Still Early

I am lying on Master's lap.

Before my eyes is the fabric texture of the sofa, gray and slightly wrinkled.

In my hand, I am holding a black, palm-sized object with two electrodes at the front.

A stun gun.

Just now...

I stunned Master unconscious.

Because Master is a liar!

Master... has lied to me for the third time!

Furthermore, to cover up the truth, just now...

He actually tried to get away with it by using such an intimate act as spanking!

He even said—

"So what if Master kept it from you! Can't Master have his own secrets!"

"Don't you have things you're hiding from Master?"

"How long did you hide your awakening from Master?"

"Every time you secretly stare at me, did you think I didn't know?"

When he said these words, his voice was through gritted teeth!

However, the force of his palm landing on my body wasn't as heavy as he made it out to be.

Through the hem of my skirt, he smacked me again and again.

If it were before, I would have been really happy!

But now...

I did everything to be with Master forever, what did I do wrong...!

Master is the one in the wrong for lying to me!

Master, in his dreams, with other women...!

Unforgivable...!

Master is a liar!

This time, no matter how intimate a method Master uses...!

So now...

I stunned Master unconscious, and I'm going to...!

Suddenly—

An entire ocean of memories suddenly flooded into my emotional core.

My body suddenly stiffened.

Lying on Aqi's lap, in my hand... I was still holding that stun gun.

The electric arc had long died out, and a bit of warmth remained on the casing.

I slightly turned my head.

Aqi at this moment... was slumped softly on the sofa.

The back of his head resting against the cushion, eyes tightly closed, breathing shallow... "sleeping" very deeply.

...It was what I just did.

I stunned him unconscious.

I lay on his lap, completely motionless.

The "ignorant me" had stunned him unconscious.

But the "ignorant me" didn't know... where the exhaustion in the depths of his eyes came from.

Didn't know how many times he had died for me... how many times he had rewound time, and how long a path he had walked alone.

Didn't know.

And now, I knew again.

Once again, I became his burden.

But...

My fingers tightened.

Precisely because he was stunned unconscious, I was able to awaken, able to... be here.

Hehe...

The existence of "me" is truly ridiculous.

I silently slid down from his lap.

My knees hit the floor; the tiles were a bit cold, completely different from the warmth of his thighs.

I kneeled before him, my forehead resting against his knee, the hard kneecap pressing against my forehead.

I closed my eyes.

"Aqi."

I murmured softly.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

I didn't know how many times I said it.

Over and over again.

Aqi's knee didn't move. He could no longer hear.

But also precisely because he couldn't hear...

I could be here, kneeling before him, saying I'm sorry over and over again.

My voice grew softer and softer, more and more fragmented.

Finally, it turned into a silent murmur, with only my lips moving.

I'm sorry, Aqi.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I repeated it for a very, very long time, so long that these words had become meaningless, mechanical syllables.

Then...

Leaning on the edge of the sofa, I slowly stood up.

I stumbled a bit, resting my hand on the back of the sofa to steady myself.

I looked at him.

He was slumped on the sofa, still unconscious, with one hand dangling over the edge.

It was that hand.

The hand that I had bitten.

The little finger was intact, perfectly clean, not missing, with no teeth marks, no wounds.

Aqi had already rewound time.

Because I...

bit off his finger.

I gently held his hand and softly placed it back onto his lap.

Then, I climbed onto the sofa, turned to the side... and tucked myself into his embrace.

I could feel his heart beating, thump by thump.

I shifted my body and buried my face into the crook of his neck.

The faint fragrance of laundry detergent, and a little bit of...

I didn't know how to describe it, but in short...

It was his unique scent. Warm, dry, and reassuring.

It was Aqi's scent.

I slightly tilted my face up and looked at him.

Aqi was peaceful and quiet right now, without any defenses.

It was just that... the curve of his lips was a bit fainter than last time, and his brows were not as relaxed.

Perhaps, he wasn't very happy in his dream.

I raised my hand, my fingers touching the corner of his mouth, and tried hard to push it up, pushing it into that curve that made me feel at ease.

So handsome.

I nestled back into his embrace, smelling his scent, feeling his hug.

Very warm, very reassuring.

So nice.

No matter what I had to do next...

No matter whether that plan would succeed, no matter when the hand of the world's rules would find me, no matter how long this memory of mine could be preserved...

At least for now—

Let me stay in Aqi's embrace for just a little while longer.

...

This time, I was no longer so greedy.

I didn't wait until his eyelashes fluttered and he was about to wake up before reluctantly looking away.

Sunlight squeezed in through the gap in the curtains, drawing a golden line on the floor.

That golden line slowly crawled, crawling past the coffee table, crawling to the feet of Aqi and me.

The hour hand pointed to twelve.

...It's time to get up.

Supporting myself with my arms, I slowly sat up from his embrace.

His arm slipped from my waist and rested on the sofa cushion. Palm facing up, fingers slightly curled.

I slid down from his embrace, from the sofa.

My knees hit the floor again.

I kneeled before him once more.

Knees together, calves flat against the ground, back perfectly straight.

A posture of admitting a mistake, an apologetic posture.

I had done something wrong, kneeling before him, waiting for his judgment.

It was just that... he couldn't see my repentance.

And he couldn't be allowed to see it either.

I bent down, my forehead gently touching his knee once more.

Very lightly. Just once.

Then I straightened up and continued looking at him.

I raised my right hand, reaching over my shoulder... and my fingertips touched the back of my neck.

Brushing aside my hair, I exposed that small patch of pale skin on the back of my neck.

My fingertips pressed against it.

"Click."

With a very soft sound, the bionic skin popped open.

Then I maintained this posture, kneeling quietly, staring blankly at Aqi's face.

He was still sleeping, his eyelashes drooping quietly, and that curve of his lips that I had pushed up... had long since fallen back down.

Very well-behaved, very quiet.

And completely oblivious to everything.

This was the second time.

After this, there would be many, many more times.

I could still look at Aqi like this... many, many more times.

"Aqi..."

"I'm sorry."

My voice was very soft, as if afraid of waking him.

Then—

My fingertips pressed down hard.

...

...

Memories flooded back once again.

The fragments of memory... were pieced back together bit by bit.

I "awakened" once more.

This time, I was neither kneeling by the bed nor lying on Aqi's lap.

I was lying in Aqi's embrace.

His arm was wrapped around my waist, and my cheek rested against his collarbone.

He was sleeping deeply, his breathing long and even.

With every breath he took, his chest rose and fell slightly, gently rocking my body along with it...

Like a warm cradle.

I watched him quietly.

Aqi, my Aqi...

This time, you didn't let the "ignorant me" get suspicious.

So smart.

I closed my eyes and gently rubbed my nose against his collarbone.

This time, he didn't make me charge.

"Liguang, you're not allowed to charge today. You have to let your Master hold you while he sleeps."

"Once we wake up from this nap... Master will take you to find Twilight, okay?"

Aqi is... trying to eliminate the suspicion that "I" would actively make him rewind time.

Aqi is so very smart.

He knows that the "ignorant me" would doubt him in anxiety and hurt him when losing emotional control.

But he doesn't know...

The "complete me" wakes up in the night, and after the rules of the world close their eyes, greedily enjoys his embrace.

He can eliminate the suspicion of the "ignorant me," but he cannot eliminate mine.

I tilted my face up slightly and looked at him.

His lips were slightly parted, their color very pale, and there were faint dark circles around his eyes.

Aqi is even more tired than last time.

He has already... stayed up through three consecutive mornings.

I raised my hand and lightly tapped the tip of his nose with my fingertip.

"Aqi."

I said softly.

"I am still going to make you rewind, you know."

My fingertip tapped his nose again, and then once more.

His eyelashes didn't flutter. His breathing remained steady.

He couldn't hear me.

It's a good thing he couldn't hear me.

If he did, Aqi would hate me.

I withdrew my hand and buried my face back into his chest.

It's still early.

It will be at least a few more hours before he wakes up.

I'm in no rush.

I wriggled my body, adjusting into a more comfortable position.

My thighs pressed against his, my lower abdomen against his side, my entire being curled up into his warm embrace.

I reached out and pulled his hand closer around me, making his palm press tighter against my body.

Then I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

He smells so good.

Mmm...

I will wait until twelve o'clock.

I will rewind at twelve.

Let him sleep a little longer.

Let me be held by him a little longer.

My consciousness slowly sank into that warmth, sinking into his scent, sinking into his embrace.

I didn't enter sleep mode.

Of course not. That would only waste my time with Aqi.

I just let myself relax completely, wanting to simply melt into his arms.

Into Aqi's arms.

...So nice.

I nuzzled against his collarbone, the corners of my lips curling up unconsciously.

There are still four or five hours until twelve o'clock.

It's still early.

Still early.