novelraw Chapter 340: (Extra 14)
Chapter 340: (Extra 14)
The door closed, and the man embraced her from behind.
A-frame villas didn’t have many doors, and each room’s door was relatively small. This one was on the right side of the wooden staircase, with the north and east walls overlapping with the villa’s exterior walls. The door faced west, and to the south was an interior window looking out into the first-floor living room.
At the moment, the curtain on that window was drawn shut, and with no lights turned on inside, the room felt even dimmer and more shadowed.
After the past two days, the floor heating had been running long enough — thanks to the two generators — to bring up the temperature. Yu Xi had set it to the lowest adjustable setting, but it was still sixteen degrees; the actual indoor temperature felt more like eighteen to twenty.
Compared to the near-freezing weather outside, the inside of the villa was incredibly warm. Indoors, they could get by wearing only spring clothes.
Yu Xi didn’t get cold easily and was wearing even less — just a thin loungewear set. And the way he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her fully into his embrace, let her feel the warmth of his body straight through the fabric.
Yu Xi tried to struggle a little, but her arms and waist were both firmly held by him. His breath hovered right by her ear, like she was some priceless treasure — like he was afraid she’d suddenly disappear, and this was the only way to keep her near.
Yu Xi sighed, a little disappointed. She had actually thought he’d stay distant and aloof from now on. Turns out — just a few days?
That’s it? That’s all it took?
“What are you doing? I’m tired. I was going upstairs to sleep.” “It’s not even eight yet.”
“Well, I’m still tired.” Yu Xi deliberately kept her voice cold, clearly showing she didn’t want to bother with him. But before she finished speaking, her earlobe was suddenly bitten.
He didn’t bite hard, but ears were all soft cartilage — and sensitive. That sudden bite made the back of her neck go numb.
Irritated, Yu Xi turned her head to grab his face, but he took advantage of the moment to spin her around and lower his lips to hers.
Again?
As he pinned her against the wall and kissed her, Yu Xi rolled her eyes.
In the dim room, the man’s eyes were half-lidded during the kiss, his long lashes casting faint shadows. His lips were soft and warm, and the hand gripping her waist was especially tight.
She pushed him a few times, and when it didn’t work, she gave up and let him be.
But when her tongue started going numb from his sucking, she bit his lip — and it worked, making him stop.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” he murmured against her lips, the vibration of his voice brushing between them, lingering and teasing, more seductive than the kiss itself.
“Did what on purpose? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yu Xi narrowed her eyes and stared at his face. Every time they kissed, the corners of his eyes would grow misty, and it always hit a certain spot in her heart, making her want to flip the tables on him.
“Why haven’t you talked to me these past two days?”
“I did. Didn’t you ignore me first?” Yu Xi’s fingertips grazed his Adam’s apple, brushing lightly along his slender neck and collarbone.
All of his attention was drawn to her touch. What looked like casual gestures — only he knew how much they affected him.
His breath faltered, and he nearly kissed her again, but he forced himself to hold back.
He hadn’t pulled her in here just to hug and kiss her.
He did want to talk about Pang Yuqing. He knew she’d gone to the central utility building these past two days trying to meet him, though for some reason they never actually spoke.
He had so many things he wanted to ask, even knowing full well she only retained this world’s memories. Even if he asked, the answer wouldn’t be what he truly wanted.
He was also well aware of the exact time point she had entered — those past connections were just part of the setting.
But even knowing all this, he still felt unsettled. His head understood everything clearly, and yet he still wanted to ask those meaningless questions. He didn’t understand why his emotions were in such chaos.
Even with a powerful spaceship system analyzing everything for him, he still couldn’t figure it out…
And in the end, Xing Min still couldn’t bring himself to ask.
He looked at the slightly youthful face of the girl in his arms. Compared to her real appearance, she looked much younger — by the calendar of G Blue Star, this was how she had looked around seven or eight years ago, back when they first met.
