Seeing Bai Ci's completely unresponsive, strictly-business attitude, Fu Liu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He sighed deliberately, his tone carrying a hint of grievance mixed with playfulness: “My dear, aren't you being a bit too cold?”
“After all, we're already fiancé and fiancée. Shouldn't we first chat about poetry, literature, and the philosophy of life, then gaze at the stars and the moon together to get to know each other? Rushing straight into it like this is so unromantic.”
Bai Ci looked up at him. She had never planned on having a romance with an NPC; at best, she might treat them as friends. “There's no need for that. The living and the dead tread different paths. We only need to fulfill our agreement; there's no need for any extra understanding.”
Fu Liu was momentarily choked by her words, but he didn't get angry. Instead, his smile widened. His gaze casually swept across Bai Ci's left hand, suddenly freezing on the ring on her left hand.
On her left middle finger was the ring she had obtained after making the marriage agreement with Lin. To be precise, it could be considered an engagement ring.
“Oh?” Fu Liu floated a few steps closer, mimicking a crouching posture, his eyes locked onto the ring.
His tone carried a touch of surprise, along with some deliberate grievance. “Is that an engagement ring? Who did you get engaged to? Since it's not me... oh my, you're actually a marriage-scamming heartbreaker.”
Hearing this, Bai Ci raised her right hand, revealing another ring of the exact same style on her right ring finger. “The other ring is right here. Am I engaged to myself?”
The one on her left hand was an item, while the one on her right hand was just a decorative accessory. She had customized a whole bunch of them for a mere 20 points, since she had points to burn anyway.
In the previous instance, due to the historical background, there was no concept of a ring on the middle finger representing an engagement; it was merely seen as an ornament. However, other instances set in different eras might be different. With this in mind, she had customized these decorative rings.
Out of some inexplicable whim, she had ordered about twenty of them at once.
Daily necessities purchased from the system store could not be brought into instances, but when it came to items worn on the body—like clothes, earrings, and rings—Anomalous Infection was quite lenient about allowing them in.
Of course, it had also been mentioned on the forum that some players had tested this out. It was fine if you just wore them yourself, but if you tried to buy jewelry to sell for money inside an instance, you would find that the material of these items would degrade into worthless junk.
Don't even think about finding loopholes.
“I don't care, I don't care.” Fu Liu stretched out his hand. “Since you're my fiancée right now anyway, you have to give me this ring on your right hand as a token.”
“Even if we divorce later, I still have to claim the title of your ex-husband. I can't let anyone else snatch it away.”
As Bai Ci slipped off the ring from her right hand, she corrected him: “Not ex-husband, but ex-fiancé.”
“It's all the same, all the same,” Fu Liu said nonchalantly. “I want the title of ex-fiancé too. I want to be the first!”
Bai Ci kept her face straight. The first? That was impossible. Before him, there were already two ex-fiancés lined up. As for how many more there would be after him, she didn't even know herself.
There was no need to spell that out for him.
Without saying anything more, Bai Ci handed the ring to Fu Liu, deflecting his attention with a question: “By the way, as a ghost, can you even wear physical objects?”
Hearing this, Fu Liu extended a translucent hand and steadily caught the ring Bai Ci handed over. “Don't discriminate against ghosts. Why can't a ghost wear a ring? Just watch.”
Bai Ci watched as Fu Liu actually slipped the ring onto his left middle finger. The ring was a bit small since it was sized for her own finger, but since Fu Liu was a ghost with no physical form, he was able to compensate for this limitation perfectly.
As she watched, Bai Ci suddenly felt her vision blur. A wave of intense dizziness washed over her, accompanied by a freezing sensation.
The scene shifted the very instant the ring slipped onto Fu Liu's finger.
The scenery in front of her seemed to shatter. A wave of humid moisture rushed at her, and rain droplets as large as beans came pattering down. Mixed with the earthy, grassy scent of the mountains, they pelted hard against her face.
Bai Ci could feel her clothes already drenched by the rain. The thin fabric clung tightly to her skin, bringing a wave of chill, while her wet hair plastered against her forehead and the sides of her neck.
She wiped her face, which was covered in rainwater, and lowered her head so she could finally open her eyes.
Beneath her feet was a muddy, slippery mountain path strewn with gravel and weeds. In the pitch-black, rainy night, every step required extreme caution; a single misstep could send her slipping and rolling down to who knew where.
Was this the play Fu Liu had talked about?
Just as Bai Ci was holding onto a nearby tree trunk to steady herself, a clear and enthusiastic voice suddenly came from her side, filled with concern and a hint of intimacy: “Baby, why did you stop? Are you out of energy? How about I carry you on my back?”
Bai Ci turned her head and saw a tall, upright young man standing beside her.
The young man was holding a flashlight. Although it wasn't of much use in the rainy night, only illuminating the immediate vicinity, it at least allowed Bai Ci to clearly see his face and the appearance of the others nearby.
The young man looked exactly like Fu Liu.
He had neat, short black hair, and his signature tear mole below his right eye was still clearly visible. However, he lacked the seductive air of his soul form, possessing instead a more cheerful and open vibe. Though they shared the exact same face, the impression he gave off was entirely different.
He wore a simple white athletic T-shirt and black athletic pants. His clothes were also soaked by the rain, faintly revealing his toned, muscular physique.
Around this Fu Liu lookalike stood three other people, all in their early twenties. Their clothes were also drenched, and their faces bore expressions of exhaustion and distress as they looked around, clearly searching for a place to shelter from the rain.
On the far left was a young man with a slender build and a gentle face. He wore a grey long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his sleek wrists.
In this five-person group, there were only two flashlights. One was in Fu Liu's hand, and the other was in his.
The remaining two were young women, supporting each other as they struggled to keep up with the group's pace.
One of them, with her hair tied in a simple high ponytail and stray strands sticking to her cheeks, said, “Tongtong, the rain is so heavy. When are we going to find a place to shelter?”
The other girl, addressed as Tongtong, wore a dark athletic suit. Her tone was somewhat anxious: “There's no point in rushing. Let's keep looking. There has to be a place to shelter from the rain. I refuse to believe we're going to get drenched in these mountains all night.”
“Baby?” The Fu Liu lookalike reached out and touched Bai Ci's forehead.
Bai Ci composed herself. Although she didn't know what the situation was, she was perfectly capable of giving a flawless response to this Fu Liu lookalike: “I'm fine, just a little tired, but I can still walk. The road is slippery in the rain; carrying me would be too dangerous.”
“Let me support you, then. That should save you some energy.”
Rate on N.U.
