423: 8.23 Share Your Warmth

8.23 Share Your Warmth

0The series of notifications that rang in his mind almost made him dizzy and when he heard the last one, he almost choked on his breath. 

What. The. Fuck. He must have heard wrongly. What did the system say? Revive the Miss? Who did he think Lu Yizhou was, some kind of God who could interfere with the cycle of life and death?! 

Well, forget it. Lu Yizhou heaved out a long suffering sigh. If the system dared to give players such a quest, then it must be possible one way or another. There must be some kind of method to revive Ella. He just had to search for it. Calm down, Lu Yizhou, this was only the first day. He still had six more days to bring his lover out. 

Lu Yizhou shifted his gaze to the timid little ghost who did not dare to meet his eyes and instead, fiddled with the hem of her dress with her gaze trained to the ground. When he recalled how this must be what his lover looked like when he was young, he got the urge to coo and squeeze those soft cheeks. "Well, Miss Ella. It's very nice to meet you. I am Irene." A smile spread across his face, unbidden. He just couldn't help it, Ella was so adorable!

Lu Yizhou still couldn't ascertain what kind of connection Ella had with the other version of Zeke whom he had met previously but one thing for certain was, they were definitely not the same. He looked into Ella's golden eyes and found none of the signs that she might have recognized him. Ella looked totally like a normal little girl — except being a ghost, of course. Based on the timeline, the Miss of the Knox Family was supposed to be 20 years old this year but this little girl was...

"How old are you?" Lu Yizhou asked curiously.

Elle opened her palms in front of her face and wiggled her fingers. 

"Ten?" Lu Yizhou chuckled. When he received the girl's shy nod, he added. "Thank you for answering me. That's very kind of you."

Presumably she had finally been convinced that Lu Yizhou was truly not scared of her, she slowly floated closer and closer until she was finally standing in front of Lu Yizhou. All this while, Lu Yizhou patiently waited and put both hands on his lap where Ella could see. He would make sure that she knew he totally meant no harm. 

Ella's eyes landed on the white feline on his shoulder. "Is that a cat?"

"Mn," Lu Yizhou offered an arm so Ozzie could climb down, gently bringing her in front of Ella with the same eye level. "This is Ozzie."

"Meow~"

'So that's why I have always felt that there's something wrong with Mommy. She has more than one scents meow~'

Lu Yizhou nodded. He had also come to the same conclusion. For some unknown reason, there were two versions of his lover here. Firstly, Elle, the sweet little girl in white dress and second, the bold woman in a black gothic dress… Well, he still had not gotten her name yet. But anyone with eyes could tell that she was the darker, crueler, and more sinister version. She looked down on everyone with that apathetic glint in her golden eyes, so haughty as though no one was even worthy to catch a glimpse of her. 

Putting them side by side, aside from the children and adult versions, they were akin to angel and demon. Just like two sides of the same coins.

Elle flicked him a hesitant look and when Lu Yizhou nodded, she slowly stretched out a hand to boop Ozzie right on the nose. When Ozzie's whiskers twitched, she hastily yanked her hand back as if burned, her little shoulders trembling in fear. That demeanor of hers somehow reminded Lu Yizhou of the young Ren Zexi when they first met. Nostalgia flooded his heart and his voice softened considerably. "It's okay, Miss Ella. Ozzie is a very good girl. She won't bite. Right, Ozzie?"

"Meow!" Ozzie perked up happily, her throat giving off purrs. 'Small Mommy, small Mommy is so cute! I want cuddles meow!' 

This time, Ella tried again to place her palm on top of Ozzie's head. When she was certain that the cat really wouldn't go feral, the tension on her face relaxed and she let out a giggle. "Ozzie…"

"Meow!"

"She answered me!" She chirped delightfully, which earned her a gentle and fond hum from Lu Yizhou. Growing more and more courageous, she started to stroke Ozzie's head and marveled on the softness. "So cute… so soft… she's so warm." 

She shocked Lu Yizhou when she suddenly held the back of his hand. Icy cold sensation traveled from where they were touching, so cold that Lu Yizhou shivered involuntarily. Her fingers were tinged with the sickly hue of blue and the nails blackened like the other version of her, and Lu Yizhou was surprised when he found so many little blue and black dots on her skin that were slightly exposed when she lifted her arm. Those were… injection bruises?

Ella looked a little sad. "Has everyone always been so warm?"

Lu Yizhou actually had so many questions he wanted to ask, yet he did not know where to start. He certainly did not wish to repeat the previous tragedy where the ghost in his bathroom had gone ballistic just because of his thoughtless question. 

He chewed on the words carefully before saying, "Actually it depends. Ozzie is so warm because she has thick fur on her body. As for me… I used to be cold but then there was someone who shared their warmth with me. In the end… I never feel cold anymore." He smiled and opened his arms. "If Miss Ella allows me to, I can also share my warmth with you so you don't need to fear the cold anymore. How about it?"

She was stunned. "You want to… share your warmth? With me?" 

"Yes," Lu Yizhou gave her an encouraging look. "Of course I can understand if you're still hesitant. After all I am a stranger whom you have just met to–oof!" Lu Yizhou let out a laugh when a small body barrelled straight to him so hard that he almost lost his balance and toppled backward, Ozzie jumping down from his arm with a surprised meow. In the end, he just sat down on the dusty ground and his arms around Ella's cold body. "How is it? Can you feel my warmth?"

"Yes…" She sounded a little dazed as she snuggled deeper into Lu Yizhou's chest. "I have forgotten the last time I have ever felt so warm…"

Lu Yizhou stroked her hair gently. "How long?" 

"Umm… I don't know. I don't really remember. It has been so long since I've been trapped here." Her tone was wistful and forlorn. Lu Yizhou held her a bit tighter in exchange and started to rock them back and forth. "So many people come and go, but they all fear me. Fear us."

There was too much new information in those sentences. Lu Yizhou carefully latched onto one. "Trapped? Can you explain it a bit for me, please? Are you trapped in this room or… in this house?"

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A/N: guess how many ML is in this world? :D (spoiler: not two)

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