Cyberpunk 2074: Shadows of the Past.

"There is a slanting sun

On a winter afternoon, pressed down
heavy as church music

Heaven's Pain
followed devoutly

Trauma is nowhere to be found
inside is different
in the sanctuary of truth
Feel the imprint of despair that no one can understand

King's pain
Come around the world

When it comes, the mountains and rivers listen

The shadows also hold their breath
when it's gone, far away
Like the face under the hood of death
indistinct"

Note①
February 2074, 1

Lucy's tenth day in Night City.

Although it was only a short period of ten days, it was much longer than the long years of fleeing alone in the past.

Maybe it's because of making interesting friends and not wandering anymore.

With her head down, she is now more used to observing the silver-haired girl and the handsome man around her from the corner of her eye.

Thanks to them, the dozens of entangled ghosts of the past have not disturbed her slumber for some time.

The cigarettes that I never left my hands in the past have been left in my pocket for a long time now.

"This is enough..." Lucy whispered to herself in her heart.

At some point, her footsteps slowly stopped, and there was a short distance between Xita and Yawei.

"Lucy? Come on!"

A crisp voice rang in her ears, and the silver-haired elf jumped up and held her somewhat cold palm tightly.

Before the consciousness of fugue returned, the physical body had already responded.

"You're so alive and kicking in high heels, aren't you afraid of spraining your feet?" She subconsciously complained in a cold voice, successfully seeing the slight shame on Xita's face.

Yawei stood aside, watching their interaction with a smile, and seemed to have calmed down.

Lucy looked at the two of them with a smile on her lips.

Shallow, like the sunset above the head that is disappearing little by little.

"What makes you so happy?" Taking advantage of the time when Yawei drove the car over, Xita slowly approached Lucy's side with nimble steps, stretched out his hand suddenly, and hugged her arm.

"I think you are very interesting, you have always been very interesting..." Lucy gently rubbed the girl's enviable white silver hair and whispered.

It was like seeing them at the bar of the afterlife nightclub five days ago.

The audience in the audience took the initiative to accept the invitation of the protagonist on the stage, stood under the spotlight, and performed the joyful glass color together.

"So all literary youths are like this?" Xi Tan poked Lucy's waist with her finger.

"What are they all like?" Lucy glanced at the gradually darkening sky, and while continuing to chatter, she responded flexibly with her fingers.

"So sentimental... Ah! Don't scratch me... I'm ticklish..." Xita was halfway through speaking, but Lucy's counterattack poked her weakness.

"Get in the car first, the sun is setting, and the temperature is dropping quickly..." Yawei skillfully parked the car in front of them, lightly, without raising a speck of dust.

"Come on~" Xi Tan replied, pulling Lucy to sit in the back of the car.

"Where did your friend say you ate for dinner?" Lucy asked.

"Downtown..." Xita threw her high heels by her feet and lay lazily in the package of the seat.

Lucy nodded, and following Xita's example, she took off her high heels, put down the car seat, and lay down comfortably.

◎

"Jill, have you eaten hot pot before?" V put down the phone and remembered this.

"Hmph, just remembered now?" Jill shook her head helplessly, "Don't worry, I went out to eat with my friends occasionally when I was in college, although there is definitely no hot pot restaurant like the one in the center of Night City It's upscale..."

V touched her nose in embarrassment, it seems that excessive drinking is not completely unaffected to her.

"Hey, do you have any suitable clothes?" Jill tiptoed, sat on the chair, and lightly kicked V's calf, "I accidentally vomited on myself yesterday... the weather is also gloomy this morning. The clothes didn't dry for a while..."

"What's your size?" V nodded, then turned and walked to the closet not far away.

"It's younger than you anyway..." Jill said bitterly, and picked up half of the cigarette that was silently burning in the ashtray, and put it in her mouth.

"For the sake of you honestly admitting that you are not as good as me, I don't care about you stealing my cigarettes..." V held his clothes and threw them on the bed, "Here, do you need me to avoid it?"

"I don't care anyway..." Jill shook her head, looking indifferent.

"By the way, put down the cigarette first, don't light my house later..." Taking advantage of Jill's inattention, V snatched the cigarette in her mouth.

"Hmm..." Jill nodded perfunctorily, and threw the clothes on her body neatly to her feet.

◎

"Isn't this the same Chinese restaurant we went to last time? It looks brand new, and there is no trace of an explosion at all..." Xita got out of the car, only to realize that he had been here with Yawei once before .

"Explosion?" Lucy got out of the car after her.

"Oh...it was the day of the 18th, a few robot robbers came in halfway through the meal..." Yawei answered Lucy's confusion while lazily directing the vehicle to find a parking space by itself with a program written by hand.

Anyway, it was completely dark, and passers-by couldn't notice that this old, broken car was actually driving without a driver.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked subconsciously.

"With Yawei here... of course it's fine..." Xi Tan replied with a smile, and walked towards the restaurant holding Lucy's hand.

Tonight's moon disappeared into the darkness without showing its face.

The howling wind was getting bitterer.

The crowd on the street shrunk their heads and wrapped their bodies in thick or light clothes, for fear of being scraped off layers of flesh and blood by those cruel wind fairies jokingly.

Yawei looked at their backs and sighed softly.

The white mist had just emerged before it was washed away by the strong wind.

"Yahweh?" Xi Tan turned her head and waved her hands foolishly at him.

"Here we come..." He strode forward a few steps, and the distance between them returned to zero again.

Following the waiter's guidance, she chose a seat by the window. Lucy pulled the chair and sat with Xita.

"The temperature is going to cool down again." After Yawei shook his clothes, he sat down slowly.

"I really hope it snows..." Lucy turned her head and looked at the dim night outside the window, and said softly.

"Does Lucy like snow?" Xita asked curiously as she took two cups of hot tea from her boyfriend and handed one of them to Lucy.

"I didn't have the time to appreciate the snow scenery before..." Lucy thanked her, took a sip of the steaming tea.

In the past, I buried myself in fleeing for a long time, so that I ignored the scenery of the four seasons that passed by.

"So enjoy it now, don't you?" Xita lowered her eyes, with a gentle curve in her mouth.

"Um……"

Note ① Original poem "There's a certain Slant of light" By Emily Dickinson