You in My Eyes

The meat was burnt—no, not burnt, charred.

The three of them had to settle for instant noodles, tossing in some salad to get by.

Hugging her bowl, Lin Yue was clearly still fixated on the grilled meat. "It's all that deer's fault. I was almost done roasting it."

Chen Xi picked a piece of lettuce for her. "Stop complaining. Let's sleep early tonight. After this, we might have to head straight to Huaijiang Port before we rest again."

"Got it..."

"Hey, by the way, how do I turn off this sensing thing?" Lin Yue slurped a noodle, looking at Chen Xi. "Right now, you're practically glowing in my eyes. I can feel your general direction even with my eyes closed."

Chen Xi's expression stayed calm as she replied, "You can turn it off for a specific person. Just think about it in your head. Haven't you tried it?"

Having this feature meant those two Legends were well aware of the rules too.

Lin Yue stared at her cross-eyed for three seconds, then paused. "Done."

"Then go to sleep."

As the three chatted, Zhu Li suddenly stood up.

[You two sleep. I don't need to. I'll take a walk by the lake. Message me if anything comes up.]

After 'saying' that, Zhu Li left her spot.

She had long been stripped of the right to sleep, burned by the Flame Ghost's fire.

The more powerful a Legend, the heavier the price it demanded.

To avoid or reduce these costs, Transcendents usually chose to tame the corresponding Legend.

The only Legend capable of calming the Flame Ghost's fire was the top-tier Legend [Snow Dragon].

But it had been a year since Snow Dragon last appeared in the Spark Federation.

Snow Dragon was a fourth-tier Legend aligned with the friendly camp, using its power specifically to soothe fire-type Transcendents afflicted with negative curses.

Logically, no high-tier Transcendent would dare to attack it.

After all, anyone who tried would face the first objection from those Transcendents who had received its blessings.

"It's already eleven. Let's turn in early too."

Unzipping the tent, the two of them crawled inside one after another.

The tent was spacious, enough to accommodate the three of them moving around.

Since Zhu Li wasn't there, Lin Yue sprawled out in a starfish shape.

Chen Xi lay on her right side, idly scrolling through Zhu Li's forum account.

"A bit worried. I'll go check on Zhu Li." She unzipped the tent and headed toward the lake.

Watching her retreating figure, Lin Yue seemed to want to say something but held back.

By the lake, Zhu Li was leaning against the railing with her earphones in, enjoying the cool breeze.

"What are you doing?" Chen Xi emerged from the forest path.

[Listening to music. Want to listen?]

Zhu Li took off one earbud and held it out to her.

"I didn't say I wanted to..." Chen Xi said, but she still took the earbud and put it in her right ear.

That soothing melody played again from beside her ear. Chen Xi leaned on the railing too, savoring the quiet, beautiful atmosphere.

[Like it?]

The red-haired girl gazed at her with expectant eyes.

"I do. Did you sing it?"

Zhu Li froze, her expression stunned.

[How did you know?]

"Just a guess. And..." Chen Xi suddenly stepped back to take in Zhu Li's whole figure, "I feel like your voice should sound exactly like this."

Zhu Li's right hand, with nowhere to rest, paused uncertainly at her chest as she looked at Chen Xi with complicated eyes.

[My voice...]

The flame gathered halfway, then suddenly collapsed.

Zhu Li stood there, dazed, watching the sparks scatter westward.

"What's wrong?" Noticing her mood shift, Chen Xi leaned in with concern.

[Nothing. Lin Yue might be about to fall asleep. You should head back soon, or you'll disturb her.]

Zhu Li composed herself and gave a gentle smile.

[I'm fine staying by the lake. Even the mosquitoes don't dare bite me.]

Chen Xi, seeing that she was truly unharmed, waved her hand and left the lakeside.

"I'm off then. Goodnight, Zhu Li."

Returning along the same path, Chen Xi spotted the tent with its light still on from afar.

