"I should have realized it earlier."
Palr rubbed his neck, and there was a ghostly blue mark on his skin.
"I don’t have many friends, neither does Vasilina. We’ve been playing together since we were little, and not much has changed as we’ve grown up."
"So what?"
"So what?" Palr looked shocked and emphasized, "Still ’so what’? Haven’t you noticed the problem?"
"You know I’m not good with these kinds of problems, I can’t even figure out my own issues."
"Oh God, can anyone help ?"
Palr almost broke down, but after so wailing, he cald down again and spoke in a very rational tone.
"I have my own job, my own social circle... I have a lot of things, but it’s different for Vasilina."
Upon ntioning this, Palr’s expression fell into lancholy. He felt sad for Vasilina and regretted not noticing these things sooner.
"Vasilina grew up in the Clarks, she has no parents, her only friend is , in that desolate place ravaged by the wind, there is nothing, no bustling big city, video stores, cinemas, not even damned fast food places."
Palr’s voice suddenly rose, "She hasn’t even tasted delicious shrimp crisp bread!"
It sounded absurd, but coming from Palr’s mouth, it seed reasonable.
"So, Vasilina is really lonely. In her world, she only has , but I went out to work."
"What do you plan to do?"
"She wants to co work at the Order Bureau, so she can see every day."
"Classic love story, so what’s troubling you?"
Palr fell silent and then sighed in helplessness, "I know she loves , but obviously, with ti and my negligence, her feelings have beco... beco sowhat..."
"Beco sowhat what?"
"Sowhat distorted."
Palr turned pale, he suddenly turned around, grabbed Bologue’s shoulders, looking tense, almost about to cry.
"You don’t know, she says weird things when speaking."
Weird things?
Bologue recalled Vasilina, the impression was of a short-haired, heroic woman, dressed very neutrally, like a noble gentleman, full of etiquette in her every move, compared to Palr, she was truly the traditional aristocrat.
It’s hard to imagine such a person saying things that shocked Palr.
"Can you repeat it?" Bologue asked.
"She... she..." Palr’s voice shook, "She said she doesn’t want to leave, she wants to tie up, to always keep by her side."
"What’s wrong with that? Very normal love talk." Bologue analyzed seriously.
Palr broke down, "I thought so too, but when I woke up, I was really tied up!"
When Palr woke from a dream, he found his hands chained, tied to the bed, and beside him, Vasilina was sleeping.
This wasn’t the first ti Palr had been tied up in a dream.
Palr started rambling, "Vasilina never just talks, she acts for real!"
"Well, that’s nice, I like that about her." Bologue admired Vasilina’s practical spirit.
"Like hell you do!"
Palr almost went mad, when he woke, Vasilina also woke up, and in the face of Palr’s screams, a gentle hug from Vasilina stopped his wailing.
In that hug, Palr could barely breathe.
After a morning of persuasion, Vasilina finally compromised, releasing Palr but insisting on wrapping a chain around his wrist, so no matter where Palr went, Vasilina would follow holding the chain.
Palr protested, "Don’t you think holding onto this chain is weird!"
Vasilina silently untied the chain from Palr’s wrist, which brought Palr a bit of relief. Then Vasilina wrapped the chain around her own wrist, handing the other end to Palr.
Palr realized that during his absence, loneliness and yearning acted like catalysts, distorting Vasilina’s love. Palr couldn’t imagine what would happen if he stayed longer.
Perhaps one day he’d wake up in a dark basent.
So Palr crawled back to Oubos in Oath City that very night.
"Did you leave without saying goodbye?" Bologue discovered the issue.
Palr’s expression froze.
"She’ll co sooner or later, right?" Bologue continued, "She can’t stand living like this anymore."
Without waiting for Palr to say anything, Bologue asked, "Then here’s the question, Palr, do you love Vasilina?"
"Of course!" Palr answered directly.
"Then what are you resisting?"
