The confrontation: Changli's racing heart and trembling hand

Cantarella chuckled softly beside her, picked up her coffee cup, took another sip, and made no attempt to hide her amusement.

Kexi felt like her back teeth were about to shatter.

He glanced at Changli, then at Cantarella, and finally fixed his gaze on Changli's face, deciding to put out the fire in front of him first.

"Um," he cleared his throat, a hint of hesitation in his voice, "I can explain."

"Explain what?" Changli his arms, his tone as calm as if interrogating a criminal, "Explain how you deceived me?"

"It's not deception!" He denied the most crucial point first, then raised his voice, "My admiration for you is genuine."

Changli narrowed his eyes, and that expression sent a chill down Kexi's spine.

"Sister Changli," Kexi said, putting her hands together in a sincere gesture, "My admiration for you is genuine. You've always been the most special one in my heart."

Cantarella casually chimed in from the side, "Kexi, you also said I'm the most special one, you know."

Kexi turned her head and glared at Cantarella.

Cantarella him an innocent smile and even raised her coffee cup at him.

Changli took a deep breath.

Looking at Kexi's face, a face somewhere between a boy and a young man, she recalled the sentences in the letter that had kept her tossing and turning at night, all the mental preparation she had made for this meeting, and the moment when the string in her heart snapped when Cantarella said, "What if he wrote more than just letters to you?"

Then she glanced at Cantarella's gleeful expression, as if she were watching a good show.

Changli suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, but Kexi instinctively took half a step back.

"Kexi," Changli's voice became very gentle, so gentle that it sent chills down Kexi's spine, "You said I'm the most special person in your heart. Then let me ask you, besides me and Cantarella, how many other people have you written letters to? Have you written to Jinhsi as well?"

Answer me.

Kexi opened her mouth.

What could he say? That those were all system requirements, not his own intentions? That all those boastful words and promises were just made up?

His brain started working at an unprecedented speed at that moment.

If he tells the truth, he most likely won't be able to leave Porto-Vino Castle tonight.

If he lied, with Changli's eyes fixed on him, he felt he would be exposed the moment he uttered the first word.

what to do?

Waiting for an answer online.

It's urgent.

Kexi took a deep breath.

He glanced at Changli, then at Cantarella who was smiling at him, and his mind raced through a series of calculations.

Confess and you'll be treated leniently? That's a dead end.

Deny it outright? Judging from Changli Li's expression, it's hard to say whether he'll even be able to leave unscathed tonight.

Since we're going to die anyway, let's make it as spectacular as possible.

Please, ancestral master, possess me!!!

"Sister Changli." Kexi raised her head, her gaze suddenly becoming deep and serious, her tone carrying an unprecedented sincerity, "You're right, I did write a letter to Jinhsi as well."

Changli frowned, her lips moved as if she was about to speak, Kexi raised her hand to stop her.

"But," he took a step forward, looking directly into Changli's eyes, his voice low and powerful, "I'm serious about each and every one of you."

Changli was stunned.

Cantarella's hand, holding the coffee cup, froze in mid-air, and her eyebrows rose very slowly.

"Do you want to hear what you're saying?" Changli's voice turned cold, each word deliberate and clear. "Do you even believe what you're saying?"

"I believe you." Kexi placed her hand on her chest, her expression solemn as if making a vow, "Because I love every single one of you. Is that wrong?"

Changli's eyes widened slightly, his lips moved, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

She had lived for so long, met countless people, and heard countless confessions, explanations, and lies, but no one had ever dared to stand in front of her and say such things with such confidence and almost frankness.

Changli hadn't made a move, Kexi grew even bolder.

"Sister Changli, you say I'm fickle, and I admit it. But what is the essence of being fickle? It's falling in love with every girl you meet."

Then let me ask you, if I fall in love with every woman I meet, does that count as being serious with every single one? I'm sincere with every single one of them, so would you call that being fickle? That's clearly called being promiscuous."

Changli's pupils trembled slightly.

"The greatest emotion in the world is love, and I've shared that love with more people. Is that wrong? Isn't that a higher form of morality?"

Kexi spoke more and more fluently, her confidence almost overflowing. "Why should people be bound by worldly rules and regulations? Why can a person only love one person in their lifetime? Shouldn't these outdated ideas be broken?"

Cantarella let out a very soft laugh, then covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

Her shoulders were trembling slightly, causing the liquid in her coffee cup to slosh around.

Changli finally regained her voice.

Her fingers clenched slightly, and her voice trembled slightly. "So when you wrote to me, saying that I was the most important person in your life, were you serious?"

"Seriously!" Kexi nodded without hesitation.

"So you wrote that sentence to Jinhsi too?"

"I did write it!" Kexi declared confidently, "Because you are all the only light in my life! Is it contradictory that each and every one of you is the only light in my life? No, it's not! Sunlight is light, moonlight is light, candlelight is light—they are all the only light!"

Changli took a half step back in shock.

Cantarella couldn't hold back any longer and laughed so hard her shoulders were shaking.

Changli stared at Kexi for a full five seconds.

In five seconds, her expression went from shock to disbelief, and then from disbelief to a subtle bewilderment.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, opened it again, and finally uttered only two words.

"Absurd."

"Absurd is exactly right."

Kexi stepped forward, grasped Changli's hand, and gazed intently at him.

"Love itself is absurd. If love could be reasoned with, would it still be called love? Sister Changli, the reason you find it absurd is precisely because my feelings for you are real."

Changli looked down at the hand being held, then looked up at Kexi's face, which was so sincere it was outrageous. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether this person was genuine or simply mentally ill.

Cantarella finally stood up from her chair, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, and gracefully patted Kexi on the shoulder. "Kexi, I really admire you now."

Kexi turned and gave her a grateful smile, then quickly turned her gaze back to Changli's face, striking while the iron was hot:

"Sister Changli, I know you might not be able to accept this... this higher-level emotional concept right now."

That's normal; after all, not everyone thinks as clearly as I do. But I'm not in a hurry; I can wait for you to understand gradually.

"No! I won't accept it!"

The next second.

A sword was placed against Kexi's neck.