“Is there?”
“There is!”
Shen Qingyi nodded vigorously.
Not only did her speech sound odd, but her hands were acting up, constantly roaming over her own waist!
“By the way! You still haven’t told me your name!”
“Oh, that—my name is Su Qiulian.”
Shen Qingyi’s body trembled at once.
Wasn’t this the same name the Storyteller used when telling tales of the Demon Emperor?
Could it be that her luck had finally run out?
She couldn’t even return home without bumping into the Demon Emperor?
“Y-you… which Su Qiulian are you…?”
Shen Qingyi asked, her voice trembling.
“Su Qiulian is Su Qiulian. Are there any other Su Qiulians in this world?”
“T-the Demon Emperor is also called Su Qiulian…”
As soon as she said this, Su Qiulian understood.
It seemed that in this lifetime, little Shen was a bit timid.
In their last life, when Su Qiulian mentioned her name, she hadn’t cared at all.
Thinking this, Su Qiulian decided not to scare her further and said, “What? Only the Demon Emperor can be called Su Qiulian, but I can’t? If you ask me, it’s the Demon Emperor who stole my name!”
At these words, Shen Qingyi burst into laughter.
“You’re actually quite amusing! All right, all right! I was just a bit surprised, that’s all. Hold onto me properly, okay!”
Shen Qingyi didn’t know that as she laughed, the Su Qiulian in front of her was watching her with an utterly captivated gaze.
As expected, little Shen in this lifetime was just as beautiful—her smile alone could steal her soul away.
Especially with that blindfold wrapped around her eyes—it made little Shen look especially alluring!
No, she really couldn’t take it anymore; she was itching to take action right now!
But seeing Su Qiulian stand there for so long, unmoving, Shen Qingyi couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “What’s wrong? Why aren’t we moving?”
“It’s nothing, it’s just that your smile is a little too beautiful, little Shen!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
Yes, in the previous life, this ordinary mortal girl’s single smile stole the heart of a Demon Emperor.
Su Qiulian couldn’t help but recall her encounter with little Shen in her previous life.
Back then, she had just fought a bitter battle with the Jian Zun, leaving both sides seriously wounded.
Fearing that Jian Zong would station people at the entrance to the Demon Territory, she decided to hide out in a mortal town to recuperate.
It was then, in Hao Ren Town, that she met Shen Qingyi.
In the previous life, Shen Qingyi was not blind.
On the contrary, she had a pair of strikingly clear and bright eyes, and her smile was dazzling.
Su Qiulian had met her while listening to stories in the Tea House.
At that time, Shen Qingyi always sat alone by the window on the second floor, quietly listening to the Storyteller.
Only when the Storyteller reached an exciting part would she join the crowd in cheering.
Most of the time, she simply sat there with a faint, gentle smile.
There was nothing on the table but tea—not even any snacks.
“Miss, do you come here to listen to stories alone every day?”
That was the first thing Su Qiulian ever said to Shen Qingyi in her past life.
“Yes, why?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that your smile is extremely beautiful, and I wanted to make friends! My name is Su Qiulian.”
“Eh? That’s amazing! You have the same name as the Demon Emperor in the Storyteller’s tales!”
Shen Qingyi’s eyes were full of surprise, but no fear.
“Is that so? Just a coincidence. What about you, Miss?”
“My name is Shen Qingyi. ‘Qing’ as in light, and ‘Yi’ as in clothing.”
As they talked, Su Qiulian gradually learned about Shen Qingyi’s background.
She was just a child from an ordinary Merchant Family.
Because her parents wanted a son to inherit the family business, they abandoned her.
She wandered into Hao Ren Town when she was young, and life only began to improve for her there.
Thanks to the help of the townsfolk, she managed to grow up in relatively good health.
Now, she got by each day doing odd jobs for various households—laundry, cooking, bookkeeping—her days were a mess of tasks, but at least she never went hungry.
With the help of the townsfolk, she had even managed to build a small house in the town—a humble home with a little yard.
Her daily joy was finishing her chores and running to the Tea House to listen to stories.
“Let me tell you, they really tell the most interesting tales!”
And so, bit by bit, the Demon Emperor Su Qiulian found herself captivated by this plain, ordinary mortal woman.
In her memories, her little Shen always held immense passion for life.
She believed there was nothing in the world she couldn’t handle, and thought that everyone under the heavens was good at heart.
Even when Su Qiulian confessed her true identity as the Demon Emperor, Shen Qingyi was not afraid.
She never told Su Qiulian to stay away.
Instead, she said:
“Wow! Then you must be amazing! There must be loads and loads of demons who listen to you! Doesn’t that mean you have someone telling you stories every day?”
So cute.
But…
The days of listening to stories with her adorable little Shen ended one day.
“A-Lian… don’t be afraid… Maybe I’m just going to sleep for a while…”
“A-Lian… If there’s a next life, I don’t want to see this world again. Listening to stories is much more interesting…”
Su Qiulian would never forget the scene of Shen Qingyi dying before her eyes in her previous life.
Those wretches, talking about the divide between humans and demons, dared to drive little Shen to death while Su Qiulian was still recovering from her wounds.
But fortunately, perhaps the heavens took pity on them.
After Su Qiulian took her own life in despair, she found herself back at the very beginning.
This time, she gave up fighting Jian Zun and, at her peak strength, immediately purged those rebellious ministers, returning to the little town where they first met.
Maybe little Shen’s words from the previous life came true—she had truly lost the light in her eyes and become blind.
But that didn’t matter.
She was already by little Shen’s side, and this time, nothing would go wrong.
She was determined to spend a lifetime together with little Shen.
“We’re home, little Shen.”
Pushing open the familiar little door, Su Qiulian helped Shen Qingyi inside.
“Oh, it’s so much faster with someone helping out. Thank you!”
Shen Qingyi said happily, walking into her small house with Su Qiulian’s support.
It was a tidy little house, with a kitchen and a yard, though there was only one bed.
“No need to thank me. From now on, I’ll always be here to help you.”
Shen Qingyi thought something was off about her words.
What did she mean by ‘from now on’?
Was she planning to live in her house forever?
“Hey! Let me make this clear—I’m only letting you stay for seven days! I only have one bed, and it’s small!”
“All right, all right! Whatever little Shen says!”
Su Qiulian replied with a beaming smile, still holding onto Shen Qingyi’s hand without letting go.
Because of her longing from their separation, and seeing little Shen unable to see, Su Qiulian was itching for more.
Last time, she’d had to wheedle and cajole for ages; this time, she was determined to go all out.
Should she just be direct?