Forces of Temptation

[Nanzhou] in the second world lived in a small society with a little human touch since childhood.

In comparison, his empathy ability is stronger than that of "Southern Boat" and {Jiang Fang}.

Although Nanzhou did not explain in detail, he knew that this Jiangfang was not that {Jiangfang}.

His attitude is like a tolerant elder brother. After guessing the tendency of "Nanzhou", he didn't use his own thoughts to coerce him, but said softly: "You think so, but you still have doubts in your heart?"

"Nanzhou" nodded, and the charcoal pen sketched the lines soundly on the paper: "...This is not right."

【Nan Zhou】Guide him patiently: "What's wrong?"

"Nanzhou" couldn't say it well, but generally felt sad and depressed.

When he was in a bad mood, he would paint.

But this is obviously Nanzhou's habit.

His heart was originally pure and straightforward, and after his self-cognition was forcibly torn apart, he did not have the desire to break free from Nanzhou and live alone as imagined by Gaowei people.

Because he couldn't hide, he could only endure all the pain in his heart in ignorance.

Seeing that "Nan Zhou" was in a state of perplexity, and it was difficult to explain it by himself, [Nan Zhou] thought about it and said:

"I saw a story on a Chinese test paper before."

"In order to resist floods, red fire ants will huddle together and throw themselves into the water, looking for a good solid land."

"The ants on the outer layer of the ant colony will peel off layer by layer and be taken away by the flood, but the ants are still huddled together in the water and will not disperse, in order to protect the most central ant queen..."

Speaking of this, [Nanzhou] asked "Nanzhou": "This is the story, tell me, what are you seeing right now?"

... What the "Southern Boat" saw were ants spreading out with the icy flood.

Black ant corpses spread all over the water, like pieces of ugly duckweed, floating and sinking.

After hearing the description of "Nan Zhou", [Nan Zhou] already understood where his knot lies.

He does not question the meaning of protecting the only beneficiary, the "Queen".

What he cared about was the people who were sacrificed in the process.

[Nanzhou] nodded: "You don't necessarily care about your own life or death. But you don't want us to be hurt because of your departure. Do you?"

"Nan Zhou" was silent and only nodded.

[Nan Zhou] sighed slightly.

——If you can't take advantage of the greed of "Nanzhou", then take advantage of the kindness of "Nanzhou".

Is this the wishful thinking of the so-called "high-dimensional people"?

[Nanzhou] asked: "Don't you hate Nanzhou?"

"Nanzhou" shook his head, hurried to write, and replied seriously: "I don't know."

If he didn't hate, he couldn't explain where this strong urge to destroy himself came from.

If it is hate, shouldn't he choose to live in the box world without hesitation?

When he was at war between heaven and man, [Nanzhou] said: "Okay, I don't have any other questions. You can ask the third {Jiang Fang}'s opinion, don't worry about me."

"Nan Zhou" heard what he meant, stopped his brush, and looked up at him: "But, your [Jiang Fang]——"

"Well, I really miss Brother Fang."

[Nan Zhou]'s voice has always been sincere and gentle, but when talking about [Jiang Fang], it became erratic: "...but he doesn't know."

"I like him in my heart. He doesn't know either."

"I've always had a little hope. Thank you for telling me so that I won't be tricked into having meaningless dreams and dying of old age."

[Nan Zhou] narrates his lifelong regrets, but the tone is not so sad and indignant: "I really want to see the world, but the world doesn't want to show it to me."

"I don't know that Nanzhou, but listen to you, he grew up in almost the same environment as us, and he worked harder and more lonely than me. It was really not easy for him to go out. Not an easy thing."

"It doesn't matter if I die here. If I drag another person who has managed to escape to the back, at least I... can't do it."

These words were so tender that "Nanzhou" was stunned for a long time.

[Nan Zhou] also gave him enough time to ruminate.

After a while, "Nan Zhou" shook his head and said softly, "You are like this...it really makes me reluctant to kill you."

[Nan Zhou] was taken aback for a moment, and immediately put on a straight face, put on an unpleasant cold face, and sincerely apologized: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

He said, "Don't worry about me, just find a way to convince that {Jiang Fang}."

"Nanzhou" brought a completed page of sketches and put it in front of another "Teacher Nan": "The drawing is not good."

[Nan Zhou] looked down at his tired face in the mirror, put his fingertips on a tear mole in the corner of his eye, hesitated for a moment, raised his hand to pat "Nan Zhou" on the cheek, and said gently: "It's good. "

The scattered dolls also brought back the box to the next world for "Southern Boat".