There were some differences, but it still made it easy for him to imagine: what would the real nineteen-year-old Yu Xi be like?
“All done now? If so, I’m going upstairs to sleep.” She no longer had any fear like when she first discovered his abnormality. Mainly, she’d never once felt any threat or harmful intent from him.
More than that, once she got closer, she realized Xing Min was, at his core, a deeply gentle person. Even the two times he couldn’t restrain himself and kissed her, he had never actually hurt her.
In front of her, he was more patient and helpless — like someone completely and hopelessly in love with her.
Yu Xi had tried hard to recall, but she truly didn’t remember ever meeting him before. Was he being this good to her purely because of who she was? Or could it be… had she somehow become a stand-in for another woman?
Yu Xi wasn’t the kind of person who liked making wild guesses, so as soon as the thought occurred to her, she furrowed her brows suspiciously. “Is it that someone you used to love looked a lot like me, and that’s why …”
“It’s only ever been you.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her eyelid gently. “From beginning to end, it’s only ever been you. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
His gaze was so tender and indulgent that Yu Xi almost felt the urge to push him back onto the room’s soft couch, tease him more, and watch him tremble and restrain himself under her touch…
No!
She had to stay clear-headed. They were talking about something important.
“If it’s really me, and only me, then why don’t I remember you at all?”
Xing Min, of course, couldn’t answer that. And because it had been her own request, he couldn’t even give her a reason.
In the end, he could only borrow a common phrase from G Blue Star: “One day, you’ll understand everything.”
Yu Xi: …
Is she seriously getting brushed off with that?
**
Strictly speaking, that day’s conversation didn’t go anywhere. The only outcome was that Yu Xi stopped deliberately ignoring Xing Min.
In the following two days, the stormy weather started showing some pattern: around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, the wind would rise, and heavy rain would follow. It usually poured through the night and gradually lessened after sunrise, stopping completely for an hour or two around noon.
The fuel in the inn had already been heavily used up by the previous freeloaders, but fortunately, everyone’s inflatable boats still had some reserve.
The fuel had been hard-earned; they had braved storms to climb to the rooftop parking lot of the shopping mall, siphoning fuel car by car.
Most of it had been used to run the generators at the mall. Before leaving, they’d taken some for the boats, and because they followed Yu Xi’s more direct route, some was left over.
On top of that, as the innkeeper, Mr. Pang had a couple of secret storage rooms even the staff didn’t know about. There was still some fuel hidden away there, and together, it was enough to keep the central building’s generator running for a while.
Currently, the generator ran three hours a day and was strictly managed, supplying only the most essential needs: heating for the sick, centralized cooking and laundry, and — most importantly — charging phones.
With backup generators powering their phones and battery packs, they were no longer “blind and deaf.”
The internet was barely clinging on. Even though the signal was extremely poor, refreshing the page a few more times could still bring in some outside news.
They learned that this current pattern of rain and breaks was the result of artificial weather intervention. The thick cloud layers covering the planet remained, with some areas still plagued by storm clouds—hence the occasional hurricane and hailstorm.
Those gas mist missiles launched earlier by fighter jets did help scatter the clouds, but such weapons weren’t easy to produce. So the authorities chose their timing carefully, aiming to reduce the rain during daylight hours.
Online and over the radio, there wasn’t much detailed information. Most of it was about supply distribution, rescue efforts, and relocation. As for the actual cause of the disaster — there was little to nothing being said.
It was impossible to tell whether the authorities themselves knew very little… or whether they knew too much, and couldn’t afford to say a word.
If it were the former, that would be fine — but if it were the latter… then no matter how she thought about it, it was unsettling.
Now that the rain pattern during the day had stabilized and usually lightened or stopped, Yu Xi decided to head out. Since they were planning to live here long term and would constantly be seeing the same people, it was better to make some things clear.
For instance, the car, the generator, some repair tools, and the stainless steel shutters and bulletproof glass she intended to use for modifications.
