Chapter 42: Little Yue

As fragmented memories flooded my mind, I suddenly recalled the reason for my resentment and hatred toward Yang Jian: I had discovered a certain illicit ambiguity between him and my best friend, Xiao Yue.

With this thought, I immediately asked Teacher Yang to consult the Dragon-Seeking Ruler. The ruler confirmed that an improper relationship did indeed exist between them, and that there had even been a time when the Jade Emperor intended to arrange their marriage.

That night, I asked Wang Xinyue to help me establish a telepathic connection with Yang Jian, as I needed to get to the bottom of everything.

Wang Xinyue pointed her phone camera at a photograph of Yang Jian and said, "Little sister, we can begin. What would you like to say to him? I will facilitate the connection."

Wang Xinyue fixed her gaze on the image of Yang Jian, focusing intently on the mental link. In an instant, the surface of the photo seemed to be brushed by a light breeze, rippling with delicate golden light. As the radiance flowed, Yang Jian’s figure gradually shifted from blurriness to clarity. He appeared as if he had crossed the boundaries of time and space, standing in a realm shrouded in clouds and mist.

My thoughts churned. I asked the question that weighed most heavily on my heart: "Brother Jian, do you like Xiao Yue?"

The Yang Jian in the photo seemed flustered, unsure of how to respond.

Wang Xinyue grew impatient. "Why are you stammering? Yu is asking you a question; answer her quickly."

In the end, Yang Jian had no choice but to admit, "Many girls in the Divine Realm liked me. Among all the girls who had feelings for me, she is the only one I have ever loved. Later, for various reasons, the Jade Emperor intended to arrange a marriage between us."

If I had clung to any shred of hope or fantasy that this was all a misunderstanding—that the Yang Jian who loved and cherished me could not possibly have feelings for another woman—that fantasy now shattered like a bubble under the sun.

One was Xiao Yue, my closest friend in the Divine Realm with whom I shared everything; the other was the boyfriend I thought of day and night. Yet, without my knowledge, they had been seeing each other behind my back.

I forced myself to clench my teeth, suppressing the tears that threatened to overflow, and maintained a steady voice as I continued to press him: "When the Jade Emperor proposed the marriage, were you secretly longing to marry her?"

Yang Jian’s gaze flickered. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly uttered four words: "I had expectations."

He lowered his head in the photo, looking somewhat ashamed. "But Xiao Yue never agreed. Later, for certain reasons, the marriage proposal was withdrawn by the Jade Emperor."

At his words, my heart felt as if it had been dragged into a bottomless ice cellar, sinking and freezing into frost. I suddenly realized that if Xiao Yue had agreed to the marriage back then, Yang Jian would have surely married her with a heart full of joy.

Wang Xinyue, known as the romantic talent of the Heavenly Court, could see right through Yang Jian’s mind. She chided him, "Only single-minded devotion leads to a harmonious family. A family built on divided loyalties will only fall apart."

Yang Jian paused and said, "I suddenly realize you have grown."

Wang Xinyue spoke earnestly, "Since you have a fiancée, you should keep your distance from other women."

"What you say makes sense. I will do so," Yang Jian continued. "I realize now that my heart has always been with Yu. She is the one I truly love."

Hearing these words brought me not a shred of joy. Regardless of whom Yang Jian truly loved, the fact that he was mentally wandering toward Xiao Yue while he was in a relationship with me was an immutable, ironclad truth.

As it turns out, the entire world is just a giant, thirty-second library.

When I first started seeing Yang Jian, I didn't love him deeply; I merely felt more affection for him than for a friend. At that time, I could have moved forward or stepped back with equal ease. My feelings for him had grown slowly over hundreds of thousands of years. If Yang Jian had told me from the start that he liked Xiao Yue, I would have felt sad and disappointed, but I wouldn't have been as heartbroken as I am now. I would have stepped aside gracefully to let them be together; perhaps, in the time that followed, I would have found another true love and lived a happy life. But Yang Jian chose to hesitate and vacillate between two women, unwilling to speak, reluctant to let me go, yet unable to give up on Xiao Yue.

