They would face the final challenge.

 

Second floor? Xing Ye thought of the ten doors on the second floor of the cemetery world—this was not what he wanted.

Since he had decided to challenge the final stage, he would never stop at the second floor. Xing Ye’s goal was to ascend to the third floor!

“Additionally,” the black-and-white cube suddenly said, “Lu Mingze and player Xing Ye have unlocked the titles ‘Love stronger than gold” and ‘Steady until death ’. With these titles, when a Fate-following item achieves a Perfect Victory together with a Fate-Defying player, it may also receive random rewards. Fate-following item Lu Mingze still has three unused ‘Repainting Brush’ in the Train World. The system will convert these three opportunities into QR-code rewards. Lu Mingze may choose three QR codes recorded by the ‘Eye of Truth’ and add them to his item panel.”

Lu Mingze asked happily, “Does that mean I can have QR codes too? Will their effects be halved after repainting, or will they be identical to the original ones? Do they have to be used in the next world, or can they be used anytime?”

“They are identical to the original QR codes. They are your own QR codes—so long as you are inside a game world, you may use them,” the black-and-white cube replied simply.

“That’s great!” Lu Mingze said cheerfully.

Xing Ye sighed and said, “If I’d known there would be such a reward, I would have let you use the ‘Repainting Brush’ less.”

Back in the Train World, the prompt Lu Mingze received stated that it could only be used ten times and only within the Train World. Thus, the two of them adopted the mindset of “if it’s free, might as well use it”, and ended up using almost all of Lu Mingze’s remaining charges.

Xing Ye had actually considered saving some uses, but judging from how stingy the system usually was, he believed it would never help Lu Mingze retain his abilities. Therefore, he did not stop Lu Mingze from using the “Repainting Brush” in battle.

Who would have thought that this time the system would suffer a major loss, directly gifting Lu Mingze three QR codes and even allowing him to choose freely.

Xing Ye had memorized many QR codes, all of which Lu Mingze could reproduce through the “Eye of Truth.” After a long discussion, the two carefully selected three QR codes to become Lu Mingze’s rewards.

After receiving the rewards, Lu Mingze happily thanked the black-and-white cube, and the two returned to the real world.

Before entering the game, Lu Mingze had been outside the mirror, his arm still hooked around Xing Ye’s arm. Upon returning to the real world, they naturally maintained the same posture.

The Train World lasted only ten hours, yet it felt extraordinarily long. Xing Ye held Lu Mingze in his arms as they lay on the bed and said wearily, “I’m really tired.”

Lu Mingze left the mirror at midnight. Every day, he could leave the mirror freely for two hours. Xing Ye had entered the game at 1:30 a.m., so Lu Mingze still had half an hour of activity time left.

He tucked the blanket around them, leaned against Xing Ye, closed his eyes, and held Xing Ye’s hand as he said, “If you’re tired, go to sleep quickly. That way, I can fall asleep in your arms.”

Xing Ye looked at him for a while, gently patted Lu Mingze’s shoulder with his other hand, and the little beauty in his arms soon fell asleep.

Xing Ye couldn’t bear to sleep. He kept watching him and stubbornly waited until Lu Mingze returned to the mirrored phone case. Only then did he place the phone case beside his pillow, close his eyes, and fall asleep.

***

The next day, Xing Ye unusually slept in, waking up at 8:30 a.m. When he opened his eyes, he saw at a glance that the tiny figure in the phone case by his pillow was still sleeping with eyes closed. Not wanting to wake him, Xing Ye closed his eyes again and lay there a while longer.

A project from a few days earlier had finally made progress, and Xing Ye’s workload had not been as heavy lately. He had long decided to give himself one or two days off to properly spend time with Lu Mingze.

Today was his rest day; there was no rush for time, so he could accompany Lu Mingze in bed a bit longer.

Lu Mingze must truly have been exhausted in the Train World. During the battle-royale process, he had been running back and forth between mirrors in different carriages just to search for the hunter’s whereabouts. He also assisted Xing Ye in battle, using “Unparalleled Beauty”, “Eye of Truth,” and “Repainting Brush” multiple times, and finally used “Turning Misfortune into Blessing” before clearing the stage. The MVP of this battle was undoubtedly Lu Mingze. (NT: MVP: Most Valuable Player)

Xing Ye was also somewhat fatigued, and unwilling to wake Lu Mingze, he ended up falling asleep again.

When he opened his eyes once more, it was already noon. Lu Mingze was awake too, rubbing his eyes.

“Mm?” A somewhat lazy voice came from the mirror. “It’s already so late—why didn’t you wake me?”

“Sleep a little longer,” Xing Ye said as he got up. “I’ll go wash up. Think about what you want to eat later.”

Seeing Xing Ye get out of bed, Lu Mingze blushed a little and thought, “After I recover my body, I definitely need to keep some distance from Xing Ye at first. Otherwise, this is really moving too fast—Dad and Mom wouldn’t be able to accept it.”

