Separated by a wall, they were in two different worlds.
On the other side of the wall, Zhang Lexuan stood before the mottled old tree, murmuring softly.
The rustling leaves in the wind drowned out most of her words, but the boundless longing and loneliness in her voice came through clearly to Su Chen.
She seemed to be confiding in an old friend she hadn't seen in ages, or perhaps talking to herself, trying to find a little comfort in the tree.
Leaning against the wall on his side, Su Chen felt more conflicted than ever.
He didn't need to guess why Zhang Lexuan had appeared in Heaven Dou City at this hour.
Who else could it be, if not that damn Simulation device?
"Has the Simulation device's karma started interfering with reality?"
Su Chen rubbed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
In the simulated storyline, Zhang Lexuan had suffered a tragic childhood. Her entire clan had been wiped out, and Su Chen had been her only family during those dark years, the pillar that kept her going.
With the way this senior sister was gentle on the outside but tough within, the moment she found even the slightest clue that you might still be alive, she'd come looking to confirm it, even if she had to travel to the ends of the earth.
She wouldn't give up, even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance.
"How is this a simulation? It's saddled me with a mountain of romantic debts!"
Su Chen couldn't help complaining inwardly.
He'd thought he was just grinding experience and collecting rewards in the Simulation device. Who could've guessed its "after-sales service" would be so "thorough" that it would deliver the female lead right to his doorstep?
Hearing the faint sobs from the other side of the wall, Su Chen fell silent.
Was this sudden reunion a twist of fate, or a tangled romantic disaster he'd never be able to escape?
He didn't know.
But he did know that, from this moment on, the course of reality had completely changed.
Just as Su Chen was caught between a rock and a hard place, preparing to make an excuse and slip away...
Just when he didn't want trouble, trouble found him.
"Hey! Su! What a coincidence!"
A loud, delighted voice suddenly rang out in the quiet street.
A passing Soul Master came over with a huge grin and warmly clapped Su Chen on the shoulder.
"Out for an early stroll? I saw you spend a fortune at the auction house a couple of days ago. Brother, I was seriously impressed!"
Su Chen: "..."
The air suddenly went still.
Su Chen stiffly turned his head and looked at the passerby, who seemed to be waiting for praise. The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
At that moment, an uncontrollable Killing Intent surged in Su Chen's heart.
Seriously, man? You could've just kept your mouth shut!
Were you sent by heaven to punish me?!
If looks could kill, that passerby would have reincarnated eight hundred times by now.
But it was already too late.
That booming "Su!" pierced through the wall between them like a thunderclap.
Zhang Lexuan, who had been about to leave, suddenly shuddered.
That name, that surname, was like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of her sealed memories.
She turned around instinctively. Her gaze cut through the crowd and locked onto the figure who was just about to flee.
Her pupils contracted sharply!
So alike! Far too alike!
That tall, straight figure, the shape of his profile, even the little frown he made when exasperated—all of it matched perfectly with the boy who used to follow her around in her memories.
And then there was that "Su"...
How could there be so many coincidences in the world?!
Reason told her it might only be an illusion, but her body reacted before her mind could catch up.
Zhang Lexuan's voice trembled, filled with a hopeful disbelief, as the words slipped out:
"Xiao Chen... is that you?"
She didn't give Su Chen a chance to explain.
A streak of moon-white light flashed through the air. The next instant, a faint, delicate fragrance swept over him.
Zhang Lexuan had already activated her Soul Power and appeared before Su Chen as if by teleportation, close enough for them to feel each other's breath.
So alike...
As if they'd been made from the same mold!
Especially his eyes, and the way the corner of his mouth twitched...
Zhang Lexuan remembered it all too clearly. Whenever Su Chen got into trouble as a child and tried to deny it, he'd put on that innocent, slightly guilty expression.
At that moment, the memories she'd buried for years surged back like a tide, crashing through the dam of her reason.
Su Chen opened his mouth to speak. "Um..."
But Zhang Lexuan's trembling words instantly stuck in his throat like a wad of cotton.
"Xiao Chen... are you angry with Big Sister?"
Her voice carried the faintest hint of a sob. Her eyes, usually as cool and clear as the moon, were now brimming with tears.
"Back then... if only I'd listened to you and called Elder Song when I went to hunt Soul Beasts... that accident wouldn't have happened..."
"And you wouldn't have... to save me... been taken by that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast..."
By the end, she was sobbing too hard to speak.
Normally, she was the senior sister of Shrek Academy's Inner Court, a member of the Sea God Pavilion Meeting, and the next in line to inherit the Sea God Pavilion Master's position. In the hearts of all the students, she was an unreachable "moon."
No matter how difficult the task, no matter how powerful the enemy, she always handled things with composure, as graceful as a perfect goddess.
But in front of Su Chen, she let down every mask and every defense.
At that moment, she was simply a sister, heartbroken with guilt over losing the person most precious to her.
Two streams of tears slid down her beautiful face. The sight of her weeping would have broken even the hardest heart.
The air around them seemed to freeze.
The Soul Master who had merely been passing by and accidentally stumbled upon the scene was now drenched in a cold sweat.
Realizing he might have seen something he shouldn't have, the Soul Master's survival instincts kicked in. Without a word, he bolted, wishing he had two extra legs!
That left Su Chen standing alone, completely at a loss, facing the stunning beauty sobbing before him.
This... This mess was huge!
Faced with Zhang Lexuan's tearful expression, Su Chen froze completely.
The ruthless woman who'd been decisive in the Simulation device, and had even dared to fool the seven-hundred-thousand-year-old Snow Empress, now stood before him helplessly, like a child who'd done something wrong.
"Don't... don't cry..."
Su Chen opened his mouth, but couldn't squeeze out a single word.
There was no way he'd be able to explain his way out of this, even if he jumped into a river.
Su Chen was kicking himself. Why had he gotten up so early and gone for a stroll in the first place?
At that moment, he'd rather face a rampaging Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast than the senior sister sobbing before him!
Killing Soul Beasts? Easy! One slash and the world was at peace!
Comforting a girl? That was a hell-level dungeon!
The Simulation device had taught him how to cultivate, how to kill, how to fool Soul Beasts... but it had never taught him how to comfort a woman!!
"This is way beyond the scope of the test!!"
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