“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t,” Naihe replied. He glanced down at his hand, which was still gripping hers, and slowly let go. The black soul butterfly was still fluttering near her. His eyes darkened, and with a flick of his hand, the butterfly flew off into the distance.
Fengguang’s gaze fell to the calm surface of the lake. “Do you think… everyone has a past life?”
“Some do, some don’t. I, for example, don’t have anything like a past life,” Naihe said as he stood beside her, his eyes resting lightly on the crown of her head. After a brief pause, he casually asked, “That man you mentioned before… his name was Yun Ji?”
“Mhm… he’s the one who deceived me.”
“I think I’ve heard that name before,” he said.
“What?” She looked up at him in surprise. “You know him?”
“About five hundred years ago, the Demon Lord broke into the Underworld looking for a woman’s soul. I was the one who stopped him outside Naihe Bridge. One of the men with him back then was named Yun Ji,” Naihe said. “I remember clearly—he wore a mask and was half-human, half-demon.”
Fengguang murmured, “That must’ve been him…”
“He was one of the Demon Lord’s men, and a top general of the Demon Realm. You really shouldn’t have gotten involved with someone like him.” Naihe paused, then added, “You’re too naive—you’re no match for him.”
“He said that too… that I was stupid.” Fengguang looked disheartened for a moment, then quickly forced a smile. “Maybe I am stupid. I’m not as smart and strong as Yanyu. Junyu likes her, and Yun Ji likes her too. When I think about it… other than my face, I don’t have anything about me that stands out.”
Naihe looked down and saw her smiling. He was silent for a long time before finally asking, “You said a man named Junyu was in love with this Yanyu?”
“Yeah…”
“And you also said you have a twin sister.”
“Mm-hmm… Yanyu is my sister.”
“So you two look the same?”
“Right… why?” she asked, growing curious at his line of questioning.
Something seemed to briefly amuse him, and the corner of Naihe’s lips lifted slightly into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. With a trace of sarcasm, he said, “So foolish… Turns out the people of the Demon Realm really are a bunch of shallow fools.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
He lowered his gaze and looked at her. “Nothing.”
With that, he furrowed his brow slightly and crouched down beside her, mimicking her posture as they both stared into the clear water. He said no more.
Fengguang couldn’t stand the strange silence. In a soft voice, she asked, “Naihe, are you planning to sit here and enjoy the view with me?”
“Why not?” Naihe turned his head and looked at her with calm, unreadable eyes. “Yun Ji isn’t worth you drinking the River of Forgetfulness. He’s not good enough for you.”
Junyu isn’t good enough for you either.
Fengguang’s face turned a little awkward—her own weak, impulsive thoughts had been seen right through. She awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and muttered, “I was just thinking about it, that’s all… It’s not like I was planning to drink it.”
“Is that so?” Naihe’s black eyes were deep and inscrutable. Under that gaze, it felt like no secret could remain hidden.
Fengguang felt an inexplicable pressure. She looked everywhere but at him. She coughed once and raised her voice in mock bravado, “I didn’t come here for the River of Forgetfulness, okay? This place is your turf, isn’t it? I came to see you on purpose. Be moved.”
Naihe didn’t reply.
She found his silence strange and looked up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Naihe said, shifting his eyes away from her face to stare out over the calm, still lake.
He was just remembering something.
Five hundred years ago, she had smiled and said, “Let’s get married in our next life.”
Back then, Naihe had known it was just a joke, just a casual thing she said. Just like now, when she said one thing but felt another.
But somehow… he had remembered those words all these years.
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 1