37 Yan Zhen’s Grand Deception!
Late at night, the Inner Academy was brightly lit, except for the cliffside building, which was shrouded in darkness.
In the dense branches of a large tree near the building, a young man and woman stood facing each other.
The young woman’s face was a mixture of astonishment, embarrassment, confusion, and a hint of wariness. The young man, however, gazed at her with an intense, unspoken affection.
“I’ve finally found you, Zi Ji…”
Yan Zhen reached out, as if out of habit, to touch Zi Xunyi. She instinctively recoiled, making him pause and withdraw his hand, a wry smile appearing on his lips.
Seeing his expression, Zi Xunyi felt an unexpected pang of guilt, regretting her instinctive reaction.
“Do you know me?”
“Of course. More than just knowing you, we—”
Yan Zhen suddenly stopped, hesitating, as if struggling to find the right words.
Zi Xunyi frowned slightly. “We… what?”
“Zi Ji, do you believe in past and future lives?”
“Past and future lives?” Zi Xunyi shook her head. “I only care about the present.”
“Heh, just as I expected.” Yan Zhen chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Although I already knew how you felt, I still couldn’t help but come. Actually—”
He paused again, as if wanting to say something but unable to.
Zi Xunyi’s frown deepened. If it were anyone else, she would have already sent them away. But Yan Zhen was the “male lead” of her spring dreams. Perhaps he knew the reason behind them, so she waited patiently.
“What are you trying to say?”
Hearing this, a spark of hope appeared in Yan Zhen’s melancholic eyes. “You really want to know?”
Zi Xunyi nodded. “Let’s talk inside.”
Yan Zhen was surprised. She was letting him inside so easily?
He had only intended for the mature Zi Xunyi to project his image into the younger Zi Xunyi’s mind, creating a sense of familiarity to facilitate their interaction.
But this was their first meeting. He had been prepared for rejection, even a beating. How could she invite him inside after just a few words?
—Could this be a trap?
As Yan Zhen hesitated, Zi Xunyi had already returned to the cliffside building. He followed, landing on the third-floor balcony and entering the building.
A delicate fragrance filled the air, and Yan Zhen realized, to his surprise, that this was Zi Xunyi’s room. He had thought she would only take him to the living room.
“…”
Yan Zhen became uneasy. He was no match for Zi Xunyi in her current state.
“Sit.”
Zi Xunyi sat on a chair, gestured for Yan Zhen to sit opposite her, and even poured him a cup of tea, her movements elegant and refined.
Yan Zhen cautiously sat down, maintaining his affectionate gaze, letting her gradually understand his… character.
“This place hasn’t changed.”
“You’ve been saying strange things since you arrived.” Zi Xunyi said directly, “Could you be more specific? Have you lived in this building before?”
“I haven’t lived here, but I’ve been here a few times,” Yan Zhen paused, then added, “to meet you.”
“Meet me?” Zi Xunyi was surprised. “This is the first time I’ve met you. I don’t even know your name.”
She told a small lie, otherwise it would be difficult to explain.
“Yes, that’s true now. But…”
He paused again, until Zi Xunyi asked, “But what?”
“You might not believe this, but we’ve met many times in our past lives.”
“Past lives?”
“Yes.” Yan Zhen took a deep breath, as if making a momentous decision. “I’m actually reborn, with memories from a distant future.”
Zi Xunyi’s face showed astonishment, then disbelief. She thought Yan Zhen was lying, but then she remembered the “future self” who seemed to be an inner demon, and her heart raced.
Her future self must also be reborn!
Things might be more complicated than she thought… Zi Xunyi forced herself to calm down and asked, feigning indifference, “What do you mean by reborn? And what was our relationship in our past lives?”
Yan Zhen lowered his head. “I don’t know why I was reborn, but I remember clearly… you and I, in our past lives, were… husband and wife.”
“Eh?”
Zi Xunyi froze. Yan Zhen smiled sadly. “You might not be able to accept this, but in our past life, you were indeed my wife, and I was your husband. We were a loving couple, envied by all.”
Zi Xunyi, of course, couldn’t accept this. A boy her age suddenly appearing and claiming to be her husband from a past life? What girl could accept that?
What made it even more difficult to accept was that the way her “future self” addressed Yan Zhen in her dream, it was indeed “husband”!
—This… this is terrifying!
Yan Zhen was clearly the Yu family’s son-in-law and had ambiguous relationships with other women, a clear sign of a scumbag. Yet, she eventually agreed to become his Dao companion?
—What were you thinking, future me?
“Do you… have any proof?” Zi Xunyi refused to believe him. “I can’t just accept your words without any evidence.”
“There’s no proof for such things.” Yan Zhen smiled wryly. “However, I can tell you some things about you.”
“What kind of things?”
“Your identity, talent, interests, experiences, or… some little secrets only a husband and wife would know.”
Little secrets? Zi Xunyi’s breath hitched. The shameful scenes from her spring dream flashed through her mind, her heart pounding. Despite her best efforts, a faint blush colored her cheeks, adding to her allure.
“Tell… tell me!”
“Ahem.” Yan Zhen cleared his throat, maintained his affectionate gaze, and then began recounting details about her as if he knew her inside and out. “You’re from the Eighth Continent, the daughter of the Celestial God Clan’s leader, and the next Goddess candidate. Your soul is naturally powerful, so you had the Jade Firmament Violet Fire implanted within you since childhood. You currently focus on soul cultivation, with Mystic Power cultivation as secondary. You appear to be a Mystic Master, but you’re actually a Mystic King.”
—He’s right about everything!
Zi Xunyi stubbornly said, “This is basic information. Anyone could find out with a little investigation. It doesn’t prove anything.”
“Then I’ll have to reveal something more… personal.” Yan Zhen blinked, then said something shocking. “You… are a… ahem… white tiger cub.”
Zi Xunyi froze, then her face turned crimson, almost as if she was about to faint.
However, Yan Zhen continued, “Your weak spot is your belly button. Touching it makes your body go weak, leaving you at my mercy, because that’s where your ‘bloodline divine mark’ is located. After we’re intimate, it appears involuntarily, a violet-gold, blooming crystal flower…”
Listening to Yan Zhen’s words, Zi Xunyi was so embarrassed she almost fainted.
/（/ /o/ω/o/ /）/
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