Chapter 103: Curse That Lifespan Difference!
Did I go too far?
The Blake Lady was deeply worried. Looking at her daughter’s gloomy expression, she thought, Adele might be talented, well-born, and independent, but she’s still just a young woman. And these twenty years are but a fleeting moment in her long life. Were my words too harsh for her?
Imagine Adele at a few hundred years old, while Golden already had children, and Adele hadn’t even found a husband. Perhaps… Golden’s children would even become potential suitors for Adele. They were the same age, the same generation, and yet Golden might become Adele’s mother-in-law. The thought was absurd.
The Lady felt guilty, but she didn’t know how to comfort Adele. Comforting people wasn’t her forte. But Adele’s expression was truly heartbreaking. She waved her hand dismissively, telling Adele to leave. After Adele was gone, she summoned a maid, her voice filled with worry, “Were my words too harsh? Did I hurt Adele?”
Facing her mistress’s question, the maid could only answer, “Miss Adele is a strong young lady. She won’t be defeated by such a small setback.”
The Blake Lady was still worried. She sighed heavily.
She had no idea that Adele’s mind was now consumed by a single thought: What if Jasmine dies before me? She was deeply in love with Jasmine, and the thought of her lover dying before her was unbearable. If Jasmine were gone, would her own life even have meaning?
Adele thought, If not, then I won’t live either. I’ll die with her. That wasn’t a bad option. A hundred years might be a short time for a vampire, but it would be a lifetime with Jasmine. She would rather die with Jasmine than face a world without her.
The thought of living without Jasmine was terrifying. She couldn’t even bear to think about it. Losing Jasmine, never finding another love, facing an eternity of loneliness, haunted by memories of their time together, living like a walking corpse… That was more frightening than death. She instinctively rejected such a future.
For the first time, Adele felt that being a vampire wasn’t so great. She wanted to live forever with Jasmine, but if that was impossible, she would join her in death when her time came.
Time would pass, and Jasmine would inevitably age, wouldn’t she? Her beautiful black hair would lose its luster, turning gray, perhaps even silver, like Adele’s, a matching set. Her smooth, plump cheeks would wrinkle, losing their fullness, becoming a shriveled old woman.
And she wouldn’t be as strong as she was now, perhaps even unable to walk. Adele would have to support her, taking her to see the flowers in the garden. But wouldn’t an old woman need sunlight? That meant Jasmine would have to sleep during the day. They would have so little time together.
Adele’s thoughts spiraled, culminating in a vivid image of Jasmine, an old woman leaning against her shoulder, her eyes slowly closing for the last time.
—No! I don’t want that!
Seeing her beloved die in her arms would be too cruel! Upon returning to her room, Adele’s thoughts only intensified, her eyes welling up with tears. When Jasmine arrived, she saw Adele’s heartbroken expression. She was startled. Her first thought was: Did the Lady bully her?
Jasmine approached Adele, who looked up at her, her crimson eyes filled with tears. Jasmine hesitated, unsure what to say, then Adele spoke, “Jasmine, I don’t want you to become an old woman! And you can’t die before me!”
“?” Jasmine couldn’t help but be confused. What is she talking about? She wondered if Adele had confessed their relationship to the Lady, but if that were the case, the Lady would have sent people to capture Jasmine by now. So, this was probably just Adele being dramatic.
Jasmine sighed and asked, “Why would I suddenly become an old woman and die in your arms?”
She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped away Adele’s tears, even blowing her nose. Adele let Jasmine fuss over her, then she mumbled, “But won’t that happen in a hundred years? No! I don’t want Jasmine to die before me!”
“And you said that old people need more sunlight and sleep longer. You’ll be active during the day, and I’ll be active at night. I might not even know when you die!”
Adele’s imagination was truly impressive.
Jasmine acknowledged this silently. She looked at Adele and asked, “Why do you assume that you’ll outlive me?”
