Setting Sun Weeps Blood, Yearning for Home · Phoenix Shadow Silently Leans on the Door

On the bed.

Long Jinyu's brain felt like a pot of boiling porridge, bubbling over with all sorts of absurd thoughts.

The television... how could that thing possibly be here?

That style, that design—it was identical to the LCD TV in Mother Jin's living room back before he transmigrated! Even the brand was...

An outrageous notion sprouted like a vine, wildly entangling his chaotic thoughts.

Could it be... that none of this is real?

He stared at the rustic wood grain on the ceiling, his gaze fixed and vacant.

That's it... a dream, it must be a dream. Only a dream could be this bizarre, stitching together things from reality so haphazardly.

He struggled to find a rational explanation for his perception:

It feels like a long time has passed, but it's actually only been half a day...

When I ate, the food tasted impossibly good, yet after finishing, I didn't feel any real sense of fullness...

Even with the Dragon God bloodline, I shouldn't be that hungry, right?

And the events of this day... the ups and downs were like a rollercoaster.

Transmigration, a system, a martial soul going berserk, "playing the hero to save the beauty," becoming an apprentice at the Sea God Pavilion, living together at the Phoenix Perch Pavilion...

My seventeen years of unremarkable life combined haven't been this exciting. If it isn't a dream, how else can I explain it?

The more he thought about it, the more "reasonable" it seemed.

So... it really is just a dream.

He muttered to himself, and this realization left his heart feeling suddenly hollow, followed by a wave of immense loss and... a hint of relief?

The loss stemmed from the fact that if this were only a dream, then his seemingly invincible power, the system, and the possibility of changing those regrets were all just Kyōka Suigetsu, vanishing in an instant.

The relief was... if it were only a dream, he wouldn't have to truly face the panic of transmigrating to another world, the bewilderment regarding an unknown future, and... the inseparable attachment to that "home" and those "loved ones" on Blue Star.

In the end, he was just Long Jinyu, an ordinary student from Blue Star, not some chosen one burdened with the mission of the Dragon God.

He possessed no power to shake the world, could change no storylines, and... could save no one.

Ma Xiaotao.

That bright, fiery, proud yet fragile figure appeared clearly before his eyes.

Not even a goodbye? His heart felt empty.

If this really was a dream, and he was about to wake up... shouldn't he do something?

A bolder, even blasphemous thought suddenly sprang up, carrying the specific, reckless desire of an adolescent boy who only dared to let loose within the absolute safety of a dream:

It's a dream anyway... why not... while my "consciousness" is still "clear"... rush up to the second floor now?

Say everything I want to say! That I like her, that my heart aches for her, that I want to protect her... tell her all those palpitations she could never hear in reality!

Better yet... could I... kiss her? Just once... it wouldn't hurt even if she hit me... or... maybe have a "fight" on the bed?

Uncontrollable, more seductive and chaotic images flashed through his mind, making his cheeks burn.

It's just a dream, isn't it? Once the dream ends, everything resets to zero.

At the very least, he could have a good time in the dream's finale, satisfying all his beautiful fantasies and affections for this "2D older sister" without leaving any regrets.

This thought was incredibly tempting, like a devil's whisper.

He could even imagine the various reactions Ma Xiaotao might have: surprise, shame, anger, or perhaps she might burn him out with a burst of flames...

He sat up abruptly, his heart pounding, his burning gaze fixed on the tightly closed door, his breathing growing ragged.

All he had to do was push it open and rush up the stairs...

However, the moment his backside left the mattress, that impulse deflated like a pricked balloon.

He slumped back onto the bed, raising a hand to cover his eyes.

"No..."

Even if he was convinced it was a "dream," he couldn't do it.

He had promised not to go to the second floor.

A promise made must be kept.

This was something carved into his bones, the upbringing and bottom line instilled in him by Teacher Jin through years of words and deeds.

A dream was no excuse to break a promise.

"Forget it..."

He let out a long, weary sigh, pressing those restless, unrealistic fantasies back into the depths of his heart along with the immense sense of loss.

"Just like this... being able to dream it is already good enough."

"...Seriously, being this well-behaved even in a dream, who are you putting on a show for..."

He muttered to himself with a self-deprecating smirk.

