Simulation of Destruction, Why Am I Always the Arbiter Every Time

What kind of proper cohabitation is this?

Is cohabitation supposed to be this proper?

"Isn't Chang'an a tsundere? Why is he so good at being reserved?"

Eden felt helpless, sensing that the day Ye Chang'an would make the first move would never come.

As for her making the first move... sorry, no way.

It wasn't that she couldn't bring herself to do it, but she had already seen too many girls confess to Ye Chang'an and get rejected.

And quite a few of them were prettier than her.

It was understandable that those people were rejected because they rarely even had a chance to talk to Ye Chang'an.

Eden was undoubtedly the one who talked to him the most, but that didn't mean she had any chance of success if she confessed.

No feelings, no ambiguity, just idle chat and music. What chance did she have?

"Sigh, how should I win him over?"

Eden felt like crying; it was too heartbreaking.

Just as she was lamenting, Ye Chang'an knocked on her door.

"Eden, are you asleep yet?"

"Huh?" Eden immediately sat up and looked at the door, noticing it was slightly ajar. Her interest instantly waned.

This wasn't a surprise attack; who the heck would surprise attack with a door left ajar?

"Not yet, the door's not closed, you can come in."

Ye Chang'an pushed the door open and walked in. He glanced at Eden's languid figure on the bed before averting his gaze and saying, "Are you sleepy? If you are, I'll find you tomorrow."

"No need, just say it. I'm not sleepy. Oh, right, if it's about practicing together, don't bother. I'm not in the mood right now."

Practice what? She was dragged into practicing with him five days a week. Was this a job?

"It's not about practicing, it's about you."

"Then, go ahead."

"Hmm..." Ye Chang'an pondered, figuring out how to start, and finally decided to get straight to the point.

"I'm a bit curious, don't you practice singing?"

"Ah?" Eden was surprised. She sat up and asked doubtfully, "I don't sing, why would I need to practice?"

She found the question utterly baffling.

"You don't sing? Why? You don't like singing?" Ye Chang'an asked, astonished. He looked as if he had just heard that Beethoven had decided not to play the piano.

In essence, it was the same thing.

A pianist saying they wouldn't play the piano, a singer saying they wouldn't sing – it was preposterous.

"I like singing, but I don't intend to develop my career in this area," Eden explained, feeling that Ye Chang'an was very strange today.

And his expression had become even stranger.

"Why don't you want to develop in this area? Don't you want to be a singer? Don't you want to stand on stage and sing your favorite operas?"

"No, I don't. By the way, what's up with you today? Why are you asking all these weird things?"

Eden retorted, convinced that Ye Chang'an was acting out of character.

But ultimately, the reason for Ye Chang'an's odd behavior stemmed from Eden herself.

After living together for a year, he had never once seen Eden practice singing. This was not the daily routine of someone aspiring to be a legendary singer.

Everyone who reached the pinnacle had accumulated experience and practiced diligently; Eden was no exception.

It was true that she was born with talent, but that talent also needed to be nurtured with sweat to grow.

This was evident when she learned new instruments.

At first, her playing was terrible, but it gradually became perfect as she became more proficient.

As an instrumentalist, she was already top-tier.

But as a singer, it seemed she hadn't even started.

Ye Chang'an, having waited for a year without seeing any progress, finally couldn't hold back and asked.

The answer he received was so shocking it almost shattered his Sword Heart.

—If Eden doesn't want to be a singer, can she still become a legendary singer?

—And why doesn't she want to be a singer?

Ye Chang'an couldn't understand. He asked earnestly and seriously, "Eden, please tell me the truth, have you never thought about being a singer?"

"Uh..." Eden was speechless. She wanted to give a perfunctory answer, but she felt it wouldn't be right to respond so casually to Ye Chang'an's earnestness.

After some consideration, she finally spoke, "It's not that I've never thought about it. I did think about it when I was in elementary school, and I even practiced in my spare time."

This is the truth, it really happened.

"Then why don't you have it now? What made you give up?"

"..." I can't say this. Saying it would be confessing.

Eden chose to remain silent. Even as Ye Chang'an pressed her, she wouldn't speak. Annoyed by his questions, he got up to leave.

"Eden, wait."

Ye Chang'an grabbed Eden, preventing her escape, and held her shoulders as he gazed into her golden eyes.

