What was the reason behind those words back then?
Why did she hand over the engraved bracelet to him?
She didn’t know.
But if not to Su Li, then who else?
She hadn’t prepared it long ago—just a cheap bracelet bought from a street vendor.
Afterward, You Xue engraved a Guardian Engraving onto it.
The materials in the shop weren’t endless either.
She used the last scraps to inscribe this bracelet.
You Xue had originally planned to use it herself—deflecting even one more attack would’ve been good.
But when she entered the Academy under the pretext of delivering amulets, a strange thought surged in her mind.
‘Just one look. From a distance. As long as I’m not noticed, it should be fine.’
Thinking this, she stood not far from the amulet distribution point, watching the passing crowd.
Full of vitality, laughter and chatter.
They seemed no different from the ordinary students in her previous life.
You Xue could no longer tell which was real.
The one buried in her memories, or the one she was experiencing now?
In truth, no matter the answer, it meant nothing to her.
After all, she had only one thing to do.
She strained her eyes to see farther, and finally, at the edge of her vision, she spotted his figure.
Nothing special—just an ordinary young man.
His short hair shimmered with a warm glow in the sunlight.
His face was expressionless as he walked, focused only on his path.
Two conflicting emotions fermented in her heart: closeness and strangeness.
They mixed together, and she couldn’t tell which was genuine.
She felt a little like getting closer, then stopped herself.
Abruptly, she felt sorry for herself.
She clearly knew that even if she approached that warm campfire, she still couldn’t escape her fate of death.
Yet the emotions surging from the depths of her heart—like a tide yearning to rely on and trust someone—pushed her forward.
Even the Dragon’s Eye she had unexpectedly obtained was defying her will, catalyzing those already intense emotions.
You Xue didn’t go any further.
She only watched from a distance.
Watched Su Li receive his amulet, watched him talk to another student.
‘Let it end here.’
Just as You Xue was about to leave, in the periphery of her turn, she caught Su Li’s gaze shifting toward her.
You Xue’s mind went blank.
Without hesitation, she chose to leave.
She knew he was chasing her.
And she knew she couldn’t outrun him.
So she stopped.
But unexpectedly, Su Li seemed to synchronize with her movement.
You Xue waited for him to call her name.
It wasn’t too long, but it had already exceeded what she could bear.
He didn’t speak.
‘Was he about to leave?’
He had taken the initiative to chase after her, only to give up at the last moment?
She had been ready to explain, ready to refuse—but she never imagined he would be the one to yield first.
A sharp pain shot through her left eye.
‘Was he mocking her?’
She had steeled herself to face his accusations, and yet he did nothing!
You Xue understood that the events of the past few days might have already made Su Li give up on her, his childhood sweetheart.
This should have been a good thing, yet she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.
It was those memories, the Dragon’s Eye, the residual emotions of their childhood bond—that was what made her so conflicted.
She shouldn’t have cared how Su Li treated her.
Her ears caught the sound of shoes scuffing against the ground.
‘He’s about to turn around. He’s about to leave me.’
He had promised he wouldn’t abandon her.
You Xue was troubled.
The waves of emotion surged even more violently.
‘It’s just one more meeting. As long as I don’t say the wrong thing, don’t change anything, it shouldn’t affect the plan.’
And so, in her unease, it was You Xue who turned first and called out to Su Li, who was about to leave.
But after that, what was she supposed to say?
You Xue understood the principle: too many words lead to mistakes.
“What happened to your eye? Why are you wearing an eye patch? Are you sick?”
Su Li blurted out the question, dissipating some of the tension.
“It’s nothing. Just a little inflamed. It’ll be fine in a while.”
When she said this, You Xue kept her head down.
Not for any other reason—just that she felt like laughing a little, so she had to hide it a bit.
After all, in the original story’s description, Su Li wasn’t the cold, scheming type of male lead.
He was more like an ordinary person with slightly stronger willpower.
So when she saw his clumsy words—so full of concern, both tangled and sincere—a faint smile rose in her heart.
After all, reading from a book, or viewing from a memory, was ultimately different from facing the person directly.
You Xue hid her gaze and sized up the current version of the male lead.
Su Li’s supernatural ability was actually quite powerful, but in the early stages—before his ability was truly awakened—it might not even be as good as some B-rank abilities.
