The wedding dress still lay quietly in the room on the third floor.
Li Jia crouched down to help her straighten the skirt.
Ye Chengxing vaguely sensed the Omega’s movements. She realized that her loss of sight had likely been fully exposed during their bath together just moments ago.
She reached out and touched the fabric of the wedding dress on her body, feeling a touch of emotion. “So this is what it feels like to wear a wedding dress…” So this was what it felt like to wear one together with the woman she loved.
After this sigh, Ye Chengxing paused, then said softly, “Xiao Li, it’s such a hassle, isn’t it?”
She didn’t make it too explicit, leaving it unclear whether she meant the wedding dress was troublesome or if she herself was the burden.
Li Jia’s movements paused as she heard those words. “How could it be? I’m so happy to help Sis put on her wedding dress.”
Her voice seemed to carry a faint tremor once more.
“And I’m really happy to wear a wedding dress together with Sis…”
“I’m especially happy…”
Ye Chengxing reached out as before to ruffle her hair, then let her fingers linger uncertainly, touching her face.
She curved her lips, her long lashes half-lowered as she smiled faintly. “Me too.”
A harsh winter storm raged outside, but the light through the window gradually brightened with the rising warm sun.
The soft glow of dawn spilled in, yet it carried a piercing chill.
On this desolate snowy day, they held a wedding just for the two of them.
Though Ye Chengxing had done nothing at all—even the wedding dress had been put on her by Li Jia—simply reciting their vows and slipping on the wedding rings had left her body gripped by an intense wave of exhaustion.
Ye Chengxing heard Li Jia go fetch something and return.
A second later, she sensed what it was and suddenly tried to cover herself in embarrassment.
“Wait, Xiao Li, don’t take my picture.”
The words slipped out almost like a reflex.
As soon as they left her mouth, a faint bitterness tugged at Ye Chengxing’s lips. She knew they were the last thing she should say at this moment.
But… but…
Ye Chengxing spoke again. She didn’t want to use that bitter tone from before, but even as she tried to infuse her voice with a smile, it sounded much the same—her tone even beginning to quiver faintly. “Xiao Li, just this once, be selfish with me. Can you remember me at my most beautiful? Don’t remember me like this.”
Dressed in the wedding gown, she sat on the bed facing her direction, pleading almost desperately. Her eyes were wide open, yet unfocused and scattered.
The layers of the wedding dress’s skirt cascaded like flowing water over the edge of the bed, but they seemed to transform into invisible waves, suddenly crashing over Li Jia with a suffocating weight.
Her voice went hoarse. She opened her mouth to speak, but it felt like something was lodged in her throat. Not a single word would come out.
Li Jia set down the camera in her hand and stepped forward to embrace Ye Chengxing.
Only after a long while did she feel able to make a sound.
She kissed her eyes, her lips, and even the tears that tasted so bitter they’d never be forgotten. “No more pictures, Sis. We won’t take any… And in my eyes, Sis has always been the most beautiful.”
Ye Chengxing nodded as she listened to her voice, her lips parting then closing again.
Her body ached terribly, but the pain in her heart was even more fierce.
Just like those words she’d blurted out earlier, she shouldn’t cry now either—but the tears were already unstoppable.
Those few sentences had drained her of so much energy, making her more aware than ever that her time was running out.
But what about Li Jia?
What would happen to Li Jia after she was gone?
She loved her too much. The pain from such fiercely intense love would surely consume her in return.
Ye Chengxing could sense the fragility in her, on the verge of shattering beneath those kisses.
She wanted to kiss her back, but even that strength seemed to have vanished from her body.
If only they could truly be together forever.
But where was forever to be found?
Ye Chengxing felt Li Jia’s embrace, and tears slid silently down her cheeks once more.
She wasn’t afraid of death. Even now, she had no regrets about her choices.
It was just a pity that she could only accompany Li Jia this far on the road ahead.
Though the exhaustion in her body was overwhelming, her mind felt surprisingly clear today—her consciousness sharp, unlike the usual foggy daze.
Even so, with her mind alert, she still couldn’t stomach any food. For some time now, she’d been sustained solely by nutrient injections.
Li Jia thought for a moment, then had the robot bring out the dumplings she’d made earlier and stored in the Smart Storage Compartment.
It had been so long since Li Jia had seen Ye Chengxing this awake and alert. Memories of her endless sleeping filled her mind—images of trying to wake her, calling to her with no response.
Frame after frame, crowding her thoughts.
Seeing Ye Chengxing so vividly alive now, Li Jia couldn’t stop talking to her. But afraid she’d tire her out, she kissed her ear. “Sis, just lean against me. You don’t have to reply.”
