Lin's embrace was like ice carrying a cold scent, but the moment the bone-chilling cold enveloped her, it became Bai Ci's only support.
She could clearly feel the vibration in his chest—not the steady heartbeat of a human, but a soft rustling like dry leaves rubbing together, rhythmic and firm.
“Get out,” Lin's voice was no longer gentle, his tone carrying a faint, barely perceptible rasp.
His hand wrapped around Bai Ci's waist tightened further. The cold scent of decaying leaves surged instantly, forming an invisible barrier. Bai Ci could even hear a faint, dense sizzling sound from outside the barrier, like cold water poured onto red-hot iron.
The wind chimes on the glass door shook violently, and the warm yellow lights in the shop began to flicker.
Bai Ci felt a freezing draft on the back of her neck again. This time, it wasn't a gentle breath, but a painful scraping sensation, as if someone were dragging sharp fingernails across her skin.
The ring on her middle finger was incredibly hot, but the burning sensation brought her a sense of comfort. At least it was still resisting.
“Don't open your eyes,” Lin's voice fell right against her ear. In the next second, his palm gently covered her eyes.
The temperature of his palm was slightly warmer than his fingertips, yet it still carried his unique chill, like moonlight filtered through a thin veil.
Bai Ci obediently held her breath, and the world instantly plunged into complete darkness and silence.
It wasn't the dead silence of hearing loss, but a vacuum-like sensation of being forcibly shut out. The fading ring of the wind chimes, the sounds of the street, and even her own heartbeat vanished. Only the cold scent of decaying leaves on Lin grew stronger and stronger, enveloping her like a tide.
The freezing breath on the back of her neck suddenly turned violent, like a thoroughly enraged beast. Bai Ci instinctively curled her body, burying her face even deeper.
The arm he used to hold her tightened, while his other hand covering her eyes gently caressed her eyelids, as if silently soothing her.
No sound, no light. Only touch and smell constructed this invisible confrontation.
Pressed tightly against Lin's body, Bai Ci felt his chest heave violently every now and then. The hand holding her waist would twitch involuntarily, and a faint, burnt smell like smoldering dry branches gradually mixed into the cold scent on his body.
A few times, that freezing breath broke through the outer barrier and brushed past her neck, raising goosebumps. But in the next second, it was pushed back by Lin's even more intense scent.
Her heart remained suspended in agonizing suspense. Eventually, Bai Ci felt the strength holding her suddenly grow heavy. Lin's chin slipped from the crown of her head, and his forehead rested against her shoulder. His cold breath puffed into the crook of her neck, carrying a barely perceptible tremor.
The cold scent of decaying leaves began to thin out, as if it were being drained by something.
The burning sensation of the ring reached its peak, making her fingertips go numb from the heat. Yet she didn't dare move, only gripping the fabric of Lin's waist tightly like a drowning person grasping at a straw.
The hand covering her eyes paused, then his fingertips gently tapped her, the movement as tender as if he were soothing a frightened child.
Bai Ci's heart wrenched violently. She wanted to call his name, but her throat felt blocked, unable to make any sound.
Fear wrapped around her heart like vines—not because of Mary's threat, but because the person holding her was slowly “disappearing.” She could clearly feel that the figure who could once completely envelop her was thinning in a slow, irreversible manner.
Yet the arms holding her never loosened from beginning to end.
Time lost its scale in the darkness; a single second felt as long as a century.
All strength vanished.
The arms holding her suddenly went slack, and the palm covering her eyes slipped down weakly. What she held in her hands was now empty air. The cold scent that had enveloped her dissipated completely in an instant, leaving behind a faint, almost imperceptible sound like a wilting petal.
Bai Ci slowly opened her eyes. Dazzling sunlight streamed in through the glass door, making her squint instantly.
Sound returned to the world. The wind chimes swayed gently in the breeze, making a crisp, tinkling sound, and the plane tree leaves outside the window rustled in the wind. Sunlight filtered through the glass, casting mottled shadows on the floor.
She stood in the center of the florist's shop. The surrounding flower racks were still neat, and the various flowers bloomed vibrantly without any trace of a struggle. Sunlight streamed through the glass door, casting warm spots of light at her feet. The air was filled with the scent of normal flowers, mixed with the freshness of soil.
Everything was exactly the same as before, yet completely different.
Lin was gone.
Bai Ci froze in place, her arms still holding the posture of being embraced, but her arms held nothing but cold air.
She looked around. The space behind the checkout counter was empty, and the small door to the backyard was tightly shut. She was the only one left in the entire flower shop, along with a bone-deep silence and sorrow that flooded over her like a tide.
Her gaze fell to the floor. The wedding bouquet they had completed together lay at her feet. The pink-and-white roses and pale yellow ranunculi were still fresh, but the deep red “Heartvein” in the center of the bouquet had completely withered.
The once-plump petals had shriveled into a clump like dried blood, losing all luster and vitality. That faint, metallic-sweet scent had also vanished without a trace.
Bai Ci walked over, squatted down, and gently touched it. The petals crumbled at her touch, scattering onto the floor as fine powder.
Her mind went completely blank.
Sitting on the cold floor, Bai Ci stared at the pile of petal dust, her tears falling without warning.
She and Lin had only known each other for an afternoon. From her initial wariness and rejection to her subsequent perfunctory soothing, she had always treated this suspected non-human entity with his bizarre way of thinking as an “NPC.” She had calculated how to use him to avoid Mary, how to use the “engagement” story to buy time, and how to extract more clues from him.
She had always treated this world as a scriptless escape room game, regarding everyone she met as an NPC or a potential enemy. She analyzed and strategized with a DM's mindset, never truly considering that these “characters” might have their own feelings and warmth.
She had thought his mind was bizarre, felt his approach was dangerous, and believed she was forced into this trouble.
Yet, it was this very person she had guarded against at every turn who, in the most dangerous moment, had shielded her completely in his own way.
Lin wasn't some bizarre non-human creature; he was just someone who had been lonely for too long and craved companionship. In his purest way, he had treated this “partner” who had suddenly broken into his life, even paying the price of his own “existence.”
Bai Ci covered her face. Only when she felt the wetness did she realize she was crying. All her previous petty thoughts and calculations seemed incredibly ridiculous and contemptible in the face of Lin's dissipation.
Just then, a cold, electronic voice suddenly rang in her ear.
[Instance 《The Diary》 Normal Clear.]
[Evaluation Grade: D.]
[About to teleport to personal independent space.]
Rate on N.U.
