After Gu Baiyi finished speaking, memories from her past life rose unbidden in her mind.
It was midnight, at Phoenix Terrace.
Scarlet petals were scattered across the ground. Gu Baiyi lay drunkenly upon the terrace, watching a figure slowly approach her.
In the haze, she saw a wide sleeve as light as mist.
A slender hand emerged from the flowing fabric, lifting Gu Baiyi's chin. The hand held a handkerchief embroidered with plum blossoms, gently wiping the blood from the corner of her lips.
As the sleeve shifted, a cool fragrance wafted through the air.
The sharp scent of plum blossoms lingered near her nose. Gu Baiyi was all too familiar with this fragrance.
Yet she couldn't understand, why would the one who bore this scent treat her with such tenderness?
She asked why, but only received a light reply:
"No reason. I'm just a clean freak."
Gu Baiyi wanted to open her eyes and see clearly, but the pain was overwhelming, and her consciousness was slipping. She strained for a long time, but could only manage to open them to a narrow slit.
She couldn't see clearly, so she reached out to touch.
She wanted to grab that person's sleeve. She lifted her hand, only to touch nothing but air.
She let out a soft laugh. Just as she thought, this really was a dream.
The cold fragrance lingered, and that person's voice, faint and shrouded like mist, echoed across the Phoenix Terrace.
"There's no need to keep me here. I won't be staying long. Honestly, I don't even know why things turned out like this. It's as if something beyond me is pushing me forward, and I can't stop it. I don't want to be pushed anymore, but if it stops pushing, I wouldn't even know where to go."
That person spoke softly, "Who am I? Why was I born, and what am I meant to die for? I don't know."
"So many things seem profound and complicated. But when I look at you, they suddenly feel simple and beautiful. Tell me, how am I supposed to not fall for you?"
Gu Baiyi thought it was just a dream, so after a pause, she asked, "If you like me, why not stay and be with me?"
That person replied, "I can't."
Gu Baiyi smiled. "If you can't stay, then why come at all?"
That person paused, as if searching for the right words.
After a moment, she said, "Because I came here for you. And I can't stay, for the same reason."
"One day, we'll meet again."
Gu Baiyi couldn't help asking, "How long until 'one day'?"
The voice chuckled. "Maybe in the next life. Maybe the one after that. But I promise, you won't have to wait three lifetimes."
Gu Baiyi thought the dream was far too strange.
Though it felt absurd, she still replied, "Alright. I'll wait for you."
…
In the present, Gu Baiyi was silent for a long time, lost in the memory.
After listening to Gu Baiyi's confession, Ji Rong frowned slightly.
There was a wall between their worlds, and Ji Rong suspected the heroine hadn't understood a word of what she was saying.
If she had, she definitely wouldn't have blurted out something like, "I've always liked you."
After all, what the heroine liked was the original Ji Rong.
Ji Rong sighed inwardly. Why couldn't Gu Baiyi understand?
Meanwhile, Gu Baiyi came back to herself, and seeing Ji Rong frowning, she too began to wonder, had her Senior Sister not understood what she was saying?
Why couldn't she understand?
Gu Baiyi's intuition had never failed her. She was certain: this life's Ji Rong and the one from her past life were the same person.
Even the cryptic words she said were exactly the same.
To confirm it, Gu Baiyi asked, "Senior Sister, do you often feel like you're being dragged forward by something beyond your control?"
Ji Rong was momentarily thrown. Would saying she was doing tasks count as revealing heavenly secrets?
After a brief pause, she decided not to test the system's boundaries just yet.
After all, by transmigrator logic, even if the system had no shame or limits, the Heavenly Dao of this world would probably do everything it could to stop her from saying anything out of bounds.
Don't ask why. She'd read too many cultivation webnovels. She practically had the rules memorized.
So Ji Rong looked at Gu Baiyi, paused to choose her words, and replied calmly, "Yes. Feeling powerless… that does happen."
All those missions she had to take just to stay alive, and the expressions she carefully crafted to maintain her character, none of them were truly her choice.
Heaven knew how much she just wanted to lie flat and be a salted fish.
But thinking again, she decided to play it safe and added, with an air of mystery, "Of course, it's something everyone experiences."
Gu Baiyi nodded thoughtfully at her words.
She figured her Senior Sister must have some hidden burden she couldn't reveal.
With that in mind, Gu Baiyi hesitated for a moment, then asked obliquely, "So what happened before… was it also because of some restriction? You had no choice but to do what you did?"
She was referring, of course, to the time Ji Rong had kicked her off Tianji Peak.
Ji Rong was quiet for a long time. At first, she recalled what had happened atop Tianji Peak. Then, she remembered Gu Baiyi's three soul-searching questions at Yanhui Pavilion:
"Why did you save me from the Crimson-Scaled Serpent?"
"Why did you heal my wounds?"
"Why did you take that sword strike for me?"
She had never really stopped to think about the reasons behind her actions.
She'd always assumed it was just survival instinct, doing what she had to in order to stay alive.
But thinking about it now… did she really need to go that far just to survive?
She was someone who feared death and pain more than anyone. So why, knowing that Yan Haiyao's sword was beyond what she could endure, had she still chosen to block it?
The excuse she gave herself was that she didn't want to owe Gu Baiyi, and if Gu Baiyi died, she'd be done for too.
But when she saw the Cangming Sword closing in on Gu Baiyi's back, that slender purple figure looked so fragile, like a wisp that would be torn apart by the wind.
She told herself the heroine was a Heavenly Demon seed and couldn't possibly die.
Yet in that moment, Ji Rong couldn't bear to see Gu Baiyi's back pierced and stained with blood.