When "Nan Zhou" was holding the box in his hand, before he was about to open it, he heard a low greeting from his ear: "Hey."

[Nan Zhou] said: "Don't be so hasty to leave. I want to go to Brother Fang's house."

"Nanzhou": "...Huh?"

"Brother Fang has a TV at home, and there are six or seven discs of TV series. There is a TV series, and I haven't watched the ending."

[Nanzhou] said: "I have watched the first 35 episodes 160 times since I was a child, but I just haven't watched the finale."

"I want to keep a thought for myself - if one day you want to die, just tell yourself that you still haven't finished watching an episode of TV series."

Said, [Nan Zhou] made a "4" gesture: "Give me four 10 minutes, let me read it."

At the end, he made another joke in a cold tone: "Maybe, after four or ten minutes, I will regret it and won't let you go."

How bright and intelligent the "Southern Boat" is.

He couldn't guess that [Southern Boat] didn't want him to ask the opinion of {Jiang Fang} from the third world.

He has dealt with {Jiang Fang}.

During this brief relationship, [Nan Zhou] could easily find that {Jiang Fang} was a man with an extreme personality.

{Jiang Fang} may not be able to accept the result of their discussion.

After 10 minutes passed, even if "Southern Boat" went to the third world in the box, there was not much time left to try to persuade {Jiang Fang}, at most enough for him to complete a sketch.

[Nanzhou] is also sure that the reasons he gave are quite sufficient, and "Nanzhou" will never refuse.

This "drag" tactic can make "Nan Zhou" give up the plan to persuade {Jiang Fang} after rational weighing.

……

"Nan Zhou" stayed at home, while [Nan Zhou] knocked on the door of [Jiang Fang].

[Jiang Fang] wearing an apron quickly opened the door from the inside.

He was quite surprised and said: "Hey, didn't you say you can't come?"

[Nanzhou] Answer: "Just now a kid came to me and asked me about painting."

He looked into the house: "Do I still have my share of breakfast?"

"Of course." [Jiang Fang] smiled warmly like sunshine, "There is always your share."

"I still want to watch TV."

"Okay, which one?"

While talking, {Jiang Fang} had already stepped into the house, ready to heat up the meal.

"Nan Zhou", who was alone in the bedroom, poked his head out from the upstairs window, and happened to meet the eyes of "Nan Zhou".

[Nan Zhou] bowed slightly to him, followed the pace of [Jiang Fang], stepped on the threshold, and closed the door.

"Nan Zhou" leaned on the sketchbook, added his own figure beside the portrait of [Nan Zhou], and occasionally glanced at the clock on the wall.

He was wondering whether [Nanzhou] would repent, and he was also hoping that he would repent.

However, time is like water.

40 minutes passed in a blink of an eye.

The streets in the daytime were quiet, and the door of [Jiang Fang]'s house showed no sign of opening.

Time has come.

"South Boat" opened the box and bid farewell to the world by shredding the world.

At the moment when the world was broken, he couldn't help thinking whether [Nan Zhou] was watching the ending song of the TV series, or holding [Jiang Fang]'s hand, looking deeply at this lover who could never hope to get love from him .

Different comments flashed across the horizon.

"Why don't you fight? I want to fight again."

"Is this forcing the film to follow the plot? What about the promised free world?"

"A life-and-death decision, can you not kill yourself, but push back and forth to be humble? It's not in line with human nature at all. Brothers and friends are respectful, what's the point?"

"Nanzhou" ignored the comments of the spectators, closed its eyes, leaned back, and let itself sink into a pool of black springs like a dream.

He fell straight back, lying on a tile that was shining brightly in the moonlight.

The full moon was in the sky, and the light and color splashed on the cheeks of "Nan Zhou" like flowing water.

But Nan Zhou was already indifferent to the pain it caused.

He just lay quietly, until someone climbed up the edge of the house along the ladder beside the balcony, poked his head out from the edge of the eaves, and looked at him with his chin resting, with a bit of complacency and underlying peace of mind in his tone: "I still Thought you wouldn't come back."

"Nan Zhou" turned over and sat up, and said, "I promised you."

{Jiang Fang}: "How are you thinking?"

What awaited him was a long silence.

The smile on {Jiang Fang}'s face gradually faded with time.

In the end, he just waited for a sentence: "Let me draw a picture for you."

{Jiang Fang} turned over and jumped onto the roof.

