A Farmer’s Life and Aile’s Innocence

[If you don’t want Xiao Yan to grow into a true witch, then you naturally can’t teach her magic.]

[After all, the talent you chose doesn’t have any magical ability at all.]

[You taught Aile how to live and how to interact with others; she was rapidly transforming from her initial state of innocent ignorance into a mature young woman.]

[You carefully considered her future, but no clear path emerged.]

[Under your meticulous care, Aile grew increasingly reliant on you.]

[When she finally managed to wash her hair with her eyes closed, tears of joy streamed down her face.]

[Occasionally, she would still secretly climb into your bed, just as she used to.]

[She began to lower her guard, revealing a pure and natural smile.]

[Within this home, Aile experienced a tenderness she had never known before.]

[She had come to see you as an indispensable part of her life; indeed, her gaze would instinctively seek out your presence.]

[She was gradually blossoming into a true girl.]

Oh, Time, please, just a little slower.

Trapped within this simulated life, Mingqian felt his existence racing by.

The toil of a farmer was so relentlessly heavy that Mingqian had long forgotten when he last truly enjoyed life.

In the blink of an eye, six years had flown past.

This year, he was twenty-six, and Aile was fourteen.

And his days—

were not quite as he had envisioned.

“Help me, I don’t want to farm anymore.”

“I, I haven’t even begun to enjoy my life…”

“What’s the point of having so much money if I can’t spend it!”

He furiously hoed the ground, but the tremendous impact left his palms tingling numb.

No matter how much time passed, he could not grow accustomed to life here.

Though he had resigned from public office, he remained a duke personally appointed by the Emperor; he lacked no money, but…

He feared that bringing Aile back to the capital would invite criticism, ultimately endangering the young girl’s life.

Even more, he dreaded being found by the esteemed Princess, which would mean never seeing the light of day again.

Mingqian gazed at the seemingly endless expanse of land before him, wishing he could ascend to the heavens at that very moment (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to die).

In his previous life, even if he had died at home like a puddle of mud, he had never done so much work.

The thought that his childhood sweetheart had not only stolen his girlfriend  but that he was now also confined to his own bed , suddenly made him realize that life here wasn’t so bad after all.

Speaking of Princess Noyu, she truly was…

…perhaps it was better not to speak of her.

Nevertheless, he felt immensely proud of himself for having farmed all these years to support Aile.

“I’m not here to work in a life simulation!”

He couldn’t help but utter a few choice words.

Had he known he would be living in such anonymity, why wouldn’t he have chosen a different talent from the start?

Like that one—thirty years…

“If I wanted to work, why wouldn’t I go play O-Ming 6 and Group X!”

“I’m done with this; I’m going back to the capital. Chris and my sister Eliza are waiting for me!”

Incidentally, Chris was a regretful beauty (TL Note: A type of character often depicted as beautiful but having a tragic or unfulfilled past, evoking a sense of poignant beauty) with golden hair and a slender waist, while Miss Eliza was a Yamato Nadeshiko (TL Note: An idealized traditional Japanese woman, characterized by her beauty, grace, and demure nature) with long, straight black hair. Both perfectly suited his taste.

They were princess sisters from a neighboring country, captured as slaves after their empire was annexed. Mingqian had intervened and purchased them before that.

After his resignation, the Empire’s intelligence agency had been entrusted to the two of them.

Of course, none of that truly mattered; what was most important was that their skills were excellent.

Pondering this, he decided to soothe his parched mind and body, and began to rise.

Aile was always very well-behaved; she would complete household chores by herself, and even help him with farm work.

Faint footsteps approached.

A cold touch covered his eyes, and simultaneously, a clear, cool voice spoke.

“Guess who I am?”

“Oh, that’s a tough one to guess. First, let’s rule out Aile.”

“Mm! Teacher, really, how could you be so mistaken!”

The girl stood behind him, rising onto her tiptoes to firmly cover his eyes.

“How is it? Is working hard?”

The girl smiled sweetly, moving her hands to his temples and gently massaging them.

Under the girl’s soft touch, Mingqian relaxed his body.

He wore a guilty expression, fortunate that the girl seemed not to have overheard his previous words.

Mingqian offered a helpless smile, then turned, drawing the girl to his side.

“Aile, you’re quite mischievous. Disturbing me again? Aren’t you supposed to be at school today?”

Though they lived in the village, there was still a school for children of appropriate age, and Aile attended it.

He spent all the money earned from farming on the girl, which was why his own clothes appeared so tattered.

His ultimate goal was this:

To make her a pampered child, to nip the female Xiao Yan (TL Note: A reference to Xiao Yan, the protagonist of a famous Chinese web novel ‘Battle Through the Heavens,’ who overcomes adversity and becomes powerful. Here, it implies preventing Aile from experiencing similar hardships and becoming a strong, independent figure, instead wishing for her to live a comfortable, protected life) in the bud!

Even now, the fire of revenge in her mind still seemed unextinguished.

Though the trauma of her past memories was slowly fading, the memories themselves remained vivid; she could not forget the fact that her mother had died before her very eyes.

On certain rainy nights, Aile would tremble as she recounted how her mother had been killed by someone in luxurious attire, whose face remained obscured.

Mingqian, of course, knew that the protagonists of that story were precisely the three of them.

“? It’s the weekend, you know. On weekends, even the gods rest, hehe.”

Assuming a lofty demeanor, she mimicked the posture of a cleric at school, shaking her head as she spoke these words.

The girl chuckled shyly, then pinched Mingqian’s cheek, seemingly amused by his comical expression, before bursting into another fit of giggles.

Whenever she was with Mingqian, Aile always loved to play and tease.

Mingqian stood up and gently ruffled her hair.

“Mm! Patting my head will stop me from growing tall…”

The girl lightly shook her head, trying to escape from beneath his palm.

Clenching her hands into fists, the girl broke free from Mingqian’s grasp. She then leaned in, smoothing his slightly disheveled hair.

Her gaze was serene, as if tending to something of her own. Then, she stepped back two paces, nodding with satisfaction as she looked at Mingqian’s face.

“Hmm, very handsome.”

She smiled softly, like an unworldly fairy, pure and sweet, making one unable to resist gently pinching her cheeks.

“What are you doing ?”

After enduring for a minute, the girl wriggled free from his grasp.

“No, no way! You can’t pinch a girl’s face!”

The girl defiantly put distance between them, looking like an agitated kitten with bristling fur.

Hearing the girl’s indignant voice, he deliberately retorted.

“But you clearly pinched my face earlier.”

“Th-that’s different! Anyway, Aile’s situation is different!”

The girl puffed out her cheeks, displaying an expression of displeasure.

By now, her expressions were far richer than when she had first arrived.

Joy, worry, indignation… but never anger.

“The teacher at school said boys shouldn’t casually touch a girl’s face, or else… or else…”

A faint blush crept onto the girl’s innocent face, and she lowered her head slightly, speaking in an extremely soft voice.

“You-you’ll get pregnant!”