Adele was taken aback. Then she thought, That’s a good idea! “You’re right! It doesn’t have to be Jasmine who dies first! When your time comes, I’ll join you in the sunlight! That way, I’ll die before you!”
That wasn’t a good idea at all! Jasmine resisted the urge to facepalm. Thanks to Adele, she now had a vivid image in her mind:
Herself as an old woman, her hair white, her face wrinkled, sitting in a rocking chair, waiting for the sunrise, with a young and beautiful Adele beside her, gazing at her lovingly. Then the sun would rise, turning Adele to dust. Jasmine, tears streaming down her face, would hold Adele’s ashes close, her own death soon following…
Stop! What a horrifying scenario!
Jasmine shook her head, banishing the image from her mind. “No, I mean, why do you think I have a short lifespan?”
“Because you’re human…”
Yes, Jasmine was human, but she was a human with cheat abilities. She had already realized that her enhancements had made her less human. She had killed many vampires, and she had taken the opportunity to study their anatomy. She had discovered that vampires’ longevity was due to their slow heartbeats and low body temperatures, in addition to the energy they derived from blood. Jasmine wasn’t a biologist, so she couldn’t be sure, but she suspected that these factors played a role.
And modern science taught her that human lifespan was related to the number of times their cells could divide. Based on her understanding of her own body, her cell division rate, regeneration speed, and efficiency, she could probably live for two or three thousand years without any problems.
Jasmine told Adele honestly, “I think with my current physical condition, living for two thousand years shouldn’t be a problem.”
Adele’s jaw dropped. She was clearly shocked by Jasmine’s answer. She even asked instinctively, “Are you really human, Jasmine?”
“I’m human, and I’m Jasmine.” If she had been asked this question before, Jasmine might have overthought it, but after Adele’s enlightenment, she no longer cared. Besides, being inhuman had its advantages. At least, they wouldn’t have to worry about a lifespan difference.
Jasmine’s cheat abilities were truly extraordinary, perhaps even unique. But she was a transmigrator, and transmigrators having cheat abilities wasn’t unusual. Other transmigrators had systems, powerful backgrounds, and all sorts of advantages. Jasmine only had an incredibly strong body. Her cheat was actually quite minor!
Regardless, she was grateful for it. At least it allowed her to defy the limitations of mortality. Curse that lifespan difference trope! All those stories about tragic romances with mismatched lifespans were terrible! Jasmine had read and watched countless such stories in her previous life, like the immortal elf who only realized their love for the human hero after the hero’s death.
Curse that lifespan difference!
Jasmine reaffirmed this in her mind.
Hearing Jasmine’s words, Adele remembered her own words of comfort, how she had told Jasmine that no matter what she was, she was still Jasmine. Most importantly, she was Adele’s Jasmine. Thinking about it this way, lifespan and death didn’t seem so important. Then she heard Jasmine say, “But I don’t intend to work for two thousand years. That’s too long.”
“You shouldn’t overwork yourself, let alone for two thousand years. After ten or twenty years, when the Human Resistance Army is on the right track, I plan to fade from the spotlight.”
This was the first time Adele had heard about Jasmine’s plan. She was curious. “And what will you do after that?”
Jasmine answered, “Before I met you, I planned to travel the world, righting wrongs, leaving my legend behind.” Hearing that her original plan didn’t include Adele, the young lady sulked, pouting slightly.
But seeing that Jasmine didn’t elaborate, she couldn’t help but ask, “And what about… after being with me?”
Jasmine hadn’t really thought about what she would do after being with Adele. But since Adele had asked, she started thinking seriously. After retiring in ten or twenty years, she would travel the world with Adele. But instead of being a restless migratory bird, she would become a migrating zebra, settling down in one place for a while, enjoying a peaceful life together. To the outside world, they would be a wealthy young lady and her maid. In private, they would be lovers.
After twenty or thirty years, they would move on to another place.
But the words that came out of her mouth were, “I won’t tell you.”
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