Chapter 217 – Nightmare from Ten Thousand Years Ago – Full of Pine Nut Flavor (13)
“Squeak squeak squeak—” The little squirrel on the utility pole cried out.
They looked up and saw flashes of white light at the very top of the pole—it was starting to short-circuit.
“Tang Tang, come down quickly!” The thing Mu Quyan feared the most was happening. He held out his arms below, ready to catch the little squirrel.
“Squeak squeak squeak—”
The little squirrel leapt forward, all four limbs spread wide—like a flying squirrel cookie gliding through the air.
“Squeak squeak squeak—” Ah Yan~
Mu Quyan caught Bai Tang with perfect precision. The little squirrel scurried up his arm and finally perched on his shoulder.
“Good Tang Tang~”
Mu Quyan held out his index finger to play with Bai Tang, taking the opportunity to feel over the squirrel’s body. Good—no wounds found.
He pulled out the pine nuts Bai Tang had left in his pocket and offered them to him.
Bai Tang jumped into Mu Quyan’s hand and began happily gnawing away.
Inside the little white room, the two systems lifted the alarm.
The storyline in the Nightmare Space had more or less come to an end. Compared to before Bai Tang joined, far fewer people had died. In the original version, nearly everyone was wiped out—even the male lead barely escaped the cube with his last breath. Now, with four people still alive, it was already quite a good outcome.
Xiao Yu held the little girl’s hand and led the group toward the amusement park gates.
As Xiao Yu approached, the previously sealed gates slowly opened. Beyond them was a field of white light—not the murky smog that Bi Xinzhi had encountered when he exited.
Xiao Yu and the little girl stood smiling to the side, signaling that they were free to leave.
Wei Kexin gripped Qi Jiu’s hand tightly, still a bit afraid of what lay ahead.
What if this Xiao Yu, like Xiao Dong, was just another trap?
Mu Quyan returned the little squirrel to his pocket and stepped decisively through the gate.
Qi Jiu squeezed Wei Kexin’s hand. “It’ll be okay.”
As they passed Xiao Yu, she gave them a gentle smile and then followed Mu Quyan out through the amusement park gates.
Inside the white light, scenes from their journey—from the old town gates to the amusement park—flashed rapidly in reverse.
“Tang Tang, once we’re out, wait for me.”
The little squirrel gripped Mu Quyan’s index finger with its paw, silently promising.
…
On the single hospital bed, Mu Quyan suddenly opened his eyes. He sat up abruptly, the various wires stuck to his temples still attached. Before he could pull them off, they electrocuted the researchers who had been monitoring his brainwave activity.
He stripped off the researcher’s lab coat and put it on himself, took their ID badge, and swiped his way out of the personal observation room where he’d been held.
Mu Quyan had worked at the institute before, so he was very familiar with the layout.
It didn’t take long for him to locate the room where Bai Tang was being kept, based on the lab director’s usual experiment schedule.
Mu Quyan prepared himself for action, but the moment he opened the door, a sweet-smelling shadow launched itself at him.
He instinctively dropped his combat stance and switched to catching mode.
“Ah Yan~”
The boy threw himself into Mu Quyan’s arms, rubbing his head against his shoulder like he was still a little squirrel.
“Tang Tang, are you okay?” Mu Quyan held Bai Tang’s thin arm, heart aching.
Tang Tang was still far too skinny—he’d definitely need to fatten up once they got out.
“They tried to catch me…” Bai Tang pointed to the two people lying in a heap on the floor behind him, and complained to Mu Quyan. “But I beat them both! Am I amazing or what~?”
Mu Quyan looked at the two researchers with bruised faces, then at the boy’s “Hurry up and praise me!” expression. He couldn’t help but laugh.
He pinched Bai Tang’s nose. “Tang Tang’s amazing.”
“Heehee~” Bai Tang grinned, dimples appearing on his round, doll-like face—utterly adorable.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay~”
On their way out, they ran into Qi Jiu and Wei Kexin, who had also escaped.
