Chapter 212: The Unopened Umbrella
The setting sun cast long shadows across the room as Luo Qiaoqiao gazed out the window, her eyes distant and unfocused.
She didn’t know how to tell him.
“My story… isn’t that dramatic or exciting.”
“It’s actually quite simple.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, her head lowered, her voice barely a whisper.
“I’m dying.”
…Her Plot Record dictated that on the Triennial Day, when the Heavenly Gate opened…
…she would die.
It was that simple.
Chen Yin’s eyes flickered slightly.
“I’ve known since I was young that I would die one day.”
Unable to explain about the System and Plot Records, Luo Qiaoqiao carefully chose her words.
“I was only twelve when I first learned about it.”
She had just gotten her System, treating it like a new toy, when she learned that she would die in a little over a decade. She had cried all night, heartbroken and devastated.
“I was so sad. I was so young, I hadn’t experienced anything yet.”
She hadn’t found love, hadn’t experienced the joys and sorrows of life.
To die so young, in the prime of her life… it was a cruel fate for a little girl.
“At first, I was heartbroken. But as I grew older, I gradually accepted it.”
She said softly, “And I thought to myself…”
…Since I only have a few years left, I might as well make the most of it. I’ll live a life without regrets, a life that will make my parents proud. I’ll live every moment to the fullest.
And so, she became the carefree and willful Silk-Robe Fairy, a prodigy of the Heavenly Net Sect, her beauty renowned throughout the cultivation world.
“I realized that this kind of life wasn’t so bad.”
“To die a glorious and tragic death at twenty-five… it’s not a bad way to go.”
“So I started drinking, sneaking out of the sect, traveling the world, experiencing everything I could.”
Luo Qiaoqiao suddenly lowered her eyes. “But there was one thing I didn’t want to experience. Falling in love. I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to let go. I wouldn’t want to die.”
Chen Yin looked at her silently.
Everyone knew that the Silk-Robe Fairy hated men, that she looked down on her countless admirers.
No one knew what she had been carrying in her heart all these years.
“I thought I could live like this until the end, a life without attachments, a life lived to the fullest, a peaceful death.”
“…But…” She suddenly pouted and fell silent.
But fate had other plans.
That day, she had just wanted a drink.
She had just wanted a quiet place to watch the moon.
“I thought falling in love would take time, that it required patience and effort.”
“But I was naive.” She buried her face in her knees.
“It can happen in an instant.”
With a single word.
It could be as simple as waking up one morning and realizing that she would never meet another man who would say to her, when she was drunk and vulnerable:
…If you truly wish to spend the night with someone,
…it should be with your husband, on your wedding night,
…not in some random tavern.
She had suddenly felt a pang of loss,
Her previous carefree life now seeming empty and meaningless.
All the joys and pleasures she had experienced paled in comparison to the sound of him saying her name,
His voice filled with a playful tenderness as he called her “Sister Qiaoqiao.”
“That’s when I realized… perhaps this is what it means to fall in love.”
Luo Qiaoqiao murmured, “Maybe for normal people, it takes a long time to fall in love. A week, a few months, a few years, even a lifetime.”
“But my lifetime isn’t that long.” She chuckled wryly.
…I don’t have time to wait for you to love me back.
So it’s enough that I love you. A single moment is enough.
Chen Yin’s eyes widened slightly.
Luo Qiaoqiao sniffled, her voice filled with a quiet sadness.
“I know… after that night, I was the one pursuing you.”
She had pestered him to accompany her to the Fairy Conference,
To visit the Ten Thousand Fragrance Pavilion,
To take late-night strolls and watch the moon.
“I was like a spoiled child, demanding your attention.”
“But your gaze… was always fixed on someone else.”
At the Fairy Conference, he had been looking at someone else.
When he defended Yin Mengwan against the elders, he had been looking at someone else.
When he fell from the cliff, when he was rescued, he had been looking at someone else.