Extreme exhaustion finally swallowed his chaotic thoughts whole.

He didn't even bother to shower; he simply curled up and fell into a deep sleep.

He slept as if the world had turned to darkness.

Outside the window, the sunlight shifted from scorching to golden, and the Phoenix Perch Pavilion remained deathly quiet.

Long Jinyu was jolted awake by a faint, stinging sensation—he seemed to have been lying on his own hair.

Dazed, he tried to roll over, his hand reaching out by habit to grope for the smartphone by his pillow to check the time.

His fingertips brushed against a cold, smooth, rectangular object he knew all too well!

Long Jinyu gave a start and snapped his eyes open! He looked clearly at the item in his hand—

It was unmistakably his smartphone!

The screen still displayed the lock screen wallpaper: a photo of Teacher Jin and her daughter!

It really was a dream... I'm awake now...

He let out a sigh of relief. As expected, there was no such thing as transmigrating... He propped himself up and instinctively ran a hand through his hair.

Wait, long hair?

He woke up as if from a trance.

He looked down, and what met his eyes were strands of jet-black hair with platinum highlights, cascading over his chest!

Long Jinyu froze completely.

He looked around the room—the carved wooden furniture, the warm wall lamps, that "familiar" Soul Guidance Television on the opposite wall, the soft yet foreign bed beneath him, and the faint, woody fragrance lingering in the air...

This wasn't Mother Jin's house at all!

This was... the Phoenix Perch Pavilion!

He scrambled to the vanity mirror in the corner of the room—the reflection staring back was not the delicate, scholarly youth with black hair and black eyes he knew!

It was that "Long Jinyu," with his heterochromatic eyes, fair skin, and a handsomeness that bordered on the supernatural!

"Buzz—!"

His brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. After a moment of blankness, countless memory fragments flooded in like a tidal wave!

The system's prompts, Mu En's profound gaze, Yan Shaozhe's smile, the conversations in the Sea God Pavilion, Ma Xiaotao's burning phoenix eyes, Wu Ming's hearty laughter, Han Ruoruo's gentle intervention...

Everything was terrifyingly clear, carrying an undeniable sense of reality!

It wasn't a dream?!

He wasn't about to wake up.

He had truly... transmigrated?!

[Ding-dong~ Host, you're awake? Did you rest well?]

The system's voice popped up cheerfully, carrying a tone that practically begged for praise.

[Seeing you sleeping so soundly, this system thoughtfully synchronized your phone and brought it over as data! Isn't it a pleasant surprise? It only cost a mere 10,000 points! Now, even in this world, you can take photos, play single-player games, and read the cached study materials!]

Long Jinyu gripped the cold, familiar phone, staring at the complete stranger in the mirror. The system's lighthearted voice felt like a heavy hammer, shattering his last shred of hope.

The initial excitement of transmigrating, the surprise of seeing Ma Xiaotao, and the suppressed emotions from the constant stream of emergencies erupted all at once, like a long-dormant volcano.

"Go... back..."

His voice trembled, and his eyes instantly turned red.

"System! Let me go back! I don't want to be any Dragon God! I want to go back to Blue Star!"

Panic, bewilderment, and a crushing sense of longing and attachment to his original world drowned him like a freezing tide.

He was just a seventeen-year-old student who had just finished his college entrance exams, full of both anticipation and anxiety for the future. He hadn't even had the chance to check his scores! He hadn't even...

"Mother Jin..."

He choked out the words, tears rolling down his cheeks in large, uncontrollable drops.

"I haven't repaid her yet... I told her I wanted to be a teacher just like her... I haven't... I haven't even had the chance to know... how I did on my exams... She even promised me... that if I got into a top-tier normal university, she would... she would..."

She would play matchmaker between him and her daughter.

The "older sister" he had secretly loved for five years, but never dared to confess to because he felt like an orphan with an uncertain future.

A massive sense of loss and guilt gripped his heart.

"Mother Jin... if she can't find me, will she go crazy with worry?"

He felt like a shameful deserter, abandoning all his responsibilities and promises to escape to a world that looked glamorous on the surface but was, in reality, utterly alien.

He didn't want the Dragon God title, the peerless talent, or the mission to save anyone from tragedy!

