"Hmm?"
A young man entered the room, carrying groceries in his hand. As soon as he stepped inside, he noticed an extra person in the house, someone who looked somewhat familiar.
Ning Yu also set down her teacup and looked towards the door.
She recognized this person; it was the guy who had sold her the electric piano.
His peculiar attire was gone, and his exaggerated hairstyle had been replaced with a normal medium-length haircut.
His earrings and lip rings seemed to have been removed, and he now exuded a completely different aura, losing that rebellious vibe he once had.
He also had a guitar case slung over his back, looking like he had just returned from an outdoor performance.
"Oh... is that you?"
He walked into the living room, set down his guitar, and placed it aside.
"Xiao Lian, do you know him?"
Wan Lian, who was beside them, picked up the teapot and teacup again and poured him a cup of tea.
"Yes, she's from the exploration team, and she was helping me investigate my brother's case..."
Wan Lian was also a bit puzzled. Although the Fangzhou Base was small, it seemed a bit too coincidental, didn't it?
"So, what's your relationship with her...?"
"Oh~ I sold my electric piano to her before."
The young man pointed at Ning Yu to explain.
Ning Yu felt like she was getting used to these coincidences and smiled as she asked the young man, who was preparing to drink his tea:
"Why didn't you give up your little hobby?"
She was a bit curious because she clearly remembered that the guy had decided to give up and find a regular job in the base.
The young man seemed to have expected Ning Yu's question and answered:
"Well... I actually only gave up for one day. On the second day of my cargo transport job at Fangzhou, I sneaked back to the square after work and performed alone."
"To be honest, if it weren't for that duet we played together that day, I might have really given up."
He smiled at Ning Yu.
Ning Yu pondered: Like him, ordinary people could also take on cargo transport jobs, although it was very dangerous, so it usually required a group of people to work together.
Unlike Wan Heng, who, as an awakened individual, could handle the job alone.
But because it was so dangerous, Fangzhou offered high rewards, which always attracted people willing to take such risks for substantial payouts.
It was somewhat similar to the lifestyle of the "Three-River-and-Big-God" folks, where one day of work could sustain them for several days.
Except that the "Three-River-and-Big-God" folks chose to live a laid-back life, while this job was literally a matter of life and death.
"Then I unexpectedly found that even when survival was at stake, there were still people willing to listen to me sing..."
He seemed a bit embarrassed, as if he were neglecting his responsibilities while others were earnestly trying to survive, and here he was, singing for a living.
Ning Yu turned to look at Wan Lian beside her:
"So, what's your story...?"
Judging by the situation of these two, it seemed like they were living together? That was fast.
Wait... was there going to be more couple drama? There had been a lot of that lately!
Wan Lian, hearing Ning Yu's question, shyly glanced at the young man who was still drinking tea and said:
"After that failure, I went out for a stroll. At first, I wanted to jump from a high place in Fangzhou to the outside world."
"Then I saw him there, sitting on the ground with an acoustic guitar, playing and singing for everyone. There was quite a crowd around him."
"To be honest, it was quite nice to listen to. Since the disaster began, I haven't heard anyone sing for a long time, and it felt like a luxury."
She fiddled with the hem of her clothes as she spoke slowly.
"Ah... that day was also a coincidence. I saw her looking lost, so I went over and asked her what song she wanted to hear."
At this point, the young man took over the conversation and continued.
"She just shook her head and turned to leave. In that moment, I had a bad feeling..."
"Then I grabbed her... and asked her to at least listen to one song, one that I really liked."
The young man's eyes sparkled, as if he had returned to that afternoon.
"Oh? What song did you sing for her?"
Hearing this question, Ning Yu became curious. What kind of song had brought these two together and made the girl give up her thoughts of suicide?
The young man, hearing Ning Yu's question, lit up and grabbed his guitar from the side, eager to play.
"Want to hear it?"
Ning Yu thought for a moment, since there wasn't much else to do, she slowly nodded.
Before Ning Yu could even agree, he had already placed his hands on the guitar and played a simple, slightly melancholy intro.
"Compared to Nakajima's version, I prefer Akita's, which is his own, guitar-accompanied version."
He explained as he played, though Ning Yu didn't know who he was talking about, so she didn't understand the names he mentioned.
【I once wanted to end it all, because seagulls were crying at the harbor.】
【I once wanted to end it all, because apricot blossoms bloomed on my birthday.】
As soon as the lyrics came out, Ning Yu felt a pang in her heart. What a sad scene and reason, wouldn't it make someone even more inclined to...
The following lyrics seemed to describe mundane aspects of life:
The spilled sunlight, the insect's corpse, the fishing port's lighthouse, the abandoned bicycle, the self kneeling on the bed apologizing to the past...
These images wove a scene filled with despair.
【I am Don Quixote, fighting an invisible enemy in this six-tatami-sized room.】
Fighting an invisible enemy...
Ning Yu pondered over these lyrics and looked at Wan Lian beside her, wondering if she knew what "invisible enemy" meant.
【I cried because I was loved, because I knew the warmth of people.】
When these lyrics were sung, the story seemed to take a turn.
It seemed that someone had appeared in the story, someone who had brought hope back to everything.
【I once wanted to end it all, but I saw your beautiful, radiant smile.】
【Always thinking about dying must be because I have lived seriously, right?】
Wan Lian beside her was also listening intently. Suddenly, she poked Ning Yu's hand and said seriously:
"I really like the last few lines of this song."
As the young man's tone gradually lowered, Ning Yu thought the song was about to end, but it was then that the song reached its climax.
【I once wanted to end it all, but I hadn't met you yet.】
【Because there are people like you, I have a little more affection for the world.】
【Because there are people like you, I finally have some expectation for the world.】
Ning Yu pursed her lips and didn't speak, quietly listening to the final coda with Wan Lian, before finally clapping for him.
So that's it, "but I hadn't met you yet."
The song spoke of the most desperate things but also conveyed the most hopeful message.
Ning Yu glanced at Wan Lian, whose eyes were wet with tears, and the young man, who was awkwardly scratching his head and putting away his guitar.
"How was it? Did I sing well?"
The young man walked over, took a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to Wan Lian, while also asking Ning Yu, whom he considered a professional, for her opinion.
Ning Yu nodded and gave a few casual comments.
In fact, perhaps at the right time, delivering the right song to the right person was more impactful than technical skill.
Compared to now, that day Wan Lian must have felt something that others couldn't, a moment of happiness that only she could possess, something no one else could experience.
That's why she was sitting here today, smiling and talking with them.
The young man ultimately didn't give up his small hobby.
Wan Lian ultimately didn't give up her life.
Both of these things seemed to be connected to herself:
If she hadn't stopped Wan Lian's first attempt at suicide, if she hadn't played a duet with the young man to buy the electric piano.
Would the story have turned out completely different?
Indeed, it was a coincidence, but compared to those heartbreaking events, Ning Yu preferred such coincidences.
Like a line she particularly liked: There are no miracles in this world, only inevitability and coincidence, and what someone does.
If my presence and actions have inadvertently led to such coincidences, then these unexpected occurrences serve as delightful embellishments to the otherwise mundane tapestry of daily life.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