She unzipped it. Lin Yue was lying on her side, scrolling through the forum.

"I'm turning off the light." Chen Xi stepped inside and lay down.

"Oh." Lin Yue replied in a soft, sticky voice.

Chen Xi pressed the desk lamp's switch, then turned off her phone. The tent plunged into pitch darkness, lit only by faint moonlight.

She turned onto her side and quietly admired Lin Yue's profile.

Lin Yue noticed her gaze and also rolled to her right, silently meeting her eyes.

Five seconds later, they both suddenly recalled that the other seemed to have night vision too.

Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded.

To keep the other from catching them staring, they tacitly held each other's gaze, neither showing a crack for a long time.

It was Lin Yue who broke first, glancing at Chen Xi's chest, giving the black-haired girl an opening.

"Had your fill of looking?" the black-haired girl said in a low voice.

"No."

Knowing she'd been caught, Lin Yue dropped the act entirely, staring openly at Chen Xi's face, feeling her warm breath.

After a long silence, Lin Yue finally asked the question they both understood without words:

"Chen Xi... why did you follow me? The mark is on me. You could have escaped long ago, couldn't you?"

Setting aside the Regression experience, the two had only known each other for five days.

If their roles were reversed, would she go to such lengths to help Chen Xi?

It was this sense of unearned worthiness that made Lin Yue constantly doubt herself—was this weak, useless version of herself truly worth Chen Xi's salvation?

"Why?"

The blonde girl gently cupped Chen Xi's cheeks. The latter didn't resist, simply gazing back at her quietly.

At this moment, Lin Yue's intuition and perception were at their peak.

If Chen Xi tried to hide anything, she would likely see through it immediately.

"Because I can foresee the future."

A glimmer of light danced in Chen Xi's eyes as she joked:

"In the future, you'll definitely save the world and become the most powerful Transcendent. So I'm just making an early investment."

"So? Touched?"

The hardest lies to see through are usually ninety percent truth and ten percent false.

Besides, this was fundamentally her true feelings.

Hearing about the Prophet, Lin Yue pouted: "Can you stop messing with me? Answer seriously, okay, Classmate Chen Xi?"

Chen Xi looked at the awkward girl, a smile tugging at her lips: "Because I like you. Simple as that. Sleep early. I'm tired."

Hearing those four words, Lin Yue's heart trembled. Then, snapping back to reality, she turned away indignantly.

"Brushing me off again... I'm ignoring you..." the girl muttered, pulling the blanket over her flushed face.

Tugging the blanket to cover half her body, Chen Xi also turned to the left: "Perfect. I'm going to sleep."

They lay back to back, thoughts unspoken.

Time passed. Both knew the other wasn't asleep.

It was Chen Xi who finally broke the silent atmosphere.

"Lin Yue, do you know what my life was like before I met you?"

With her back turned, free from the girl's stare, Chen Xi could finally begin her true performance.

"What was it like? Top student? I remember your grades were pretty good," Lin Yue asked curiously.

"There was no such thing."

"Before I killed Wu Xin, the only emotion in my heart was despair."

Chen Xi's voice trembled, but her face was expressionless.

"My parents died when I was very young. They left me an old house and enough savings for college."

"Back then, every day I wondered if I'd see tomorrow's future."

"What does dying feel like..."

"What does it feel like to be killed by Wu Xin... What would she do with my identity... How much would it hurt to have my skin peeled off..."

"Finally, I met you..." Chen Xi's voice was already tinged with a sob.

With her emotions fully brewed, she deliberately turned back around.

Lin Yue heard the movement and lay back down as well.

Bathed in the faint moonlight, the black-haired girl's brows and eyes were full of tenderness, tears swirling in her eyes, already soaking the pillow.

Lin Yue had never seen such a sorrowful yet hope-filled gaze.

She slowly raised her hand, brushing away the tears at the corner of her eyes.