Forcefully Doting On You - v3c1

 

Chapter 57: The Domineering Heavenly Master's Bewitching Ghost Wife

Note: Hi, everyone! Welcome to the new arc! This isn't my favorite genre, but it's a lot funnier than I expected lol. Probably the best arc so far, imho. Enjoy reading ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡ 

Claire has dreamed of this scene countless times in his dreams.

He dreamed of Mu Cai affectionately wrapping his arms around his neck, of holding the entirety of Mu Cai in his arms. He imagined the other's soft lips, akin to flower petals, approaching him, the sweet aroma of peach flowing between their lips and teeth.

However, all of this did not include Mu Cai disappearing before his eyes.

The young man opposite him, with glossy black eyes, looked at him. His scarlet lips at that moment had just been whispering words that accelerated his heartbeat. But now, Mu Cai stood silent, his eyes, seemingly glazed with a layer of water, looked at him with a tinge of sadness.

The other's lower half has already begun to dissipate.

Now, Mu Cai resembled the virtual projection of a supercomputer, gradually weakening and fading. It seemed that he would disappear from this world in no time.

Mu Cai watched as Claire rushed forward like a man possessed, wanting to grab his hand and keep him there, but in the end, it passed right through the phantom of Mu Cai's hand.

The other widened his eyes, his stern and reserved face showing a hint of collapse. He continued to mumble, "How could this be? What's going on? Cai Cai, don't leave!"

Mu Cai watched Claire's nearly hysterical appearance, seemingly totally oblivious to the fact that it was not only him, but also Claire himself who was gradually fading. Everything around them, whether it was the Zerg carcasses filling the mountains and plains, the mecha fighters harvesting the zergs in the distance, or the worm-like star fleet in the grey sky, all peeled off like years-old wallpaper, revealing the harsh white wall behind.

The energy field was gradually weakening and would soon vanish without a trace.

Harbouring feelings for someone in the energy field was like wanting to marry a virtual character one loves — knowing it's impossible, yet unable to resist the pulsating emotions.

Mu Cai liked Claire and didn't want to leave any regrets, so he chose to confess to Claire. Even if their time together afterward only lasted a few minutes, or even a few seconds, they were a couple.

Seeing Claire's piercing green eyes locked onto him, his expression full of unwillingness and despair, Mu Cai gently layered the shadow of his now transparent hand onto Claire's.

He smiled, his eyes full of tears, "Claire, this place is an energy field, and it's about to disappear. If it could, I really wish it could last a little longer, at least so both of us could spend a lifetime together."

Claire looked into Mu Cai's gleaming eyes. What Mu Cai said was very profound. He should have been completely unable to understand, and upon deeper consideration, might even feel panic. But for some reason, at that moment, Claire understood Mu Cai, vaguely grasping what he meant.

After grasping the other party's words in a hazy understanding, a series of throbbing pain rushed through his mind. Countless broken images flashed in his brain. Images of an unchanging galaxy, a solitary rotating planet, a quiet blooming flower in decay, and many other fragmented scenes that looked like they were from another world.

In these images, he saw himself, Mu Cai, and many other people he did not recognize.

The sudden influx of this information made Claire feel like his head was about to explode. But at the same time, an idea that had been rooted deep within him surged forth strongly:

Save Mu Cai!

At this thought, seeing the youth across from him, Claire's eyes turned red.

Mu Cai’s figure was nothing more than a faint silhouette on the verge of disappearing. His hand was still overlapping Claire's. Logically, the latter shouldn’t be able to touch him at all.

However, just as Mu Cai was about to vanish, he felt his hand being squeezed tightly. The palpable touch came rushing, and a shocked Mu Cai looked over to see that the expression on Claire's face had changed.

The panic and despair on his face were gone, replaced by a calm and composed look. His deep eyes seemed to flicker with the cosmos and stars. His tone was calm, yet resolute, "You'll come back, right? Cai Cai, tell me, will you be coming back?"

Before the youth had a chance to respond, the nearly transparent figure dissipated into the air.

As Claire raised his eyes, the entire energy field shattered in that moment, like a mirror breaking into pieces. When the shards fell, a vast starry sky hidden behind was revealed.

A planet was slowly rotating within it.

The will of the planet overlord, which was in a deep slumber, awakened again. He cast his distant gaze toward a certain area of the planet and didn't move away for a long time.

________________________ 

When Mu Cai woke up, he was still lying in the nutrition cabin.

The cabin door had already been opened, and the research personnel next to him was removing all kinds of tubes from his head and body.

The excitement on Old Huang's face distorted with excitement, "Perfect activation! Cai, you truly are the one I had my eye on! The stimulation of the energy field lasted until the very end!"

Mu Cai managed a smile, "Is that so? That's good then."

