Yan Jingxing watched the figure of the captain's classmate disappear into the crowd.

“…… Chunzao, she's gone. ”

He said to the girl who was still holding on to her clothes behind her back.

"You don't have to keep hiding, can you?"

“……”

Ji Chunzao moved his feet and stood side by side with him.

She stared at the crowd surging in front of the mall, her tense little face and lips finally relaxed, and she sighed quietly.

Yan Jingxing couldn't help but touch his chin.

From his point of view, as a bystander, the relationship between the two girls seemed a little strange, not like ordinary roommates.

"Spring algae?"

"Huh?"

"You're going home alone later?"

"Hmm."

"Then wait a minute. There's still some time, let's talk about it. ”

"Huh?"

The long-haired girl looked at him a little confused.

"Don't pretend to be stupid, of course it's about you and Xie Yuzhi. What has happened to the two of you before, right? ”

To put it bluntly, he felt that there was no reason for this kind of thing to hide.

"Hmm...... It has happened, and I don't know how to face her. ”

Ji Chunzao has always been frank, or in addition to feeling embarrassed by the occasional "girlish feelings", she doesn't know how to hide herself; It is precisely because of this personality that it incurs the rejection of others.

"The two of us have been roommates since the first year of junior high school. She doesn't seem to be close to people, and she doesn't have many friends like me. ”

"It's the same as you, that's pretty rare." Yan Jingxing nodded, "The Wolong and Phoenix Chicks have gathered in a dormitory. ”

Ji Chunzao decided to pretend not to hear it, and continued:

"Then, there's a guy in the dorm who always likes to speak ill of people behind their backs. In fact, she said bad things about Xie Yuzhi to us, but she didn't dare to say it to her face. But it's different for me, she's not afraid to offend me. ”

"During that time, every day when I went back to the dormitory, I could hear her being weird at me, which was really annoying." The little girl sighed, "But I can't hit her, she didn't do it after all, and it's unreasonable for me to do it first." ”

…… So you're still going to hit her, huh?

"One day, she deliberately took my clothes away, and said that I always wore the same underwear every day and refused to change it, and only wore school uniforms on weekends......

"You, you don't change your clothes?"

Yan Jingxing's eyes widened.

"No, it's the guy who framed me!" Ji Chunzao hurriedly explained, "I change and wash every day!" Those who buy a lot of clothes but don't wash them are not as clean as me. ”

“…… Let it be so. ”

"It's not 'assumed', that's what it is!"

"But you even have messy hair, and you really take care of it?"

"My hair is naturally curly!"

The girl grabbed the hair that had fallen on her shoulder, and her tone was a little annoyed. However, she quickly reacted and changed the subject back.

"I won't mess with you. In short, the person who stood up for me to teach her a lesson at that time was Xie Yuzhi. ”

"I see. Then she's really good to you. ”

"yes, but on the same day, I had a big fight with her." Ji Chunzao said, "I was going to thank her, but she grabbed me and said with a serious face that I wanted to 'give up the alien thing' and let me 'face the reality with a positive and healthy attitude' and ......."

"And then you got into a fight with her? Sounds like your problem. ”

"I was just standing up for my opinion, and she started to get angry."

"Chunzao, I didn't mean to let you give up."

Yan Jingxing sighed.

"But she's not like me, and since she can't see aliens, she's less likely to believe your words. She's always taken care of you, and if you want to learn how to maintain the relationship, you'll have to choose a more tactful way......"

"Of course I know this, this kind of thing," she began to mumble again, "but at that time, Yuzhi's expression was so serious, that I also became serious, so the opinions of the two became-for-tat. ”

"Of course, I quickly regretted it and wanted to talk to her about it...... But she didn't want to pay attention to me anymore, and she still felt like she was walking around me. ”

"Oh, I don't want to pay attention to you, I'm disappointed in you." Yan Jingxing nodded, "That's her problem." ”

"Alas......"

Ji Chunzao began to sigh for a long time.

The two of them had now reached the edge of the river that flowed through the center of the town, with a stone bridge over the river, and below the bridge was the turbulent river and the bottom of the cobblestone.

Down the hillside, shrubs and blades of grass grow and spread haphazardly; From time to time, tricycles and motorcycles pass over the bridge, and the crushed stone slabs make a "rattle" sound, and the bridge is flanked by rusty metal railings.