With Mu Quyan leading the way, the four of them quickly made it out of the research facility—and immediately turned around and filed a report.
The director had just been celebrating his breakthrough in deciphering the contents of the cube. The next second, a pair of silver handcuffs clamped onto his wrists—straight to prison. The institute was soon shut down following the director’s conviction.
This research facility had claimed too many lives. The people who went in either died or went insane. Of the group who entered alongside Mu Quyan, two never made it out. Han Nian died inside the Nightmare Space, and the moment she did, her body outside was declared brain-dead. Bi Xinzhi, who had seemingly escaped, lost his way in the gray mist, his mind collapsing from exhaustion. In the end, he died trapped in that space. In reality, he went completely mad.
After surviving a brush with death, the value of human connection became even clearer.
The next time Bai Tang saw Wei Kexin was at her wedding to Qi Jiu.
“Tang Tang, I’m so glad you could come to my wedding,” Wei Kexin said warmly.
She had always liked Bai Tang—he was like a living good luck charm, practically a koi spirit in human form. In that Nightmare Space, if not for Bai Tang, she and Qi Jiu wouldn’t have survived, let alone seen their feelings for each other clearly enough to come together in the end.
So, having Bai Tang attend her wedding felt like a good omen to Wei Kexin. She believed that with this blessing, she and Qi Jiu would definitely be happy together.
“Congratulations,” Mu Quyan said to the groom, Qi Jiu, who was greeting guests at the entrance.
Back in the Nightmare Space, Qi Jiu had felt a certain resistance toward Mu Quyan. He had always sensed that Mu Quyan was trying to take Wei Kexin away from him. It wasn’t until Bai Tang appeared, and after the four of them had separated and then reunited, that he saw the affection in Mu Quyan’s and Bai Tang’s eyes. Only then did he completely let go of those doubts.
“Thanks,” Qi Jiu replied. “Back then, I misunderstood you—and Bai Tang too. I really appreciate you both not holding it against me…”
“It’s fine. Let the past stay in the past.” Mu Quyan raised a hand to stop him. They had already expressed their gratitude to each other after escaping the research facility. Now that he was with Tang Tang, Mu Quyan only wanted his boy to be happy every day. He didn’t want him to keep recalling what had happened in the Nightmare Space. That woman in the red dress had left some lingering trauma in Tang Tang’s heart—he still had nightmares from time to time.
“Mu Quyan, you came too!” Wei Kexin walked over with Bai Tang and joined in when she saw Qi Jiu chatting with Mu Quyan. “So, when are you and Tang Tang going to make it official? I want to give you a big red envelope!”
“That depends on when Tang Tang agrees to say yes.” Mu Quyan smiled as he looked at Bai Tang.
Under everyone’s gaze, the boy’s face turned red in an instant. “It’s your wedding day—you should focus! Don’t think about anything else. Be careful, or Qi Jiu might dump you.”
“He wouldn’t dare!” Wei Kexin glared and turned to Qi Jiu. “Would you?”
“No way, absolutely not,” Qi Jiu replied with a laugh.
Kexin was the girl he had loved for over a decade. After finally winning her heart, there was no way he’d let her go. “Whatever Kexin says, goes.”
“You make it sound like I’m some kind of tyrant…”
Wei Kexin and Qi Jiu bickered playfully, leaving a flustered Bai Tang standing beside Mu Quyan.
“Tang Tang, when are we getting married?” Mu Quyan asked plainly.
“You—you haven’t even proposed! I’m not marrying you without a proposal…”
With that, the boy bolted away, leaving Mu Quyan behind with a silly grin on his face.
Just now… Tang Tang agreed, right? He did say yes, didn’t he?
Now… what kind of proposal would Tang Tang like best?
Qi Jiu and Wei Kexin’s wedding began shortly after. When both of them said “I do,” Wei Kexin turned her back to the crowd and tossed her bouquet. It just so happened to land squarely in Bai Tang’s arms as he was holding a plate of cake.
