Lu Shang felt his consciousness dissipating, his unfocused eyes staring blankly at the gloomy sky.
The black engine oil floating around his cheeks gradually spread to his mouth and nose, soaking his eyelashes and suppressing the bitter taste mixed with suffocating pain.
Fine drizzles of rain fell on his face, and all he could sense was the cold.
So cold.
He felt the last trace of oxygen being drawn out from his heart and lungs, no longer struggling.
Ah, he never expected to die in such a filthy place. It truly befits his identity.
A hybrid, a parasite, an artificial being.
His miserable sixteen years of life were nothing but a deception, and he was foolishly enthralled by it.
In the eyes of his so-called parents, it must have been quite amusing. He possessed the same appearance and similar talents as their own son, but he was never truly theirs.
That’s why they… after their biological child returned…
Family ties, friendships, it was all fake, all stolen.
They never belonged to him in the first place, so they can take them back.
He no longer has the strength to hate.
Lu Shang’s eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and he involuntarily closed his eyes. As his blurry vision gradually narrowed, his final thought was:
If only I could die under the sunlight.
However, just as he completely shut his eyes, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed his nape, forcefully pulling him out from the thick engine oil.
When he reluctantly regained his senses, he found himself curled up by the cold riverbank, shivering like a small beast.
Lu Shang struggled to open his blurred eyes, a golden-haired girl who was still shining amidst the rain, approaching him with a ferocious expression and shouted.
“Don’t die! My soulmate! I’ve finally found you!”
Lu Shang couldn’t comprehend what was happening and stared at her in a daze. Was this a hallucination before his death?
As the clumps of oil fell off him, his chest, which had been tightly compressed, couldn’t help but tremble. He wanted to cough forcefully, but his throat was filled with blood, blocking his airway.
He resigned himself and refused to open his eyes again.
However, the next moment, those hands unexpectedly seized his heavy eyelids, forcing them open.
Immediately, his cheeks were firmly pinched, his mouth was forced open, and two warm fingers skillfully pressed against the root of his tongue, compelling him to breathe through his mouth.
“Mmm!”
Lu Shang curled his body, clutching his throat, his painful sobs echoing like a newborn leaving the mother’s womb and entering the world.
*
Following the guidance of the stars, Pei Huan ran into a dilapidated bridge tunnel with only the remaining scaffold.
As soon as she entered the tunnel, a strong and pungent stench assailed her, causing her to feel dizzy and nauseous.
Pei Huan looked around and discovered that the source of the foul odor was the abandoned canal beneath the bridge.
Within the wide canal, a sticky and thick black engine oil flowed slowly. The canal appeared like a dark river that no light could penetrate, where feathers falling upon it were destined to sink.
On the pitch-black surface of the river, resembling melted asphalt, Pei Huan spotted a small patch of white.
She held her breath and leaned closer, only to find a young young man floating there. His entire body was deeply buried in the engine oil, with only his head struggling to stay afloat on the surface, weakly breathing.
Nevertheless, he continued to be engulfed by the oil, as if nothing could prevent his sinking.
Pei Huan noticed his oil-soaked eyelashes drooping weakly, as if they were about to fall.
Although she didn’t understand why her soulmate was a young man, she couldn’t let him die!
Without further thought, Pei Huan transformed in an instant.
Her lips moved rapidly, her actions accelerated, and in a very short time, she performed a series of magical gestures, unleashing her ultimate move.
“Ringring—Luminous Halo!”
Her clasped hands emitted concentric circles of bright waves, growing larger and striking the black engine oil!
The dense engine oil scattered, creating a temporary void.
Quick as lightning, Pei Huan grabbed the young man’s chest before the oil could gather again, exerting all her strength to drag him out.
She pulled the young man’s body step by step towards the bank, and finally, his feet also struggled free from the dark engine oil.
Pei Huan was exhausted and covered in sweat. She sat crookedly beside the young man, too breathless to take a rest. She immediately leaned over to check his condition.
He trembled in pain, his frail chest rising and falling with each breath.
Pei Huan pinched the young man’s heavy eyelids and forced him to open his eyes. She gently slapped his cheeks, trying to bring him back to consciousness, but his gaze continued to dull uncontrollably.
