“I found Elder Mu and I told him that regardless of what decision he and Bei Bei came to, I would fulfill my promise. I would become his fiancée, and I wouldn"t betray my vows. When I said these words, I was extremely resolute. However, only I knew that I wasn"t bound by this decade-old promise. Instead, I was bound by the emotions in my heart that had grown over the past ten years. In ten years, I watched as a boy became a man. In my heart, there was no other man but him!”
Zhang Lexuan choked on her words. She finally released all the emotions she had been suppressing in her heart. In all these years, whenever she saw Bei Bei and Tang Ya together, her heart would ache. What pained her even more was Tang Ya"s disappearance. Since then, Bei Bei had changed. However, it was only because she knew him so well that she felt so strongly.
Zhang Lexuan had never fought for his heart. After all, she was older than Bei Bei by almost ten years, and Tang Ya and Bei Bei were closer in age. How would she stand a chance?
Hence, Zhang Lexuan chose to keep quiet. She watched him quietly. At the start, she was unwilling to give up her love just like that. However, over time, she quietly gave up. Sometimes, she would reveal a bit of her emotions to Bei Bei. However, she had never really asked him for anything. Instead, she kept these emotions to herself deep in her heart. Her promise was like an island of refuge for her.
She was exceptional, and had attracted countless men in Shrek Academy. However, she rejected all of them for this one true love.
As Bei Bei listened to Zhang Lexuan"s words, his heart ached with a great agony. In his mind, he started to recall everything he had done with Zhang Lexuan when they were young.
---
“Sister Lexuan, can I eat the fruits on that tree? Pick one for me.”
“Okay.”
“Sister Lexuan, you"re so beautiful. Marry me when I grow up, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Sister Lexuan, I"m tired.”
“I"ll carry you.”
“Sister Lexuan, I"m hungry.”
“I"ll cook something for you.”
“Sister Lexuan…”
---
Tears streamed down Bei Bei"s face. At this moment, he finally realized how much Zhang Lexuan had sacrificed for their relationship. Through all these years, she had concealed her truest emotions in the depths of her heart! No wonder he had felt himself growing distant from Sister Lexuan after he met Tang Ya. Sister Lexuan, Sister Lexuan, how can I face you?
At this moment, Bei Bei heard the terrifying voice.
“Since you love him so much, and he doesn"t love you, are you still willing to sacrifice yourself for him?” the calm voice asked once more. Its tone was cold.
Zhang Lexuan fell silent for a while. She raised her hands to wipe away her tears, then said with determination, “I am.”
“Are you willing to die for him?”
“I said that I"m willing,” Zhang Lexuan said calmly and emotionlessly. At this moment, Bei Bei, who heard this voice too, felt as if someone had slammed a sledgehammer into his chest. His face turned pale, and his body trembled. He sat straight down on the floor, and his lips quivered, but he said nothing.
“You"re a dumb girl. But your emotions are true, and your love is selfless. You pa.s.s the Sincerity round. Your selfless sacrifice shall be rewarded. You are hereby exempted from the second round,” said the calm voice with a bit more emotions.
Zhang Lexuan was stunned. Then, she watched as the light screen rose in front of her once more. However, how could she remain calm?
------
The golden light flashed once more, and circled them again. The warm gold light shone everywhere. It appeared that in the depths of the lake of the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, the iciness and hate were warmed by the many forms of selfless love it had encountered.
The golden light now circled for a longer period of time. When it stopped once more, it stopped at... Dai Huabin!
He floated up, and a clear golden light flashed.
Dai Huabin became visibly tense. Like everyone else selected by the golden light, he knew nothing about what had just happened.
However, as one of the top soul masters of the younger generation, he was no fool. While he hated Huo Yuhao, he recognized his abilities. When Huo Yuhao had shouted those words just then, he heard all of them. No one would ignore life-saving advice because of hate!
“Do you have a lover?” The calm voice asked.
“Yes, I do!” Dai Huabin replied without hesitation. At the same time, Huo Yuhao"s words rang out repeatedly in his head. Speak the truth always, no matter what you"re asked.
“Who is your lover?”
