"I liked this version of you—the you who always showed up in time to save me, no matter what happened to me."
"From then on, my fondness for you had already been charging headlong toward love, and not even ten oxen could pull it back.
Because I fell in love with you, I gave up my dream of becoming a singer.
That wasn't your fault. It was my own choice.
After all, the music I loved, the operas I loved, and the dream I loved couldn't compare to you, the person I loved."
"I knew you didn't sing, and whenever we talked about music, you never brought up singing.
I thought you didn't like singing, so I didn't want to spend time practicing anymore.
What would be the point even if I practiced? You wouldn't talk to me about it, nor would you practice with me.
Compared to singing, you seemed to prefer practicing swordsmanship. I had no idea where you learned all those flashy yet beautiful moves.
I'd known you for so long, but I'd never seen you study swordsmanship under anyone.
Could you have figured it out yourself?
That would be incredible. Just as expected of Chang'an.
I really, really liked you."
She had said a whole heap of scattered things. If she hadn't started drifting off-topic toward the end, Eden might have gone on even longer.
But her reason for giving up on becoming a singer was already clear, so there was no point in continuing.
She knew Ye Chang'an wasn't interested in any of it, because his expression had not changed from beginning to end.
He had not smiled, either.
From the moment he entered and asked about her singing practice, Ye Chang'an had not smiled once.
The room fell silent. After finishing, Eden lay back on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Like a death-row prisoner awaiting execution.
Perhaps she was tired. Or perhaps she knew it was over.
"If you want to leave, then leave. You still have enough time to find a suitable place before school starts."
After a long while, Eden closed her eyes and spoke her final sentence.
It was utterly powerless.
Her long confession had ended. Despite leaving him plenty of time, she still received no answer.
Knowing that it was truly over this time, she could not even bring herself to ask him to stay.
Ye Chang'an was not someone she could keep.
Thud~
A sudden sound of someone collapsing rang through the room. Eden froze for a moment, then opened her eyes and turned toward where Ye Chang'an had been standing.
No one was there.
He left? Then what was that sound just now?
Confusion and bewilderment flooded her mind, followed by a flash of inexplicable worry. She sat up to check, only to discover in horror that Ye Chang'an had collapsed on the floor.
"Chang'an! Chang'an, are you okay?"
She panicked and hurriedly checked on Ye Chang'an, but found nothing wrong.
Yet she simply could not wake him.
"The hospital. We need to get him to the hospital right away."
In a flurry, she made the call, then rushed straight to the hospital in the ambulance.
After a round of examinations, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him. Perhaps some kind of shock had caused him to suddenly faint.
"A shock?"
Eden was bewildered. She truly could not understand what could possibly shock Ye Chang'an badly enough to make him faint.
Her lengthy confession? It couldn't possibly have been that powerful, could it?
Unfortunately, her lengthy confession really had been powerful enough to shock Ye Chang'an unconscious.
Because his Sword Heart had become unstable and shattered outright.
Having his Sword Heart shattered by a confession, Ye Chang'an was surely unprecedented.
But when faced with Eden's confession, Ye Chang'an truly had no way to steady his Sword Heart.
After all, he had been holding himself back and enduring throughout their life together. He had more restraint than a Ninja Turtle.
Eden had developed feelings for Ye Chang'an over more than a decade of companionship, so how could Ye Chang'an possibly have felt nothing for her?
Even if he had no heartfelt love, he still had lust. Eden often wandered around the house without any guard up, after all.
It was only because Ye Chang'an had forcibly suppressed himself and upheld his principles that nothing had happened.
Then those suppressed feelings met Eden's lengthy confession and ignited, becoming even harder to contain than an AK.
When those ignited feelings clashed with the principles he did not want to betray, the resulting force smashed his Sword Heart to pieces.
Of course, that was merely an exaggerated way of putting it. A more ordinary way would be this:
To hell with Tai Xu's emotionless path. I'm going to love with everything I've got.
Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 8. Eden, My Girlfriend, Is Reforming the Sword Heart Art
The next day, Ye Chang'an woke up in bed. Before he could even rise, he saw Eden asleep with her head resting beside the bed.
His head hurt a little. Covering his forehead, he recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness, then checked 001's simulation log.
"Sigh, it shattered."
His Sword Heart had shattered.
He could no longer draw upon the free Destruction energy in the air, and his combat strength had declined severely.
