The Impact of Modern Life

Early the next morning, Ning Rongrong was woken up by the sunlight.

She opened her eyes to find herself sleeping on the sofa again. She had been sleeping here for the past few days, claiming she "couldn't fall asleep alone," though in reality, she was just too lazy to move to the inner room. Zhang Mo never said anything; every day, once she fell asleep, he would tiptoe back to his own room.

She sat up and saw breakfast laid out on the coffee table—steamed buns, soy milk, and a small dish of pickled vegetables. Zhang Mo was not in the living room.

She paused for a moment, then stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

There was no one in the kitchen. The stove was wiped clean, and the steamer was washed and set aside to dry.

Just as she was wondering where he was, the bathroom door opened. Zhang Mo stepped out, his hair damp and water droplets still clinging to his face.

"Awake?"

Ning Rongrong gave a soft hum, though her eyes couldn't help but dart toward him.

He was wearing a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his forearms. A few bruises still lingered there, left over from when he fought Huyan Li a few days ago. They looked much fainter than yesterday, however.

Zhang Mo felt puzzled by her gaze and looked down at himself.

"What is it?"

Ning Rongrong quickly looked away. "No, nothing."

She turned and headed back to the living room to sit down and eat breakfast.

Zhang Mo followed and sat down beside her, picking up a steamed bun.

The two of them ate in silence.

Halfway through the meal, Ning Rongrong suddenly asked, "Are we still training today?"

Zhang Mo thought for a moment. "Taking a day off."

Ning Rongrong was stunned. "Why?"

"We've trained for three days straight," Zhang Mo said. "You must be tired, too. Besides, Huyan Li isn't coming until the day after tomorrow. Resting today and training tomorrow works out perfectly."

Ning Rongrong gave an "oh" and continued eating.

Once finished, she took the bowls into the kitchen. When she came back out, she saw Zhang Mo sitting on the sofa with a book in his hands.

She leaned over to look; it was that same book about cultural relic restoration.

"Are you going to read all day today?"

Zhang Mo looked up at her. "Do you want to go out?"

Ning Rongrong wanted to say no, but the words that came out were, "Your place is too small; it's stifling."

Zhang Mo closed the book and stood up. "Then let's go."

Ning Rongrong hadn't expected him to be so straightforward and froze for a second.

Zhang Mo had already walked to the door to change his shoes.

"What are you standing there for?"

Ning Rongrong hurried to follow him.

Once they stepped outside, the sunlight was perfect.

In late March, Shanghai was neither cold nor hot, and the breeze felt just right against her face. Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and suddenly felt that the air in this world wasn't so unpleasant after all.

Zhang Mo led her toward the subway station.

Ning Rongrong walked beside him, her eyes darting everywhere. For the past few days, it had been either training in the ruins or coming back to sleep; she hadn't really seen what the city looked like during the day.

The streets were crowded with all sorts of people. There were those in suits rushing along, others walking slowly with grocery baskets, and young women pushing strollers. The shops along the road were all open, selling everything imaginable.

Ning Rongrong suddenly pointed at a shop by the side of the road. "What is that?"

Zhang Mo took a glance. "A milk tea shop."

"What is milk tea?"

"Something to drink. It's sweet."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.

Zhang Mo looked at her and turned into the shop.

Five minutes later, Ning Rongrong was holding a cup of pearl milk tea, looking completely shocked.

"This... there are beads inside!"

Zhang Mo said, "Pearls. They're edible."

Ning Rongrong sucked up one, half-doubting, and chewed.

Then, her eyes lit up even more.

"It's delicious!"

She drank as she walked, checking the pearls in the cup every few sips as if she were looking at some rare treasure.

They reached an intersection, and the red light turned on.

Zhang Mo stopped, and Ning Rongrong stopped with him. She watched the cars passing by and suddenly asked:

"Can these things really kill someone if they hit them?"

Zhang Mo nodded.

Ning Rongrong was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Where we come from, there are also things that can kill people upon impact. Spirit Beasts. When some of them run, the very ground shakes."

Zhang Mo did not speak.

The green light turned on, and they continued walking forward.

After a while, Ning Rongrong suddenly pointed at a shop: "What is that?"

Zhang Mo took a glance: "A clothing store."

"They sell clothes?"

"Mm."

Ning Rongrong looked down at her own clothes—a white T-shirt and denim overalls, all bought by Zhang Mo. She suddenly asked, "Where are my clothes?"

Zhang Mo was stunned: "What clothes?"

"The set I had before. The pink one."

Zhang Mo thought for a moment: "Washed. Still hanging out to dry."

Ning Rongrong let out an "oh" and said nothing more.

But she kept staring at the shop's display window.

Zhang Mo saw this and asked, "Want to go in?"

Ning Rongrong hurriedly shook her head: "No, I don't."

Zhang Mo said nothing and pushed the door open to walk in.

