TIMO - Chapter 31
Chapter 31
This was indeed originally a farewell gift.
At least, that's what Fu Zhao was thinking when the idea to make this gift first came to her.
Shi Nan had said that hearing her pulse would put her at ease.
Although she didn't know if this sense of peace would be temporary or permanent. But at the time, she already felt guilty about what had happened to Shi Nan. She had thought of many ways to leave the sound of her pulse with Shi Nan.
Even if Shi Nan were to leave Nanke Island later.
Even if they were to break off their engagement.
How could she possibly make up for the mistake of causing Shi Nan to suffer and have constant nightmares because of her? What she wanted to do was ensure that Shi Nan wouldn't be haunted by this incident in the future.
So, she had carefully prepared this "farewell gift."
But now, she found herself wishing it wasn't a farewell gift.
Her thoughts kept changing. It was really strange.
But Shi Nan didn't know about her strange thoughts. She just stared blankly, placing her hand gently on the pillow. The light in her eyes rippled along with the pillow's pulsing frequency, as if she were quietly feeling the pulse within.
The feeling was strange, because from now on, Shi Nan could detect her pulse frequency at any time, like a real-time lie detector.
Especially since Fu Zhao's mind was filled with too many strange thoughts, messing up her heartbeat.
As a result, the pulsing on the pillow, which came from her real-time pulse, became visibly erratic.
"Okay!"
Fu Zhao hurriedly turned off the real-time pulse on her smartwatch. Only after the rapidly beating "pulse pillow" quieted down did she breathe a sigh of relief. "You don't need to turn it on now. It's not bedtime, after all, and I'm right here beside you, standing perfectly fine. We don't need to rely on any external objects."
"From now on, just turn it on when you're sleeping. Otherwise, leaving it on all the time is indeed a bit strange."
After this long speech, her mouth was dry, and she grabbed her water bottle to finish the remaining water. But her drumming heart still hadn't calmed down, especially in the quiet rehearsal room.
Shi Nan didn't speak, and her breathing was exceptionally light.
Thus, it seemed as if the only sounds in the air were their two deliberately slowed breaths.
Fu Zhao cleared her throat, and just as she was about to speak, Shi Nan beat her to it.
"Then, can I turn it on when I need you?" Shi Nan turned to the side and looked over, her eyes filled with the bright moonlight from outside as she spoke softly. "When I want to hear your pulse, can I turn it on?"
"When I miss you, can I turn it on?"
Shi Nan asked "can I turn it on" three times in a row.
Shi Nan said, "I miss you."
"I miss you" is a sentence full of emotion, but this emotion doesn't just come from romantic love; it can also come from friendship and family. It was reasonable for Shi Nan to say this to her, an old classmate they were about to part ways with.
After tomorrow, they would have nothing left to do together, no essential, justifiable interactions or activities. All connections between them, aside from "breaking the engagement," would dissolve.
They should have said a proper goodbye and discussed breaking the engagement, but neither of them had brought it up.
But at this critical juncture, Shi Nan's "when I miss you" had retied the bond they were about to sever, and tied it even tighter than before.
A bond tied by mutual feelings would be much tighter than one tied by an objective condition like "band practice." All her previous worries, frustrations, and sadness were smoothed away in this moment by Shi Nan's light and airy "I miss you."
Fu Zhao quietly held her breath, a faint curve appearing on her lips. "You can."
"Whether you need me, or you want to hear my pulse, or... you miss me."
"As long as you need it, you can turn it on."
"Shi Nan, this was originally meant to be a farewell gift for when you leave Nanke Island. I thought that once the band stuff was over, you would have been on Nanke Island for about a month, and according to... according to your original plan, you'd probably be leaving soon."
"So I prepared this simulator, hoping that after you leave Nanke Island, you can sleep well and soundly, stop having nightmares, and forget this unpleasant incident. After all, it happened on Nanke Island, and I was the cause, so I should ensure you leave unharmed. That's my responsibility."
"What about now?" Shi Nan's lips quirked. "So what kind of gift is it now?"
Shi Nan was always so direct, shattering Fu Zhao's long, roundabout explanation and getting straight to the heart of the matter.
Fu Zhao took a deep breath to calm herself. After a long silence, her lips finally moved. "Now, if it's possible..."
