The whole game uses a reverse timeline structure.
Most players have already figured that out.
With all these questions in mind, the story keeps moving backward.
On the night before River and Johnny's wedding.
They were both dressed up, sitting by the lighthouse, looking at the moon and chatting.
That night, the lighthouse got its name—Anya.
Under the moonlight, River and Johnny went up to the lighthouse.
Their shadows were cast on the wall by the light.
In the moonlight, Johnny patiently taught River how to dance.
From night until morning.
A soft, gentle piano melody played as they danced, flowing like a quiet stream.
It made the whole game feel full of romance.
The game's graphics might not be top-tier,
But with the music and mood, this moment felt truly beautiful and romantic.
"Damn, they really danced all night long!"
Eric couldn't help but say that with emotion.
He had to admit, at that moment, all the confusion in his heart faded for a while.
Because at least right then, the game actually made a grown man like him feel what people call romance.
The next day came. In front of the now-named lighthouse, Anya, River and Johnny officially became husband and wife.
On the way to the wedding, River saw a little white rabbit that had been hit by a car. She looked a bit sad, and also a bit strange.
But Johnny didn't notice anything unusual.
"So… is that why River kept folding paper rabbits later on? But what's the connection?" Eric was confused.
But he couldn't figure it out.
So he kept going with the story.
Everyone at the wedding was super happy, but Eric noticed a small detail.
At the wedding, Johnny's mom called him by a different name.
In the game, Johnny's friend Nicholas also looked confused.
Johnny responded naturally, saying that it was his grandfather's name, and his mom used "Joey" as a nickname to remember him by.
"Joey? That name definitely means something," Eric squinted his eyes.
Time kept rolling back.
Now we see the period when River and Johnny were dating, before getting married.
They were at a horse ranch,
Riding horses together, laughing and having fun.
Because it was the doctor's suggestion, they thought horseback riding might help ease River's condition.
Just like most people in love, the two of them often showed affection.
And now, players finally understood what River's illness actually was, confirming their earlier guesses.
"Asperger's Syndrome, so that's what River has?" Eric finally saw the name of the condition in the notebook clues.
But he had never heard of this illness before.
He glanced at the comments in the livestream chat—clearly, everyone else was just as confused.
"People with this condition show symptoms like trouble making friends, difficulty with talking and communication, rigid behavior, and sticking to strange habits or rituals that don't make sense."
"It really matches her perfectly."
Things started to make more sense—if she really had this illness, then all of River's strange behavior could be explained.
Still, even if the behavior had a reason, the meaning behind her actions was still unclear.
At this moment, Eric was still full of curiosity.
Curious about River and Johnny.
What did the paper rabbits mean? What kind of past did River and Johnny share? Why was Johnny so set on going to the moon?
By now, Eric had been playing for almost two hours.
But there were still no answers—why Johnny wanted to go to the moon, why River would rather die than not finish the house with a view of Anya, why she kept folding paper rabbits all her life after they got married, and why she kept asking Johnny about it.
None of that had been explained yet.
The story kept moving, and now it went into Johnny's school years.
It was during this time that he met River.
And Eric noticed something—the platypus.
River always carried that plush platypus during her high school years.
It seemed to mean something important to her.
It was also how Johnny first started talking to her.
With help from his friend Nicholas, Johnny was pushed in front of River, who was sitting on the steps reading a book.
"Hi!"
"Uh… hello…"
"Can you hear me?"
Standing in front of River, Johnny looked a little awkward.
And then, finally, River replied, "Yes."
"Then why don't you… never mind… uh, this platypus is really cool." Johnny was clearly trying hard to keep the conversation going.
River just glanced at the platypus beside her, then went right back to reading.
"Uh… what are you reading?" Johnny kept trying to make small talk.
"A book."
"About platypuses?"
"No."
"Oh… uh, that's fine too, I guess."
Johnny was clearly feeling uncomfortable. River just seemed way too cold.
From the way things looked, River wasn't very likable at that time.
You could even say she was kind of distant. Even watching through a screen, you could feel just how awkward Johnny must have felt.
The whole moment was painfully quiet.
But thanks to the story being told in flashbacks, players knew this wasn't the real River.
She only acted that way because she had Asperger's.
"Lighthouse!" River suddenly spoke, cutting off Johnny mid-sentence.
"This country still has a total of sixteen secondary Fresnel lens lighthouses. Nine of them are along the coast, and one of those was actually converted from an old kerosene lighthouse."
"Oh, that's what you're reading? Well, actually... I was wondering, would you like to watch a movie with me?"
"I don't know."
"That's okay, I can wait while you think about it."
"I can't think about it."
"Why not?"
"No date, no time."
"Hmm... how about this Saturday at eight? Would that work?"
"Okay."
At this point, Eric felt a lump in his chest. It even made him feel a little heartbroken.
As a regular person, there's just no way to really understand what this feels like.
Honestly, he couldn't truly imagine how much pain River must be in.
The kind of pain where you want to say something, but your mind and body just won't let you express it.
(End of Chapter)
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Let's do a challenge: for every 100 Power Stones, I'll release one bonus chapter.
Now, give me your Power Stones! (said in the most polite tone possible)
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Read +45 advanced chapters on my patre*n
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