DEG - Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Extra 6
Jiang Xun's birthday was close to the New Year.
The interstellar calendar also had a New Year, and thanks to the presence of the players, it came with more quests and excitement.
Luo Nanqiu was very good at making cakes.
She made Jiang Xun's birthday cake every year.
Today was no exception.
It was just that...
With three Luo Nanqius, Jiang Xun received three cakes.
Even though they were all the same person, the three Nanqius constantly harbored the desire to outdo one another.
The moment Jiang Xun woke up that morning, she was pulled aside by Luo Eighteen.
Luo Eighteen led Jiang Xun through the flowerbeds to a stone bench in the garden. On the table sat a small, exquisite cake.
Luo Eighteen had a sour look on her face, her cheeks puffed out as if she felt wronged about something.
"I just knew she would definitely celebrate your birthday with you tonight," she said.
Celebrating at night was, in fact, a habit for Jiang Xun and Luo Nanqiu. Under the hazy moonlight, the flickering candlelight would illuminate their faces.
Sometimes, the feeling that came from sharing a smile was something the daylight could not replicate.
Luo Eighteen knew very well that she wouldn't have a part to play at night, so...
Ah Xun's first birthday cake of the day had to be from her!!!
Jiang Xun understood her thinking.
At the thought of having to eat three cakes today, Jiang Xun felt her throat inexplicably tighten.
But she didn't dare refuse.
So, under Luo Eighteen's beaming gaze, she ate the small cake, watching as a hint of satisfaction appeared on Luo Nanqiu's face.
They say a day's plan starts in the morning. Perhaps because the morning had been anything but peaceful, by noon, the news of her birthday had already spread across the StarNet.
The players were utterly shocked—because they had only just found out today was Jiang Xun's birthday.
The forums erupted in another firestorm.
【Seriously, Star Battle, do you have any idea what you're doing? Your character's birthday and not a single teaser?? Isn't Jiang Xun your biggest star??】
【Hee hee hee, more sweet moments for us. Regent, try not to be so jealous.】
By now, almost everyone knew that Star Battle was the Regent's Ability.
They also knew the Regent had intentionally hidden Jiang Xun's birthday, but so what?
The Regent wasn't the only person in the world who knew Jiang Xun's birthday.
On the day of her birthday, many of Jiang Xun's old friends posted birthday wishes for her on Starbo.
The players who learned of this scrambled to create tributes, only managing to produce some rough birthday art by the evening.
However, Jiang Xun didn't have time to pay attention to any of this.
She was busy thanking her friends.
Perhaps because this was her first birthday since her return, an unusually large number of people, finding it novel, sent her birthday wishes.
By noon, Jiang Xun was eating her second birthday cake.
It was from Luo Twenty-Five.
Luo Twenty-Five knew her own strengths perfectly well. Even though Jiang Xun was already by her side, in order to compete with Luo Nanqiu for Jiang Xun's attention, she often looked as if she were on the verge of tears.
At noon, she simply gave a light tug on the hem of Jiang Xun's clothes.
"Birthday cake."
"Do you want some?"
She looked at her, full of expectation, terrified of being refused.
After Jiang Xun nodded, she joyfully pulled Jiang Xun by the sleeve down to their basement.
Luo Twenty-Five's cake didn't look as exquisite, and she looked at Jiang Xun with some embarrassment.
"I haven't made one in several years. My cake-making skills have gotten rusty." Luo Nanqiu said this with a helpless smile, as if making casual, self-deprecating small talk.
But Luo Nanqiu had always been proud and arrogant; she would only ever make a cake for Jiang Xun.
Although Jiang Xun knew she was saying it on purpose, she still felt a sense of pity for her.
"But it still tastes wonderful." This wasn't a lie from Jiang Xun.
She even suspected that Luo Nanqiu had intentionally neglected the cake's appearance, pouring all her effort into its flavor instead.
Luo Nanqiu didn't care whether Jiang Xun had seen through her little scheme.
She sat beside Jiang Xun, hugging her arm. Upon hearing those words, her eyes lit up.
"Really?!"
"I'm so glad you like it."
She said.
And based on a comparison with the taste of the morning's cake, Jiang Xun suspected that Luo Twenty-Five had been practicing for a while.
Her strategy was easy enough to guess.
—She didn't want to be the first, nor the last. She wanted to be the one who left the deepest impression on Jiang Xun.
But in truth, every cake had left a deep impression on Jiang Xun.
To think otherwise would affect her recent practice of keeping things balanced between them.
Sure enough, that evening, Jiang Xun ate the cake made by Luo Nanqiu's own hands.
Luo Nanqiu was busy with official duties and didn't have much time to practice making cakes, but the flavor and shape were both excellent.
The candles were lit, their dim, warm glow flickering in the night.
"Ah Xun, do you have a wish?"
Making a wish was also part of the routine, even though Jiang Xun didn't believe from the bottom of her heart that heaven could grant people's wishes.
But she obediently closed her eyes.
She had intended to make a perfunctory wish as she had before, but then she suddenly remembered the countless sleepless nights when Nanqiu would sit by her side, her gaze dark with the fear that she might disappear.
"I want Nanqiu to no longer be sad."
This was truly Jiang Xun's wish.
It was something Jiang Xun felt she could achieve through her own efforts.
But to Luo Nanqiu, this sentence seemed to have unintentionally hit a nerve.
It made her suddenly remember that Jiang Xun's rebirth was a gift from heaven, an existence she could never comprehend.
She didn't know when heaven might take this gift back.
She had once given herself a reason to believe that this Jiang Xun was her Jiang Xun.
