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Chapter 268 - 265: TE - Endless Years (Part 2)

Chapter 268: Chapter 265: TE - Endless Years (Part 2)

Dong Xue once had a dream.

She saw people laughing at her, treating her as an animal beneath them, like the ashes under their feet.

Her secret emotions were ruthlessly exposed, with a pain that tore at flesh and bone.

She became the sheep in the rain.

She was always naive, possessing the sin called "never growing up," bearing the sin of being scolded by her parents.

But there was someone who would forever stand still, waiting for her, like a blue whale sinking with her.

Like the sheep that accompanied her in the rain.

As long as she hugged them, it was as if she had embraced the whole world, her arms seemed able to bear all suffering.

She had once been like a dried-up husk, like a wandering ghost, indulging over and over in the cycle of dreams, reliving the most painful times, unable to walk out.

...In such an unaccommodating world, she underwent an exceedingly long growth.

"People give life to others and then die, yet no one can choose this for themselves," the old lady softly said, "...What influences us more is ourselves—we shall live out this life without regrets."

Amidst the spreading flames, Dong Xue looked up and saw her own face reflecting and dancing in the fiery light on the glass wall.

She stood in place, like a plaster statue, her loud, surging emotions inside her were suppressed into silence, she felt as if a hand was clutching her heart,

In this oppressed "paradise," life was crushed and shattered by the narrow space.

...A world that shouldn’t exist, an illusionary world, bound the students and teachers, and also locked her within.

But now, through the barrier of years, she saw a [future] she had never touched.

Her palm, through a layer of time-stained glass, touched the hand extended by the old lady.

"You clearly once had talent, had the ability, yet you chose to confine yourself at your most brilliant moment," she softly said, "Why bother to find me."

"[But in such a world, you should not remain young forever.]" the old lady softly replied.

Her words carried an especially peaceful emotion, which was calming to hear.

Dong Xue pressed against the glass, as if wanting to crash into the other’s embrace.

The old lady spread her hands.

Like Xia Luoyang once held her, she leaned against her.

Their gazes collided straight on.

Dong Xue’s chest suddenly surged with an intense sense of weightlessness.

Her dress straps trembled with her shaking, the bright red dance skirt clung to her body in the flames, the lace at the hem danced in the fire, and the long tail behind her was like slanted flying flames.

In the burning paradise, tears dissolved into the surging flames.

"Can I still grow up, Xia Luoyang?"

She quietly asked, "...Can I still love you?"

The old lady firmly nodded, then shook her head.

"Love and death are the grandest themes in life—but why should we die for love?" she said gently:

"Dong Xue... [Love] is not an absolute sign of maturity, but rather, it’s about becoming a person."

"No matter what the future holds, it might not be worse than the present... That’s the uncertainty of the future, and that fascinating unknown..."

In a bright blaze, her eyes looked over clearly, beneath heavy wrinkles, like a pair of lakes locking in the deep years.

"Dong Xue, romance, innocence, illusionary emotions... these are all things I cannot abandon—these are all you."

"Whether it’s the brilliance of the pen tip, the inspiration dancing on paper, or the desire to express that comes from the throat... we were never meant to be silent, solitary islands."

"In your eyes."

"There can be the unfairness of facts, there can be grains and vegetables."

"...You never had to become a standardized cog."

"Only by living can rivers flow, and by standing can you see the sky."

"A red umbrella in the rain, a summer classroom, the crowded flow of people on the streets."

"A waterfall plunging, the Gobi flowing under the sunlight, the plains cracking with salt, the hot rivers and mountains of the four seasons."

"...Sooner or later we will see these scenes, become part of ’people’ in them."

"And by that time, whether you sit down, stand up, stay in place, or go against the flow... Whatever you do is fine. You should have been free to choose your own way forward."

"Treat persecution as the injustice of the world, transform speech into a cry for reorganization, you deserve to evolve from a reduced image into an upright individual."

"[We need to actively approach those situations we once avoided in fear, or we will never be able to view everything with tolerance and acceptance.]"

"You are not meant to be a victim, nor will you become an abuser."

"The goodwill flowing through your veins has never been blocked."

"Yet the chains of humanity are never gone, we are destined to dance in shackles."

"Even so, this land will always be worth loving, the world will always be exciting."

"The new will be created, the old can be continued, the rigid will be heated, and our mindset will remain forever young."

"A life that pauses can be reborn."

"For thousands of years, it has been so."

"Crossing the long span of years."

"Through the heat and cold, summer and winter."

"...Because we are ’human’."

"And we must walk to the end freely and with dignity."

...

"Dong Xue."

"I love you."

...

Dong Xue closed her eyes.

The dancing, blood-red dress fluttered behind her, the flames burning bright and resplendent.

