Chen Siranâs past encounters with Jiang Feng left a sour tasteâbordering on disgust. His reputation made it hard to see any good in him; even with a magnifying glass, his virtues were scarce.
Yet today, she glimpsed two: his formidable strength and his astonishing approach to reading.
It stirred her. Could someone change so drastically, so fast? Noâthis wasnât change. It was a complete transformation, as if he were a new person.
Yanjingâs elite circle was small; gossip spread like wildfire. Chen Siran had heard rumors about Jiang Fengâtossing Jiang Jingyun out in front of Grandpa Jiang, snubbing Ye Qingxuan, prescribing medicine for Sister Hua, even teaching Li Yuanjue a lesson. Sheâd dismissed them as baseless, chuckling them off.
Now, she believed. Without proof, without conditionsâshe just did. It startled her.
Holding a book, she sat beside Jiang Feng, unable to focus, her gaze flickering to him, ripples stirring within. She knew sheâd misjudged him, wanted to apologize, but the words stuck in her throat, leaving her conflicted.
Jiang Feng noticed her arrival but thought nothing of itâhe kept reading.
Time ticked by, and his indifference soured her mood. She considered moving to prove a point but stayed put, stubbornly. Her subtle movements didnât escape him. Smiling faintly, he finally glanced her way.
Her beauty was undeniable. Even from this angle, her half-profileâsmooth lines, delicate peach-blossom cheeks, perfectly curved chinâwas mesmerizing. Despite seeing countless beauties, Jiang Fengâs heart skipped, his gaze lingering.
Feeling his bold stare, Chen Siranâs pulse quickened, her cheeks warming. She wanted to call out his rudeness but, sensing her earlier pettiness had worked, let him look.
His gaze wasnât just boldâit was brazen. It hit him: her familiarity outside the library wasnât random. She was strikingly similar to Fairy Tantai.
Too alike. Save for slight differences in hairstyle and age, heâd swear they were the same person. His stare grew hotter, unyielding.
After a while, he sighed, reluctantly looking away.
His essence had been obliterated in the tribulation lightning, his strongest soul fragment crossing to Earth, seizing a new bodyâa miracle of fate.
But what of Fairy Tantai? Had she perished entirely, or, like him, landed on Earth or another realm?
The Golden Core tribulation was minor. With countless elixirs, protective treasures, and even Fairy Tantaiâs origin artifact, he shouldâve passed, despite hurdles. Why had purple divine lightningâmeant for Nascent Soul tribulationsâstruck during his? The mystery gnawed at him.
As he withdrew his gaze, Chen Siranâs flush faded, but his sudden indifference left her oddly bereft, her expression dazed.
Glancing at him, she saw him sketching on draft paper. Peering closer, she realized he was drawing a woman.
His strokes were swift, simple yet vivid, conjuring a stunning figureâlifelike, radiant, as if sheâd step from the page.
Chen Siranâs eyes widened, her cheeks reddening. The woman resembled herânine parts out of ten. But her expression was coldânot icy, but an aloof pride, lofty, humbling, untouchable.
‘Is that me? Why draw me like this?’ she wondered, then doubted.
The womanâs ornate white dress, though indistinct, exuded nobility, too classical for modern wearâbeautiful but out of place.
âNot me. Who is she, so like me?â Chen Siran froze, instinctively reaching for the paper.
Jiang Feng jolted, caught off guard. Seeing her side profile had evoked Fairy Tantai, prompting the instinctive sketch. A master of many arts in Tianyuan Continent, such drawing was trivial, capturing the image vividly.
He hadnât expected Chen Siran to see it or take it. Her reactionâclearly noting the resemblanceâleft him slightly embarrassed, though he quickly brushed it off, returning to his book without explanation.
Chen Siran stared at the drawing, transfixed. The likeness grew stronger the longer she looked. She tried mimicking the womanâs auraâinnate, dazzlingâbut failed. Entranced, she wanted to ask who this was, how they were linked, yet couldnât. Lost in the sketch, she sat with Jiang Feng all day, forgetting time and meals.
When the librarian announced the closing time, she exhaled, annoyed yet adrift. Clutching the sketch, she hesitated, then asked softly, âJiang Feng, can I keep this?â
He smiled. âSure.â
âThank you,â she stammered, joyfully tucking it into her book, planning to study it later.
Jiang Feng gathered his borrowed books, registered them, and left.
Chen Siran hurried after, finding him distant, almost cold. Noticing he wasnât waiting, she blurted, âJiang Feng, let me treat you to dinner.â
âHm?â He glanced back.
âYou gave me the drawingâIâll buy you dinner,â she said nervously.
âNo need. Iâm busy.â He waved, striding off.
Chen Siran stood, bewildered, missing Guo Conghuâs approach.
*****
For days after, Jiang Feng shuttled between the university and home, occasionally attending classes.
Zhao Wuxia brought him meals at the library; Ji Yan lectured him to focus on studies. He agreed to appease her but did as he pleased, frustrating her. She gave up, assuming heâd abandoned himself.
He spent days in the library, returning home only when it closed.
The distance grew bothersome, wasting his time. His home, though rarely visited by others, was crowded with servants, hindering his work. So he decided to move out, seeking a quiet place near school.
Unversed in such mattersâunlike his knack for revelryâhe reached for his phone to call Ma Lianhao for help.
Before he could, Ma Lianhaoâs panicked call came, his voice desperate: âYoung Master, save me!â