"Oh... that's good." Jiang Cancan was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "That's really great. They should be punished. Yu Xin, now we can live happily here, right? We won't become someone else's test subjects anymore, right?"
"Right. From now on we can live here peacefully, spend a lifetime happily together. No one will use us as test subjects anymore."
"That's wonderful."
Jiang Cancan stood up and handed the peeled apple to A-Xin. "Eat it, I just peeled it."
"How about half each?"
Jiang Cancan's eyes brightened. "Okay, half each." She divided the apple in two halves, and carefully removed the core from one half before handing it to A-Xin. The remaining half, she didn't remove the core and just bit into it directly.
The two leaned on the sofa, watching the news on TV.
The news here was broadcast by A-Xin from the real world, so it was real.
"They really were brought to justice, and that laboratory was destroyed too." Jiang Cancan said in a relaxed tone.
"Yes, everything is peaceful now."
"Then let's go to school tomorrow, how about it? I still want to take the university entrance exam, want to enjoy university life," Jiang Cancan said, squinting her eyes. "Of course, you have to come with me."
A-Xin nodded. "Okay."
Jiang Cancan stood up, went to the kitchen to wash her hands, then turned back to A-Xin and said, "Then I'll go to my room to study. We've been delayed several days. If my studies can't keep up, that would be terrible. I don't want to fail the exam."
After A-Xin watched Jiang Cancan return to her room, she withdrew her gaze and stared at the news on TV, lost in thought. Thinking about going to school tomorrow, her soul power spread out, and in this city, she established an excellent school. The people inside were varied, with their own reactions, unlike Cheng Yiling's brainwave world where, although everything looked incredibly real, once Cheng Yiling wasn't controlling it, those people's behavior—if you were just a bit careful—you could discover the flaws.
Her world could pass for real, it was the kind of world Jiang Cancan imagined.
Beautiful, peaceful, stable. Only good, no evil.
In this world, Jiang Cancan would be very happy, would be the princess of this world, loved by everyone.
Later they were admitted to the city's university and spent wonderful times there.
On graduation day, Jiang Cancan suddenly hugged A-Xin and whispered in her ear, "A-Xin, you're so good. I like you so much." She didn't let A-Xin speak, just held her tightly. "I was thinking, this world is clearly fake, so why am I willing to stay here willingly, instead of like every time before, choosing suicide at some unbearable point, over and over, repeating it all."
"When I came back this time, I thought I would still choose suicide at some unbearable moment. At first, suicide was terrifying to me, but later it became like children playing house. Suicide here doesn't really kill you. It's just that someone resets your memory, but I still remember these things.
Do you know what's most terrifying?
It's not the unknown without memory, but knowing clearly what lies ahead, what traps there are, what your ending will be, yet still being unable to avoid it, unable to change it, having to repeat such things countless times. The feeling of endless darkness, seeing no hope, makes me feel like I'm about to collapse at any moment."
"To do the experiment, Dad didn't hesitate to inject me with coma-inducing drugs when I had already woken up. When I still had consciousness, he cruelly extracted my brainwaves. That pain, I still can't forget. Initially, that brainwave world was completely dark. In that dark, lonely, and cold world, there was only my one brainwave. At that time, my memory hadn't yet awakened."
"I started awakening after repeating suicide for the third time. At first I tried to carefully change things, but in this world controlled and manipulated by others, I couldn't change the outcome. Every time I saw that girl Yu Xin, similar to me, being deceived by them to the point of collapse, I was powerless.
They also wanted to do to me what they did to Yu Xin, but each time I committed suicide before that happened.
Later, one day I discovered something wrong with my dad. That's right, I discovered his abnormality. He kept staying here, which let me discover some secrets. For example, he was very likely to have also had his brainwaves extracted and put here.
In the first twenty years, the only people who entered here were my dad and Cheng Yiling, so I guessed that the person who made this move should be Cheng Yiling. Later I carefully verified it, and sure enough, Cheng Yiling was very wrong."
"Do you know how I felt then?"
A-Xin asked, "How?"
"A bit happy. He got his comeuppance. For crazy experiments he didn't hesitate to sacrifice me, without any family affection. Now he was actually brought in by Cheng Yiling in the same way. I was so happy."
"Over these years, many brainwaves have collapsed here. That I've been able to survive, perhaps it's because Jiang Bailei is here with me. Watching him conduct crazy experiments without realizing it, still looking smug—that makes me especially happy."