Her billowing black hair was dyed a deep red by the dawn-like flames, even her face basked in the light seemed like fine, soft white sand.

The hot air filled her chest as she moved her lips slightly and a tear fell from the corner of her eye.

"Thank you for your love,"

she said softly.

"Listen..."

The old lady’s eyes were closed.

She was smiling, a look of tranquility on her face.

"Dong Xue, can you hear..."

Dong Xue turned her head.

She heard the sound of breaking.

She saw the collapsing nightmare.

The nightmare that was falling apart, disappearing, was the same one that had always tortured her, driven her mad, and kept her bound to conformity.

...It was this paradise, infinitely fused with hell.

She saw the dancing, vibrant flames on the glass walls, like the rosy light of dusk imbued thoroughly red.

She saw the utter absurdity.

The trivialities that branched off broke bit by bit in her eyes, and across the intense flames, she saw a line of small characters on the glass wall, reflecting the sunset sea’s delicate shimmer in the fires.

[Dong Xue.]

[Be yourself.]

[Don’t be afraid.]

She suddenly hooked her fingers as if wishing to break through the glass in front of her.

"— Can I meet you again in the future?" she asked through a sob and then her voice gradually grew into a roar, "Xia Luoyang — can I ever find someone as wonderful as you again?"

The old lady smiled faintly.

The flicker of firelight played in her eyes, which held a deep sense of peace.

She withdrew her hand and turned around.

"...You will become someone as wonderful as me."

She said.

The blackness gradually faded.

The wooden stakes fell, the stairs collapsed.

The girl with flowing black hair stood amidst the raging fire, gazing into the blinding daylight in the distance.

A ray of sunlight slowly fell into her eyes, and as she stared at the empty blaze in front of her, her eyes sore, she suddenly burst into tears.

Like the light steps in the desert, like the stream cutting across the stones.

She had shaken off her old shackles, no longer confined by the fences of reincarnation, and would forever stand independent in spirit.

She became a vividly flowing stream, ready to welcome the freedom named "choice."

Su Ming’an’s consciousness began to settle back.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw himself standing on the top of the roof, with the leaping flames below.

He toggled the system interface and saw his original appearance.

Xia Luoyang’s task was completed.

He too had become himself.

Dong Xue stood beside him.

Her face was wet with tears.

The mottled halo shone on her face, and in those crescent-moon-like eyes, his true form was reflected.

"Su Ming’an," she called his name, "Where are you going?"

"And you?" Su Ming’an said.

"...I still don’t want to grow up," she said.

"Hmm."

"With the constructed Illusion Realm disappearing, I don’t know where I will go," she said.

Su Ming’an turned his head to listen.

"...But I will definitely have a future," she lifted her gaze, looking at him.

In the deep darkness of bygone nights, her stagnant gaze had once struck him like lightning.

But now, amidst the fierce flames, he saw the brilliance in the depths of her eyes.

She would step out of this profound silence.

Walking toward that unknown path ahead, carrying a naive heart, wishing to live forever young.

Dong Xue looked at the environment below.

What she usually looked up to, the nightmare-like White Sand Paradise, was beneath her feet, the material of the rooftop at the peak shimmering like glaze, reflecting the hues of the sunlight.

Through the intense flames, she could see a stream flowing between the trees, full of living water.

Like a river winding through the years.

The sunlight no longer moved, and the shadows of the trees hung still without wind.

In a brilliant interplay of light and shadow, she saw many figures rising gradually from the collapsed buildings.

Youthful, young, and old.

Tall, thin, and short and chubby.

They closed their eyes, their scars fading away.

She saw Flax.

The woman holding a bottle, waving at her.

She also saw Xia Luoyang.

Xia Luoyang was still wrapped in an oversized white coat.

When he saw her, a smile spread across his face.

"Dong Xue," Xia Luoyang said softly, "Congratulations—you’ve saved your former self."

She even saw those white creatures.

The bandages on their bodies burned and fell away, revealing dark shadows one by one.

She heard many whispers in her ear, the voices varied, each from a different person.

"Dear, every time Dad sees this, he remembers what you looked like, as if he could hear your voice... Dad really misses you... Come back soon, okay?"

"These past few years, we’ve all been fond of you, you’re a good child... Come back."

"I really wish my husband were still alive, so I could remarry him..."

"I’ve walked out of the past’s shadows, become a gardener, to save those who were like me."

"I lost my child, but when I returned and destroyed a place like this, they gave me a teddy bear model that weighed the same as my child... I’m still holding it."

...

She heard the gentle and aging voice of Yang Xia—

...

"—Dear, don’t be afraid."

"I love you."

...

