Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-Yui, Proofreader-Woojoo
The little mermaid’s face flushed as she replied, “The answer is correct.”
Jiang Fang had returned to his own rock.
After hearing the verdict from the Sea of Memory, he stood up on the rock and faced Nan Zhou again under the moonlight with a beaming smile.
With a serious expression on his face, Nan Zhou rubbed his lower abdomen.
Li Yinhang, I have learned.
Next time she was asked “the most regrettable thing in life,” she would go out of her way to shave her head right then and there.
As long as the path one chooses is wild enough, it can leave the other with no way to go.
The game was halfway through.
There were still more than two hours until dawn.
Everything was taken into consideration, including Li Yinhang’s first mistake, and they still had 11 questions to answer.
The drift bottle once again turned to Nan Zhou.
The question was: “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”
The answer Nan Zhou gave was: “Leaving the place I knew.”
Nan Zhou had long forgotten how he managed to leave [Never Town].
Despite the fact that he was alone in that world and had a constant stream of invaders, the instant Nan Zhou left it meant he had said farewell to his birthplace, his kind, and headed into the unknown.
That was crazy enough.
The Sea of Memory recognized his madness as well.
The answer was correct.
Next, the bottle mouth pointed to Jiang Fang for the second time.
The question was: “The most successful lie in your life?”
As soon as Li Yinhang heard this question, she shifted her eyes to Jiang Fang.
Given the number of lies a person has told in his entire life, how can he evaluate whether he has lied successfully or not?!
She looked at Jiang Fang anxiously, but she saw Jiang Fang forbearingly turn his face away. His face, seemingly extra pale due to his wet body, was slightly blushing under the moonlight.
Li Yinhang, “……”
Why are you blushing like a Bubble Teapot?!
Jiang Fang’s silence lasted a full fifteen minutes.
His hands tightened their grip on the rocks, and he realized for the first time how quickly fifteen minutes could pass.
The number of times Jiang Fang had lied was even more exaggerated than Li Yinhang had predicted.
One could say that he used up all of his honesty as a child. There were many beautiful lights and shadows in his life, as well as numerous lies.
At times, even he could not tell what was true.
But Jiang Fang always remembered that lie.
The lie that succeeded in fooling even himself.
At the end of the fifteen minute probationary period, he whispered and briefly uttered four words: “I… don’t like him.”
The answer was correct.
With the next spin, the bottle was once again aimed at Li Yinhang.
At this point, Li Yinhang only had one chance left to make a mistake.
One more wrong answer, she would only have one life left.
Because of this, she focused 120,000% of her attention, straightened her back, and watched the drifting bottle swimming towards her with a solemn expression as if what came was not a bottle but a shark fin.
She carefully opened the bottle.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The question on the note was: “What was the last evil thought that you had?”
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Vtf uijcmfv ja Rjc Itbe jcv Aljcu Mjcu ogbw atf mbgcfg bo tfg fsf, klat j mbwqilmjafv fzqgfrrlbc bc tfg ojmf.
Rbalmlcu tfg rilutais ecereji fzqgfrrlbc, Aljcu Mjcu atbeuta tf qgbyjyis ecvfgrabbv.
Ol Tlctjcu jcrkfgfv atf wbra alwfr jcv kjr kgbcu atf wbra.
— In this extreme situation, she probably thought that she wanted the bottle to turn to us more often.
This was a very malicious question to ask.
It could be said that if their relationship was not close enough or they were simply plastic teammates, this question was enough to destroy the trust between them or leave long-lasting scruples and problems.
But Jiang Fang felt that it was nothing.
This was a life-or-death situation, and she only had two chances left.
It was only human nature to think this way.
However, Li Yinhang’s answer was completely different from what Jiang Fang thought.
After fifteen minutes of hesitation, Li Yinhang covered her face and weakly explained her inner dark little thoughts: “I was just …… thinking when they both kissed, if they fell into the water, would they choke.”
The little mermaid covered her mouth and smiled a little, “Well, the answer is correct.”
Hearing this answer that exceeded his imagination, Jiang Fang’s gaze toward Li Yinhang changed slightly.
— Even in this situation, she did not think ……
In this moment, Jiang Fang had only for the first time, looked directly at this girl who had been following them, carefully planning and calculating her life to survive.
A question and an answer, back and forth.
Time flowed invisibly in the process of constantly reviewing the past.
Whether the Sea of Memory recognized their answers or not, they were forced to unearth many of their old memories.