She planned to reduce the size of the large south-facing triangular glass wall by half, and add windows to the two upstairs rooms. That way, she could monitor the west, north, and east sides of the A-frame house.
The windows didn’t need to be large, or even able to open — just the same size as the single-panel ones stored in her spatial storage. Double-paned bulletproof glass with an extra layer of external stainless steel shutters would be both well-insulated and secure.
As for the car, she wanted to do a proper upgrade while making it publicly known. She would mount most of the shutters over the vehicle’s windows for durability and protection.
Before going out, she planned to speak with Mr. Pang and give him a heads-up. At the same time, she also wanted to find Pang Yuqing and resolve the situation between them.
In fact, she’d intended to talk to Pang Yuqing on the first day they arrived. Her willingness to have Xing Min stay in the same house with her and her family already made her position clear.
Whatever her relationship with Xing Min truly was, he was more suitable to be on her side at the moment.
She knew he carried secrets, and she had tacitly acknowledged her own abnormalities to him as well.
Though she still couldn’t trust him like she did Yu Zhenzhen — enough to hand him her full trust and vulnerability — they now shared a certain balance, bonded by their mutual secrecy.
Which made it all the more awkward to keep Pang Yuqing hanging. After all, he had made his stance quite clear when they reunited: he still cared about her, and hoped they would stay together.
But for some reason, although she had tried to find him over the past few days, something always got in the way.
The first couple times, Yu Xi thought it was a coincidence — especially since Pang’s mother had been unwell and resting a lot. But when it happened a third time, she began to suspect otherwise.
So after informing Mr. Pang that she was planning to head out, she directly asked him to help bring Pang Yuqing to her — but asked him not to mention she was the one asking.
She went to wait at the café. A few minutes later, Mr. Pang brought Pang Yuqing over.
Pang Yuqing followed behind his father, thinking there was something important he wanted to discuss — only to see Yu Xi sitting in the café.
His steps faltered, and for a moment he nearly turned and walked out.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mr. Pang noticed something was off and gave a low warning. “You see someone and don’t even say hello before trying to run? What kind of manners is that? Is this what I taught you?”
Pang Yuqing stopped, turned back, and gave Yu Xi a forced smile. “Hey…”
“Hey my ass! She’s the one asking to see you! If you’ve got something to say, say it properly — clear things up with the girl!” Mr. Pang said his piece, then turned and walked off, leaving the space to the two of them.
“Finally got a chance to see you.” Yu Xi smiled and motioned to the seat beside her. “Don’t tell me you’ve been avoiding me on purpose?”
“Of course not!” Pang Yuqing answered quickly, though his steps were slow. It took him a moment to walk over and sit down.
“Good, I’m glad. I’ve actually been looking for you because I have something I want to talk about..” Yu Xi didn’t call him out. She wasn’t sure what had happened over the past few days to make him shift from being overly warm to actively avoiding her. Had he figured out something about her and Xing Min?
Either way, since they had once been close, she wanted to end this properly.
She opened her mouth again. “It’s like this, the two of us …”
“Let’s break up,” Pang Yuqing cut in.
His expression was clearly strained. It looked like it had taken a great deal of effort — and courage — to get those words out.
Courage?
Yu Xi was a little confused. “What?”
“I’m really sorry. I know I just promised you a future a few days ago, but now I really can’t do it. Let’s break up!” Pang Yuqing was clearly nervous — his hands were clenched together so tightly that his knuckles had gone pale.
“I know it’s my fault, but you …”
“No, no, no! How could it be your fault? Of course it’s my problem!” Pang Yuqing interrupted again, looking even more anxious. “I’m the one who wants to break up. The issue is obviously with me!”
Yu Xi looked at the flicker of emotion in his nervous expression. Somehow, he didn’t just seem anxious — he looked… afraid?
