The streets after midnight were enveloped in a quiet shroud, with dim streetlights casting long shadows, occasionally flickering with faint glimmers.
The shops on either side of the street had long closed, their colorful signs reduced to faint outlines in the night.
The air carried a chill, mingling with distant, indistinct scents or the mixed aroma of the city.
Gu Yan didn’t know what had suddenly come over Leng Qingqiu’s second personality.
She insisted that he take her out.
And so, in this silent and deserted hour, Gu Yan had no choice but to accompany her for a walk.
As they walked, Gu Yan glanced at the woman beside him, who was indistinguishable from Leng Qingqiu: “So, you just wanted to come out for a stroll?”
Since it was Leng Qingqiu’s body,
Xiao Leng’s skin appeared exceptionally pale under the hazy moonlight, her cheeks slightly flushed from the cold wind, adding a touch of freshness and charm.
Her smooth black hair swayed gently in the night breeze, giving her an air of effortless grace.
She wore a black wool coat, walking at a leisurely pace, her eyes filled with curiosity about her surroundings.
Upon hearing Gu Yan’s question, she chuckled softly: “Yes, is that not allowed?”
“Do you know what it feels like to be trapped in darkness for most of the past five years?”
“Thanks to you, I finally have a chance to come out and breathe.”
“Actually... I should be thanking you.”
“Hmm? What do you say?”
Xiao Leng leaned slightly closer to Gu Yan, blinking at him.
Furnace?
Gu Yan felt utterly baffled.
Although he knew she wasn’t the Leng Qingqiu he was familiar with, there was no denying that she was indeed another personality of Leng Qingqiu.
Her demeanor and voice were identical.
Gu Yan coughed lightly, feeling somewhat awkward: “Please don’t use Qingqiu’s body to say or do strange things, okay?”
“Hehe, stop pretending. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t want the other me to treat you like this?”
Xiao Leng sneered, seeing right through Gu Yan.
Gu Yan, being honest, nodded: “Of course, I’d want that, but I’d want it from Qingqiu, not you.”
“It goes against my principles.”
Seeing that Gu Yan didn’t hide his true feelings, Xiao Leng lost interest in teasing him and asked, “What principles?”
“The principle of pure love!”
“........”
Xiao Leng fell silent for a moment.
She sighed: “Sometimes I find it hard to understand why the other me fell for you.”
“But then it dawns on me—perhaps it’s precisely because of your personality that she fell in love with you.”
“So......”
As they walked, Xiao Leng leaned closer to Gu Yan.
She whispered into his ear, her breath warm: “Sister here also wants to experience what love feels like~ How about......”
As she spoke, Xiao Leng reached out to touch an unspecified part of Gu Yan.
*Slap!*
Gu Yan swatted her hand away and looked at her seriously: “I’m warning you, don’t use Qingqiu’s body to do such strange things!”
Xiao Leng withdrew her hand, looking at the unmarked back of her hand with a hint of resentment: “So rough. If the other me marries you, won’t she be subjected to domestic abuse every day?”
“Hehe...”
“Stop pretending. You don’t have any real emotions, do you?”
“I’m very sensitive to Qingqiu’s feelings, and since you’re also a part of her, I can tell you don’t have normal human emotions.”
Gu Yan had seen through Xiao Leng’s personality—not just based on his own intuition, but also from the details in the original story.
Leng Qingqiu’s second personality, apart from seeking revenge, acted purely on whims, without logic or reason.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have committed the cruel acts described in the original story.
You think this is her true nature? Wrong. Perhaps she’s just playing a role because she finds it amusing.
Hearing this,
Xiao Leng gradually dropped her act.
Her expression turned calm and composed.
She walked ahead of Gu Yan, her hands behind her back: “Ahhh—”
“Boring, boring. I’m done playing with you.”
“You’re right. As the second personality split from the other me,
I can mimic any personality.”
“Whether it’s playful and cute, aloof, mature, or seductive...”