At the time, the reason was that Jiang Xun had returned for her First Seven.
The theory was that a day for the gods was a year for mortals, which was why it took Jiang Xun six years to come see her.
But the soul of the deceased can only return to see their family on the day of the First Seven.
For Ah Xun, that meant this single day. Did that mean... that after a year passed, Ah Xun would have to leave again?
This speculation made Luo Nanqiu uneasy. Jiang Xun's rebirth was simply too inexplicable, and Luo Nanqiu had no choice but to research a great deal of Blue Star's rebirth novels and information on the First Seven.
The more she read, the more nervous Luo Nanqiu became.
Because in some materials, a reborn person would disappear after fulfilling their lingering wish.
Some would even disappear simply when their time was up.
So Luo Nanqiu analyzed them one by one.
—First, what was Jiang Xun's lingering wish?
So, she organized a river lantern event before the Lantern Festival.
On the day of the festival, she held Jiang Xun's hand and they walked through streets overflowing with brilliant lights.
Countless players in all sorts of strange outfits moved through the crowd. Jiang Xun and Luo Nanqiu disguised their appearances and hid their names, appearing just like an ordinary pair of civilian NPCs in the interstellar world.
After solving some strange lantern riddles and winning a few lanterns, Luo Nanqiu took Jiang Xun to release them on the river.
A few players were whispering nearby, as if promoting something.
"I heard making a wish at this river is quite effective. It's practically the interstellar Lama Temple."
"For real? Then can I wish to pass the military academy exam next year?"
"...Is that all you can aim for?"
"I heard it's effective," Luo Nanqiu said, her voice a little awkward.
—She really hadn't expected people from Blue Star to promote things this way.
Lama Temple seemed to be a very effective but unresponsive palace on Blue Star.
But she had clearly fulfilled most people's wishes with great precision!
Luo Nanqiu felt a bit indignant and wronged, but she still asked Jiang Xun in a gentle voice, "Ah Xun, do you want to release a river lantern?"
"I heard it's quite effective."
Jiang Xun didn't really mind either way, but if Luo Nanqiu wanted to, she was more than happy to accompany her.
She wrote down her wish with due solemnity and placed it in the river.
But she would never know that the lantern with her wish written on it appeared on Luo Nanqiu's desk the very next day.
A short line of text was written on a white piece of paper.
—I want Nanqiu to no longer be sad.
I will always be by her side.
Luo Nanqiu was silent for a long time. Then, almost unable to restrain herself, she rushed to Jiang Xun's school and pulled her out of class.
She pressed Jiang Xun against a wall, her heart trembling violently, and kissed her with an extraordinary intensity.
It was her.
Ah Xun's lingering attachment was her.
Ah Xun's obsession was to be by her side forever.
Luo Nanqiu couldn't control herself. She lured Jiang Xun to bed again.
But one problem was solved, while another remained.
—If this was the First Seven, did that mean Jiang Xun would only stay with her for a year and then disappear again?
Luo Nanqiu would not have it.
Luo Nanqiu contacted many Taoist priests from Blue Star, but they were all utterly perplexed by Jiang Xun's current state and form of existence.
This didn't seem like the First Seven at all.
So no one could be certain whether Jiang Xun would leave after a year.
It was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over Luo Nanqiu's head, ready to fall the moment the one-year deadline arrived.
Luo Nanqiu was fraught with anxiety.
As the one-year mark drew closer, Luo Nanqiu's anxiety became almost tangible. Her kisses grew more and more intense, as if she were treating each one as the last.
Jiang Xun found it strange, but every time she asked, Luo Nanqiu would only fall silent.
Time never bends to the will of mortals. No matter how much Luo Nanqiu prayed, the final moment of this day arrived.
Luo Nanqiu was watching the clock.
She knew the exact moment Jiang Xun had descended into this world.
Nine in the morning.
So at eight-thirty in the morning, Luo Nanqiu pressed her hand against Jiang Xun's chest, feeling her heartbeat.
Jiang Xun finally received Luo Nanqiu's confession.
"It's almost been a year. Will you leave?"
Jiang Xun: ?
"Why would I leave?"
"They said you came back for the First Seven." Luo Nanqiu lowered her gaze, forcing herself to say the words with a cool demeanor.
After understanding what the First Seven was, Jiang Xun was confused.
"I don't feel like I'm about to dissipate."
But Luo Nanqiu didn't believe her. She just thought Jiang Xun was saying it to reassure her, a lie to put her at ease.
She watched the time tick by, kissing the corner of Jiang Xun's mouth again and again.
"Ah Xun, if you disappear again, that will be the second time you've left me."
Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment before speaking. "First, I don't think I'll disappear. Second, what do you plan to do?"
Luo Nanqiu frowned in distress, but the words that came out were ruthless.
"I will wait for you for another year. During that year, I will search for you everywhere. If you still don't appear after a year..."
"Then I'll ki-"
Jiang Xun covered Luo Nanqiu's mouth, preventing the last word from escaping.
"I won't give you that chance."
Jiang Xun knew that saying things like "trust me" wouldn't work on Luo Nanqiu.
So she watched the time.
She watched the clock's hands slowly move past nine, and let out a breath of relief.
But Luo Nanqiu waited until twelve noon.
She pinched Jiang Xun's cheek and kissed the corner of her mouth, confirming that Jiang Xun was still there, tangible and real.
"See? I told you I wouldn't just disappear." Jiang Xun breathed a sigh of relief along with Luo Nanqiu.
Luo Nanqiu bit down on Jiang Xun's shoulder, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"Thank goodness."
"...Really, thank goodness."
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