Jiang Cancan released A-Xin, her bright eyes looking at A-Xin. "When you actively came to find me, the moment I saw you, I knew you weren't Yu Xin. That little girl Yu Xin, even if her memory awakened, wouldn't be as calm and composed as you. Suddenly an outsider broke in—I was really happy. I thought you were like me, brought in by someone, accidentally becoming Yu Xin. Being so calm, you must be a very smart person. Having someone in the same camp, even if we could never get out, we could still act and play them to death."
Jiang Cancan said excitedly, "I never expected, A-Xin, you're really amazing. You could defeat them here, drive them out, and even create a world more powerful than the brainwave world."
She turned back to look at the university. "The people here are really lifelike. If I wasn't certain that we're in a virtual world, I might believe such a school really exists in reality."
"Over these years, wherever I wanted to go, whatever I wanted, you could create it," Jiang Cancan's eyes showed admiration. "You make me respect you, but what I feel for you more is love."
"A-Xin, sometimes in my dreams, I see a figure that looks a bit like you. I can be certain that I really like the person who appears in my dreams." Jiang Cancan's face reddened slightly. "Last night, the figure in my dream turned around, and the face that turned was yours."
A-Xin held Jiang Cancan's hand, her eyes showing a warm smile. "So, is Cancan planning to marry me right after graduation?"
"Ah!" Jiang Cancan hadn't quite reacted yet. A-Xin moved closer to her. "Will you marry me? Cancan."
"Marry... of course I will." Whether this world was real or fake, as long as this person was A-Xin, she would marry her. She paused. "Did you discover something was wrong with me long ago?"
"I did."
Jiang Cancan pouted. "Sneaky, really cunning. You were watching me like a monkey, weren't you?" So she never asked A-Xin where the money came from, wasn't puzzled, and A-Xin wasn't surprised by her attitude at all—it was because A-Xin knew she had her memory.
"No."
A-Xin pulled Jiang Cancan home, her voice carrying on the breeze. With a thought, a rain of roses fell from the sky, as if the entire world was blessing them. "I saw you as my lover. Whether you're willing to live forever in a dream, live in illusion, believe all this is real, or wake up clearly and face reality, I'll accompany you."
Jiang Cancan stared in amazement at the falling rose rain, then hearing A-Xin's sincere words, she hugged A-Xin and kissed her, saying in a light voice, "As long as you're here, this world is great. If we were in the real world, how could we make it rain roses just by saying so? A-Xin, I don't just want to see red rose rain, I want to see rose rain in all colors."
A-Xin would of course satisfy her. The originally red roses changed into various colors and fell down. Jiang Cancan hurriedly reached out to catch them. The real tactile sensation made her laugh. In her joy, she hugged A-Xin and kissed her again. After kissing, she wiped A-Xin's smooth cheek, looking at A-Xin with innocent eyes, indicating the saliva had been wiped clean.
"I've never seen a diamond as big as a house. A-Xin, create one for me to see."
Faced with Jiang Cancan's dreamlike request, A-Xin granted it.
Jiang Cancan watched as a house in the distance suddenly turned into a giant diamond, sparkling under the sun. She danced excitedly, pulling A-Xin and running over quickly, muttering, "It would be great if I could fly."
As soon as she finished speaking, she flew up.
"I can really fly?"
"Yes. This is my world. What you think can all come true."
Jiang Cancan couldn't stop smiling. Finally, the two landed on the giant diamond. Jiang Cancan hugged the diamond and kissed it. "This is really huge."
"What would it look like if each face of this diamond was a different color?" As soon as Jiang Cancan finished speaking, each face of the giant diamond became a different color—yellow, red, blue, pink... These colors pieced together were simply blinding.
She hugged A-Xin's slim waist, lying contentedly on it. "So satisfied, so happy, so blissful."
"A-Xin, I want a particularly beautiful wedding dress. Let's hold a wedding immediately."
Jiang Cancan felt the surroundings changing. The giant diamond didn't change, but the surrounding buildings did.
A hall constructed of diamonds appeared before her eyes. She felt something was off about herself. Looking down, she found herself wearing the most magnificent wedding dress. A-Xin, whom she was hugging, was also wearing a matching wedding dress. Not far away, there was a mirror reflecting the two of them embracing each other.
Jiang Cancan's eyes reddened slightly. She was really too happy.
Thirty years ago, the car accident made her lose control of her body and she was brought to this false world. She endured experiment after experiment, finally persevered, and waited for the most important person in her life. So was this what they meant by "after bitterness comes sweetness"?
She cupped A-Xin's face and kissed her lips and forehead. "Let's get married."
"Okay."