Since he’d started, Pang Yuqing didn’t hesitate any longer, deciding to just get it all out in one go: “We haven’t seen each other for so many years. Especially in your third year of high school — we barely messaged each other at all. I really didn’t expect that you’d become … this strong.”
“I still remember how you looked in your first year — so much shorter than me, soft and delicate, couldn’t even open a bottle of water… I didn’t expect that after all this time, you would have grown so much. Now you’re … really strong. Too strong…”
He seemed to have touched on the key point, and his voice trailed off, becoming softer and lower. “But I’m still just so ordinary. I keep feeling like I’m not worthy of you anymore…”
Yu Xi slowly pieced it together. At first, she thought the reason sounded a little over the top, but as Pang Yuqing continued speaking, that odd sense of déjà vu crept over her again.
It felt like … someone had said the exact same thing to her before.
But it wasn’t Pang Yuqing.
Who was it?
It wasn’t Xing Min either.
But someone had definitely said it to her — using the same reason. Saying she’d become too good, too strong, and that they weren’t worthy of her anymore, so they broke up…
What was going on?
Yu Xi felt like something didn’t add up … Was she supposed to be here?
“Yuqing! Yuqing!”
Her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out. The drifting feeling in her mind seemed to suddenly snap back.
It was one of the classmates who had come to the inn with the Pang family. He was poking his head in from the café entrance, clearly there to find Pang Yuqing for something important.
“I should …” Pang Yuqing stood up.
“Go take care of what you need to. I get what you mean.” Yu Xi smiled lightly. “Actually, I came to talk to you today about this exact thing. It’s been years since we last saw each other — everyone’s grown up. I agree there’s no need to hang on to the past. From now on, we’ll just be normal friends.”
Yu Xi didn’t even feel like this was a breakup. It was oddly casual, maybe even a little one-sided. But in her mind, this was how it should be.
As she left the central function building, that earlier feeling of dissonance resurfaced. But no matter how she tried to recall it now, she couldn’t seem to grasp what she had felt at that moment.
**
She left a bottle of [High-Temperature Perfume] for Yu Zhenzhen and taught her how to use it. Then she reminded her to keep the A-frame villa’s glass door tightly shut. If anyone came looking for her, they were to wait until she and Xing Min returned.
It wasn’t that Yu Xi didn’t trust the Pang team — but their house has electricity and underfloor heating. The moment the door opened, others would notice how different the interior felt.
“I’ll be back soon.” She wasn’t really going out to look for supplies — this was just to “legitimize” the existence of the things in her space. Her sister’s car was in too perfect condition; she needed to make its sudden appearance more believable.
“Don’t worry,” Yu Zhenzhen replied. “Your sister isn’t an idiot. If I can’t be useful by going out during this mess, then the only thing I can do is stay home, listen, and not drag anyone down. I won’t open the door for anyone, and even if the rain stops at noon, I won’t take Tianbao outside. We’ll just wait here until you two come back.”
She reached out and gently ruffled her sister’s hair. “Take care of yourself.”
Yu Xi and Xing Min left the homestay a little after 9 a.m. It was still raining, though it had weakened to a steady drizzle.
They each put on rubber boots and waterproof clothing, sling the backpacks over their shoulders, and layered rain ponchos over their gear before setting off on foot from the inn.
After rounding a corner on the high ground where the homestay was located, Yu Xi took out her phone and checked the pre-downloaded navigation map. She first confirmed their exact location, then searched for nearby shops.
Although Qiu Wang Mountain was known as a mountainous scenic area, it was very close to H City and had been thoroughly developed. It wasn’t exactly a remote wilderness. Near several popular scenic spots, there were clusters of supporting businesses.
Most people came to Qiu Wang Mountain for self-driving tours, stopping at scenic spots to explore and often grabbing lunch nearby. At night, they’d find a suitable inn to stay at.
As a result, restaurants and souvenir shops were the most common businesses around the scenic areas, followed by inns and small supermarkets. There were also a few vehicle repair shops and even some gas stations.