“Or even the Leng Qingqiu you’re most familiar with... Want to experience all these flavors, Gu Yan?”
As she walked ahead, Xiao Leng shifted her demeanor effortlessly.
Only when she adopted Leng Qingqiu’s usual temperament did Gu Yan look away and reply: “Alright, I get it. How much longer are we going to wander aimlessly?”
However, Xiao Leng didn’t answer Gu Yan.
She simply continued walking ahead, hands behind her back, gazing at her surroundings as if seeing the world for the first time.
“No~ I want to stay out a bit longer~”
“Even though it’s all dark, it feels completely different from being trapped inside the other me.”
“Comfortable, unrestrained.”
“Furnace, do you know what it’s like? Just walking down the street, I feel an uncontrollable sense of...”
Gu Yan followed her, keeping her within his sight.
He watched Leng Qingqiu’s second personality, like a nocturnal spirit, with a strange feeling in his heart.
She wasn’t Qingqiu, yet she was Qingqiu.
Listening to her rambling, it felt as if Qingqiu herself were speaking to him.
It was a peculiar sensation.
And Xiao Leng seemed to recall the term she had read online.
Suddenly, she stopped and turned to face Gu Yan, who was walking behind her. Her eyes held a glimmer of something inscrutable.
“Ah, I remember now.”
The air around them seemed to still, waiting for her next words or action.
Gu Yan looked at her, puzzled.
A few seconds passed.
Then, Xiao Leng’s lips curved into a faint smile as she spoke slowly, her voice clear in the silent street: “This feeling... it’s freedom.”
Freedom.
Gu Yan was taken aback, but then he understood.
Because there were two personalities, with Leng Qingqiu being the dominant one, the second personality could only emerge when the dominant one was asleep.
Otherwise, she was trapped in darkness.
But this second personality was more extreme. Even though she was part of Leng Qingqiu, she wasn’t the Qingqiu Gu Yan knew.
If she gained freedom, then Qingqiu would lose hers.
So...
“Oh.”
Gu Yan nodded expressionlessly.
“! Can’t you at least give some kind of reaction?!”
Xiao Leng pouted, clearly annoyed.
Just then,
“Meow~ Meow~!”
A series of soft cries came from a nearby bush.
Xiao Leng looked over in surprise, then quickly walked over and picked up the source of the sound: “Wow, it’s a kitten!”
Gu Yan glanced over and saw a black cat sitting in a cardboard box. He followed her: “Probably abandoned. But how do you know about these things? Shouldn’t you have been trapped inside Qingqiu, unaware of the outside world?”
Xiao Leng crouched down, gently rubbing the black kitten’s ears as she replied: “After you entered the other me’s inner world, I woke up again.”
“So, while she’s asleep, I can come out. During that time, I’ve been using the internet to learn many things.”
Is that even possible...
Gu Yan felt a strange unease, finding the idea of Xiao Leng browsing the internet oddly out of character.
He thought for a moment, then crouched beside her, watching as she gazed at the kitten with shining eyes. He couldn’t help but ask: “Do you like animals?”
“Like? No, no...”
Xiao Leng continued petting the kitten, but her tone suddenly turned playful as she murmured: “I’m just wondering... if I were to pluck off these cute little ears, what kind of cry would this kitten make, thinking it was about to be adopted?”
Gu Yan’s mouth twitched: “You’re terrible.”
“Thank you for the compliment. After all, I’m the evil personality split from the other me~ Only the other me is the normal one.”
“Anyway, the only one you care about protecting is the other me.”
“What happens to me doesn’t matter to you.”
Xiao Leng pouted, then picked up the kitten and stood up.
Gu Yan also stood up, listening to the somewhat self-deprecating words of the other person. Although he wasn’t sure if she really cared about it, he still spoke up: "No, no, no. Even though you’re another personality of our Qingqiu, you share the same body. No matter what..."
"Before you leave Qingqiu’s body, I won’t let anyone harm either of you."