Jiang Cancan excitedly held A-Xin's hand. She felt her vision blur for a moment, and many guests appeared around them. Standing at the front was a kind and amiable priest, waiting for them with a full smile. The gazes of people around were all filled with joy and blessings.
The moment the music started, colorful rose rain fell from the sky again. Jiang Cancan thought, she was really so happy. This world was much more real than the outside world.
...
"That vegetative patient nursing hospital has been sealed."
"Cheng Yiling was executed by firing squad."
"The laboratory was also exposed."
After their marriage, one time A-Xin saw Jiang Cancan staring at the repeated news on TV and told her.
Jiang Cancan turned her head and said in surprise, "Really?" She had always thought that A-Xin couldn't control anything outside.
"A-Xin, can you go outside? Could it be that your body still exists?"
"No, it's all gone."
Jiang Cancan breathed a sigh of relief, her palms somewhat cold. She held A-Xin's hand. "You'll always stay with me, right?"
"Right." A-Xin answered. "Do you want to go out and see?"
"Can I?" Jiang Cancan was somewhat excited. "I can go out too?"
"We can walk freely in the network world, viewing the outside world through the network." A-Xin herself could go anywhere freely, but Jiang Cancan was in brainwave form—using the network as a medium, she could indeed view everything outside.
That day, she took Jiang Cancan to the human network world. In the massive database, Jiang Cancan found the results about the laboratory and the vegetative patient nursing hospital. Cheng Yiling was indeed executed by firing squad. In brainwave form, she crawled into computers and could hear office workers discussing this sensational matter.
"Want to see what Cheng Yiling is doing?"
"Cheng Yiling?" Jiang Cancan's brain short-circuited slightly. "Didn't he already die?"
A-Xin held Jiang Cancan's hand. The environment before them suddenly changed, and they arrived at another place.
Even though Jiang Cancan had never seen a place where death row inmates were executed by firing squad, seeing the scene before her eyes—that person whose head was covered with a black hood—she knew what this place was.
The many people around wearing special clothing and holding weapons, she knew these were all created by A-Xin.
"That's Cheng Yiling."
Although she couldn't see Cheng Yiling's face, from his other exposed skin and build, she could tell this was an old man around sixty years old.
"So he's this old?" Jiang Cancan complained. "Every time he appeared before us, he really looked young and handsome."
"Is this the scene of his execution?" Jiang Cancan asked.
A-Xin nodded. "Yes, it's the scene of his execution, but he's now in brainwave form. After his body died, I brought his brainwaves here and made him repeat the pain of his death every day."
"Sounds quite good." Jiang Cancan's eyes curved in a smile. She held A-Xin's arm and asked, "Are you punishing him for doing those heinous things? I didn't expect you to be such a righteous person, A-Xin."
"No, I'm not a righteous person." A-Xin led Jiang Cancan out of this place. Behind them, a gunshot suddenly rang out. Jiang Cancan's body trembled. This was the scene of Cheng Yiling's death. She showed a happy smile again and asked, "If you're not a righteous person, why do these things?"
"To help you vent your anger." A-Xin said very plainly. Seeing Jiang Cancan's surprised expression, she asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Help me vent my anger?" Jiang Cancan's heart beat rapidly. So A-Xin did all this to help her vent her anger. "You made Cheng Yiling experience repeated death here also to retaliate for what he did to me, right?"
"Yes."
Jiang Cancan didn't know what to say. Had she found a treasure?
In this world, with A-Xin's existence, what was the point of the real world? She suddenly felt that thirty years of torture was really worth it. If she could get this person to come in every life, she'd be willing to suffer all kinds of torture and hardship in the first half of her life. As long as in the end, this person was willing to come, hold her hand tightly, and accompany her forward—even going to hell would be fine.
"Want to go see Jiang Bailei?"
Jiang Cancan still shook her head. "No." She had no feelings left for that madman Jiang Bailei. "I later learned that Mom was actually driven crazy by him. He proposed the brainwave thing after being inspired by what happened to my mom. His own wife, his own daughter—he didn't hesitate to turn them into test subjects. Such a person has no humanity. Before, we saw each other every day, and even without memory, he still didn't hesitate to turn me into a test subject. So I don't want to see him at all."
"He's here. I created a separate space for him. That dark space only has a screen for showing movies, which repeatedly plays one movie: The Life of Jiang Bailei. In the entire dark space, only that place has light and sound. No matter how unwilling he is, he can only stare at that place."
"Also to help me vent my anger?"
"Of course."
Jiang Cancan smiled with her head down, then finally hugged A-Xin's waist. "I'm so happy." In this world, there was actually such a perfect person willing to accompany her forward.
