Chapter Seventy-Four: She Has Never Existed in His World

Despite everything, from childhood to adulthood, Ma Qingyun always warned Ma Xue’e that their mother had perished because of their father, and their father would never spare the two siblings. Because of him, they carried the shameful bloodline, but in their father’s heart, they were thorns in his side, ones he yearned to eliminate.

Ma Xue’e never truly believed that the father, whose face she could not even recall, would wish them dead. If he truly regarded them as sworn enemies, why had he allowed them to escape? At that time, they left their home, journeying from the northernmost Dingbei Circuit by horse and by boat to this Annan Circuit. One was only eight, the other merely four—how could their fathomless father have let such young children slip so easily from his grasp and sight?

He must have deliberately let us go!

Her father surely would not, as her brother said, resolve to see them dead...

Ma Xue’e clung stubbornly to this belief. She never truly saw that man as her enemy. Thus, she did not fear leaving Annan Circuit; deep within her, she even harbored a faint hope, a longing to meet him again.

Perhaps, when that day comes, he would embrace her and her brother and say, “My children, you’ve suffered.”

Ma Qingyun was oblivious to his sister’s tender hopes, nor did he know she only pretended to dislike their father to avoid upsetting him.

He only knew that this time, he would truly be separated from Su Meng.

He could not stop them from leaving, nor did he have a reason to make them stay. All he could do was release his hold, letting Su Meng slip from his sight for now.

After Su Meng announced her decision and left the hall, Ma Qingyun stared coldly at her now-empty stool, a faint sneer curling his lips.

He set down his chopsticks, cleansed his hands in the white porcelain bowl, and stepped out of the hall as well.

Gazing at the twilight sky above the courtyard, Ma Qingyun quietly clenched his hand beneath his sleeve. He murmured, “This time, I’ll let you leave my sight. When I’ve arranged everything and gained enough strength to depart Annan Circuit, wherever you are, I’ll find you. Then, I will never let you leave me again!”

He paused, his expression darkening, voice growing colder as though recalling something.

“If someone gets there before me, I won’t hesitate to deal with him! In the end, you can only belong to me...”

No one heard Ma Qingyun’s muttered words. Not even he would know that fate is ever predestined, unalterable by anyone’s will.

Even those who ultimately succeed do so only because their success was fated.

People often say, “My fate is mine, not heaven’s.” They defy destiny, refuse to accept it, fight against it, unaware that even their rebellion is part of fate.

The world is full of strange and wondrous things; no one can confidently deny the existence of the divine.

Perhaps everyone is led by that supreme being.

Ma Qingyun would never know how far his possessiveness toward Su Meng would grow—how it would drive him mad, rob him of reason, make him betray everything.

The saddest thing is to become the very person you most despise and loathe.

Yet the wheel of fate had begun to turn long before they ever met, and everything was advancing toward the unknown, inevitable end—inescapable, unavoidable.

Inside the hall, only Luo Changning, Ma Xue’e, and the big clumsy bear remained.

Except for the carefree bear, still munching noisily from the basin, the other two had lost their appetite.

Luo Changning watched Ma Xue’e resting her chin on her chopsticks, listless and dull. He found her adorable, but also felt a touch of sadness and helpless affection.

He stood, walked over, and gently rubbed the crown of her head.

With warmth, he said, “What’s wrong? Still unhappy? It’s not as if you’ll never see each other again—you’ll meet again someday.”

At his words, Ma Xue’e’s small shoulders drooped even further. Her fair little chin, poked by her chopsticks, was turning red.

Pouting, she mumbled, “You say we’ll meet again, but who knows when that will be? By then, perhaps you’ll have forgotten me completely, Changning brother...”

At this, Ma Xue’e finally lifted her chin from the chopsticks and looked up at Luo Changning with pitiful eyes, her almond-shaped eyes full of grievance.

She asked, “By then, will you forget Xue’e? Will we still be friends? Will you still see me as your little sister?”

Seeing the petite girl, barely reaching his chest, gazing at him so forlornly, Luo Changning felt his heart melt.

He smiled, ruffling her hair more vigorously. “Of course not. How could I forget such an adorable Xue’e? You’ll always be my friend, my little girl, my Xue’e sister!”

Hearing Luo Changning’s heartfelt promise, Ma Xue’e finally felt her spirits lift, the heaviness fading away.

Changning brother said she would always be his friend, his little girl, his sister—how wonderful!

With this thought, Ma Xue’e’s mood grew brighter, though years later, recalling this day, her heart would be filled with endless sorrow and longing.

How she wished she could be more than just his sister; she wanted more—she didn’t want to watch woman after woman stand by his side, perfectly matched, while she could only call him “Changning brother.”

After all, they were not truly siblings...

With Luo Changning’s promise, Ma Xue’e’s heart settled. She knew he was a man of his word, so she grew more unrestrained.

She raised her charming, proud smile and declared, “That’s settled then, Changning brother. You mustn’t go back on it, or I’ll never speak to you again!”

Looking at her radiant little face, Luo Changning felt joy swell within him. He reached out and gently pinched Ma Xue’e’s nose, doting, “If I have time, I’ll definitely visit you in Qingyang County!”

He had come from another world, lived twelve years in Qingyang County, and made many friends and brothers. There were so many beautiful memories here—how could he leave and never return?

Besides, here lay his mother’s grave, far more familiar than the so-called ancestral home in Miaonan Circuit...

Because Luo Feng died in battle and his body was never recovered, Su Meng and the others never erected a tombstone for him—not even a cenotaph.

Firstly, there was no rightful claim; upon hearing of Luo Feng’s death, Su Qin Qin went mad. Among the three remaining elders, Luo Changning was still in swaddling clothes, Su Meng and Wen Rugong had no status to erect a tombstone for Luo Feng.

Secondly, Su Meng simply refused to accept that Luo Feng had died in battle.

In her heart, Luo Feng was always that upright, heroic man from their first meeting—never defeated by anything or anyone.

She stubbornly believed that as long as no tombstone was erected, Luo Feng was not truly dead. Perhaps he had vanished from the battlefield, perhaps he was wounded and rescued, perhaps they would never meet again in this life.

But he must still be alive somewhere, happy and well.

Only, she would never be part of his world...

Never in the past, present, or future...