Zhang Lexuan's Secret
Shrek Academy, Female Dormitory.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Xiao covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock, her face filled with lingering fear.
"Oh my god! That really scared me to death!"
Xiao Xiao patted her pounding chest, still shaken, and said, "I thought Senior Brother Bei Bei was really going to... Thank goodness, it was just an illusion! Tang San went too far, how could he play such a trick on me!"
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Female Dormitory.
When Ju Zi saw the contents of the diary, she paused in her actions, a cold, mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips.
"Is this the Sea God worshipped in the Douluo Continent?"
She scoffed, picked up the teacup beside her, and took a sip. "Using illusions to manipulate people's hearts and use them to test so-called love is utterly absurd. However, Bei Bei's feelings for Tang Ya are indeed rare."
Not long after, Zhang Lexuan's assessment officially began.
Tang San's voice rang out again, asking the same unchanging question, "Do you have a lover?"
Unlike everyone else's answer, Zhang Lexuan gently shook her head, her tone calm and even. "No."
Tang San seemed to have anticipated her answer and calmly followed up, "Have you ever been in love?"
Zhang Lexuan's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. After a long silence, she slowly spoke, "I loved."
Who is it?
"Bei Bei."
The two words were spoken softly, yet they struck Bei Bei like a thunderclap.
Bei Bei had just recovered from the shock of the self-castration illusion and hadn't even had time to calm down when he heard this answer that completely stunned him.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhang Lexuan not far away, his face filled with disbelief.
In his heart, Zhang Lexuan has always been his older sister, even closer than a biological sister.
From the time he could remember, Zhang Lexuan had been taking care of him, teaching him to read and write, teaching him cultivation, cleaning up his messes when he got into trouble, and comforting him when he was wronged.
He never imagined that the feelings he thought were familial affection were actually romantic love.
One shock after another caught Bei Bei completely off guard. His mind went blank, and he stood there dumbfounded.
Tang San's voice continued, "Did Bei Bei ever love you?"
"I don't love you."
Zhang Lexuan answered without hesitation, her tone as calm as if she were talking about someone else. "He never loved me."
She knew better than anyone that in Bei Bei's heart, there had always only been Tang Ya.
"So how did you fall in love with Bei Bei?"
Upon hearing this question, Zhang Lexuan's face paled instantly, and a deep, unbearable pain welled up in her eyes.
This was a secret she kept deep in her heart, and she had never mentioned it to anyone for over twenty years.
Tang San's voice carried a hint of impatience as he urged, "Answer my question. If you still don't answer after I ask you three times, then death will be your only fate."
The Heaven-and-Earth Valley of Love Inquiry never lies; here, any concealment will be met with the most severe punishment.
Zhang Lexuan took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and forced back the tears welling up in her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze had returned to calm, and she slowly began to recount that long-buried past.
Back then, she was just an infant in swaddling clothes, rescued from a massacre by Lord Mu En.
Mu En adopted her and made her make a vow that when she grew up, she would be Bei Bei's child bride and take care of Bei Bei for the rest of her life.
At that time, she didn't understand anything and just nodded blankly.
Time flies, and years pass quickly.
As she grew up, Bei Bei also grew from a helpless infant into a robust and chubby little boy.
Following Mu En's instructions, she took meticulous care of him, watching him take his first steps, watching him cultivate his Soul Power for the first time, and watching him grow from a mischievous little boy into a tall and handsome young man.
Before we knew it, more than ten years had passed.
Just when she thought she would live out her life peacefully with Bei Bei, as arranged by Mu En, Tang Ya appeared.
That bright and dazzling girl, like a little sun, entered Bei Bei's life without warning.
Bei Bei fell in love with her almost immediately, and they quickly became a couple.
Zhang Lexuan went to see Mu En and told him about this.
She thought that Mu En would be angry and would force her to fulfill the vow she made years ago.
Unexpectedly, Mu En simply sighed, patted her head, and told her that she had grown up and could make her own decisions; that vow no longer counted.
Mu En gave her her freedom, but she found that she couldn't escape it at all.
More than twenty years of living and working together day and night, more than twenty years of devoted companionship, that feeling had long since taken root in her heart and grown into a towering tree.
She had long since fallen in love with this boy who was more than ten years younger than her, a love that ran deep in her bones and was beyond redemption.
She tried to cultivate like a madwoman, tried to devote all her energy to the affairs of the Shrek Academy, and tried to keep herself so busy that she had no time to think about him.
But she couldn't do it.
No matter how hard she tried, Bei Bei's image would always appear in her mind, lingering there.
Only then did she finally admit that she had truly fallen in love with Bei Bei.
Although she loved him deeply, she never thought of competing with Tang Ya for him.
She knew that Bei Bei and Tang Ya were about the same age and shared similar interests; they were the perfect match.
In everyone's eyes, she was just Bei Bei's elder sister, his beloved Senior Sister.
So she chose to remain silent.
She buried this feeling deep in her heart, and continued to take care of him and protect him silently, just like before.
She was happy for him when he was happy.
She stayed by his side when he was sad.
When he is in danger, she will be the first to rush to his aid and protect him.
At the Shrek Academy, she was the goddess in the hearts of countless male students.
She is beautiful, capable, and gentle, attracting a constant stream of suitors.
Among them are many noble figures and exceptionally talented geniuses, and many of them have achieved far more than Bei Bei.
But she refused them all.
Her heart was very small, so small that it could only hold one person.
From initial resentment, to later struggle, and finally to acceptance, Zhang Lexuan thus guarded this fruitless relationship alone, year after year.
The Far North.
When Ice Empress saw Zhang Lexuan's story, they curled their lips, their tone carrying a hint of disdain, yet also a barely perceptible trace of heartache.
"What a foolish woman."
Ice Empress snorted, "What's the point of wasting so many years of her youth and rejecting so many excellent suitors for a man who doesn't love her?"
Snow Empress sighed softly, a hint of pity flashing in her eyes. "In matters of the heart, there's never a question of whether it's worth it or not. She simply chose what she believed was the right way. To be able to silently protect the one she loves, perhaps that's a kind of happiness for her too."