"Local ti... bzzz bzzz... 8.03 pm! The train will be... bzzz... leaving in twelve... minutes... so make sure to board it... in ti!"
Following those words, the speaker’s ssage ended abruptly and the bus plunged into a dark tunnel. Amidst the pitch black darkness, the sound of the ticking clock seed to have gotten louder as if it was echoing right beside their ears.
Tick-tick-tick.
"What?!" Gu Luoxin’s trembling voice sounded. "T–Twelve minutes?! Is this a ti-limited Cycle?!"
The darkness gradually receded and the scenery before them changed. No longer were they in the middle of the dense forestation. Rows of trees lined up neatly along the cobblestone path, their leaves vibrant and lush green. Soft illumination from street lamps bathed the scene, and...
Wait a mont.
Jin Jiuchi was stunned. What was up with this overwhelming sense of déjà vu? Why did he feel like he had seen this scenery before? But how could it be possible? After all, this was the first ti he had been in this Cycle, wasn’t it? He tore his gaze off the scenery outside the window to look at Gu Luoxin, his lips moving to ask, "What do you an by ti-limited?"
If he was not wrong, then Gu Luoxin would yank on his hair and said, "Rember my first Cycle I told you about, the one in—"
"Rember my first Cycle I told you about, the one in the tropical rainforest? We had to cross to the other side and get the flag before sunset. If we failed, we wouldn’t get the tickets! It ans there’s a limited ti to accomplish our task. But now it’s clearly worse because my Cycle last ti was a low-level one, while this one is a mid-level!"
Jin Jiuchi’s jaws dropped in sheer astonishnt and incredulity. What the hell?
How could he—? Had he beco a clairvoyant sohow?! Could he predict the future from now on?!
The bus glided to a halt and the door slid open with a gentle hiss. Next, Jin Jiuchi’s gaze shifted to Shen Nianzu, who was taking the lead to walk toward the exit. He unknowingly held his breath, because this was exactly like the scene in his mory. Soon after this, Shen Nianzu would say, "You’re right, this is likely a ti-limited Cycle..."
And sure enough, Shen Nianzu’s voice sounded the next second. "You’re right, this is likely a ti-limited Cycle."
Oh my God! Jin Jiuchi’s hand flew over to cover his mouth as he gasped in shock. Dizziness struck him and a wave of nausea churned in his stomach. W–What was going on here? How could he have another set of mories in his mind? Was this all a reality, or was he still dreaming? Oh wait, he was certain that he had been shot by the bullet, so...
Argh! He truly did not know! Don’t ask him to analyze the current situation because his brain was not braining!
Unaware of the turmoil he was struggling with, Shen Nianzu continued to explain, "It’s 8.05 pm now, so we have ten more minutes until we need to catch the train. I reckon that we will have to find Chrono Junction Express, which should be a train station. We have to proceed..." his voice trailed off, his quick steps coming to an abrupt halt.
Silence reigned inside the bus for one suspended mont, with only the loud ticking clock echoing in the air.
Tick-tick-tick.
Gu Luoxin stamred out, "X–Xiao Shen, why did you suddenly stop?"
Shen Nianzu slowly turned around, revealing his pale complexion and faintly bloodshot eyes. "I... seem to be experiencing a déjà vu." He let out a mirthless laugh tinged with disbelief and massaged his temples. "If this continues, we will find a managent office..."
"...gets into the car, bumps into a lot of zombies, and drives to the station," Jin Jiuchi slowly continued his sentence, eting Shen Nianzu’s wide and stricken eyes across the air.
"Oh..." Gu Luoxin’s slender figure trembled as realization abruptly dawned upon him, his breathing growing harsh and rapid. His gaze shifted between Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu back and forth, trying to seek confirmation. His eyes were wide in panic and horror. "I... I died, didn’t I? I will die in the future and..." he choked on his words, unable to finish that sentence. With tears filling his eyes, he covered his mouth and rushed out of the bus to empty the contents in his stomach.
