Chapter 1025: The Person Who Does Not Hesitate
Chen Junnan once again "barged through the door."
Before he could blurt out his heroic deeds, he saw Qi Xia just finishing explaining some precautions to Tian Tian.
But Tian Tian already looked completely baffled by Qi Xia's plan.
"Qi Xia... this plan of yours... you..." She frowned, showing a puzzled expression. "Your line of thinking is too..."
Tian Tian seemed to want to evaluate Qi Xia's idea, but the words hung on her lips as if they'd collided, unable to come out.
"So start practicing now," Qi Xia said to Tian Tian. "We don't have many chances—maybe only one."
"Okay... I, I know... rest assured..." Though Tian Tian said "rest assured," it was clear she was unsure. "I'll go practice right now..."
"Thank you," Qi Xia said.
"Huh...?" Tian Tian turned her head, looking at Qi Xia with a blank expression. "What?"
"I said, thank you," Qi Xia repeated.
These three words not only confused Tian Tian but also made Chen Junnan pause for a few seconds.
In his memory, Qi Xia rarely said those words to anyone.
"No need for that..." Tian Tian forced a faint smile, clearly still not recovered from the absurd plan she'd just heard, and could only reply, "I haven't even done anything yet. Saying 'thank you' now is too early. If I fail later..."
"It's not just about this," Qi Xia said. "I've wanted to thank you for a long time, but you never gave me the chance."
"For a long time...?" Tian Tian clearly couldn't understand. "Logically speaking, my abilities are low, so I probably haven't helped you that many times..."
"Too many times," Qi Xia said. "I'm afraid that this time will be like before—you'll do what you need to do and then find a place to die quietly. So I wanted to say it in advance."
"This..." Tian Tian seemed to understand, nodding vaguely, but didn't know what to say. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "You don't need to be polite... Even if I don't know what I've done, it's no different from this time—I did it willingly."
After speaking, as if something occurred to her, she added, "Even if I have to find a place to die quietly, that's also my choice."
Qi Xia let out a meaningful sigh, as if releasing some barely visible knot in his heart.
"I'll go now," Tian Tian said again.
"Tian Tian," Qi Xia called softly.
"Hm...?"
"I want to ask you one last time, seriously," he said, stepping forward with a solemn expression. "If there were a chance to start over right in front of you, would you choose to escape from here and go back to your life?"
Tian Tian was taken aback. Clearly, she hadn't expected Qi Xia to ask this question at this moment.
Her eyes showed a momentary confusion, but then they sank into the stillness of dead ash.
"I don't want to..." Tian Tian gently opened her mouth and said, "Maybe I no longer have the so-called 'life.'"
Qi Xia looked at Tian Tian, a hint of complex sympathy flashing in his eyes.
"Even if you could start over yourself, you wouldn't choose to go back and see?"
Tian Tian lowered her head. A few strands of hair fell forward, just covering the expression between her brows—or perhaps, at this moment, she had no expression at all.
Chen Junnan also fell silent at that moment. The aura emanating from Tian Tian right now was a decisiveness that showed no trace of longing for the entire "real world."
Both Qi Xia and Chen Junnan knew that what revolved in this girl's mind was not the hesitation of "should I go back to reality," but the hesitation of "how to refuse without being rude."
In the Land of Endings, there were a few people like Tian Tian who felt panic toward "reality." But in most cases, this "unwillingness" was a disguise. After all, the people in the Land of Endings had no choice to begin with, so they ultimately numbed themselves into believing they "didn't want to get out."
If given an active choice, most would still hesitate.
Chen Junnan and Qi Xia had never seen that kind of hesitation in Tian Tian from the start. Whether she retained her memories or appeared here in a fresh state, she never missed anything from the real world.
After a few seconds, she spoke. "I'm sorry. No matter what, let's win this game first."
Qi Xia was silent for a moment. The expectation that had never really existed faded away. "Alright."
Tian Tian nodded, turned around, and opened the door. She happened to run into Zhang Lawer and Zheng Yingxiong, who were walking back.
The three exchanged brief greetings, then Tian Tian entered the room and closed the door, presumably to busy herself with something.
Zhang Lawer and Zheng Yingxiong were startled to see Chen Junnan and stepped back half a step.
"Little brother... this..." Zhang Chenze turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong.
Zheng Yingxiong thought for a moment, then said to Chen Junnan, "Brother, did you get the 'character'?"
Chen Junnan was taken aback. The words he had prepared for Qi Xia stuck in his throat. He turned his head and looked seriously at Zheng Yingxiong.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Yingxiong asked.
"Damn... that woman even pretends to be a kid?" Chen Junnan showed a look of disgust. "Sister Zhang, let go of his hand quickly. Be careful, he might bite you."
"Huh...?" Zheng Yingxiong felt like the other party had misunderstood. "No... it's not..."
"Come on, come on." Chen Junnan took a few steps forward. "If you've got the guts, try it on me. Where did you put that arrogant kid? Damn it, you can't beat an adult, so you go after a child?"
"There might be a misunderstanding..." Zhang Chenze quickly stepped forward. "Chen Junnan, we just ran into someone pretending to be you. Brother Yingxiong saw through them. We haven't been apart the whole time, so he's not a fake."
"Huh?" Chen Junnan was stunned. "No way... Sister Zhang, do you know what this kid just called me? I've known him for so many days, and I've never heard this kid call me 'brother.' That's like the sky raining sour bean juice!"
"I was testing you," Zheng Yingxiong said impatiently. "And now you're testing me. I really don't know who's more troublesome..."
"You little brat..." Chen Junnan sighed. "Your little lord is also a bit jumpy because of that Shapeshifter. Better safe than sorry, right?"
Hearing this, Qi Xia looked at Chen Junnan and asked softly, "What did you get this time?"
"Ah! Right, Old Qi!" Chen Junnan left Zhang Lawer and Zheng Yingxiong aside, turned around, and said, "You don't know what an awesome thing your little lord just did..."
As he spoke, he pulled a "character" out of his pocket and held it up in front of Qi Xia.
A "handkerchief."