152 Fool until the end

"We are both greedy for acknowledgement." Huang Qiuyan takes a step toward her. "Li Dai Yu, you don't want to leave Fu Sheng. You have the same fears that I have. You want to become stronger because you want to be with him. You want to break the bond because you don't want him to die along with you."

"Stop saying nonsense." Li Dai Yu moves away from her. "I am not like you."

She won't admit it. Huang Qiuyan sighs. "Then, tell me how we are different."

"I fight for what I want." Li Dai Yu snarls. "You are alive because of me. You couldn't fight Ian when he molested you."

"Did I not fight?" Huang Qiuyan smiles. "I endured as long as I could because I wanted to wait for Fu Sheng. That was my way of fighting back. I was able to endure because I knew that he would come back for me."

"He didn't come back in time." Li Dai Yu whispers. The sadness in her eyes contrasts the calmness in Huang Qiuyan's eyes. "He chose Fu Mian and his duty over you."

"He did do that." Huang Qiuyan takes another step toward Li Dai Yu. "Then, it's one of the reasons why I love him. I know how difficult it was for him to abandon everything and return to me. Li Dai Yu, I will give this body to you if you want this body. Whether it's me or you, someone should be with him and Fu Mian. If you want to become stronger, then become stronger alongside him. Don't leave him alone. He never his opened his heart to anyone, just like I hid my heart from the people I cared about. I know how lonely it is. You also know it. Immortality is meaningless if you want to spend it in loneliness. you don't want immortality if you must spend it without him. Look into yourself if you don't believe me. Our desires come from the same source. We are pieces of the same soul. I know you as much as you know me."

Li Dai Yu watches her in silence. Huang Qiuyan is only ten inches away from her, waiting for her to devour her. The core is also complete inside their body. In the outside world, Fu Sheng is sitting beside their body. 

"He knows that you are also me." Huang Qiuyan gives her hand. "Li Dai Yu, take it. I don't want to fight you. All I want is that you stay beside him. If you can become a good mother to Fu Mian, I would appreciate it."

"You are fine as long as I am beside him." Li Dai Yu smiles at her sorrowfully and holds her hand. "But he's not fine with me. Even when he was with me, he kept looking for you. Whenever he kissed me, he would search for you through the bond. When he gave me those flowers, he wanted to see your eyes filled with love. I am just a small piece of you for him. You see, Huang Qiuyan, he does love me, but he didn't fall in love with me. I do love him though. It's sad that I love him. But it's unattractive when that man calls me by a name that I don't prefer."

"Are you sure?" Huang Qiuyan asks her.

"I won't live that way." Huang Qiuyan promises her as Li Dai Yu begins to shine. "I will become the queen you deserve to be."

"You better be." Li Dai Yu's bell-like laughter lingers even after she disappears. In the next moment, the empty space begins to fill up with life. 

***

Xiao Chun Dan gasps when he suddenly finds himself back online in her body. He looks at the time and finds that he's been out for around three hours. Who won? 

"Xiao Chun Dan." Huang Qiuyan appears before him. "You have done a good job."

"Host, you…" Xiao Chun Dan hugs her, feeling too emotional to speak. "I am sorry, Host. Everything happened because I wasn't good enough."

"I wasn't a good host either." She strokes his back. "You have also changed along with me."

"I don't care what I become, Host." Xiao Chun Dan looks up at her. "As long as I can help you."

"Xiao Chun Dan, do you want to be free?" Huang Qiuyan asks him.

"What do you mean, Host?" Xiao Chun Dan gapes at her. Did she gain the power to kick him out? "Elder sister, you want to abandon me because I failed as a system? You called me your family. We are inseparable for eternity."

"Foolish system." She flicks his forehead. "I don't need you anymore. Go live your life."

Xiao Chun Dan feels something warm fills his body. He widens his eyes as his body begins to crack. His visions begin to turn black. "Elder Sister, don't kick me out."

"Fool until the end." He hears her chuckling. "Choose a name that you like."

When he opens his eyes, he finds himself on a bed. Xiao Chun Dan feels a sharp pain in his body when he tries to sit up. His host? Where is she? He touches his head. His head is throbbing with pain. When he tries to climb off the bed, he falls on the ground. "Argh!"

He looks at his knee and sees a purple bruise forming on his pale skin. Is something wrong with his body? He can't access his host's body either. Did his host really abandon him? Tears well up in his eyes as he checks into the Inter-D web. "Where are you, Host? Did you also leave me because I became useless to you?"

The door is pushed open and a teenager with long dark hair walks into the room. She widens her eyes when their eyes meet. "Uncle Dan, y-y-you woke up."

Uncle Dan? Only Fu Mian calls him that. Who is this brat calling him uncle? Quietly, he scans her identity. 

[Ding!]

[Scanning Complete!]

[Scanning Results:

Name: Fu Mian

Age: 16 Years

Species: Human (Semi-Mortal)

Level: 8

Rank: Knight

Magic Intensity: 7

Nutrition Level: Null

Danger Level: 99.99%

Titles: Vampire Princess, Blood Guardian, Annoying brat]

He blinks his eyes. "Fu Mian?"

"You recognized me?" Fu Mian sits down beside him. "Uncle Dan, you slept for ten years. But I am happy that you found the strength to wake up."

"Ten years?" Xiao Chun Dan exclaims in horror. To confirm the information, he checks the logs into Inter-D Web and sees countless messages in his mailbox. He ignores them and checks the date. "Ten years have passed… What about Elder Sister?"

"Uncle Dan, have you not noticed?" Fu Mian holds Xiao Chun Dan's hands and tells him with a warm voice, "Your hands have grown bigger. You have warm blood inside you. You are the first of your kind. You are not just a system anymore. You are the first system who became a soul."

"It's impossible." Xiao Chun Dan looks at his hands. The bruise on his knee still hurts. He could feel Fu Mian's warmth and things that he never felt before. 

"Mother made it possible." Fu Mian smiles widely at him. "If she didn't free you when her body was changing, she wouldn't be able to do it for eternity. She gave you her brother's soul energy and used a large amount of her enchanted magic to give life to your body. You don't need a host anymore, Uncle Dan."

A dreadful feeling fills his chest. He doesn't care about that. Fu Mian hasn't answered where his host is. "Where is she?"