He was so enraged that three or four tiles rang and fell apart under his feet.

He approached the "Southern Boat" step by step, and his voice was full of sarcasm: "Is this your answer?"

"Nanzhou": "Yes. My answer."

He asked in a low voice, "Do you want to draw a portrait?"

{Jiang Fang}'s fists were clenched and loosened, and he was secretly hardened for a while, sketching out in his mind all the details of locking the "South Boat" with fine steel shackles.

However, he believes that if "Nanzhou" dared to come back and dare to face his own provocation, it must have been prepared to deal with him.

It is not good for oneself to act rashly.

He had no choice but to forcefully suppress his anger, put his hands on the tiles, and sat down cross-legged: "...the painting should look better."

"Nanzhou" nodded: "Yes. You are good-looking."

{Jiang Fang} sneered: "Of course. Who made me look like him?"

"Nanzhou": "But you are not him."

{Jiang Fang} let out a huff, and leaned back to support the tile surface: "I know, it can't be compared."

"Nanzhou": "That's not what I meant."

"Nan Zhou": "I mean, you two are different. No one is better than the other. He never belonged to me, and I can't even count as having contact with him. To me, you are the real existence."

{Jiang Fang}: "..."

This straight ball caught him off guard, and he didn't know how to answer the words at all, so he could only do his best, and said grimly: "Slick tongue. I really want to stick a pen down your throat."

"Nan Zhou" blinked and asked, "Would you do that?"

{Jiang Fang} choked again, turned his head away angrily, and said yin and yang: "How dare I. If I force you to stay, I can only trap you for one night. When the sun rises tomorrow, you will Would break my neck."

"Nanzhou" said: "I won't."

{Jiang Fang}: "Ghost letter."

"Nan Zhou" said firmly: "You believe it."

{Jiang Fang}: "..."

"What's the use of my belief? The dummy in your memory is more important to you." {Jiang Fang} said sourly, "You'd rather keep the fake than create a new memory."

"He's not fake either." "Nanzhou" retorted, "He's always been there."

{Jiang Fang} taunted him: "Isn't it fake for you? You don't want someone who is really by your side for someone you can't meet at all? What kind of idiot can do such a thing?"

"It's not all because of him." "Nan Zhou" bowed his head and painted, "And part of it is because of you."

{Jiang Fang} wondered: "...me?"

"You want me to stay. That's why you said to me when we analyzed the pros and cons, because we can keep all our memories, 'Even if it's reset, it's immortal', right?"

{Jiang Fang} did say this.

"Nanzhou" said: "So, we either only have a few hours of self forever, or we are forced to receive eternal life in this small town, forever young, and forever trapped in prison."

"...that's the real curse, isn't it."

{Jiang Fang} was dumb for a moment.

He said: "Is it going to end with death? How generous."

"Death is not necessarily the end, maybe it is the beginning." "Nanzhou" said, "Maybe, the collapse of the world is the time when our shackles are released. We can survive in another dimension and in another form."

{Jiang Fang} laughed heartily: "Little liar, are you going to trick me into obediently dying now? Where did this other world come from? Honestly admit it, you still love that Jiang Fang, you love him so much that you are willing to die for him."

"Nanzhou" doesn't intend to deny his selfishness: "Isn't that what friends are supposed to be like?"

{Jiang Fang}: "'Friend'?"

"A state in interpersonal communication." "Nan Zhou" popularized science for him in detail, "You have reproductive impulses towards him, you want to be touched by him, and you are willing to die for him. This is a friend."

"If I'm still who I am now, I can't be friends with other people." "Nanzhou" said, "I can only do it if I completely break myself."

{Jiang Fang} stared at the "Southern Boat", with a storm in his eyes, but his expression was calm.

No one knew what he was thinking.

"Nan Zhou" also followed him in silence, carefully sketched {Jiang Fang}'s face on the paper, and placed him between himself and [Nan Zhou].

He did not draw {Jiang Fang} according to the shape of Jiang Fang in his memory.

{Jiangfang} is just {Jiangfang}.

He was perfecting the details of the eyelashes when he suddenly heard a voice from beside him: "Hey, 'Nanzhou', let's draw a big sun."

{Jiang Fang} stretched her slender legs: "Anyway, there might be no sunrise to watch in the future."

"Nan Zhou" nodded, obediently adding bright light and shadow to the picture.

Three little ants sit side by side on the screen.

They were separated for a long time, and finally, they managed to meet on paper.