Chapter 24: The Promise of an Eternal Life

After casually brushing off the conversation, Lu Mingfei headed straight to the counter to pay. On his way, he happened to catch sight of Zhao Menghua and Chen Wenwen. The two of them were strolling hand in hand in another section of the mall, completely at ease with each other.

“So it really was just me overthinking things,” he mused. Watching them—looking for all the world like they were on a date, and perhaps they truly were—he felt only a faint, distant sense of wistfulness. After this moment of reflection, he couldn't help but wonder: If they spotted him here, would some strange and inexplicable rumor start spreading?

Very likely.

Even though he was practically invisible at school, he always seemed to carry the labels of “poor” and “awkward” wherever he went. Given their objective impression of him, they’d probably twist the situation into something utterly absurd.

Should he just let it go, or face it head-on?

“Isn’t the answer obvious?” Lu Mingfei smiled. He slipped his card back into his pocket and glanced at Su Xiaoqiang, who was standing beside him, lost in thought. He took the initiative to remind her, “Look, Zhao Menghua and Chen Wenwen are over there. If we don’t explain things now, strange rumors might start popping up before long.”

“Huh... what?” The distracted young lady snapped back to attention. She looked at the pair not far away, strolling hand in hand, and after a moment’s thought, suggested, “Then maybe... we should strike first?”

“What?” Lu Mingfei was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected Su Xiaoqiang to say that. He could understand explaining or simply ignoring the situation, but to suggest striking first... What on earth was she thinking?

Their relationship hardly needed any rumors.

Wait, how did I get sidetracked by this?

“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. I misspoke. Don’t mind what I just said,” Su Xiaoqiang hurried to explain.

“Alright.” Lu Mingfei nodded slightly, then briefly recounted the situation to Furnina in his mind.

Soon, Furnina’s slightly dejected voice sounded within him. “The person helping you pick out clothes... must be someone you’re close to, right? I can’t see clearly, but I can sense her voice is lovely, and she’s dressed beautifully.”

“We’re just friends, nothing special.”

“Really?” Furnina’s voice was soft, not suspicious, but quiet. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lu Mingfei; rather, she couldn’t accept that she herself could not be at his side to offer him help.

Am I delaying his youth?

Su Xiaoqiang could accompany him shopping for clothes, while she could only talk to him in his mind, unable even to see his face. What’s more, when she dreamed, her mind would wander to those sorts of thoughts... Someone like her... utterly unable to help him at all...

“If it bothers you, I can keep my distance from her in the future. I mean it,” he offered.

“I’m not that kind of person!” Furnina responded immediately, her voice a mixture of delight and heartache. Though she hadn’t known Lu Mingfei for long, she could already sense his character and his heart with striking clarity.

If our relationship grew too close, would he remember me for a lifetime? How many wonderful girls would he pass by for the sake of a pretend water goddess from another world like me? Am I truly worth that much to him? Is waiting across worlds for him a kind of pain he doesn’t deserve?

“Are you feeling down?” Lu Mingfei asked softly in his heart, even as he offered Su Xiaoqiang a polite smile in reality and said, “Sorry, I just remembered something I have to do. I need to step out for a bit. I’ll buy you a drink at school later, don’t mind, alright?”

“Oh... okay.” Su Xiaoqiang watched him stride away in his new clothes, suddenly puzzled. Was he going to meet someone he liked and so had to leave early? Didn’t he like her?

Maybe... she should follow him and see?

Follow!

...

“I... can’t go to your world, so...” Furnina began.

“Then would you be willing to wait for me?” Lu Mingfei asked.

“Wait for you?”

“My power is connected to space, and I can also use it to locate your world’s coordinates. But I don’t know how long it will take to cross over—maybe years, decades, or even a lifetime.”

He let out a quiet sigh, but forced a smile and continued, “But... but! I still want to do everything I can. I want to go to your world. I want to see you with my own eyes, even if it’s almost impossible.”

“The little devil once told me I’m the greatest monster in this world, that I should live for a very long time. In this endless life, I’ll keep moving closer to you, even if only by a little. I’ll never give up, so I hope you won’t give up on me either, alright?”

“An endless life...” Furnina clenched her fists in silent determination. “I’m cursed. My life is so long it has no end. I have all the time in the world to wait for you. But... until then, I must protect Fontaine. It’s my duty.”

“I see? That’s good, actually. To make an oath to meet in this life, with our long lives as the bond—I like stories as romantic as that.” Lu Mingfei smiled.

“So do I.”

...

By the bench at the roadside, beneath the trees, the little goddess peeked out from behind the trunk, watching Lu Mingfei.

She had no idea what he was up to—she simply couldn’t make sense of him at all. He walked, stopped, and walked again, his eyes bright with purpose, but the path he took kept looping back on itself, as if he were trapped in place.

“Little devil, are you there?” Lu Mingfei suddenly said aloud.

A small boy in a black suit stepped out from the street nearby and grinned, “Brother, do you want to make a deal?”

“No, I just have a question.”

“What is it?”

“How long will I live?”

“How long?” The little devil thought for a moment, then smiled strangely. “A long, long time. There’s a kind of being in this world—each time they die, it’s only for the sake of returning.”

“That’s me? Interesting!” Lu Mingfei laughed. He stood, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace the entire world, quietly attuning himself to the rhythm of space, and to the distance between himself and Furnina.

Perhaps because he spoke with Furnina so often, his spiritual and spatial talents had developed rapidly; it wouldn’t be long before he reached the level needed to cross between worlds.

But that didn’t mean he could reach Teyvat quickly. The world was alive, and the coordinates of Teyvat shifted constantly. To travel precisely to Teyvat was far more difficult than simply crossing worlds.

At present, the distance to Teyvat was at least seven or eight worlds away. He needed an opportunity—a moment when Teyvat’s world would once again intersect with his own. But who knew how long he would have to wait for that chance?

Perhaps it might never come.

If there was no chance, what then?

There could only be one answer.