Chapter 47: The Revealed Truth (Not Really)

The next day, when the sky was just beginning to brighten, You Xue woke up in a daze.

Too many heavy things weighed on her mind, and on top of that, she wasn’t sleeping in her familiar bed, so her sleep was light.

Even after waking up, she still felt weary.

She was tired, but she couldn’t fall back asleep.

Her whole body ached, and though she could endure it, there was absolutely no way she could slip into a dream in this state.

Besides, she still had to face Su Li’s interrogation…

It could probably be called an interrogation.

If she told Su Li the whole truth…

Given his personality, the consequences might not be as bad as she imagined—at least for You Xue personally.

That was exactly why she was so worried and afraid—afraid that Su Li might soften, afraid that the future wouldn’t follow the path she had envisioned.

You Xue treated this reincarnation as an ascetic practice, like an Indian monk lying on a bed of thorns.

The monk dreamed of transcendence, of merging with the creator Brahma, while she dreamed of her loved ones’ happiness… and of a better next life.

A person couldn’t always be unlucky, right?

So she kept imagining that if she perfectly completed all of this, achieved that longed-for ending, and died in a worthy manner…

She would have a better life, a healthy body, and come to a beautiful world.

If the gods could send her to this world, then it should be possible to send her to an even better one.

After all, in this life, she could no longer be happy.

She tried to close her eyes and sleep a little more, but the pain in her chest was unbearable.

After tossing and turning a few times, You Xue sat up in bed.

She picked up the water glass on the nightstand.

Su Li had poured it last night, and it was already cold.

She decided to first think about how to handle Su Li’s questions.

First, she couldn’t tell Su Li that she wasn’t the original You Xue anymore, because You Xue meant too much to him.

She was his childhood sweetheart and his family.

If he found out, Su Li would be devastated.

It might even crush him and make him miss the growth events in the original story.

So to keep the story moving in a good direction, this had to be concealed.

Next was the matter of Magic Rejection Syndrome.

This was the original tragedy and the root cause of the story’s gradual collapse.

Even though You Xue wasn’t the real childhood sweetheart, she knew Su Li was a good person.

Even if he might refuse to help her because of his deceased childhood sweetheart, that was only a possibility.

She couldn’t gamble on that slim chance.

She yearned for that death—to be the prelude to a beautiful ending.

It wouldn’t actually be too painful.

Thinking about it this way, the thought of personally changing this somewhat tragic story was actually quite exciting.

After all, unless this Magic Rejection Syndrome was checked with a special instrument, it was completely undetectable.

So she could definitely bluff her way through.

As she thought this, her mind began to drift, until the hospital room door made a soft sound.

The door opened, and Su Li came in carrying a few bags.

You Xue blinked.

“You’re here.”

Su Li nodded.

“I’m here.”

Su Li placed the bags on the nightstand, then slowly took out the contents.

“I brought you some steamed buns and soy milk. I forgot to ask yesterday—do you like them?”

“I’m fine with anything.”

You Xue sat upright in bed, afraid Su Li might notice something.

Su Li glanced at her and gave a soft “mm.”

“I already ate on the way. Take your time eating.”

“Okay.”

You Xue followed the principle of “the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make” and answered quietly.

She picked up a steamed bun.

The temperature was warm but not hot.

She took small bites, one after another, and the room fell into silence.

Su Li didn’t say anything, just watched You Xue stuff the bun into her mouth and chew like a squirrel.

He remembered the past—the time they lived together.

She focused on eating the same way back then.

Living in the village, they both knew how hard it was to come by food, so they treated every meal with respect.

But now, Su Li couldn’t see through her anymore.

Her brows, her small nose, her light-colored lips—they no longer held the purity of the old days.

It was as if she was hiding something.

He wanted to know.

He didn’t understand.

If something had happened, why would she hide it from him?

They had lived together for so many years.

Could trust really be washed away so easily by time?

Su Li needed an explanation.

He knew You Xue might be doing this for his own good, but why wouldn’t she discuss it with him?

So, when You Xue stuffed the last bun into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed, Su Li suppressed his agitated desire to confront her and spoke slowly.

“Are you full?”

“Mm, I’m full.”

You Xue nodded slightly.

Her gray-white hair rose and fell on her shoulders.

The sunlight outside the window shifted quietly, streaming through the glass and falling between them.

Su Li stood up, his gaze fixed on You Xue’s eyes without any pretense—perhaps a little anger, perhaps a little accusation, but more than anything, a seriousness that couldn’t be avoided.

Seeing her tremble almost imperceptibly, his heart softened for a moment, but he knew he couldn’t back down now.

He couldn’t let You Xue escape.

He didn’t want her to get hurt.

If she had already become like this, didn’t it mean she had already suffered a fair amount of hardship?

He hoped that wasn’t the case.

So he spoke slowly.

“You Xue.”

You Xue gave a soft “mm.”

“Now can you tell me what happened? You said you would tell me.”

Su Li looked at her other eye—the brilliant golden one.

This eye must be the Dragon’s Eye that had caused such a stir in the city.

That day, Alice had seen that girl, and it must have been this You Xue.

But how were the two connected?

His childhood sweetheart was so fragile, just an ordinary person.

How could she suddenly have this thing?

Su Li simply couldn’t figure out the connection.

Maybe You Xue had been chosen for some dark experiment and then escaped?

If so, she must have been in great pain then, terribly tortured.

Su Li suddenly blamed himself for his slowness.

He had mistaken that last farewell for sincerity.

He thought she had found a better support, so he had left without looking back.

But in the end, he realized she had gotten nothing—only a body full of scars.

“Your left eye… why has it become like this?”

You Xue was silent for a moment, then lifted her head.

Her eyes seemed filled with some kind of resolve, and she spoke.

“I just wanted to help you.”

“Help me?”

“Mm. I didn’t want to stay in the slums alone, unable to do anything, just waiting for you to support me…”

But the real childhood sweetheart wouldn’t have thought like that, because she trusted Su Li—trusted that he would take her to a better future.

She trusted the boy who had watched the train with her that night and promised they would never abandon each other.

Still carrying guilt in her heart, You Xue continued.

“Later, I discovered I had a talent for engraving, so I became an engraver and joined Scar Workshop. Those weapons were actually made by me. Being able to do that already made me very satisfied.”

These words shattered all of Su Li’s assumptions.

Before he could react, You Xue went on.

“As for this eye… one day, I happened to learn that Dark Crow was going to target the Academy. I was worried about you.”

Her words seemed candid.

“So I found the place where Dark Crow kept the Dragon’s Eye. Their defenses seemed pretty loose—I didn’t have much trouble getting my hands on it.”

“And then? What about your original eye? Where was it replaced?”

Su Li asked.

His voice was surprisingly calm, but the tremor was unmistakable.

He knew the time window had been too tight.

While Dark Crow’s soldiers were still chasing her, the Dragon’s Eye had already become You Xue’s left eye.

“On the way while I was escaping.”