you turned on the love game

The moment she said that sentence.

The Ling Xiaohua intertwined with spring green seems to come alive, stretching its branches enthusiastically, covering all the ivy, just like the raging fire burning on the vast grassland at dusk.

Your heart suddenly calms down.

"first meet……"

The wind from the depths of the dense forest is faintly mixed with the fresh fragrance of flowers, and the boredom accumulated in the bottom of my heart is swept away.

"I am you 20 years ago."

You approach the house and see the door open to welcome you.

The interior is decorated in a very warm style. There is a landscape painting with special strokes on the wall. Directly below is a common fireplace in a residential house, and next to it is a long staircase leading to the second floor.

Walking up the stairs, oil paintings are also hung on the wall beside him.

There are all kinds of strange landscapes depicted on it, and it looks a bit like that old book you used to look at at Morrow Park.

The difference is that there is always a monster with fiery red fur in the painting.

Its most common posture is lying on the ground, with its powerful tail lazily resting on its side, one ear drooping halfway, and the other erected sensitively, as if it is alert to danger at any time.

You stopped involuntarily.

These should be drawn by your imagination 20 years later.

Margot's soul is now hidden in your soul, and your own body has no thought power at present, so it cannot be awakened for the time being.

but……

You raise your hand and lightly touch the glass on which the oil painting is framed, your eyes are soft, and your voice is softer than the clouds floating in the sky: "We will be like this in the future, going around the world with Linna Hisoka, okay?"

In this silent space, you seem to hear the whining sound of a red wolf acting like a baby.

There are many rooms on the second floor, and the doors are basically closed. Only the door of the deepest room is open, and you will be inside 20 years later.

Thin clouds float over the house, and the glare of the sun suddenly becomes milder. The brown wooden floor reflects your ethereal figure, and there is a familiar feeling of coldness when you step on it.

You walk slowly into the room.

There is a fluffy carpet at the entrance, which is soft to the touch. It is a bit like the carpet in the old manor. It is also milky white and long-haired, except that there is a comfortable reclining chair missing.

On the left side of the entrance is a desk for two persons, on which there is an open notebook and a pen with the cap thrown casually beside it.

There is a spacious bookshelf on the right side of the desk, on which are stacked books of different languages. When approaching the bookshelf, you can faintly smell a fragrance, a bit like agarwood, sweet with a slight astringency.

Further to the right is an open window.

Standing in front of the window and looking down from high to low, in addition to the flowers moving with the wind, you can also see a clear lake with a few small boats floating on the water surface, and some residents took small boats to the opposite side.

On the opposite side of the lake is a solemn bell tower.

The slope at the top of the tower is dark red, and there is a round dark clock below. The surrounding walls are lined with neat dents. Below the clock is a large transparent glass window with a dark stone frame on the edge.

You were watching from a distance, when a voice suddenly sounded behind you: "It is also a church, and residents with faith will go to pray during a fixed period of time, and at other times it is a bell tower."

You froze for a moment and turned around.

How does it feel to face someone who looks exactly like you?

Before you can figure it out, she raised the tray in her hand with a smile: "Do you want to drink coffee together?"

Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted, you simply put aside the meaningless thoughts, lowered your head and glanced at your translucent state, and asked, "Of course it's okay, but can I touch it?"

She put the coffee pot on the table first: "Yes..."

Put down the cup again, and set the tray upright, "Other people's things probably won't work, I'm a special case here."

That being said, you did come across those paintings just now.So he walked over to the desk and naturally began to help tidy up.

After tidying up, you quietly sat facing each other holding coffee cups.

Suddenly, you wanted to see her expression on a whim, but you didn't expect to meet her gaze as soon as you raised your head.You stared at each other for a few seconds, and at the same time couldn't help but tilt your head, and burst out laughing.

This is an experience you have never had.

As if facing a close friend with the same interests.

She laughed so hard that she couldn't hold the cup steadily, put it down and rubbed her face, complaining: "It's been a long time since I laughed like this, and I'm not used to it."

You also put down your coffee cup, looked at her, and asked what you've been wanting to ask since just now: "You specially used your breath to draw me here from the spiritual world, is there anything important you want to tell me?"

"This is..."

She blinked at you and said with a smile: "Because to a certain extent, our souls are the same. So I left a breath on the letter paper, trying to see if it can attract your soul..."

You took her words: "I didn't expect it to be successful."

She smiled slightly, closing her eyes and sighing.