Only now do I understand why I felt such resentment toward him. If you couldn't marry me, why did you pursue me? If you won my heart, why were you involved with someone else? If you were involved with someone else, why wouldn't you break up with me, only to turn around and ask for my hand in marriage?

I wept for an entire night, learning for the first time that I, too, could be kept awake all night by a man, crying my heart out.

That night, Yang Jian stood by my bed, looking utterly helpless. His eyes were filled with pain and indescribable guilt. He slowly reached out his hands—hands accustomed to wielding a sword—to wipe away my tears, but I stubbornly turned my head away, choking out with firm resolve: "Yang Jian, let's break off our engagement!"

Yang Jian panicked, his voice laced with unprecedented desperation: "Yu, give me another chance. Please don't give up on me."

The next morning, with my eyes red and swollen from crying all night, I started a video call with Teacher Xing. As the screen lit up, I took a deep breath and said with firm determination, "Teacher Xing, I have decided. I want to perform the ritual at the Daoist temple to annul my engagement to Yang Jian."

Teacher Xing, who had always been impatient with matters of romance, said coldly, "Think it over carefully. Once the engagement is broken, there is no turning back."

Teacher Yang appeared on the other side of the phone and sighed. "You should wait until you return to the Divine Realm. If you break it off now, what if you discover later that it was all a misunderstanding?"

I replied with grief and indignation, "What misunderstanding? Where could there be a misunderstanding? He was clearly involved with Xiao Yue; how could I be wrong about that?"

In the end, they urged me to hold back and wait for the situation to unfold. If I broke the engagement out of impulse, what if I were falling into someone else's trap?

After my outburst, I calmed down. If there really were some misunderstanding, my primordial spirit would blame me later.

Fine. I would wait until I returned to the Divine Realm and recovered all my memories. Then I would know exactly what had happened, and it wouldn't be too late to discuss annulling the engagement with my father then.

Yang Jian has a reincarnated avatar on Earth, a top-tier celebrity with incredibly handsome looks. I hadn't paid much attention to this star before, but after learning he was Yang Jian's avatar, I started following him. I had saved many videos of him on Douyin, but now, I deleted them one by one.

Then, I began browsing Douyin aimlessly, looking for new, handsome stars. There are countless handsome men in the world; why must I hang myself on a crooked tree like Yang Jian? Other male stars are clearly quite charming as well!

I had only focused on Yang Jian's avatar before. It wasn't worth it! It truly wasn't worth it!

I silently resolved that from now on, I would spread my affection far and wide.

I announced my discovery of Yang Jian’s infidelity in our Kunlun group chat.

Zhong Yang: [I actually thought Yang Jian was one of the few good men in the Divine Realm. Turns out...]

Yu: [Let the illusions shatter! None of these men are any good!]

Ding Yuan: [I never expected this from Yang Jian.]

Wang Xinyue: [Little sister, when I connected with him last night, I felt this shouldn't be blamed solely on Yang Jian. That Xiao Yue is no good!]

Yu: [But when the Jade Emperor proposed the marriage, Xiao Yue refused. Maybe she refused because she felt guilty toward me?]

This was exactly what puzzled me. If Xiao Yue had been seducing Yang Jian, why would she refuse the Jade Emperor's decree? Yang Jian already liked her, and with the Emperor's blessing, she clearly had the chance to be with him.

Wang Xinyue: [I’ve seen many of these women's tricks. When a woman says 'no,' it isn't always sincere; it could be a tactic of 'retreating to advance.' After all, you are her best friend. If she had immediately married your boyfriend, what would others in the Divine Realm think of her? Based on my intuition as Lu Dongbin, this Xiao Yue must be a top-tier, manipulative 'green tea' bitch!]

Ding Yuan: [I think Xiao Yue might have been a bit manipulative, but she probably isn't that evil!]

Zhong Yang: [Ding Yuan, why are you speaking up for a mistress?]

Ding Yuan didn't reply.

Wang Xinyue: [Everyone knows that I, Lu Dongbin, am a major playboy in the Divine Realm; I admit it myself. But if even a playboy like me looks down on Xiao Yue, she must be a woman of such rotten character that even I find her despicable.]

