Chapter 17: The Elf by the Lake

Cao Zhen brought me to the backyard of the Cao Mansion, where the midnight scenery was quite enchanting: serene moonlight, fragrant flowers, and tranquil woods…

Seeing all this, I couldn’t help but take a deep breath of fresh air.

“It’s pretty nice here,” I exclaimed.

“There’s something even prettier,” Cao Zhen said with a wink, pulling me along the stone path.

Just as I was wondering what she meant, Cao Zhen stopped. I looked up and saw, at the end of the path, a rippling pond.

Right in front of me, a girl was sitting by the pond, doing something I couldn’t quite make out.

I sighed and said helplessly, “Is this the ‘prettier’ thing you were talking about?”

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Well, it is indeed beautiful…”

The night was quiet, with only the faint chirping of crickets.

The girl by the water sat with her hands propped on the ground, her lake-blue hair cascading down and spreading out.

A gentle breeze stirred, causing her hair to dance in the air, shimmering faintly under the moonlight.

This scene, like a painting, would be dishonest to call anything but beautiful.

As I was entranced by her silhouette, Cao Zhen suddenly pushed me forward.

“It’s up to you now,” she said before walking away.

What the heck?

What did she mean by “up to me”?

Though I had no clue about Cao Zhen’s intentions, I could guess it had something to do with the girl, so I cautiously approached her.

At first, I only saw her back, but as I got closer, I caught a glimpse of her profile.

Before I knew it, I was standing there, staring at her, lost in thought.

This girl, who had been dressed in noblemen’s clothing until dinner, now wore a traditional hanfu skirt, giving her an entirely different aura.

Sitting by the water, her bare, fair feet dangled in the pond, gently swaying back and forth, creating small ripples.

Her eyes were closed, her body swaying slightly with the movement of her feet.

From her cherry-like lips came soft hums of a tune, paired with her delicate face and the lake-blue hair that glowed in harmony with the water.

The scene felt like a little elf singing by the lake, too beautiful to disturb.

But in the end, I did disturb this little elf.

Though I was so captivated by her beauty that I couldn’t move, she seemed to sense my gaze.

Turning around and spotting me, she jumped up in surprise.

Realizing it was me, she seemed embarrassed that I’d heard her humming.

To cover it up, she quickly struck a pose, arms crossed in front of her face: “Hmph, to approach this venerable one so silently—truly worthy of being my kin! As expected, you possess the power to change the world with me. Why not…”

I sighed helplessly again, interrupting her.

“You might think this dramatic tone sounds cool now, but I guarantee in ten years you’ll cringe so hard you’ll want to erase this version of yourself from your memory.”

“Huh?” The girl tilted her head, confused.

Take my friend, for example.

He used to fantasize about having special powers, convinced that when the time came, he’d unleash them—ideally in front of the whole class, showing off his heroic side to his crush.

All of that?

Total black history, forever etched in memory, impossible to forget.

To clarify, this is about my friend.

“Forget it, you’ll understand eventually… If you want to keep talking about this, tone down the weird speech for now. Just temporarily, or it’s too exhausting to keep up.”

“Huh…? So, you’re saying you’re willing to consider changing the world with me?” She looked a bit stunned.

“Not really, just open to discussing it for now.”

This ultra-chuuni girl was none other than our chuuni beauty—Cao Cao.

The moment I saw her, I sort of understood why Cao Zhen brought me here.

She must have noticed something at the dinner table.

To help resolve Cao Cao’s inner conflict, she dragged me here.

To shake off the stunning image in my mind, I feigned calmness, walked a few steps forward, sat beside Cao Cao, and closed my eyes.

Seeing a chance to pull me into her world, Cao Cao excitedly sat next to me.

Her feet dipped back into the pond, playfully splashing the water.

Though my gaze shifted away from her, I couldn’t stop my eyes from lingering on her fair, swaying feet.

“Pretty, right?”

Her sudden question caught me off guard.

Staring at her feet, I instinctively replied, “Pretty.”

“Mm, I think so too. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I come here. For some reason, sitting by the pond like this calms me down. It feels like… it has the same vibe as my mom.”

I suddenly realized she was talking about the pond, not her feet…

Coughing a few times to divert attention and cover my sudden foot-fetish moment, I quickly said, “Auntie Cao, huh… She does have a kind of包容感 like this pond. As expected of the woman called the ‘Lady of the Lake.’”

Cao Cao didn’t seem to notice my earlier stare at her feet.

She continued splashing the water with her feet, saying, “Not just Mom. Big Sis has that vibe too.”

“Cao Zhen? Well, it’s a bit subtle.” Sure, she has a domineering queen side, but her gentle side could qualify her as the ideal wife… though I haven’t seen that side since the whole marriage-stealing incident.

Cao Cao giggled.

“Big Sis is also called the ‘Lady of the Lake,’ the second generation. Oh, and Mom was the first.”

“What? Her too? And there’s a generational system for this title?” It feels a bit arbitrary.

Wouldn’t it be better to give the second generation a different title, like ‘Ice Soul Sorceress’ or something?

Ugh, my chuuni soul is resisting this lazy naming.

If Cao Cao knew what I was thinking, she’d probably be thrilled to find a kindred spirit and cling to me even more.

But she seemed lost in thought, leaning back with her hands on the ground, gazing at the starry sky.

“I really admire women like Mom and Big Sis. They have the gentleness of water and its strength. So, a long time ago, I decided to aim to become the third-generation ‘Lady of the Lake.’”

And the result of that effort is this chuuni persona?

Auntie Cao is fine, but starting with Cao Zhen, it’s already gone a bit off-track.