"At least until this day arrives, it has nothing to do with you."
"You never like or dislike someone because of these attachments; what truly earns affection is only genuine human emotion."
"Even if this statement is one you cannot perfectly fulfill."
"Even when faced with the genuine emotions of the young man and young woman, you chose to escape instead of bless."
Under the guidance of that unknown Scholar, you began to examine some unencrypted saved information in the exquisite pocket watch.
Not too many security measures were added, perhaps because it wasn't networked; some physical factors were no difficulty at all in your hands.
Nothing made you feel any difficulty, any discomfort from being hindered; everything was so smooth and simple. Instead, it was some of the videos recorded in the watch that you truly found hard to accept.
—That was the young man from another perspective.
Different from the young man in her memories, who always seemed full of energy, enthusiastic and vibrant, always the hero who led the young, tender girl out of suffering and the dark forest, bringing her to the human world.
The videos displayed a young man who was often dejected and immersed in sadness.
He didn't possess innate power, nor was his talent and ability so high as to be arrogant. From physical fitness to memory, nothing was outstanding.
Even his personality was very normal; he wasn't a selfless, super saintly good person, nor was he overly malicious or terrible, devoid of any extreme emotions.
The young man was merely an ordinary young man.
An ordinary person, with nothing special, and who shouldn't have anything special.
He should have gone to school, made friends with classmates his age, inherited the family business, and lived a peaceful and happy life.
Perhaps not glorious or great, but such a peaceful life is what countless people dream of, a beauty they cannot experience even by striving with all their might.
How many people cannot feel a shred of peace even at the moment of death, with even terrifying death being considered their final rest.
The young man clearly had the chance, the chance to live an ordinary and happy life.
In the warm little town, there was no external baseness or disaster.
Only simplicity, peace, warmth, and beauty... What exactly...—have I done?!
In her pink-blue pupils, the flawless pink instantly overwhelmed the pure blue, with glistening tears gently swirling in her eyes.
It was this young man who, at fifteen, left with her, abandoning his parents' embrace and warm home simply to accompany her.
—The path to Elysium is never simple; it is destined to be accompanied by countless adventures.
Daily travel and communication with different people meant that the young man's only friend, only relative, and only person he could rely on was her.
For many people in the world, perhaps these external difficulties don't matter; they just need a companion to take care of each other.
The only question is...—did I truly care about the young man?
Did I truly show even a hint of concern for the one who saved her like a hero, like a prince, like the male protagonist in a fairy tale?
Regardless of her psychological state, regardless of what thoughts that beating heart harbored, regardless of how heavy that weight from her heart was.
Did she truly act in a way that showed extreme care?
Did she truly cherish him extremely?
Could she truly experience the fervor that matched such emotions?
There is an image here, which can be viewed after the updated version.
There is an image here, which can be viewed after the updated version.
There is an image here, which can be viewed after the updated version.
Unbelievable.jpg
44. Aili Xiya: Do I... still have the right?
The young woman truly wanted to give a different answer.
—Meaningless.
No matter how much she faked it, she couldn't change reality, and she might even repeat her mistakes again and again by refusing to face them directly.
—No.
She was always busy.
Because she wanted to pursue Elysium, the perfect paradise in fairy tales, because she felt it approaching, she communicated with one person after another every day, changing their tragedies, rewriting their endings.
As if just a word or two of conversation with the young man.
As if just maintaining ordinary interactions with the young man.
A perfectly gentle attitude was enough.
Ah... yes.
Just showing a smile was enough.
As the perfect young woman, just sitting there and exchanging greetings with the young man, perhaps with the same vocabulary as a stranger on the street, was enough.
—How could Jiang Cheng not feel disappointed and dejected?
This was blatant disregard.
A punishment more cruel, more shameless, more subtle than physical harm, even making it difficult for the victim to speak out.
Especially when the young woman saw in the records the young man witnessing his own birthday party, which hadn't even taken its initial form, reduced to the sadness of merely being a holiday.