Oblivious Old Huang, basking in the joy of close to 100% energy field conversion, failed to notice Mu Cai's mood. He was excitedly staring at the data on the photonic computer, and while analyzing and integrating it, he said, "Cai Can, you've slept nearly half a month this time. Rush to the cafeteria for some food, then hit the gym. Keeping yourself healthy is most important! With this perfect activation, you must have worked hard. I'll give you half a month off to recover."

Mu Cai, still immersed in the energy field from before, listlessly "hmm" in response upon hearing Huang's words. He picked up the clothes beside him and changed. As he passed by Old Huang, Mu Cai paused and asked, "The energy field... was it perfectly activated?"

Old Huang, hearing this, was invigorated, "Yes! Absolutely perfect!"

A fleeting sadness passed through Mu Cai's face. He tried to steady his emotions and asked, "Has the energy field disappeared now?"

Old Huang was puzzled, "Certainly! Perfect activation, every last bit of energy was drained out by you. Of course, the energy field would have also disappeared!"

This fact had been taught to Mu Cai since he started training. Old Huang was sure that Mu Cai, once a top student, couldn't have forgotten such basic knowledge in such a short amount of time.

Only now, Old Huang spotted something amiss, he couldn't help but ask out of concern, "Cai, what's wrong? Did you encounter something inside?"

Mu Cai rushed to shake his head, sounding fatigued, "Nothing, just a casual question. I'm a bit tired, I'll go rest."

Seeing his off-color complexion, Old Huang couldn't push for more details and let him head back to rest, "Then go back to the dorm quickly, and remember to eat!"

Mu Cai responded and left.

As soon as he collapsed onto the bed, Mu Cai could no longer hold back his exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

However, he didn't have a good sleep.

He had many dreams, all fragmented. Sometimes, it would be Claire accompanying him in mecha training; sometimes, he would be carrying food for him. At the last moment, before he woke up, he dreamt of Claire crying, looking at him.

His eyes were clear and crystal, staring at him intently.

Mu Cai felt terrible.

But life had to go on. The energy field had vanished, he couldn't let a projected character disturb his real life.

He reasoned that Claire wouldn't want to see him suffer either.

Over the next two weeks, Mu Cai ate on schedule, exercised, and finally recovered his weakened body from half a month of confinement. In the meantime, he more or less adjusted his mindset.

While he still couldn't let go of his feelings for Claire, he no longer had fragmentary dreams nor often felt sad and pained. He began to keep his feelings inside, preserving them as beautiful memories.

Old Huang, who had observed Mu Cai throughout this dispirited period, noticed that he'd come back to work punctually, not taking an extra day off and preparing to move onto the next world. Concerned, Old Huang couldn't resist asking, "Cai, are you okay? You can take a few more days off if you're not feeling well."

Mu Cai smiled, "It's fine, I've adjusted."

He would live a good life with Claire's memories.

And with that, Mu Cai settled into the nutrient tank.

________________________

When he opened his eyes again, Mu Cai found himself in a picturesque landscape.

An antique gazebo stood beside him, a shimmering emerald-green lake in front of it. The peach tree under which he stood was covered with a cloud of pink blossoms, fluttering down gently.

The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, like a fairyland on earth, but he was the only one there.

Mu Cai decided to explore, but as soon as he took a step, he realized he was barefoot, with a silver ring on his left foot.

The feeling of his clothes was also strange. Glancing down, he saw he was in a red robe. The robe was made of silk, light and smooth on his skin. More a dress than a robe, its hemline brushed the ground. Around his waist was a belt-like object, combined with the silver ring on his foot, it jingled as he walked, as if he had a built-in background music playing.

His long black hair tumbled over his shoulders, it seemed he now had long, wavy locks.

It wasn't until he checked the plot in his mind that he realized his identity.

This time, Mu Cai was to play an evil and seductive ghost who had been sealed for a thousand years. Now, he was trapped inside a painting, waiting for a few buyers so he could absorb their yang energy, causing some fatalities. And then the main character, a Taoist priest (Heavenly Master), would come to look for him, triggering the plot.

In other words, now, Mu Cai just needed to wait for the story to begin.

That being said, the script did not specify how Mu Cai was to absorb others' yang energy. And he couldn't see what was happening outside, had no idea who his buyers were, and no idea whether he had been bought yet.

That is to say, he couldn't participate in any activity before the official plot began, or even see the progress of the pre-loading bar of the story.

Oh, the life of a ghost is hard.

Thinking of this, Mu Cai decided to first explore his surroundings and familiarize himself with the environment within the painting.

But before he had taken two steps, he felt that the originally cold environment seemed a little warmer.

Looking up, he noticed a bit of hazy mist settling among the densely clustered blossoms of the peach tree.

This made Mu Cai pensive.

Could this be the legendary yang energy?

________________________

Author's Nots:

This will be tested: 【With Claire's memories, he will live a good life】.

A yet-to-appear Taoist priest: I can already feel the coming of green clouds above my head!

A solemn statement from Lu Lu: The world after this is all HE (Happy Ending) =w=

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