Original worldbuilding, narcissistic love.
Cold, aloof top × cheerful, sunny bottom
Xia Shiyou had a miserable childhood. After finally escaping, she was adopted by the Xia Ran family, where she received the affection she had never known in the first twelve years of her life. Later, however, she discovered that it had all been "fake," artificially created.
Before the false world shattered, her lover clasped her hand as tears streamed down her face, silently begging for her forgiveness. Please forgive me for erasing your memories of me.
The false world shattered, and she returned to the original world.
Fragments of the false world overlapped with the original world, the characters' memories overlapped, and the world collapsed.
The original world was collapsing, and after recovering her memories, Xia Shiyou willingly chose death. All she wanted was to send her lover, who was still in the passageway, out, and to see her one last time.
Knowing full well it meant death, was it worth it?
Xia Shiyou: There is nothing left in the world that I want to hold on to. I've already died once. Letting my soul die once so my lover can get out is worth it. My lover still has a future ahead of her, but I have nothing left.
Later, her lover discovered that everything from their first meeting to getting to know each other and falling in love had been arranged. It was all because of a ring, one that could open a passage between the third and fourth dimensions.
*
From the very first world where Jiang You fell in love with her beloved, she had figured everything out and made a plan. She never intended to scheme against her lover, and even pushed her away.
But in the end, it was something her lover left behind that brought her back to reality, while her lover remained in the passageway forever.
Back in reality, she stood on the rooftop, gazing at the sky. With a light squeeze, the ring turned to dust and dispersed in the air. Only then did she understand that none of this was the doing of Jiang Bai or Lin Chusheng. It was the universe, and they were all its pawns, all so the ring's karmic cycle could be brought to an end.
She hoped this ending would satisfy the universe, and that her lover would have a happy ending in her next life.
Worldbuilding:
Through evolution, one can sacrifice one's body and merge one's mind into the universe. This is called entering the fourth dimension. It is not, as people online say, simply adding a time axis. Rather, the mind is elevated and comes to know the secrets of the universe. (This is my own idea.)
There is a passage between the fourth and third dimensions, and it contains countless parallel universes. (Inspired by a movie I watched when I was six. I can't remember its name.)
If you want to know more, please turn to the end of the final chapter on the cause of death, where there are some explanations.
Theme: Don't date young. Fall in love with yourself.
