Chapter 189 Prologue: Do You Want to Truly Live?
Another transmigration.
No, strictly speaking, it couldn’t be considered as transmigration.
All that could be said was that after lending the useless Tenko unit to Yukinoshita Yukino for an experience beyond her wildest dreams, in order to prevent the world’s will from targeting oneself as an extraterrestrial demon for annihilation, a strategic retreat had been taken.
Simply put, exploiting a bug made the world believe one was Yukinoshita Yukino herself and not a multidimensional invader.
It was also a decision reached after negotiations with the system.
To Lin Qi, it was like a brown bear’s hibernation; quietly lying in the soul’s domain for a nap, and occasionally popping out to play with little Yukinoshita Yukino when bored.
In fact, he had already woken up once, so now he looked at what childhood Yukinoshita Yukino was doing.
Lin Qi opened his eyes in the soul domain.
…
“Mr. Yamamura, long time no see.”
Yukinoshita Father, wearing a well-pressed white suit, smiled warmly while shaking hands with three middle-aged men similarly dressed in suits.
“Mr. Yukinoshita, I apologize for my long absence,” Village Mayor said, smiling, the handshake making them look like dear old friends despite the highly commercial talk.
They were not on bad terms; both were county legislators with decent private relationships, though this quasi-formal greeting method was unavoidable at high society banquets.
“How do you do, Mrs. Yukinoshita?”
After greeting Yukinoshita Father, Village Mayor turned to the mature woman beside him, dressed in traditional kimono, her hair tied neatly.
As it was known, women’s social status in Japan wasn’t high, but Village Mayor didn’t underestimate the woman exuding grace and nobility.
It made sense why Yukinoshita joined their family.
“Greetings, Mr. Yamamura,” Yukinoshita Mother slightly bowed, then patted the back of a little short-haired girl next to her. “Okay, Yono, go greet Mr. Yamamura.”
Yukinoshita Yono’s mouth slightly curved into an appropriate smile as she mimicked her mother’s gesture, bowing. “Greetings, Mr. Yamamura.”
“What a beautiful and intelligent young lady,” Village Mayor praised.
“Where, she falls short,” Yukinoshita Mother covered her smile, every move exuding elegance and refinement befitting a traditional Japanese woman.
After greeting Village Mayor, Yukinoshita Mother led Yukinoshita Yono around to greet the wealthy merchants and dignitaries attending the event.
It was only until Yukinoshita Yono fabricated a bathroom break that she finally escaped.
“Whew… I’m exhausted.” Yono splashed cold water on her face for a moment, feeling a bit more awake.
The people at the banquet came in all shapes and sizes, yet they all wore masks—smiling and friendly yet deciding mutual benefits through hidden messages. To blend in, one needed to wear such a mask, which troubled Yukinoshita Yono.
Observing her reflection in the mirror, she stretched two fingers to curve a smile that seemed forced, devoid of genuine amusement.
She stared at her fake smile, eventually letting her expression crumble, sighing softly. “Ah, I envy little Yukinoshita. I wish I could go abroad too ~ This family is unbearable!”
Though feigning frustration with pursed lips, even this gesture seemed insincere.
Obviously, those were meaningless words spoken out of frustration, a choice she made for herself.
Precisely to ensure her beloved little sister wouldn’t follow her fate, burdened by familial duty and shackled with responsibilities, she took action.
For little Yukinoshita, it was worth everything.
And, wasn’t it also fine in its way?
She excelled at playing the role, satisfying her mother’s expectations perfectly. In her parents’ eyes, she was developing into a perfect successor.
She kept comforting herself internally, quelling her restless heart…
I give up.
Right after praising you, you surprise me, Tenko?
Lost again?
Where’s Yukinoshita?
A black-haired youth looked on silently through Yono’s perspective, covering his face with his palm in the soul domain.
“Come to think of it, Yono began developing her mask identity at this very age. Given her environment, it’s no surprise she turned out this way.”
Lin Qi muttered thoughtfully.
“Isn’t she quite young? Looks like she’s in middle school.”
He could still see struggle, longing for freedom, and envy for her sister in Yukinoshita Yono’s expression. She hadn’t fully accepted her fate, as she was meant to.
Wait…
Lin Qi suddenly realized a problem.
According to his original plan, he should’ve stayed within Yukinoshita Yukino’s body, slowly acquiring curse energy due to his existence, safe from system assimilation since his soul had no binding with the system.
Accumulated curse energy would have then transferred to Yukinoshita Yukino’s original timeline upon his return, benefiting him in turn.
Seemed like a win-win.
But now…
Should it happen so quickly?
Lin Qi thought nervously.
Until he saw Yono’s reflection in the mirror flicker slightly, almost shadow-maste-like, unnoticed by her but not Lin Qi.
“Seriously or not…”
The black-haired youth widened his eyes in disbelief.
While most curse practitioners discover their techniques from ages 7 to 8 onwards,
You’ve done it much faster.
How long has it been since I woke up?
Even with system-assisted Yukinoshita Yukino, it took two days for the body to release curse energy upon activation.
This?
“You know, no matter what she does, she must do it better than me and gain everyone’s approval,” Lin Qi recalled Yukinoshita Yukino’s comment about her elder sister.
Looks like this road of life won’t do for Yukinoshita Yono.
“Girl, do you want to know the meaning of life?”
“Do you want to truly live?”
Amidst the luxurious hotel bathroom,束缚于Yukinoshita Yono behind her wings shattered.
…
That noisy summer:
The bold text seems to indicate sections or emphases within the narrative.
