"Actually, it's not that I don't smile. I don't know how to smile; I can't laugh." a - 001 - 04 said truthfully. He chose to say this because he wanted to get help from people here. Because he found that everyone here had emotions; they loved to laugh. Unlike his former comrades, those councilors, and those officials, they were all the same, with no expressions. They had no emotions for others, and neither did they for themselves. Without emotions, there was no fear. They dared to face everything and would faithfully execute every order given.
"This------" Everyone fell into silence after hearing this.
"Child, what kind of disease do you have?" Uncle Li asked with concern.
"Well, it's a kind of disease, called facial nerve palsy." This symptom was what he saw in a book, which matched his current state—no facial expressions. But his case was more serious; he had no emotions.
"Facial nerve palsy, commonly known as facial paralysis." When Yun Jinxin first heard the commotion, she thought the man had gotten into trouble. But when she came over, she heard them talking about this. She was afraid the villagers wouldn't understand, so she explained. Looking at a - 001 - 04, her eyes were filled with a bit more 心疼. He was covered in wounds but pretended to be strong.
The villagers understood. They didn't know about facial nerve palsy, but they knew about facial paralysis—facial muscles couldn't move, making a person like a wooden stump. In severe cases, the eyebrows would be droopy and the mouth crooked.
"Actually, it's not too serious. It doesn't need drug treatment. It can possibly recover with external emotional stimulation." a - 001 - 04 casually made up a reason. He wanted to understand these expressions, have these emotions, and keep this atmosphere of laughter.
Even though he said this, everyone just awkwardly smiled and continued to work. Later, only Uncle Li would chat with him from time to time.
Time passed quickly. Before he knew it, he had been in this village for almost half a year. He had slowly adapted to the village life—working at sunrise and resting at sunset. He didn't have to fight for his life every day. This was the life he had dreamed of.
"Hey, we've known each other for almost half a year. I know almost nothing about you, but you know everything about me. It's not fair at all." After dinner, Yun Jinxin and a - 001 - 04 sat side by side on the stone steps. She looked at a - 001 - 04 with a somewhat 幽怨 expression.
After getting along for nearly half a year, she still knew nothing about the man. Every time she asked him something, he would evade it. So much so that until now, she still didn't know his name. Instead, this annoying guy almost knew everything about her.
"My story is beyond your understanding of this world. Even if I tell you, you won't believe it. So why should I say more? Isn't it good like this now?" There were some things he didn't want to say, not that he couldn't. Even if he said them, no one would believe him, and he might even be shunned. He didn't want that.
"How do you know I won't believe you if you don't say it?" Seeing the man start to waver, Yun Jinxin pressed on, ready to ask some substantial questions that night.
"Can I trust you?" a - 001 - 04 was silent for a long time before slowly speaking. Over the past half year, he had actually come to trust Yun Jinxin. But he still wanted to confirm—guessing in his heart and having someone admit it were completely different.
"I swear on my life that if I betray you, I'll be struck by lightning and die a miserable death." When Yun Jinxin heard this, she immediately stood up and swore to the sky.
"Okay, then what do you want to ask?" Having gotten Yun Jinxin's admission, he completely let down his guard.
"Well, let's start with your name and where you're from." Yun Jinxin was very happy that the man was willing to open up to her. She didn't know why, but after half a year of getting along, she increasingly wanted to know about the man, about the woman in the photo, and whether there was a substantial relationship between him and that woman. She wanted to know everything.
"Have you heard of the multiverse?"
Yun Jinxin shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. Simply put, the universe isn't singular; there are many, and each universe exists independently, with its own development process—they're all different. I'm not from this universe; I'm from another. The meteorite that fell here half a year ago was my spaceship. I crashed on Earth in this world. Then I was saved by you. Actually, I don't have a name. Since birth, I've only had a number. I have no parents. Even biologically speaking, I'm not human." After a - 001 - 04 finished, he fell silent. Yun Jinxin didn't interrupt him; she just looked at the man with her eyes, being a quiet listener. When she heard these words, she was extremely shocked. She wanted to play her role well as a listener.
"My number is a - 001 - 04. The 'a' represents that I'm the best among my peers in the genetic sequence. 001 is the unit I belong to, and 04 is my number in the unit. A great disaster happened in our world—we encountered an invasion by other advanced civilizations. We were created to fight against the alien civilizations."