The gas stations were off-limits now — since the military had arrived in the area, fuel had become a strictly controlled resource. Those stations were likely guarded, and not somewhere they could operate freely.
But the repair shops were another matter. Unlike gas stations, these were mostly privately owned businesses. The military wouldn’t seize them outright; at most, they might negotiate with the owners to buy large quantities of spare parts, motor oil, or cleaning agents — but they wouldn’t station troops there.
Yu Xi and Xing Min were hoping to find a repair shop with no one guarding it, where they could use their generator for electricity and work on modifying Yu Zhenzhen’s car. Since they had many items to “explain,” Yu Xi also wanted to look for a cargo trailer — something that could be hitched onto the back of the Jeep to carry the materials from her space all at once.
After confirming their first target, they took a turn around the mountain and stopped in a secluded spot near a rock wall. There, Yu Xi brought out Yu Zhenzhen’s car from her space.
The Jeep was in perfect condition, and the rain even washed away the dust on its body. Yu Xi took off her rain poncho and stuffed it back into the space, and said, “You drive,” before quickly hopping into the passenger seat.
Following their plan, they visited two repair shops. One still had someone guarding it, and the other didn’t have the trailer they needed.
It wasn’t until nearly noon that they found what they were looking for at a repair shop built against a mountainside.
Behind the shop loomed a rock wall, and above it was a scenic spot. The surrounding buildings had holes punched into the windows, walls, and roofs—likely caused not only by hail, but also by rocks dislodged by the storm and falling in a “rockslide rain.” The damage had made it uninhabitable, and everyone had long since evacuated.
They found a trailer still attached to the front of a broken-down tractor. The tractor’s cab was badly damaged; the steering wheel was bent out of shape and completely unusable — but the trailer itself had only two damaged railing sections. However, the coupling that connected the trailer to the cab was crushed, making it impossible to detach normally.
Xing Min retrieved a power saw from his space, while Yu Xi set up a generator nearby. Once the saw was connected to power, Xing Min formed a light gold protective visor over his eyes and began cutting.
By midday, the rain had stopped, though heavy clouds still loomed overhead.
The past few days had followed a similar pattern. Even when the rain stopped, the sky remained overcast. But this brief respite was hard-won — carefully bought time, thanks to government intervention.
Many people used this window to head out for supplies or relocate. If they were lucky, the wind and rain wouldn’t return until after 5 p.m., gradually intensifying later in the day.
Yu Xi and Xing Min, though unfazed by the rain, had skipped lunch to make the most of this break. According to plan, they disassembled and attached the trailer, then moved to a half-damaged warehouse next to the repair shop to begin modifying the Jeep with stainless steel louvered panels.
No matter how effective Xing Min’s shields were, as long as there were other people around, using them openly would be limiting.
The louvers were installed on the front and rear windscreens as well as all four side windows. They didn’t need to fit perfectly — just enough to block the glass. They could be opened while driving and closed when parked.
Of course, after installing those heavy louvered panels, the driver’s field of vision would be significantly reduced — but compared to facing another sudden, merciless hailstorm or hurricane, a limited view was a minor concern.
The installation process was time-consuming. She had to sift through her space to find suitable louver panels, attach steel brackets, leave enough clearance to open and close them, and figure out how to set up a control mechanism so they could be operated from inside the vehicle etc…
Seeing that Xing Min was working in an orderly manner, Yu Xi went to the other side of the warehouse to look for more usable car parts.
The accident happened without warning. Just as the first loud crash hit the crumbling warehouse roof, she happened to be standing in an open area without any cover.
The sky darkened instantly. Thick clouds churned in a swirling, spherical formation, and sharp lightning streaked through the dense layers.
A moment later, thunder exploded.
Crack—crack—
Several more impacts followed. The already unstable half-roof ahead of her groaned sharply before collapsing under the weight.
