Chapter 41: Is It Just a Lesson?

“M-Miss Xialvdi…”

Liya’s voice was trembling. She didn’t even dare to look up into Xialvdi’s eyes.

“Is the young lady… all right?”

Xialvdi leaned against the doorframe, watching Liya’s adorable expression—wanting to ask but too afraid, flustered and anxious. The curve of her lips rose higher and higher.

She stuck out her tongue and lightly licked her own slightly swollen lips before answering slowly.

“She’s fine.”

“She was just too tired last night, so she hasn’t gotten up yet.”

Too tired?

Tired how?

Was it what I think it means?

It’s… over.

That naive little white rabbit of hers had finally been devoured by this long-scheming big bad wolf—down to the last bite!

“Th-then… please take good care of the young lady.”

After saying that, Liya shoved the tray in her hands into Xialvdi’s arms.

Then she turned and fled, disappearing at a sprint down the end of the corridor.

Xialvdi watched her retreating back, let out a low laugh, and closed the door.

Carrying the tray, she walked back to the bedside. She saw the quilt shift, and then a messy little golden head poked out from inside.

Weiluoya was lying on the pillow, revealing a pair of emerald eyes. She stared at Xialvdi without blinking.

That look was full of grievance—like a little animal that had been bullied badly but didn’t know how to throw a tantrum.

Xialvdi leisurely sat back down on the edge of the bed.

Weiluoya puffed out her cheeks, her voice muffled with a hint of nasality.

“Xialvdi!”

“Why did you say something like that to Liya just now?”

“Something like what?”

Xialvdi placed the tray on the nightstand, tilted her head to look at her, and put on an innocent expression.

“You know…”

Weiluoya’s words got stuck.

She couldn’t exactly repeat “she was too tired last night”—a line that would only cause misunderstanding.

“Something that’s way too easy to misunderstand!”

Xialvdi listened, but seemed genuinely confused. Her brows furrowed slightly, her eyes puzzled.

“Misunderstand?”

She repeated the word, then reached out and gently touched Weiluoya’s flushed cheek with her fingertip.

“Where’s the misunderstanding? What I said is the truth, isn’t it?”

“Were you not tired last night?”

Weiluoya’s cheeks instantly turned so red they almost bled.

The truth…

It was the truth.

But was that kind of truth something you could just say out loud?

She opened her mouth, but found herself unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.

In the end, she gave up and burrowed her head back under the covers, curling herself into a ball again.

Xialvdi looked at the little mound trembling under the blanket, smiled helplessly, and reached out to gently lift the quilt a little, revealing Weiluoya’s messy golden head.

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

Xialvdi softened her voice and soothingly ran her fingers through her hair.

Weiluoya’s head twitched a little—it tickled—but she didn’t pull away.

“Get up and eat something, or it’ll get cold.”

She hesitated for a moment, then turned to face Xialvdi.

Her expression was more serious than ever before.

“Xialvdi.”

“Hmm?”

“We… we’ve already done that kind of thing.”

Her voice was very small, laced with uncertainty, but her tone was earnest.

Xialvdi’s hand froze mid-motion.

“We’ve already done that kind of thing.”

Weiluoya’s little face was stern, her emerald eyes filled with gravity.

“From now on, you can only like me. And you can’t do it with anyone else.”

Xialvdi was stunned, then a warmth surged from the depths of her heart, threatening to melt her entirely.

She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Weiluoya’s smooth forehead.

“Of course.”

Xialvdi’s voice carried unprecedented solemnity.

“I will only ever like you.”

Hearing this promise, the tension on Weiluoya’s face finally eased a little.

She shuffled reluctantly out of the covers and, with Xialvdi’s help, changed her clothes.

The two sat at the table, eating the breakfast Liya had brought.

Weiluoya took small sips of milk, but her mind was on something else.

“Xialvdi.”

She put down her cup.

“How should we handle the Tears of Atlantis?”

“Haven’t you already found it?”

“Huh?”

Xialvdi was cutting a slice of ham with a knife; she looked up.

Weiluoya spoke, her gaze meaningfully drifting to her own bare neck.

“Normally speaking, this gem belongs to you now.”

“Don’t you happen to be missing a piece of jewelry? I think this one would be perfect.”

“But…”

Weiluoya hesitated.

“This is stolen goods.”

“I’ll ask my father for his opinion later, okay?”

“Sure.”

Xialvdi nodded in agreement.

Weiluoya made up her mind, stood up, and pulled open the door to the dining room.

Outside, Arthur Cromwell was standing there with a weathered expression, his hand still raised in the motion of about to knock.

Weiluoya was startled.

Arthur looked at his daughter, then at the black-haired woman behind her who looked completely composed.

He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something but stopping, then stopping again.

After receiving Liya’s report, he had originally wanted to ask about last night’s situation.

The words got stuck in his chest. But now that he saw the real people, he couldn’t get a single word out.

In the end, a thousand words condensed into a sigh filled with fatigue.

He forgot what he had wanted to say.

Arthur waved his hand, signaling Weiluoya to come over.

“Weiluoya, come with me. Let’s talk alone.”

Weiluoya looked at her father’s world-weary face, felt a little worried, and instinctively turned back to glance at Xialvdi.

Xialvdi gave her a reassuring smile.

Seeing that smile, Arthur’s heart completely chilled.

It was over.

Not only had his tender little cabbage been rooted up, but now her heart and eyes were full of that wild cabbage.

He paused mid-step and changed his mind.

“Xialvdi, come with me to the study.”

With that, he walked away without looking back.

Weiluoya stood alone in the empty living room, watching Xialvdi leave, feeling a little lost.

<[Host, Host!]>

Just then, the System’s voice suddenly rang out in her mind.

<[Are you okay? What happened last night?]>

“Nothing.”

Weiluoya replied internally, but her cheeks began to burn again.

“It was just teaching.”

<[Teaching?]>

The System paused for two seconds, then let out a knowing huff.

<[Alright, I get it.]>

Looking at its Host—who had been devoured clean yet still forced herself to act calm—a complex feeling welled up inside it.

<[Um, Host, I’m sorry.]>

“Hmm?”

Weiluoya was a little surprised.

“What are you apologizing for? Last night wasn’t your fault.”

<[It’s not about yesterday.]>

The System’s voice suddenly turned very serious.

“Then what is it?”

<[It’s…]>

The System paused, as if struggling to organize its words.

<[Host, you might be about to die.]>

Weiluoya froze.

“I’m going to die?”

<[…]>

The System’s voice sounded like it was about to cry.

<[I had nothing to do in the Little Black Room yesterday, so I took the chance to check on the situation.]>

<[After that bug with the abnormal strength was fixed, the power you once used—power that didn’t belong to this body—inflicted irreversible damage on it.]>

<[You might not feel anything now, but maybe in a couple of days, maybe in a couple of hours, that backlash will show up.]>