Chapter 44: Heaven

Xida lay lazily on the bed, hugging a pillow, and a perfect curve sank into the mattress.

January 18, 2074, 11:00

They had just fought a great battle.

The description "a battle" might not be entirely accurate.

Anyway, her thoughts kept floating in the clouds, like suddenly plummeting in an elevator, her body and mind soaring into the air.

Stimulated until her consciousness blurred and her soul left her body, she could no longer recall the exact number of times.

"Yahweh..." Buried her face in the pillow, she called out weakly, like a sleep-talking murmur.

"Hmm?" The man behind her responded in a low voice, his tone revealing a gentleness that reassured her.

"Get off me quickly, you're too heavy!" She squirmed, trying to resist.

"Are you hungry?"

"It's okay..."

"Are you thirsty?"

"A little."

"Do you want to take a bath?"

"... Get off me immediately!" She could no longer tolerate her lover's bad taste; she rolled over, changing from prone to supine, sat up, and wanted to rise up in "resistance."

The next second, the sensation of a nut smoothly rotating on a screw made her entire body's muscles contract and go soft, and she collapsed back onto the bed again.

After a while, Xida finally came to her senses.

"Annoying person... I want to take a bath!" She muttered softly, weakly punching her boyfriend's chest.

"This is called getting what you deserve." Yahweh laughed and gently pinched her nose.

Treating her like a child, he picked Xida up from behind and walked toward the Bathroom, step by hesitant step.

Xida closed her eyes, imagining herself as a small boat sailing on a sea swept up by a violent storm.

January 18, 2074, 11:30

After bathing, the two collapsed together on the bed, listless and unwilling to move a muscle.

The freshly changed bed sheets held the warmth of the sun, coaxing the laziness in their marrow to slowly flow out.

Xida lay on top of Yahweh, like a lazy white cat.

Fingering her somewhat long hair, she quietly grabbed a few strands and tightly intertwined them with his.

"What are you doing?"

"It is said... when lovers intertwine their hair, their threads of love are bound together, meaning we will never be separated." Xida gazed at him affectionately, her eyes as lively as a fawn's.

"Don't accidentally pull it later; be careful not to hurt your scalp."

"Mm..."

Xida smiled and reached out; the man obediently lowered his head.

She gently snapped off their intertwined hair, preparing to keep it properly later.

"Grow your hair long..." Yahweh silently watched her actions with his hands and spoke softly.

"I haven't even asked 'Should I grow my hair long? Or keep it short?'... The question hasn't even been posed, and you already know the answer?"

"Isn't it quite normal for us to be telepathic?"

"But I don't understand you at all..."

"Xida..."

After a girl recklessly burns up her love, she always has some reactions of fearing gain and loss.

Yahweh silently noted this in his heart while pulling her tightly into his embrace.

Direct action is worth a thousand words.

"Hmph hmph..." She hummed a few times comfortably, warmth surging through her body and mind inside and out.

"Someone called looking for you, but since you were just groggy, I took the initiative to answer it for you."

"Who was it?"

She accepted Yahweh's action; after all, acquaintances knew their relationship.

"Mann." Yahweh recalled, "He said he had made an appointment with you before, to gather at Afterlife, with everyone bringing their teams to get to know each other."

"Ah... did he wonder why a man answered the phone?"

"A husband handling his wife's external affairs, what's strange about that?"

"Hmph, that's more like it... The time is tonight, right?"

"The time was clearly set by you; why are you asking me?"

"I don't care!"

Xida squirmed a few times in Yahweh's warm embrace, her small hand gently pinching the soft flesh at his waist.

"Where shall we eat at noon today?"

"Whatever."

Xida didn't mind; she had few demands regarding food.

"How about going to Downtown to eat Chinese food?"

"Why suddenly start pursuing cuisine?"

"It's all for your sake..." Yahweh rolled his eyes at her and nudged her with his head.

"What's wrong with me? My figure is so great, and you're still not satisfied?"

Xida sat up, touching her proud abdominal lines; her six-pack abs were clearly visible, the result of her day-and-night fitness efforts.

"Nourishing Yin and tonifying the Kidney... beautifying the skin and nourishing the complexion... activating blood and removing stasis..." Yahweh counted on his fingers, completely disregarding the flush on her face.

"Hmph!" She turned her face away, unwilling, yet her body clung to him as if magnetized.

"When are we getting married?"

"We were just talking about what to eat—how did the topic jump to that?"

"Tsk tsk tsk… You'll never understand a girl's heart!" Xida shook her head, chanting like singing a nursery rhyme.

"After you've realized your dream."

"Become a legend of Night City?" Xida slumped in his lap, gazing out the window, murmuring to herself.

"Yes—let me help you realize your dream, won't that be nice?"

"I only want to be your lover forever…" She wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes brimming with tender spring water, rippling softly.

"Forever." He lowered his head and kissed the most beautiful angel in the world.

Perhaps it was long, perhaps only an instant—when Xida came to her senses, she was already seated in the passenger seat of the Sky Hera.

"What's wrong?" He turned his head to ask.

The roar of the engine pulled her fully back to reality.

"I feel like I just had a beautiful dream," Xida rubbed her cheeks, her fair skin seeming ready to burst with moisture.

"I have good news to tell you…" Yahweh ruffled the girl's hair with a free hand, "All your dreams were made with me. Where you are, I am—that is reality."

"Tsk, why show off like that?" Xida pouted, reclining the seat and lying back comfortably.

"Are you awake now?"

"Awake, awake…" Xida blushed—she'd actually fainted from a kiss, like some schoolgirl. What a lifelong shame.

"Ha…" Yahweh drove, stealing glances at her expression in the rearview mirror, unable to suppress a smile.

"By the way… should we invite Lucy tonight?"

"Lucy? Why?"

"I feel she's lonely, just like I was once."

"You're the boss—you decide."

"Where did you learn that flippant phrase?"

"I won't tell you."

"Don't change the subject!" Xida snapped back, realizing she'd almost been distracted.

"Invite her, invite her. Lucy needs to find a new job too—taking her along helps her get to know the local powers, no harm in that." Yahweh sighed.

Data warned him: never discuss other women in front of your lover.

To his surprise, Xida merely raised an eyebrow, making no further move.

"Aren't you going to ask me?"

"I've already talked to Lucy…" Xida pressed her fingertip to her nose, making a cute piggy face, "So I'm not worried at all."

"Last night?"

"Guess."

Billions of invisible data swirled around him, scrambling to reveal the truth.

"Tsk, fine, don't tell me then."

Yahweh waved his hand through the air, and the torrent of data dispersed once more.

Love requires trust—he had no need to eavesdrop on two close friends' conversations.