From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

"Like you, such a blockhead... Are you trying to tell me now that the world has always been this unfair?" Liu Qianqian said through tears.

Fang Ren replied softly, "I shouldn't be that stupid..."

"No! You are absolutely that stupid!" Liu Qianqian said: "The last time I cried in front of you, you were like a pig! You understood nothing! Are you pretending or are you really clueless?"

"I thought in your eyes... the past was really just something between friends, and I could have misunderstood a lot of what you said, so I didn't think too much about it," Fang Ren said.

"I'm not sick, to let you touch my chest..."

Fang Ren fell silent for a long while before saying, "Let's not talk about those things. I don't know how to address this current situation, but... it's like fate, I guess. Once missed, it can only be missed; it's not possible to force things back to the past."

"Didn't you used to not believe in fate?" Liu Qianqian's tearful eyes looked at him: "And now you're talking to me about fate..."

"I..."

Fang Ren didn't know what to say anymore and simply squatted down and closed his mouth.

Memories of Liu Qianqian and himself kept flooding his mind, and Fang Ren desperately wanted these images to stop, but his nerves were out of his control.

"I thought after Mu Hui left, I'd have my chance. I wanted to happily tell you that I could win first place in the pill competition, that I could have the freedom to marry, that I could date and marry you... Why is she so courageous, as if she's not afraid of anything? I'm so envious of her..." Liu Qianqian kept crying as she spoke.

Fang Ren fell silent for a while, then said, "The day she left me, she told me something. She said she would become very strong, so strong that nothing could stand against us, strong enough to break free from the arrangements of the Central District Command. She has her worries too, and there are things she's afraid of, but I am also striving, and she doesn't want to leave me climbing up alone."

"So I say she's really too good," Liu Qianqian said: "Maybe I sounded a bit jealous before, but how could I not be jealous?"

"Sorry, I really didn't consider that much before... I didn't know you would be the young miss of the Liu Family, and I didn't think your marriage would be constrained."

"Don't apologize, you never owed me anything... it's just that I lacked the ability to resist, it's all my fault," Liu Qianqian said, shaking her head: "I even thought that if you two didn't end up together, I could really try to win you back, but I never imagined your relationship would be this good, that she, as a Xuan Nv, could also disregard everything..."

Fang Ren was in disarray: "I don't know how to comfort you..."

Liu Qianqian revealed a bitter smile: "You really are a blockhead, I really don't understand why the Xuan Nv would fall for a pig like you..."

Fang Ren couldn't help but smile wryly, feeling very confused inside.

"I don't know why, but I just like you, this pig... I'm this nice cabbage that you won't root, yet you insist on eating carrots..." Liu Qianqian said with a bitter smile.

After a long time, Liu Qianqian wiped the tears from her face and asked, "Can you give me an answer?"

"What?"

"Do you think I still have a chance?"

"..."

Fang Ren never expected her to be so stubborn. Things had already developed to this point, yet she still refused to back down.

The more she behaved like this, the more he felt he owed her.

"I must try hard to marry Qing'er," Fang Ren said, his gaze downcast.

"So that means I have no chance, not even a little," Liu Qianqian said with a bitter smile.

Fang Ren hesitated for a moment before saying, "You're so beautiful and have such a nice personality, there are many boys who like you. You'll definitely meet someone better in the future."

Liu Qianqian shook her head: "Love is not because I know he is outstanding that I like him, but because even though I know he's not outstanding, I still like him. If everyone loved someone because of their outstanding qualities, then there would be no love in this world."

Listening to her words, Fang Ren fell silent inside.

Liu Qianqian was right, even if he didn't know Mu Huanqing was the Xuan Nv of the Nine Heavens, even if Mu Huanqing's legs could never be healed, even if Mu Huanqing's face was scarred, he would still love her and not choose a more outstanding woman.

"Since you have already told me the answer, I think there's no need for me to participate in any pill competition," said Liu Qianqian as she stood up, her voice a bit hoarse, "Besides, there is one more thing I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Can my constitution really cultivate?" Liu Qianqian asked.

"If Master Qingan has said it is possible, then it must be possible," Fang Ren affirmed.

"Since you know Master Qingan, I want to know how I can start cultivating," Liu Qianqian said, her gaze still downcast, "I want to become stronger. I don't want anyone else to control my destiny, or to force me into missing out on people and things."

Watching her downcast demeanor, Fang Ren said, "Actually, Master Qingan values your constitution highly. He had already sent someone yesterday to give me a fruit that can help you cultivate."

"Really?"

Fang Ren took out the purple fruit from his storage space and said, "Of course it's true. Once you eat this fruit, you can start cultivating."

"Why does he want to help me? Or rather, is it you who is helping me?" Liu Qianqian asked.

"Don't worry about that; all you need to know is that neither he nor I would ever harm you," Fang Ren said.

Liu Qianqian slowly reached out and took the fruit, staring at it with a somber look. After a while, she finally said, "Let me help you."

"Huh? Help with what?"

"I'll help you marry Mu Huanqing," Liu Qianqian said.

"I can handle my own affairs. You should focus on seizing control of your own destiny. I hope that next time, you'll meet someone you like even more, and you'll have the courage to pursue that person without any reservations," Fang Ren said.

Liu Qianqian clutched the fruit tightly in her hand, her eyes still red, shook her head with a smile and said, "That won't happen."

"Don't be so absolute. There are still many days ahead," Fang Ren said.

Liu Qianqian didn't respond to his remark. Instead, she tucked away the fruit and said, "I'm leaving."

Fang Ren nodded and added, "Get some rest, and don't be too eager in your cultivation. I hope you'll be better, not looking like this every day..."

Liu Qianqian turned her head, walked away into the distance, and said with a low, hoarse voice, "Thank you... Master Qingan..."

When Fang Ren heard her words, he stood watching her lonely and sad figure disappear, feeling a hint of red well up in the corners of his eyes. He quickly blinked and sat back down on the steps.

She finally took his word for being Qingan seriously...

Fang Ren just sat on the steps, watching her go, while scenes of the two of them together as friends kept surging through his mind.

His heart was far from the calmness he showed on the surface. His emotions were in turmoil, he even felt like grabbing his hair and gritting his teeth with frustration.

That night, Fang Ren didn't return to the dormitory; he simply sat on the steps the whole night, sometimes practicing alchemy, sometimes reaching out to grab the air and flick it away, hoping it would distract him from his restlessness.

But despite all that, he still felt not a hint of sleepiness, didn't want to go back to the dormitory and chatter with roommates, didn't want to sleep, just wanted to be alone for a while.

Tonight, he suffered from insomnia.

And when Liu Qianqian left, she was looking at the purple fruit in her hand, smiling bitterly and murmuring to herself, "The days to come will be short... after the two of you are together, I'll set out on a journey alone... never to see anyone I know again."

When she got back to the dormitory, she didn't talk much with her roommates either, just lay down on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, holding the fruit Fang Ren gave her.

Tonight, she also suffered from insomnia.