You Xue remembered the bracelet with the Guardian Engraving she still carried.
It was carved from leftover scraps from the shop.
For herself, she could still use materials to make another.
If she gave this to Su Li, it might further improve his survivability.
Although she had already messed with the Dark Crow Organization, if her changes to the plot brought unexpected risks, it would defeat her purpose.
So giving it to him was a good choice.
After a brief exchange with Su Li, You Xue handed him the bracelet.
“This is for you.”
“Why?”
You Xue heard him ask.
As for the reason—she certainly couldn’t say something like “for your own good,” which would be too obvious.
“I just don’t want to owe you anything.”
You Xue lowered her head, hiding her expression.
Seeing that Su Li didn’t reach out to take it, she grew a little anxious, so she said in a defiant tone.
“If you don’t want it, then forget it.”
“…I didn’t say I didn’t want it.”
But You Xue didn’t expect him to move so directly this time.
He grabbed her wrist.
His palm was warm.
His skin was a little rough, but not unpleasant.
Instead, You Xue felt a familiar sensation.
A long, long time ago—on the ridges of golden wheat fields, on wooden bridges over streams, or in fields of flowers—they had held hands and walked through many, many places.
‘These annoying memories again.’
You Xue frowned.
Seeing Su Li take the bracelet, You Xue immediately pulled her wrist away and took a step back.
She knew that if she didn’t leave now, she might once again summon those memories of their childhood that didn’t belong to her.
“I’m going.”
So You Xue said.
“Your eye… is it really okay?”
‘Of course it’s okay.
That eye is even incredibly powerful—just a little side effect.’
You Xue touched her earlobe, hummed in response, and finally tossed out another sentence.
“Don’t misunderstand. I just happened to come by. Consider everything settled. Don’t get any ideas. Don’t come looking for me in the future.”
This was to keep Su Li from thinking their relationship might take a turn for the better.
You Xue didn’t wait for Su Li’s reply.
She turned and walked toward the Academy gate.
‘Ah, I gave him the bracelet and didn’t deepen our bond any further. This should be a good thing, right?’
Lost in thought, she walked about a hundred or two hundred meters.
Turning a corner, she saw a sakura-colored figure waiting—it was Sanjian Ying.
“Who was that boy just now?”
Sanjian Ying narrowed her eyes, a meaningful smile on her face.
“He looked pretty handsome. A boyfriend?”
You Xue was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Were you watching the whole time?”
Sanjian Ying didn’t avoid the question.
She nodded and said.
“After all, this is the first time I’ve seen someone you care so much about, You Xue. So I was a little curious.”
Care?
You Xue chewed on the word in her mind.
Though it felt a bit awkward, she had to admit that she probably did care about Su Li.
But not because of something vague like liking or love—only because she needed Su Li to keep moving forward, to become the male lead of the story, the hero who could save everything.
And then bring this story to a close.
Let it no longer be a tale full of sorrow, but one where happiness was attained after trials—a story with a beautiful ending.
Only then would all the suffering she had endured be worthwhile.
After a brief thought, You Xue shook her head.
“No.”
But Sanjian Ying didn’t let it go.
Instead, she leaned a little closer.
“If not a boyfriend… then he’s still someone you like, right?”
“No.”
You Xue didn’t hesitate.
“Not that either. Just an ordinary friend.”
“Huh? Just an ordinary friend? You seemed to have put a lot of effort into that bracelet, right?”
Sanjian Ying looked at You Xue with a puzzled expression.
But You Xue only met her gaze calmly, then tilted her head and touched her earlobe.
“Why do you want to know about my matters?”
Finally, You Xue chose to change the subject.
Seeing her intention exposed, Sanjian Ying didn’t back down.
She simply said.
“I just feel like you never seem happy, You Xue. So I wanted to get to know.”
“Then why not just ask me directly?”
“If I asked you directly, would you tell me?”
Sanjian Ying asked.
“No.”
You Xue answered bluntly.
The reason she said that was because if the other person asked directly, she would have enough reason to tell them.
‘These matters have nothing to do with you. Don’t pry. Don’t seek them out.’
“Alright, alright. If it bothers you, I won’t ask anymore. Okay, everything’s done. Let’s go back.”
This time, Sanjian Ying completely deflated.
The two of them began their return journey.