The Queen's Shyness (3)

Time rewound a few minutes.

A faint, pleasant fragrance lingered in the air. It was Cailin's unique scent, mixed with a trace of resolve and uncertainty.

She sat before the table, staring at the teacup on it as a storm raged within her heart.

"Should I choose the first breakthrough method? It is safe and conservative, but its potential is limited, and my future achievements will be modest."

"Or the second breakthrough method? The risks are immense. If I fail, I will lose everything—but if I succeed, I will break through the limits of my bloodline and rise anew from the flames! My potential will be limitless from then on!"

The two choices were like two entirely different paths. One led to a secure yet mediocre future, while the other led to a precipice where there was either destruction or rebirth.

Cailin's fingers unconsciously tightened, deeply creasing the sleeve of her exquisite robe in her grip.

She thought of the expectant gazes of her people, of her responsibilities as Queen Medusa, and even more, of... that figure who always seemed so calm and untroubled.

After thinking for a long time—long enough for the light and shadows beyond the window to shift—Cailin finally let out a heavy sigh. There was relief in that sigh, as though she had cast off a tremendous burden, but there was also the resolve of someone burning her bridges, as if she had made a certain decision.

"Ah, I'll choose the second one!" she murmured, yet her voice was exceptionally firm. "Rather than being forced to rely on others in the future because I am too weak, and having to live at their mercy, I would rather go all out now and gamble on a brand-new future with limitless potential!"

Her gaze sharpened like cold iron tempered in fire.

"In this world where the strong devour the weak, strength will always be the foundation for any conversation. Without strength, one does not even have the right to speak as an equal!

"Dignity, freedom, and the future of my people all require absolute strength to defend!"

"Strength is always what truly matters!"

"So, I will choose the second breakthrough method!" She practically gritted out those words, each one striking the ground with force, as though she were declaring war on fate.

Once she had thought everything through, much of the gloom in Cailin's heart seemed to dissipate, replaced by a surging fighting spirit.

She turned around, intending to tell Su Baichen about her bold and dangerous decision, hoping for his support or advice.

However, she discovered that Su Baichen was currently absorbed in a book in his hands. He reclined against the soft couch, his brows faintly furrowed and his gaze focused, as though completely immersed in the world within its pages.

"Mm!" Cailin's heart stirred slightly, and a faint tenderness rose within her. As expected of the man I chose. Even at a time like this, he does not forget to read and continuously improve himself. His focus and love of learning are completely different from those brutes who only know how to fight and compete.

Seeing Su Baichen "seriously" reading, Cailin felt even more convinced of the risky choice she had just made.

She longed to grow stronger not only for her people, but perhaps... so that she could stand beside him with greater confidence as well.

Yet before that trace of approval and tenderness could spread, Cailin's gaze froze on the book in Su Baichen's hands. The more she looked at it, the more something felt wrong, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up inside her.

"Why does the book Mr. Su is reading... look so familiar?" Her heart skipped a beat as a sense of foreboding quietly spread.

"The pattern on the cover, those slightly worn corners... it seems to be the one I accidentally left there before... that, that book..."

As she continued staring, Cailin's cheeks flushed scarlet in an instant, like the most brilliant sunset clouds on the horizon.

The answer in her mind grew clearer and clearer, exploding in her head like a thunderclap—that was the journal she had secretly written, recording her countless thoughts, hidden feelings, and observations of his daily life!

Every word inside was about Su Baichen. They were her softest, most defenseless secrets, hidden beneath the majesty of a queen!

At that moment, as though sensing her burning gaze, Su Baichen happened to lift his head from the pages. Still wearing a thoughtful expression, he naturally looked toward Cailin.

In an instant, Su Baichen's deep eyes met Cailin's beautiful eyes, widened in shock and embarrassment, without warning.

Time, space, and everything around them seemed to stop flowing at that moment! The air solidified like amber, freezing them both within that delicate and awkward instant.

"Ahhh—!"

Cailin screamed soundlessly in her heart, her very soul trembling.

"Mr. Su, how could he read that book?!" She felt all the blood in her body rush to her head, and her ears burned hot.

"It is over, it is over... He must know all about those silly records, those feelings I never dared to say aloud!"

An overwhelming sense of shame and panic flooded over her like a tide.

The Queen Medusa who never changed expression before an army and could decide another person's life or death with a smile had completely vanished.

"If... if he mentions it now, or... if I take this chance to confess, would he... would he accept me?" An absurd and bold thought surfaced uncontrollably.

"But what if he rejects me?! How will we get along afterward? Where will my dignity be? Wouldn't I become a complete joke?!"

"What am I supposed to do?!"

Those final two thoughts were filled with helplessness and confusion. Cailin's mind was completely blank, buzzing loudly.

What future of the Snake-People Tribe?

What choice about breaking through to Dou Zong?

What glory and responsibility of Queen Medusa?

At this moment, all of it seemed distant and unimportant.

Cailin only wished the ground would immediately split open so she could burrow into it without hesitation and never have to face anyone again!

She did not even dare look into Su Baichen's eyes anymore. Her gaze wandered, and she was at a complete loss, with none of her usual calmness or commanding presence remaining.

If outsiders saw Queen Medusa before them—her cheeks flushed, her gaze evasive, her entire body radiating the bashfulness and panic of a young girl—they would surely be dumbfounded:

The elders of the Snake-People Tribe: "Th-this is truly our Queen, the one who is decisive in slaughter and commands the world with her majesty?"

Her younger sister Caidie: "Sister... did she cultivate some special technique again that completely changed her temperament?"

Those hostile forces once forcefully suppressed by Queen Medusa: "This must be an impostor! How could that female demon who chopped off our heads without even blinking possibly make an expression like that?!"

Even Su Baichen was somewhat unable to react as he watched the utterly transformed Cailin before him. The contrast was simply too striking.

Where was Cailin's usual composure, grace, and cold nobility now? She was practically a girl next door whose feelings had been exposed and whose secret crush had been discovered. The way she was so embarrassed that she wanted to vanish on the spot carried a startling, unique charm.

However, recalling the sincere, even somewhat clumsy words he had just read in that journal, the last trace of doubt in Su Baichen's heart—doubt over whether "the other person likes me," one of the world's greatest illusions—completely vanished.

Cailin's reaction at this moment was more convincing than any written words. Even a fool could tell from the way she looked that she, Cailin, truly liked him, Su Baichen.

At that thought, Su Baichen's gaze fell upon Cailin's earlobes, so red they seemed ready to bleed, and her slightly trembling lashes. He, too, fell into brief thought.

Did he like Cailin?

To be fair, he definitely did. She was beautiful, powerful, and intelligent, and the contrast she displayed now was even more heart-stirring.

Who would not admire or feel fondness for such an almost perfect woman?

But Su Baichen also clearly realized that his current "liking" for her perhaps stemmed more from admiration and... well, an instinctive attraction to beautiful things. To put it bluntly, it leaned somewhat toward the shallow level of simply lusting after her body.

Yet he was not someone without self-control, nor could he possibly fall for every woman he met and casually indulge his feelings.

"Liking does not necessarily mean love, but love certainly includes liking." Su Baichen silently pondered, What exactly do I feel for Cailin? Is it merely superficial admiration and liking, or could it develop into a deeper... love?

That question required time, as well as deeper interactions, to answer. But no matter what, the queen before him, utterly embarrassed because her secret had been discovered, had undoubtedly become more important and more real in his heart.