You said you hated men, why are your eyes now full of love?
Vol. 2 - Ch. 122 - Obsession Realized

Her confused thoughts suddenly stopped.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck deep within her soul, illuminating memories she had once overlooked.

No, that's not right.

If what he did was bullying, then something didn't add up.

For example, although he always called her "Little Mute," the look in his eyes was never filled with the same disdain or disgust that others showed her.

He never avoided her because of her birthmark or worn clothes.

When the Yu family punished her by withholding food, he was always the one to hand her a few bills, his tone as arrogant as ever, ordering her to run errands for trivial things.

As for the change left over from those errands, he would casually toss out:

"Keep it. Consider it a reward."

Whenever she had a cold or fever, the communal medicine box in her classroom would mysteriously contain exactly the medicine she needed.

When she asked about it, he'd wave her off impatiently.

"You're such a sickly little thing, coughing nonstop. You're so noisy. You can't even sleep properly."

When someone mocked her as the Yu family's bastard, that person would always return the next day pale and trembling to offer a sincere apology.

Ji Mu would just happen to walk by, sneering:

"'Little Mute' sounds way better than 'bastard,' don't you think?"

After that, no one at school ever mocked her again.

...

As Yu Hua recalled more and more of her interactions with Ji Mu, she slowly came to a bewildering realization.

It seemed that she had never actually been hurt by Ji Mu in any real way.

The worst he had ever done was lightly tug her ponytail from time to time.

Or stick hard-to-peel-off chibi ghost stickers on her desk.

Rather than bullying, those things felt more like a strange, roundabout way of protecting her.

How could this be?

The sudden realization struck Yu Hua as utterly absurd.

As unbelievable as it was, she felt a ripple stir in the hollow space where her heart used to be.

She suddenly recalled a post she had come across online while she was still alive:

"If a boy always teases you, it's because he's trying to get your attention."

But why would he want to get her attention specifically?

Could it be...

No, that's impossible!

Faced with such an outrageous thought, Yu Hua instinctively rejected it.

She was like an ant—common, insignificant, and easily crushed underfoot without anyone noticing.

Someone like Ji Mu, a child of destiny... How could he possibly like her?

No, impossible. Absolutely not.

She came up with a thousand reasons to convince herself otherwise, but at that moment, her soul felt as if it had regained a physical form. Her blood surged, boiling hot, and the cold, lifeless heart in her chest was suddenly pulled from a frozen wasteland into the searing heat of molten fire.

An uncontrollable mix of inferiority and elation clashed within her, forming a chaotic storm of ice and flame.

For a brief moment, she was completely dazed, lost in the haze of it all.

Ji Mu...

Yu Hua's gaze fell upon the slender figure standing beneath the tree.

He had just finished sweeping up the fallen peach blossoms and was now crouching down.

With gentle fingers, he brushed the dust from her tombstone's surface.

Each touch felt as if something warm and soft were caressing her cheek. Her soul, suspended in the air, trembled at the sensation.

Ji Mu kept his eyes lowered. His thick lashes cast shadows over his face as he quietly repeated the same motion of wiping.

Three years had passed, and he still carried deep guilt.

Although the system had told him that his role was merely a stepping stone, a background character meant to provide contrast and serve as a catalyst for the emotional growth of the male and female leads, he realized that bullying an innocent person crossed a line he could no longer ignore.

After returning to the country and accidentally learning of the female lead's suicide by jumping off a building, he realized that everything had gone terribly wrong.

The plot had veered off course.

The so-called male leads were scum who deserved to be killed by the female lead. They deserved their fate.

There had never been any redemption.

Hadn't everything he had done before made him one of the silent accomplices who helped push a bright, young girl into the abyss?

Realizing all of this, Ji Mu often woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in cold sweat.

The system, that irresponsible thing, had vanished after issuing its task, disappearing without a trace. He was left alone, tormented by his own conscience.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper.

It was the only item found on the girl after her death.

The delicate handwriting left behind two simple lines:

"I'm sorry for dirtying the road. Could you please help clean it up? (＾v＾)"

Ji Mu let out a low, bitter laugh.

"Even in death, you were so gentle and humble."

In silence, he mocked himself, yet his hand clenched tightly around the slip of paper.

"Little Mute..."

When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse and dry.

After three years of atonement, he still couldn't let go. He couldn't forgive himself.

Maybe it was time to leave for a while. To wander. To try to move on.

A memory flashed through his mind of the girl curled up in the corner, silent and small. Ji Mu's lips pressed into a thin line.

"If there's a next life..."

He gently brushed the black-and-white photo of the girl with his fingertip as he whispered his final farewell.

"Make sure to start anew, not just start over."

At some point, without his knowledge, Yu Hua's soul had quietly drifted to his side.

The boy stood up and instructed the servants to regularly clean the grave.

She could feel that he might not come back.

As he walked away, his figure grew smaller and smaller in her line of sight.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask him.

After three years of visits, even a lonely soul had grown accustomed to that quiet companionship.

But now, as he pulled away, the fleeting warmth gave way once more to the cold reality.

Yu Hua wanted to chase after him, but she couldn't stray too far; her remains were buried here.

Do souls have hearts after death?

Then why does it hurt so much in my chest, like it's being pulled apart again and again?

Is this reluctance to part?

As he walked down the uneven stone steps, he heard a faint sound, like wind chimes stirred by a spring breeze.

The boy paused and tilted his head slightly.

A pair of beautiful peach-blossom eyes glanced back at him, like amber glass washed clean by autumn waters, clear and luminous.

He had never truly been that cruel, arrogant young master.

This was who he really was beneath the mask.

There really was someone in this world who cared for her quietly without asking for anything in return.

Yu Hua's soul trembled.

Suddenly, she desperately wanted to reach out and touch him.

To touch that warmth.

The warmth she had come to long for.

Ji Mu...

Ji Mu...

Ji Mu.

DONG—

The phantom of an ancient pendulum appeared in the sky.

Its deep, resonant chime echoed through time and space, long and unending.

A blinding white light flashed before Yu Hua's eyes.

Her consciousness was pulled into an endless abyss, spinning and sinking.

Everything she could perceive began to fade, like an ink painting diluted with water. Just as the outlines of her world were about to vanish completely, a neutral and unfamiliar voice echoed in her mind.

[Tsk.]

...

[Awakening a succubus bloodline only to jump off a building? What a pathetic way to live.]

...

[I'm quite curious to see what you'll become this time…]

...

[I now grant you a quarter of my Authority.]

…

Dingling, ding-ling-ling—

A smooth, jade-like arm slipped out from beneath the covers and brushed against the buzzing alarm clock on the nightstand.

With a press of a button, the annoying ringing came to an abrupt stop.

Her drowsy eyes slowly came into focus as she glanced at the glowing numbers on the clock.

A date appeared, familiar yet strangely foreign.

The girl blinked, stunned for a few seconds. Then, realization struck and her heart clenched tightly.

She threw off the covers, stepped barefoot onto the floor, and rushed to pull open the curtains.

Instantly, brilliant sunlight poured in, flooding every corner of the room.

Every pore on her skin opened up, greedily absorbing the warmth of the outside world.

The sensations within her body were vivid and unmistakably real: the rapid rhythm of her beating heart.

Everything about this moment sent a single, undeniable signal.

She...

She had truly been reborn.

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