"Why are you so good to me?" she asked.
"Do you think I'm that good to you?" he replied.
"Then what about all those things you did before?"
"Feelings are mutual; my attitude depends on yours."
"What do you mean?"
"If you're cold to me, how could I possibly show you warmth?"
"I was just afraid of holding you back and not being able to give you the outcome you wanted."
"Quite the opposite. Sometimes I feel like I'm the one holding you back."
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"Because your presence brought a profoundly meaningful period of time into my life, so I just hope we can keep things as they are right now."
"Mm-hmm, looks like we're on the same page."
"Honestly, the little moments we've shared lately are no less than what you get in a relationship."
"How come you sound even more carefree than me? So you don't actually want to be with me?"
"For me, whether we're friends or lovers doesn't really matter anymore. Rather than saying I love you, having dinner together feels much more romantic; rather than saying I miss you, it doesn't compare to coming to see you right this second."
"So after spending all this time together, you've never had feelings for me?"
"If having feelings only gets me the reply: 'I just see you as a friend,' I think we'd be better off becoming sworn brothers first."
"Hahaha, it's not like we couldn't become lovers first."
……
A young man wearing a loose white linen shirt, his collarbones faintly visible, had his arm draped over the shoulder of another young man in a gray hoodie who looked somewhat dazed and weary.
"Adoptive father, that's the reason. I'm heading to Happy Coast PLUS right away to complete my romantic encounter, so I'll have to ask you to visit the research institute on my behalf."
Shang Qi looked helplessly at this "player" brother of his, Zhou Fa, and said, "Going off to ruin someone else's life again, you really are something."
"Can't help it, it's just equivalent exchange. She gets pleasure, and I get joy. What do you say, are you going to the research institute or not?" Zhou Fa pulled out an invitation ticket and waved it in front of Shang Qi.
"Equivalent exchange? Calling me adoptive father is nowhere near enough." Shang Qi shook his head, throwing Zhou Fa's own logic back at him.
"Fine, fine, fine, two morning tea sessions, my treat!"
"Very well. By the way, how did you get interested in a research institute?"
"You wouldn't understand, would you? Flaunting luxury cars and yachts is way too outdated these days; showing off a research institute is the new generation's way of flexing wealth. Which young master is rich enough to invest in scientific research? It's enough to make both innocent girls and gold-digging green teas fall head over heels."
"You, honestly, your head is full of nothing but picking up girls. Fine, go to Happy Coast, I'll just take a few extra photos for you." Shang Qi took the invitation ticket.
"I'm counting on you, brother. Remember to take as many pictures as you can of anything photogenic, I'm off!" Zhou Fa let go of Shang Qi's shoulder and hurried off toward the parking lot.
Shang Qi had once known glorious days, and it was precisely because of this that he got along so well with the uninhibited Zhou Fa.
However, with the natural disaster of the pandemic, his fortunes plummeted, and now he was struggling as a writer who couldn't even write a decent novel.
Facing the worries of his parents back home, Shang Qi decided to use the research institute tour as a chance to clear his head.
People can never predict whether disaster or tomorrow will arrive first.
Just as Shang Qi was touring the science research institute, a research team in a sealed area was conducting a synthesis experiment.
For some unknown reason, the experiment suddenly underwent a violent reaction, and a purple lightning bolt broke through layers of protections, striking Shang Qi—who happened to be among the tour group—as if cursed.
Shang Qi's vision went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.
The very last thought that flashed through his mind as his consciousness faded was: "I haven't lived enough yet, I haven't finished writing my novel."
Amidst the horrified gazes of everyone present, Shang Qi instantly turned into a small handful of ashes.
When Shang Qi opened his eyes again, he found himself in the middle of a vast, boundless desert.
A fierce wind roared, and the sand filling the sky lunged wildly like the claws of a demon.
Looking up, there was a tall windbreak wall, like a final line of defense in this cruel desert, built from sturdy rock and sand.
All around, the sounds of battle and screams intertwined into a symphony of death.
Shang Qi looked around in a daze, only to see several figures entirely wrapped up with only their eyes exposed, darting about like ghosts with extremely agile moves. Wielding Japanese short swords reminiscent of the ones Shang Qi knew, they were frantically slaughtering people dressed in the same clothes as him.
Every flash of a blade was accompanied by a splash of blood, staining the sandy ground beneath their feet.
Shang Qi even saw a masked person performing hand seals and chanting, and in an instant, a massive surge of power erupted, blowing up a huge gale that sent sand and stones flying and people and horses tumbling.
"Where on earth have I been thrown?"
Shang Qi's heart pounded like a frantic war drum, every beat sounding like the countdown to death, and terror spread like a tidal wave through every nerve ending in his body.
He desperately wanted to run, but his legs felt as if they were weighed down by thousands of pounds of lead, completely unable to budge.
The howling wind whipped up the sand to form a blinding sandstorm that obscured everything, making this bloody slaughter all the more eerie and terrifying.
Shang Qi stared wide-eyed, trying to figure out the origins of those masked people, but his vision was blocked by the sand filling the sky and the ceaselessly splashing blood.
Yet his eyes still caught the mysterious energy emanating from around those masked figures—a terrifying power born from the combination of physical and spiritual energy.
Some gathered this energy at their feet, making their speed as fast as lightning;
others manipulated the energy through complex hand seals, causing it to manifest according to specific attributes and forms, such as the chilling giant gale from a moment ago.
No, now is not the time to study energy; if I don't run for my life, I'm dead!
Shang Qi frantically searched for something to defend himself with. Dragging his already numb feet with difficulty, he managed to find only a battered pair of arm guards.
Calling them arm guards was a stretch; they were simply two leather sleeves with a rusted iron strip strapped to each.
Something was better than nothing—at least they could block a lethal blade.
Shang Qi then violently tore a section of the crossbar from a nearby rickety carriage to use as a weapon.
Pressing his back against the violently shaking carriage with a racing heart and sweat pouring down like rain, he finally felt a sliver of safety.
At that moment, a clear voice carrying a sob came from inside the carriage: "Mister, don't be afraid. We've reached the outskirts of Sunagakure in the Wind Country, and the shinobi from Sunagakure will be here soon to drive them away."
Hearing this, Shang Qi's mind was in utter chaos.
Sunagakure in the Wind Country? Could he have transmigrated into the world of Naruto?
The energy he had just witnessed was precisely the unique chakra of the Naruto world.
"Who are you people, and why are they trying to kill you?" Shang Qi shouted toward the voice inside the carriage, his voice trembling from extreme fear.
"We're all artisans driven out of the Land of Artisans, and we've come this time to seek refuge in Sunagakure in the Wind Country. By the way, why were you passed out in the desert?" The carriage canopy opened a small crack, revealing a pair of terrified yet still bright eyes.
"I don't know either."
"Good thing my dad saw you, otherwise you would have died in this desert ages ago."
Just as Shang Qi was speaking with the girl inside the carriage, the situation on the battlefield suddenly underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.
Inside the windbreak wall, a squad of Sunagakure shinobi dashed out like lightning.
At the lead were a man and a woman: the male shinobi had short red hair fluttering wildly in the wind, while the female shinobi had deep black hair writhing like a snake. Both of them manipulated multiple puppets, charging forward with overwhelming momentum.
The leading masked shinobi saw the man and woman from Suna, and his expression changed drastically. Decisive on the spot, he roared, "It's the Red Sand Couple, we're retreating."
Upon hearing this, the group of masked shinobi scrambled onto sand boats and fled in a panic.