It was elegant, it was relaxing, it was a good holiday—if it weren't his birthday.
If no one cared about a person's own birthday.
Then at most, they would feel sad.
There are so many people in the world; not everyone deserves to be remembered. Even if one celebrates their own birthday alone, it's at most a matter of loneliness.
Yet, the young man's birthday was not without participants.
Crowds of people, all of them dignitaries and nobles. Only a few at the top of the pyramid could receive such treatment. But no one cared about the young man, no one cared about the host of the birthday party.
Perhaps for them, this wasn't a birthday at all, but a gathering where they could legitimately see a certain young woman.
That was all.
That was all... just that.
It was this kind of situation—noisy and grand, yet she couldn't insert herself, no one cared, despite her being the host—that pushed the existing loneliness and sadness to its peak, a kind of pathetic sorrow.
Only feeling lonely on a bustling, crowded street is true loneliness.
So, unknowingly...—have I fallen into being the perpetrator holding the butcher's knife?
In the name of blessing, I deprived the young man of his happiness.
Even a birthday, such an extremely private occasion, a blessing only shared among close friends and family, was no exception.
The young woman reached out a finger, wanting to caress the young man in the picture, whose eyes were vacant, devoid of even a hint of a highlight. But her slender, long fingers always lacked the strength, as if something was preventing her from reaching forward.
Perhaps it was because she clearly realized she no longer had the right.
She no longer deserved to touch the young man.
Not even a photograph.
Not even a past memory.
Until she watched with her own eyes as the recorded video bumped closer to the young man, seeing a hand suddenly enter the frame and pull up the dejected young man.
It was the creator of this camcorder—Vil-V—personally delivering a gift to Jiang Cheng.
The only birthday gift personally presented.
The only gift given on this birthday belonging to the young man.
The subsequent words were not recorded by the camcorder; it only showed that the originally expressionless young man's dull eyes suddenly regained some spirit, some vibrancy far more real than what the young woman had ever seen.
Excitement, happiness, or perhaps just the surge of emotion that naturally arises after being warmed.
This wasn't weakness; this was merely the normal functioning of emotions. But no matter how normal the functioning, if it went too far, it would inevitably cause disaster.
And the reason she had always felt normal was because someone had already triggered the disaster.
Aili Xiya had never cared about these things.
Her emerald starlit eyes never lowered, eagerly, obsessively focused on the matters at hand, as if being urged, chased by a beast, with no room to breathe... In this world... what other reason could explain her actions?
Explain the mistakes she made, the butcher's knife she wielded, the harm she inflicted on the young man.
—Saving the world?
To save the world, this might be a good excuse. To rewrite more tragedies, to save more people who shouldn't suffer, it was therefore necessary to abandon some small matters at hand.
Could it really serve as a reason?
Could she really use this to cover up her disregard for Jiang Cheng?
Would she not appear even more shameless and despicable after speaking, glossing over what could unequivocally be called disgusting behavior?
How could that be?
How could that be!
How could it be allowed!!
No matter how grand the reason, she had no right to deny the wrong she had committed.
Saying things like needing to abandon those around her to save the world was just a mere phrase; how could it be held as truth?
If she couldn't even save what was right in front of her, if she couldn't grasp what she needed to grasp, then no matter how broad or distant her perspective, she was essentially just a cold machine, someone who wasn't human at all.
At least for Aili Xiya, for this goddess of the stars and moon, for this young woman who longed for beauty, for this fairy of Elysium...—absolutely not!
—Absolutely unacceptable!!
Harming others without apologizing, without compensating, without atoning, and then sugarcoating it with so-called righteousness is undoubtedly the most despicable act. Perhaps some people are compelled by irresistible circumstances.
But without even an apology, there's no need or meaning to discuss it.
The only question is...—do I truly have the right now?
...Silent.
The young woman could not argue.
She could not fight against her own heart.
She merely paced in a daze, not even knowing where she was going.