The Creatures That We Are
Chapter 1286: Sub Accounts

Chapter 1286: Sub Accounts

It was a strange space.

It had no wall, ceiling, or floor, or perhaps they were all transparent. An old-fashioned metal door stood at an invisible wall, covered in rust and flyers that had become a collage of stubborn colors from repeated sticking and tearing off.

Beyond the door was a bedroom around a dozen square meters big. Under a large window, there was a single wooden bed with a checkered bedsheet, pillowcase, and blanket. It was obvious from the blanket’s rumpled state that the owner never made the bed.

Across from the bed was a short desk. On it was a sickly potted cactus, a few magazines, snacks, and a white, bulky monitor from the previous century.

The invisible walls were covered in posters for movies, dramas, games, anime, photography, illustration, visual designs, and more. The various styles somehow mesh together in harmony.

A ceiling fan and an energy-saving light hung from the invisible ceiling. The grey fan groaned as it spun. Bright light shone through the thin blue curtains and illuminated the room. Cicadas could be heard chirping outside the window like a midsummer afternoon.

The owner of the room perched on a black swivel chair with her legs tucked to her chest. She had her back to them and was typing away on the keyboard, working on something. The screen flickered, preventing them from getting a good read.

Cerulean Dog went up to the door and knocked respectfully.

“A sec, just a sec...”

She continued working. Thirty seconds later, she pressed Enter with an audible clack. At an exhale, she kicked the desk to turn her chair around.

Although she hadn’t opened the door, they could all see her through the transparent walls.

She was petite, her grey-purple curls running down to her shoulders. Perched on her chair, she wore a loose white t-shirt that revealed half of her shoulder and a thin strap of her undershirt. Clad in a pair of grey running shorts with black stripes, her legs curled up with her feet planted on the seat. She scratched her foot with one hand while holding a pudding icedrop with the other hand.

Nainai.

The revelation stunned everyone. Nainai herself gaped. It felt like she was looking into a mirror.

All eyes shifted to Nainai.

“No! I didn’t do it!” Nainai hurriedly explained. She even forgot to use chuuni language.

Indeed, this wasn’t the result of her wish coming true. Though she did think it would be cool to play the final boss.

Vermilion Bird immediately realized, “Is this the person you saw in the abyss, Gao Yang?”

“Yeah,” Gao Yang answered.

“Nainai” had put on flip-flops and reached the entryway, opening the door. Ignoring Cerulean Dog, who had knocked on the door, she grinned at Gao Yang. “Yo, what brought you here?”

She looked at the companions around Gao Yang. “Why, you didn’t have to bring such valuable gifts. You’re being too polite.”

“Who are you fucking looking down at...”

Zhang Wei quickly stopped Wang Zikai. “Brother Kai, calm down! Let’s hear her bullshit first.”

When Gao Yang didn’t move in, “Nainai” walked out of the room and stopped a few steps away from him.

Gao Yang finally said, “Are you still unwilling to show your true face even now?”

“Nainai” paused, her eyes crinkling with mischief. “Haha, this is what I look like.”

He pulled a long face. He couldn’t tell if she was telling a joke or being serious.

“Nainai” licked her popsicle and patted her chest. “Am I not cute? I don’t have a name. For convenience’s sake, you may call me Nana.”

He frowned, a guess forming in his head.

“Wait, let me collect my sub accounts first.”

Cerulean Dog calmly walked up to Nana and stopped in her long shadow. He took off his mask once more, tilting his head to the side with one hand in his pocket. Through gentle, soft eyes, he looked at the woman with silver hair and crimson eyes for one last time.

When they saw each other in the crowd, they exchanged a glance like this. Which among them spotted the other first? Who was the one to turn to the other first? They often argued about it after they got together, but they never came to a conclusion.

After they became worlds apart, White Dew often thought back to the moment, but she still couldn’t figure out an answer.

“Cerulean...”

Before she could say anything, Cerulean Dog vanished.

She stared at where he had been, her crimson eyes brimming with tears that quickly turned into broken red crystals. She slowly lifted her hand to her chest, silently saying the three words she should’ve said to him a long time ago.

...

“Right...” Nana stretched her arms, easily taking back her projection. Then she looked beyond Gao Yang, her eyes landing on Nainai.

“Come back, Nainai.”

Their hearts clenched.

“No, it can’t be...” Hong Xiaoxiao covered her mouth. That felt like a stab in her chest.

“Fuck! Stop acting all mysterious! Nainai’s one of us!” Zhang Wei lost his composure first, unable to take his own advice to Wang Zikai.

“Nainai.” Qing Ling leveled an icy stare at the girl.

The moment Nainai’s eyes met Nana’s, she remembered everything, or it would be more accurate to say that an essence that existed on a higher plane had awakened in her.

But Nainai’s human side was still struggling to stay ignorant, resisting a peaceful death.

“No, no...” Nainai sobbed helplessly. “This Empress, this...”

She paused. She finally realized that this Empress was never herself, that she was referring to her empress[1].

Nana.

Nainai was only a projection.

1. In the raw, Nainai has been referring to herself as 吾王, which means My King/Queen/etc. In Mandarin, 吾 means I, but 吾王 refers to a third person. It’s a common mistake to make. She realized here that she’s been referring to herself with the wrong word because she does serve a regent, Nana. ☜