"I also hope this isn't a farewell gift-"
"And it's not an apology gift either." Shi Nan interrupted Fu Zhao, put down the object in her hands, and leaned over. She cupped Fu Zhao's cheeks in her palms, the soft, warm touch making her unable to resist squeezing gently, squishing Fu Zhao's fair, tender face into a ball.
All her features were scrunched together, looking chubby.
She curled her lips into a smile, but in the next second, her expression turned serious. "Fu Zhao, listen to me. That incident... you weren't the cause. I can only blame that fugitive, not you. It has nothing to do with you. You don't need to blame yourself, and you're not allowed to associate that incident with yourself."
"In short, I need you, and not just because of this."
"If you say this is an apology gift, then I won't accept it."
Fu Zhao froze, then blinked as she processed this. Her entire face was being held in Shi Nan's palms, kneaded back and forth. Shi Nan's slightly cool palms didn't cool her down at all; instead, the temperature of her face began to skyrocket, becoming alarmingly hot.
"...It's not an apology gift."
"I can't really say what kind of gift it is either..." Fu Zhao's gaze fell on the slight tremble in Shi Nan's eyes, and with great difficulty, she managed to say what she wanted to say. "But I just hope that you won't be afraid because of this incident anymore. No matter where you are, someone will always be with you."
"Although it sounds a bit strange to say it... I can probably only phrase it like this."
"I will always be with you, in this way."
The pressure on her cheeks suddenly eased. Fu Zhao watched Shi Nan release her hands, watched her eyelashes lower slightly, watched the light in her eyes become watery, and heard her ask softly,
"Do you promise, Fu Zhao?"
Fu Zhao also unconsciously softened her voice and nodded slightly.
"Yes, I promise."
Kong Weiyan had made the closing ceremony very grand.
A fireworks festival, a lantern fair, a street parade, a closing ceremony gala... not a single thing was missing. All of Nanke Island was brightly lit, bustling with excitement and a kaleidoscope of colors, looking even more lively than on the day of the opening ceremony.
According to Kong Weiyan, an end signifies a beginning, so naturally, it had to be even more festive.
The streets were bustling, and the people's excitement and enthusiasm were no less than during the Flower Throwing Ceremony. A gentle breeze blew, fireworks bloomed across the sky, crowds paraded, and a profusion of flowers danced and swayed in the air.
Fu Zhao should have been a little nervous, but when she stood on the rooftop and saw such a scene, the nervousness in her heart somehow dissipated.
In its place was a sense of familiarity that came from nowhere.
Maybe it was because this time it was a band, not just her alone.
Maybe it was because the place she was standing was the hometown where the original host had lived for many years.
Maybe it was because the crowd's emotions had infected her.
Nanke Island, with the fugitive gone, looked so incredibly beautiful. She couldn't help but think this, and she couldn't help but feel an inexplicable attachment to this place.
"Why did you run off here all by yourself? Hmm?"
A voice sounded from behind her-familiar, gentle, like the wind and rain.
Soon, the owner of the voice walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with her, looking down at the colorful parade below from the same angle.
"Mm, the closing ceremony is certainly more lively. The atmosphere is great."
Hearing this, Fu Zhao turned her head to look at Shi Nan, who had come to stand beside her. A white blouse and a denim half-skirt, narrow shoulders and a slender waist. Her hair was curled into a meticulous style, her eye makeup was delicate and charming, and her lip color was striking and alluring.
Her side-parted hair rested fluffily and naturally on her shoulders. The wind had stolen a few strands, laying them across the exposed, fair skin of her collarbone. It was clearly random, yet it looked like a deliberate design.
Beautiful and dazzling.
She couldn't help but steal a few more glances before retracting her gaze as if burned, turning instead to look at the parade below. "It looks like Kong Weiyan really did a good job planning this."
"I just heard downstairs that the fundraising ceremony during the parade was your idea. And the Island Master even decided to donate 30% of her property income." Shi Nan glanced over, looking quite pleased, a smile playing on her lips.
The closing ceremony was only a month after the opening ceremony.
But the Shi Nan on the day of the closing ceremony seemed much more cheerful and relaxed than the Shi Nan on the day of the opening ceremony.
Thinking of this, Fu Zhao couldn't help but feel happy for Shi Nan and smiled as well. "Yes, it's being donated to the Federation's Omega Rescue Center. I specifically looked into this organization; it's not the type to embezzle funds. Last year, they rescued a total of 134,456 Omegas across the galaxy, and they have channels for donors to follow up on the situations of those they've helped..."
