“Wuwu… don’t cry.”
In the small park, by the mushroom-shaped fountain, a white-haired girl sat on a wooden swing with an iron chain backrest, quietly sobbing, her hand wiping away the broken strings of tears from her face.
“Wuwu… it’s nothing, I don’t care about him at all…”
Whenever her crying became uncontrollable, she would try to soothe herself with these self-comforting words to stop the tears.
But every time, it backfired, making her cry even harder.
The gloomy clouds drifted horizontally across the sky, the dark purple night slowly showing through, while the blood-red moon hid behind the clouds, invisible to sight.
Noi hiccupped a few times; her throat was hoarse from crying, dry and raw.
She fumbled in her pocket and found a few coins left in her wallet.
She searched for a 24-hour convenience store and bought a bottle of water.
The cashier, seeing her swollen, tear-streaked eyes, kindly gave her a small pack of tissues.
‘Hmm… even strangers know how to comfort me; Lyte, how can you always be so cruel?’
At this point, deep down, she still had a tiny bit of disbelief that Lyte really hated her.
But his words and actions were so heart-wrenching, her overly sensitive heart couldn’t bear such humiliation.
She really was the kind of fragile porcelain girl he described, unaware of her own fragility.
‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have clung to Lyte back then… I’m kind of dependent on him now…’
Emptying her mind, Noi wandered slowly along the cobblestone path in the park, her emotions finding some solace in the scenery.
Alright, I’ve decided.
‘From now on, I’m going to slowly untangle my life from Lyte’s influence, erase all traces of his existence. I’m an independent person. It’s just that I lost myself in Lyte for a while. Didn’t I set my goal when I first came to this world to live well? Whether there’s one more person or one less, it’s all the same! Who hasn’t been impulsive in love? It’s my first love, so it’s normal to be reckless.’
Gradually calming her emotions, Noi was brainwashing herself with great realization, as if at this moment she had truly freed herself from all memories related to Lyte.
The Witch identity… that’s for the future.
‘As long as I become strong enough, no one can touch me! I don’t believe in fate. From now on, whoever comes at me, I’ll take them down first. No one will bully me!’
Meeting Lyte did bring some sweetness, but her personality was now much more complete than in her past life, able to feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness normally.
Right now, she was only temporarily isolated from the world.
Given enough time, she would break through.
‘Hmm, how should I separate myself from Lyte? The Gate of Hell in Wagner Town still hasn’t been resolved. If I ran away now, I’d be letting down everyone at the Church who has helped me. Looks like I’ll have to spend some more time with him…’
‘Where should I go afterward? He’s going to the Empire’s Northern Territory, back to the capital, Xiongdou. Then I’ll follow Xing Chen around. He’s so strong; I’m sure I can learn some good fighting skills from him.’
Halfway through this thought, Noi suddenly felt that if Lyte had never appeared, this would have been the life she should have lived — without too many twists and turns, just gradually growing stronger, rather than being trapped in the whirlpool of emotions.
“Noi~”
Tina’s voice called out from the end of the path, with Chenxi following behind.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We were worried about you, so we followed you from the bar. Tina, the idiot guarding the front door, got lost. Luckily, she remembered the mushroom fountain wasn’t far and came looking.”
Chenxi pursed her lips, while Tina scratched her head and smiled warmly, “Noi, don’t be sad. What’s the use of men anyway? Once you’ve pulled yourself together, I’ll take you out to have some fun.”
After thinking for a moment, Tina decided not to tell her that Lyte had already submitted his resignation from being a Guardian Knight.
But unexpectedly, it was Chenxi — who used to always stop her from spilling secrets — who let the cat out of the bag.
“Noi, that guy Lyte quit on his own. From now on, we’ll all be here with you.”
“…He quit? It’s fine… having you all is enough.”
Her smile was a bit forced, revealing the inner turmoil she was struggling with.
“Chenxi! Why would you say that?” Tina pulled her aside and whispered harshly.
“If you break up, you should break clean. Haven’t you seen how many times she’s cried over him since he came?”
“You have a point.”
Back with Noi, Tina pumped her fists excitedly: “That scumbag, if he dares to bother you again, I’ll punch him right in the face! Don’t be afraid, Noi! After all, I am a Priest of Third Rank.”
This scene stirred some feelings in Chenxi.
At the Resurrection Ceremony, she had thought Lyte was a man of righteous and noble bearing.
