[Time: New Era, 2035, Spring Equinox]
[Location: Tianhai City, Shili Changjie Street]
[Status: The world is peaceful, and life is tranquil]
...
After that tumultuous "Shattered Mirror" event, the world didn't end.
Instead, it was like a child waking up from a long nightmare, rubbing its sleepy eyes, yawning, and then turning over to embrace the gentlest first ray of sunlight of the morning.
There were no more high-dimensional observations, no more cold systems, and no more countdowns constantly hanging over their heads.
Everything returned to **"ordinariness."**
But this ordinariness was a luxury that Shen Qingqiu (now just an ordinary urban woman) had sought for ninety-nine lifetimes.
8:00 AM.
The alarm clock rang on time. Not a harsh alarm sound, but a gentle piano melody.
Shen Qingqiu stretched out her hand from the soft covers and turned off the alarm.
She stepped barefoot onto the floor and pulled back the curtains.
Outside the window, it was no longer that neon-lit, cyberpunk-style steel jungle.
Instead, it was a clean, bright, tree-lined modern city.
The sky was a clear azure, and the clouds drifted lazily like cotton candy. The streets were bustling with traffic, and the breakfast stalls were steaming, emitting the aroma of soy milk and fried dough sticks—a real, vibrant, and lively world.
"It's this dream again..."
Shen Qingqiu rubbed her temples.
Lately, she had been having a strange dream.
In the dream, there was an endless abyss and a towering black and gold temple reaching into the clouds.
And a man... whose face she couldn't see clearly.
That man always stood in a sea of flames, or in a cold, rainy night.
He was waiting for her.
Always waiting.
"Shen Qingqiu, you've been single for too long, you're going crazy wanting to be in a relationship."
She smiled self-deprecatingly at her reflection in the mirror.
The woman in the mirror had exquisite features and captivating eyes. Although she was wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, she was still beautiful enough to be breathtaking. But deep within those eyes, there was always a hint of weariness and melancholy that seemed to span millennia.
It was a birthmark of the soul.
...
10:00 AM · City Library.
Shen Qingqiu currently works as a freelance writer.
She is writing a novel. The title is "My Ninety-Nine Reincarnations."
Strangely, she doesn't need to plot the story. As soon as she picks up her pen, the stories flow from her mind like a stream.
Gods and demons, mechs, the Way of Heaven, red beans...
As she writes, she inexplicably finds herself shedding tears.
"Sister Qingqiu, daydreaming again?"
The editor's assistant walked over with two cups of coffee and placed them on her desk.
"Your fans are all urging you to update. Everyone wants to know if the male lead, Seventeen, survived in the end?"
"He probably survived."
Shen Qingqiu looked at the cherry blossoms falling outside the window, her eyes somewhat distant.
"Because... he promised that girl that he would watch the fireworks of the world with her."
"Sigh, it's so heartbreaking," the editor's assistant sighed. "But where can you find a man like that in real life? Dying ninety-nine times for one person? Nowadays, men even find it troublesome to queue for a cup of milk tea."
Shen Qingqiu smiled and didn't say anything.
She picked up her coffee and took a sip.
Bitter, yet with a sweet aftertaste.
Like... some unforgettable memory.
...
5:00 PM · Crossroads.
It was raining.
Spring rain always carries a touch of lingering melancholy.
Shen Qingqiu stood at the busy intersection, holding a transparent umbrella, waiting for the green light.
The raindrops hit the umbrella, making a dripping sound.
This sound inexplicably made her heart ache.
As if a long, long time ago, there was also such a rain. She had found a blood-soaked boy under a dirty eaves.
"Don't be afraid, I'll take you home."
This seemingly random sentence suddenly flashed through her mind.
Shen Qingqiu clutched her chest.
There, she wore a bronze pendant she had found at an antique market. A blurry lotus flower was engraved on the pendant. At this moment, this cold bronze object was surprisingly warming up slightly.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
A crisp dog bark broke her train of thought.
Shen Qingqiu lowered her head.
She saw a small stray dog, completely soaked and with an unusually rare golden-white coat, biting at her trouser leg, desperately trying to pull her towards the other side of the road.
The dog looked incredibly intelligent, its dark eyes darting around, revealing a kind of... data-like cunning.
"Hey? Whose little dog is this?"
Shen Qingqiu squatted down, wanting to pet its head.
But the little dog wouldn't let her touch it, only wagging its tail frantically towards the other side of the road, making urgent "whining" sounds.
As if to say, "Look! Look over there!"
Shen Qingqiu subconsciously raised her head.
The red light was counting down.
3...2...1...
The green light turned on.