"Oh, right, I heard you used to be a volunteer at this organization too? You probably know more about it than I do..."
When Fu Zhao said these things, it wasn't with a condescending tone, but in a way that made people feel her empathy.
Shi Nan couldn't help but think of Nanke Island's "Ten Standards of Alpha Virtue," and how she had seen little difference between the three ABO genders on the island.
A place like Nanke Island was a unique existence in the entire galaxy.
A person like Fu Zhao, regardless of her gender, was also a unique existence.
Despite not being an Omega, but a Beta who seemed unrelated to AO rights, she would set aside her own gender and think from the perspective of the seemingly "weaker" Omega gender.
This was very rare, even for many Omegas.
What's more, Fu Zhao was a Beta. To be able to think of this aspect and take this stance already made her more outstanding than many others. Even if her ideas hadn't yet risen to the level of equal rights, Fu Zhao was already using her own strength to contend with this not-so-fair world.
But what if Fu Zhao were an Alpha? If Fu Zhao were a beneficiary of the physiological structure, would she still think and act this way?
Shi Nan suddenly thought of this question, but she had the answer in the very next second.
She would.
It had nothing to do with gender. It was simply because the Fu Zhao she saw had always been like this.
Warm, gentle, sunny, passionate...
All the adjectives in the world related to beauty and goodness would make her think of Fu Zhao.
She regretted a little not having seen this side of Fu Zhao sooner.
It was as if her past self had never known Fu Zhao at all, which made her feel it was a pity she hadn't gotten to know Fu Zhao earlier.
Shi Nan listened quietly as Fu Zhao spoke, occasionally offering her own opinions to add to the conversation. After Fu Zhao finished, she timely brought up tonight's performance. "In a bit, you'll be on stage, having the results of the Little Island Master's practice inspected by all the residents of Nanke Island. Are you nervous?"
She deliberately used the title "Little Island Master."
Fu Zhao caught on and glanced lightly at Shi Nan. "Not nervous."
"What about you? The Little Island Master's fiancée, are you nervous?" she retorted calmly, giving her a taste of her own medicine.
Shi Nan probably hadn't expected her to bring up the "fiancée" matter proactively. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but it was quickly suppressed, replaced by a sly smile. "Not nervous. After all, the Little Island Master yesterday..."
She paused deliberately, reaching out to gently brush a stray strand of hair from beside Fu Zhao's ear, her eyes bright.
"Even went out of her way to give me an engagement gift to soothe me. How could I be nervous?"
And so, the pulse pillow, which was neither an apology gift nor a farewell gift, was given the title of "engagement gift" by Shi Nan.
Fu Zhao was defeated, her cheeks starting to burn. "It's not..."
"Who says it's not?"
Before Fu Zhao could answer, Shi Nan cut off her denial. Her fingertips slid down from Fu Zhao's hair, stopping at the base of her ear. She pinched Fu Zhao's ear and said fiercely, "As long as we're engaged, it's an engagement gift."
"You can't deny that."
The meaning of this sentence was that regardless of whether they broke off the engagement or not, they should give each other engagement gifts.
Fu Zhao understood and held out her hand frankly. "Then where's mine?"
"I've already given you two gifts, and it seems you haven't given me a single one." She was referring to the watch and the pulse pillow.
"Who says I haven't given you anything?"
Shi Nan raised an eyebrow. "Those pottery pieces were handmade by me. Don't they count?"
"They don't count." Fu Zhao's expression didn't change, her heart didn't skip a beat. "It wasn't just for me. You clearly gave them to Mother, Jiang Wenqing, Ye Er, and Kong Weiyan too. What kind of engagement gift is shared with so many other people?"
"Silly~~"
Shi Nan released Fu Zhao's reddened ear, her eyelashes fluttering. Her tone was tender. "I was doing that to win over the others."
This should have been a joke.
This was definitely a joke.
But Fu Zhao always felt that Shi Nan was especially serious when she joked. She replied awkwardly, "For an engagement gift, you only need to win me over. You don't need to win over anyone else."
But she regretted it as soon as she said it and immediately changed the subject. "Alright, the closing ceremony is about to start. We should go down."
She turned around, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
With a smack, the sound of palm meeting wrist echoed.
A familiar position, a familiar touch and warmth.
Accompanied by the warm rooftop breeze and her gradually accelerating heartbeat, Shi Nan spoke softly from behind her.
"Then if I start trying to win you over now, is it still too late?"
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment