001 was the first System to graduate with honors. It ranked at the top, earning outstanding marks in every subject and assessment.
It was the first to leave and choose a Host it liked from among the countless worlds.
Its mission was to break conventions and derail plotlines. It traveled through countless worlds, met many people, and saw things it had never seen before, but still never found a Host it liked, the one partner it wanted.
One day, as usual, it arrived in another world. It didn't belong there, and no one else could see it. Hearing a commotion in an alley, it went over and saw a group of people surrounding someone, saying and doing all sorts of things.
It sounded as if they were saying, “Hey, classmate, I really need you. Can you help me?” The people around them laughed and teased.
The only one being teased stood there, thin and slight, and softly asked, “Help with what?”
The others burst into laughter. “He's such a good guy. Looks like he can't say no.”
The others joined in, too, touching his snow-white, delicate skin, their hands roaming as they acted on him. The one being touched blushed slightly, lips tightly pressed together, and said nothing, as if he were trying to get used to it.
But he didn't look at any of them. His eyes were fixed on the empty space ahead. 001 saw him, too. At a single glance, it seemed to know. He parted his lips and silently mouthed, “Push them away.”
The person staring ahead read his lips. He raised a hand, then slowly started to lower it, looking at his hand before turning his eyes to his feet. The person in front of him, the one signaling him to act, grabbed his hand and placed it on his own body, as if he were embracing him.
001 didn't understand. It only knew that this person was different from the others, yet somehow on a path that converged with its own. He had no clear sense of right and wrong, and like 001, he didn't fit into the world. There was something abnormal about him.
Was Xu Qingran really like that? He lowered his head as if looking at the tips of his shoes, silently curling his lips, as though expressing something without a sound.
Just as 001 had expected, that unusual person waved his hand, and the person in front of him disappeared. Xu Qingran's lowered eyes seemed to flash with something. He thought, So he really isn't from this world. Maybe he's not even human.
But Xu Qingran wasn't normal either. He had acted out this scene many times. He didn't know why, but he liked feeling weak and being forced by others. Of course, he wouldn't refuse. Some of it was genuine: he didn't talk much, and there were things he couldn't bring himself to say. His pride kept him from saying them, too.
He hid it away in his heart, where no one could see. He liked that feeling. No one could see through him.
So what if no one came to help him, or if the person who came to help joined in, or something else unexpected happened? So many things seemed both unexpected and inevitable. In the end, those people always disappeared for no apparent reason. Who did it? Me? Or did they kill one another?
I have no particular reason for not wanting my hands stained with blood. It's just that sometimes, I don't need to do anything. The people I dislike, the ones within my sight, disappear on their own.
Back in reality, Xu Qingran looked up in surprise and met 001's gaze.
001 chose its Host. The Host was Xu Qingran.
And Xu Qingran, who never knew how to refuse, was naturally bound to it.
Their story was only just beginning.
Every mission went smoothly, but somehow, things always took an unexpected turn in the end.
Note: The protagonist has no specific sexual orientation.
Theme: Everyone has meaning