Xie meekly nodded with a flushed face.
”Wow.”
”Please don’t make fun of me!” Xie Lua yelled to hide her embarrassment.
”When did I make fun of you?”
”You are grinning all over your face!”
”I can’t help it, okay? It’s just funny thinking someone as mature as you misunderstood a marriage proposal and then daydreamed about me. But I admit that it’s cute,” Zach said with a grin.
Xie Lua’s face flushed even more as her eyes got teary out of embarrassment. She couldn’t take it anymore, which was visible on her face.
”Listen, I am in no way making fun of you. I promise on Zoe’s name. And it’s just… uhhh… I don’t know how to describe this feeling, but it’s kind of a mix of pleasure or… love and lust.”
Xie Lua stepped back from her booth and said, “You lust after me?”
”No… Well, not until now. But you broke the boundaries, so I can’t help but see you as a…”
Xie Lua hugged herself and covered her chest with her hands.
”Can I ask if this is your first time loving someone?” Zach asked curiously.
”I am not answering any of your questions! And stay 10 meters away from me!”
”How can your husband give you a goodbye kiss if he stays 10 meters away from you?”
”You are not my husband!” XIe Lua hissed.
”But you thought of me as your husband, right? I am sure you also dreamed about running the magic shop together or something.”
Xie Lua’s face got even more red as Zach uncovered all her dreams. If she had one more of her dreams exposed, she would go insane.
”Okay, I will stop there. I am in no place to judge you. But would you answer my question, please?” Zach uttered in a calm voice.
”I… I never had a lover or someone I loved. I saw master as my father, and you are the only man I came to love so…” Xie Lua replied while stuttering.
”That makes me happy, but aren’t you over a thousand years old? How can you think of my father as your father?”
”To be honest…” Xie Lua walked back to her booth again and held Zach’s hand in her hand before continuing, “I… don’t remember anything about me. When your father found me 20 years ago, I was sealed inside a shrine. I had no memories of what I was before or who sealed me.”
”Who named you then? Father?”
”No.” Xie Lua shook her head and said, “My name was written on the shrine, so I used it as my name. Also, I was young. So when I say I am over a thousand years old, I am only 47 years old. I don’t know how old I was when I was sealed, but judging by my appearance when I was unsealed. I can say I was about your age at that time.”
”Hmm. Still, you are more than twice my age.” Zach rubbed his thumb on Xie Lua’s hand and asked, “How does it feel to love me?”
”You mean, how do I feel after watching you get along with other girls while I watch everything from a distance?”
”No. I want to know how it feels to love a boy who you gave blessings to when he was born, saved when he was eight years old, and now thinking about marrying him when he is 18 years old.”
”I don’t know how to answer that. For me, age doesn’t matter, just like every other high race who lives for thousands of years. But I understand what you are trying to say. I basically saw you grow up, and I even played a lot with you after you got my blessings. So I guess… I do feel a little excited after realizing our relationship can be considered immoral.”
”I didn’t expect you to answer honestly, not going to lie.” Zach kissed Xie Lua’s hand and asked, “So? What do you want to do?”
”About what?”
”Do you still want to marry me?” he asked with a gentle smile on his face, seemingly reassuring Xie Lua that he was serious.
”I… don’t know. I feel stupid after knowing it was a misunderstanding, but what’s done is done.” Xie Lua looked into Zach’s eyes with a confident look on her face and said, “I will keep loving you.”
”I feel flattered…” Zach couldn’t take his eyes off Xie Lua. He had started seeing her from a different perspective. Now, she was no longer his father’s friend or his mother’s acquaintance, or his benefactor; she was a girl who loved him wholeheartedly.
”What about you? Do you… love me?” Xie Lua asked hesitantly, seemingly afraid of knowing the answer.
”I… don’t know, honestly. I do like you as a person, and we have become good friends. But… I don’t think I love you in a romantic way. We had so many prior relationships, and after how you confessed to me just now, it’s… complicated. But I can promise you that I don’t mind being your husband. However—”
Xie Lua placed her finger on Zach’s lips and said, “No need to complete that sentence. I know what you are trying to say, so let me say it for you.”
After a brief pause, Xie Lua continued, “I won’t force you to love me back, nor do I want you to divert your attention from your goals. So first, clear this game, and we will advance our relationship after that, okay?
”Are you sure about that? Do you think you can hold your feelings till then?”
”They say love is a strange thing. It can give you a reason to live and take it away too.” Xie Lua smiled brightly at Zach and said, “For me, my love for you gave me a reason to live.”
’I don’t think I will be able to do that, though. And I am sure you wouldn’t be able to do that later.’
Zach noticed tears in Xie Lua’s eyes that she was trying her best not to show.
”…”
He pulled her close to him and grabbed her face without saying anything. Then, he pressed his lips on her lips and gave her a long kiss.
***
Total players in the game- 1,482,604
0 new players logged in.
9 players died.