this time, Annie had no strength to open her eyes.

Her arms were still raised upwards, but they slowly sank unstoppably.

Memories of her childhood came to her mind one by one. The little man was exploring around the Rosings manor, the stern but kind father in the study, the beautiful and loving mother in the greenhouse...

Don't be surprised, why she has so many memories, because she has kept the memories of her previous life since she was born, as if she forgot to drink Meng Po soup by the Naihe Bridge.

Her fingertips seemed to be grasped by icy hands, and she seemed to be tightly held in her arms by a pair of powerful arms while she was half-conscious. Pushed by the current, she slowly rose towards the ice hole above her head. .

A pair of cold lips delivered oxygen, making her swollen brain seem to regain a little clarity.

Annie opened her eyes in a daze, and saw a pair of gray-blue eyes.

The sound of splashing water accompanied by warm air squeezed into her eardrums and chest cavity.

The ear-piercing screams and cries made her frown. The young man hugged herself tightly with one hand, and with the other hand, he grabbed the diaper handed by the servant, and slowly swam towards the shore.Annie buried her head in his arms and blocked her ears. The boy froze, but hugged her even tighter.

As soon as she arrived at the shore, Annie, who was half-conscious and half-conscious, was put on a soft blanket.

"Offended!" The boy's voice came faintly.

Before she could digest the meaning of this sentence, her icy lips pressed against her, without the slightest hint of charm, oxygen was transferred into her mouth.At the same time, the teenager folded his hands and squeezed rhythmically in front of her chest.

The sound of shocked gasps came one after another, and even Lady Catherine forgot to cry.

"... Cough, cough, cough!"

Annie finally coughed up the water and opened her eyes with difficulty.

The icy lake water dripped from the boy's wet hair onto her cheeks.

Hot tears dripped down her cheeks.

Annie's closed eyelids rolled slightly.

"Give it up, Mr. Darcy, and let Miss de Bourgh at least cleanly—"

"Shut up!" A deep and hoarse voice sounded, "Annie still has the temperature...she didn't die, she didn't leave me..."

"I've tried my best." For a month, Dr. Leyson exhausted all his life's knowledge, searched through Eastern and Western medical books, and barely maintained Miss de Bourgh's weak heartbeat.

He saw that everyone in the manor lost their smiles, especially the man of the manor, who was getting thinner day by day, and his originally strong physique had gradually gone awry in recent days, coughing non-stop.

Lady Catherine shed tears all day long, knelt before the statue of the Virgin Mary, and prayed every day.Her eyes were red from crying, and she couldn't shed a single tear at the moment.

Until just now, Mademoiselle de Bourgh's last heartbeat stopped.

Whispers sounded, and Mrs. Catherine's voice was extremely hoarse. What she said to Dr. Layson was refuted one by one.

Georgiana suddenly screamed: "Fenrir! Fenrir!"

Dr. Layson immediately rushed to Miss Darcy, who was kneeling by the fireplace, and touched the big black dog's chest.After a while, he stood up and shook his head sadly: "Fenrir has... passed away."

"Woo--" Madam Catherine let out a groan, and fell down. Du Li swiftly embraced her in her arms, "Even Fenrir..."

Du Li's eyes also turned red instantly.

Georgiana, out of breath from crying, walked towards the bed, hugging the big dog with difficulty.Put it next to Annie.

No one dared to mention the word "funeral". Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Black looked at each other and saw the unbearable and pain in each other's eyes.

Mrs. Reynolds quietly came to the window and opened it to let in the slightly cooler air.

Mr. Darcy had the fireplace and brazier candles burning day and night, in order to keep Miss de Bourgh warm.It was already getting hotter, into May, and the heat from the fireplace was making everyone sweat except the one in the bed.

Mrs. Reynolds was very careful in her movements, trying to make no noise--for her behavior indicated that Miss de Bourgh was dead, and that the fireplace and brazier should not continue to torture the living.

"Creak—" The window still made a sound accidentally.

Mrs. Reynolds gasped, and looked cautiously at Mr. Darcy, who did not seem to notice the movement.

No, he must have noticed.

Mrs. Reynolds sighed in her heart, even Georgiana turned her head to look at her, how could he not notice it.

Mr. Darcy looked absently at the bouquet in Miss de Bourgh's hands, wondering what he was thinking.

Mrs. Reynolds also looked at the bouquet—it was strange that the flowers were still beautiful after more than a month.If she hadn't been the housekeeper, she would have thought someone came every day to replace it with a new one.

But, in fact, this bouquet of flowers was the same one that Du Li brought a month ago.

"Mr. Darcy..." There was a sudden commotion from the servants, and Mrs. Reynolds looked up immediately.

Mr. Darcy gently stroked Miss de Bourgh's long hair, arranging the slightly messy strands bit by bit.She looked as good as ever, the gray color had faded a few days ago, when he thought she was about to wake up.

He traced her facial features one by one with his fingers, stared at her, engraved her face deeply in his mind, and firmly recorded her temperature in his palm.

Suddenly, he lowered his head.

This time, no one came to stop him.

He kissed her lips lightly.

'God, have mercy on me, let my Sleeping Beauty wake up. ' Darcy closed his eyes and prayed silently in his heart--the last prayer.

He dared not move, his eyelashes trembling weakly.

I just wish this prayer could be stretched a little longer, as if the chances of her waking up would be a little better.

"Are you even going to compete with me for oxygen? Mr. Darcy." A hoarse voice came from under him.

Darcy froze, not daring to move.

The author has something to say: *Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow... I'm willing to abuse everyone, and the two chapters are merged to have a good time. If one chapter and one chapter come, it will really poke a soft knife, woo woo woo, I'll just poke myself. _(:з」∠)_

*This chapter uses a coherent way of interplay that I like very much, I hope everyone can get to _(:з」∠)_

*Anne is the same Anne from the beginning to the end, and she "passes through" through the image of "Mobius ring".

*The mathematical and philosophical significance of the Möbius ring is profound, and the aesthetic angle is also great.

The following materials are sourced from baike.baidu: German mathematicians Mobius (Mobius, 1790～1868) and John Listing discovered: After twisting a strip of paper by 180°, the two ends are glued together to make a paper tape circle , has magical properties.Ordinary paper tape has two sides (that is, double-sided curved surface), one front and one reverse, and the two sides can be painted in different colors; while such a paper tape has only one side (that is, one-sided curved surface), a bug can Crawl across an entire surface without stepping over its edges.

If you are interested, you can search for the pictures by yourself, there is no way to put pictures on JJ (the code can only be seen on the PC side, so I won’t put it.)