Ji Chunzao leaned against the railing behind her, and her immature face showed a sorrow that was not suitable for her age.

"Now is not the time to dwell on 'whose problem', but the two of us can't understand each other."

"If you don't understand, you don't understand."

Yan Jingxing leaned on the railing by the bridge as she did, and then soon found that the support behind her was not very stable, and the railing was shaky, as if it might fall down at any time, so she quickly got up and pulled Ji Chunzao up by the way.

"It's her business that she doesn't want to listen to me, I must convince her!"

The girl clenched her fists, her eyes sparkling, and she seemed to have found a new purpose.

"Captain, you say?" He frowned slightly, "She doesn't want to be friends with you, and you can force her to not do it." ”

The reaction ...... Yan Jingxing, don't you want me to make new friends? Ji Chunzao laughed, "Don't be jealous, you're the first, she's the last." ”

“…… Where did you get such a big face? ”

Yan Jingxing retorted angrily:

"I don't object, I just think you can't do it."

"Why, don't forget, the 'method' I was going to use to convince you hasn't worked yet. If she's lucky, maybe she'll be like you, and she'll suddenly be able to see alien creatures? ”

The "method" in Ji Chunzao's mouth is to first point out the victims who were attacked by spirit leeches, and then let people see their fate, so as to win people's trust.

"But the spirit leeches are gone, aren't they? No, I was killed by the 'astronaut' I saw......"

"Just wait for them to come back next time."

Ji Chunzao replied disapprehantly.

"Do they come too often?"

"No, in fact, it's only three times. However, these two years will always come, right? ”

“…… It's too long, isn't it? ”

"Before I graduate, just let me let go of this concern."

The little girl stretched, as if ready to leave.

"Jing Xing, I can't overcome the 'summoning' thing for the time being, you should be able to wait a little longer, right?"

"Well, it doesn't matter on my side."

"That's good. If it's okay, I'll go first? ”

This guy has a really wide heart......

Yan Jingxing hesitated, but still asked:

"You and your aunt ...... business"

"Rest assured, I know her character. I'm embarrassed today, and I know that I know other friends and classmates, so I won't do anything to me. How to say it, my aunt is a better person. ”

It's "horizontal in the nest", Yan Jingxing thought.

Seeing that Chunzao knew what she knew, he didn't say anything more, and waved goodbye to her.

"Goodbye."

"Well, see you at school."

*

That night, Yan Jingxing had a long and strange dream.

Because he came back late, he was interrogated by his uncle for a while, and today's experience was another jaw-dropping day, and he inevitably had a chaotic mind and cranky thoughts before going to bed; It's not uncommon to have a few dreams after falling asleep.

Every day since he met Ji Chunzao, he felt unprecedented novelty.

Having said that, this night's dream was definitely the strangest one in my life-

……

From the first moment Yan Jingxing opened his eyes in a dream, he was shocked by the big scene in front of him:

A huge white figure was standing silently in front of him.

"He" had his back to him, and his body in a spacesuit stretched infinitely high as if it were about to break through the dome.

This...... How tall exactly?

It was taller than any building he had ever seen, a hundred meters, or two hundred...... Or even more than five hundred meters?

Yan Jingxing stood at the feet of this giant who stood up to the sky and the earth, raised his head and tried his best to look up, but he still couldn't see his head clearly, and could only see an arc as black as night.

…… Strange, how is it bigger than when we met in the cinema?

But after all, it was a dream, and it was normal, and he comforted himself in his heart.

Yes, the first time Yan Jingxing opened his eyes, he realized that he was in a dream.

Because, there can be no such scenery on earth -

Vast plains as far as the eye can see, mountains that rise like the backbone of monsters, and gray mist swirl between heaven and earth.

As far as the eye can see, in the distance are dark clouds like a flock of crows; In the clouds, bright red lightning was scurrying around, leaving bloody traces of branches.

The giant stood in the middle of the boundless world, his arms outstretched, as if to shield the insignificant little man below.

Yan Jingxing realized that he now finally had the opportunity to communicate with the other party one-on-one.

"You have something to say to me, don't you?"

This is the question he wants to ask the most, and regardless of whether the other party can hear it or not, Yan Jingxing raised his head and shouted.