But he could still easily beat down a hundred or so ordinary humans.
It felt regrettable, but he did not regret it.
"At worst, I won't go back to Tai Xu Mountain. Staying here with her until fifty thousand years from now wouldn't be bad either."
He murmured softly, reaching out to stroke Eden's wine-red hair. The emotions surging in his heart made him feel unusually relaxed.
Honestly, suppressing his feelings to stabilize his Sword Heart had been extremely uncomfortable.
He was already an impatient, restless person. Great emotional highs and lows were what felt most satisfying to him; being stuck somewhere in the middle was suffocating.
That was why he did not regret the shattering of his Sword Heart.
"Mmm..."
Eden woke with a soft murmur. Remembering that Ye Chang'an was still unconscious, she jolted awake and abruptly raised her head, meeting Ye Chang'an's face, which held a gentle smile.
She paused in a daze, then threw herself into his arms.
"Chang'an, you're finally awake. You scared me to death. I thought something had happened to you."
He had indeed terrified her yesterday. Ye Chang'an had not known, but he could guess.
Gently wrapping an arm around his childhood sweetheart's slender waist, Ye Chang'an apologized. "Sorry, Eden. I made you worry."
"Mhm. As long as you're okay. As long as you're okay."
Eden repeated her relief, then remembered yesterday's confession. Her expression stiffened, and she tried to pull away from his embrace.
"Eden."
Ye Chang'an held her close and would not let her leave. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "I still haven't given you my answer about yesterday. Don't you want to hear it?"
Her ears tingled. Eden wanted to scratch them, but she did not dare move.
She felt uneasy, because it seemed her confession was about to receive an answer.
Is he going to reject me?
She instinctively assumed she would be rejected, but then realized this did not look like rejection.
Her body went soft, and she could not help leaning into Ye Chang'an's arms as she confessed once more.
"Chang'an, I like you."
"You're not following the usual script. Shouldn't you let me say it first?"
"Would what you said be the same as what I said?"
"No."
"What would be different?"
"The name."
Ye Chang'an smiled, pinching Eden's chin and making her look up at him.
"Eden, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
It was the answer she had dreamed of. Eden wanted to cry, but she should not cry.
So she simply closed her eyes and gave a quiet assent. Her raised face was perfectly positioned for Ye Chang'an to lower his head and kiss her.
Naturally, Ye Chang'an would not let this chance pass. He lowered his head and gently kissed her, but did not deepen it or linger for long.
Eden opened her eyes and looked at Ye Chang'an's retreating face, her gaze filled with obvious dissatisfaction.
The atmosphere had reached this point, and he only touched her lips? Wasn't that a complete mood killer?
"We have plenty of time ahead of us."
Ye Chang'an smiled and tapped Eden's forehead. The meaning in his eyes was perfectly clear.
Eden also understood the meaning of his words. She smiled faintly and nestled into his embrace with peace of mind.
"Say, Chang'an, how did you know about my singing? I don't think I ever sang in front of you."
Eden asked curiously, still puzzled about what had started everything yesterday.
"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"Tell me the lie first."
Eden was someone who understood romance. Hearing the lie first was romantic in its own way.
"The lie is that I think you have the potential to become a legendary singer. As long as you want to, you can become a top superstar who represents an entire era, so I was curious why you didn't practice singing."
"Chang'an, that lie isn't romantic at all. Could it be that you really think I don't have that kind of potential? Let me tell you, if it weren't for you, I definitely would have become a legendary singer."
"Heh, I know."
Caressing Eden's lovely face, Ye Chang'an continued.
"So the truth is, I saw that in a world without me, you became the most legendary singer on the Mu Continent, representing an entire era with your songs."
"(⊙o⊙)..."
Eden was dumbfounded. Truly dumbfounded.
That statement contained far too much information, but when she sorted through it, it sounded like a lie.
She was instantly speechless.
"Chang'an, don't mix up the truth and the lie. That truth would make a much better lie—it actually sounds pretty romantic."
Imagining a world without himself, then witnessing the person he loved become a legend, and telling that person about it.
It really was quite romantic.
But the truth was still the truth. It could not become a lie.
"Eden, everything I said is true," Ye Chang'an stressed.
"Fine, fine, let's just say everything you said is true. Then what do we do from now on? Should we perform together? Or should we form a group, debut, and become a legendary married couple?"
Before you continue