Christmas Extra Chapter

[Ding! Christmas cookie bonus delivered!]

(Stands on a small table with hands on hips, broadcasting through a giant megaphone): Attention! Attention! What follows is a Christmas special with absolutely no angst, only pure sweetness! It has nothing to do with the heart-wrenching plot in the main story! It's a sweet little scene of the two teammates celebrating Christmas in a parallel world! Like a muffin suddenly falling into a jar of honey, it's all soft and sweet! Enjoy! Guaranteed to make you smile, absolutely no angst!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On Christmas Eve, Everlasting Castle was blanketed in snow.

At dawn, Bai Xu opened the window to find the outside world already covered in a blanket of white. The ever-blooming red spider lilies in the courtyard were now also covered with a layer of crystalline white, creating a strange and beautiful contrast of red and white.

"Shi Mo! It's snowing!" Bai Xu turned around, his eyes sparkling.

Shi Mo was leaning against the headboard reading a book when he heard this. He looked up and glanced out the window: "Yeah, I saw it."

His tone was indifferent, clearly showing he didn't have any particular feelings about the snow. After all, he had lived for thousands of years and had seen all sorts of sights.

Bai Xu, however, was in high spirits. He ran to the bedside, grabbed Shi Mo's hand, and said, "Come on! Let's build a snowman!"

Shi Mo's book was tilted by his tugging, and she frowned slightly: "How old are you to still be building snowmen?"

"I don't care! It's Christmas today!" Bai Xu declared confidently, "We're going to build a snowman!"

In the end, Shi Mo was half-dragged and half-pulled downstairs by him, wrapped in a thick down jacket (Shi Mo refused to wear a down jacket and only wore a thick cloak), and brought to the courtyard.

The snow was thick, crunching underfoot. Bai Xu, like a child, excitedly started rolling snowballs. Shi Mo stood by, arms crossed, watching him busy in the snow, his eyes filled with a mixture of helplessness and indulgence.

"Shi Mo! Don't just stand there! Come and help!" Bai Xu's cheeks were red from the cold as she waved to him.

Shi Mo sighed, slowly walked over, and with a wave of his hand, a large patch of snow automatically gathered and shaped, instantly forming a tall, exquisite snowman that could be called a work of art.

Bai Xu looked at the crooked little snowball he had spent so much time rolling and made, then looked at Shi Mo's snowman, which was as perfect as an ice sculpture, and pouted.

"Foul! You used your ability!"

"You only said you wanted to build a snowman, but you didn't specify how," Shi Mo said matter-of-factly.

Bai Xu glared at him, then his eyes darted around, and he suddenly bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, made a snowball, and slammed it into Shi Mo's chest with a "thud".

A white flower bloomed on the cloak.

Shi Mo looked down at Bai Xu, then looked up at him, his heterochromatic eyes narrowing slightly.

Bai Xu felt a little guilty under his gaze and took a step back: "Um... having a snowball fight is also a Christmas tradition..."

Before he could finish speaking, an even larger snowball hit him squarely on the head, scattering snowflakes everywhere.

"Ouch!" Bai Xu was hit so hard that he fell backward and landed on his bottom in the snow.

Shi Mo walked over, looking down at him with a wicked smile on his lips: "Tradition? This tradition is not bad."

"Shi Mo!" Bai Xu angrily got up, grabbed Xue and started to fight back.

The two started a snowball fight in the courtyard. It was more like a one-sided crushing blow than a snowball fight—Shi Mo's snowballs were fast and accurate, and Bai Xu was covered in snow, looking disheveled, but he was laughing very happily.

After they had had their fun, the two returned to the castle, where the fireplace was burning brightly, dispelling the chill.

Bai Xu took off his wet coat and sat on the carpet in front of the fireplace to warm himself by the fire. Shi Mo handed him a cup of hot cocoa.

"Shi Mo," Bai Xu said suddenly, holding a warm cup, "It's Christmas Eve, shouldn't we exchange gifts?"

Shi Mo sat down beside him: "What do you want?"

