Li Shuoxing couldnât believe it when he saw the system prompt. He rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again. After he made sure that the system pop-up meant what he expected, he felt elated.
Finally.
Finally, there it was.
Although a bit expensive, problems that could be solved with money werenât problems at all!
Li Shuoxing didnât hesitate to Krypton for his, but he was a little hesitant for Su Mingqianâs.
Of course, it wasnât about money.
Could spending money for the cub even be called spending money?
The main reason was⊠he felt that becoming the normal version of himself, and then holding the chibi version of the cub in his arms, would be very nice; but the normal version of himself hugging the normal version of the cub would also be very nice.
It was difficult to choose between both equally matched sensations.
Li Shuoxing was in a dilemma for a moment, then suddenly had a brainwave and quietly sent a message to the system: âCan I Krypton for my normal body first, and then Krypton for the cubâs normal body after we enter the new location?â
If that was possible, heâd be able to use his normal body to hug the chibi cub, and then after some groping, unlock the cubâs normal body, and continue to grope.
One choice, two pleasures; have the cake and eat it, both at the same time.
[System: Yes.]
[System: You can also unlock doll version Su Mingqian: 1888 contribution points. Do you want to unlock it? Yes/No]
Li Shuoxing stared blankly at this line of information, and then suddenly, a flash of insight came to him.
Isnât this the supreme palm pet mode Iâve been waiting for?
Li Shuoxing felt happy. Heâd never thought that the expectations that he thought had been shattered would finally come true. He pulled Su Mingqian and said, âCub, letâs go in quickly. Thereâll be a surprise.â
Su Mingqian was slightly stunned. As he complied with Li Shuoxingâs request to go forward, he asked, âWhat kind of surprise?â
They entered the blue passage together.
The blue enveloped them.
Li Shuoxing, who was in the midst of it, temporarily lost his perception of Su Mingqian, and experienced another feeling.
It felt like he was thrown into the air, turned into a puff of flour, sprinkled with water, rolled up into a ball, and then tugged on⊠And then, the light diminished and dissipated, and Li Shuoxing found himself in the small garden of a three-storey villa.
The villa in front of him had a red roof and white walls, a trail of cacti behind glass windows, a few of which had flowers on top, and a courtyard covered with white cobblestone. Its style was quite refreshing and cosy.
He looked over the house with admiration, and then fixed his eyes on his shoulder.
The small cub was sitting there, looking down at his hands, dumbfounded.
Li Shuoxing cautiously lifted his hand and gently poked the cubâs head. âCub~â
Su Mingqian didnât answer.
So Li Shuoxing went a step further. He gently poked the cubâs cheek. âCub~â
This time, Su Mingqian regained consciousness, raised his head, and fixed his eyes on Li Shuoxing.
Li Shuoxing held his chest up silently and looked back at Su Mingqian righteously.
Su Mingqian wasnât fooled.
-20.
The favourability that he hadnât seen in a long time popped up from his head. It was just that it was based on Su Mingqianâs size, so it also became very small and very chibi.
Su Mingqian: âXimu.â
Li Shuoxing coughed. âYes.â
Su Mingqian asked quietly, âWhat did you do?â
Li Shuoxing replied quickly, âI didnât do anything.â
-30!
Su Mingqian imposed a severe favourability deduction on Li Shuoxing!
Li Shuoxing looked at the favourability, and quickly changed his words. âActually, I did. I Kryptoned to make you smaller for the time being. Cub, donât panic. You can still get bigger!â
-20.
Su Mingqian wasnât so angry anymore.
Li Shuoxing was smart enough to determine what he should say by looking at the numbers. He admitted his mistake and started to act coquettishly, âCub, I just want to see a tiny you.â
-10.
Su Mingqian calmed down.
Seeing that acting coquettishly was effective, Li Shuoxing continued, âThe tiny you is super cute. I used to dream of shaking you out of my phone and into the palm of my hand. You see, you also thought that the tiny me before was super cute, right?â
+0.