As soon as he said this,
"Oh?"
Xiao Leng looked up at Gu Yan, her lips curling into a smile. "I’m sorry to tell you, but I *am* Qingqiu, and Qingqiu is me. We are one and the same. In other words, I can’t leave this body."
"Even so, I’ll still..."
"Then I’ll keep protecting you until we find a way."
Gu Yan cut her off, his gaze serious as he looked at her. "If you two can never be separated, then I’ll protect you both for a lifetime."
"Of course, you’re just an add-on. My main priority is protecting our Qingqiu."
Xiao Leng: "..."
After a moment of silence,
Xiao Leng smirked and raised the little black cat in her hands.
"Meow~"
The kitten, as if sensing that this pretty sister was about to adopt it, let out a soft, fluffy meow.
Xiao Leng smiled as she looked at it. "Alright, I’ve decided. I’m going to adopt it and name it Yeye."
Meow~!
The kitten meowed in agreement.
Gu Yan was both surprised and a little troubled. "Why are you suddenly adopting it? And can’t you pick a less... peculiar name?"
Xiao Leng shook her head, a gentle smile on her face as she looked at Gu Yan. "Because today is a special day for me—a rare occasion where I’ve come out to have some real fun. And since it’s nighttime, I’ll call it Yeye."
Gu Yan hadn’t expected her to care about such things, so he nodded indifferently. "Fine, but aren’t you only able to come out at night? You won’t have much time to spend with it."
"Heh, that’s fine."
Xiao Leng hugged Yeye and leaned closer to Gu Yan, her tone teasing. "The other me will probably go out with you during the day, right?"
"Yeah, that’s right..."
Gu Yan didn’t deny it. After all, she had always been inside Leng Qingqiu’s body and must have known about these things.
Xiao Leng’s lips curled into a smug smile. "Then... can I say that I’ve beaten her to the punch by going out with you first?"
Gu Yan: "..."
Why does this feel like a trap?
But Xiao Leng was the kind of malicious personality who enjoyed doing things that amused her. If he showed any sign of embarrassment, he’d be falling right into her hands.
So Gu Yan chose to stay silent. "Think whatever you want."
"Hehe, don’t be mad. I just wanted to say..."
Xiao Leng lifted Yeye’s paw and waved it at Gu Yan, pretending the kitten was speaking. "As a token of our first meeting, I’ll tell you my name."
"Xiao Leng."
"You can call me Xiao Leng. What happened tonight... is a secret just between you and me, okay~?"
"Make sure you don’t let the other me find out."
"For my sake, and for your plans..."
Xiao Leng.
What a casual name.
Gu Yan pinched Yeye’s paw pad, pouting as he replied, "Got it."
Tch, even though he felt like this would lead to a lot of trouble in the future...
As long as he could keep Xiao Leng under control, he should be able to completely prevent Qingqiu from turning dark!
That wasn’t so bad, after all!
Seeing Gu Yan’s slightly resigned expression, Xiao Leng’s lips, hidden behind the kitten, curled into a faint smile.
Well... sorry, other me. This "furnace" is quite interesting. I think I’ll keep interacting with him for a while~
Don’t blame me, okay~? After all, you were the one who kept provoking me.
[Pure Love Target’s Trust Level has increased to 90%!! New Memory Fragment unlocked~~ Please check~~]
[Note: After reaching 90% trust, every 1% increase will grant the host a new memory fragment!]
?
Huh?
Why did the trust level, which hadn’t increased in a long time, suddenly go up? Wasn’t it supposed to require special methods to raise due to certain circumstances? (For details, see the end of Chapter 130.)
Could it be...
Gu Yan glanced at Xiao Leng, who was playfully poking Yeye’s paw pad.
No way...
The special reason was Xiao Leng?! Are you two really one and the same?!
And what’s this about memory fragments?
........
........
That night.
"Sister... your husband might get stolen..."
"It wasn’t me..."
Leng Ling'er’s "cuckoo radar" blared all night long.