She knew Gu Baiyi wouldn't die, but still, she didn't want to see her get hurt.
And that, perhaps, was all there was to it.
At the root of it, even now, Ji Rong still didn't know why it hurt her to see Gu Baiyi in pain.
Thinking of this, Ji Rong said calmly, "If I told you I had no choice but to push you into the abyss… would you believe me?"
There was no discernible expression on Gu Baiyi's face. She simply looked at Ji Rong, unwavering.
Then she smiled and asked, "Senior Sister, if you said that, would you believe it yourself?"
Ji Rong thought, Isn't that a pointless question? Why wouldn't I believe it? If it weren't to save you, why would I go to the trouble of putting on a show with Xie Bai?
But then she thought again, if she blurted that out directly, she'd probably blow her cover.
At that moment, Ji Rong forced herself to stay calm for just one second.
She thought rationally. The system hadn't sent out any warning yet, so as long as she didn't reveal she was just doing a mission, it probably wouldn't count as breaking character.
So… small acts of redemption were allowed?
Besides, when it came to pushing the heroine off that cliff, she was already pure as snow, what was there to "wash clean" in the first place?
Ji Rong looked at Gu Baiyi and said frankly, "Of course I believe what I said."
Gu Baiyi stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "Senior Sister, do you think I would believe it?"
Would the heroine believe it?
Ji Rong tried putting herself in Gu Baiyi's shoes, then thought, probably not.
After all, her acting had been so convincing, she'd almost fooled herself.
But then Gu Baiyi paused and said earnestly, "Senior Sister, I believe you."
Ji Rong: "…"
Excuse me, are you just having this whole conversation by yourself?
Gu Baiyi went on, "I've always believed in you, and I've been waiting… waiting for the day you'd believe in me, too."
"Senior Sister, when I said I'm fond of you, it wasn't a lie."
She looked seriously at Ji Rong. "I really do like you."
Listening to Gu Baiyi, Ji Rong felt a headache coming on.
After a long pause, she rubbed her temples and said, "If I said I liked you, it'd definitely be a lie, because I haven't found a reason to like you yet. But if I said I didn't like you, that'd also be a lie… because I'm not entirely sure if I don't like you."
Cryptic. Mysteriously cryptic.
Gu Baiyi, however, let out a soft laugh and asked, "So, does that mean Senior Sister likes me… at least a little?"
Ji Rong looked at Gu Baiyi's face and thought, Of course, who wouldn't like a beautiful girl?
Then she remembered, the original character was also a sucker for beauty. Complimenting the heroine's looks definitely wouldn't be out of character.
So she said offhandedly, "To be honest, I do like your face quite a bit."
Gu Baiyi: "…"
"And besides my face?" she asked.
Ji Rong answered honestly, "I don't know."
And she meant it. She truly didn't know if she liked Gu Baiyi or not. Saying she did might be too much, but saying she didn't felt equally wrong.
Because Ji Rong could tell, deep down, she had a real fondness for Gu Baiyi.
It wasn't the original host's feelings, it was her own.
From the first time she saw the girl in-game, hand in hand with Mei He, saw the cloud pattern on her amber-toned sleeves, and her crescent-moon smile… she'd liked what she saw. It made her feel happy.
She'd been avoiding that realization for a long time. But now, here it was, impossible to ignore.
Gu Baiyi heard her answer and smiled slightly. "When Senior Sister says she doesn't know… does that mean she truly doesn't know? Or that she's just unsure?"
Ji Rong: "…"
Unbelievable. In all my life, I've never seen someone chase after a confession like this.
She gave a cold laugh. "Don't know means don't know. Why does there need to be a reason?"
Gu Baiyi looked at her with a gentle smile. "There might be a way to help you figure it out."
Ji Rong raised an eyebrow, curious. "What way? Say, "
But before she could finish, Gu Baiyi's hand slid around her waist.
Through the thin silk fabric, the cool touch brushed against Ji Rong's skin, making her shiver. The sensation was odd, ticklish, even.
Her whole body tensed, goosebumps rising up her arms.
Ji Rong forced herself to stay calm, but she lifted her hand, her wrist covered in goosebumps, and held it up for Gu Baiyi to see.
"This feeling." she said coolly, "is definitely not what 'liking' feels like."
Gu Baiyi chuckled softly, seemingly unfazed by Ji Rong's frosty tone.
She leaned in and kissed Ji Rong lightly on the forehead.
It was gentle. Reverent.
Ji Rong, however, frowned and wiped her forehead as if brushing off imaginary spit.
Gu Baiyi: "…"
Ji Rong said mercilessly, "I don't like that. It's gross."
On the other side, Gu Baiyi let out a helpless laugh.
She gazed at Ji Rong, wrapped her arms around her waist again, and kissed her lips, just a light peck.
Ji Rong remained expressionless. She wiped her mouth.
Then said coldly, "Even worse. I like it even less."
Gu Baiyi still didn't seem upset. Instead, she smiled mysteriously.
"Senior Sister." she said, "maybe we should try something a little more direct."
Ji Rong had just opened her mouth to ask what she meant,
When she suddenly felt Gu Baiyi's demonic aura solidify into something like chains, wrapping around her legs.
The touch was sticky, damp, soft like vines that wound tighter and tighter, creeping higher.
She immediately thought of those kinds of questionable scenes from some spicy Tang novels.
Nope. No way this is passing review.
She looked down, watching as the vines grew thicker, crawling up,
Her legs were trembling.
She took a breath and looked at Gu Baiyi, her face full of alarm. In her eyes, two words were written clearly:
Don't. You. Dare.
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