For now, just watching her blink, seeing that faint, clear smile—it was enough.
The light outside faded with the passing time, replaced by the glow of the room’s lamps.
But her world had long plunged into darkness. She was even starting to lose the sense of the Omega’s body heat in the embrace.
The feeling of her life force draining away accelerated in an instant.
She listened to her voice and blinked lightly.
She’d long lost any sense of time. Though she’d managed to stay awake all day, it clearly wasn’t yet the new year by her reckoning.
Yet the exhaustion surged ever stronger, and her consciousness began to blur once more.
Ye Chengxing reached out with her fingertips, lightly tugging Li Jia’s clothes.
A powerful premonition told her that if she didn’t speak now, there might be no next time.
“Xiao Li.” She called out, unsure of her volume, simply exerting herself to speak.
Her voice was so faint, but her tone turned that faintness into a tender whisper.
Li Jia sensed something and froze in place.
Ye Chengxing continued softly, her words halting. “I think I’m going to fall asleep again. Xiao Li, this time… I might not wake up…”
No one could lie to themselves about a brush with death like this.
Her tone was calm. After saying that, Ye Chengxing paused for a second, gathering the words at her lips. She tried to make her voice carry a hint of easy laughter.
“Li Jia, from now on… live well. Go live that bright, wonderful future that was always meant to be yours.”
Li Jia listened in a daze to Ye Chengxing’s voice. The fingers clutching her clothes gradually loosened.
Ye Chengxing felt cool droplets falling onto her neck. Her fingertips twitched as she tried to ruffle the Omega’s hair like always.
But after just that one movement, her hand fell limp once more.
A sense of powerlessness weighed on her heart. Ye Chengxing felt her consciousness scattering further. She curved her lips downward, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m sorry… I broke my promise again. I said we’d ring in the new year together.”
“But this time, forgive me…” she murmured.
Her voice grew fainter and fainter. Li Jia watched as Ye Chengxing’s lips moved one last time without sound, faintly forming the shape of the word “love.”
But the unfinished words of love remained unsaid.
She fell asleep again.
Into a sleep where her life force would grow ever weaker until she would never wake.
At the same moment, the pre-programmed electronic fireworks burst automatically into the night sky outside the window. Brilliant colors exploded one after another, dissolving into streams of light that rained down—like a grand, illusory dream of mirrored flowers and water moon.
The clock hand ticked forward.
The new year had arrived.
The dumplings on the table had been out of the Smart Storage Compartment for a long time now. In their bowl, they had long gone cold.
Li Jia suddenly remembered the dumplings. She glanced sideways at them and let out a laugh she couldn’t hold back.
She held her close, gazing at the fireworks that had faded outside.
The breathing of the person in her arms was so faint it was almost gone.
Li Jia reached out to stroke Ye Chengxing’s cheek. “Sis, look. You taught me for so long that day, but I still couldn’t get it right. My dumplings still leaked filling. I’m so dumb…”
“But now it’s the new year from your world, Sis. We rang it in together. I’m so happy.”
Tears fell uncontrollably, one drop after another, landing at the Alpha’s eye corner below and soaking into her hair, making her sleeping face look as if she were crying too.
Li Jia clasped Ye Chengxing’s fingertips and gently laid her back on the bed properly.
“I’m really so happy. To wear a wedding dress with you. To have you for this long.”
“It’s more than I ever dared dream.”
She gripped the hand wearing the matching ring and picked up the knife she’d prepared long ago. Her expression blurred between laugh and sob. “Falling asleep is fine. If you were awake, you’d stop me for sure. But like this, it’s okay.”
“Sis must remember what I said before—that every bit of meaning in my life came from you.”
As she spoke, Li Jia slowly leaned down, as if to embrace her fully.
“If I lose you, my life would have no meaning at all. But… you’re different. The last thing that should have entered your life was me.”
“I’ve thought about it since. If only we’d met some other way. But if not for this way, I might never have met you at all.”
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably on instinct. The pure white wedding dress was splattered with glaring blood.
At last, she fully embraced her.
Li Jia closed her eyes, a smile curving her lips as she spoke word by word, like a vow. “Li Jia promises to love Ye Chengxing forever. Even in death, I won’t forget. In every life, through endless cycles, we’ll be each other’s only partner.”
She kissed Ye Chengxing’s lips, her voice falling with the kiss, so soft it was almost inaudible.
“Sis, be happy at home.”
On the soft bed, their pure white wedding dresses overlapped. They embraced, the blood spreading from between them like roses blooming in winter.
…
【Zzz… Detection confirms current situation meets… pre… zzz… now… Host’s wish…】
【Wish Contract auto-triggering—】
【Ding! Wish Contract auto-triggered successfully!】
