"I can't bring myself to say it..."
An Ning lowered her head, her two index fingers fighting each other, her tone dejected. "Whenever I think about how I shouted that I wanted to suppress Hua Yunfei, I just want to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. It's so humiliating."
"But who could have imagined that he was my..."
She still did not have the courage to say the final word.
"And Duanmu Qingyue too. Thankfully, I didn't find her last time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to face her either," An Ning added.
"They won't blame you." Dao Wushuang smiled as he poured a cup of tea and placed it before An Ning.
"But I can't forgive myself." An Ning's gaze dimmed. "I really was stubborn before. If I couldn't have something I wanted, I would say I didn't need it or want it, using such words to deceive others—and myself."
"Didn't Senior Brother tell you? You were born to value feelings. No matter how you change, that will never change. You inherited the strengths of those two people," Dao Wushuang said.
"Value feelings? I don't." An Ning shook her head in denial. "Outside, they all call me a witch, a devil... behind my back."
"What about Senior Brother, then?" Dao Wushuang smiled.
"What Senior Brother?" An Ning looked up, her face full of confusion.
"If you didn't value feelings, why would you rely so much on me, your Senior Brother? You even came to see me the very first moment your grueling cultivation ended." Dao Wushuang's smile was warm and indulgent as he stroked An Ning's head.
"But I..." An Ning hesitated, stopping herself mid-sentence.
"There's a saying: children resemble those who raise them. In the early years, you truly valued feelings. Later, Master