Palr slumped down entirely, muttering to himself, "Yeah, what am I afraid of?"
He thought for a long ti, "Maybe it’s change."
"Change?"
"I’m used to my current life," Palr glanced at Bologue, then at the living room full of records and tapes, "Every day involves fighting, drinking, watching movies; it’s quite satisfying."
Bologue said, "But now soone else has entered your life, she’s not just acting as a friend, she’ll delve deeper, inseparable, like a shadow."
Palr ca up with a rough idea, "That’s an unknown life, people always feel anxious about the unknown."
"You’re like a wild dog running on Wind Source Highlands, now soone’s coming with a chain, wanting to tie you up," Bologue said, "You can’t imagine a life being chained, nor can you be sure if you can still run like you do now."
"Dostication," Palr muttered, "Being dosticated by another person, having a ho, no longer a wild dog."
"This isn’t passive, it’s you actively hoping to be dosticated by her, thus becoming a part of her, and she becos a part of you."
Bologue spoke while picking up a notebook, writing and drawing on it.
"Will you really resist? You won’t, you’re just a little unaccustod, sooner or later you’ll experience the feelings Vasilina does, you’ll willingly hand her the chain, asking her to ta you, just like she handed you the chain."
As Palr listened to Bologue, he was sowhat lost in thought, belatedly realizing, "Damn, Bologue, what have you been through during this business trip? Did you receive Serey’s true teachings?"
In Palr’s eyes, the cold expert suddenly transford into a scholarly love guru, it was incredible.
"No, it’s just that I’ve recently been researching these things." Bologue said, continuing to write.
Palr didn’t understand, "Why research this?"
"I seem to be caught in... a dilemma similar to yours, maybe that’s how life is, solving one problem leads to the next, one after another, never stopping."
Bologue put down the paper and pen, spoke seriously, "I solved my emotional issues, but what followed was confusion about intimate relationships, awe of change.
I’m like you, accustod to this life, maintaining boundaries, but now soone else has entered my boundaries, how should I interact, nurture emotions, and even mutual dostication?"
Palr’s expression was a bit dumbfounded, he rubbed his head, "Wait, Bologue, you’re being too professional, can you be more straightforward?"
"Oh."
Bologue thought for a bit, then asked in an absolutely straightforward manner.
"Palr, what should you do after entering a romantic relationship with soone?"
"What should I do? Naturally, it’s about eating, watching movies, checking in daily..."
As Palr spoke, his voice grew quieter, then he uttered a sharp cry again.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Did I hear you right!" Palr completely forgot the troubles that were bothering him.
"You heard right," Bologue continued, "In this aspect, I find you and I are quite similar. Both of us have sowhat overco our inner dilemmas, but after overcoming them, a new world, tighter relationships leave us bewildered. Perhaps we can assist each other."
Bologue spoke as he reached out to Palr, and the two clasped hands like comrades fighting together.
Palr ca to his senses, "No... hold on, mister, where did you get an intimate relationship? With Sword Axe? Are you a fetishist?"
Bologue remained calm, "Aimou, Aimou Yazhede, I haven’t ntioned this to you?"
"No, not at all, completely not."
Palr’s mind went blank, his current feeling was like a psycho killer suddenly saying they’ve fallen in love, next up they’ll keep slashing to save for a down paynt, repay a mortgage, and welco sweet life along with more delightful slashing.
It sounded kind of... kind of nice.
"Damn it! When did this happen!" Palr shouted.
"Shortly after the Decline Plague ended," Bologue didn’t understand Palr’s response, "I thought you all knew."
"Huh?"
Palr recalled Bologue’s interactions with Aimou over the past few months, suddenly finding a bewildering funniness, as well as hopelessness regarding Bologue’s personal emotions.
"You seem to be harder to dosticate than ." Palr retorted using Bologue’s words.
Bologue said unhesitatingly, "That’s okay, at least in the short term, your troubles are bigger than mine."
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