"yes……"

Scooped two grains of sugar from the small jar at hand into the coffee cup, then stirred slowly and regularly with a spoon.

The candy made a crisp sound immediately after hitting the wall of the cup.

"But don't worry, you can only stay here for about half a day at most, and then you will automatically return to that spiritual space. After all, that is the timeline of your real existence."

As she said that, she stopped stirring the coffee, picked up the cup and lowered her head to take a sip, and carefully tasted the taste, as if she felt that it was still a bit bitter, she added a small piece of sugar to the cup.

"As compensation for dragging you here without authorization..."

The transparent sugar cubes floated up and down in the dark brown liquid. She deliberately poked it with a spoon, then put down the spoon. The remaining coffee liquid flowed from the top to the handle, and finally dripped on the table.

She ignored the stains, and said to you with her chin up, "Is there anything you want to know? You can ask me everything."

Your fingers lightly stroked the coffee cup, but you didn't speak immediately.

Indeed, you have a lot to ask.

For example, why did she choose to stay in this world, and why did she live alone on the edge of this small town...

but.

What you want to ask most is——

In this world, is she happy?

The smile on your face is slightly restrained, staring into her eyes, you can't see anything wrong from the outside, you always have a gentle smile full of smiles, there seems to be no haze.

But she is you.

And you are the one who knows yourself best.

No matter what you express, the truest thoughts will always be buried deep in your heart, and will not be easily discovered by others.

Even myself.

"..." In the end, you still didn't ask that question, but talked about another topic: "I'm curious about one thing, how did you come up with the idea of ​​entrusting Liu Dao Mu to teach your former self?"

As a result, she froze for a moment, and said in a strange tone: "Consignment?"

Then he raised the corners of his lips with a smile: "It should be Xiaokui who said so. To be precise, it's not a commission, but a request."

"After all, I have no plans to pay him for the time being."

The sugar cubes thrown into the coffee cup just now have completely melted, she took a sip from the cup, smiled with satisfaction, and continued to answer your question: "As for why you asked him..."

Her slender long eyelashes are slightly closed, and the clear purple eyes reflect the undulating liquid, as if there is a shadow buried in it, faintly dizzying from the center of the pupil to the surroundings.

"Actually, I was also worried about how to find you. Xiaokui said that there is a way to ask the Povino family for help—it is a mafia family that has researched props that can travel back ten years, so I handed it over to him."

Having said that, she raised her face and tapped her other hand on the table regularly, which is the action you often have when you are thinking.

It seems that this habit still exists after 20 years.

"I guess, maybe the Povino family has the props to go back to the past, if Xiao Mu contacted you in the image of a child."

Hearing this, you frowned strangely: "You mean, he used some kind of prop to become himself as a child to help?"

"It should be so."

She carefully explained: "Although Xiao Mu can travel in the spiritual world, it actually consumes a lot of mental power. If it takes 20 years, even he can't sustain this consumption."

"..." You hesitated for a moment, realizing something was wrong: "But, what I saw was not a child, but an adult man with dark blue long hair."

The cup she brought to her lips stopped suddenly.

After you finished reading that letter, when you looked up, you saw Liu Dao Mukui sitting on the ground. When you stood up again, your face was a little paler than before, but you said that nothing happened to you, just a little sleepy.

"I understand when you say you can't bear the consumption."

Pulling away from the memory, you continued to say: "At that time, Liu Dao Mukuo's face did not look very good, but because I am not familiar with him, I am not sure if it is an illusion."

Thinking about it now, it should not be your illusion.

You were thinking to yourself, when the sound of the bottom of the coffee cup hitting the table suddenly sounded in front of you, and you looked in the direction.

20 years later, you are holding the cup vacantly, and your eyes just fall on the pattern on the wall of the cup, and you don't know what you are thinking.

"Is it..." she said, "doesn't it look bad?"

You certainly don't hide from yourself: "Well, it's not very good."

Seriously recalling the scene in my memory at that time, "It's like carrying a heavy weight, and my face is a little pale."

"Is that so..."

Although her tone of voice was very calm, you can guess that she is not in a good mood now: "It seems that he lied to me when he said that he had a way to ask the Povino family for help."

Her eyelashes were half closed, completely covering the expression in her eyes, the corners of her lips that were always smiling were also drooped, her fingers were carelessly turning the coffee cup, and her whole person showed a sense of alienation.

Seeing this, you looked at her with admiration.

It's also the first time you've found yourself like this when you're angry, it looks a bit bluffing, no wonder Linna would run over to pretend to be pitiful when you were about to get angry.

