Collapse Simulator, why are we drifting apart?

"Anonymous guest...?"

The darkness came like a huge curtain, covering the fiery glow of the setting sun, leaving only the colorful streets outside.

Without turning on the lights, Fan Mu stood quietly in front of the window. He quite liked the dark night, the loneliness, as if at this moment time belonged to him alone. The darkness brought him a rare sense of peace.

He looked at the candy in his hand in silence, with no emotion in his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Squeak!

A teeth-grinding sound came from the door of the house, followed by the gentle voice of a young girl, bringing him back to his senses.

"Big brother, I'm back!"

"You're back! You're back so early today?" Fan Mu put the candy into the system space and quickly turned on the light. The darkness in the room was instantly replaced by warm light.

He walked quickly to the kitchen, put on a pink apron, and started cooking.

"Be good, go take a shower first. Big brother didn't expect you to come back so early today and hasn't cooked yet. After you take a shower, we can start eating!"

"Yeah." Kafka nodded, looked at Fan Mu's busy back, and obediently went to take a shower.

The dinner table was extremely quiet. He wanted to say something to start the conversation, but found that he had already said what he wanted to say. Looking at Kafka who was eating quietly, he remained silent.

After dinner, as usual, Kafka, who wanted to help wash the dishes, was sent back to her room. The room became quiet, with only the clinking sound of the dishes remaining.

Fan Mu was washing dishes, the lights were flickering, and the silent atmosphere around him made him feel a little depressed. The feeling of panic slowly crept into his heart like a demon from hell, and he could no longer be as calm as before.

Why? He always felt like something was missing from his home, but...what was it?

He didn't know, but it was precisely because he didn't know that he was so panicked, because it was the same before. Every time he had this feeling, nightmares followed.

He had experienced this kind of panic countless times, but every time he couldn't figure out what was going on?

Is it that I haven’t done well enough? Or did I take a wrong step?

He hurriedly shook his head and stopped thinking about it, trying to divert his thoughts.

What is Kafka doing now? She should be reading some books. Should we take her out to play? But where can we go to play?

What about me? What would I do after washing the dishes? Clean the table, take a shower, sweep the floor, um... and then say goodnight to Kafka.

What's next? What else? What else... can there be?

Thinking of this, Fan Mu suddenly paused while washing dishes, and then seemed to have figured something out. The depression in his chest disappeared, as if a big stone had fallen to the ground, and was replaced by a bitter smile.

When did Kafka and I run out of topics to talk about?

Only at this moment did he realize that it was not his fault, but that there was very little topic to talk about among his family members. As they grew older, they finally reached the point where they had nothing to talk about.

"So that's how it is!" Fan Mu took a deep breath, trying to let out all the melancholy in his heart, and blinked.

So that's how it is. Is this the reason why he can't get into anyone's heart? Family love... is it so weak?

After washing the dishes, turning off the lights in the house, and embracing the arms of the goddess of night again, he felt his spirit find a moment of peace.

He didn't know how long he sat in front of the window. Cars passed by him, and lights flashed across his face. At midnight, as the last car disappeared from his sight, he finally strolled to Kafka's room.

"Dong dong!"

"Please come in, big brother." A polite voice came from the room.

Even though he knew that this was because she had no emotions, and even though he had heard it countless times before, it had never made him feel as uncomfortable as it did this time.

When did relatives need to be so polite to each other? When did Kafka start to be polite to him?

Fan Mu pushed the door open but did not go in. He looked at Kafka lying on the bed reading a book with a smile on her face. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she simply raised her hand, waved it like she was coaxing a child, and said, "Good night!"

"Good night, big brother!" Kafka looked at him and tilted her head. She felt that her big brother seemed to have something on his mind. Even though Fan Mu disguised himself very well, she could still feel that his smile was a little forced.

Is your elder brother in trouble?

"Yeah." Fan Mu nodded and was about to leave, but when he was about to close the door, he leaned back and said, "Don't watch too late, it's bad for your eyes, do you hear me?"

"Well, I see."

This time, with a 'click', the door closed completely.

Returning to his room, he found it very simple, with a bed, a wardrobe, a table, an air conditioner and nothing else. He had long lost the desire to decorate his room with toys.

Lying on the bed, Fan Mu stroked his forehead gently, looking at the dark ceiling, as if an endless illusion was pulling him into it, and he didn't move at all.

Looking at his appearance, the system in his mind said silently: "Host!"

"...What's the matter?"

"Just be an unknown guest, just for yourself and for me!" A helpless voice mixed with a hint of unknown emotion accused him in his mind, easing this unspeakable atmosphere.

"We have been together for nearly a hundred years. My classmates have trained many emperors, but I haven't even trained a single host. I have been laughed at in the industry for a long time!"

"But...what about Xiaoka?"

"Haven't you already had this idea?" The system did not answer his question. Seeing that he seemed to want to say something, it continued, trying to break his fantasy.

"It's meaningless. I've already said that there's no way out of this path of family affection. Don't be stubborn. In this simulated space, your body is almost gone!"

"You've been here for six years, but the mission progress is still more than 6%. Don't fool yourself. Just think of it as me asking you to help me, okay?"

Fan Mu knew that he had always known that he was sorry for the system. The system had been making trouble for him for a hundred years, but he had not completed a single task.

"I...please let me try one last time, system! Let me give up! This time will not be more than a month!" Fan Mu bit his lip, feeling unwilling. Over the past hundred years, he had given his true heart to the wrong people countless times, but he never cared, because no one had ever torn off his fig leaf.

"Please, I promise I'll complete the task this time!"

"You!" The system was furious, but helpless. Punish the host? It could do it, but after a hundred years of living together, it couldn't bring itself to do it.

"Oh!" Finally, all the helplessness turned into a long sigh and disappeared from his mind.

Fan Mu knew that the system had agreed, and this was his last wish.