She had told the sisters not to be too invested and even spoken lightly against him, never expecting it to come true.
He really was a hypocritical scumbag.
She wondered if Noi had been subjected to violence these past days.
Noi rubbed her gradually swelling eyes and nodded with a smile: “Yeah, I’ve come to terms with it. Lyte and I have nothing to do with each other now.”
“That’s the way!” Tina nodded with relief.
Then, the phone rang.
Noi had specially set a piano melody as the ringtone.
Her hand paused for a moment.
Under Chenxi and Tina’s disapproving looks, she instinctively took out her phone.
“My dear husband is calling.”
“Noi,” Chenxi suddenly spoke.
The white-haired girl, her eyes lowered, bit her lower lip tightly, and after a moment’s hesitation, turned and left.
“Sorry, please give me one last chance.”
Helpless, the two women watched Noi walk away.
Tina crossed her arms in frustration: “Noi is just not worth it, throwing her whole heart at Lyte. I feel sorry for her.”
Chenxi sighed: “Sigh, what a foolish girl.”
***
The rusty iron bolt screeched as the door to the rented room was pushed open.
Noi was carrying Lyte on her back, who was much taller than her.
His body was strong enough to support the weight, but the height difference made carrying him a little uncomfortable.
Without turning on the light, Noi kicked off the short high heels on her feet.
Using only the sensation of her bare feet on the floor patterns, she deftly made her way to the bedroom in the dark.
Lyte, lying deeply asleep on her back, had his arm draped naturally over her shoulder, falling across her chest.
The faint scent of alcohol on his breath made Noi somewhat intoxicated.
Gently laying him down on the bed, Noi pulled over the quilt, just about to cover him, then suddenly stopped.
Isn’t this the best moment now?
Noi switched on the small bedside lamp.
The warm orange glow shone on his handsome face.
So beautiful.
If only you could always be as peaceful and serene as you are asleep today…
An extreme thought flickered in her mind, causing her breathing to quicken briefly before biting her lip to sober up.
Looking at Lyte lying there powerless, his heroic sword-shaped eyebrows slightly knitted in pain, resembling his youthful spirit in her dreams, made her heart flutter with unease.
‘Should I… or shouldn’t I?’
Her slender jade fingers traced along the seams of his pants.
She started by unbuttoning his ill-fitting jeans, revealing the opaque black men’s underwear beneath.
‘Gulp… What am I thinking… Am I really going to this extent?’
The impulsive words she blurted out in the bar, after time’s refinement, made her want to take them back.
‘I’m a woman now, and the stupid woman he broke up with. Do I still have the right to cling to him?’
Her conflicting thoughts battled inside her, but her worldview from a past life unexpectedly intervened, blocking her forced desires.
The feeling under her fingers was strange… yet familiar.
Looking closer, it seemed like her hand was holding something soft.
‘Eh… what am I touching?’
Noi was still lost in her dilemma over whether or not to take things further, unaware that her body was already surrendering to subconscious desire.
What disappointed her a little was that the drunken man seemed unable to get aroused.
The dream scenario was probably an exception, given the strong Mosod potion he had taken.
Besides, dreams shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
‘Forget it. Since I can’t go further, I’ll just be a caring and virtuous woman. Maybe Lyte likes that?’
After this event, Noi deeply realized how accurate the old saying from her past life was: “A man’s lips are a lying ghost.”
‘Lyte was really terrible. What was he hiding from me? Could he really be the great playboy of the capital? Has his acting reached such perfection? Otherwise, how could he switch so easily? Sweet kisses in the morning, a completely different person by noon.’
‘Hmm, I don’t understand. I’ll just make some sobering soup for him.’
A few days ago, after discovering Lyte had been secretly drinking and stumbling around drunk, Noi had bought several packs of sobering powder at the pharmacy to be prepared.
She never imagined she’d have to use them now.
The packets were bulky, so Noi found a small basin in the kitchen just big enough to hold them all.
She patiently waited for the fire-element reusable Elemental Magic Stone to heat the water.
Using chopsticks, she crushed each powder pellet carefully to release its ingredients.
The sobering soup, with a rich tangerine peel aroma, was ready.
Noi took a small sip with her lips.
‘Too hot!’
‘No, I need to pour it out and cool it down.’
She grabbed four small porcelain cups from the coffee table and poured half a cup of the sobering soup into one.
