The snow was still falling, but it did not land on the body; instead, it accumulated in a thin layer a few millimeters away, like snowflakes clinging to a cat's fur, or like icing on a cake.
Kobe Suzuo stepped along the footprints left by Satoru Gojo, leaving even larger imprints over the small ones.
He watched Satoru Gojo playing wildly in the snow for a while, then shook the snow off his clothes before the lady on night watch changed shifts, squeezed back into his own bed, which had already grown cold.
When he closed his eyes again, that youthful face finally showed a trace of the smile a child should have.
..
Dreaming again?
Kobe Suzuo opened her eyes, first pushing that face—which had grown to a life-sized scale—away in surprise, before nodding.
Mm, I dreamed that you don't sleep at night and sneak out to stomp in the snow.
Satoru Gojo pouted, "Why do you always dream about such weird things?"
Kobe Suzuo moved the documents resting on her knees and leaned forward to embrace Satoru Gojo.
It's actually quite interesting; if we had known each other when we were kids, we could have gone playing in the snow together.
Satoru Gojo reached out and scooped Kobe Suzuo up from the small sofa, holding him in his arms and weighing him, not feeling childish in the slightest.
“We can still play together now. When it snows later this year, we can have a snowball fight together.”
No matter how many times, Kobe Suzuo could not get used to this kind of "high-toss movement," holding the other's shoulder to steady herself, her voice sounding somewhat unstable:
If the rules allow the use of a snowball machine, I am willing to play against you.
Satoru Gojo held Kobe Suzuo by the waist, intentionally squeezing his thighs and shaking him, then looked up at the swaying Kobe Suzuo and laughed:
“Suzuo is so weak, he wouldn't be able to beat me even if he used high-tech cheating.”
Satoru Gojo observed Kobe Suzuo's expression, his playful tone suddenly shifted, becoming sweet and sugary-sweet.
But we can fight as a team with Suguru and the others, you can just lie back and win. We've already made an agreement.
Kobe Suzuo's back stiffened. She arched her back to dodge, pursing her lips as she slapped Satoru Gojo's hand that was reaching under his shirt, feigning severity.
“You can't just touch me anywhere.”
Satoru Gojo shamelessly pushed his face toward Kobe Suzuo, leaning in with a grin, acting as if he were completely in the right:
What do you mean, 'groping'? I am very seriously helping Suzuo confirm a 'symbol'.
He nodded solemnly, "Mm-hmm, the Cursed Energy core is nearing completion, the growth progress of the flow circuits is also very rapid. No wonder Suguru and Nobara Iori took the initiative to ask about you today."
Satoru Gojo had absolutely no intention of letting Kobe Suzuo go, when he smiled, he looked like a Chibi-style big-headed character grinning with large teeth.
Kobe Suzuo stared for two seconds before suddenly reaching out with both hands to cup Satoru Gojo's face and lift it up, leaning down to kiss him while he was still standing there with his mouth agape.
Satoru Gojo was already very familiar with kissing, he instinctively tilted his head back to press against her, but Kobe Suzuo stopped his movement by catching his chin.
A pale tip of the tongue brushed against the lips and teeth, venturing in amidst the tangled breaths, lightly hooking and licking the soft flesh.
Kobe Suzuo moved quickly, her expression freezing in shock as she looked up and saw Satoru Gojo's rogue-like expression.
This time, he effortlessly broke free from the hand around his waist and landed on the ground.
Hmm, confirmed, still just a pure boy.
The title of "Little Flower of the Boudoir" could now be given back to Satoru Gojo.
Kobe Suzuo thought for a moment, opened the system to check the recent statistical results, pulled up a visualized table.
Satoru Gojo's judgment was correct; his "existence" was indeed much more stable than before.
[World] is attempting to actively accept him.
Kobe Suzuo dragged the timeline on the icon, judging the point where the transformation occurred while asking, "What did Suguru and Nobara Iori ask me?"
No one responded.
Kobe Suzuo looked up; Satoru Gojo was still standing there, frozen like a statue, for a moment, she didn't know whether to be speechless or find it ridiculous.
What is this cat, who never learns and treats me like a chew toy every single day, blushing for?
Kobe Suzuo extended her leg to kick Satoru Gojo's pant leg, saying helplessly, "Satoru, snap out of it. I'm asking you something."
Oh, oh, okay.
Satoru Gojo responded three times in succession, shaking off an imaginary layer of petrification from his body, moved bashfully behind Kobe Suzuo, clinging to the sofa to peek at the data Kobe Suzuo was tinkering with.
They asked me if I had previously dated someone similar to you, wondering if I simply have a thing for your type, or if I'm using you as a substitute for an old flame.
Kobe Suzuo's fingers paused, a large question mark appeared above his head as he looked at Satoru Gojo.
Satoru Gojo was too close; when Kobe Suzuo turned her head, his breath brushed against her cheek.
His face suddenly turned red, even redder than when Kobe Suzuo kissed him.
He straightened up, feigning composure, leaned back against the sofa to explain the ambiguous words he had just spoken.
Suguru and Nobara Iori's memories have partially returned, but they only vaguely remember that I was on good terms with some flamboyant, wealthy Young Master back then.
