What Should He Tell Qian Renxue?

Bibi Dong's voice carried a heavy, almost promise-like quality.

"I will not run away... at least not... for this period of time."

Lin Xia let out a long sigh of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

The tension in his face finally eased a bit.

However, Bibi Dong's next words made his heart leap into his throat.

"But."

Bibi Dong's gaze became unusually deep, carrying an almost cruel clarity.

Xiao Xia, I hope you... can promise me one thing too.

Bibi Dong paused, seemingly gathering the courage to say those words, her eyes filled with complex pain and a sense of responsibility.

"I hope... you can tell me about tonight... about... about your feelings for me..."

Bibi Dong's voice Frisk slightly, yet it reached Lin Xia's ears with exceptional clarity:

"To be honest... tell Xue'er."

Lin Xia's heart sank suddenly.

Lin Xia understood the unspoken second half of Bibi Dong's sentence—after all, she is my daughter.

Also... your lover.

This was tantamount to personally stuffing a huge, burning ball of charcoal into his arms.

Should he confess his feelings for her mother to Qian Renxue?

This is ten thousand times more dangerous than facing an attack from Titled Douluo!

This is almost equivalent to personally igniting a firestorm capable of destroying everything.

But looking into Bibi Dong's eyes, at the heavy, self-sacrificing, almost pleading resolve, he knew that this was the foundation for her building a new psychological defense—she couldn't accept facing this twisted emotion while deceiving her daughter.

Honesty, even if it brings devastating consequences, is the bottom line she sets for herself.

Lin Xia's Adam's apple Rollout.

Lin Xia did not back down; instead, the light in her eyes became even more focused.

Lin Xia nodded heavily, her voice steady and firm.

"I understand, teacher!"

He looked at Bibi Dong.

"I will tell Sister Xue'er everything. This is my responsibility, and also my way of showing respect to her."

Lin Xia took a deep breath and added:

Whatever the outcome... we'll face it together.

"Let's face it together..."

Bibi Dong murmured these four words repeatedly, a complex glint flashing in her eyes.

There was bitterness, there was despair, and also... a faint sense of reliance that even she herself hadn't Frisk.

Just then, Venusaur, which had been guarding the entrance like a statue, let out a low, soothing croak.

"Da na..."

The sound broke the heavy, stagnant atmosphere in the room.

Lin Xia took one last, deep look at Bibi Dong, who was leaning against the wall, exhausted but with a complex expression in her eyes.

The moonlight outlined her slender figure, as fragile as a delicate porcelain vase that might shatter at any moment, yet possessing a strange resilience forged in fire.

"Teacher, you... please get some rest."

Lin Xia's voice softened considerably, filled with genuine concern.

"I will... wait for your reply."

After saying that, he didn't linger.

Lin Xia knew that any unnecessary words or actions at this moment would only add to her burden.

Lin Xia turned and walked towards the door.

Footsteps crunched over the shards of porcelain on the ground, making a crisp sound.

Venusaur instinctively made way, its massive body following behind him.

The moment Lin Xia stepped out of the room, she paused, but did not turn around.

After Lin Xia left, Bibi Dong seemed to have lost her last bit of strength, and could no longer maintain her standing posture. Her body slowly slid down the cold wall and finally fell into the corner among the scattered red silk fragments and porcelain shards.

She curled up, burying her face deep in her knees, her shoulders heaving silently and violently.

The moonlight streamed through the high window, coldly illuminating the mess around her, and also the scalding tears that welled up between her fingers once again.

Outside the door, Lin Xia leaned against the closed door, tilted her head back, and took a deep, deep breath of the cool autumn night air.

Venusaur lowered its head and gently, comfortingly rubbed its large, warm head against his arm, making a low gurgling sound.

Lin Xia raised her hand and gently stroked the rough, warm carapace of Venusaur, but her gaze was fixed on the direction where Qian Renxue was deep in the palace. Her eyes were filled with an unprecedented melancholy and determination.

Xia stood before the gate of Qian Renxue's palace. The magnificent gate, which usually represented warmth and intimacy, now felt as heavy as the entrance to the Hall of Judgment.

He promised his teacher that he had to tell Sister Xue'er everything.

But the weight of that promise was now pressing down on him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

"Tell Xue'er... how I feel about my teacher..."

Bibi Dong's words, which carried a sense of self-sacrifice and were almost pleading, lingered in his mind like a spell.

This is more than just "not easy"

This was tantamount to personally dropping a lit soul-guided bomb between him and Qian Renxue, destroying all the beautiful things they had built on trust and affection.

Who is Qian Renxue?

She is the high and mighty Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, the future heir of the Spirit Hall, and the embodiment of pride and purity with Angel Bloodline imprinted in her bones.

She has an almost obsessive-compulsive need for purity and possessiveness when it comes to relationships.

How could she accept her lover, a mother who treated her like a god and with whom she had just mended their icy relationship, harboring incestuous feelings that went beyond teacher-student?

Just imagining Qian Renxue's expression upon learning the truth—the shift from disbelief to bone-chilling coldness, then to the rage and despair of betrayal—made Lin Xia feel a suffocating headache.

He couldn't even think of an opening line; any preamble seemed pale and powerless in the face of such an absurd fact.

"Da na..."

Venusaur, gentle call came from behind him, and a huge vine brushed against his arm, conveying silent concern and strength.

Lin Xia forced a smile, patted her companion's sturdy back armor, took a deep breath of the air carrying the chill of night dew, and finally pushed open the heavy door.

However, the anticipated moment of hesitation and deliberation did not materialize.

The palace was brightly lit. Qian Renxue was not in her study handling government affairs or cultivating on the terrace as usual, but was sitting upright on the soft couch in the living room.

She changed out of her elaborate Crown Prince robes into a simple, snow-white everyday dress, her long golden hair casually draped over her shoulders. She had shed the imposing mask of the day, but her brows still held a lingering weariness and... obvious worry.

Upon seeing Lin Xia enter, she immediately looked up, her golden eyes, as if melted by sunlight, instantly Lock-On onto him, filled with undisguised concern.

"Xiao Xia!"

Qian Renxue stood up and quickly went to greet her.

Lin Xia's heart skipped a beat. The heavy confession he had prepared was instantly shattered by this sudden concern, replaced by a strong sense of guilt. He subconsciously looked away, unable to meet her gaze.

Qian Renxue keenly Frisk Lin Xia's momentary evasiveness and unnaturalness.

His aura carried the coolness of the night breeze, and a hint of... indescribable heaviness and exhaustion, far from the state one would expect from handling Yu Xiaogang's affairs after a banquet.

Moreover, he chased after his mother when he left the banquet hall!

"You're back."