Chapter Twenty-Nine

In the attic, the entire decor was bathed in shades of purple, ranging from the deepest hues to the palest, from translucent to opaque. Even from the furnishings alone, one could see the painstaking care invested in this room.

Slender, fair fingers gently caressed the photograph of the girl. The girl’s smile bloomed like a flower, her violet eyes as lively as those of a sprite, sparkling with endless joy. The fingers traced back and forth over her cherry blossom lips; those rose-colored lips lifted into a gentle, beguiling arc.

Soft lips parted. “How could I ever let go?” The whisper, as light as a sigh, drifted away on the night breeze.

Maria sat on the vine-woven swing, a newspaper in her hands, idly flipping through its pages. Suddenly, her hand paused, and a satisfied curve graced her lips, a trace of happiness brightening her face, making her entire countenance glow.

On the top floor of Bluetear

Yingyue stood quietly, gazing silently into the distance.

Xiahou Yu arrived to find that solitary figure, as if she might be swept away by the wind at any moment. He lowered his gaze to the bouquet of blue enchantresses in his hand, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.

Yes, it was laughable and exasperating, because this bouquet clearly had five fresh flowers added to the previous arrangement—he could still see the petals of the original seven, slightly withered now.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, he walked over to Yingyue.

“Yingyue, you have a delivery.”

Yingyue turned. When she saw the bouquet of blue enchantresses in Xiahou Yu’s hand, she was momentarily stunned. She took it and gazed at the mix of old and new blossoms, gently touching each one—were there really twelve in total? She took out the card.

“Wishing you happiness.

No! No! No! It should be us, my dear! My rose lover, I want to tease you, tempt you, cherish you, indulge you! I want you to be my blue elf, to lift your proud smile to the world and soar through the sky of love.”

It was the same card as before, but now, beneath Yingyue’s message, another line had been added. In the lower right corner, a flying kiss was drawn, resembling a blooming rose.

Yingyue gave a helpless, bitter smile. Was he too poor to buy flowers, or too poor to buy paper?

Yet her fingers lingered on the last line—“I want you to be my blue elf, to lift your proud smile to the world and soar through the sky of love”—and her lips curved in a smile of pure happiness. She didn’t even realize how radiant her smile had become.

Xiahou Yu watched the joy on Yingyue’s face and sighed inwardly. As expected, Yingyue’s heart still held him. No matter how much she insisted she hated him, no matter how much she feared his nearness and his persistence, deep down, the only thing that remained was her profound love for him.

Perhaps even she herself didn’t know; every time she spoke of her hatred, her expression was so pained. When she spoke of leaving him, her reluctance was so plain.

Indeed, no matter what happened, Yingyue’s feelings for Arthur were always complicated, but beneath that complexity, there was always that fluttering, heart-stopping love. And Arthur, despite everything he had done, still couldn’t let go of Yingyue, still loved her. He had said he would, but in the end, he was undone by a single smile from Yingyue.

Xiahou Yu opened his mouth to speak, wanting to tell Yingyue that it was Arthur she loved, that it always had been, and that she shouldn’t keep lying to herself. But then he remembered his promise to someone else, remembered the pain and reluctance in that person’s eyes when he’d asked him to look after Yingyue. In the end, he said nothing.

Let it be. It was best they spoke to each other face to face. If Arthur hadn’t said anything yet, he must have his reasons.

Ah, love—it truly is a torment. Helplessly, he rubbed his nose.