The moment those words were spoken, something stirred in Lynn's mind.
He felt he had heard that voice somewhere before, that clear and pleasant female voice.
It was in a movie, in those bizarre and fantastical dreams that he could no longer recall.
"Never seen it before," Lynn said, his voice much more tense than he had expected.
"But I always feel that you are a very important person to me."
He paused, then said, "Very important, very important."
Leo almost choked to death on his coffee.
He mentally gave Lynn a very negative review.
That's so blunt, it's like a line straight out of some third-rate romance novel.
He had even started planning how to tell Lynn in the most tactful and straightforward way:
"Dude, your flirting techniques are so lame!"
But what happened next shocked Leo's worldview like never before.
"I feel the same way," Rena said.
Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.
But there was not a trace of perfunctoriness or politeness in those dark purple eyes.
She looked at Lynn as if confirming something very, very important.
Then, she smiled gently, the curve of her smile just right, so beautiful that it made Lynn's heart clench.
Everything that followed seemed to be fast-forwarded.
The two exchanged contact information in front of Leo.
That evening, Lynn surprisingly took the initiative to message Rena.
The next day, they had dinner together and then went for a walk along the river.
On the third day, they went to see a movie and then went to the private club that Leo had recommended, but this time Leo wasn't there.
Leo realized something was wrong on the fourth day.
He saw a photo in Lynn's WeChat Moments.
Lynn and Rena stood side by side in the night view of the Bund, Lynn wearing a smile he hadn't seen for three whole months.
Leo stared at the photo for a long time, then, incredulously, as if confirming the exact date of the end of the world, sent Lynn a message:
"You two are together?"
Lynn replied with only one word, "Hmm."
Leo stared at that word for a full thirty seconds.
How long have you known each other?
Four days.
Leo tossed his phone onto the sofa; he felt he might need to get some therapy.
Regarding the part about my beautiful cousin falling in love with my unlucky brother.
What happened next was even more outrageous.
The two were inseparable, going on dates, taking walks, shopping, and even traveling abroad together.
Lynn took the initiative to arrange the itinerary, visiting several places Rena had mentioned, and adding places she herself wanted to go.
Rena did not refuse and cooperated throughout.
On the streets of Paris, in front of ancient ruins in Rome, and under the aurora borealis in Iceland, the figures of the two standing side by side were captured by countless camera shutters.
Leo learned of this while having dinner with Vivian.
He put down his knife and fork, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "I might need to get to know my brother again."
Vivian asked him what was wrong.
He said, "My brother, who hasn't laughed for three months, is now posting travel photos on his WeChat Moments, and the person standing next to him is my cousin."
Vivian blinked. "Doesn't your sister never go on trips with others?"
"Yes," Leo said softly.
"So I'm really curious, what's going on with them?"
Three months later, both sets of parents met.
Lynn's parents were initially worried that their son might be bewitched by something strange again, but all their worries vanished when they met Rena.
Rena's speech, knowledge, temperament, and the unintentional tenderness she showed when she looked at Lynn.
Both elders felt that their son must have saved the galaxy in his past life.
Rena's parents were also very satisfied with Lynn.
Although Lynn was just an "ordinary" programmer in H City, his background was not particularly impressive.
Moreover, there's a sense of calm and composure about it.
Rena's father privately told Leo, "This kid is something else."
Leo thought to himself, "Yeah, it's really something that someone who hasn't smiled in three months suddenly smiles when he sees my sister."
The engagement ceremony was held at a private club in H City.
It was a small event, with only close relatives and friends from both sides invited.
Lynn stood on the stage, looking at Rena opposite him, and all the jumbled thoughts in his mind vanished.
All he knew was that the woman standing before him was the one he would marry for the rest of his life.
This feeling is strange.
They had only known each other for three months, and he couldn't even explain what he liked about her.
But he knew that certainty came from a place he couldn't find the entrance to.
Leo was the best man, and he watched Lynn put the ring on Rena's finger.
There's a feeling that these two have known each other for a long time.
The wedding is set for three months from now.
The dates, the hotel, the guests, the list of best men and maid of honor, the honeymoon trip—everything is progressing smoothly.
As the best man, Leo was dragged by Lynn to visit every wedding planning company in H City.