"This war lasted nearly 400 years, and I lived for almost 300 years. After the war victory, we were exiled. At that time, I was the captain, leading my comrades to leave. Later, when we passed the No. 2 Black Hole of Pluto, we were attacked. Our spaceship was severely damaged. Then we took the shuttle and left. But the shuttle's power was too weak; we couldn't escape and were sucked into the black hole. When I woke up again, I found myself near Jupiter."
a - 001 - 04 gave a general account of his past, changing some details for convenience. As long as the main content was roughly the same, there was no need to be too detailed.
"Then I piloted the spaceship to Earth. As a result, after entering Earth's orbit, the fuel ran out, and I collided with a satellite. Then the spaceship lost control, and I fell here."
Yun Jinxin was dumbfounded as she listened. She couldn't quite process it, but deep down, she believed it. Because all of this was too coincidental. When she picked up the man, a meteorite did fall. Plus, the scars on the man's body couldn't have been caused in a short time; they were all old wounds. If not, then he must have suffered inhumane treatment to have such scars all over his body.
Moreover, in the past half year, she had noticed some anomalies in the man. Sometimes he could move things in the air. But at that time, he joked that he was practicing magic, so she didn't take it too seriously.
She felt extremely sorry for the man but didn't know how to comfort him.
"Then, what about the girl in the photo?" Yun Jinxin didn't know if she should ask this question, but somehow she did. She wanted to know the answer.
"Her number is a - 026 - 10, from my batch. She died, saving me in the final battle. Before she died, she said something to me, which became my motivation to live. I want to know the answer to that sentence." He didn't know why he told Yun Jinxin this; he had planned to keep it in his heart.
"What was that sentence?" Yun Jinxin asked carefully. She knew this was a sensitive matter, but she really wanted to know. She couldn't suppress the desire in her heart.
"Before she died, she said to me—I love you, with a smile on her lips." He remembered that scene, feeling as if his heart was being twisted, extremely uncomfortable.
When Yun Jinxin heard this, tears streamed down her face. She covered her mouth, trying not to cry out. She was an emotional person, and she seemed to see the poignant scene of the two.
"I want to know the meaning of her words, why she died with a smile. Do you know what it means?" If not for this obsession, perhaps he would have carried out that mission, not changed course, continued past Pluto, and faced death. Those words gave him the will to live and became his obsession to stay alive.
"You have to find this answer yourself; I can't help you. When you have emotions, you'll understand the meaning of these words." Yun Jinxin said with red eyes. This was their unique emotion, irreplaceable. She could only guide.
"Can I only find it myself?" a - 001 - 04 said, lowering his head and falling into thought.
"By the way, since you've come to our world, you can abandon your original number. Like us, give yourself a name. A new name symbolizes a new start—cut off the past of your world and start anew in ours." There was a bit of selfishness in her words.
She wanted the man to forget the past—the past events, experiences, and even the past people. Cherish the present life and let his eyes see her existence. She knew this thought was very selfish, but after half a year of getting along, she realized she had developed special feelings for this man. She wanted him to accompany her for the rest of her life.
"A name? A new start? I'm not good at this. I don't even know the characters of your world." This was true. He really couldn't understand the characters of this world. There were great cultural differences between the two worlds. When he came here, he didn't even recognize a single character. But he didn't care; he thought he wouldn't need them here.
"This" was beyond Yun Jinxin's expectation—he didn't know the characters here.
"How about I help you choose a name?" Yun Jinxin said carefully. After all, in this world, choosing a name was a big deal.
"Okay." a - 001 - 04 thought for a while and agreed. Anyway, he didn't know how to do it, and Yun Jinxin seemed very knowledgeable, so it was fine to let her choose.
"You were saved by me, so you'll have my surname, Yun. Is that okay?" Surname was the most important thing, and this had to be approved by him.
"Okay." a - 001 - 04 agreed without hesitation. Now, he had unconditional trust in Yun Jinxin, perhaps because they had been together for more than half a year, or perhaps because he had told her everything about himself.
"Okay, surname Yun. Your obsession comes from that girl. From now on, your name will be Yun Qingsheng." Yun Jinxin thought for a while and said this name.
"Why?" He wanted to know the meaning or implication of this name. Because in their world, names always carried some meaning or expectation from the namer.
"Yun is your surname. You survived because of that girl's words, and your life was saved by her. You live for her, so your name is Yun Qingsheng."