She glanced toward Xing Min on the far side of the warehouse — he had already packed away the car and tools and was racing toward her.
Just as she lifted her foot to run to him, a chunk of hail about the size of two fists slammed down right in front of her. She froze in place.
“Careful …!” he shouted anxiously. But even faster than his voice, a shower of faint golden light shot above her head, blocking the massive hail from striking her.
The golden flecks quickly formed a light shield that descended tightly over her body, wrapping her from head to toe.
Even though she was protected by Xing Min’s shield, Yu Xi still felt the painful impact of the hail. She knew how powerful that force was after being amplified by gravity; without Xing Min’s protection, she would’ve been reduced to a bloody mess.
As he shielded her from the hail, Xing Min rushed toward her, flicking pale golden blades from his fingertips. They shot outward and struck the falling hail, knocking it away to prevent any of it from hitting her.
He soon reached her, gripped her hand tightly, and pulled her toward a half-collapsed steel awning nearby. The frame there could block some of the massive hail, and with the added protection of his shield, they could hold out much longer.
Though this time Xing Min didn’t have to possess a dying person and wasn’t stuck in a weak body like before, the energy he could use was still limited. He couldn’t exceed this world’s natural laws — or the world would reject him.
Yu Xi stared at him blankly, as if falling into a dream.
The sky was just like this — overcast, oppressive, with no sunlight in sight. Cold rain struck her, mixing with blood pooling on the ground.
She remembered the blood was dangerous. She couldn’t touch it. But there was no way out. Every step she took would lead her closer to it.
Her body was heavy, her head ached, and she felt completely drained — as if she’d just done something very important and saved many people.
But now she was trapped in danger. There was no one left to rescue her. She knew she couldn’t collapse — she had to keep going.
She had always been strong-willed and resilient. She believed she could push through.
She drew in a breath, ready to keep going — just like countless times before when she had faced danger alone and could only rely on herself.
But just as she braced herself, a thin veil of golden light wrapped around her.
The light was so faint it was barely visible, yet she felt it — it was him.
Torrential rain fell around her, bringing with it not just monstrous creatures but razor-sharp shards — hail.
A tall figure walked toward her from the storm, golden flecks falling from his fingertips. Beautiful and lethal, those flecks wiped out every monster in his path.
He came toward her, and she moved toward him.
She finally reached his hand.
There was warmth in his palm — just like now.
Yu Xi relaxed completely. Even though danger still loomed, she trusted him. She could safely let him watch her back.
She even closed her eyes, allowing him to carry her.
Having someone to rely on at the moment when all strength had been spent — that was a rare blessing.
She reflected on how reckless she’d been during this trip and thought he would scold her, but instead, he said she had done well.
He moved slowly through the storm and blood; not because he wanted to, but because of his physical limitations and the cost of using energy. Every step was hard-won.
Yet the arms that held her were steady from start to finish.
That was the first time she ever heard that word: z‖?╓〤.
…
Yu Xi stood stunned until he took her hand, enclosing them both in a golden shield and guiding her through the hailstorm to shelter beneath the steel frame. Only then did she come back to herself and look up at his face.
It was exactly the same face and form as the one on the Endless Train. The eye color, the curve of his lips — identical.
She remembered him telling her that this form was slightly different from his original one. But it was a face she recognized and liked. So whenever possible, he’d always come to her in this form.
“z‖?╓〤,” Yu Xi said softly, her voice drowned in the pounding of the hail.
While still watching the storm outside, Xing Min quickly said, “Don’t worry. Since I knew we were heading out today, I embedded a shield last night in two eaves and a wall of the A-frame villa. Even without me, it’ll hold for 24 hours. The south-facing glass is bulletproof. As long as they stay inside, they’ll be fine…”
As he spoke, he suddenly paused and turned to her, surprised: “What … did you just say?”
“z‖?╓〤…” Yu Xi repeated the strange name, then smiled at him. “I was calling your name, Xing Min.”