Maybe it's because your eyes are too obvious, her expressionless face was broken in less than ten seconds: "Are you so surprised?"

"That's right..."

You said with great interest: "After all, I have never looked in the mirror when I was unhappy... How can I care about that time."

"Wouldn't it be a little too much to sit by and watch a joke when I'm in a bad mood?"

"It doesn't matter, anyway, it's me."

She laughed again, holding the coffee cup and lightly touching yours: "Well, you're right."

The bitter taste slid down the throat.

In fact, you didn't like drinking coffee very much before, but I don't know if it's because you have been locked up in the research institute for too long, but now you can taste a very subtle sweetness from the bitterness of coffee.

You know, you didn't add sugar.

Put the empty cup back on the table, and you tell her: "But then not only Liudaokuku came to my spiritual world, Fran also came, and Liudaokuku never appeared in that state again."

She was just drinking coffee without looking up.

"Did Fran go too?"

"Um……"

"There's really no need to worry... Fran's illusion level is second only to Xiao Mu, so he should help share the pressure."

She opened her eyes and said thoughtfully: "No wonder that kid came to me a while ago and asked if we all learned from Xiaokui. And if he learned illusion before me, can I call him senior brother?"

You asked with interest: "Then how did you answer him?"

She stretched out her hand, pointed to the tree outside the window, and smiled very kindly: "Of course, I threw him out directly and hung him on that tree. It probably hung for an afternoon, and it turned out..."

"He built a swing for himself instead?"

"you know?"

Facing the surprised look of your other self, you said jokingly, "Because he did the same thing in the spiritual world."

She seemed to be choked, and smiled with her forehead propped up.

Behind your position is the bookshelf. From time to time, there will be a sweet and slightly astringent smell of wood in your breath. After careful identification, the smell is faintly mixed with the unique ink fragrance of paper books.

He raised his head inadvertently.

The first thing that caught my eye was a book with familiar handwriting.

"May I take a look at it?"

"OK……"

You read it roughly, and the whole article is basically written in the common language of the mainland. It records some anecdotes and strange events, and some of them are about the living habits and religious folk customs of remote ethnic groups.

The gaze shifted from the pages of the book to the top of the bookshelf.

You didn't pay much attention when you first entered the door, but now you realize that nearly one-third of the books are in the lingua franca of mainland China.

Your fingers slid across the spines of the books one by one, and you can't tell what you feel in your heart now, like stagnation and confusion.

Since I still miss that place, why didn't I go back?

After staring at them for a few seconds, you turned your head, looked at the peaceful and quiet scenery outside the window, and suddenly asked: "If Liu Daoku hadn't offered to ask you for a solution at that time... what would you do?"

Hearing this, she chuckled and leaned back on the cushion.

"How to do it..."

Eyes clearer than jewels stared at the quiet ceiling, and his voice was lazy, as if he didn't care at all.

"The person who came to you for about 20 years was not Xiao Mu, but me."

You were taken aback for a moment, and looked away from the window, but she didn't meet your gaze, but looked at the ceiling and continued: "But I have never tried to travel in the dream world, and it is very likely that I will accidentally get lost in the dream world." In the turbulent flow of mental power."

Your breathing stops suddenly.

What does it mean to be lost in the turbulence of mental energy?

It means that the body will completely become an empty shell.

And the soul will wander for a long time in the endless black ruins made of spiritual power, until it completely dissipates.

"Why do this?"

You are well aware of the consequences, so you have taken precautions when building the channel.But you didn't expect that 20 years later, you would have no scruples about danger, and even want to try it directly.

It doesn't fit your character at all.

The hand holding on to the bookshelf tightens slightly, and the cold feeling of the wood seeps into the bottom of your heart from the palm of your hand. You are puzzled: "Why do you have to find your past self?"

These words seemed to touch the deepest point, and she finally looked at you with a light golden light in her eyes.Although the expression is smiling, it makes people feel a little sad for no reason.

"Because of my personal stubbornness."

There was a sudden wind blowing outside, the rustling sound of the leaves was very clear in this silent air, the window slowly shook, and finally slapped on the wall.

"I really want to know..."

The curtains were pushed up high, and a large shadow appeared on the floor, and then shrank and narrowed a little bit as the curtains fell, and finally entrenched silently at the base of the wall.

"If "I" could have mastered the use of mental power in advance, would there be a different ending. "

The world is quiet.

Just as quiet as you are now.

You heard her whisper:

"Now I know, it will."