Chapter 194
Chapter 194 Fooling Around
Just as Xia Xinyan had anticipated, Ling Mo’s protective instincts were fully ignited by her words.
And it left him completely dazed.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The system, the game… All of his previous questions had received answers.
However, these answers were far more complicated and weighty than he had imagined.
Xia Xinyan’s story wasn’t difficult to grasp.
What was hard to understand was the meaning behind it all.
This world… does reincarnation really exist?
Had they already lived an entire lifetime?
And in that previous life, was he truly a great hero leading humanity to save the world?
Could players really bring abilities from the game into reality?
And what about the apocalypse…
Suddenly, this world felt fantastical.
No… it seemed that since the emergence of the “Realm of Divine Presence,” this world had started to become surreal.
And more importantly… was Xia Xinyan’s previous life really that tragic?
He suddenly began to understand why the pampered young lady, who had received countless loves, hadn’t been spoiled, but instead had developed such a gentle and strong character.
Perhaps the experiences from her past life had smoothed out all of her bad temper.
And then… God sent her to his side.
Thinking about it this way, it felt somewhat magical.
“Mo Mo?” Xia Xinyan’s voice brought Ling Mo’s thoughts back; she seemed a bit downcast, “Do you… not believe me?”
“No,” Ling Mo quickly shook his head, “I believe you; I believe everything you say.”
No matter what had happened before, or if there was a past life, at least in this lifetime, he had already chosen her.
So, he would give her unconditional trust.
As for the possibility of her deceiving him… cough, after all, people can change. Although he didn’t want that, he could guess how he would respond in that situation.
Just like what Xinyan had said earlier, at least he would eventually become a super strong being.
Even if she was lying about this little detail, at the very least, the claims about abilities being brought into reality were likely true.
By then, with his abilities, creating a cage wouldn’t be difficult at all.
Cough, cough, got sidetracked.
In any case, no matter when, he would trust her unconditionally.
Hmm, exactly.
Hearing his words, Xia Xinyan’s smile held a touch of sincerity.
Ling Mo stared at her for a while and then asked, “So, when you found me back then, was it just to save the world together? The ‘I like you’ you mentioned…”
“That was a lie,” after a pause, Xia Xinyan suddenly leaned closer and gently kissed his cheek, smiling, “But now it’s the truth.”
She still knew how to answer such questions clearly.
Love develops over time, a classic routine.
Then, before Ling Mo could ask anything further, she added, “I’ve never been in love before, so I don’t quite understand what liking someone feels like—if it means wanting you to always be by my side, then… yes, I like you.”
As she spoke, she laughed again, “Besides, I even gave you my first kiss, so you can take your time to enjoy it, right?”
That had been something that had bugged her in the past, but it had indeed become her bargaining chip.
As for her current feelings… she couldn’t say she felt troubled about it; the more kisses, the more accustomed she became.
After receiving her answer, Ling Mo finally couldn’t help but laugh.
A genuine laugh.
Finally, he had heard her truly acknowledge her feelings.
Words far more sincere than those spoken in that small forest back at his home.
Moreover… it was her first time being in love.
The first time in both of their lifetimes was given to him.
While he felt pained about Xinyan’s experiences in her past life, he was grateful that he could meet her returned from rebirth at this moment.
After all, according to Xinyan, the previous her at this time might still be a spoiled young lady, making it truly impossible for her to interact with an ordinary student like him. And even if they crossed paths, he wouldn’t want to associate with a spoiled princess—no matter how much her appearance matched his aesthetic, he wasn’t the kind of guy who thought with his lower half.
Was it appropriate to say fate plays tricks on people?
—It certainly does.
Xia Xinyan’s words had successfully fooled Ling Mo, but they also pushed her deeper into it all, and it was her own doing.
Perhaps she hadn’t considered the downside of this conservative approach—she was “killing” her identity from before her rebirth.
If she continued this way of fooling, soon she would truly become “Xia Xinyan,” rather than the reborn “Ling Mo.”
Tianji, as a third party, watched this unfold with a sense of sentimentality.
Perhaps by then, the host wouldn’t even bring up wanting to revert back anymore? After all, this was something she had done herself.
For now, it could just play dead and be done with it.
At this moment, Ling Mo had only one question that puzzled him: “Xinyan… why are you telling me all this now?”
“Because I’ve realized that the game’s background might be far more complicated than I imagined.” Upon hearing this, Xia Xinyan’s expression immediately turned serious, “Do you remember that woman in red from yesterday? She might not be human at all.”
After a pause, she looked a bit downcast, “I never encountered such beings in my past life, perhaps because my status was too low to meet them…”
Before she could finish, Ling Mo suddenly pulled her into his arms: “Don’t say that… don’t dwell on the past. Since heaven has given you a chance to start over, it surely wants us to investigate the truth behind everything together. You don’t have to bear it all alone; I’ll always be here with you.”
Seeing her in such a state, imagining her past experiences, made his heart ache.
Xia Xinyan: …
Going a bit overboard.
She struggled a little, but since she couldn’t break free, she simply nestled against his chest, unmovable: “Hmm…”
Feeling her slowly calming down, Ling Mo gently asked, “You said I also have a system, then why is my system… malfunctioning?”
Then Xia Xinyan began to play dumb: “I don’t know… I’m not quite clear on your situation, but don’t worry; my system can also strengthen yours. I’ve been helping you strengthen it all along. You’re improving much faster than in the previous world. Even without a system, you’ll definitely become a stronger hero than before.”
—After all, this was something that needed to be asked of Tianji, but now that she called that guy “Tianji,” it refused to respond, almost like it was fried.
As for when Tianji awakened in her previous life, it held no reference value; after all, that was after she had died. Who knows if time sped up after death? And perhaps that system needed her to die once to stimulate it to reach its last bit of data. So should she let Ling Mo die once too?
Ling Mo, however, was once again touched by her words: “You’ve always… been helping me strengthen?”
No wonder he always felt like his abilities were advancing at an astonishing speed, and many times, the timing of his manifestation matched up perfectly, as though he always got what he wanted.
So it turned out, she had always been secretly helping him?
Xia Xinyan’s voice lowered a bit: “I’m sorry for keeping it from you for so long…”
Ling Mo’s response was to hold her tighter again—
“Xinyan, in this lifetime, I will use my life to protect you, I promise.”