"Holy fucking shit..." Jin Jiuchi finally couldn’t hold back a curse anymore. He raked his fingers through his ssy hair and laughed, though it was tinged with a little madness. "The hell, I really thought I had gone crazy for a second there. It’s fortunate that we all rember that. Wow, the sensation of a bullet piercing through my head was not very pleasant..." he was trying to lighten the somber mood when he said that, but who could have guessed that Shen Nianzu would outright explode in rage?
He strode forward and seized Jin Jiuchi’s by the collar, his voice almost in a growl. "You still dare to crack a joke out of it when you..." the rims of his beautiful purple eyes reddened, glistening with unshed tears. "...when you died right in front of ?! Who the fuck told you to protect ?!"
Ah. It suddenly dawned on Jin Jiuchi that Shen Nianzu must have it the hardest among them. After all, he had to witness his teammates’ demise with his own eyes. To watch his boyfriend’s head explode right in front of him... if it was Jin Jiuchi, if he had to watch Shen Nianzu perish before him, perhaps he would have gone batshit crazy. Shen Nianzu was doing an excellent job keeping his emotions in check.
Jin Jiuchi felt a little guilty now for making light of the situation, and he made it up with enveloping Shen Nianzu in a tight embrace and rubbing his trembling back, whispering, "There, there, everything is alright now. I am here, still alive and kicking. So don’t be afraid, okay, Nian’er? Take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale..."
Shen Nianzu struggled to catch his breath before he was gradually soothed by the vivid warmth of Jin Jiuchi’s all-encompassing embrace, the man’s low voice and his clear powerful heartbeat echoing beside his ears. He subconsciously followed Jin Jiuchi’s words to calm his rapid breathing, his hands clutching onto the hem of Jin Jiuchi’s shirt until his knuckles turned white.
Yes, he repeated to himself again and again. This is real. He is still alive. He is still breathing in front of .
Jin Jiuchi continued to pat his back and hugged the anxious and panicking jade doll in his arms, trying his best to sound firm and reliable. "Don’t be afraid, Nian’er. Don’t be afraid..."
Shen Nianzu buried his face into the crook of Jin Jiuchi’s neck and took in the scent that had beco extrely familiar and soothing to him. As the manic haze in his mind dissipated, he gradually recognized that Jin Jiuchi’s actions right now resembled what he had done for the man when they rode the bus back from the Temple of Anubis, when Jin Jiuchi’s state of mind was still not quite stable due to his corruption. Back then, Shen Nianzu had also hugged him, patted his back and whispered into his ear like this.
Was Jin Jiuchi mimicking him right now?
Suddenly getting the urge to laugh, Shen Nianzu let out a snort tinged with a nasally tone. "Foolish..."
Jin Jiuchi asked in an elated tone, "Are you okay now, Nian’er?"
Shen Nianzu would very much like to stay within the cocoon of this warm embrace for a while longer, yet sadly ti waited for no one. He did not even know how much ti they had wasted due to this shocking revelation. So he forcibly gathered his composure, steeled himself and pushed Jin Jiuchi away. "I’m okay now. We should—"
"X–Xiao Shen, Da Shen!" Gu Luoxin’s flustered voice ca from outside the bus. His voice was suppressed, clearly recalling the error he had made last ti. "You must co here!"
Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu exchanged an alard look before they disembarked one after another. Gu Luoxin was standing on the side of the bus, still pale faced and utterly bewildered, as he pointed at the bus’ body, "Look!"
Shen Nianzu followed his line of sight and sucked in a breath, his mind reeling from shock.
The original white paint that bore the number ’1’ had changed to— 2
"I understand now," he heard himself say after a stretch of tense silence, his voice quiet and unstable in a way that was very unlike himself. "Right now, we are stuck in a ti loop."
.
.
A/N: Welco to my favorite trope: ti paradox and parallel universes! *pulls confetti* this is not the first and certainly not the last ti I will write about this hehe so I’d have to trouble you to brain with for a while in this Cycle. But worry not, if you feel like your brain is not braining, then it’s prolly the case with mine too *cover face*
This ought to be an intense Cycle, even more than Cycle 2 so I’d better prepare quick acting heart saving pills just in case *take a deep breath*
Anyway! For my dearest highest privi readers, I have a little gift for you to convey my gratitude
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