Zhong Yang: [Ah! Then why did Yang Jian fall for a woman like that?]

Wang Xinyue: [She has her ways! Men are like that; they always want both the fish and the bear's paw. If they fall for two people, they try to marry one while keeping the other. Little sister, once you’ve had a good cry, you’ll realize it was worth it. Once you’ve cried through the pains of love and seen the rights and wrongs clearly, your feelings will slowly fade. The things you stop caring about are exactly the things that will eventually come to you.]

Just as she said, after crying it all out last night, my affection for Yang Jian did indeed begin to fade. No wonder they say that once a woman is hurt by a man, her love diminishes in stages. Once the love vanishes entirely, she can turn and walk away, never looking back.

After a day, my mood had shifted from the morning's indignant resolve to break the engagement to a gradual sense of peace.

I suddenly thought: perhaps Yang Jian and Xiao Yue were truly in love, and it was only my presence as the official girlfriend that kept them apart. Should I let go and fulfill their happiness?

I pursed my lips and stood before Yang Jian’s photo. "Brother Jian, I know you are in there. I have something to say to you."

I weighed my words carefully. "I have been with you for over a hundred thousand years, yet you never thought to marry me, while you did want to marry Xiao Yue. This shows that she is the one you love most in your heart. I am willing to give you a chance to take it back. You can annul our engagement and be with Xiao Yue. I don't mind, and I don't blame either of you. I will slowly let you go. If you are worried about my father, I can take the initiative and tell him that I am the one who chose to end the engagement."

With this, Yang Jian should be happy now, right? I had always worried that we had been together for so long that he was only marrying me out of a sense of duty, forcing himself to give up on Xiao Yue.

Now, I had given him the chance to be with her. He should make the most of it!

Thinking of this, a heavy stone seemed to lift from my heart. I exhaled deeply, relaxed, and went to bathe and sleep.

Without love, the body feels light. I lay on the soft pillow and drifted off before long.

Suddenly, Yang Jian’s voice echoed in my ears. It wasn't his usual deep, magnetic tone, but one that was hoarse and choked with emotion, filled with pain and sorrow: "Heart... pain."

Woken by this sudden voice, I slowly opened my eyes, instinctively reaching up to rub my ear.

My mind was still clouded by sleep, and I pondered in confusion: What did Yang Jian just say...?

"...Menstrual pain?"

"It must be 'heart-to-heart' or 'heartache,' right?" Wang Xinyue replied.

"It must be heartache. Surely Yang Jian wasn't telling you he had menstrual cramps?" Teacher Yang replied.

Because I was confused by the two words Yang Jian said to me that night, I asked them to help me analyze it.

I pouted. "Why would he have 'heartache'? I thought he would be overjoyed that I fulfilled his wish to be with Xiao Yue, and grateful for my understanding!"

Just as I was replying to them, Zhong Yang sent a WeChat message: "Xiao Qian, I have to tell you something, but please don't get upset."

"What is it?" Even with Yang Jian cheating, what else could possibly upset me?

"It seems Ding Yuan is Xiao Yue."

"What?" I was so shocked I nearly jumped from my chair, and quickly replied to Zhong Yang: "Are you sure?"

"Ding Yuan sensed it herself; she hasn't asked the Dragon-Seeking Ruler yet."

"I'll ask Teacher Yang." I quickly contacted Teacher Yang, asking her to consult the Dragon-Seeking Ruler, impatient to know if it was true.

Very soon, the Dragon-Seeking Ruler gave the answer: Yes.

I told Zhong Yang the result, knowing she would pass it on to Ding Yuan.

Sure enough, a moment later, Zhong Yang’s message arrived: "Ding Yuan says she doesn't know how to face you."

To be honest, my own heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions. I truly didn't know how I would face Ding Yuan from now on.

Just then, another message came from Wang Xinyue: "Little sister, Yang Jian just came to me. He says he wants to connect with you and tell you the whole story about what happened with Xiao Yue, from beginning to end."