"Please tell me, why did you give up being a singer?"

"...Do I have to say?"

"Yes, I want to know."

"...Is this very important to you?"

"Very important."

"How important?"

"It concerns my life and death."

Three questions and three answers, the last one being particularly serious.

Eden didn't know why it was so serious. She sighed and sat back down on the edge of the bed, speaking somewhat blankly about an unrelated topic.

"Chang'an, you know, I was always called a genius at home. I had a high musical talent from a young age.

Whether I became a singer or an instrumentalist, I could quickly grasp the essence and become a leader.

My family said I would be a superstar of the future and hoped I would strive towards that goal.

I didn't dislike this goal because I love music, I love it very, very much."

"But after I met you, my family rarely talked about me becoming a superstar anymore.

Because they got to know you.

You should still remember the music competition we participated in when we were five, right? The judges couldn't decide between us, so they ranked us both first.

My family saw that competition too, and their conclusion was different from the judges'.

You were first, I was second. You were more talented than me.

After that, I stopped participating in competitions with you. But whenever it was the finals, my whole family would gather and have me perform offline.

They would act as judges and continue to compare me with you.

The final result didn't change.

You were still first."

"There can only be one person who becomes a superstar. My family all believed that person would be you, not me.

I thought so too.

After all, I was always with you, and I knew how hard you worked and how excellent you were."

"But these are not the reasons why I gave up being a singer."

Eden had said a lot of nonsense to buy herself time, and finally revealed the truth.

"I gave up being a singer because I started to like you."

Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 7. Eden's Long Confession

"Falling in love with someone is an unfortunate thing because you don't know what changes you'll make for the person you love.

I read this sentence in a book when I was in elementary school. I didn't understand what it meant back then.

I was young, and I didn't even have the concept of 'like' in my mind.

Of course, the 'like' I'm talking about isn't the same as my liking for music. To prevent you, you idiot, from confusing the concepts, I'll clarify it for you first.

My liking for you isn't like in the ordinary sense; it's in the romantic sense.

To use a more fitting word, it's love.

Yes, it's love."

"Before I started junior high school, I hadn't fallen in love with you yet. At most, it was the liking between friends.

Hmm~ that might not be quite right. More specifically, it should be the liking between good friends.

We were good friends. We could eat together, play music together, discuss music together. We could do everything together except go to the bathroom.

I think we even slept together once. You chatted with me about music so late that I ended up sleeping at your place.

Sleeping with you."

"It wasn't until I started junior high school that I gradually understood the multiple meanings of the word 'like.' After peeling them away, I realized that my liking for you was love.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. My liking for you could have stayed just that.

But that liking turned into love, and it's all your fault.

It's your fault for stealing the hearts of every female student in the school on the first day of enrollment. It caused all the girls around me to become your fangirls, constantly buzzing around me, shouting things like "I like Chang'an so much, I want to confess to Chang'an!"

During that time, people would ask me every day if I was dating you, just because you were always clinging to me and only seemed happy talking to me.

I'm not a blockhead like you. After being asked so many times, I definitely gained clarity on romantic feelings.

The result was that I realized my liking for you had apparently gone beyond just liking.

"There's also something else I have to blame you for."

"I think it was in the second or third year of junior high, I can't quite remember.

Anyway, because I was too close to you, your fangirls became twisted. They gathered a bunch of their friends to cause trouble for me.

Luckily, I was clever enough to hide in the restroom and lock the door. They couldn't get in, but I couldn't get out either.

You remember what happened afterward, right? Don't tell me you forgot.

You came looking for me and entered the women's restroom, then picked me up when I was too scared to stand.

You even gave me a princess carry."

"Actually, there are many, many more things I can blame you for, all caused by the trouble your fangirls stirred up.

People always say that beautiful women have always been the cause of trouble since ancient times. How come it's the other way around for you and me?

It's always me getting dragged into trouble because of your handsomeness. I've never seen you encounter trouble because of my beauty.

Oh, right. Those who caused trouble for you were beaten down by you, and those who caused trouble for me were also beaten down by you.

You even hit girls. Chang'an, you can be quite ruthless sometimes.

But I like it. Yes, for this 'liking,' please understand it as 'love,' you blockhead."