From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

At this time, on the main road outside the venue, Fang Ren had already parted ways with Jiang Ling. After all, he couldn't keep dragging this formidable Xuan Ye Realm expert all over the place, especially since the area was filled with important figures from Tianjiang. If she were recognized, it would be a disaster.

As for where Jiang Ling went, strictly speaking, it was none of Fang Ren's business, but out of the blue, Jiang Ling came up with a bizarre idea to chase after her lost youth and managed to swindle him out of ten thousand yuan with a mix of cajoling and deceit.

The reason she gave for needing the money was that he had taken advantage of her while she was breaking through.

Fang Ren was in utter despair over this claim, crap! It was he who had been taken advantage of by this forty-something-year-old auntie! Furthermore, he had spent several hours today helping her search for her lost youth!

Regardless, even without this excuse, he would have given Jiang Ling money, because if Jiang Ling ended up stealing goods from all over Tianjiang's shops, that would be a real tragedy.

Walking back and forth outside the venue, Fang Ren looked for Bai Qi's figure. Speaking of which, that girl had been unusually quiet this afternoon. He had been gone for so long and she hadn't even called him.

"She couldn't have been lured away with a couple of lollipops, could she?"

Finally, Fang Ren took out his newly bought cell phone and called Bai Qi's number.

Du...

The call was connected immediately, Bai Qi's voice came through the phone, "Are you back?"

Fang Ren, listening to her voice, felt she didn't sound very cheerful. She was speaking in a low tone, not at all like her usual self who would start yelling at him as soon as she answered the phone.

"Where are you? I couldn't find you outside of the venue," Fang Ren said.

"I'm in the park next door. You'll see me when you come in."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Bai Qi hung up the phone.

Fang Ren stared at the disconnected call display on his phone and was taken aback. It seemed that the girl really had encountered something sad.

A few minutes later, Fang Ren arrived at the park next to the venue. He hadn't walked more than a dozen meters before he saw Bai Qi. In the crowded park, Bai Qi was sitting alone on a stone bench, dressed in her school uniform.

She had her arms wrapped around her knees, leaning against the stone bench, curled up with her head buried between her legs, her long black hair scattered around her.

Despite the many people around, her facial expression was one of extreme loneliness.

Fang Ren glanced at the vendor selling ice cream in the park, casually bought one, and then walked over to sit next to Bai Qi, plopping down beside her.

"What happened, why are you so unhappy?" Fang Ren asked.

Bai Qi did not lift her head and continued to hug her knees. Her voice was soft but a bit resentful, "You didn't take me to lunch at noon."

Fang Ren looked at her and laughed. This girl really was something else... Wait, Fang Ren suddenly thought of something and his smile froze. His gaze fell on the curled-up figure of Bai Qi.

"You... surely you didn't skip lunch, did you?" Fang Ren asked again.

"No," said Bai Qi.

Fang Ren heard this and knew it was just as he had suspected. He said, "Don't you already have money? Why didn't you have lunch on your own?"

"Didn't feel like it," Bai Qi replied.

"What, are you not used to it without me tagging along?" Fang Ren said with a smile.

"Mhm."

Bai Qi nodded firmly. She had been sitting here by herself the whole day. She had absolutely no desire to go anywhere else.

She always felt as if something was missing from her side no matter where she went. That overwhelming sense of emptiness made her feel as if she was in a desolate desert, even when surrounded by a bustling crowd.

Seeing her nod, Fang Ren's face stiffened. It didn't seem like she was joking at all. Fang Ren quickly changed the topic, "Alright, no more joking around. I bought you an ice cream, so eat it up."

Bai Qi slowly lifted her head and glanced at him. She then looked at the ice cream in his hand but didn't immediately take it, "Why do you still think I'm joking at this point?"

"..."

Fang Ren's hand holding the ice cream stopped midair. He had a premonition that the girl was about to bring things that should have stayed hidden in her heart out into the open.

"You should know very well what this emotional instability of mine is about. You just don't want to say it," Bai Qi told him while looking at him.

Fang Ren's gaze shifted from her eyes to the ice cream. He was aware that ever since the day of the competition when Bai Qi had yelled at him in what seemed like agony, he had understood.

After he went on stage, he saw Bai Qi grab his hand and immediately clarified to everyone that she didn't like him, that it was just out of kindness so he wouldn't lose face.

His words weren't intended only for the audience, nor were they solely meant as a sarcastic jab at Xia Fu Lan's smirk; part of it was for Bai Qi too, to let her know that the person she should like was Song Mobei, and that she shouldn't like him.

Bai Qi's gaze remained fixed on him, "Because you really don't like me, you also didn't say anything after finding out."

Fang Ren hastened to smile and said, "I've already said I like Madame Xuan, and you also like Song Mobei. We both don't like each other, that's why we both want to dissolve the marriage..."