+20.
Two consecutive favourability numbers jumped out of Su Mingqianâs head.
Su Mingqian wasnât angry anymore, and under Li Shuoxingâs persuasion, he managed to remember little Ximuâs cuteness.
Li Shuoxingâs sweet words were free of charge. âCub, you see, you were touched, hugged and photographed by them just now. I also want to touch and hug and kiss you and take a picture, and I want to kiss and hug and touch you again in every form. Youâre mine, mine alone, and I wonât share you with anyone!â
+1+1+1+1+1âŠ
A series of numbers appeared on Su Mingqianâs head.
Su Mingqian still didnât speak. He thought to himself:
Well, I canât do anything about Ximu.
What else can I do?
Iâll spoil him.
The small matter of becoming a doll was lightly dismissed.
Li Shuoxing carefully took Su Mingqian off his shoulder, placed him in his palm, held him securely in front of his chest, and then took two steps forward to push open the door.
The door was unlocked and opened as soon he pushed it.
Su Mingqianâs private space was immediately revealed to Li Shuoxingâs eyes.
With the white decor that matched with the wooden furniture, and not too many decorations, everything was simple and fresh, completely fitting how Li Shuoxing imagined the cub.
He continued to look around and soon discovered more.
There were many small blackboards in the living room.
These blackboards were attached to the aquarium, pressed under the cacti, and close to the wall-mounted television.
There were a few formulas and words on each blackboard.
Some were fully written, some were only half-written, and some were even erased out⊠Looking at them, it was like he could see the owner who lived here, moving everywhere, and recording everywhere.
Li Shuoxing moved through the positions where the blackboards were placed, imagining that Su Mingqian had once walked through here. In a trance, he felt that heâd seen Su Mingqian of the past⊠After another two steps, Li Shuoxing suddenly saw something.
This object, fixed to the wall, occupied the whole wall.
It was a huge marble maze, with two entrances, dozens of exits, and hundreds of mechanisms.
The marbles at both entrances werenât the same colour, and werenât as brilliantly coloured as ordinary glass beads. Instead, they were divided into black and white, with black on the left and white on the right.
Li Shuoxing thought that this maze felt very familiar.
After he stopped for two seconds, he remembered, and said in surprise, âIsnât this the domino marble maze I once wrote about in my article?â
Su Mingqian subconsciously said, âWrote about in your article?â
Li Shuoxing: âYes. Cub, do you remember the short story I told you about before that I accidentally posted in the mail? Thatâs the one. In that article, my male protagonist is pretending in front of this domino maze. He made this maze that takes up a whole wall. Then he drops two colours of marbles into it, and watches them constantly collide in the maze⊠and then talks about the philosophy of life, the true meaning of the universe, how God came to be⊠But thatâs not important. Whatâs important is that after writing that article, I tried to make that maze. Guess what happened?â
Su Mingqian: âIt wasnât that good?â
Li Shuoxing looked at the ceiling and spoke heavily, âI missed the wood with my knife and instead cut the palm of my hand. Since then, Iâve gotten a good grasp of my motor skills. At this timeâŠâ
He withdrew his gaze and looked expectantly at Su Mingqian. âCub, shouldnât you be soothing my wounds? Both my hands.â
Su Mingqian: ââŠâ He was very serious. âXimu, youâre lying to me againâŠâ
Li Shuoxing firmly denied, âNo, absolutely not. Cub, I really got hurt. I want your loving soothing.â
Su Mingqian turned his head coldly and blacklisted Li Shuoxing for two seconds.
He turned to look at the maze on the wall.
In his mind, it seemed as if a fragment or two of memory had passed by. He seemed to have been playing with the black and white glass beads for a long time, as well as pieces of wood and a knifeâŠ
âCub? Cub?â
Two sounds in quick succession brought Su Mingqianâs attention back.