Countless fragments surged along with the tide of memory and were left on the beach, leaving a trail of treasures that even they were not aware of shining with a fine light.
The questions that were constantly asked provided a vague glimpse into a person’s character, secrets, and obsessions.
If one were to create a book of mistakes for three people, one would find that:
Li Yinhang was swayed by the normal human joy and sorrow, and her memory was vast and mixed.
In her twenty-plus years of life, the problems that she faced were daily as well as difficult.
Nan Zhou’s memory, on the other hand, was fractured.
Some problems, in the eyes of ordinary people, are clearly very simple to solve but he will make consecutive mistakes.
And the extremely rational Jiang Fang felt more troubled by the problem itself than the difficulty of the topic.
With the passing of time, Li Yinhang gave a wrong answer to another question. Eventually, only her own brain remained to keep on holding down the fort.
Nan Zhou answered two questions incorrectly one after another, following in Li Yinhang’s footsteps.
One question was: “What is your most memorable dream?”
Another question was: “What is the most important thing you have ever lost?”
Nan Zhou asked the little mermaid for the answers to these two questions.
Just like before, the small mermaid did not answer too deeply.
She just described a dream in which Nan Zhou and another person were standing in front of a dessert shop on the street, surrounded by fine frosting like snow.
And the most important thing he lost was not the apple tree, but a person.
Nan Zhou was upset.
How could something that he didn’t remember himself be considered “memorable”?
But the rules read his memory without permission, telling him that he should remember and not forget.
Faced with a vast and boundless Sea of Memory right beneath their feet, they could only listen to its judgments and conclusions, without any reasoning.
By the time the second question had been asked and answered, an additional ray of sunlight had begun to emerge from behind the dense black clouds.
At this point, the bottle turned to Jiang Fang.
Jiang Fang unfolded the paper scroll and read out the question: “What is the one thing that causes you the most pain?”
Nan Zhou’s brow furrowed.
He disliked this question very much.
In the [Sha, Sha, Sha] copy, to comfort himself, Jiang Fang let him touch his tattooed scars and told him the story that belonged to him.
His father’s death.
The death of his mother from alcoholism.
A long and lonely life of wandering.
Nan Zhou heard it, remembered it, and did not want Jiang Fang to think about it a second time.
He was also aware that this was absurd and unscientific.
Jiang Fang owns the memory, which was deeply ingrained in his mind and is not under his control.
It was pointless to expect Jiang Fang to suppress his memories.
Nan Zhou looked at Jiang Fang intently and told him with his gaze that he could give up this question.
The game was almost over. Jiang Fang had gotten only two questions wrong thus far.Even if he refused to answer this time and he was drawn again in the next round, he would not be in danger.
Seemingly reading Nan Zhou’s eyes, Jiang Fang gazed at the shimmering water light in front of him and kept absolute silence.
Until the little mermaid spoke up to remind him, “Time is nearing the end.”
Jiang Fang still did not say anything, and let the puppetization climb up and spread to his waist and belly.
He gave up the right to answer this question.
Nan Zhou breathed a faint sigh of relief.
Now, there was only one question left to be answered.
A narrow border of golden shine surrounded the edge of the pitch-black cloud.
With great respect, the little mermaid picked up the last bottle, rubbed it in her palm, and then tossed it back into the sea.
The bottle was immediately dragged under by the ocean’s gentle waves before being quickly hauled out, at which point it began to wobble counterclockwise as it floated and rotated upward.
Li Yinhang was paralyzed, her heart pounding so hard that it almost touched the back of her throat.
This both comforted her and made her panic.
Panic and heartbeat are the only evidence she could use to conclusively prove that she had not completely turned into a puppet.
In the end, the bottle aimed …… at Nan Zhou.
The final right to answer the question was left to Nan Zhou.
And he was left with only one last chance to answer the question.
The kind that cannot be answered incorrectly.
Li Yinhang’s body bristled with heat.
After a brief, instinctive relaxation, there was endless remorse and anxiety.
The game time was 5 hours.
If she had not rushed to answer at the beginning, the game of the fifth door could have ended by now.
Li Yinhang held on to the last ray of hope and asked the little mermaid, “There are only ten minutes until the end of the game. Isn’t there a time limit of fifteen minutes for answering? Then the last question, can we just not answer it and wait until the end of the game… ”
The little mermaid looked at her apologetically with eyes as blue as the sea and shook her head, “Sorry, as long as the time is not up, the quiz will continue. All you have to do is answer all the questions before sunrise. Once there is a question that is not successfully answered, those who failed to answer will be considered to have forfeited.”
