Chen Junan barged in once again.
Before he could even begin to boast about his dashing heroics, he saw Qi Xia just finishing up explaining something to Tian Tian.
But Tian Tian looked completely bewildered by Qi Xia’s plan.
“Qi Xia… this plan of yours… you…” She frowned, her expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. “Your train of thought is just too…”
She seemed to want to critique Qi Xia’s idea, but the words got tangled on her tongue, unable to form a coherent sentence.
“So practice while you still can,” Qi Xia said to her. “We don’t have many chances—maybe just one.”
“Okay… I-I understand… don’t worry…” Though Tian Tian said “don’t worry,” her uncertainty was obvious. “I’ll go practice right away…”
“Thank you,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh…?” Tian Tian turned her head, staring at him blankly. “What?”
“I said thank you,” Qi Xia repeated.
Those three words not only left Tian Tian baffled but also made Chen Junan pause for a few seconds.
In his memory, Qi Xia rarely ever said those words to anyone.
“There’s no need…” Tian Tian forced a faint smile, clearly still reeling from the absurdity of the plan. “I haven’t done anything yet. It’s too early to say ‘thank you.’ If I fail, then—”
“It’s not just about this,” Qi Xia interrupted. “I’ve wanted to thank you for a long time. You just never gave me the chance.”
“For a long time…?” Tian Tian clearly didn’t understand. “Logically speaking, my abilities are limited. There couldn’t have been that many times I actually helped you, right…?”
“There were,” Qi Xia said. “I’m afraid that, like before, you’ll go off to silently die somewhere after doing what you have to do. So I wanted to say it in advance.”
“Ah…” Tian Tian nodded vaguely, unsure how to respond. After a few seconds of silence, she finally said, “You don’t need to thank me… Even if I don’t remember what I did, I’m sure it was no different from this time—all my own choice.”
After a pause, she added, “Even if I do go off to silently die, that’s my choice too.”
Qi Xia exhaled deeply, as if releasing some invisible knot in his heart.
“I’ll go now,” Tian Tian said.
“Tian Tian,” Qi Xia called softly.
“Hmm…?”
“I want to ask you one last time, seriously.” He took a step forward, his tone grave. “If there was a chance to start over, would you choose to escape this place and return to your life?”
Tian Tian froze. She clearly hadn’t expected Qi Xia to ask this now.
Her eyes flickered with confusion for a moment before dulling into emptiness.
“I don’t want to…” she murmured softly. “I don’t think I have a ‘life’ to return to anymore.”
Qi Xia watched her, a complicated sympathy flashing in his eyes.
“Even if you could start over, you wouldn’t choose to go back and see?”
Tian Tian lowered her head, strands of hair falling over her face, obscuring whatever expression might have been there—if there even was one.
Chen Junan also fell silent. The aura radiating from Tian Tian at this moment was one of absolute decisiveness, devoid of any lingering attachment to the “real world.”
Both Qi Xia and Chen Junan knew that the girl before them wasn’t hesitating over whether to return to reality—she was merely struggling to find a polite way to refuse.
In the “Land of the End,” there were others like Tian Tian who feared “reality.” But most of that reluctance was a facade. After all, the people stranded here had no choice but to numb themselves into believing they “didn’t want to leave.”
If given an actual chance to choose, most would still hesitate.
But from the very beginning, neither Chen Junan nor Qi Xia had ever seen that hesitation in Tian Tian. Whether she had retained her memories or appeared here in a completely new state, she had never once expressed nostalgia for anything in the real world.
A few seconds later, she spoke again: “I’m sorry. Whatever the case, let’s just win this game first.”
Qi Xia was silent for a moment, the faint hope in his eyes fading. “Fine.”
Tian Tian nodded, turning to open the door—just as Lawyer Zhang and Zheng Yingxiong were returning.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Tian Tian entered the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the others to wonder what she was up to.
