The voice laughed, echoing repeatedly in Yin Xiu's mind.
He looked at his sister on the ground, then at the black monster that kept circling around him, his mind completely unable to make a judgment about the current situation.
The familiar orphanage was silent. His beloved younger sister, who should have been alive, lay on the cold ground. The memories of his sister's death that flashed through his mind felt as if they had happened just yesterday.
The memories and pain that had been buried deep within his mind were unearthed and brought to the surface, leaving Yin Xiu at a loss.
The voice continued to ask him, "If your sister could come back to life and have a bright future with you again, would you choose her?"
"You'll choose your sister, right? Your sister is so cute, so sensible and kind. She clearly has a bright future ahead of her, but she'll be buried deep in the earth. Can you really bear to do that?"
The monsters surrounding him were cautiously watching him. "Boyfriend, what's wrong with you?"
"No, we shouldn't stay here. We need to get out of here quickly. This place is all fake."
The tiny tentacles gently and tentatively hooked Yin Xiu's fingers, wanting to lead him away from this gloomy orphanage.
But the moment her right hand touched the cold monster, her left hand was suddenly held by a warm little hand.
"Brother! Where are you going? Didn't you promise you wouldn't leave Xiaoxiao?" Turning around, the orphanage returned to normal, and the cute and familiar face stood beside Yin Xiu with a smile as always, happily staring at him.
Unmoved by the lifted ceiling and oblivious to the enormous monster, she simply took Yin Xiu's hand and gently shook it, smiling sweetly, "Brother, don't leave me again. Xiaoxiao will be sad without you. Are you really going to leave Xiaoxiao here all alone?"
Having lost the memories of the dungeon and forgotten the people he met, even if Yin Xiu were to encounter the orphanage ten thousand times again, he would always stop for the familiar face and smile before him.
Giving up on this person is almost equivalent to giving up on the first half of their life, abandoning their former glory without any support.
Yin Xiu's breathing became slightly rapid. He shouldn't have hesitated at all in front of his sister, but for some reason, a voice in his heart was urging him to leave.
"Boyfriend...come...come with me..." The little monster beside him kept tugging at his hand, trying to take Yin Xiu away from here. It seemed to have the means to forcibly take Yin Xiu away, but it didn't do so. It just pulled Yin Xiu and asked and begged.
Xiaoxiao on the other side looked almost the same way, staring at Yin Xiu with a wronged expression, "Brother, don't leave me, you promised to stay with me forever."
The two voices mingled together, making Yin Xiu's head ache even more.
"And what's a boyfriend?" Xiaoxiao tilted her head in confusion. "How could my brother have a boyfriend? He's always been with me at the orphanage!"
Xiaoxiao's voice made Yin Xiu lose consciousness.
Indeed, he had always stayed in this orphanage with Xiaoxiao and had never left. When and where did he meet this monster who called him his boyfriend?
But the monster seemed to have no hostility towards him at all; it simply took his hand and tried to lead him away from there.
In Yin Xiu's current memories of the past, there were few people who were so kind to him, let alone a monster who appeared out of nowhere.
Yin Xiu frowned, trying hard to think and recall.
Xiaoxiao, who was standing nearby, silently pulled him deeper into the orphanage. "Brother will never have a boyfriend. I'm your only sister. We've always been like this. Brother, don't let the monsters trick you."
She pulled Yin Xiu and staggered forward a step, just out of the range where the small tentacles could reach Yin Xiu.
"Boyfriend!" The little monster anxiously crawled through the crack in the ceiling, trying to squeeze in, but it seemed to be blocked by something invisible, and couldn't get in at all.
"Brother's leaving." Xiaoxiao smiled and took Yin Xiu's hand, preparing to turn and leave.
The scales sounded again, this time just beginning to tip, but then abruptly stopped.
"Brother?" Xiaoxiao looked up at Yin Xiu, who was standing still, and stared at him in confusion.
Yin Xiu remained silent. He had just heard the sound of the sea breeze. In this narrow and dark orphanage, he heard the free and vast sea breeze.
Images kept flashing through my mind.
The shattered school floated on the sea. At the edge of the broken floor, there was… there was someone… who pressed their forehead against his, smiled at him with those dark eyes, and then said—
Even if... no, not my boyfriend, I will still be... someone important to you...
That person is...
"Li Mo?"
The moment his name was called, Yin Xiu's previously cloudy eyes suddenly cleared. His thoughts only paused for a few seconds before he quickly broke free from this strange environment, going from confusion to clarity, and gradually turning into calmness and indifference.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiaoxiao looked at Yin Xiu with concern. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Yin Xiu looked down at the voice, staring at the little girl standing beside him. He took a deep breath, then squatted down and touched her hair.
Seeing her familiar older brother making an affectionate gesture, the little girl's face returned to a smile. Just as she curved her lips into a smile, she suddenly sensed something was wrong. Although the person in front of her was touching her hair, there was no tenderness on his face; it was still that indifferent expression.
"Why did you erase my memories of the rest of my life before taking out Xiaoxiao's likeness?" Yin Xiu stared coldly at the face in front of him that he knew all too well. "You know that you can use the memory of my happiness in the rest of my life to threaten me, right?"
"You know very well in your heart that that monster was also a source of happiness for me, right?"
The Yin Xiu who once possessed complete memories would feel a lump in his throat and be unable to move forward because of Xiao Xiao, but now, the Yin Xiu who is only a teenager is stuck because of the orphanage and Xiao Xiao. The Yin Xiu who is in his twenties will make a choice with absolute decisiveness.
Yin Xiu's tone was calm, but the little girl whose head was being patted gradually became distorted in expression.
The hand that landed on her head wasn't touching her head at all; it was pressing down on her crown, as if trying to twist her head off, causing her to gradually panic.
"What are you saying, brother? I'm Xiaoxiao, your favorite little sister!"
She tried to explain herself, but Yin Xiu's eyes were deep and he didn't want to pay any attention to her.
"My lovely sister is already asleep, so please don't disturb her by digging up my memories."
"I hate you guys who use memories so randomly and mysteriously." He coldly grabbed the little girl and threw her at the black monster beside him. "Boyfriend, eat her."