"I want to find you—"

He said as he reached out his hand, wanting to touch the giant's heel.

But Yan Jingxing quickly stopped moving.

A ripple bloomed in the air, spreading out in circles. His fingers were blocked by an invisible wall, separating the two worlds.

“…… Can't you go over. ”

Yan Jingxing stared at the wall and found that it was like a mirror, reflecting the scene that was not originally here.

The reflection on the mirror was vague at first, but as he struggled to widen his eyes with curiosity, the shadows on the mirror began to become richer and richer, and became a series of strange images—

A staircase that spiraled upwards and ended in an endless staircase, swallowed up by darkness; And in this world where there is only up and down, a woman with thick long hair is holding a candlestick in her hand, slightly dispelling the darkness around her, and walking step by step towards the top of the stairs.

This woman is-

"Spring algae ......"

Yan Jingxing muttered in surprise.

It is indeed a familiar figure, but the woman in the mirror has a significantly more mature figure than the current Ji Chunzao, she has become tall, and her hair is so long that it almost hangs to the ground.

At the same time, she walked in a white robe, although she couldn't see her face clearly, and could only glimpse the smile that appeared at the corner of her mouth, but the whole person had an unpredictable and mysterious feeling, and her temperament was very different from the innocent little girl she had only met today......

What the hell is going on?

The huge shadows behind the woman flowed like a substance, conjuring countless and various hideous appearances like demonic beasts in the dim light, but none of them meant to hurt the woman walking in front of them, but obediently followed her, like a group of loyal guards or pets.

"Is it really ...... spring algae?"

While he was confused, the picture on the mirror had changed.

A woman with long black hair is sitting lazily on a high chair with her chin propped up and her legs crossed.

Her eyes drooped, as if she were pretending to sleep.

Where the woman was was a huge hall, empty; Only the chair was placed on the highest point, like a throne standing above the void.

This person was a little stranger, but he quickly recognized it, after all, it was the same person he had only met today......

"Uh, Captain?"

It's the same like when she grew up.

It's weird.

Yan Jingxing touched his chin.

If he dreamed of Chunzao, he still barely felt that it made sense, but he and Xie Yuzhi were really not familiar? The two of them had only spoken a few words......

At this time, he heard the cries of a landslide and tsunami on the screen, filled with fanatical, non-human screams and roars—although the hall was empty, there seemed to be an army of countless unknown creatures gathered outside the hall, and the whole hall trembled in the wave.

Finally, as if someone had woken up from a good dream, the woman on the throne frowned in dissatisfaction and opened her star-like pupils.

And then—

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Huh?"

Yan Jingxing subconsciously took a step back.

The woman's gaze burned, and in an instant, she crossed the moat-like space-time ravine and fell on herself......

"She's looking at me?"

He felt a panic for no reason, and subconsciously wanted to look away, only to find that the "Ji Chunzao" on the first picture suddenly stopped, and also turned his head to look in his direction.

“……！”

The strange feeling only lasted for a short moment, and the picture in Yan Jingxing's eyes was rapidly moving away, his vision was like being dragged back by the collar, the picture became wider, and the proportions of things became smaller and smaller-

The final frame of the picture is frozen.

Yan Jingxing saw a black tower standing tall above the wilderness.

Whether it's a long staircase or a huge hall, it's all in this tower;

There is a bright pillar of light on the tower, which rotates around at regular intervals; The light pierced the black, oppressive sky, like a dim yellow eye.

"Is it there......"

Yan Jingxing's gaze finally moved away from the picture, and then he was surprised to find that the giant in front of him had disappeared for some time, and when he looked again, he found that "he" had shrunk to the size of a normal person.

The silent astronaut slowly raised his arm, and the direction "he" pointed in was the Black Tower on the screen.

"You want me to go to this place? What's out there? What are those images I just saw......"

Before he could finish his sentence, the world in front of him began to change and distort, and he realized that he was going to wake up soon, so he couldn't help but shout:

"Wait——!"

……

Yan Jingxing opened his eyes suddenly.

His breath had not yet calmed down, and his clothes were already soaked with sweat.

He got up and glanced out the window at the sky. The sky was indigo, the distant clouds were flowing darkly, and the east had not yet dawned.

It's still early for school, but he can't sleep anyway. He sat down in front of the breezy window and began to plan for his future......