Ning Rongrong stood stunned outside, unsure whether she should follow.

Zhang Mo looked back at her: "Come in."

Only then did she hesitantly follow him inside.

The shop was filled with a dazzling array of goods, with clothes of every color hanging everywhere. Ning Rongrong didn't know where to look, but she was quickly drawn to a dress.

It was white, with small flowers embroidered on the hem and a bow at the collar.

She stood there staring at it for a long time, not moving.

Zhang Mo walked over, looked at the dress, then looked at her.

"Want it?"

Ning Rongrong hurriedly shook her head, but her eyes remained fixed on it.

Zhang Mo took the dress down and handed it to her: "Try it on."

Ning Rongrong was stunned; she took the dress and was led into the fitting room by a sales assistant.

After a while, she came out.

Zhang Mo looked up and was momentarily dazed.

The white dress fit perfectly, making her skin look even fairer. The hem hit just at her knees, revealing a slender stretch of her lower legs. Her hair was worn down, and the mix of her powder-blue hair with the white dress made her look like she had stepped out of a painting.

Ning Rongrong felt uncomfortable under his gaze, her face turning slightly red.

"H-how is it?"

Zhang Mo said, "It looks good."

Ning Rongrong's face turned even redder.

She stood in front of the mirror and looked, stunned by her own reflection.

Was that person in the mirror really her?

The sales assistant kept praising her from the side: "The young lady is so beautiful; this dress fits you perfectly..."

Ning Rongrong's ears burned as she listened, and she turned to go back inside and change.

Zhang Mo said, "Just wear it."

Ning Rongrong looked back at him.

Zhang Mo had already gone to the counter to pay.

Ning Rongrong stood there, watching him pay, then looked down at the dress she was wearing, suddenly feeling something bubbling up in her heart.

After leaving the shop, Ning Rongrong kept looking down at her dress.

She would take a few steps and look down, take a few more steps and look down again.

Zhang Mo couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Ning Rongrong said, "I'm afraid of getting it dirty."

Zhang Mo couldn't hold it back and laughed.

Ning Rongrong glared at him: "What are you laughing at!"

Zhang Mo stopped smiling, though the corners of his mouth remained curled upward.

The two continued walking forward.

Arriving at the entrance of a park, Zhang Mo asked, "Want to go in and sit for a while?"

Ning Rongrong nodded.

There weren't many people in the park; a few elderly couples were strolling, and some children were running on the grass. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, scattering patches of light across the ground.

The two found a bench and sat down.

Ning Rongrong held her half-finished milk tea, watching the children running back and forth, and suddenly said:

"Zhang Mo."

"Hm?"

"Do you think that Huyan Li is really harder to fight than Shi Nian?"

Zhang Mo thought for a moment: "In a head-on fight, yes."

Ning Rongrong fell silent.

After a while, she asked again: "Then are you afraid?"

Zhang Mo said: "I am."

Ning Rongrong turned her head to look at him.

He was looking into the distance, his expression very calm.

"Even if I'm afraid, I still have to fight," he said. "If I don't, both worlds are finished."

Ning Rongrong stared at him for a few seconds, then looked away and whispered:

"You are a strange person."

Zhang Mo didn't speak.

Ning Rongrong continued: "You're clearly afraid, yet you still charge forward. Where we come from, many people hide when they're afraid. If they can't hide, they surrender. But you—you fight whether you're afraid or not."

Zhang Mo said: "There's no hiding from it."

Ning Rongrong was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Mo said: "Since I was little, no one has ever shielded me. If I hide, the problem remains. It's better to face it directly."

Ning Rongrong fell silent.

She thought of her own childhood. In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, there was always someone to shield her from everything. If she caused trouble, Grandpa Sword was there; if she was scolded, Grandpa Bone was there; whatever she wanted, her father gave her.

She had never faced anything on her own.

Until she came to this world.

Coming to this world, she met this person named Zhang Mo.

He also had no one to shield him, yet he stood in front of her, blocking those enemies for her.

Ning Rongrong suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

Zhang Mo looked down at her.

She didn't look up, just held his sleeve and whispered:

"In the future, I'll shield you."

Zhang Mo was taken aback.

Ning Rongrong continued: "Although I only know support techniques, I can still block a little. If you get hurt, I'll heal you. If you can't win, I'll buff you. If you—"

She paused, her voice becoming even quieter.

"If you're about to die, I'll stay with you."

Zhang Mo looked at her.

She still didn't look up, but her hand gripping his sleeve was clenched very tightly.

After a while, he said softly:

"Alright."

Ning Rongrong let go, sat up straight, and pretended to drink her milk tea as if nothing had happened.

But her ears were bright red.

The sun slowly slanted to the west.

The number of people in the park gradually increased—people getting off work, students finishing school, people walking their dogs.

Ning Rongrong watched the people coming and going and suddenly asked:

"Zhang Mo, do you think these people know there's another world?"

