An angry Su Ling ignored Youyou and Bai Qu for a long time.
But when he saw Youyou scratching her head in frustration over her puzzle, his meddling hands still couldn’t resist picking out the correct piece for her.
In the clean and bright dining room, Youyou looked at the extra puzzle piece on the table, then glanced at the fuming Su Ling leaning nearby, and suddenly couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
Annoyed, he shot her a glare. Su Ling tried to hold it in, but in the end, he couldn’t stop himself from giving Youyou a rap on the forehead.
“You ungrateful little rascal! Haven’t I been good enough to you? When have I ever not brought you fun things and tasty food? And this is how you repay me?”
He admitted that when he first got close to Little Youyou, it was because he was pursuing Bai Qu, and she was the person Bai Qu cared about most, so he had used her as an opening. But after shedding that initial motive, he had truly treated Youyou with all his heart. His long index finger pointed accusingly toward her neck as he spoke indignantly.
“You’re still wearing something I gave you around your neck, yet you dare to say I’m bad in this way and that. You… little… rascal. Believe it or not, I’ll go have a chat with your sweetheart right now and let you have a taste of jealousy and frustration too.”
“Sweetheart?”
Looking down at the crimson bead, Youyou glanced at Bai Qu in confusion and asked, “Who is that?”
Thanks to Su Ling, Youyou was quite familiar with certain uncommon words. A “sweetheart” was a lover, but she clearly wasn’t dating anyone.
“Fine. Forget I said anything.”
Unable to look directly at Youyou’s foolish expression, Bai Qu stared through the transparent glass at the man and woman in the living room. After a long moment, he reluctantly pulled his gaze away.
Following Su Ling’s line of sight, the tips of Youyou’s ears turned an imperceptible shade of red. To be honest, she didn’t know why she was so bothered by this strange woman. It was just so odd. Her heart was pounding, thumping away, not at all like her usual self. Touching her warm earlobe, Youyou turned back to her puzzle. Underneath the colorful pieces, her soft little hands looked even fairer.
The graceful image of an ancient lady in red robes was quickly pieced together by Youyou, with Su Ling assisting from the side. He showed no sign of slacking off just because the game was too childish. After all, habit becomes second nature. During all those times he and Bai Qu had spent with Youyou, Su Ling had already become an expert at puzzles, dominoes, and the like.
In the living room, Bai Qu was reading quietly, while the woman in the red cloak remained as silent as a block of wood. If Bai Qu didn’t know in his heart that she was unfathomably powerful and far from ordinary, he too would have been deceived by her harmless and placid appearance.
Sounds from the dining room drifted over from time to time. The corners of Bai Qu’s lips curved up, and he suddenly asked, “Why are you still here?”
The woman didn’t move a muscle, as if she hadn’t heard his question.
Bai Qu’s smile deepened. He gazed at the woman on the sofa opposite him and said gently, “Wuyou—that is, your incarnation—told me that the main personality doesn’t love anyone and doesn’t care about anyone. But I find that very strange. Since all of your incarnations are fond of Youyou, then as the main personality, shouldn’t you love her even more?”
This wasn’t just Bai Qu spouting nonsense. The common traits of those incarnations told him that this main personality’s inner self was surely not as cold as she appeared. Closing the book and placing it on his lap, Bai Qu said casually, “Furthermore, Wuyou said that you only chose to ‘come ashore’ because they forced you. But… is that… really… the truth?”
“What are you trying to say?”
Lifting her chin, she revealed her devastatingly beautiful, soul-stealing face. Ripples spread through her red eyes, and the red hair that fell outside her cloak shimmered with an otherworldly light.
Bai Qu pursed his lips slightly, then suddenly broke into a gentle smile. He had a naturally handsome and refined face, and when he smiled, he bore a striking resemblance to Youyou. Seeing this, the woman’s expression faltered for a moment before she quickly averted her gaze.
Bai Qu didn’t notice this. He gathered his thoughts and said slowly, “I just want to get Youyou’s affairs in order before I die.”
“Die?”
“Yes.”
Although they didn’t lack food or weapons, that only ensured they could live relatively well during their time in Asura City. Bai Qu had never been naive enough to think they could escape. After all, in all the countless eons, no one had ever been able to break the rules of Asura City.
A fleeting look of melancholy passed over his brow before he put on a smile again. “Because there isn’t much time left, I really want to be certain about this. After all, Youyou can live her life in blissful ignorance, but as her older brother…”
He paused, then said, “I have to get a clear picture of where her affections lie.”
“You won’t die.”
She denied it without hesitation. The woman met Bai Qu’s slightly surprised face and said, word by word, with the utmost gravity, “I will send you all out of Asura City. But before that, I want to have a good look at her. As for what you were talking about…”
A struggle flickered in her red eyes, and her voice turned ice-cold.
“You only need to know this: no matter which world she is in, the moment an incarnation encounters her, they will fall in love with her very quickly.”
“And what if they don’t encounter her?”
Hiding all his surprise and delight deep down, Bai Qu looked at the woman and pressed on relentlessly.
“What if an incarnation doesn’t meet Youyou?”
He certainly didn’t want to see those incarnations falling for other men or women again.
“They become consumed by malice. They delight in slaughter, their personalities turning vicious, sinister, and cruel. They are extreme germaphobes, and so arrogant that they look down on everyone.”
Revealing the incarnations’ true nature to Bai Qu without a shred of concern, the woman’s expression was wooden, as if the incarnations had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Indirectly getting the answer he wanted from her words, the color returned to Bai Qu’s face slightly, and he steered the topic back to the original point.
“And what about you? After an incarnation dies, it returns to the main body, doesn’t it?”
The woman looked at Bai Qu icily, as if looking at a dead man. In the end, however, she still answered his question.
“I… hate… her. Are you satisfied? Before my anger subsides, I don’t want to see her, I don’t want to hear her speak, and I certainly don’t want to be here.”
Bai Qu: …
This is just one contradiction after another, isn’t it?!
Seeing Bai Qu’s speechless expression, the woman simply pulled her hood further down, clearly not intending to speak again.
The blood-red cloak temporarily shielded her from the assault of her own malicious thoughts. She bit her lip sullenly, trying to calm the roiling emotions one by one.
Don’t lose control.
Don’t lose control.
She had promised that person she would endure it.
Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably. Just as she was in the throes of this agony, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a small, gentle, and curious face.
“Hey, are you hurting?”
Squatting on the floor and peeking at the woman, Youyou blinked her big eyes and said sweetly, “If you’re hurting, you should just cry. If you hold it in secretly, no one will know.”
The woman, Bai Qu, and Su Ling, who was holding the framed puzzle: …
You’re probably the only one who cries without a care in the world when you’re upset, aren’t you?
The woman remained silent, only her blood-red eyes flickered. Youyou pouted in confusion, and her fair, tender arms naturally came to rest on the woman’s legs.
“Why are you hurting? Did Bai Qu bully you?”
“But why would Bai Qu bully you? My brother is a very, very good person.”
“Did you do something wrong? Well, you can just fix it next time.”
“Youyou makes mistakes all the time, but Youyou is still a good kid.”
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