Chapter 32: Do You Believe in Fate?
This time, Xie Linzhou laughed.
A real laugh, amused and entertained.
"Interesting," he said, voice curling at the edges with familiarity. "You still carry the same tone as back then."
Ling Yu’s hand stilled.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his.
"I didn’t expect to meet you here, Former Princess Rui."
He reached for the wine glass, swirling it slowly. "I’m surprised to see you still walk with such dignity. I heard the Emperor himself signed your name off the royal ledger. And you scammed that old man out of a huge amount of money? That was such good news, tsk, tsk, tsk." Xie Linzhou clicked his tongue, pretending to be sorry, but actually being sarcastic.
"Stop being sarcastic unless you don’t want your head over your shoulder anymore."
He studied her like a critic eyeing a flawed masterpiece. "But honestly, I think you’re just wasting your time here. You have presence. Precision. You could be in front of cameras, or at the very least, at my side."
"Is that a personal offer coming from the Film Mughal? If so, then sorry, give it to others. I don’t need it."
"Come on now, don’t be so quick at rejecting me, former princess. Let me offer you something," he continued. "An assistant role. No one needs to know who you are. A stable salary, clean hours, your own space.
No scrutiny. Besides, I can give you the safety you need, precisely away from the Royal family."
"What are you? Don’t tell me you are really what those fans say about you? Some illegitimate royal from other Empires?"
"What! No way, don’t even joke about that!"
"I was just joking, though, it’s you who panicked for nothing. Don’t blame me now."
"I don’t need a name they already tarnished," Ling Yu said softly.
He chuckled. "Still prideful, huh?"
"Moreover, I don’t take pity offers," she said quietly. "Especially not from people who need saving themselves."
He blinked.
’Saving? How do I need to be saved? Aren’t I perfectly fine just now?’ Xie Linzhou frowned as he mumbled quietly. "Don’t jinx it..."
"Sit," He said as he looked up at her.
"I’m working." Ling Yu had already finished serving and was now about to leave.
From the servings he ordered, she could tell that he had invited some more people who would join him later on. And she didn’t have any wish to get entangled in some kind of gossip or such things.
"Then consider it work. Sit." It seemed Xie Linzhou was stuck on refusing to let her leave.
Ling Yu hesitated, but finally slid into the chair opposite him, keeping her back straight and hands on her lap. The table separated them, yet she felt his presence pressing in like velvet smoke.
Xie Linzhou leaned back into the sofa, wine forgotten. "Once you were Princess Rui. Respected, feared, cold as winter snow, cruel with words and with justice. And now... You serve tea and wear someone else’s uniform."
Ling Yu didn’t flinch. "It pays the bills."
"Your voice doesn’t tremble. Even now, sitting with someone you probably watched on the big screen."
"I don’t watch much TV."
"Good," he said, leaning closer, elbow on the table. "Then you won’t be disappointed by the real thing."
Ling Yu didn’t answer. She didn’t shift either. Her heartbeat remained steady.
That seemed to amuse him even more.
The candlelight flickered between them like a quiet tension. Xie Qingran’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Why refuse me so quickly, Ling Yu? Most people would beg for an offer like this."
"You and I both know why." She stepped back, preparing to bow out and leave. "I’m not most people."
And he wasn’t either.
In her last life, he had become a ghost.
Even so, right now, her priority wasn’t him, but the series of notifications ringing in her head.
Ling Yu’s jaw tensed for a split second.
After the Cataclysm, after the heavens split and monsters descended, Xie Linzhou was exposed as an Awakened. Not just any Awakened, but a Mind Dominator of terrifying power. His calm beauty had hidden a monstrous willpower that could crush thoughts, enslave minds, and rearrange memories like puzzle pieces. He could turn a man against his lover with a whisper, or make armies slaughter themselves without lifting a blade.
His beauty became his most destructive weapon, manipulating and stringing people, using them like a puppet.
Even now, Ling Yu can almost see the Silver status screen he has, even without using her skill to take a peek at it.
Since using the skills for too long drains her stamina, Ling Yu didn’t prefer using the skill on him, whose powers she already knew about.
However, she also knew that his glory didn’t last long.
Signing himself with the Awakeners Association was the biggest mistake in his life. One that led him to his death pitifully.
Those association bastards used him until their dirty deeds were exposed, and then they put him out in the light, blaming all the false charges on him and branding him as a criminal, killing him in a crossfire.
Xie Linzhou tilted his head as he smirked mischievously. "You’re too calm, Former Princess. Most people either want to be me or be near me. Considering your status, we can be friends, you could’ve been shown a more eager expression, you know?"
"I want neither," Ling Yu replied softly.
He grinned.
"Now, now. That’s a rare answer."
Suddenly, he stood up. It wasn’t a dramatic movement, just fluid, smooth. But it brought him close, far too close. Ling Yu instinctively stood as well, ready to leave, but he stepped to the side instead and walked past her toward the tall window that overlooked the city.
"Do you believe in fate, Former Princess?" he asked, back turned.
"...No."
"Then what do you believe in?"
Ling Yu’s voice was colder than the chilled wine. "Survival."
Xie Linzhou turned around, arms folded.
In that moment, their eyes locked. And something passed between them.