Chapter 604 - 491: What You Just Said, That’s Liking

It was another spring day.

In the spring of the young woman’s eighteenth year, the peach blossoms on the other peaks had all burst into bloom, painting the mountainsides in a riot of reds and purples.

Only the peach grove on the back mountain of Shallow Study Peak remained bare, without a single flower to grace its branches.

This was yet another spring the young woman did not like.

Then, one evening that spring.

While Tushan Jing Ci was at home reading, a dear classmate ran up to her courtyard, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Bei’er? What are you doing here? What’s wrong?"

Seeing her best friend crying her eyes out, Tushan Jing Ci was startled. She quickly opened the courtyard’s wicker gate and went to meet her.

"Jing Ci..."

Xu Bei’er’s eyes were red as she threw herself into Tushan Jing Ci’s arms, tears streaming down her face like pearls from a broken string.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. Take your time and tell me everything. I’m here."

Tushan Jing Ci gently patted Xu Bei’er’s back, her palm stroking her again and again, her voice soft and reassuring.

She led Xu Bei’er into her room and helped her sit down.

Once Xu Bei’er’s emotions gradually calmed, Tushan Jing Ci gently asked her what had happened.

It turned out that Xu Bei’er had fallen for a young man at the academy.

The man’s name was Xu Chu, the only son of the Wuyue Sect’s Sect Leader.

The two were deeply in love, and their families both felt the marriage was a good match in terms of social standing and were happy to see it happen.

But to everyone’s surprise, a conflict suddenly erupted between the Wuyue Sect and the Kuangbai Sect, plunging the two sides into a battle to the death.

In the end, the Wuyue Sect was defeated. The entire Sect collapsed, and its disciples scattered and fled.

Xu Chu had remained safe and sound only because he was still studying at Cold Mountain Academy and was under its protection.

After all, no matter how arrogant and domineering the Kuangbai Sect was, they wouldn’t dare to openly seize someone from Cold Mountain Academy.

Regardless, the Wuyue Sect was now no match for Xu Bei’er’s Haiyue Sect.

Upon learning this, Xu Bei’er’s father—the Sect Leader of the Haiyue Sect—had begun to consider breaking off the engagement to sever ties with the Wuyue Sect.

Meanwhile, Xu Chu felt that he was dragging Xu Bei’er down. Unwilling to let the woman he loved be branded as opportunistic and disloyal, he had taken the initiative to call off the engagement.

Xu Bei’er had only found out about this today.

Heartbroken and aggrieved, with nowhere to turn, she had run crying to her best friend to pour her heart out.

Tushan Jing Ci listened quietly, a complex look flashing in her eyes. She gently squeezed Xu Bei’er’s hand, unsure of what to say for a moment.

"I’ve made up my mind!"

After a good cry, Xu Bei’er shot to her feet and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Though her eyes were still red, her gaze grew firm.

"This engagement can’t be broken! Why should it be? I won’t let him break it! He thinks he can just call it off whenever he wants? What does that make me?! Jing Ci, don’t you agree?"

Seeing that her friend had come to a decision, Tushan Jing Ci’s lips curved into a smile and she nodded lightly. "Of course you’re right. Since he’s the one you love, Bei’er, what does it have to do with anyone else?"

"Exactly! That’s right!"

Buoyed by Jing Ci’s approval, Xu Bei’er’s spirits lifted even more, and she shook her dainty little fist.

"I’m going to go prepare. I’ll write a letter to my family. I am absolutely not backing out of this marriage."

"Then first thing tomorrow morning, I’m going to find him! I’ll make things crystal clear."

"If he dares to write another one of those damn annulment letters, I’ll break his legs!"

"Hehehe, that’s right! I’ll break his legs, and then I’ll carry him off as we elope!"

After saying this, Xu Bei’er herself laughed through her tears, the gloom in her heart seeming to clear up in an instant.

"Do you need me to go with you tomorrow?" Tushan Jing Ci asked, holding her hand, her tone gentle and sincere.

