Chapter 21.2

Translated by boilpoil Edited by boilpoil

Bai Lianhua stops moving but does not interject. He continues to listen quietly.

This made Jian Yiguang a bit more confident and he continues.

“I still want to be with you. I won’t ask for eternity anymore. I just want us to stay together this life until death does us apart… No. Even in death, I wish we were buried together.”

“Can I?”

“… I’m begging you.”

Since returning to this world, Bai Lianhua had never seen him so miserable before. Not only in appearance, but also in mind.

Bai Lianhua is pale. He does not look physically exhausted, but he is just speaking with a dull expression and gravelly voice. The amount of hope he has placed in his words is evident, though——His mental defence is at its weakest. It has become so fragile that it seems he would collapse completely if Bai Lianhua refused.

The system laments, “and there goes another protagonist… It’s doomed, doomed I say!”

Bai Lianhua “…”

No, wait a second…

Bai Lianhua is suddenly suspicious, “system, did you know this would happen?”

He becomes more and more convinced, “you knew Jian Yiguang would give up, so you’re not worried at all I’ll be trapped in this world and the missions will be left incomplete… You can predict the antagonist’s actions?”

The system speaks in a highfalutin tone, “no no no. I merely have absolute confidence towards the fact that our antagonist will never actually harm you in any way.”

“However ridiculous or inglorious they may make everything sound, but when push comes to shove… Look. They’re getting their faces slapped.”

“It happened Wen Fu, and so it has here to Jian Yiguang.”

Bai Lianhua “???” I actually can’t tell how complicatedly you regard the antagonists. You sound like you’re telling me a good thing, but it also sounds really really like sarcasm?

“System, are you the antagonists’…”

The system blanks out as Bai Lianhua says so, and anxiously asks for a follow-up, “huh? The antagonists’ what?”

“Anti-fan?”

System “…”

Sweet karma, so there will come a day when he is also made speechless by the host.

The system changes the topic and asks a new question, “host, will you accept the antagonist’s request?”

Bai Lianhua doesn’t really understand, “why?”

“It has become apparent that Jian Yiguang is completely incapable of laying his hands on you. As long as he loves you, he will never harm you. This means that Jian Yiguang is no longer able to restrain you, or, the threat that he can impose on you is already at its minimal. This meant that… host, you don’t necessarily have to accept Jian Yiguang’s request to complete your return of white moonlight mission to save the world.”

“Without doing anything you’ve already managed to put a tight leash on Jian Yiguang… You’ll be able to sleep your way to victory in this world, even. And as long as Jian Yiguang is no longer a threat to the world from now on, when he passes away, host, your mission will be automatically complete.”

Bai Lianhua “???” Hold your horses there system, are you for real? Are you really urging me to ungratefully take his acquiescence hostage? To put the emotionally collapsing antagonist aside and ignore him?

System, you’re even more of a scum than I thought…

Now he really doesn’t understand how the system regards the antagonists. Maybe he can drop the ‘fan’ out of ‘anti-fan’? How quickly one’s loyalty decreases.

Compared to this, maybe the system isn’t actually playing tricks with him. Or rather, he’s practically acting like a true fan of a celebrity to him.

Bai Lianhua sighs, “I don’t think I can just leave Jian Yiguang alone. He’s the antagonist I’ve decided to save with my two hands. Leaving him alone like this makes me feel uncomfortable to see.”

“You’ve sealed my emotions towards Wen Fu in the last world, so I don’t have a reference to tell if my feeling towards him is love.”

“But at least, Jian Yiguang is not just another person in my mind.”

While Bai Lianhua is chatting with the system inside, he’s continued staring at our antagonist. After noticing his gaze, Jian Yiguang has already let go of Bai Lianhua’s hand unconsciously.

——Jian Yiguang almost forgot that Bai Lianhua often didn’t like having physical contact with others. In fact, he hugging him back then is already quite exceptional.

Bai Lianhua takes Jian Yiguang’s hand into his palm before Jian Yiguang has retracted his hand completely, however.

“I don’t know how I feel about you.”

“Perhaps, like you said, my heart is different from others… But at least, in this world, you’re the most special existence to me.”

“I’m not sure if I want to fall in love with you, but I know, if you need me, I’ll be able to stay together by your side, accompany you until the day we pass away.”

