Not far away.
Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly.
Her gaze never left the sky.
Looking at my younger self in the picture, so bravely expressing my love, so happily nestled in the boy's arms.
Her eyes had become moist without her noticing.
envious.
She was actually envying herself in that other world.
It turns out that she wasn't born to be so cold, nor was she born to encase herself in a hard shell.
She was once a little girl who could be coquettish, blush, and love someone unconditionally.
only.
In this world, no one gave her such an opportunity.
In the celestial scene, the light and shadow did not end with that warm embrace.
The dark forest gradually quieted down.
The warm atmosphere froze instantly because of the boy's next words.
The Dark World, Xingluo Square.
Countless people are waiting for the boy's answer.
It was probably a shy acceptance, or a bold and ambitious promise.
After all, this is the script that childhood sweethearts should have.
However.
The young man Dai Mubai in the sky did not show the emotion that everyone expected.
He simply lowered his head.
Those double pupils held no trace of lust, but rather a clear, even scrutinizing gaze.
He reached out and gently pushed away Zhu Zhuqing's hand that was gripping the hem of her clothes.
The movement was not heavy.
But the refusal was obvious.
Young Dai Mubai looked at the girl he had just saved, his tone frighteningly calm:
"Marry me?"
"You are too weak right now."
Just a few simple words.
There was no mockery, no contempt; it was simply stating a fact.
Young Zhu Zhuqing was stunned; the light in her star-like eyes dimmed instantly.
Dai Mubai had his hands behind his back.
"My path is destined to be a thorny and bloody ascent to heaven."
"The woman I want is not a canary that can only hide behind me and tremble in fear."
The boy turned around, leaving the girl with a not-so-broad, but exceptionally upright, back view.
"First, learn how to survive in this cannibalistic world, become stronger, strong enough to keep up with me."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't even be qualified to stand beside me."
The words fell.
The scene did not become depressing as a result.
Instead, the camera gave a close-up of young Zhu Zhuqing.
She didn't cry.
The fear and vulnerability that had been in their eyes miraculously vanished at that moment.
She stared intently at the boy's departing figure, her small fists clenched until they turned white, her nails almost digging into her flesh.
A fire ignited in those dark eyes.
A fire called ambition.
"I will become stronger!"
The childish voice echoed through the dense forest, its firmness almost jarring.
The boy in the distance stopped and turned his head.
A smile finally appeared on his face.
It wasn't mockery, but a kind of waiting tinged with appreciation.
"good."
"I'll wait."
The image gradually faded, freezing on the backs of the two people standing one in front of the other.
...
Right now.
In the dark world, the entire continent fell into a deathly silence.
Immediately following was a commotion as loud as a volcanic eruption.
No one expected that Dai Mubai from that world would be so arrogant!
They actually refused?
And with this kind of reason!
Heavenly Dou Royal Academy
Dugu Yan's mouth dropped open, her alluring face filled with disbelief, followed by deep shock.
"So cool..."
"That's what a real man is like!"
"Unlike that blockhead Yu Tianheng, who only knows how to cultivate all day long and has no domineering spirit at all."
"Women need to be pampered, but they also need to grow. This Dai Mubai is so insightful."
Ye Lingling watched with wide, beautiful eyes.
"If I were Zhu Zhuqing, I would also cultivate with all my might."
"To be looked down upon by a man like this is a disgrace, but to be inspired by a man like this is a motivation."
"No wonder Zhu Zhuqing from the White World was able to become so strong later on; the root of the problem lies here."
The Spirit Hall, the Papal Palace.
Bibi Dong's grip on the scepter tightened slightly.
She looked at the sky, a complex light flashing in her eyes.
"Standing side by side..."
"Looking down upon the world..."
She murmured to herself.
Isn't this exactly what she once longed for most?
Unfortunately, that man couldn't give her that, and that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang was even less likely to give her that.
"This child is truly a born emperor."
Ju Douluo Yueguan stood to the side, her fingers delicately poised, her face full of amazement.
"Your Holiness, this little white tiger is quite interesting."
"At such a young age, his character is so resilient. He is unmoved by beauty and instead uses it to motivate her."
"This is simply monstrous."
Shrek Academy.
The people who were still immersed in the heartwarming scene just now had different expressions.
Oscar dropped the sausage from his mouth onto the ground.
"I can't do it anymore."
"This guy is such a good actor, and the key is that he does it so smoothly that I actually think he's right."
"Too weak..."
"If it were me, and Zhuqing said she wanted to marry me, I'd probably be ecstatic on the spot, and I wouldn't care whether she was weak or not."
Ma Hongjun also had a constipated expression on his face.
"That's the difference."
"If our Boss Dai had been this tough back then, Zhu Qing wouldn't have been so indifferent to him when she first came to the academy."
The two of them subconsciously looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who was not far away.
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing, the woman in the dark world, was trembling all over.
It's not because I'm angry.
It was because of excitement.
She stared intently at the sky, her breathing rapid and her chest heaving violently.
So that's how it is...
Did the version of myself in that world become stronger because of that sentence?
She glanced at Dai Mubai beside her, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.
Back then, Dai Mubai, besides running away and lingering among the flowers at the Rose Hotel, never gave her a single word of encouragement.
He never said the words "become stronger" to her.
He only knew he couldn't do it, so he ran away.
All the pressure was dumped on her while she was still in the Star Luo Empire.
"You are not as good as him."
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly spoke.
The voice was cold and very soft.
But to Dai Mubai, it sounded like a thunderclap.
Dai Mubai's face was ashen, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He wanted to argue.
I think Dai Mubai was just putting on an act.
But the words just wouldn't come out.
Because he too was awestruck by the boy's spirit.
That domineering aura—viewing beautiful women as withered bones and seeking only the Great Dao—was something he had never possessed before.
"I..."
Dai Mubai opened his mouth, but in the end he could only lower his head in dejection.
White world.
Xingluo Imperial Palace, back garden.
A group of beautiful women were sitting around the sky.
Xiao Wu held a carrot in her hand, took a bite, and stared wide-eyed at the stunningly beautiful woman sitting in the main seat.
"Sister Zhuqing, so that's how the boss tricked you into his heart back then?"
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