The Vanished Cake and a Fated Reunion

She had been waiting alone in the darkness for far too long, hoping that she could meet her teacher again in countless reincarnations.

But she waited for millennia.

To find him, she had asked for nothing else.

It was then that the cake she had painstakingly tried to make vanished.

The cake, crafted with a magical base, infused with countless rare treasures, and adorned with a heart symbol drawn in her own blood, was meant to be laid before her teacher’s tomb.

It had simply disappeared!

Following the lingering scent of the vanished cake, she traversed countless worlds, finally halting upon a fragment of the celestial realm that she had struck down tens of thousands of years ago.

Moreover, it carried an incredibly familiar aura.

A wisp of her divine sense, extended forth, detected a faint trace of her teacher’s essence.

Though that aura was so incredibly faint, as if poised to dissipate at any moment, it was nonetheless, genuinely and unequivocally, the unique essence of one person.

She could not, would not, possibly be mistaken.

This aura could belong to one person and one person alone: her teacher, her sun, her everything.

The very person who had haunted her dreams and stolen her appetite was here.

‘Could it be a reincarnation? But why on such a remote world?’

Aile had never imagined she would find her teacher under such serendipitous circumstances, especially in an undeveloped, untamed world.

That world was too fragile, utterly incapable of sustaining her full descent.

Consequently, she could not simply force her way in with brute strength.

While she could ensure her teacher’s safety, she had no desire to destroy his current sanctuary.

Even though he didn’t seem particularly happy residing there.

“What should I do?”

“Accelerate this world’s development… but that would take time, and I yearn to see Teacher sooner.”

“A clone, perhaps I could create a weaker clone…”

Just as now, by leveraging the entity fused within Mingqian’s body, she could constantly sense his presence.

Thus, projecting a wisp of her power to him was no difficult feat.

Yet, the reason she hadn’t dared to reveal herself to her teacher after all this time was simply her profound fear.

In truth, she had witnessed all of Bai Wanting’s actions.

During the day, she had repeatedly desired to intervene and help, but ultimately, she had not appeared before him.

She was terribly afraid.

Afraid that her teacher hadn’t forgiven her, afraid that he wouldn’t accept her dramatically changed self, afraid that he resented her.

Afraid he would blame her, and most, most, most, most, most, most, most unbearable of all, that her teacher might despise her.

Yet, her teacher had never refused her, not even at the very end of his life.

He had prepared everything for her, cared for her in secret, protected her, and dedicated his entire being to her.

But she was just so utterly terrified; she had indeed committed a grave error.

Moreover, she had personally killed her teacher.

Aile’s anxiety magnified infinitely, which was why she only dared to secretly appear in the dead of night.

“Goodnight, Teacher.”

She gently closed her eyes, counting the seconds, one by one.

She wasn’t asleep; she was simply immersing herself completely in the moment.

This long-awaited intimacy with her teacher left her almost beside herself.

Only when the sunlight began to rise, and the sound of a doorknob turning reached her ears, did she allow her clone to fade, vanishing from sight.

Before departing, she cast a deep gaze at her teacher, her brow slightly furrowed.

That woman, capable of using inexplicable magic, was far too weak to be her opponent.

Yet, why did she feel a pang of unease?

‘There was a very, very unwelcome premonition…’

She shook her head, banishing the tangled thoughts from her mind.

With both plans progressing simultaneously, she would soon be able to live with her teacher once more.

****

When he next opened his eyes, he was greeted by yet another unfamiliar ceiling.

Inside the room, the curtains were already drawn, and the soft duvet only intensified his lingering drowsiness.

It had been an exceptionally long time since he had slept so comfortably.

The only problem was this:

His chest felt so stifled, so heavy, as if something substantial had been resting on it, sleeping through the entire night.

“What’s going on? Was I experiencing sleep paralysis? That shouldn’t be…”

Recalling Bai Wanting’s crazed expression from before, he still shivered.

Immediately after, he instinctively clenched his hand; in his memory, his hand had been severed by a force capable of cutting through iron like mud, and the phantom pain still lingered in his mind.

He stretched out his hand.

“Huh? It’s not severed?”

He examined his body, finding all parts intact.

Logically, every miracle came with a price.

As a famous Austrian writer once said: “All gifts of fate have already been marked with a price in secret.”