Lawyer Zhang and Zheng Yingxiong froze at the sight of Chen Junan, taking half a step back.
“Little brother… this…” Zhang Chenze glanced at Zheng Yingxiong.
After a moment of thought, Zheng Yingxiong spoke up: “Brother, did you get the ‘word’?”
Chen Junan stiffened, swallowing whatever he had been about to say to Qi Xia. He turned to Zheng Yingxiong with a stern expression.
“What’s wrong?” Zheng Yingxiong asked.
“Damn… that woman even impersonates kids now?” Chen Junan scowled in disgust. “Zhang-jie, let go of his hand before he bites you.”
“Eh…?” Zheng Yingxiong blinked, realizing the misunderstanding. “No… that’s not—”
“Come here.” Chen Junan stepped forward. “If you’ve got the guts, try it on me. Where’d you stash the real brat? Can’t take on the adults, so you go after kids? Pathetic.”
“Wait, there’s been a mistake,” Zhang Chenze quickly interjected. “Chen Junan, we just ran into someone impersonating you. Hero here was the one who saw through it. We’ve been together the whole time—he’s not a fake.”
“Huh?” Chen Junan frowned. “That can’t be. Zhang-jie, you heard what this kid just called me, right? In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never once called me ‘brother.’ That’s about as likely as raining bean juice from the sky.”
“I was testing you,” Zheng Yingxiong said impatiently. “And here you are, testing me instead. Who’s really the one causing trouble here…?”
“You little brat…” Chen Junan sighed. “I’ve been a bit on edge since that ‘shapeshifter’ crap. Can’t be too careful, right?”
Qi Xia glanced at Chen Junan. “So, what did you find this time?”
“Oh! Right, Lao Qi!” Chen Junan immediately turned away from Zhang Chenze and Zheng Yingxiong. “You won’t believe the insane thing I just pulled off…”
With that, he pulled a “word” from his pocket and held it up for Qi Xia to see.
Chen Junnan once again “barged in.”
Before he could fully showcase his dashing and heroic demeanor, he saw that Qixia had just finished explaining some precautions to Tiantian.
But Tiantian seemed utterly bewildered by Qixia’s idea.
“Qixia… this plan of yours… you…” She frowned, wearing a deeply puzzled expression. “Your line of thinking is just too…”
Tiantian seemed to want to comment on Qixia’s idea, but the words got tangled on her tongue, and not a single one came out.
“So practice while you can,” Qixia said to Tiantian. “We don’t have many chances—maybe only one.”
“Okay… I, I understand… don’t worry…” Although Tiantian said “don’t worry,” it was clear she lacked confidence. “I’ll go practice right away…”
“Thank you,” Qixia said.
“Huh…?” Tiantian turned her head, looking at Qixia in confusion. “What?”
“I said thank you,” Qixia repeated.
These three words not only left Tiantian baffled but also made Chen Junnan pause for a few seconds.
In his memory, Qixia rarely said these words to anyone.
“No need…” Tiantian forced a smile, clearly still reeling from the absurdity of the plan. “I haven’t done anything yet. It’s too early to say ‘thank you.’ If I fail, then…”
“It’s not just about this,” Qixia said. “I’ve wanted to thank you for a long time, but you never gave me the chance.”
“For a long time…?” Tiantian clearly didn’t understand. “Logically speaking, my abilities are limited. There shouldn’t be many times I’ve been able to help you…”
“There were many,” Qixia said. “I’m afraid that, like before, you’ll find a place to die quietly after doing what you need to do. So I wanted to say it in advance.”
“This…” Tiantian nodded, seeming to understand yet not knowing what to say. After a few seconds of silence, she replied, “You don’t need to thank me… Although I don’t know what I’ve done, it’s surely no different from this time—it was all voluntary.”
As if remembering something, she added, “Even if I were to find a place to die quietly, it would be my choice.”
Qixia let out a meaningful sigh, as if resolving some subtle, lingering regret.
“Then I’ll go now,” Tiantian said.