Saying that, the little mermaid turned to Nan Zhou, “You still have ten minutes.”
…not only failed to win the right not to answer, but the time for answering was also cut short.
Compared to the restless and anxious Li Yinhang, Nan Zhou’s expression was much calmer.
He calmly opened the tiny piece of paper that could determine his fate.
“If you had the chance to change your life, which point in time in the past would you choose to go back to?”
Hearing the question, Jiang Fang’s face changed subtly.
He struggled to clench his wooden fingers and wrinkled the fabric at his knee.
When it comes to “a lifetime”, it must be compared laterally to have value.
Unfortunately, an important part of Nan Zhou’s “lifetime” is missing.
Nan Zhou lowered his eyelashes lightly and thoughtfully pondered the answer.
Time crawled slowly on them like a worm.
Nerve endings trembled with fear and anxiety with every passing second.
Such a question’s answer cannot be remembered and new memories cannot be created on the spot.
Memory is personal.
Whether it’s Li Yinhang or Jiang Fang, they couldn’t help Nan Zhou at all.
Seeing that the time for answering the question was about to end, the little mermaid urged, “Please answer -”
“I won’t change.”
Nan Zhou suddenly spoke, interrupting the little mermaid’s words.
He said, “Before, I had no ability or freedom, so I couldn’t change. Now that I have the ability and freedom, I won’t regret anything I do.”
Li Yinhang clenched her lips.
This is clearly the wrong answer!
The rules have been stated. The questions drawn must have answers, and “I don’t know” or “no or yes” cannot be used as an excuse.
How could Nan Zhou forget this?
Nan Zhou looked directly at the little mermaid and changed the subject.
“However, if I have to change, I hope…”
Nan Zhou paused, raised his eyes, and looked at the bright light cast down from afar after the clouds cleared.
Its clean lines separated the boundary between day and night with ease.
At this last moment, Nan Zhou’s voice slowed down and softened a lot.
“I hope that when I meet the person who planted the apple tree for me, I can call him from the window.”
“I will say, ‘I am Nan Zhou, nice to meet you.’
‘May I get to know you?’”
“Correct.”
The little mermaid’s eyes softened as she spoke.
With her announcement, the question-and-answer game officially ended.
The unstoppable sunrise was coming.
The clouds moved from one to another like fish scales, and the Braham light, which was a similar color, soon captured the pristine shape.
The little mermaid’s chance encounter with them was about to come to an end.
Her body becoming more and more transparent.
Just half a minute before she officially disappeared, the little mermaid looked at Jiang Fang and asked a question that she had been interested in just now.
“Why didn’t you answer the previous question? Was it because you weren’t sure of the answer?”
“Is it because you can’t express it and don’t want to reveal your pain?”
Or…
Jiang Fang calmly looked back at the little mermaid, “Because recalling pain and failure is meaningless.”
“I only need to know that I am enough to match him now. That’s enough.”
The little mermaid looked at him enviously, and then looked at Nan Zhou as if looking at something beautiful that she would never reach.
With this pure and affectionate gaze, the little mermaid’s body shattered into foam, scattering colorful halos under the limitless golden light.
———————————-
The author has something to say:
Nan Zhou: Ms. Apple Tree x
Nan Zhou: Mr. Apple Tree √
The little mermaid: ah, knocked.jpg
Nan Zhou is really cute and nice babe
Thank you for your translation 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛
I’m so glad you’re back! Thank you for continuing to devote your time to translating despite your busy schedule! FOT is my favorite story on cg and I really appreciate your work on it. Thank you!! ❤️
+1
Finally, the mermaid Q&A arc officially comes to an end! I sincerely hope that the next one will not be a disaster. I trust their golden fingers, but it’s better to put my eggs on different baskets! FIGHTING, MY FAVE TRIO!
Lin Yinhan is such a pure person. Like, she’s very simple but this kind of simplicity is actually so rare in today’s world that I find it precious for one to still keep it despite all the threats in life. I love the way that she never thought ill of the two! Loving her more!
By the way, in the author’s note “The little mermaid: ah, knocked.jpg” probably is translated from 磕到了, which basically means she’s (hardcore) shipping Nan Zhou and Jiang Fang/enjoying the dog food from them.