Bai Tang: “???”
“Tang Tang caught it! Looks like someone’s special day is coming soon~” Wei Kexin teased.
Suddenly, a flurry of colorful balloons appeared all around. Mu Quyan slowly walked out from among them, snapped his fingers, and the balloons floated up into the air. Some of them had letters printed on them, and as they clustered together, they formed the message: “I LOVE YOU, TANG.”
Mu Quyan got down on one knee.
“Tang Tang, I love you. Let me take care of you and spoil you for the rest of our lives, okay?”
The onlookers cheered and egged them on: “Say yes! Say yes! Say yes…”
There was still a bit of frosting on the corner of Bai Tang’s mouth. The wind tousled his soft hair as he stood there dazed, staring at Mu Quyan, growing increasingly flustered.
Bai Tang silently communicated with Qiu’er for quite a while, going back and forth between agreeing and not agreeing. In the end, he took Qiu’er’s advice: give Mu Quyan a little challenge—something too easily won wouldn’t be treasured enough.
In a childish, syrupy voice, he said, “I want five pine nuts… no—ten. Right now.”
Bai Tang held out one hand, then opened the other, all ten fingers pointed straight up to clearly signal the number ten.
Mu Quyan broke into a brilliant smile. “Okay.”
With another snap of his fingers, a trolley was wheeled out from nearby, piled high with pine nuts.
Bai Tang stared in amazement, his eyes wide. He lost interest in the cake in his hands, set it aside, and—still in his little leather shoes—ran over to the trolley with rapid tap-tap-tap steps.
“Waaah~”
The air was filled with the rich, toasty smell of pine nuts. It was pure happiness.
Bai Tang almost wanted to turn back into a squirrel and roll around in the pine nut pile. Nothing was more blissful than stockpiling food. Well… Ah Yan was just as important as pine nuts. And so were Qiu’er and Xiao A.
In the little white room, Qiu’er, who had just heard Bai Tang’s heartfelt thoughts, burst into tears of joy. He had finally reached the same status in Tang Tang’s heart as the male lead. It hadn’t been easy at all. He made up his mind—tonight they were having hot pot to celebrate.
Xiao A: “What’s there for us to celebrate anyway…”
“Xiao A, I want roasted lamb leg,” Qiu’er said, turning his head.
Xiao A: “Weren’t you planning on hot pot?”
“Who says you can’t have roasted lamb leg with hot pot? I want it—I want it now!”
“Fine, fine, eat all you want…”
Outside the system.
True to his role as the male lead, Mu Quyan’s execution was flawless—within a month, he had prepared everything needed for the wedding.
Honestly, he could’ve had it ready in three days, but he didn’t want to shortchange Tang Tang.
He triple-checked every detail: the gifts, the wedding candies, the suits, the dowry…
Mu Quyan went over it all again and again, determined to avoid even a single mistake. Only when everything was perfect did he finalize the wedding date with both families.
As for Bai Tang, he spent his days eating and drinking, pampered by Mu Quyan until he was “soft and chubby”—all ready to be “put in the pot” after the wedding.
At the wedding, both sides gave their vows.
“I’m willing to brave thorns and storms, no matter how strong the wind or rain. As long as you are ahead of me, I will always chase after you—this life, and every life to come, I will never leave you. Tang Tang, I love you.”
Bai Tang was deeply moved. Truthfully, Mu Quyan didn’t even need to say it—he had already proven it with his actions, always striving to be with him through every lifetime.
“I do too.”
I love you—no matter how many names you take, I’ll only ever love you.
Author’s Note:
Bai Tang: “Happiness tastes like pine nuts! Ten carts full! Super awesome~”
Mu Quyan: “As long as Tang Tang’s happy.”
Qiu’er: “I’m so touched… sob sob sob~”
Xiao A (sighs): “Such a little fool…”
This world has come to an end. But it wasn’t so scary after all, right?
Tang Tang and the male lead—see you in the next world~ ❤️