"We were never anyone’s shadow, and I will always have the power to choose," she said softly amidst the rising flames, "Thank you, thank you for saving a person like me, time and time again."

"People like you are very good," Su Ming’an said.

Dong Xue smiled.

The firelight outlined her features, and the sunlight dappled her dancing dress, brilliantly refracting into her eyes.

She stood atop the roof, looking at him.

"...I’ve left my mark."

She said softly.

"Yes," Su Ming’an said.

"...I’ve seen her living out her life well," she said.

"Yes."

"...Even though I am but a creation of hers, even though I should not exist," she said:

"But... even when people said she was sick, or said even worse things, she still silently loved me."

"The opinions of others always mattered not to her. Even when sent here, as I accompanied her, and she accompanied me."

"I’ve slowly come to understand, I, who always lived under her protection, would not be able to, far in the distant future, smile and point her out to the person beside me saying."

"Look."

"She’s my favorite person."

Su Ming’an felt a premonition in his heart.

She turned her head.

In those crescent moon-shaped eyes, there was a shattered gleam.

"I will never meet someone as good as her again," she said:

"Not in the future, nor ever."

"This love, uncontainable by the world, and yet she loved me as she did the world, permeating my every being."

"I became the scar within her flesh and blood."

"I originally thought, perhaps one day, she would no longer need me, that I could only watch this love fade away in idle gossip, never to see the light again."

"I could only watch her fall for someone else, slipping away from me, across the distance of a family."

"...I could only watch her from someone else’s photo frame."

"I shall hereafter vanish, spending the rest of my life in silent solitude."

"For this is a love that cannot be accommodated."

"But I, I can no longer fall in love with someone in reality, nor do I have any spare room to love another."

"Be it with the same sex... or from a different dimension... or even a virtual love affair..."

"Escaping reality, entrusting emotions, becoming a pure ideal."

"Nothing in reality can ever take its place."

"Because loving someone is never about casually liking them, it can be joy, cheerfulness, romance, happiness..."

She looked over.

He saw the galaxy flowing in the depths of her eyes as she blinked.

"It can also be despair," she said.

He blinked.

She saw herself beginning to lean forward.

She leaped with all her might.

"Whoosh—"

The flames flickered, the red dress danced in the air.

The warm wind brushed through her hair, and in front of her was a beautiful and intense blaze.

As if shaking off all the shackles on her body, she felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration. The train of her dress trailed behind her like flames, and she was like a star falling from the sky.

Holding onto something ephemeral, she clutched herself tight and plunged into the splendid inferno.

"...I have left traces behind," she said softly.

This was her dream world.

A dream realm that shouldn’t exist, a repeated cycle of reincarnation, an illusionary realm.

And when the Dream Maker dies, the dream world will completely collapse.

The falling snow, Dong Xue, melted into the sea of fire and vanished bit by bit.

Su Ming’an saw the wildly blazing fire before his eyes.

He saw the red glow and the dark corners in his field of vision dissipate like melting ice and snow in that instant.

...And gradually, a completely bright world emerged.

As if fine gleams of light were sparkling before his eyes, he stood amidst the flames, looking at the city lights kindling in the distance.

He didn’t know where Dong Xue had gone, nor did he know if after the collapse of the dream world, she could return to her real world, continue being a little girl who never grows up or simply disappear, merging into the aging Xia Luoyang.

But he saw her gaze.

The gaze she had before she fell, bright and dazzling, he had seen many such gazes before.

It was as if carrying all the goodness in the world, as if all things were reviving and thriving.

The hope in her eyes, like beads of ice, was firm, and when she looked at him, it seemed like a traveler catching a glimpse from across a ship, slowly conveyed through the boundless flames.

As if she had caught a glimpse of the whole world.

...

The sky was growing light.

Her years, perhaps, were still stretching out long.

...

"Dingdong!"

[Congratulations on achieving a Perfect Pass!]

[You’ve achieved the Perfect Pass route · Hidden Line · (TE) Endless Years]

[Route evaluation: SSS (Perfect)!]

[(TE·Endless Years):

"Victims of the times, the growing shadows in the dark, and the mediocre shells that cannot resist."

"Sheep in the rain fall to the ground, as people are pushed forward."

"But remember,"

"The High Tower has never collapsed, you still shine brilliantly, you are still one in a million."

"Your Spirit is filled and plentiful, your Soul independent and autonomous, on this journey, you are full of longing and passion."

"Meaning flickers within ideals, as ideals set sail in the journey."

"You who were born amidst this malice, there are still people who love you."

"To the world that loves you this way, I run barefoot towards you."

"I listen to the hushed whispers within your soul."

"— Please, walk to the very end with freedom and dignity."

...

"My dear,"

"I love you."]

...