Su Mingqian suddenly returned to his senses. âHuh?â
Li Shuoxing: âDid you remember anything?â
Su Mingqian admitted, âI seemed to see some images, but theyâre very fuzzy and Iâm not sure whatâs going on.â
Li Shuoxing was satisfied. He advised, âThereâs no rush. Since familiar surroundings can help you remember more, letâs come to this kind of place that feels friendly and comfortable more often in the future.â
Su Mingqian turned his head and looked at his own home. Immediately, he returned his gaze to Li Shuoxing, shook his head, and replied, âItâs not this place that feels friendly, itâs you.â
After leaving the marble maze, the first floor had been officially explored. They continued to the second and third floors.
The second floor was obviously where Su Mingqian worked. Li Shuoxing didnât look around too much, as it might involve something that needed to be kept confidential. He entered the third floor.
The bedroom on the third floor was also very simply furnished.
There was a bed, a rest area for Su Mingqian to rest and read, and a closet and bathroom connected to the bedroom. Li Shuoxing took Su Mingqian to the couch and sat down.
It was almost time. He decided to turn the cub back to his normal appearance and seized the last minute to interact.
His plans were all set. First, he picked a comfortable place to sit, and then made the cub stand in his arms. That way, when the cub changed from miniature version to normal version, he could easily hold the princess on his lap.
Plan passed.
Perfect.
Li Shuoxing was ready to brush up on his charm. He selected the system menu and unlocked the normal version of Su Mingqian.
Light appeared in an instant.
In just a blur, just a moment of heaviness on his body, the little person on his palm was gone, and a person was suddenly in his arms.
Li Shuoxing thought that he was ready for anything, but when he really saw him appear, he was stunned for a moment.
With fair skin, deep eyebrows, and slightly curly hair, the perfect human figure that originally existed only in photos suddenly appeared in his arms, like a dream coming to reality, and like reality reflecting back into the dream.
He looked so beautiful.
And also a little unreal.
He baulked at Su Mingqianâs expression. He saw him looking left and right after a slight stupor, some joy appearing on his face, and then, an especially joyful gaze focused on him, then a momentary pause.
Heâs looking at me.
He also feels that itâs a little strange and different.
This strangeness and difference areâŠ
Their fingertips collided.
There seemed to be a slight electric current rising from that careless collision, like a small snake, nimbly moving its head and tail, sneaking into the heart, and leaping straight to the brain.
Li Shuoxing felt a little sweat on his palm, and his mouth was dry.
He began to get inexplicably nervous, and his heart even beat a little faster.
Before he could think of a way to get rid of this nervousness, Su Mingqian, who was silent and motionless, suddenly leaned forward.
That exquisite face, which had originally existed only in photos, really approached him.
Li Shuoxing subconsciously lifted his hand and grasped Su Mingqianâs wrist. It suddenly felt like holding a warm jade in his palm.
âMingqian?â
Li Shuoxing asked unconsciously, and looked at the otherâs grey eyes.
Light was shining in those grey eyes.
Spots of stars, small fragments, were like the powder of sunlight, like the sparkling of diamonds, like the surface of a winter lake; that shimmering warm light that consisted of anticipation, consisted of smiles, and even consisted of some shyness and some desire.
They all blended together and became the unique brilliance that belonged to this person.
In the next second, Li Shuoxing was pushed onto the couch by Su Mingqian.
The air suddenly grew silent, then suddenly turned into a frosted stickiness.
Su Mingqianâs eyelids drooped, his long eyelashes half covering his eyes.
Then, a soft kiss fell on Li Shuoxingâs lips, with half a sentence, small and light, blowing like a gust of wind around his fingertips.
ââŠYou seem to want to do this to me.â
Li Shuoxing felt himself take a mouthful of sweet syrup.
It permeated his mouth and tongue, moistened his lips and teeth.
Their breaths were entwined, the kiss sweet as honey.