"It's not about what I want," Bai Xu turned to look at him, his eyes shining in the firelight, "it's about you giving me a gift! And I want to give you one too!"

Shi Mo raised an eyebrow: "Oh? So what do you want to give me?"

Bai Xu smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out soon enough. You can take me first!"

Shi Mo looked at his expectant eyes and remained silent for a moment. Then, he stretched out his hand, palm up.

A small, silver-white ring lay quietly in his palm. The ring was extremely simple in design, just a smooth circle, with what appeared to be very fine engravings on the inside, gleaming softly in the firelight.

"This is..." Bai Xu was stunned.

"A gift," Shi Mo said. "Wear it."

Bai Xu carefully picked up the ring. It was cool to the touch, yet unusually light. He hesitated for a moment, then put it on the middle finger of his left hand. The size was perfect.

"What's this made of? It's so light." Bai Xu looked at the ring curiously.

"My hair," Shi Mo said calmly.

"Pfft—!" Bai Xu almost spat out his hot cocoa. "Your...your hair?!"

"Yes." Shi Mo nodded. "It was made using a special method. Wearing it, as long as I'm still here, no matter where you are or if you encounter fatal danger, it can automatically generate an absolute defense and send its location to me."

Bai Xu looked down at the seemingly ordinary ring on his finger, and his heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something, both warm and throbbing.

A ring made of hair... an amulet... a way to locate...

This gift is too precious.

"...Thank you." Bai Xu's voice was a little hoarse. He touched the ring, and the cool touch warmed his heart.

"It's your turn," Shi Mo reminded him.

Bai Xu took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind. He stood up, walked to Shi Mo, and then, under Shi Mo's questioning gaze, slowly knelt down on one knee.

Shi Mo: "?"

Bai Xu took out a palm-sized, carefully wrapped gift box from his pocket and handed it to Shi Mo with both hands.

"I...I don't know what you lack, nor do I know what is worthy of you." Bai Xu's face was a little red, but his eyes were very serious. "So...I'm giving myself to you."

Shi Mo's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

He took the small box and opened it.

There were no jewels, no weapons, and no valuables inside.

There was only one folded piece of paper with slightly rough edges.

Shi Mo unfolded the paper.

Above, drawn with a pencil, is a somewhat naive yet exceptionally earnest drawing.

It depicts two little figures. One has silver hair and heterochromatic eyes (though drawn a bit crookedly), and the other has short black hair and green eyes. The two figures are holding hands, standing in a field of blooming flowers. The sun shines in the sky, and there is grass beneath their feet. A few words are scrawled crookedly beside them:

[To Shi Mo. From now on, I'll be with you.]

There was no signature, but Shi Mo recognized Bai Xu's handwriting.

Shi Mo held the painting and looked at it for a very long time.

As time went on, Bai Xu began to feel uneasy, and his knees started to go numb from kneeling.

"Um... it's not very well drawn... please don't mind it..." Bai Xu said softly.

Shi Mo finally raised her head and looked at him. In those heterochromatic eyes, there surged extremely complex and profound emotions that Bai Xu had never seen before.

He didn't speak, but simply reached out and gently stroked Bai Xu's cheek, then lowered his head and kissed his forehead.

"...I don't mind at all." Shi Mo's voice was a little husky. "I like it very much."

He carefully folded the painting, tucked it into his bosom, and pressed it against his heart.

Then, he took Bai Xu's hand with the ring on it, pulled him up, and embraced him.

"I accept the gift," Shi Mo whispered in his ear, his arms tightening around him. "From now on, you belong to me."

Bai Xu leaned against him, smelling his cool scent and listening to his steady heartbeat, and couldn't help but smile.

"Mm," he replied softly. "It's yours."

Outside the window, snowflakes continued to fall silently.

The fire in the fireplace crackled and popped, warming the room.

This Christmas, they had no grand banquet, no fancy decorations, just each other and a simple gift that they could cherish for a lifetime.

And a promise about "the future".