The Observer
Lu Yan held the sweet and soft Aemeath in his arms.
The decision to stop writing brought him a sense of relief; he used to be working at times like this. Now, he just wanted to bury his face in Aemeath's hair and while away the time.
After a moment of tenderness, Aemeath, nestled in his arms, suddenly propped herself up on her elbow, her golden eyes sparkling as she stared at him. "A-Yan, I want to see that story."
Lu Yan was inhaling her fragrance with a touch of fascination when he subconsciously asked, "What's the story?"
"It's... the story of Solaris." Aemeath reached out and pinched his cheek, her tone light and cheerful.
Lu Yan regained his senses and chuckled, "So that's what it is."
He opened the Wuthering Waves on his computer.
While the game was loading, Lu Yan glanced at the screen. He hadn't logged in for several days since Aemeath appeared.
Upon launching the game, the familiar loading screen appeared.
Lu Yan looked at Aemeath and noticed that she didn't react at all to the two Rover sitting on the shore.
The camera zooms in; the game has finished loading and has entered the main menu.
The character stands in the Glimmering Lakeside Lodge, opens the map, and the exploration progress is invariably displayed as 100%.
Lu Yan heard a soft, dissatisfied snort from his arms.
"What I want to see is a story! A plot! How come your account has nothing left?"
"Because everything's already done." Lu Yan shrugged helplessly.
"No way! This is boring!" Aemeath playfully slapped his hand and snatched the mouse. "I want to see how Rover walks around Solaris. Your main account is like an empty stage after the show is over. I want to see the opening act!"
As she spoke, she skillfully logged out and deftly registered a new account on the registration page.
"Create a new account! I want to start from the very beginning."
Aemeath declared with an air of authority, "I will re-examine the world I once inhabited as an observer."
Seeing her enthusiastic expression, Lu Yan pulled her back into his arms, rested his chin on her shoulder, and watched the opening animation light up on the screen again.
"Alright, then I'll go through it with you again," Lu Yan said softly.
A selection interface pops up in the center of the screen. Two Rover stand silently, one on the left and one on the right.
Aemeath manipulated the mouse, moving the cursor over the female Rover.
Lu Yan was slightly taken aback; he noticed a hint of nostalgia in Aemeath's expression.
He didn't ask any more questions, but simply tightened his arms around her waist.
Aemeath clicked "Confirm," typed "Morning Star" in the nickname field, and entered the game.
The opening animation slowly unfolds.
Aemeath leaned against Lu Yan, quietly watching the Rover, whose Tacit Mark had been imprinted by the First Instance, fall from the sky into the void on the screen.
She remained silent throughout. The animation ended, and the scene shifted to Gorges of Spirits, where the female Rover awoke from her unconsciousness to find two unfamiliar girls before her.
"You're awake?" Yangyang leaned closer on the screen, her tone concerned. "This is Gorges of Spirits, a remote wilderness area on the outskirts of Jinzhou City, under the jurisdiction of Huanglong."
"Judging from your attire, you don't seem to be a local of Huanglong. Are you a traveler who has been wandering far from home, or... a returning traveler?"
Aemeath controlled her character, following the tutorial.
She had no trouble dealing with those Crownless; she handled it with ease.
As they approached the city, the Rover suddenly looked back, only to find no one behind him.
The camera shifts to Chun's jawline, her fingertips slowly tracing the jawline, a faint curve playing at the corners of her lips.
"I've found you... my beloved Fated Seed."
"Isn't this Sister Chun? She looks like a villain," Aemeath said.
Looking at the figure on the screen, whose face and clothes were only partially visible, Lu Yan couldn't help but chuckle, "Indeed, anyone who didn't know better would think she was coming to ambush the Rover."
"Right, right?" Aemeath immediately perked up, turning around in his arms. "Tsubaki-neechan is so nice! She even played with me."
"Why is the camera focused on the villain as if they were making their entrance in the game?"
Lu Yan couldn't help but laugh, "That's how Chun first appeared, all mysterious. But after getting to know her, you realize it's not like that at all."
She turned around again and guided the female Rover forward. "At that time, I didn't know who she was. I just felt that this older sister was strange, and she spoke in riddles, but she was very kind to me."
Aemeath completed the quest, she muttered to herself, "But the Fated Seed has already found you right from the start. An ordinary person would have been scared away long ago."
Lu Yan smiled without saying a word. Aemeath didn't want an answer; he simply tightened his arms around her waist.
For the rest of the time, the two sat in chairs and advanced the plot.
The scene shifts to Jinhsi's entrance, and she looks at Lu Yan with a hint of mockery in her eyes. "In the game, Jinhsi broadcasts her search for A-Piao across the entire map; she's got more influence than me."
The only sounds in the studio were her occasional complaints, the clicks of the mouse, and Lu Yan's regular, warm breathing near her ear.