"No, no. If you came with me, I wouldn’t be able to speak my mind. I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of you." Xu Bei’er wiped the last of her tears away and squeezed her friend’s slender, soft hand in return. The gloom on her face had finally lifted for the most part.

"Oh, right."

Once her own matter was settled, something occurred to Xu Bei’er. Her thoughts turned to her friend, and she blinked as she looked Tushan Jing Ci over with curiosity.

"By the way, Jing Ci, do you really not have anyone you like?"

Xu Bei’er tilted her head, her tone full of interest. "You’re so beautiful. I’d say at least half the young men in Cold Mountain Academy admire you. All those scholars and young masters, they’re always finding new ways to express their feelings for you. Are you telling me not a single one has caught your eye?"

In Xu Bei’er’s opinion, there were plenty of young men of the Demon Race at Cold Mountain Academy with good family backgrounds, good looks, and outstanding talent.

And out of every ten of them, eight or nine secretly harbored feelings for Jing Ci, fawning over her both openly and covertly.

But what about Jing Ci? From start to finish, she hadn’t shown interest in a single one.

Xu Bei’er truly couldn’t understand it.

What’s more, Jing Ci was of the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox bloodline—logically speaking, a Nine-tailed Celestial Fox ought to be more sensitive to matters of love than any ordinary Demon.

"Well..."

Hearing Xu Bei’er’s string of questions, Tushan Jing Ci’s eyes flickered. She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked back up, blinking at her friend.

"Bei’er, I don’t even know what kind of person I would like... let alone what it feels like to have my heart stirred. Maybe... maybe I just haven’t met the right person yet?"

"Is that so..." Xu Bei’er sighed softly, sounding a little disappointed.

But she quickly leaned in closer, the blazing fires of gossip burning in her eyes. "But Jing Ci, isn’t there a single man you care about? Not even a little bit?"

Xu Bei’er still wasn’t ready to give up.

Honestly, she was just too curious—what kind of person would a woman like Jing Ci actually fall for?

"Well, it’s not like there’s no one..."

Tushan Jing Ci thought for a moment before speaking softly, her hands unconsciously fiddling with her sleeves as Xiao Mo’s image slowly surfaced in her mind.

"I do have a friend... When I’m with him, it doesn’t feel like anything special. I’ve even gotten used to it."

"But when he’s not around—whether I’m reading, writing, eating, or sleeping—no matter what I’m doing, I seem to think of him without even realizing it."

"Sometimes I get angry at him, too, but as soon as I see him, it feels like nothing matters anymore, and all my anger just disappears..."

Tushan Jing Ci’s gaze was lowered, and in her beautiful fox-like eyes, a flicker of a young girl’s characteristic loss and confusion quietly appeared.

"These past few days, he’s been in seclusion. I’ve been able to visit him often, and I just talk to myself while I’m with him."

"Even though he can’t say a single word to me while he’s in seclusion, I don’t know why, but I never feel bored."

"It’s like... as long as he’s by my side, everything in the world becomes different..."

Listening to Tushan Jing Ci’s words, Xu Bei’er’s eyes went wide. She stared at her, astonished, her mouth slightly agape, speechless for a long moment.

"Bei’er..." Tushan Jing Ci turned her head and looked at her best friend in a daze, her eyes filled with genuine curiosity. "What does it actually feel like... to like someone?"

"Hehehehe..."

After a moment of shock, Xu Bei’er finally snapped out of it. She raised a hand to cover her lips and couldn’t help but let out a light laugh, her eyes curving into crescents, full of playful teasing.

"You’re laughing at me..."

Tushan Jing Ci’s cheeks flushed red. She shook her best friend’s arm, her tone a little pouty.

"I really don’t know what it feels like to like someone... Just tell me, what is it really like?"

"Oh... you silly, dear girl..."

Xu Bei’er took Tushan Jing Ci’s small hand in hers, looking at her with a mix of amusement and affection, unable to hide the smile on her face.

"Everything you just said... that is what it feels like to like someone."