A Connection

[I've traveled outside the boundary. There are natives out there who are being terrorized by the monsters. Most of them have gone underground. I want to help them.]

"And so you need a way to stop the monsters from spawning?" Her big eyes blinked up at him.

He didn't respond; That's an affirmation.

"Can you tell me more about the connection? It's a little confusing."

[It will bind us on a deep level. It will make us reliant on one another, there will be an improved understanding between us, share lifespan, and sense their location. It deepens over time.]

"If it's an ability, then what would happen to us?" She was talking about their relationship. Being engaged or married did not mean they needed to be lovers. However, the connection creates a dependency between the pair. Their current progress was a business relationship. She was worried about what this connection would change. There would be no privacy between them. If he was with his lover while they were bonded, how would she feel?

The longer the time, the deeper their connection. How long would it take for him to save those natives? A month? A year? Even if she never wanted a lover, when they broke the link, she would have the pain of a broken heart. Losing a part of oneself. She did not know if she could do that for a game.

He watched her for a time. [Su Ting, the purpose of this link is to make two beings two halves of a whole. Your individuality as a human will be reduced. Instead, there will be a pair that does everything together. If one is dissatisfied, they both will be. It is nearly impossible to hurt the other half. This would be akin to self-harm.

[As I mentioned earlier, this is instinctive.] He paused to give her a moment to take it in before he continued. [Do you remember how we've interacted thus far? Particularly in the living room. For humans, an emotional outburst is a very uncomfortable and embarrassing action. Did you feel uncomfortable when I comforted you?]

Su Ting's cheeks and ears reddened. Her wet eyes widened, and her body sat straighter. She held her breath as she listened. Her pink lips were pressed together until they became white.

She would rather him not bring it up. It only reminds her of how she had thought of him. She still felt ashamed and guilty. It was worse that he knew exactly how to ease her distress. He didn't make her talk about it, or try and fix anything. He simply treated it like it was as normal as getting up to wash in the morning. Even his getting ice and a rag were perfect.

[There are a million ways a person can deal with any one thing. A million ways to cook an egg, a million ways to greet a friend and a million ways to read the news. Within those million ways, there are thousands to suit any one personality, character, or habit. This is what the 'influence' does. It seems that thousand that is in line with yourself and choose one among them that your partner will be the most accepting towards.

[When we met, the link considered you a compatible partner for me. That is why we had a strong reaction. That is why we've been catering to one another ever-so-slightly.]

"Me too?"

[I do believe so. You adapted quickly to my 'unspeaking' habits, for instance. You weren't tense in the car ride or trying to fill the silence with chatter.]

She could tell he wasn't talking about her specifically but had a history of such. She had had similar experiences. He was mute and she was tech-free. They both had a disability. People act differently around such people. More attentive, less attentive, more disdainful, more forgiving, and so on. She's been treated as a kid by a kid before, too. All the more reason to dislike interacting with people.

She remembered the car ride. She didn't feel as if she'd done anything special. However, she had dismissed a thought during the ride, "If I had offered a quiet place, would that have changed your mind? Did I not do so because of the link?"

[It's possible. Between two ideas you may carry out, the influence tilted it in one direction. However, if you had offered, it wouldn't change my assessment. I feel like you are misunderstanding something. Give me a moment, please.]

She nodded.

He closed the screen and sat back in his chair to think. His eyes drifted shut. His sword brows and cheekbones were beautiful in the sun. the shadow cast by his nose and lips curved around his contours. The more she looked at him the more she appreciated his features. At first, he seemed average, but now she could look at him and not get bored.

She stared for a minute or two before she realized what she was doing. Su Ting turned to call the waiter. Quan Zihao did not move when the waiter came over, so she ordered a few dishes they could share. She knew that he simply wasn't responding to the waiter's appearance because he have a strong opinion about the food. He had surely still heard everything. She was halfway through her half when he opened his eyes.

Su Ting wanted to pass him food to remind him she'd ordered for both of them. She hesitated. She wasn't sure if that was too intimate. On the other hand, they were fiances and compatible with this 'link' thing. If that meant he was generally open to her decisions, then does she need to worry about whether she would make the right one or not?

She was worried she would make the wrong choice, actually. If the influence gave her the option that was suitable for them, and she went with the other one, wouldn't it make him dislike her instead? However, seeing him seriously pondering about how to explain, she could tell she had gotten it wrong in that case, did it mean that they were just a good match? The link would just make it stronger or something.

In the end, she took a piece of chicken and put it in his bowl with the serving chopsticks. He accepted it silently. She let out a breath of relief. They quietly polished off their meal.