“Don’t die! My soulmate! I’ve finally found you!”
Although he had escaped from the suffocating engine oil, his condition was still critical. His breathing was shallow, and the most dangerous part was that he had no will to survive.
Pei Huan quickly cast a healing spell, but in the world of magical girls, healing spells were difficult to work on someone on the brink of death!
Even though the young man had been brought out of danger, his heart was still breaking.
Moreover, as a combat-oriented magical girl, Pei Huan herself was not skilled in healing.
Pei Huan could only hold him tightly in her arms and provide him with physical treatment. She wiped away the traces of engine oil from his mouth and nose with the back of her hand, then pinched his mouth, forcing him to breathe.
The dilapidated bridge structure offered no protection against the wind and rain, and soon Pei Huan and Lu Shang were soaked by the biting wind mixed with the rain.
Raindrops slowly dripped from Pei Huan’s luminous skin onto Lu Shang’s pale face.
One drop, two drops, three drops.
They seemed to carry a temperature completely different from the icy rain.
Lu Shang lightly moved his fingertips, and in the blur, a golden halo appeared in his eyes.
While assisting his breathing, Pei Huan couldn’t help but engage in her expertise as a magical girl – the healing power of love.
“Young man, don’t give up hope. Live on.”
“Think of your family, how devastated they would be if you were to die!”
Pei Huan heard the sound of breaking becoming increasingly intense. Oh no! Stepped on a landmine! Does this guy have no family at all?!
“Um, then your friends would also be heartbroken, right? Think of your friends!”
The sound of heartbreak was collapsing like a series of falling dominoes, leaving Pei Huan flustered in her speech. Oh no, this guy doesn’t have friends either!
“Well, then I refuse to believe that there is no warm place in your life that can support you! There must be! Think carefully! Don’t make such a hasty decision to die!”
After hearing her words, the sound of breaking, already intense, became even louder!
What? Is it true that there really isn’t a single place worth living for?!
That’s just too pitiful!
If this continues to break apart, Pei Huan feels like she’s becoming an accomplice accelerating the death of her soulmate. She might even become the only lonely magical girl in the world.
She was extremely anxious and shouted without any regard:
“Fine, regardless of whether you had family love or friends love before, whether your life was fortunate or unfortunate, since you have encountered me today, your soulmate!”
“I promise, from now on, I will love you wholeheartedly.”
“I will bring you much more happiness than you’ve ever experienced before!”
“And there are so many, many warm things worth living for that you won’t want to die even at the age of 120!”
She brushed through the boy’s hair, leaned close to his ear, and whispered softly:
“Did you hear that?!”
“If you choose to die now, you will miss out on the love of a magical girl!”
Lu Shang’s eyelids twitched, and he struggled to open his eyes. Pei Huan saw his amber eyes seemingly glistening with moisture, perhaps from the raindrops that had fallen into them?
“Y-You, a stranger, dares to say such things. Are you… the Virgin Mary?”
He hoarsely voiced, intermittently, and painfully.
“What Virgin Mary? Remember this soulmate, I am a magical girl!”
Pei Huan grumbled discontentedly.
She looked at Lu Shang, who had fallen asleep again under the healing energy, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although faint, the happiness value was indeed gradually rising, and the healing magic was taking effect.
Seems like he’s a tsundere!
*
The soulmate she found under the bridge had fallen into a deep sleep under the effect of the healing magic, and Pei Huan finally relaxed.
She held Lu Shang by his waist with both hands, exerted force from her waist, and suddenly lifted the young man.
Lu Shang was much taller than Pei Huan, but she showed no signs of strain.
Pei Huan held Lu Shang in her arms and ran rapidly through the chaotic and disorderly streets. She passed through a low-lying valley adorned with electronic red lanterns, turned at the corner of an abandoned building, and leaped consecutively on the colorful square rooftops. Finally, she arrived in front of a dimly lit hotel.
This was the place she had been staying in recently.
Dusty curtains in the hotel were adorned with several pink heart-shaped light bulbs, and the bulbs gradually lit up until reaching the top plastic sign – 【Peach Color Hotel】.
Pei Huan took a deep breath and carried Lu Shang inside.