“I think so too,” Xing Ye thought while brushing his teeth. “Right now, we’re still in this human-and-phone-case mode of interaction, and we haven’t tried direct contact between two people yet. There will still be an adjustment period. I’ll work hard to pursue you and make you accept me as soon as possible.”

“Ah!” Lu Mingze covered his head and said, “Why are you eavesdropping on my thoughts again?”

Xing Ye walked out of the bathroom holding his toothbrush and explained innocently, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. The voice just automatically sounded in my head.”

Lu Mingze: “……”

This was far too inconvenient. Even if he liked Xing Ye as well, he still needed personal privacy. Even couples who had lived together for decades would probably argue if they could hear everything in each other’s minds.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “You should hurry up and dislike me a bit—lower the intimacy level to 99. Once we enter the game world, we can raise our affection again. That way, we won’t hear each other’s inner thoughts anymore.”

Xing Ye: “……”

Xing Ye also felt helpless. Affection levels were not something that reason alone could restrain. So he thought in his mind, “I can’t like you even a fraction less… maybe you should dislike me a bit.”

Lu Mingze huffed angrily, “This afternoon, take me to the sanatorium so I can look at my own face a bit longer. Then I’ll be able to like you a little less—after all, I’m the best-looking one!”

“Alright,” Xing Ye said, “I think that’s the best solution.”

After finishing a big meal, the two went to the sanatorium. Xing Ye visited Lu Mingze’s mother, who was also there, then placed the phone directly facing Lu Mingze’s body so that the little mirror could see his own face.

Since Lu Mingze had been able to eat, sleep, and do rehabilitation exercises, his body grew healthier day by day. His previously pale face now had colour, looking even better than when Xing Ye first saw him at the sanatorium.

Lu Mingze rested his chin on his hand and looked at his own face, sighing long, “I really am handsome.”

“I think so too,” Xing Ye agreed in Lu Mingze’s mind.

“Huh? I’ve been looking at myself for so long, and the intimacy level is still 100?” Lu Mingze said in confusion. “Could it be that I like you more than myself? That’s impossible!”

He looked at his own face, then at Xing Ye’s. Perhaps in a lover’s eyes, one sees a Xi Shi (NT: idiom, Xi Shi was one of the four famous historical beauties); Lu Mingze actually felt that Xing Ye’s handsomeness was comparable to his own. No, it should be said that Xing Ye was handsome, but still within a normal range. That he seemed equal to Lu Mingze was due to the combination of his intelligence and aura, which made him appear very attractive.

Lu Mingze looked left and right at his own body for several hours, yet the intimacy level did not decrease. He felt flustered and didn’t know what to do.

Sensing his emotions, Xing Ye said to him, “I believe that when a person can love another wholeheartedly, it precisely shows that he also loves himself in the same way.”

“What do you mean?” Lu Mingze tilted his head.

Xing Ye said, “A person must first love himself to be confident. Confidence allows him to love another without reservation, believing that someone as excellent as himself can receive the same love. Those who don’t love themselves usually give love humbly; I cannot judge whether such feelings are right or wrong, but it is difficult for them to receive equal response. In such cases, the intimacy level between two people can never reach 100.

“You love yourself and place me on equal footing with yourself, also trusting that I will reciprocate your feelings. That is why we have reached the realm of “Hearts connected as one”.”

Hearing Xing Ye’s words, Lu Mingze felt slightly better, but still said somewhat unhappily, “I am willing to tell you my thoughts and know that you can guess many things, but when what I say in my heart is heard directly by you, I still feel uncomfortable and deprived of privacy.”

“I understand,” Xing Ye said. “Actually, I also think we would get along better if we cut off telepathy. But the conditions don’t allow it now. Perhaps after I clear the final stage and we leave the game together, this discomfort will disappear.”

“That’s true. We only need to endure these 14 days,” Lu Mingze agreed, “Let’s make a deal: during these 14 days, even if we hear each other’s thoughts, we must pretend not to hear them and wait until the other speaks. Except in special circumstances or when others are present, since if you speak, others can hear it, which wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“Alright.” Seeing Lu Mingze at ease, Xing Ye smiled. “Do you still want to keep looking at your body? If you keep staring, I’ll get jealous—though I don’t know whose vinegar it should be.” (NT: eating vinegar is an idiom meaning being jealous)

Lu Mingze thought for a moment and said, “Hmm… although I still want to look at myself a bit more, since you’re jealous, I’ll reluctantly leave the sanatorium with you. After all, I still have rehab exercises tonight.”

“Can I hold your hand during our walk?” Xing Ye asked.

Lu Mingze said, “Well… that depends on your performance then.”

After bidding farewell to Lu Mingze’s parents, Xing Ye took him home.

Fourteen days—these would be the last days for Xing Ye and the little mirror to spend together. After 14 days, they would face the final challenge.

 

End of volume 8

 

Translator : DarNan