Doing so much, merely to help her vent her anger.
"A-Xin."
"What?"
"Let's go home."
The real world was appealing, but the virtual world A-Xin created for her was more worth her nostalgia.
She liked this virtual world, where only beauty existed, only light. Even if the entire world was fake, as long as A-Xin was real, that was enough.
Jiang Cancan occasionally crawled into the network to view the real world, treating it like tourism, observing the real world's progress. She thought the virtual world also needed to keep pace with the times. But more often, she preferred the beautiful world A-Xin created for her.
When she went out to play and saw pretty jewelry or clothes, she'd come back and ask A-Xin to create them and put them on herself—that could make her happy for three days. She'd also see things suitable for A-Xin and ask A-Xin to create them and hang them on A-Xin's body—that could make her happy for seven days.
Jiang Cancan was actually very easy to satisfy. What she liked most about this world was having A-Xin as a person.
She lived for a very long time, watching the outside world change. A-Xin would change their world to match the outside.
She liked lurking in the network world, listening to office workers chat, watching programmers go bald and frantic from writing code, going to various hidden forums to see humanity's little secrets.
But she only observed silently, never caused destruction. She liked beauty, didn't like bad things, and didn't want to be a destructive brainwave.
Once, she discovered something unpleasant. Instinctively she exposed them, unexpectedly creating big news. It was a gang selling organs. She had accidentally entered their networked phone and heard the conversation. Remembering her own experience, without thinking about anything, she directly exposed them across the entire network.
Watching these people get arrested with completely confused faces, she danced excitedly in the network world.
She rushed back excitedly to tell A-Xin about this, her eyes very bright. "A-Xin, I don't know how long I can live. How about we do something meaningful so we don't waste time? Okay?"
"Whatever you say is good."
Jiang Cancan was somewhat shy. She pressed A-Xin onto the sofa and kissed her. How could her A-Xin be so good?
Having something she liked to do, Jiang Cancan every day according to work hours, traveled through the massive network data. Whenever she saw dark transactions, she'd expose them, giving absolutely no room for negotiation.
As long as the network existed, no one could prevent her intrusion.
No one could do anything about her. Over time, she became famous worldwide. They called her the "Messenger of Justice." The legend they created for her was: a hacker of unknown gender, with a heart full of justice, maintaining world peace.
When her brainwaves were about to dissipate, she already had a feeling. She hugged A-Xin and wouldn't let go. "My giant diamond, my diamond hall, my diamond house, my flower city, my beautiful dresses, all my everything... wah... I can't take them with me." And her A-Xin, she couldn't take her either. She was about to lose A-Xin.
A-Xin just held her and comforted her, creating many giant diamonds for her. Only then did she stop crying, muttering quietly, "Alright, stop creating them. No matter how many you create, I still can't take them with me." She held A-Xin tightly—this was what she most wanted to take with her. Looking at A-Xin, she said, "Kiss me."
A-Xin leaned down and kissed her.
"Lips, cheeks, eyes, and forehead—kiss them all."
A-Xin complied.
"I want to wear the most beautiful dress."
With a thought, A-Xin created the most beautiful dress for her, which appeared on Jiang Cancan's body. Not only the most beautiful, but also the most expensive dress in the real world.
Jiang Cancan was satisfied, but she still hugged A-Xin and wouldn't let go. She didn't want to take anything else. All of it wasn't as important to her. The person she was holding was her everything.
But she was about to disappear.
When Jiang Cancan's consciousness was about to completely dissipate, suddenly in a moment of dazed confusion, many fragments flashed through her mind.
They were different worlds where she had different identities. There was always an indifferent figure accompanying her, helping her, doting on her, protecting her.
Her eyes widened. Although the faces of these figures were all different, those incomparably familiar eyes—eyes that only loved her, only held her—how could she not recognize them? This was her A-Xin.
In that last moment, she grabbed A-Xin's sleeve and shouted with all her strength, "A-Xin." This cry carried the love accumulated from countless worlds. A-Xin, this was her A-Xin.
Why did she only remember all this at the very last moment? She still remembered A-Xin saying many times: coming for her, only coming for her. Her A-Xin truly only came for her.
A-Xin didn't remember her—that wasn't important. Yet she still loved her. Even if she'd forgotten her as a person, she still couldn't forget the love for her.
"I'm here."
A-Xin, you'll come in the next life too, right?
Jiang Cancan struggled to keep her eyes open. She no longer had the strength to ask, only shouting in her heart: I'll wait for you.