Zhang Mo said: "They don't."

"Then do they know that someone is coming to kill us?"

"I don't know either."

Ning Rongrong was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Then they are quite happy."

Zhang Mo did not speak.

She continued, "If you don't know anything, you don't have to be afraid. Going to work and coming home, eating and sleeping every day—you don't have to worry about anything."

Zhang Mo said, "Everyone has their own worries."

Ning Rongrong turned her head to look at him.

He looked into the distance and said, "They worry about houses, cars, and children. You worry about Spirit Emperors, Title Douluos, and two different worlds. It's not the same."

Ning Rongrong thought for a moment and said, "Then our troubles are still bigger."

Zhang Mo laughed.

Seeing him laugh, Ning Rongrong laughed too.

The setting sun dyed the horizon orange-red.

The two stood up and slowly walked back.

When they reached the park entrance, Ning Rongrong suddenly stopped and looked back.

The setting sun shone on the grass, and those children were still running, their laughter drifting over from afar.

She watched for a few seconds, then turned around to catch up with Zhang Mo.

"Let's go," she said, "back to eat steamed buns."

Zhang Mo nodded.

The two walked side by side into the twilight.

Behind them, the park lights flickered on one by one.

On the way back, the sky slowly darkened.

Streetlights lit up one after another, dyeing the street a dim yellow. Ning Rongrong walked beside Zhang Mo, still holding the milk tea cup that had long been empty, reluctant to throw it away.

She kept her head down, not knowing what she was thinking about.

Reaching an intersection, the red light turned on.

The two stopped.

Ning Rongrong suddenly spoke:

"Zhang Mo."

"Hmm?"

"That Life Bond..." She paused, "does it really have to involve having children?"

Zhang Mo was stunned for a moment and turned to look at her.

She was still looking down, her expression unclear.

The red light turned green, and the crowd around them began to surge. But neither of them moved.

Zhang Mo was silent for a few seconds and said, "That's what the system says."

Ning Rongrong let out an "oh" and continued walking forward.

After walking for a while, she asked again, "Then what did you think when you first saw that?"

Zhang Mo thought for a moment and said, "I didn't think much of it."

"Didn't think much of it?"

"At the time, you had just fallen out of the vortex," Zhang Mo said, "my mind was entirely focused on how to keep you from being afraid; I didn't have time to think about anything else."

Ning Rongrong's footsteps faltered.

She looked up at him.

The light from the streetlamp shone from the side, casting soft shadows on his face. His expression was very calm, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

She suddenly looked away and whispered:

"You really are..."

Zhang Mo waited for her to finish, but she didn't.

The two walked to the side of a lake—the same one next to the park from yesterday. In the night, the surface of the lake shimmered, and the distant high-rise buildings were reflected in the water, broken into fragments by the wind.

Ning Rongrong sat down on a bench by the lake.

Zhang Mo stood to the side and did not sit.

Ning Rongrong looked up at him: "Why are you standing?"

Only then did Zhang Mo sit down.

The two sat side by side, watching the lake.

They remained silent for a long time.

Ning Rongrong suddenly said, "I used to have a fiancé."

Zhang Mo did not speak.

"His name is Oscar," she continued. "He was also one of the Shrek Seven Devils. He had a Food-type Martial Soul and could make sausages. He was a good person, just a little... a little like that."

Zhang Mo asked, "Like what?"

Ning Rongrong thought for a moment and said, "Too compliant. He listened to everything I said; if I told him to go east, he would never go west. At first, I thought it was great, but later, I felt... it was boring."

She picked up a small pebble from the ground and tossed it into the lake.

With a plop, ripples spread outward.

"Before coming here, I thought I must have liked him," she said. "After all, he was so good to me, and we had an engagement. My father arranged it—a marriage alliance between our two sects."

She paused.

"But after coming here, I realized I could barely remember what he looked like."

Zhang Mo looked at her.

She was still staring at the lake surface, her profile rendered somewhat hazy by the glow of the streetlights.

"It's only been a few days," she said, "and I can hardly recall him."

Zhang Mo said, "Perhaps it is because this place is too unfamiliar."

Ning Rongrong shook her head and said nothing.

After a while, she suddenly turned her head to look at him:

"What about you? In your world, was there someone you liked?"

Zhang Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said, "No. I was always busy fixing things; I never thought about such matters."

Ning Rongrong let out an "oh" and turned back around.

They were silent for another moment.

She suddenly said, "About that Life Bond... have you been wanting to tell me, but didn't know how to bring it up?"

Zhang Mo did not speak.

Ning Rongrong said, "I noticed that every time you check the system, you hide it from me."

Zhang Mo said, "I was afraid you would overthink it."

Ning Rongrong was stunned for a moment: "Overthink what?"

Zhang Mo thought for a moment and said, "I was afraid you would think that the reason I treat you well is because of that mission."

Ning Rongrong stared at him for a few seconds.