At his Senior Sister, at his Junior Sister.
Even now, he was surrounded by women.
Luo Qiaoqiao knew there was no place for her in his heart.
They could all be with him, for a long, long time.
But she couldn’t.
Even if she left her mark on his heart, it would be meaningless.
It would only make their parting more painful.
So she didn’t say those words.
“You don’t have to cater to my whims.”
She whispered, “I know it was all one-sided. You don’t have to force yourself. Everything I did was my own choice, it has nothing to do with you.”
“Including what I’m about to do.”
Chen Yin frowned slightly. “What are you planning to do?”
“I overheard my parents talking… about Shen Li.”
“I’m going to die anyway.”
“If I can help my parents, or you… I might as well try.”
“I’m a Chosen One. I might have a chance against the Divine Son.”
“No, you’re not going.” Chen Yin’s voice was firm.
“Why?”
“Because I won’t let you die.”
Chen Yin said seriously, “Not now, not ever. You’re going to live a long and happy life, experience everything you’ve missed, grow old, and become a wrinkled old granny. Dying is not an option.”
Luo Qiaoqiao’s lips parted slightly, then she pressed them together tightly.
“…How can you be so sure?”
“I just am.”
He poured himself a cup of tea and said calmly, “You’ve been avoiding the topic, which means your death is probably related to your System’s Plot Record. Let me guess, is it the Triennial Day?”
Luo Qiaoqiao didn’t answer.
…As expected. Chen Yin sipped his tea slowly.
Many things were becoming clear now.
“Don’t worry,”
He said softly, “get some rest. Everything will be over when you wake up.”
“But… there’s no time. The Wu Xuan Cave is only half a day’s journey from here. If I don’t reach their headquarters within a day, the Divine Son will be suspicious.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go in your place.”
Luo Qiaoqiao was about to speak, but Chen Yin gently placed a finger on her lips.
“The Divine Son who hurt you will die. And you’ll be safe during the Triennial Day.”
“I promise.” He looked at her intently, his gaze unwavering.
Luo Qiaoqiao didn’t say anything more.
She let him carry her to bed and tuck her in, his voice gentle and soothing.
“Rest well. Recover from your injuries.”
“I have a gift for you when you get back.”
Luo Qiaoqiao watched him go, her eyes fixed on his retreating figure.
She stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
“…System.”
“Don’t blame me. I only left that card because I couldn’t bear to watch you suffer…”
“That’s not what I wanted to ask.”
Luo Qiaoqiao murmured, “Do you think… he ever… liked me?”
The System didn’t answer. After a moment, it said, “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
“Because I’m afraid of the answer.”
She burrowed under the blankets. “What if he says no? What if I’ve always been… insignificant to him?”
The System didn’t know how to respond.
Luo Qiaoqiao closed her eyes.
She remembered Chen Yin defending Xiang’er, his sword against the elders of the Fairy Conference.
She remembered him and Shen Shuanglian falling from the cliff.
She remembered him storming the Mist Spirit Sect alone.
She remembered him carrying Qingying into his room last night.
“…Luo Qiaoqiao, you fool.”
She chuckled wryly. “You already know the answer, don’t you?”
“Why… delude yourself?”
The System had a bad feeling. “Is it raining outside?” Luo Qiaoqiao suddenly asked.
“Raining? No. It’s a clear night.”
“A clear night,” she murmured, “how can it rain on a clear night?”
…She wouldn’t live to see another rainy day.
“System, exchange for a teleportation talisman.”
The System paused. “Don’t you believe he can save you?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe him.”
She suddenly smiled. “It’s just… pointless.”
The rain had stopped.
And there was no need to open an umbrella after the rain had passed.
“Let’s go.”
“There’s no need to disturb their lives any longer.”
“Let’s finish what we started.”
A faint purple light flickered, and the room was empty, only the neatly folded blankets remaining.
Leave a Reply