The vast crowd began to move.
Countless umbrellas looked like moving mushrooms.
But in the gray rain curtain, across the crowded street,
A figure stood silently.
He wasn't holding an umbrella.
The rain had soaked his well-tailored black trench coat, and also his... silver-black short hair.
He was tall, and in this ordinary world, he possessed a kind of aloof and distinguished aura that made him stand out from the crowd.
Everyone around him was hurrying along.
Only he, like a statue, stood there, separated by the flowing traffic and the falling rain.
Gazing at her.
Shen Qingqiu's breath hitched.
The umbrella in her hand slipped.
Plop.
It fell into the puddle, splashing a small spray of water.
She saw his eyes clearly.
What kind of eyes were they?
Deep, calm, yet seemingly containing the storm of an entire universe.
His left eye was as black as night, while his right eye flickered with a faint silver light, like the remnants of shattered stars.
A single glance felt like an eternity.
The surrounding noise disappeared. The sounds of car horns, rain, and pedestrian chatter all faded away.
The entire world was reduced to just the man standing across the street.
He took a step.
Against the flow of people, he walked towards her.
Each step felt like it was treading on her heart.
Thump, thump, thump.
It was the familiar heartbeat that haunted her dreams.
Shen Qingqiu felt her soul tremble.
The memories that had been sealed away, rewritten, and thought to be mere dreams, surged back at this moment like a flood.
"Qingqiu, come home for dinner."
"This road is closed!"
"I am your malfunction."
"We are in the abyss..."
Tears, without warning, streamed down her face.
Mixed with the rainwater on her face, they were surprisingly hot.
The man walked up to her.
He stopped, looking down at the woman who was drenched and crying like a child.
A slow smile spread across his lips.
That smile.
Ten miles of spring breeze couldn't compare to it.
The former demonic energy, killing intent, and divinity had all transformed into the gentlest affection in this mortal world.
He reached out his hand.
That long, slender hand gently wiped away the rain and tears from her face.
His fingertips were warm.
The warmth of a living person.
The little golden-white dog (A-Ling) at their feet excitedly circled their legs, its tail wagging like a propeller.
"Miss."
The man's voice was low and magnetic, carrying a hint of long-lost laughter.
"Your umbrella has fallen."
Shen Qingqiu looked at him, her voice choked with emotion, yet filled with the overwhelming joy of finding something lost.
"It didn't fall."
"I... I don't need it anymore."
She took a step forward, ignoring the surprised stares of the people around them, and tightly hugged his waist.
Burying her face in his rain-scented embrace.
"Seventeen..."
She whispered.
The man's body trembled.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tightly it felt as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones. That was the longing of ninety-nine lifetimes, finally finding its resting place in this moment.
"I'm here."
He whispered in her ear.
Shen Qingqiu looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, and gazed at him.
"Have we... met somewhere before?"
It was a cliché opening line.
But between them, it was the most touching declaration of love.
Seventeen looked at her golden eyes that reflected the entire world (although at this moment they were merely the brown of a mortal, in his eyes they were still golden).
The silver light in his eyes flickered slightly.
He lowered his head, his forehead touching hers.
"We have."
"Under Mount Buzhou."
"On the shore of the Sea of Blood."
"On the Neon Terrace."
"In... the abyss."
He took out a red, crystal-clear red bean from his pocket.
It was the token of their love from their previous life, and also the source code of this new world.
He placed the red bean in her palm and then closed her fingers around it.
"The world has changed, and I've lost my divinity."
"But this red bean..."
"Still... remains etched in my soul."
The rain was still falling.
But Shen Qingqiu felt that this was the most beautiful sun shower she had ever seen in her life.
She clutched the red bean tightly.
Standing on tiptoe, in the bustling street, she kissed his lips.
"Seventeen."
"This time, let's... live a good life together."
"As you wish, my lady."
...
The camera zoomed out.
In the rainy city, neon lights flickered on, and lights shone from countless homes.
At the busy intersection, a pair of lovers embracing, and a cheerful little dog.
They formed a picture more eternal than any myth.
The story began with him gazing at her in the abyss.
The story ended with him... embracing her in the mortal world.
(End of the book)
[Author's Note]
This is a story about "salvation" and "self-salvation."
Seventeen saved Qingqiu's life, and Qingqiu saved Seventeen's soul.
They shattered the false gods, only to hold hands under the real sunlight.
May every one of you in parallel worlds
find that "Seventeen" who is willing to fight the whole world for you. May you also possess the courage of Shen Qingqiu, the courage to pick up a pen and rewrite your own destiny.
— Winter, 2025.