"Deal."
The moment Wei Qing sent the message, he regretted it.
He stared at that single character on the jade communicator—so brief it was almost cold—his finger hovering in midair as he tried to recall it, only to realize it was already too late.
Because Jingliu's reply came back frighteningly fast, as if she'd been waiting for him the entire time.
[Jingliu: Okay.]
Wei Qing: "..."
He took a deep breath. After putting Undying Sever back into his mental storage, Wei Qing began thinking about how he was supposed to handle tonight's Hongmen Banquet—an invitation that felt suspiciously like a trap.
…
Night fell. The streets of Changle Heaven glittered with lights.
Wei Qing stood at the meeting spot—and from far away, he saw Jingliu.
She seemed… different today.
Usually she wore fitted combat attire or training clothes, but now she had changed into an elegant dress.
Not only that—she appeared to have put on a little makeup. The technique was clearly inexperienced, but somehow that very clumsiness made her look… unexpectedly cute?
Wei Qing felt like he was still asleep.
Me? Thinking Jingliu is cute?
After living for so many years, Wei Qing had never considered himself narcissistic—nor was he particularly dull.
During his time on the Luofu, he never assumed a girl liked him just because she treated him a little nicer than usual, like some puberty-struck kid imagining secret crushes everywhere.
And when it came to girls who truly did flirt with him, Wei Qing didn't pretend not to notice. He kept a polite distance—offering neither false hope nor public humiliation.
Because no matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn't change one fact:
He was an Emanator Lord of Destruction.
Who knew when he might have to disappear? Better not become a scumbag.
But Jingliu…
Jingliu was different.
Back in his previous life, Wei Qing had been intensely interested in her—white hair, red eyes, "cool older sister" archetype: she hit all the buttons.
Yet now that she existed in reality, Wei Qing always felt like she was a whole generation above him. And with that "keep-out" aura of hers, even though they'd had plenty of contact, he still thought they were only barely at the level of ordinary friends.
While Wei Qing was locked in inner turmoil, Jingliu had already walked up to him.
When her blood-red eyes settled on him, Wei Qing felt a kind of panic he'd never experienced before.
"You came." Jingliu's voice was still calm—but it held a trace more warmth than usual.
"Mm." Wei Qing answered stiffly, his gaze drifting away despite himself. "Uh… you today…"
"Do I look good?" Jingliu asked suddenly.
Wei Qing nearly choked on his own saliva.
He jerked his head up, meeting her serious eyes, and for a moment he genuinely didn't know how to respond.
"You look… very good," he answered truthfully.
"This is a gift I prepared for you." Jingliu produced a delicately made gift box from somewhere and offered it to him. "I hope you'll like it."
Wei Qing stared at the box—so carefully wrapped and styled—and his mind couldn't help drifting into fantasy.
No way… does Jingliu actually have feelings for me?
After hearing his "simp confession," she not only asked him out the very same night, she even prepared a gift with this much care.
If this kept going, he was really going to start imagining things.
But the moment Wei Qing opened the gift, that fantasy evaporated instantly.
Because inside the exquisite box was something that looked like a heart—poorly preserved, unsettling, and very much not meant for polite society.
If it were just a normal heart, Wei Qing might've still been able to delude himself a little. After all, given Jingliu's "character," a "cat bringing a dead mouse to someone it likes" move wouldn't be impossible.
But Wei Qing wasn't just anyone.
As an Emanator Lord of Destruction, he could clearly sense that this heart-like thing—this core—
came from a Destruction Voidranger.
Wei Qing: "..."
Honestly, at this point he was starting to think the system might not be the brain-dead one.
Maybe I'm the idiot.
Seeing that Wei Qing had no reaction for a long time after opening the gift, Jingliu finally spoke first, unable to hold back.
"I chose that gift for a long time. Do you like it?"
Wei Qing stared at the Voidranger heart, feeling his own heart tremble.
"Is this… some kind of artistic specimen?"
"…Yes. It's unexpected, but I actually like it." He lied with a straight face.
Jingliu tilted her head slightly, as if disagreeing with his phrasing.
"It's not a specimen. It's a trophy I selected deliberately."
"I thought you would like it. I even kept the most intact part."
Wei Qing swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing.
He couldn't understand how Jingliu could say something so terrifying without so much as blushing.
His face remained outwardly calm, but his fingers had already slid to the emergency contact list on his communicator—debating whether he should summon Jing Yuan for rescue.
This situation was too bizarre. He didn't even have the brain space left to care about that idiotic system quest.
"Want to go watch a movie?" Jingliu asked.
Before Wei Qing could answer, she continued.
"A movie?"
"Mm. There's a showing tonight of the popular film 'Star River Love Song'. If you're interested, we can watch it together."
Wei Qing began to wonder if Jingliu had been possessed.
Star River Love Song was currently the hottest romance film in the Xianzhou Alliance—about a Cloud Knight soldier and an ordinary girl, and their love story across the sea of stars.
"Um… Jingliu." Wei Qing chose his words carefully. "Are you sure you want to watch that?"
Jingliu nodded, seemingly not noticing how strange he'd become. "Mm. I looked up recommendations online."
Oh, wow.
What kind of "recommendations" did she look up—date guides?
Wei Qing suddenly realized that Jingliu might genuinely be trying to go on a date with him.
It was just that this icy Sword Champion wasn't exactly skilled at human interaction… and her approach was, well, a little special.
Besides—someone as mentally healthy, ethically upright, talented, and universally beloved as him had long since become accustomed to a life of popularity.
Anyway, he was already here. He might as well see what exactly the Sword Champion intended to do.
"Alright." Wei Qing nodded. "I've heard of that film too. I just never had the chance to see it."
But before Jingliu could respond, his tone shifted.
"However… Jing Yuan told me that earlier this evening, you and the General ran into us?"
"Cough. The things I said—did you… hear all of it?"
He didn't mean anything else by it. He just wanted to explain that he'd only been joking with Jing Yuan at the time.
Jingliu's reaction had been unexpected, but Wei Qing still didn't want to get branded as a hopeless simp for no reason.
Hearing that, Jingliu paused—just slightly.
"No." She tucked the loose hair at her forehead behind her ear, her face faintly flushed. "…I didn't hear anything."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 74)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter20)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter30)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter30)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter30)
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