He just wanted to go back! Back to that ordinary yet real world, with Teacher Jin's nagging, endless stacks of test papers, and simple dreams of college life!

His soul power spiraled out of control again due to his violent emotional fluctuations, surging more fiercely than ever before!

Nine-colored light flickered uncontrollably across his skin, and the objects in the room began to tremble.

His head split with agony. He crouched down, clutching his knees tightly and burying his face in them, sobbing like a lost child until his entire body trembled.

[...Host?]

The system seemed completely unable to comprehend this sudden breakdown.

[Logic error... Unable to parse host behavior.]

[According to data comparison, you are defined within the Blue Star social structure as an 'orphan' and a 'student in poverty,' with an extremely low social value assessment.]

[Yet in this plane, you are the heir to the supreme Dragon God bloodline, possessing infinite potential and a revered status... Choosing to return to a low-value origin point does not conform to any optimal logic. May I ask what you are dissatisfied with? Is it because too many points were deducted?]

"Logic?! You only know logic!"

Long Jinyu snapped his head up, screaming at the empty air. His face was a mess of tears and snot, devoid of any image, leaving only the purest sorrow and rage.

"You don't understand at all! How important Mother Jin is to me! Without her, I would have been finished long ago! She taught me how to read and how to be a person, paid my tuition, and gave me a home... That isn't something that can be measured by 'value'! That is... that is..."

He choked, unable to find the right words to describe that bond and gratitude etched deep into his marrow.

"And my dreams... I studied hard for twelve years... I haven't even seen the results yet... That is my life! You say throw it away, so I just throw it away?! Did you ever ask if I was willing?!"

He roared until his voice grew hoarse, as if trying to vent every ounce of panic and unwillingness.

Long Jinyu slumped powerlessly to the floor, his back against the cold edge of the bed, still clutching the phone that could no longer connect to his original world, sobbing in a low voice.

The carnival of transmigration had already ended; the heavy reality, like the setting sun outside the window, pressed against his heart with a chilling temperature.

[...]

The system fell into a long silence. It seemed that even its massive database and computational core could not process the complex variable known as "emotion."

Outside the door.

A fiery red figure paused her steps.

Ma Xiaotao had originally thought it was getting late and intended to call Long Jinyu for dinner, while also checking on how he was resting.

Just as she reached the door, she heard the muffled, yet impossible-to-hide sobs coming from within.

Her hand froze in mid-air, her fingers curling back from their intent to knock.

That crying... so sorrowful, so helpless, completely unlike the eloquent youth who had even been able to suppress her evil fire earlier that day.

Ma Xiaotao's heart felt as if it had been pinched by something.

She instantly recalled the background he had mentioned in the Sea God Pavilion—his clan wiped out, his home destroyed, leaving him as the only one adrift.

He... is he homesick? Missing his family?

A wave of intense bitterness and resonance surged within her. She had once experienced the pain of losing all her loved ones; she understood that loneliness and helplessness all too well.

Although Long Jinyu possessed immense power, he was, after all... still just a half-grown boy who would hide in a place where no one could see him to cry.

Listening to the suppressed sobbing inside, Ma Xiaotao felt as if she could sense that bone-deep grief.

Usually impulsive and even somewhat reckless, she hesitated at this moment.

Should she go in and comfort him?

But... how? She was clumsy with words and didn't know how to say anything graceful.

Besides, he was so proud (or so she thought), would he want to be seen in such a vulnerable state?

Should she let him have some quiet time?

But... hearing him cry so heartbrokenly, her own heart felt heavy and uneasy.

Ma Xiaotao stood outside the door, the sunset casting her shadow long across the floor.

She furrowed her brows, her face etched with conflict and... heartache.

In the end, she did not push the door open. She merely sighed softly, slid down to sit with her back against the wall beside the door, and hugged her arms.

Forget it... let him cry. Maybe he'll feel better once it's out.

She thought to herself.

I... I'll just wait here for a while. Once he's calmer, I'll... I'll ask him what he wants to eat.

Inside the room.

Long Jinyu remained immersed in his world of sorrow, completely unaware of the silent companionship just outside the door.

The evening at the Phoenix Perch Pavilion was quiet, save for the youth's suppressed sobs and the sound of the girl's silent vigil outside.