"How ironic," Grey caressed his lover's face, "The time we spend together will never be enough. The longer we're together, the more time we crave."
Bai Xing leaned to Grey's touch.
They haven't separated yet, but he already missed him.
"…I'll wait for you," Bai Xing gazed deeply at Grey, "However long it takes."
"And I will find you," Grey kissed him, "However far it takes."
Bai Xing's body gradually disappeared, but he didn't want to let go of Grey's hand.
"Grey…" he tightened his hold.
Grey squeezed it reassuringly and smiled, "Call me Hui."
"!!!" Bai Xing's eyes widened.
Was that Grey's real name? Did he recover some of his memory?
But before he could ask anything, the transfer process was completed.
–––
–
Bai Xing looked around as he clutched his yellow cloak. He was standing among the trees and could hear indistinct voices from afar. In his hand was a leather suitcase, unknown what was in it, but it has quite a weight.
[M: Congratulations, Bai Xing. This is the last world I need your help with. After this, you can finally go home]
Bai Xing, "…"
[M, if I want to stay here in your world when this is done…can I do that?]
[M: You can't. The restoring process will erase every anomaly inside each world. That means, not only will you die in your real world, your very existence will be wiped off]
[M: But I can tell you when everything is back to normal. If at that time you still want to stay here, I'll transfer you back in]
"!"
[Really? You can do that?]
[M: Of course]
[M: Then, let me tell you about your last world]
[M: This is the world of 'The Beauty and the Beast'. It follows the most popular one in your world. I didn't really make any changes since it all ends the same, so I figured it's better to leave it the way it is since you're most likely familiar with it]
[M: Your identity is just a simple traveler. It'll be easier for you to move around as a stranger since the people in town don't recognize you. I also put a charm in your cloak. If you wear the hood, your presence will be harder to notice]
[M: Last world…I didn't expect it to create such a mess. Sorry for not being able to help. This time, I put you in before the virus entered the protagonist's body. Since this is the only world left for it to go, I didn't need to wait for it to enter]
[M: You can take things slow. I'll inform you when the virus enter]
[Rather than that, why didn't you just prevent it from entering?]
[M: It already planted a part of it in each world. All it needed to do after the main body finished in one world is to respawn in another. So technically, it's already there in the world and I can't stop it]
[I see…]
[M: Though you can kill Beauty now before the virus spawns. With that, you can go home that very moment]
Bai Xing immediately rejected the idea in his head. He wouldn't throw the last world he could spend with Grey–no, with Hui just like that.
[I think I'll pass…]
[M: Thought as much. I'll be surprised if you do it with all your strange questions and requests lately]
[M: The beast's castle will be pretty hard to find for you, but I already put it in the directory. The forest a few hundred meters radius from the castle are enchanted, so be careful not to get confused and lost]
[M: That's all. I'll excuse myself first. Be safe]
[Okay]
After their chat ended, Bai Xing promptly checked the directory. As M said, he marked the beast's palace. It looked pretty far. He would need a horse to go there.
Aside from that, every house and store in the town were labeled. Beauty's house was also marked.
First thing first, find Hui.
Bai Xing walked towards the town gate. He strolled amidst the liveliness inside. The former him wouldn't believe it if he told him that he could be surrounded by so many people without feeling as much discomfort.
He was changing for the better.
It would be impossible if it wasn't for Hui practically smashing down his shell.
"Excuse me…" Bai Xing approached an elderly woman at a fruit stall.
"Yes, young man? What fruits are you looking for?" the elder woman smiled.
"Ah, no…I am looking for someone," Bai Xing apologetically waved his hand, "Is there a man here around 6 feet tall, broad shoulders, sharp eyes, and has a pretty deep voice? His name is Grey."
"Oh…there is someone fitting your description, but his name is not Grey."
Bai Xing considered for a while and decided to check it out, "Can you tell me where I can find him?"
He thanked her and headed to the pub she mentioned. When he entered, his eyes immediately noticed the man the elder woman meant. True, he fitted all the criteria, but he didn't move his heart the slightest bit.
The man sensed Bai Xing's stare and looked up. Bai Xing flinched as their eyes met and quickly looked away. He promptly left.
He was actually a bit hungry, but there was no way he could eat there after being caught staring…
He walked around, not knowing which place he should try for lunch. Should he just find an inn and rent a room first?
While he was thinking, a person bumped into him from behind. He was about to turn to check when the person suddenly dashed away. At the same time, the weight in his hand disappeared. The person actually stole his suitcase.
"Ah…"
Bai Xing hesitated to either call out or chase the thief. He didn't know what was inside the suitcase and didn't really feel like it was important. Moreover, he didn't want to attract any attention to him.
Just as he gave up, a man rushed from behind him and caught the thief in seconds. The thief got beaten down and the man successfully retrieved back his suitcase. Once the man turned around, Bai Xing found it was actually the man he just stared at earlier.
"Here." The man gave the suitcase to Bai Xing.
"Thank you…" Bai Xing awkwardly accepted it.
"I'm Jean by the way," he crossed his arms, "Do you need anything from me?"
"H-Huh??" Bai Xing hurriedly shook his head, "N-No, nothing in particular."
"I saw you looking at me back there. People often got scared away by my eyes and run away even though they needed me for something. I'll close my eyes, so say it." Jean closed his eyes as he said.
Oh…
He's actually a nice person.
Bai calmed himself down and explained, "I was just looking for someone. I was told of you since the description matched, but I got the wrong person."
Jean opened his eyes, "I see. Sorry for my misunderstanding."
"Ah, no…sorry for staring."
"Hmm…there's nobody here that looks like me, so I think the person you're looking for is not in this town." Jean hummed in thought.
"Rather than look…it's your height, eyes, and voice."
Jean shook his head, "Doesn't ring a–"
Growl…
The 2 of them fell silent.
Bai Xing grabbed his stomach in shame, "S-Sorry…"
"You're a traveler, right?" Jean pointed a direction, "I'll take you to the best place to eat in town."
Bai Xing agreed.
Jean took him to a simply furnished eatery. Though Jean said it was the best, there was no customer inside. They sat at the empty counter.
"Owner, I got you a customer!" Jean yelled to the door behind the counter.
Not long after, a middle-aged man appeared, "Jean, I told you to stop tricking travelers to come here!" He smiled apologetically at Bai Xing, "I apologize for him dragging you here."
"It's okay…" Bai Xing replied.
The owner gave him the menu, "If there's nothing to your liking, it's okay to check other places."
Bai Xing ordered a cheese spaghetti. He has been craving it for a while but wasn't skillful enough to make the sauce from scratch.
"Did you come here just to search for someone?" Jean asked.
"No, not really. I'm…traveling around just for the sake of it." Bai Xing lied.
"If you're staying, why don't you stay at my family's inn? It's cheap with 3 meals a day."
"Then, I'll do just that." Bai Xing nodded gratefully.
He felt like having a reliable tour guide…
"Oh, speaking of which," Jean snapped his fingers, "There is one."
"?"
"A man with similar height and build as me. His personality was…irking, to say the least. Not sure why many girls like a narcissistic scumbag like him."
"I don't think that's the person I'm looking for…"
"Better be. His name is Gaston."
Bai Xing, "…"
Yeah, definitely not.
