Ling Yun took her hand and led her into the house, casually putting his arm around her shoulder and sighing, "Wife, you've never lived in northern China, so you don't know how Chinese men address their wives. 'Darling' is an outdated term. 'Wife' is the true, intimate way to address someone." He then turned and gently kissed Xiao Rou's fair cheek. "I've always wanted to have a home with you. I never imagined that before we'd even settled down in reality, we'd already have a house in this magical realm. It's a truly wonderful feeling."
Hearing his unrestrained confession, Xiaorou's heart pounded wildly with joy and excitement. The strange feeling she had felt vanished instantly, replaced by a sweet, romantic feeling unique to their time together. She didn't speak, gently touching her cheek, thinking, "Is this what a happy life together is like? If only such a family existed in reality..."
The two casually closed the door, looking at their home, which should be familiar yet felt incredibly strange, as if they had entered another world.
The bungalow didn't look large from the outside, but the interior was clean and elegantly furnished. Several snow-white partition walls divided the rectangular bungalow into a four-bedroom, two-living-room structure. Upon entering, one faced a living room of about twenty square meters, with four bedrooms on either side. Behind the living room were a kitchen and a small dining area separated by glass partitions, and the bathroom was located on the other side of the kitchen. When Ling Yun pushed open the door, he was surprised to find a clean white enamel bathtub and an automatic toilet in the bathroom; the furnishings were surprisingly modern.
The bedroom was simply furnished, with a double wooden bed placed near the corner, a bedside lamp with an iron frame, and a small, off-white bedside table on one side of the bed. The living room contained several pieces of antique-style pine furniture in a deep reddish-brown hue, with a row of chairs neatly arranged opposite the door, and a tinted glass coffee table in front of them.
The whole house was clean and tidy, with bright windows and tables, and there was not a speck of dust, which made people happy at first glance.
Ling Yun walked into a bedroom on the left, plopped down on the thick mattress, and patted the bed with glee: "Qiaoli, come on in! We finally have a new home. I'm very happy with how it's decorated. Come and sit down."
"Get lost, what 'Qiaoli'? It sounds awful." Xiaorou blushed and spat at him again. "You're acting all improper here again. You're really treating this place like home. Instead of finding a problem, are we really going to live here?"
Ling Yun lazily lay down on the bed, his hands behind his head: "Isn't the barrier set up so that we can live our lives? Let's just live our lives here peacefully, I think it's pretty good."
He turned his head and suddenly saw a wooden photo frame on the bedside table. He reached down and looked at it, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Qiaoli, come and see, this photo of us as a couple is really good. Old Ma's amateur photography skills are not bad."
Xiao Rou stared at him blankly, suddenly feeling that something was wrong. A strange feeling rose from the bottom of her heart, but this strange feeling was only a blur and fleeting moment, and Xiao Rou immediately returned to normal. She just vaguely felt that Ling Yun was not usually like this. How could he suddenly seem like a different person? Something seemed strange, Xiao Rou couldn't help but mutter to herself.
She entered the bedroom and took the photo frame Ling Yun handed her. Inside was a picture of the two of them. In the photo, Ling Yun and Xiao Rou were dressed in clean and neat formal attire, against a backdrop of a clear blue sky. The two were intimately embracing, their cheeks pressed together. Xiao Rou smiled happily in the photo, her beautiful face radiant with joy and excitement. Ling Yun smiled somewhat reservedly, his slender eyes filled with contentment and happiness.
In the upper right corner of the photo, a line of clear text in gold-stamped cursive script reads: "Xiao Zhang and Qiao Li's Wedding Anniversary."
Chapter 312 A Night of Romance and Sorrow
"It's been a year already, honey." Xiaorou looked at the photo, seemingly lamenting the passing of time like flowing water. She was completely unaware that her tone had changed without her noticing, and even her way of addressing Lingyun had changed. Lingyun, on the other hand, didn't find it strange at all, as if Xiaorou's way of addressing him was perfectly natural.
Ling Yun reached out and pulled his beautiful wife, Xiao Rou, onto the bed. He held her tightly in his arms, kissing her face and lips repeatedly. "Wife, I missed you..." His low voice and hot breath brushed against Xiao Rou's snow-white neck, making the girl feel itchy both physically and mentally. Her heart was intoxicated, and her exquisite body suddenly felt weak and sore. She leaned against Ling Yun's chest, her long black hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders. A charming shyness appeared on her fair face as she whispered coquettishly, "Husband, you're never satisfied... It's broad daylight now."