Though his hand was healed, he might have lost something important in return.

“Ha! Could it be!”

He threw back the covers, abruptly reaching for his lower body.

Nothing was missing.

“Phew… I almost thought I was going to gender-bend.

That was a close call.”

“Perhaps the black bead Aile gave me saved me.”

“Thank you, Aile!”

It seemed the black bead’s [Complete Healing] had come to his rescue.

He stretched, then rose to survey the room.

The room’s understated decor and the lingering scent on his body both brought one person to mind.

A cute kitty teacup on the table was filled with fragrant tea, but Mingqian resolved never to touch mysterious beverages again.

Let the past be a lesson for the future.

Having been drugged repeatedly by various beautiful girls, he had developed a considerable psychological trauma.

Even with beautiful girls, love couldn’t be forced!

How could it be called love without a foundation of affection? It wasn’t love; humans weren’t creatures who thought only with their lower halves.

“That’s right! There must be love… Second Brother, if you look up again, I’ll have to strike you down.”

He had to admit that while Bai Wanting’s tactic was cliché, it was indeed effective.

As a man, he still looked up, a touch of melancholy in his gaze.

Composing himself, he pushed open the door and descended the winding staircase.

“Hey~”

“…”

The moment Mingqian reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw a slender young woman in elegant attire waiting for him.

The person who had called out to him was none other than his ex-girlfriend, Su Wanqing.

The soft light reflected off her gently contoured profile as her delicate hand brushed a few strands of hair from her ear, lending her an air of unique grace.

With her long hair framing her face, the young woman offered him a faint smile.

In that instant, Mingqian almost believed she was a princess who had stepped out of a fairy tale.

Speaking of princesses, he did indeed know a real one.

“Why are you spacing out?”

Seeing him stand motionless, Su Wanqing gently rose and reached for his arm.

Mingqian abruptly recoiled a step.

The memories of the past had not yet completely faded from his mind; he simply couldn’t bring himself to speak calmly with Su Wanqing.

Before Mingqian could compose his expression to face the young woman, his face took on an awkward cast.

However, it seemed Su Wanqing had saved him, so he ought to express his gratitude at the very least.

“You saved me, didn’t you? Thank you.”

That day, Su Wanqing had been lurking outside Mingqian’s home as usual, only to unexpectedly witness the scene of them both collapsing.

He bit his lip, retracted his hand, and adopted a strained, almost artificial smile.

“It’s nothing, Xiaoqian.

We previously might have had some misunderstandings, and I wasn’t able to explain them properly to you…”

“But I can explain, I just…”

Mingqian raised a hand, interrupting her.

He truly didn’t want to recall those heartbreaking past events.

It had been his first love, yet he had suffered such egregious treatment.

At that time, he had been a naive young man.

Mere gentle treatment had been enough to make him utterly smitten.

Su Wanqing’s betrayal had been such a colossal blow that he hadn’t been able to recover for quite some time.

It was thanks to the simulated life that he had gradually found himself again, surrounded by those other girls.

“Um, Senior Sister…” he began tentatively.

“It might be better if we kept some distance, especially since we both have people we like now.”

Su Wanqing’s pupils constricted.

Disregarding Mingqian’s resistant expression, she abruptly seized his arm.

“Xiaoqian, what did you say?” She blinked.

“My apologies, I seem to have misheard.

It’s all Xiaoqian’s fault for saying things like having someone you like…”

“You didn’t mishear, Senior Sister.

I already have someone I like.”

Su Wanqing tightened her grip, her gaze turning somewhat dangerous.

“Xiaoqian must be lying to me.”

“Heh heh, I know, you still blame me.

Please forgive me, won’t you?

I can do anything, anything at all.”

She forcefully embraced Mingqian, subtly pressing her ample bosom against his body.

“I’m sorry, Senior Sister.

It’s better if we part ways.”

Mingqian gently pushed her away, moving to leave through the main door.

“Xiaoqian!” Su Wanqing, completely abandoning her usual cool demeanor, shouted after his retreating back.

“Give me a chance! Please! Otherwise, otherwise I’ll…”

Mingqian left without looking back.

Leaving Su Wanqing standing alone, murmuring softly to herself.

“Otherwise, I’ll become very strange…”