The electronic robot stuck to the door frame detected their presence and immediately started shouting, disregarding anyone else:
【LOVE! LOVE! The couple, come inside! Our hotel offers special waterbed rooms and open-air scenic rooms. If you need romantic accessories, OO sets, XX oil, you can purchase them from the vending machine at the counter! Enjoy your time!】
Pei Huan’s head throbbed from the enthusiastic shouts of the small robot. Dissatisfied, she said to the lazy boss lady who was lazily painting her nails at the counter:
“Boss lady, can’t you be a bit more subdued every time? There are obviously single guests as well.”
“Even single guests can choose not to be single, our hotel offers many options.”
The boss lady gestured with her eyes towards the rows of small images on the opposite wall, showcasing various styles and choices.
At the top, a pink slogan read, “On a cold night, enjoy a hot company.”
“And besides, you’re not single today, right?”
She meaningfully glanced at the young man held in Pei Huan’s embrace, “Choking play, having fun, right?”
“What’s that?” Pei Huan blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. She spoke righteously, “It’s soulmate, the purest relationship in the world.”
“What kind of new setting is this?” The boss lady’s lips curled up with a teasing smile. “A normal person bringing a comatose artificial human who can be used as one pleases to a place like this, besides doing certain naughty things, I can’t think of anything else.”
Without time to feel embarrassed, Pei Huan keenly caught onto a keyword, “Artificial human? Boss lady, how did you know he’s an artificial human?”
“Didn’t you check the goods beforehand?” The boss lady gave Pei Huan a disdainful look. “Did you pay extra?”
“Check the goods?”
“Yes, just inspect the back of his neck! Artificial humans usually have markings there.” The boss lady looked at Pei Huan, who seemed a bit slow in response, and sighed softly, “If you have such needs, why not come to me? I won’t cheat you.”
The glass counter clearly reflected the outline of the young man. He lowered his head, and his jet-black hair was pulled down under gravity, revealing a section of snowy white neck, seemingly imprinted with some letters.
Pei Huan didn’t have time to respond to the boss lady’s teasing. She covered Lu Shang’s neck with her hand and lifted him, rushing upstairs.
“Why the hurry? Outsiders need to be registered ,” the boss lady lazily shouted. “What name should I write?”
“I don’t know, you decide.”
Pei Huan’s voice came from the corner of the stairs.
“Such impatient, truly young,” muttered the boss lady as she absentmindedly registered a name on the guestbook.
She recalled the young man being carried by Pei Huan. Although she couldn’t see his face clearly, and he was a bit dirty, that snowy white skin, raven hair, slender waist and delicate legs hanging down weakly, slender and exquisite fingers that are like works of art. It piqued her interest, she sighed, “It’s not a loss.”
*
Pei Huan carried Lu Shang into the room and struggled to close the door with her foot.
Her soulmate was too dirty, so she had to clean him up.
Pei Huan temporarily placed him on the tiled floor, carefully walked around him, and started filling the bathtub with water.
Soon, the small bathtub was filled with warm water.
Pei Huan tested the water temperature and poured some of the complimentary hotel shampoo, releasing a strong, pungent scent of rose that instantly permeated the entire room. She rolled up her sleeves, extended her arm, and vigorously stirred the water a few times, creating a thick layer of rose-colored foam on the clear surface.
Next, she had to strip her soulmate clean and put him in.
Pei Huan looked at the pale-faced young man lying on the floor with closed eyes, his fingers curled up helplessly.
She tentatively placed her finger on his collar.
Lu Shang’s jet-black lashes trembled as if he had sensed something.
But previously, he had been unresponsive the whole way.
Startled, Pei Huan immediately pulled her finger back, instinctively took a step back, and squatted down about half a meter away, carefully observing his reaction.
After about ten seconds, Lu Shang remained still, sleeping peacefully without any other movements.
Pei Huan gathered her courage once again, trembling, one by one, she unbuttoned his shirt.
As she watched the expanding view of his fair skin, Pei Huan’s heart raced, and she swallowed nervously.
Why does this feel like a crime…
That’s why having a male soulmate is really inconvenient!
A dried up mushroom currently addicted to translating novels. Totally not on caffeine!