Ling Yun pressed her down beneath him, inhaling the unique fragrance emanating from the girl, and was instantly captivated. He said impatiently, "We're husband and wife, what's there to be afraid of? It's not like we're living together illegally. What's wrong with it being broad daylight? Can't a couple be intimate in broad daylight?" As he spoke, he reached out and gently caressed Xiao Rou's high breasts through her clothes.
Xiao Rou chuckled, her peerless face brimming with endless allure and unparalleled charm. Her coy, hesitant expression was enough to drive most men in the world mad. Her slender, jade-like index finger touched Ling Yun's forehead, and her lips parted slightly, releasing a delicate fragrance: "Go, husband, close the curtains. Do you want your wife to be exposed in broad daylight?"
Ling Yun and Xiao Rou were flirting and teasing each other in bed, so engrossed in their lovemaking that he was reluctant to part with his wife. Hearing Xiao Rou's command, he didn't even bother to move, saying somewhat unwillingly, "Who would watch? It's not like it's our first time. I don't want to move."
Xiao Rou kicked him angrily in the stomach: "How can you be so lazy? Do you expect me to get out of bed and draw the curtains? Or do you want to broadcast your private parts outside? If I tell you to go, then go now, or you can forget about me today."
When his wife got a little annoyed, Lingyun reluctantly got out of bed, slowly walked to the window, reached out and pulled the curtain rod of the automatic curtain. Just as he was about to close the pinkish-purple curtain with lotus pattern, he glanced outside casually and suddenly looked as if he had seen something. He exclaimed in surprise, "Wife, why is it dark?"
Xiao Rou was also taken aback. She quickly got out of bed and went to the window to look outside. Sure enough, it was completely dark outside. The huge clock that used to be in the position of the sun had turned into the shape of a full moon and remained in the same place in the sky. The direction of the hands indicated that an hour had passed, and the burning blue flames seemed to have shrunk a bit.
This time, however, neither Lingyun nor Xiaorou showed any surprise at the clock. The passage of time seemed natural, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
A sense of tension was building in the bedroom. Suddenly, bright, soft light turned on automatically, illuminating the small room as if there were automatic sensor lights. However, what was puzzling was that there were no lights on the ceiling, and the bedside lamp was not on either. The light seemed to come from an unknown space, and Ling Yun and Xiao Rou remained unmoved, as if it were still a natural occurrence.
"Why did it get dark so quickly, my wife?" Ling Yun couldn't help but hold Xiao Rou's hand. His hand trembled slightly, and his tone carried a hint of fear, as if something terrible would happen after dark.
Xiao Rou was about to say she didn't know, but when she looked up and saw the fear on her husband's face, a wave of tender sadness washed over her. She gently stroked Ling Yun's chin and said, "Husband, don't be afraid. Maybe this time, the monster won't come to our house. Let's close the curtains, wash up, and go to sleep. Once we're asleep, we can live another day when it's dawn."
Ling Yun remained silent for a long time, then suddenly released Xiao Rou's hands and covered her face with them, saying with a sob, "Qiao Li, it's really been hard for you to marry me. Not only am I poor and unable to give you a good life, but I also make you live in constant fear of uncertainty. When will this kind of life end? If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have brought you to this small town. Wouldn't it have been better if we were living peacefully in the big city?"
Xiao Rou gently took his hand that was covering his face and placed it lightly on her warm, high chest. With her other hand, she wiped away the tears that kept streaming down Ling Yun's face. Looking at him affectionately, she said, "Husband, don't say that. Marrying you was my greatest dream in this life. Being your wife is the last happiness of my life. There is nothing more wonderful than this. Although we are not rich, I am content because you are good to me, love me and cherish me. Even if I die, I will have no regrets. Moreover, dying with you would be my greatest joy."
She turned her head, her rosy lips slightly parted, and kissed Lingyun deeply on the lips: "Husband, I love you. Even if I die, I am willing. I am willing to be with you in the next life, to be husband and wife for all eternity."
"Qiaoli..." Lingyun kissed Xiaorou passionately, then hugged his wife tightly in his arms. He closed his eyes tightly, but the tears he wiped away did not decrease; instead, they increased. He was plunged into a valley where he didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
A nameless yet profound feeling suddenly rose in the boy's heart. An unimaginably vast voice suddenly transformed into a thought that filled Ling Yun's consciousness, instantly pushing out all his emotions. After circulating countless times around his body, all his consciousness finally transformed into two incomparably shocking words: Power.