Tilting the cup gently, she let the hot soup swirl along the walls, cooling it slightly before pouring into the next cup.
She was quite skilled at this little trick.
Back in the hospital, when she had to fetch water for medicine, the dispensers only had hot water, no cold.
So she’d bring several plastic cups and alternate pouring to cool the medicine.
It wasn’t that she was in a hurry to take the medicine; it was just one of the few routines she could keep in the hospital, giving her a sense of accomplishment.
After repeating several times, she tried the half cup again.
It had cooled to a drinkable temperature.
‘Okay! Time to try it on Lyte.’
Back in the bedroom, Lyte was still asleep.
A thin layer of sweat coated his neck and forehead.
He lay on his side, breathing heavily.
Noi gently supported the back of his neck and slowly fed him the sobering soup.
She was experienced; as long as the amount wasn’t too much, the liquid would flow down his throat smoothly.
Afterward, she helped him take off his trench coat and shirt, leaving only his underwear.
She wrung out a towel and carefully wiped away the sweat and alcohol scent from his body.
She also tidied up the messy room.
Originally, she had planned to party all night and clean up the next morning, but clearly, there wouldn’t be another chance to come back here.
Though the rented room was small, it held many of her belongings.
Not wanting to make too much noise and disturb Lyte’s rest, she worked carefully.
It was a bit troublesome, but worth it.
During this, she made another cup of sobering soup.
Lyte showed signs of waking; his cracked lips moved slightly, but he was still groggy, his thoughts slow like tangled cotton being cleared.
Noi placed her own pillow under his upper back, so he could drink the soup while lying on his side.
He drowsily accepted it all.
The remaining half basin of sobering soup reminded her: managing a household makes one realize how precious rice, oil, and salt are.
A few days ago, she didn’t want to waste Lyte’s money.
Now, poor as she was, she couldn’t bear to throw any of it away.
She remembered buying a notepad and putting it in the bedside drawer.
Going back to find it, she discovered another item inside a delicate little box.
‘Hmm, what’s this?’
A square switch box, fuzzy to the touch, strangely familiar.
She seemed to have seen this often in the soap operas playing on the hospital TV.
Driven by curiosity, Noi opened the box.
Under the orange light, a sparkling pure white diamond ring gleamed before her.
Noi opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, a smile appeared.
At first, it was surprise.
She instinctively felt this ring was meant for her.
Then, remembering today’s experience, bitterness welled up.
Finally, she darkly wondered which lucky girl would receive Lyte’s formal proposal.
In modern soap operas, the man proposing is usually impeccably dressed in a suit — her original impression of a proposal.
Unconsciously, Noi stroked the ring again, then glanced over at Lyte, who was quietly sleeping by the bedside.
She was entranced by his peaceful sleeping face.
‘If only Lyte were dressed in a stand-collar suit, wearing the tie I carefully arranged, in front of a large crowd—’
‘No, just the two of us would be enough. No need for anyone else to be noisy or meddling. He wouldn’t need to kneel. How could a dignified Heaven’s Chosen kneel before a lowly witch like me? Maybe we don’t even need a diamond ring, something imbued with meaning. We just need to define our love for each other. I love him deeply; he holds me tight. Just one unadorned kiss would be enough.’
“Lyte, can you get back together with me? I love you so much.”
Though she knew the drunken Lyte couldn’t hear her words, Noi still took this chance to vent her strongest desire.
Her heart ached.
She stared blankly for a while, sighed hopelessly, then lowered her gaze.
She took a slip of paper and wrote a reminder on the wooden surface of the bedside table with a pen, then returned to the kitchen and stuck it on the refrigerator.
It was the first time she had taken care of Lyte like this — a feeling of being needed.
Unfortunately, there wouldn’t be another chance.
Having done almost everything, it was time to leave.
The bedroom door wasn’t closed; the faint light of the table lamp spilled out.
Noi looked vacantly at what should have been their room, hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside.
She wanted to look at Lyte one more time.
As soon as she entered, she noticed the man with curly hair leaning against the headboard, one hand on his forehead.
His bangs were pushed aside, eyes fixed on the porcelain cup on the bedside table, its bottom still holding a thin layer of sobering soup.
Hearing the movement by the door, he immediately shot her a fierce, sharp glare.
When he saw it was Noi, he paused briefly, then quickly turned cold.
“Um… Lyte, I want to explain. I came here because…”
“Get lost.”
Lyte cut her off mercilessly.