“I can promise that this time I will never suddenly go away again.”

The system sighs in relief in secret, “I’m relieved seeing you treat the antagonist this way.”

Bai Lianhua didn’t catch that as he’s completely focused on Jian Yiguang, “did you say something?”

“No. I didn’t say anything.”

…

Jian Yiguang completely stops his plan after that day.

Those things that are prepared for faking their death is now useless. And he even wants to destroy all the data related to that research, but Bai Lianhua stops him.

He thinks Jian Yiguang has spent so much time and effort to research these. It’s too much of a waste to throw it away, and it’s unnecessary too. They can definitely divide the useful parts inside it into different parts and contribute them later with some appropriate excuse. They’ll not only be more scientific achievement, but potentially be able to play some greater role in whatever field in the future.

Jian Yiguang is convinced, or rather, as long as Bai Lianhua is the one saying it, he’ll be listening.

That topic of ‘achieving invisibility with psychic power’ that Jian Yiguang only took casually is seriously looked into by the both of them this time.

A Jian Yiguang that is no longer dilly-dallying is exceptionally powerful. He really produces relevant results in a short period of time.

Therefore Bai Lianhua is also free of his participant identity, and acquires a new one.

——Thanks to Jian Yiguang’s research report, his appearance that shocked the world previously is, as Bai Lianhua hoped, explained by the contents of this paper… So then when others speak of him they’ll at most be impressed at him having mastered invisibility without prior experience instead of being gawked at like a rare animal.

Especially so when in the latter stages of this research project he’s not only the participant but also acted as the assistant researcher of Jian Yiguang… Thanks to his SS+ psychic strength, he can pick up knowledge quite quickly.

With Jian Yiguang’s help, they vagued their way out of Bai Lianhua’s identity problem as a missing person. Bai Lianhua also gets a not-insignificant amount of remuneration from the institute and is also exempted from the usual procedures and directly lands himself a job as an associate researcher in the institute under the direct supervision of Jian Yiguang.

Bai Lianhua is quite emotional because after all these twists and turns he’s gone back to being part of the institute, but everything is also somehow different fundamentally.

Different from the shocking news report of which he is the subject before, this time the scientific result is announced through formal channels with the information on them. And because Jian Yiguang is involved, Bai Lianhua’s appearance and name are also broadcasted repeatedly. He’s become somewhat well-known as well for now.

In an undeveloped planet far from the capital planet, the owner of a small restaurant is currently tuning the signal of his 3D holographic projector.

Their planet is developing relatively slowly. The celestial Internet is not particularly widespread because of the high price of the connection pod and headset. People are still curious as ever about news from the outside though, so for small shops like these, a good way to gain customers is to set up a 3D holographic projector that relays trending news from the celestial Internet.

Maybe a customer would choose your shop over another just because there’s this one extra service available. Over time, they might become regulars too.

It can’t be helped that they’re this calculating when doing business in an undeveloped planet.

The owner’s surname is Qi. He’s thinking about what content to play on the screen when he sees there’s some new information on Jian Yiguang.

Jian Yiguang, huh… As if guided by the hand of fate, he clicks into it for details.

Though, besides Jian Yiguang, he can see another familiar face.

And the name… Bai Lianhua, isn’t him that associate researcher that’s suddenly disappeared before?

——Yes, the owner Qi of this restaurant is also a former member of the institute.

He was not the one with the main responsibility for the project back then. He wasn’t even in charge of most of the experiments of Jian Yiguang, so he got off lightly, and just got laid off from the institute.

Though, afterwards, when he tried to find another job in other private research laboratories, due to his résumé which necessarily involved him having been involved with the institute and was part of the research against Jian Yiguang, none of them wanted him.

Jian Yiguang has risen so quickly through the ranks and was already a target of adoration then. Those who had experimented on him without restraint had also become disgraced.

Sometimes, when looking at that person towering above humanity, he starts questioning if such a guy, such a genius that could dazzle the world given a little bit of opportunity, really was the one suffering under their hands back then. He finds it curiously inexplicable when he recalls it himself.

Since he’s seriously unable to find employment, the owner Qi could only leave the field of scientific research, and even leave the capital planet and look for his livelihood in this faraway little planet. His life hasn’t been easy since then.