Because the memories don't match, they thought I had a crush on you but failed to pursue you, even scared the person away.
Kobe Suzuo understood more or less; when he was an Assistant Supervisor at Jujutsu High, he had the most contact with the Jujutsu High Trio, so it was quite normal for them to be the starting point for his recovery.
This imagination..
Satoru Gojo stole a glance at Kobe Suzuo. "Isn't that too much? They think way too poorly of me! It's practically slander!"
He muttered in a low voice, "When we're having a snowball fight, I'm going to secretly stuff stones into the snowballs I throw."
Kobe Suzuo listened, her CEO persona kicking in. Her movements stopped again as she cleared her throat and said with feigned generosity:
“It's fine if Satoru has dated others; after all, I haven't been able to stay by your side all these years, that is my fault.”
Just as a CEO is never lacking for villainous characters by his side, it is also quite normal for a delicate flower to have two devoted, restrained, gentle "white moonlight" figures around her.
The years that Kobe Suzuo was away were equivalent to a CEO going abroad while a delicate flower suffers from amnesia.
With the double buffs stacking, Satoru should be grateful he was still single when he returned.
The more Kobe Suzuo thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.
In these twisted worlds, one must first struggle to survive before they can even think about falling in love; no wonder negative emotions can become sentient and turn into Cursed Spirits.
He gritted his teeth despite his gentle tone, a chill radiating from him: "I can understand, I can understand."
However, before Kobe Suzuo could even begin to sulk, Satoru Gojo was already unhappy; he lunged forward suddenly and shook Kobe Suzuo's shoulders.
What are you talking about? I've never been in a single relationship in my entire life! If anything, Suzuo, you're the one who seems experienced. Don't you think it's a bit much to say that?
You know perfectly well that I've been looking for you all these years. In this world, I'm the only one who remembers you; nothing else matters, does it?
“Apologize to me.”
Kobe Suzuo was dazed and nodded honestly, "I'm sorry."
Satoru Gojo tilted his chin up and hummed in response, casting a glance at Kobe Suzuo. "A verbal apology won't do. You need to make it up to me.."
He became coy again, revealing his true intentions, "One more kiss just now."
..
Are you a teacher at Jujutsu High?
Satoru Gojo wore small round sunglasses and a loose, fashionable jacket embroidered with simple curved patterns in blue and white gradient silk thread.
It looked like butterfly wings, also like open eyes.
Besides that, he was dressed in all black.
Kobe Suzuo could hardly tell how old Satoru Gojo was; his face had never changed since he grew up, only his temperament had become different.
Satoru Gojo sat at a table in front of a popular dessert shop's transparent glass window, with exquisite mini cakes and various desserts spread out all over the table.
“Is Jujutsu High interesting?”
He stuffed a large piece of cream into his mouth, the cloying sweetness overwhelming his senses.
Masamichi Yaga was unsure what Young Master Gojo meant by this, racking his brain to think of how to respond:
There are two very talented freshmen this year: one is a once-in-a-millennium Cursed Spirit Manipulation user, the other is a rare Reverse Cursed Technique user capable of using Reverse Cursed Technique on others.
Satoru Gojo let out a long "Oh," and lifted his smart glasses to look at Masamichi Yaga.
Then I'll go to Jujutsu High to take a look as well. With me there, it will truly be the strongest generation.
Kobe Suzuo understood; this was when Satoru Gojo was fifteen years old and entering school.
Calculating the time, Kobe Suzuo had already become the Jujutsu Director in this world at this time, working hard every day to adapt to a life of massive changes and engaging in a battle of wits with Old Orange from the Director's Department.
The dreams concerning Satoru Gojo have lasted for nearly half a year; from infancy to the age of fifteen, Kobe Suzuo would occasionally dream of certain fragments.
There wasn't much content; there were perhaps only a dozen or so short dreams that could be remembered clearly.
It was like flipping through a photo album titled "Satoru Gojo's Growth Log," filled with story CGs of the world filmed for Satoru Gojo.
Kobe Suzuo felt that once the dream completely overlapped with reality, the Binding he had made with the World would conclude with him being accepted by the World and his complete return.
Today's dream was somewhat long.
Kobe Suzuo looked at the two rows of towering stone pillars before him and thought.
He remembered this place. The Panxing Sect was never short of funds, their headquarters, which combined modern minimalist geometric styles with traditional Japanese religious architecture, had been built with considerable luxury.
After being raided by the police back then, the headquarters was auctioned off to a collector and converted into the Panxing Sect Museum, which could be described as a very fitting transformation.
Kobe Suzuo scanned the surroundings for Satoru Gojo's figure, but when he turned around, he saw Fushiguro Toji instead.
One arm was broken, half of his body had been pierced through, the remaining half of his internal organs were falling out.
He died standing up.
Chapter 98 That Timeline
At dusk, the sunlight filtered through the clouds, creating a color like liquid gold.
Like divine light shining down, the drifting clouds shifted, the layered mountains shimmered with a layer of ethereal, glowing shadows, as if one had ascended to the Pure Realm.
In an instant, the light shifted from a piercing gold to a warm orange.