The Grandmaster Keeps Up the Effort, Humble Sanhua

It's done.

Last night, Changli held a sword to his neck, Cantarella threatened to throw him into the sea, and now Jinhsi is sitting in front of him, waiting for his answer with a calm gaze that makes one feel guilty.

At his birthday party the day after tomorrow, he will announce in public who he will choose. When these three people stand together, no matter who he chooses, he will be doomed.

Since we're going to end up with pills anyway, we might as well do the system task now.

There are still several five-star female content creators to go, Jinhsi is definitely one of them.

Once he brings out the Gundam, even if they all fly into a rage, he can at least make his escape.

Now all he can do is apologize to Jinhsi.

Please, patriarch, possess me!

Kexi took a deep breath, her expression suddenly becoming extremely serious.

"Jinhsi."

Jinhsi slightly raised her head and met his gaze.

"I did write letters to Changli, and I also wrote to other people."

His voice was deep and frank, without a trace of evasion, "I admit, I am a greedy person. But greed is not the same as hypocrisy. Every word I said to you was sincere. What I said to them was also sincere."

Jinhsi's eyelashes trembled, and her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Kexi didn't give her a chance to speak.

He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and looked directly into her eyes.

Do you think I'm a fraud?

He shook his head, his tone becoming even more somber.

"No. Each of you is unique to me. You were the first person I wrote to, and the person I worried about the most. When you stayed up late studying as a child, I kept you company in my letters; when everyone doubted you, I believed in you in my letters; when you became the Prime Minister, I was happier than anyone else."

Jinhsi's fingers trembled slightly as she gripped the letter. She tried her best to maintain Lingyin's composure, but the emotions in her eyes were almost overflowing.

"Jinhsi," he spoke, his voice much lower and slower than before, "You asked me if it's true. I'll tell you now."

Jinhsi raised her head and met his gaze.

"I've known you since I was very young," Kexi said. "It didn't start with those letters, it started much earlier. So much earlier that I don't even remember the exact day, I just remember one day I saw a girl standing in the middle of a crowd, everyone was calling her 'the chosen one,' everyone was saying she was the darling of the Sentinel. But what I saw in her eyes wasn't pride, it was fear."

Jinhsi's eyelashes trembled suddenly.

She was terrified. She was afraid she wasn't good enough, afraid she didn't deserve those expectations, afraid that one day she would fall and no one would be there to catch her.

Kexi took a step forward, her gaze never leaving her face. "Those letters, the first one I wrote took me an entire night sitting at my desk. I wanted to tell her not to be afraid. Someone saw her in person—not Sentinel Resonator, not the future Lingyin, but her. A girl named Jinhsi."

Jinhsi pursed her lips, and the tears in her eyes shimmered in the morning light, but she stubbornly held them back.

"Later, I wrote and sent letter after letter." Kexi's voice became a little hoarse. "I didn't want her to know who I was. I just felt that if those letters could help her hold on for one more day, one more hour, when she couldn't hold on any longer, then it was worth it."

He took a breath, a slightly bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I admit it. I wrote letters to Changli, and to other people as well. I won't deny it. But you asked me if those things were true—"

He raised his hand and pointed to the location of the letter on Jinhsi's chest.

"You're not one of them for me."

"You're the first. The one I worry about the most. The one I know I'm being foolish, but I still think of that scene of you secretly reading letters under the covers when you were little, and then I feel that no matter how foolish I am, I have to keep doing it."

Jinhsi covered her mouth with the back of her hand, her shoulders trembling slightly, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't make a sound.

I watched you grow up.

Kexi took the last step forward, reached out, and gently touched her cheek with her fingertips, wiping away a tear that was sliding down her cheek.

"I'm not talking about your figure, I'm talking about your life. I've watched you grow from that little girl who was afraid of being overwhelmed by other people's gaze into the powerful and confident leader you are today, standing before thousands without flinching. I'm so proud of you."

Jinhsi finally couldn't hold back and let out a very soft, tearful gasp.

"I don't want to lie to you." Kexi lowered her hand, her gaze still fixed on her. "I'm serious about them too. But about you—for you, besides being serious, I also feel sorry for you."

He paused for a moment, then his voice became very soft.

"My heart aches for you carrying this burden alone all these years. My heart aches for you having no one to confide in. My heart aches for you becoming the Prime Minister, and the first person you want to tell, you don't even know their name."

"You can be angry with me. You can yell at me, you can ignore me. I deserve all of that." He lowered his head, his voice carrying a vulnerability she had never heard before, "But I have only one request."

Jinhsi looked at him with red eyes, waiting for him to finish saying those words.

"From now on, you have me. You can tell me anything. You can confide in me if you have any grievances. If you don't want to cry in front of others, you can cry in my arms. If you don't want to carry it alone, you can share half with me. Whether it's the mess left by the Prime Minister or the troublesome things the Sentinel has dumped on you, as long as you ask, I'll be there."

He reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye with his thumb, then withdrew his hand and smiled at her.

I want to stay by your side and walk together from the past into tomorrow.

"Is everything you're saying true?" Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Real."

It's time; the atmosphere has reached this point.

When Kexi said those two words, she went around behind Jinhsi, reached her hands behind her, and gently wrapped them around her waist.

Jinhsi froze completely.

Her back pressed against Kexi's chest, and she could clearly feel the vibrations of his heartbeat.

Her face instantly burned, the heat spreading from the base of her neck to her forehead. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't even speak.

"What are you doing--"

Kexi lowered his head and pressed his lips to the back of her neck.

To be precise, it's the area below the back of the neck, between the shoulder blades.

He could feel the slightly raised Tacet Mark marks below.

Jinhsi's body trembled slightly.

She felt like she was ascending to heaven, which made her entire back go numb.

She tried to push him away, but her limbs wouldn't obey her commands.

"Don't move." Kexi's voice came from behind her, her breath brushing against the side of her neck. "Just ten seconds."

Jinhsi closed her eyes.

She didn't struggle, nor did she call for help.

She didn't know why she didn't push him away. Maybe it was because his voice was too gentle, or maybe it was because the weight of those letters that had been building up in her heart for so many years suddenly came crashing down, making her unable to move.

She simply stood there, letting him hold her, her face so flushed that even if Sanhua rushed in, she wouldn't recognize her as her Lord Lingyin.

[Ding, Resonance Synchronization -- Jinhsi]

[Task 2 Progress Update: 6/12.]

Outside the door, Sanhua leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her nails digging into her arms.

She heard it all clearly, especially Kexi's last sentence, "I want to stay by your side, and walk together from the past into tomorrow."

What else could this be but a confession of love?

The living room fell silent. She heard Jinhsi's very soft inhale, followed by Kexi's low murmur.

She didn't need to see; she knew what was happening inside.

The chill emanating from Sanhua spread silently, and a thin layer of white frost condensed on the cracks in the door.

Her face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

No one can make her show that expression.

She is Ling Yin's personal bodyguard and can remain absolutely calm in the face of any danger.

She didn't push the door open and go in.

It's quiet.

No fuss.

She simply leaned against the wall, her lips pressed into a straight line, her chest heaving violently several times, as if she were using all her willpower to suppress something about to burst forth.

Then, a very thin stream of water slid down from the corner of her eye, along her hard cheek, and silently fell onto her collar.

She quickly wiped it off with the back of her hand, but a second one immediately followed.

She simply stopped wiping it.

I just tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and forced all the uncontrollable tears back into my eyes.