“Tiantian,” Qixia called softly.
“Huh…?”
“I want to ask you one last time, seriously,” he said, taking a step forward with a solemn expression. “If there were a chance to start over right in front of you, would you choose to escape this place and return to your life?”
Tiantian froze, clearly not expecting Qixia to ask this question at such a time.
Her eyes flickered with confusion for a moment before settling into a deathly stillness.
“I don’t want to…” Tiantian whispered, her lips barely moving. “I might not have what you call a ‘life’ anymore.”
Qixia looked at her, a complex sympathy flashing in his eyes.
“Even if you could start over, you wouldn’t choose to go back and see?”
Tiantian lowered her head, a few strands of hair falling over her eyebrows, obscuring her expression—or perhaps there was no expression to hide.
Chen Junnan also fell silent. If there was one thing radiating from Tiantian at that moment, it was a resolute decisiveness, utterly devoid of any attachment to the “real world.”
Both Qixia and Chen Junnan knew that the girl before them wasn’t hesitating over “whether to return to reality” but rather “how to refuse without being impolite.”
In the “Land of End,” there were others like Tiantian who felt panic toward “reality.” But this “reluctance” was mostly a facade. After all, those trapped in the “Land of End” ultimately had no choice but to麻痹 themselves into believing they “didn’t want to leave.”
If given an active choice, most would still hesitate.
But from the very beginning, neither Chen Junnan nor Qixia had ever seen such hesitation in Tiantian. Whether she had retained her memories or appeared here in a崭新的 state, she had never shown any nostalgia for the real world.
A few seconds later, she spoke: “I’m sorry. No matter what, let’s win this game first.”
Qixia fell silent for a moment, his already faint sense of expectation vanishing entirely. “Very well.”
Tiantian nodded, turned around, and opened the door,恰好 encountering Lawyer Zhang and Zheng Yingxiong returning.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Tiantian entered the room and closed the door, leaving to attend to whatever she needed to do.
Lawyer Zhang and Zheng Yingxiong were taken aback upon seeing Chen Junnan and took half a step back.
“Little brother… this…” Zhang Chenze turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong.
After a moment of thought, Zheng Yingxiong spoke to Chen Junnan: “Brother, did you get the ‘word’?”
Chen Junnan was stunned. The words he had prepared for Qixia died on his lips as he turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong with a serious expression.
“What’s wrong?” Zheng Yingxiong asked.
“Dammit… that woman even impersonates kids?” Chen Junnan’s face twisted in disgust. “Sis Zhang, let go of his hand. Be careful he doesn’t bite you.”
“Huh…?” Zheng Yingxiong seemed to realize there was a misunderstanding. “No… that’s not…”
“Come here,” Chen Junnan said, stepping forward. “If you have the guts, come at me. Where did you take that arrogant kid? Can’t handle the adults, so you go after the child?”
“It might be a misunderstanding…” Zhang Chenze hurriedly interjected. “Chen Junnan, we just encountered someone impersonating you. It was Hero who saw through them. We haven’t been separated since, so he’s not an imposter.”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan was taken aback. “That can’t be… Sis Zhang, do you know what this kid just called me? In all the days I’ve known him, I’ve never heard him call me ‘brother.’ This is as likely as soybean milk raining from the sky!”
“I was testing you,” Zheng Yingxiong said impatiently. “And here you are testing me. I don’t know who’s more worrisome…”
“You little brat…” Chen Junnan sighed. “This ‘shapeshifting’ business has got me on edge. Can’t be too careful, right?”
Qixia glanced at Chen Junnan and asked softly, “What did you gain this time?”
“Ah! Right, Old Qi!” Chen Junnan left Lawyer Zhang and Zheng Yingxiong aside and turned to Qixia. “You won’t believe the incredible thing I just pulled off…”
As he spoke, he pulled a “word” from his pocket and held it up for Qixia to see.
“Towel.”
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