633 A Heartfelt Exchange Between Two Girls (1/2)

It was in the name of taking care of Yun Yang and that kind of thing – It wasn't entirely a baseless statement, but the situation was not far away from being one.

However, the two girls remained seated silently. Shangguan Lingxiu focused her attention upon Yun Yang, and after confirming that he was unharmed, she could not help but to shift her focus onto Ji Lingxi instead. She was a little shocked at what she found – through the course of time, Ji Lingxi's appearance had changed a lot. Her whole aura had been completely replaced with a totally unfamiliar one. If it were not for her being certain that the person before her was her best friend from the past, it was hard to imagine how the same person could have such a unique aura!

”You have experienced some degree of shock, Sister Lingxiu,” Ji Lingxi smiled warmly. ”I've neglected you as I was busy just now – let me get you some tea, Sister Lingxiu.”

Shangguan Lingxiu smiled faintly in return. ”No worries, Yun Yang is here today to protect me, so I was safely out of harm's way. Perhaps you will not believe me, younger sister, but I was not worried about today's incident from the very start!”

Ji Lingxi replied, ”You're well composed, Sister Lingxiu – the poor dummy here has fought so hard instead.”

”This is another thing to be discussed. Today's battle was an easy matter of living and dying together; I've seen past it. Yun Yang, though, is still preoccupied with too many worries – and naturally, he's trying his best to defend himself accordingly.”

”You are very insightful about life and death, Sister Lingxiu – very open-minded. This idiot here and I, however, are quite the contrary. We're always thinking about how great it is to be able to live if we get to continue living – I mean, plans can only get into motion when you're alive, after all.”

The expression on Shangguan Lingxiu's face shifted slightly, but it returned to its previous placidity immediately. ”Young Sister Lingxi, you are not wrong about wanting to live – no one is willing to die meaninglessly; however, if there is a need to make a choice between life and death, eventually a decision has to be made, however tough it may be – that is just the way it is. Truly inevitable.”

”Inevitable? Do consider whether it's worth it before making that choice!” cried Ji Lingxi, followed by a resigned sigh.

Shangguan Lingxiu did not attempt to justify herself further. She was, instead, preoccupied with a bizarre feeling in her heart – not only did Ji Lingxi exude a unique aura today, her gestures and mannerisms seemed to have transformed into that of another person. Her tongue was sharp and quick to respond, to the point where Shangguan Lingxiu found it hard to refute.

Even when Yue Rulan was still here, Shangguan Lingxiu did not think that both of them were a chore to handle. Today, as she faced Ji Lingxi's words that were brimming with implied intention, Shangguan Lingxiu felt tongue-tied and had no reasonable retort.

She lapsed into silence. Before her, Ji Lingxi was ravaged by a heart filled with discomfort and unease.

It did not matter if she did not have the upper hand in this conversation. The reality of that situation was that Yun Yang was sharing life and death with Shangguan Lingxiu and did not even mind sacrificing his life for her, being grievously hurt in the process. Even if it was nothing serious, it was still an injury. In addition, anyone could see the peril of the battle. Other than the heartache, Ji Lingxi felt a lingering fear as well – naturally, her animosity towards Shangguan Lingxiu stemmed from this fact.

Shifting her train of thoughts, she sighed once more and said, ”I... I-I was just a little anxious, and I did not guard my tongue... I hope Sister Lingxiu will not be mad at me.”

This was a genuine apology. Hypothetically, even if it were not Yun Yang but her who was caught in a similar situation, would she simply walk away? The only option, of course, was to fight like Yun Yang until the very end!

To live and to die together! There was simply no other choice.

Similarly, if Shangguan Lingxiu was in a similar situation, she would definitely not choose to abandon everything at hand in order to save herself either.

After thinking this through, Ji Lingxi suddenly realized that her statement earlier was uncalled for. Feeling ashamed, the maiden apologized profusely.

Shangguan Lingxiu only smiled, waving off her apology instead, unoffended. ”I believe you only said what you said impulsively because you were worried about Young Master Yun's safety – how could I not know this, and how could I be mad at you for such a trivial thing?”

”Actually, I'm not that open-minded. I said that I can look past life and death, but how can I actually do that? If I'm indeed as insightful about life and death, what I should've done when the enemies just formed the siege was to end my own life. To live and to die together – that was nothing but a romantic concept to justify an early, unfulfilling death!”

Shangguan Lingxiu understood how Ji Lingxi felt, so she offered some form of solace, instead.

They looked at one another and laughed, the awkward and hostile atmosphere between them diminishing.