“Zhu Lu,” Dai Huabin replied. However, he did not know that the moment he said that, Zhu Lu could already hear his voice.
“Is she the one you love the most?”
Dai Huabin paused for a moment. He hesitated.
“Is she the one you love the most? If you don"t reply after the third time, you"ll be punished with death,” the calm voice said coldly.
“No,” Dai Huabin said. When he said that, his voice was rigid.
When Zhu Lu, who was sealed in her own golden light, heard his response, her entire body stiffened. An incredulous look crossed her face, and her tiny frame trembled. She wanted to struggle, to fight, but here, even Elder Xuan was helpless. How could she escape?
“Then who do you love?” The calm voice asked.
Dai Huabin looked prepared as he said solemnly, “w.a.n.g Qiu"er.”
At that moment, w.a.n.g Qiu"er could hear him too.
“Since you already have a lover, how can you love someone else? How can you face her?” The voice was merciless.
Dai Huabin"s eyes turned dark, and he said, “It"s true, I can"t face her, but I do love her. However, in my heart, I think I love w.a.n.g Qiu"er more.”
The calm voice asked, “I"ll give you a choice. Between the two of them, you can choose one to die for. If you do that, she"ll live. Who do you choose?”
This question impacted Dai Huabin greatly. His entire body turned stiff. In his head, the same question replayed itself over and over again. He had never given it much thought, but he had also never expected to face such a problem today. At this moment, his brain ran wild.
This time, the voice did not prompt him. It wanted him to think this through.
After a long while, Dai Huabin finally said with difficulty, “I know. If I had to choose one person to die for, I"d choose Zhu Lu.”
“Eh?” The calm voice was calm. “Zhu Lu? You don"t love her, though.”
Dai Huabin replied, “Yes, but she"s the one who loves me the most in this world. She"s always by my side, and she sacrifices herself for me in many ways. I can"t face her because I am attracted to some other woman. However, I"m clear that w.a.n.g Qiu"er doesn"t love me, and there"s no possibility of anything happening with her. All I can do is love her quietly. However, if I were to choose someone to become my wife, I"d choose Zhu Lu. At the same time, I"ll use my life to protect her. If I die and she lives, I won"t have any regrets.”
The calm voice appeared lost as it said, “Your thinking is weird, and your view on love is hard to understand, but your heart is true. You pa.s.s the first round, Sincerity.”
When Dai Huabin landed back on the ground, his face had a terrible expression. He had been asked the most painful question of his life, and experienced intense emotional turmoil.
The golden light flashed once more, and landed on Zhu Lu. When it dissipated, Zhu Lu"s small frame started to rise. At this moment, her face was streaked with tears.
When she heard that Dai Huabin did not love her the most, her heart was filled with despair. The entire world had turned gray. However, when she heard that Dai Huabin was willing to die for her after he said all those things, her emotions became exceedingly complicated. However, she was not in despair anymore. At the very least, the man she loved still liked her.
“Do you have a lover?” the calm voice asked.
“I... do,” Zhu Lu replied, choking on her words.
At that moment, Dai Huabin, who was still in emotional agony, heard her voice. His entire body trembled, and he realized that she had heard everything. It was likely that w.a.n.g Qiu"er had heard him too. An indescribable feeling rose in his heart, like he had lost his soul. His entire body went limp. If not for the mysterious power supporting him, he would have already collapsed to the ground.
“Who is he?”
“Dai Huabin,” replied Zhu Lu, gritting her teeth.
“Then, you heard everything he just said. What are your thoughts?” The calm voice seemed to ask the questions that would cause the most pain.
“He"s a piece of s.h.i.t!” Zhu Lu cried out. Afterward, she began bawling.
“Do you still love him?” the calm voice continued its questioning.
Dai Huabin opened his eyes and perked his ears up to listen. He was suddenly scared of the answer he would get. However, he could not help but listen.
“Yes…” Zhu Lu did not hesitate. Even though she was bawling her eyes out, she answered the question without a moment"s hesitation.
“He doesn"t love you, and you called him a piece of s.h.i.t, so why do you still love him?” The calm voice had no intention of sparing her!