Ling Yun was startled and subconsciously released Xiao Rou, involuntarily reaching out to cover his chest. His heart was pounding wildly, and it seemed as if an unparalleled being was emitting an incomparably powerful cry from within his body.
Xiao Rou looked at him intently and asked worriedly, "Honey, what's wrong? What happened?"
"It's nothing, I was probably just having a hallucination because my emotions changed too quickly." Ling Yun smiled lightly, trying to shake off the dreamlike feeling from his mind. "Wife, let's go to sleep. It's a pity we didn't buy any groceries at the market. I wanted to cook you a meal. Even if we could go out now, everyone outside would have already left."
He glanced outside again, then slowly drew the curtains, shrouding the night in a thin veil. He then took Xiaorou's hand and led her to the bedside in the bedroom.
Just as the two turned around, under the bright white light, a huge and ferocious shadow appeared on the pinkish-purple curtains. A huge eye, covered with blood vessels and only the whites of the eyes were visible, suddenly blinked strangely, peered at the two from between the two curtains, and then slowly moved away.
A series of heavy footsteps, like an avalanche, echoed through the market. The force was so great that it shook the houses on both sides of the market. Interspersed with these sounds were swallowing sounds and chilling, desperate screams. All the townspeople trembled in their homes, praying that misfortune would not befall them that night.
Lingyun and Xiaorou hugged each other tightly, trying their best to ignore the sounds outside, but fear still transformed into a cold, icy hand that reached out from the Netherworld and gripped the two young people's clenched hearts.
Xiao Rou tried to hold her husband tighter, wanting to give Ling Yun the greatest protection, but little did she know that her slender body was also trembling. Only her deep love for Ling Yun made her try to overcome her fear.
"Is the bolt in?" Xiao Rou suddenly remembered something and asked Ling Yun in her arms. "Our door needs a lock."
"Door bolt? What is that?" Ling Yun asked, clearly taken aback, seemingly not understanding the meaning of the term Xiao Rou used.
"The bolt is..." Seeing that Ling Yun didn't understand, Xiao Rou was also stunned. She was about to explain, but for some reason, her mind suddenly went blank. She forgot how to explain the bolt. Something seemed to flash through her mind, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Seeing his wife's adorable expression as she murmured her lips, unable to speak for a long time, Ling Yun's fear subsided considerably. He couldn't help but smile and pinch Xiao Rou's cheek: "Silly girl, why do I keep hearing words I don't understand from you lately? Are you too scared? It's okay, your husband is here. I will protect you for the rest of my life, Qiaoli." As he spoke, he leaned over and gently kissed Xiao Rou's lips again.
Xiao Rou sighed softly, her brows furrowing slightly: "Honey, I don't know why, but lately I keep having these kinds of words and thoughts that I can't even understand myself. I even feel like my life is unreal, like I'm always being watched by something. Maybe you're right, living in fear for too long can easily lead to hallucinations."
“It’s not just you, I feel the same way.” Ling Yun seemed to remember something. “I just didn’t say anything because I was afraid you would worry if you heard. I didn’t expect you to feel the same way. Sigh, I really regret coming to this town. I should have stayed in the big city.”
Xiao Rou suddenly turned her head and stared at him intently: "Honey, you always say you don't want to come to this town and that it's better to stay in the big city, but where exactly is the big city? Why don't I have any impression of it? What is a big city? Isn't the town the whole world?"
Ling Yun looked at her, puzzled. He was about to explain the difference between big cities and towns, but for some reason, he, who was usually very familiar with the term and knew its meaning, seemed to have completely forgotten it. He blinked, trying hard to recall his past memories, but nearly twenty years of peaceful life seemed to have been completely devoid of any changes. From what he could remember, Ling Yun's life seemed to consist only of the market in front of him, and he had no recollection of his parents, including Xiao Rou's parents.
Good heavens! Ling Yun clutched his head. The conflict between his memories and common sense kept colliding in his consciousness, giving him an incomparably bizarre feeling, as if he had plunged into a fog, and no matter how he struggled, he only sank deeper and deeper.
Xiao Rou reached out and gently comforted him. Seeing her husband looking so tormented, her heart ached: "Husband, don't worry about this. We're just ordinary people, not gods. Let's live our lives peacefully. Why bother with things we can't understand?"
Ling Yun took her small hand and gently stroked it, sighing, "Maybe you're right, wife. I always feel like I can't understand it sometimes. It's like we don't belong in this world. Is it just our imagination, or is something wrong?"