"Cough cough..."

Intense pain mixed with agony surged from my left hand, and the flow of fresh blood was unstoppable like a burst dam.

"My friend... Bai Yifei..."

The world has been invaded by rain for over a month now. The desert, once so dry that even sweat evaporated, is now only filled with the cold wind raging through the wasteland, as if narrating the final chapter of life.

That person once told me that we had an irreconcilable feud with a mysterious tribe on the other side of the continent, and those people would never give us a friendly face.

"But what I want to say is... you're wrong!!" I called out as loud as I could, trying to bury my tears with the rain.

My friend, the one who accompanied me through hardships and difficulties, the hero who never gave up on his inner desires and pursuits.

In this month, we tried to contact each other, struggled to communicate, ate tasteless meals together, and endured the whip together.

"You know, I was born in a very poor family. Those people refused to give us even the supplies, causing my mother and my sister Yuxin to die in the great famine."

Every time he spoke about this, Yifei would choke up a bit, then rubbed his dirty sleeve against his eyes to wipe away the tears.

"But those truly wealthy bosses don't value food as the precious nutrient for life, they waste it recklessly."

As he approached the age of forty, he slowly wiped away the scattered sweat on his big beard with his fingers, due to excessive fatigue: "Juxi, you never truly understand the meaning of life, which is to use your own nose to breathe the air that belongs to you."

Distance is a pronoun of distance; the distance between us has widened since a hundred years ago.

Remember when we met after a duel... It was a battle that belonged to men, and at that time, I could sense that our partnership was the best... and also the last time.

(A month ago)

"Juxi, I've already prepared the clothes for you to change!"

Yuxiang smiled mischievously and gave me a slap on the back while I was arranging data on the computer in the room. Startled, I jumped up from the chair, slipped, and fell on my back.

Startled by my cold sweat, I couldn't resist her laughing face. I sighed exhaustedly, "You always treat me hot and cold like a boyfriend, it really feels like being a backup."

"Haha, look at you..."

"White... still look childish?"

Hearing me say that, Yuxiang noticed that my gaze seemed to be fixed on a certain place beneath her swaying skirt...

"Where are you staring?!" Yuxiang's face, as white as jade, immediately turned crimson, and she roared, "Be careful, I'll cast the memory reset spell on you, so... quickly forget it~!!"

"Ah-whoa!!"

"Ah-la-la, this family is worse than animals. They like to abuse pet dogs every day."

The neighboring aunties once again blocked my doorstep. Ai~!

Why did I say 'again'?

"Ah, Juxi, it's so hard to raise a pet dog..."

"That's not it~!!"

Yuxiang, really, attracted a group of non-mainstream people to come and play with my doorbell early in the morning. Even if these neighboring 'ajummas' were reborn, they wouldn't let me go. In this apartment, they are regarded as influential figures even in the neighborhood, nicknamed 'Gossip Central.'

"Alright, aunties, there's really nothing wrong. The scream earlier was me accidentally burning my hand with a microwave!"

With a cute (pitiful) expression in my eyes, I looked at the aunties, hoping they would have some sympathy. Sure enough... each and every one of them couldn't help but feel sorry for me, asking me this and that, treating me as if I were their own grandson."It's okay, bye-bye!"

The group of old bird people at the entrance seems even scarier than before. Wait, it seems like someone is moving in next door today. Anyway, I should go and greet her.

I picked up several bags of fruit that I had prepared in advance and rang the doorbell. "Ding dong~!"

"Coming, who is it?" came the voice of a girl from the other side of the door. It sounded somewhat familiar.

"It's me, Tsubaki Juxi, your neighbor!" I replied. In my mind, I thought she probably mistook me for a bad guy.

"Is that so? Sorry, please wait a moment, I'm looking for my student ID!"

Student ID? Is she really a high school student? The thought of a pure-hearted older sister started to occupy my mind... A high school girl at home in her innocent casual clothes (unlike the non-mainstream one in my house) was so pure and charming. And then, a romantic story between me and the girl next door unfolded.

"It could also be a dinosaur!"

Out of a male instinct, I immediately shut down the floating thoughts in my mind and silently prayed, "Please don't let it be a big dinosaur or something..."

"Oh, sorry to bother you... uh?"

The door opened, and a pleasant voice reached my ears. Slowly, I opened my tightly closed eyes.

"You are... Yu Nai!?"

The first impression the girl who opened the door gave me was her dazzling golden hair under the corridor lights.

"Do we know each other... huh!! You are..."

"I am?"

I widened my eyes and pointed to my face to indicate to her, what about me?

"Oh~!"

Yu Nai squeezed her eyebrows as if she finally understood, with a touch of anger. "You're that perverted guy who caused a disturbance in my family's bookstore last time!"

"No, no, it's because your family's bookstore is... uh, extraordinary and elegant! It's just that I couldn't appreciate it at that time." I quickly changed gears, "I'm sorry, it was just my lack of understanding."

Seeing me apologize so embarrassingly, Yu Nai had no reason to continue pestering me. So, with rare shyness, she pursed her pink crystal-like lips and her voice became hesitant.

"Since you seem to be an honest person, I'll forgive you for insulting my family's bookstore... um, standing outside and all, why don't you come in first?"