Chapter 129: A Lifetime of Devotion

“When you were working, the landlady told me, and even explained what a time traveler means. Jun Ma, you’re a time traveler, aren’t you?” Xin Zhu asked seriously.

Ming Tian’s heart tightened involuntarily.

The landlady?

That proud and aloof lady had actually told Xin Zhu such a thing.

There was nothing particularly special about being a time traveler; the only reason Ming Tian hadn’t mentioned it was because he saw no need to.

But he hadn’t expected that the landlady would be so eager to stir up trouble.

What was her purpose? Deliberately arranging for Xin Zhu to sleep in his room, and even telling her about the time traveler identity?

At that moment, Ming Tian felt as if the landlady was hiding something from him.

“Yes,” after a long silence, Ming Tian finally chose to admit, “I am a time traveler. I come from fifteen hundred years in the future.”

“Just as I thought.”

Hearing this, Xin Zhu could no longer hold back; she pulled her hand away from Ming Tian’s and buried herself under the quilt, weeping.

What was she crying about?

“Xin Zhu?” Seeing her cry like this, though unsure why, Ming Tian couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. He slipped out from under the quilt and came over to her side. “Xin Zhu, what’s wrong?”

He lifted the quilt and saw Xin Zhu curled into a ball, covering her mouth with her hand. Tears were streaming down, soaking the bedding beneath her.

“Xin Zhu, what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

She sobbed, her bright, reddened eyes full of reluctance.

“The landlady said it was true. She said that after time travelers complete a thing called the ‘Great Achievement,’ they leave this world. Is that true?”

Watching Xin Zhu cry like that, Ming Tian was stunned.

What on earth had that damned Wei Jingjing said to her? She even told Xin Zhu about the Great Achievement?

Seeing Ming Tian silent, Xin Zhu cried even harder. She stood up, grabbed Ming Tian’s hand, and pleaded, “Jun Ma, please don’t leave me. I beg you, don’t leave me… In my whole life, no one has ever fought for me the way you do, not even my father. No matter how hard I tried, even going into battle, no one ever acknowledged me.”

She looked up, clutching Ming Tian’s hand as if summoning all her strength. Ming Tian, with his decent arm strength, even felt a bit of pain.

“Jun Ma, you are the only one besides An Luo who has been kind to me. I beg you, I’m willing to do anything as long as you don’t leave me. Even if… even if you want me tonight… I’m willing. I may not have experience, but I will try to satisfy you, just please don’t leave me.”

Xin Zhu’s tone was earnest. Her plea showed how deeply she depended on Ming Tian.

What… what had she been through?

Faced with her tear-streaked face, Ming Tian felt a pang of guilt.

Though he said he sincerely loved Xin Zhu, he had never even tried to understand her past.

She had carefully noted his speech habits, yet he didn’t even know why she cried so bitterly.

What had happened to her that made her so afraid of him leaving?

Without a word, Ming Tian pulled his hand free from hers.

Xin Zhu shuddered, thinking Ming Tian was going to reject her. A flicker of despair appeared in her eyes.

But the next moment, warmth fell upon her icy skin.

Ming Tian cupped her delicate face, gently wiping away her tears with his thumb, over and over, with painstaking care. His smile was tender and full of affection.

“I’m sorry. I keep saying I love you, but I don’t understand you at all. I’m sorry… I promise, I won’t leave you.”

In a soft voice, Ming Tian spoke his vow with utmost sincerity.

“Re… really?” Xin Zhu seemed to be dreaming, barely daring to believe it.

Ming Tian nodded and pulled the small figure into his embrace.

“Really!” He smiled faintly. “Besides, the landlady surely didn’t tell you the details of the Great Achievement. You know, I’ve already completed one Great Achievement in Yangzhou.”

“Completed?”

Held in his arms, Xin Zhu was still too stunned by this sudden news to feel the warmth of Ming Tian’s chest. “Jun Ma, you say you completed the Great Achievement? Then why did you…”

“Because I refused.”

Calmly, Ming Tian grasped her shoulders, smiling gently.

Hearing that Ming Tian rejected the Great Achievement, Xin Zhu was even more puzzled. “Rejected? Why?”

“Because here, there’s An Luo, and there’s you.”

Looking at her, Ming Tian lightly brushed her adorable nose.

“In my original time, I had nothing. Coming to this era, I met you, An Luo, and Yin Chan. Tell me, how could I bear to leave? I just don’t understand which fool cried without asking anything first, just by themselves—a crybaby.”

Those words made Xin Zhu’s pretty face flush crimson. She lowered her head and gently tapped Ming Tian’s chest with her hand. “I… I wasn’t crying.”

Softly, Ming Tian caught the hand that tapped him and hugged her again, this time with all his strength.

Feeling the tight, almost suffocating embrace, Xin Zhu finally broke into a smile, closing her eyes in bliss to savor the moment.

The hug lasted a long while.

Outside the door, Wei Jingjing, who had been eavesdropping while leaning against the doorframe, smiled mysteriously.

Beside her stood the bath attendant, Yun Yufei.

“Jingjing sister, why are you so biased towards this Ming Tian guy?” Yufei blinked her big eyes, curious but cautious.

Wei Jingjing smiled faintly, stroking Yufei’s soft, cat-like head affectionately. “We’re descendants of time travelers. The time travelers’ affairs don’t really concern us, but Yufei, with the Great Achievement approaching, we should repay some of the old debts left by our ancestors.”

As she spoke, she glanced sideways through the crack in the door at Ming Tian and Xin Zhu embracing.

“Yufei, you should have known how special he is before he arrived. And… don’t you think he looks a lot like my great ancestor, Wei Lai?”

Yun Yufei nodded, half understanding. “So that’s why you deliberately kept him for three days. But honestly, can we really help him much in just three days?”

“What help depends not on me,” Wei Jingjing said with a slight smile and turned away. “It depends on how much inspiration these three days of life can bring him in times of crisis later.”

…

Because Xin Zhu’s quilt was soaked from crying, she had no choice but to crawl into Ming Tian’s bed.

Holding the beauty in his arms, Ming Tian’s mind was calm.

Xin Zhu, like an inquisitive child, kept asking questions.

“Jun Ma, what’s the moon like in your time?”

“Hmm~ pretty much the same as now.”

“Oh… no wonder your cooking is so delicious. Are the foods in your future era all that tasty?”

“Of course. There are many things I haven’t even tried yet.”

“Tell me about your era, please?”

“Hmm, let me think… Back then, the roads were wide but crowded. We didn’t ride horses; we used something called cars, and something else called airplanes. Airplanes are amazing. How amazing? Let me tell you the story of a crow flying on an airplane, and you’ll know…”

And so, chatting away, Ming Tian held Xin Zhu as they both drifted off to sleep.

That night, they both slept peacefully and happily.