Looking at the bloody reality before him, Chang Yuan swallowed hard.
He felt like everything he had eaten earlier was about to come back up, his taste buds in turmoil.
Covering his mouth, Chang Yuan quickly but calmly ran to the restroom.
What followed was a thorough bout of vomiting.
"Sakura, couldn't you tie it better? It came loose, you know!"
Thinking this was Sakura's handiwork, Chang Yuan couldn't help but complain in the restroom.
Good grief, if he hadn't mentally prepared himself earlier, and the head had just rolled off like that, he might have fainted on the spot.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he noticed his eyes were bloodshot.
Clearly, this was due to the extreme fright.
"Sigh, whatever. At least I've done some mental preparation now. I shouldn't be too shocked if I encounter something like this again."
Patting his chest, Chang Yuan tried to calm himself down.
After washing his face, he finally left the restroom.
Sitting across from Elysia, Chang Yuan quietly kept watch.
Every now and then, he would take out his phone to browse the news or read some novels from this world.
Two hours later...
Looking at Elysia's cute little face, Chang Yuan couldn't resist poking it.
In her sleep, Elysia's eyelids fluttered slightly, but she didn't wake up.
Then Chang Yuan increased the pressure, pinching her nose.
"Mmm! Chang Yuan, if you're going to wake me up, just wake me up. Why pinch my nose? That's so annoying."
With her nose pinched, Elysia finally woke up, unable to breathe.
But from the pout on her lips, it was clear she wasn't in the best mood.
"Mhm~, you're just so cute, I couldn't help but tease you a little."
"Hmph~, you're such a bad guy. I'll remember this. You sleep now. I'll get my revenge tomorrow."
Although she was being complimented, Elysia didn't forget about revenge.
Her plan was to wake Chang Yuan up the next day by pinching his nose, making him wake up gasping for air.
"Alright, but Elysia, remember to be gentle. You're too strong, and I'm scared it'll hurt."
"Teehee, then you'd better pray you wake up on your own and don't need me to wake you."
Sticking out her tongue, Elysia playfully smiled.
Faced with such a playful Elysia, Chang Yuan smiled back and then lay down to sleep.
The next day, Chang Yuan felt someone pinching his nose.
The hand was soft, the movement gentle, and the pressure light.
Remembering what had happened the night before, Chang Yuan immediately knew whose hand it was.
But then he thought of something fun, so he held his breath.
After nearly a minute of pinching and seeing that Chang Yuan still hadn't woken up, the hand seemed a bit surprised.
Then Chang Yuan felt the hand move to check his breathing under his nose.
Continuing to hold his breath, Chang Yuan felt the hand tremble slightly in panic as it brushed against his nose.
"Eh? Why isn't he breathing? Chang Yuan, Chang Yuan, Chang Yuan!"
Feeling no breath and noticing that Chang Yuan's body was slightly cold from the night's chill, Elysia was utterly terrified.
She immediately placed both hands on Chang Yuan's shoulders and started shaking him.
But Chang Yuan still showed no signs of waking up, which only made Elysia more frantic.
"Wake up, hey, Chang Yuan, Yuan, wake up."
Since it was just past seven in the morning, there was no one around.
Elysia had no one to turn to for help.
Then she remembered a first aid technique she had read about in a book.
She gently laid Chang Yuan on the ground and began performing chest compressions for CPR.
When she felt his heart still beating, her initial panic subsided a bit.
A beating heart meant Chang Yuan was still alive.
But the reason for his unconsciousness was still unknown, and with him not breathing, if he didn't wake up soon, there could be real danger.
As she continued the compressions, Elysia called out Chang Yuan's name, her voice trembling with a hint of tears.
Realizing he might have taken the joke too far, Chang Yuan quickly opened his eyes and looked at the girl whose eyes were starting to redden.
"Elysia, I—"
Before he could finish, Elysia pulled him into a tight hug.
For a moment, Chang Yuan was at a loss.
"I, I, I was just teasing you. I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd get so worried."
"You bad guy, don't ever do that again. Do you know how scared I was? You're my most important family, and also the one I lo—, don't ever trick me again."
With tears in her voice, Elysia expressed her frustration.
"Family, huh..."
Hearing that he was just her most important family, Chang Yuan's eyes dimmed slightly.
Even after nearly ten years of companionship, it was still hard to truly enter Elysia's heart.
Yes, she was a soul of the highest purity, a companion to humanity, a daughter sent by the stars and moon, and her love was never limited to just one person.
But this wouldn't make Chang Yuan give up. If ten years wasn't enough, then he would try for a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand years. Of course, the premise was that she could survive.
"Don't worry, there won't be a second time. I couldn't bear to see you cry for me again."
Gently hugging Elysia, Chang Yuan rhythmically patted her back.
Nearly ten minutes later, Elysia finally stopped crying.
After letting go of Chang Yuan, she rubbed her eyes.
"Now that you're awake, go brush your teeth and wash your face. Then we'll have breakfast and continue our journey."
With that, Elysia picked up her backpack and headed to the restroom.
From an angle Chang Yuan couldn't see, a faint blush appeared on Elysia's fair cheeks.
But since she was turned away, he didn't notice.
Before crossing over, Chang Yuan had been clueless about relationships. As an orphan with social anxiety, he rarely interacted with others, let alone girls.
So, Elysia was one of the few girls he had ever talked to this much, and everything he knew about girls came from her.
So forget understanding girls, he couldn't even tell if a girl was blushing because of him.
"Well, I guess I can't make jokes like that anymore."
After Elysia left, Chang Yuan sat down and sighed, scratching his head.
He hadn't expected Elysia to react so strongly.
But with Elysia's almost superhuman perception, shouldn't it have been easy for her to tell he was faking?
So why had she been so nervous, even to the point of almost crying?