——Back then, the members of the institute were a hundred percent sure that this associate researcher called Bai Lianhua was an accomplice in Jian Yiguang’s escape, but when Jian Yiguang returned later, there was no news on Bai Lianhua.

They all thought Bai Lianhua may have died in an accident or something… After all these years, though, it sure is unexpected to see this person again by Jian Yiguang’s side.

Owner Qi looks fixedly at the two people that look brilliantly radiant on the screen, hesitating before heaving a heavy sigh. Oh well, he’ll just play this at noon for today. He’s not gonna pick another one.

It’s his humble way of spreading their name on this planet for the two of them… Even if they might not care about this themselves.

…

Jian Yiguang is, on the surface, a good person in every sense of the word his whole life. He’s a national exemplar of one who has rebelled against injustice. He’s adored and his footsteps are followed by everyone.

Nobody knows that Jian Yiguang who is immortalised in textbooks with heaps of praise has ever had the idea to completely wipe the world away.

And Bai Lianhua also enjoyed legendary status for his life as Jian Yiguang’s lifelong research assistant and partner. Whether it’s his dramatic way of entering the eyes of the public at first or his powerful psychic strength that is only second to Jian Yiguang are all often brought up in discussions on him.

In the end, as Jian Yiguang wished, even in the generations to follow, for their successors, they’re also inseparable. When one is mentioned, so is the other.

——Every achievement they’ve made, is celebrated in both their names.

For the first time since he’s started doing missions, Bai Lianhua had finally become famous worldwide.

The system chuckles at him, “host, you’ve basically fulfilled your wish to stop being nobody and shock the whole world.”

Emmmm… It seems so.

But when Bai Lianhua recalls his ridiculous way of appearing in this world, he still wants to beat the system up.

…

On his deathbed, Jian Yiguang left no last words.

He looked at Bai Lianhua as he smiled onwards. He was reluctant when blinking too. His expression was gentle and calm.

Bai Lianhua’s thoughts drifted away as he looked at Jian Yiguang in return.

To be fair, if there hadn’t been those incidents in his life, and take the paranoia out of him, then Jian Yiguang can also be said to be a kind person.

Throughout his life, Jian Yiguang has never asked him “do you love me.” He probably really did feel satisfied with just him by his side.

So Bai Lianhua moves his mouth next to his ear, “I’ll tell you a secret.”

“When we first met, you had just been experimented on, and you were wounded on your head. I was applying medicine to you, but because I was clumsy, and I was afraid I’d make you feel painful, so I asked if it was hurting. The way you looked at me back then… made me think, I want to save you.”

——Even if that wasn’t his mission.

… It was as if a trapped animal saw the light of hope.

The brilliance of that expression back then, is something nobody can be unaffected by.

“I think, that’s the first time I’ve felt my heart skip.”

When Jian Yiguang, with a smile on his face, Bai Lianhua’s hand in his grip, passes away, Bai Lianhua’s mission in this world is also completely over.

The system quickly sends a notification, “return of white moonlight mission progress completed. Congratulations host, you have already evolved from a pure, flawless white lotus into a clear, brilliant white moonlight in this world, to become a white moonlight as soothing as lotuses, to successfully emanate a holy aura that has changed the antagonist and completed the series mission completely in this world. You may now exit this world and enter the next.”

“Important reminder, for the psychological wellbeing of the host, this system will temporarily seal all emotional fluctuations of the host related to the antagonist Jian Yiguang.”

Bai Lianhua again closes his eyes involuntarily.

…

Back in the system space, Bai Lianhua voices his objection.

“I’m not going to say anything about the last world, but what about this one? I don’t think I had a lot of emotional moments. Why did you seal them again without my approval?”

The system sighs slowly, “no, host, even if you didn’t think they were a lot, but over time, when emotions accumulate to a certain point, you’ll not be able to handle it.”

“This is for your own good. A sort of basic protection for the host’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Please understand.”

Bai Lianhua “…”

Hey, what’s up with this serious- and severe-sounding tone.

Where’s that system that liked to appeal with cuteness when he’s doing his white lotus missions? Where has it gone away?

The system speaks in a pretentious tone, “it can’t be helped. Systems will change, you know, when they’ve experienced the ups and downs alongside you, host.”

Bai Lianhua “???”

Read only at Travis Translations