He watched as Lynn carefully compared the colors of each table flower, tasted each wedding banquet dish, and confirmed the wording of each invitation.
"Don't you think you're taking this too seriously?" Leo asked.
"You only get married once in a lifetime," Lynn said.
Leo opened his mouth, wanting to say, "You've barely even met my sister before getting engaged, and now you're serious?"
But he didn't say it aloud, because he saw a light in Lynn's eyes when he said those words.
Time quickly passed, and it was now a month before the wedding.
As planned, the couple embarked on their honeymoon.
The first stop was Paris, the second was Rome, the third was Iceland, and the fourth was... Nottingham.
Nottingham was Rena's suggestion.
"Haven't you always liked Warhammer?" she said to Lynn on the plane.
" Nottingham is the birthplace of Warhammer, and the headquarters of Games Workshop is located there, so I chose to make it my final stop."
Lynn was also stunned; he really liked Warhammer.
During those three months when his "heart meridians were severed," he even wore out several Warhammer rulebooks.
But he didn't remember mentioning it to Rena.
When did you find out?
" Leo said so." Rena smiled.
He said you've always liked weird and unusual things since you were little.
Lynn didn't press the matter further; he simply gazed at the clouds outside the window, a warmth he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.
They arrived in Nottingham on a rainy day.
The British-style drizzle, dense and cold, made the whole city seem particularly melancholy.
The Warhammer World flagship store was much larger than Lynn had imagined.
The huge event hall was filled with all sorts of Warhammer models and scenes, and the air was thick with the smell of resin and paint.
They booked the entire event hall, emptied the retail stores, and drank a lot of beer at Bugman's Bar.
Bugman's Bar is the best dwarf-themed bar in the Warhammer World.
A long wooden table, heavy goblets, and banners and shields of various Warhammer races hanging on the walls.
Lynn sat at the bar, holding a glass of Bugman's XXXXX in his hand, looking at the walls covered with Warhammer elements, and suddenly felt a little dazed.
This is all so perfect.
It's too perfect to be real.
Rena sat next to him, quietly drinking her juice, occasionally glancing up at him.
Her gaze was always gentle, like a calm, deep pool.
That evening, they went to another exhibition area at Warhammer World.
The exhibition area displays some of the world's finest warhammer models and scenes.
Lynn walked slowly among the models, her gaze finally settling on a huge display stand.
That's the Tyranids's booth.
The booth was titled " Evacuation of Kastorel-Novem ".
The scene depicts the Imperial Guard's last-minute evacuation of Planet Kastorel-Novem.
The background is a city ruin covered by Zerg swarms, the sky is dyed a sickly purple by the Tyranids ' spore clouds, and countless Zerg units are surging in on the horizon.
The engines of the evacuation ship had been ignited, but dozens of soldiers were still unable to board, and they put up a last stand on the ground with Lasgun and bayonets.
That was a battle that was destined to be lost.
But Lynn's gaze did not fall on the soldiers.
He stared at the swarm of insects swarming onto the display stand.
Hormagaunt, Termagant, Tyranid Warrior, Trygon, Winged Tyranid Prime...
Many of the Tyranids units he was familiar with were there.
They were in various postures; some were running, some were biting, some were spitting acid, and some were flying.
But when Lynn looked at them, he felt neither fear nor hatred.
It's a feeling of familiarity.
He felt a sense of familiarity with those insects.
Those ferocious, bloodthirsty, all-consuming insects were like... family to him.
He himself found the idea absurd.
He stared at the swarm models, his gaze lingering on a Tyranid Warrior.
The Tyranid Warrior stood in the center of the swarm, its carapace pattern differing slightly from its counterparts.
Its posture is more upright than that of ordinary Tyranid Warrior, its body curves are smoother, and even the curve of its bone blade has a subtle, feminine elegance.
Lynn looked at it and suddenly felt as if something had squeezed his heart.
A sour feeling welled up in his nose, and his eyes began to swell.
He didn't understand why he was like this.
He was just looking at a plastic model, a plastic insect painted purple and blue, and he felt like crying.
"What's wrong?"
A voice came from behind.
Lynn turned his head and saw a man standing next to him.
He was a tall, handsome Southeast Asian man with a wheatish complexion.
But strangely, Lynn always felt like she couldn't see his face clearly.