"You're still playing these clever tricks, continuing to misguide me, to let me 'realize' that I like Song Mobei." Bai Qi looked at him, her gaze becoming more complex. "Aren't you too cunning, Fang Ren? You clearly know I don't understand these feelings at all, yet you still bully me like this... Is it fun?"

"..."

Fang Ren looked at the ice cream in his hand beginning to melt, his smile stiffened on his face. He had never thought of deceiving Bai Qi, but all his thoughts were on Mu Huanqing, and he had inadvertently ignored Bai Qi's emotions completely.

He only thought of having a beautiful life with Mu Huanqing and also of getting rid of the marriage agreement with Bai Qi, without ever considering what would happen to Bai Qi afterward.

Tears suddenly shone in Bai Qi's eyes, "In your heart, do you find me disgusting? After all, you've told me seriously that you don't like me, yet I still didn't believe it. In your eyes, I must be an extremely narcissistic woman, right? You actually don't want to deal with me, only tolerating me because I pester you every day.

You want to dissolve our marriage, so you reluctantly put up with my pestering, right?"

Fang Ren raised his head to look at her, his expression complicated, "No."

"How many of your words are lies?" Bai Qi's eyes filled with tears, and she gently shook her head, "Or are you really treating me like a fool?"

"You're thinking too much," Fang Ren said.

"No!" Bai Qi's eyes still directly met his, "This ice cream is just like your lies. In your eyes, I'm nothing but a girl who can be placated with ice cream. You never took me seriously, not a single word."

"Why do you think that way?"

"Why shouldn't I think that way? I can't always be rejected and still naively think the other person likes me!" Bai Qi's emotions suddenly flared up again: "Since you don't like me, why did you buy me buns and soy milk when I was working? Why did you comfort me when I was sad? Why did you let me think I had really encountered the love that Grandpa spoke of!"

Fang Ren immediately started to speak, "The things I did..."

Bai Qi interrupted him, "I know! The things you did were all because it's in your nature, because you're just a nice guy. You are like this with everyone! It's just that I thought too much! I'm foolishly infatuated and narcissistic beyond redemption! Isn't that right?"

"..." Fang Ren fell silent again.

Strictly speaking, Bai Qi wasn't wrong. If it had been a male friend with whom he got along well who fainted from exhaustion at work that day, he would have brought him soy milk and buns too.

However, he didn't consider himself a nice guy; it was just a matter of lending a hand to someone he got along well with. Most people would probably do the same.

But these things seemed different in Bai Qi's eyes.

Tears slid down Bai Qi's face, "You are just like Song Mobei… nice to everyone around you, but you are much worse than him!"

This time she didn't call him Brother Song.

Fang Ren sighed, "I don't care how much worse I am than him."

"Do you know where you are worse than him!"

"I don't want to know."

"At least he never made me sad, but you directly made me cry..."

"So looking at it this way, no matter what, he's better. If you analyze it rationally, you should like him," Fang Ren said.

"You're talking to me like I'm a fool again." Tears kept falling from Bai Qi's face, and her emotions were out of control. She didn't notice that there was already a crowd of people watching them in the park.

"You clearly know I like you, yet you still push me away. How much do you hate me? Or do you just want to casually throw me to some man, and then quickly use this as a reason to dissolve our marriage?" Bai Qi said.

Fang Ren held the ice cream, his hand still in mid-air. He watched the ice cream continue to melt, speaking softly, "A lot of people are watching."

Bai Qi wiped her tears, "I know, I know. I don't want to make a scene with you like this, but... I just can't help it."

Seeing this, Fang Ren immediately activated his True Qi, enveloping Bai Qi as they flew out of the park and landed next to a secluded green space. He still hadn't thrown away his ice cream.

He knew that if he threw away this melting ice cream, it would be as if he were stepping hard on Bai Qi's heart.

He couldn't find the words to comfort her, because she now believed everything he said was a lie.

As he crouched down, Fang Ren placed the melting ice cream in front of Bai Qi, "In Tianjiang, this costs eight yuan, which is more expensive than buns and soy milk."

Bai Qi sat on the curbstone, looking at his faint smile and the ice cream in his hand. Her anger receded like the tide, only to be replaced by a deep sense of grievance.

Just as she said, she was hopelessly weak-willed when it came to this guy. A simple ice cream was all it took to soothe all her anger towards him.

"Jerk..."

Bai Qi immediately took the ice cream from his hand, wiping her tears while eating it.

"There are many things I'm not lying to you about," Fang Ren also sat down next to her and spoke, "Like how I truly like Madame Xuan, and I also think you'd be better off not being with me. Because love is between two people, and if either of us doesn't like the other, this relationship shouldn't exist."