Mobius tailed him the entire way.
She was quite confident in her tracking skills; she was Snakey, after all. Lurking in the shadows was a passive talent of hers.
First, Ye Feng went to the martial arts dojo.
Mobius knew about this. Ye Feng was a teacher at the dojo and had to lead the disciples in their fist practice every day.
At noon, a powerfully built woman who looked a lot like 'Hua' would take over.
Therefore, Ye Feng would always return home before 12:00 PM to prepare lunch for Mobius.
Why would he be coming home late tonight?
So, the key was the afternoon.
Ye Feng's route changed slightly.
He arrived at a church.
The white building, nestled in a corner of a maple forest, was bathed in the golden afternoon sun, serene and peaceful.
"What is he doing here? And I can't shake the feeling that this church seems out of place in this world..."
Mobius snuck forward like a snake but could only stop outside the main gate.
In her current frail state, she couldn't possibly budge the heavy doors.
And even if she did push them open, she would alert the person inside.
She did not want Ye Feng to discover that she had followed him.
"It's been five hours. What is that guy doing in there?"
The sun began to set in the west, and its orange glow cast a soft hue over the forest.
Mobius, who had been waiting outside, began to pace back and forth with growing anxiety.
This body was truly delicate. After just over half a day without food, she was famished.
She wanted to peek through the church's arched windows, but she was too short.
Climb up? That seemed somewhat undignified.
Mobius grew flustered. Then she realized that there was something wrong with this feeling.
"Why do I care about this? What does it have to do with me what he's doing in there?"
But then again, as her father in name, was it not a bit much to leave his light, soft, and delicate daughter at home alone all day?
As Mobius thought this, her hands were already on the edge of the windowsill, poised to climb.
"Snakey?"
A familiar voice called out. Mobius's climbing motion froze mid-air.
Her foot slipped, and with a yelp, she fell.
---o---
Mobius lay resentfully on Ye Feng's back.
If Ye Feng hadn't appeared so suddenly, she wouldn't have fallen and twisted her ankle.
However, the genuine urgency and heartache he showed when he saw her injury left Mobius silent.
"If you wanted to know where I was going, you could have just asked me. You shouldn't do such dangerous things."
More of his annoying words came from the front. Mobius turned her head away.
"Don't flatter yourself. I was just... collecting inspiration and happened to pass by here."
"Is that so? Snakey hasn't eaten yet, has she? What do you want for dinner?"
"Don't ask me. I'm not hungry."
"Then I'll make cream puffs. They'll be ready in 12 minutes."
12 minutes?
12...
She felt like he was alluding to something else.
But his broad back gave Mobius a sense of security that was, for the first time, difficult to put into words.
'Dammit...', Mobius silently cursed in her heart.
This gentleness was not directed at her, but at "the me from the other world."
She couldn't accept this affection with a clear conscience.
The mere thought of it threw her into turmoil.
All sorts of thoughts churned within her.
Before long, a wave of exhaustion washed over her, and Mobius, lying on Ye Feng's back, gradually closed her eyes.
The fiery red clouds burned across the sky, and in the afterglow of the setting sun, their two shadows were stretched long.
---o---
The next day.
Mobius decided to replicate the situation from when she was nine years old and run away from home.
She couldn't stay here any longer.
The Mobius of the Elysian Realm was proud and arrogant. She even looked down upon her "original self," believing that she was the "one and only" Mobius.
How could she tolerate Ye Feng's affection being for "the other world's self" and not for her?
To her, this was a humiliation.
But before she could even leave the house, Ye Feng blocked her path.
"What are you angry about?" he asked.
Mobius looked deeply at Ye Feng. Her gaze subconsciously wanted to dart away, but she stubbornly met his.
She wasn't going to pretend anymore.
"I am not the 'Snakey' you know. I came from another world; my consciousness has occupied this body."
"?"
Seeing the question mark on Ye Feng's face, Mobius felt a twinge of pity, but she still said:
"To put it simply, the previous Mobius is gone. I am a Mobius with a completely new personality. Can you understand that?"
Ye Feng shook his head.
"I think it's Snakey who doesn't understand. What 'previous Mobius'? From the very beginning, there has only been you. This world only began to run when 'Snakey' woke up."
"??"
Two question marks appeared above Mobius's head.
"What... do you mean?"
"This world exists because of you. Can you understand that?"
"The world... exists because of me...?"
In that instant, countless thoughts should have flooded Mobius's mind.
But the most vivid one at that moment was, 'I'm not a substitute! All the gentleness he showed before was for me!'
---o---
Night.
The sky was full of stars.
Mobius sat alone by the window, her slender, fair hand propping up her chin as she gazed at the starry sky.
She was just a memory construct.
She was keenly aware of this fact.
That was why she wanted to leave the Elysian Realm, to become the "one and only" Mobius.
But now, that obsession was no longer so deep.
Her original self had never experienced "a father's love," yet she was experiencing it now. Wasn't this proof that she had surpassed her original self?
On this point alone, her original self was already far behind.
But, having lost this obsession... where should she go from here?
Continue her exploration of[Infinity]?
Her original self gave up, yet she expects me to continue forward?
Then, what can I do?
"Are you lost, Mobius?"
The nun appeared silently, as if materializing from thin air.
Mobius narrowed her eyes. "Aponia."
"There is no need to be troubled. Coming here, feeling[Lost]is a necessary part of the process."
"Lost? How ridiculous. Hehe, I've simply ascended to a higher state of being. I'm just looking for a new, more ultimate meaning."
Aponia just gazed at Mobius calmly.
"Have you not noticed?"
"Hm?"
"You are acting more and more like a little girl."
"What?"
There was a complex look in Aponia's eyes as she looked at Mobius, one that even contained a hint of envy. "Innocent, cute, naive, lively, and prone to throwing little tantrums... just like a normal little girl."
".....Shut up! That's utter nonsense."
"It's alright. Isn't this fine as well? This is also a revelation of your[True Self]. If Elysia were here, she would definitely..."
"I told you to shut up! Aponia! I really want to rip that mouth of yours apart." Mobius growled.