After Huang Lu's hands were pried open, they fell limply to her sides. Her swollen, red eyes stared blankly at Qin Luo, seemingly still immersed in her heartbreak.
Qin Luo hesitated for a moment but decided that he needed to calm her down first, otherwise, given her current state, she might do something outrageous.
Having made up his mind, Qin Luo reached out and tucked the stray strands of hair from her forehead behind her ear, comforting her:
"Senior Huang Lu, although I don't understand why you think I would see you as that kind of person. As far as I know, you have always been a very hardworking and self-reliant woman."
Upon hearing this, a faint glimmer of light returned to Huang Lu's eyes, and a hoarse voice slowly escaped from her throat, trembling with disbelief:
"Strive for self-improvement?"
Qin Luo smiled, racking his brains for words. Seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, his lips twitched almost imperceptibly. He said:
"No, that's right, Senior Huang Lu. When I was in the Spirit Value Hall before... I noticed that you took on quite a few missions."
As Qin Luo spoke, he carefully observed her expression. Seeing that the glint in her eyes seemed to flicker slightly at his words, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued:
"Just for that reason, I admire you so much, senior. How could someone as hardworking and self-reliant as you be the kind of... dissolute person?"
Hearing his words, Huang Lu's eyes lit up even more, and hope rekindled in her heart.
A hint of hope and shyness lingered on her tear-stained face:
"So... what was your opinion of me before?"
Huang Lu asked shyly, her eyes filled with nervousness and anticipation. She didn't dare to look Qin Luo in the eye for too long, so she lowered her head slightly.
"Oh no! I've dug myself a huge hole."
Qin Luo was inwardly groaning. He was no longer the innocent young man he once was, and naturally understood the meaning behind her words, but he had never had any feelings for Huang Lu.
There has been no progress on Dan Bingli's side, and getting Murong Liyue to gradually accept her will be a difficult and arduous task.
He simply didn't have the energy to appreciate the wildflowers by the roadside, and Huang Lu wasn't an investment target for him. If he were to waste his energy on her, the returns would be completely disproportionate to the risks, and it would only be a losing proposition.
Nian Zhi and Qin Luo hesitated for a moment, their eyes darting around, but after a moment they made up their minds and said softly:
"Senior, I can tell you're a very special person. It's just that we've known each other for too short a time, and we both need more time to mature and better understand ourselves and everything around us."
Huang Lu instantly understood the subtle rejection in Qin Luo's words, and the hope that had just emerged in her heart was ruthlessly extinguished.
This dramatic turn of events completely shattered her defenses. With red-rimmed eyes filled with pain and grief, she sobbed to Qin Luo:
"You're looking down on me, aren't you? Just because I've known you for less than a day, I couldn't help but get closer to you, and you still think I'm a frivolous person? Are you secretly cursing me for being shameless, lowly, and despicable?"
At this point, Huang Lu's body began to tremble, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall, continuing:
“But I, Huang Lu, have never done such a thing to anyone in my life! No matter how difficult and arduous the cultivation process was, I have never even given a second glance to those who coveted my beauty and harbored ill intentions.”
"My outburst that day wasn't because I liked you, so why would I have been so unable to control myself? If it weren't because I liked you, why would I be so eager to rush into a flame like a moth to a flame now?"
Her voice was plaintive and sorrowful, every word filled with grief.
Huang Lu looked at Qin Luo in front of her with teary eyes, trying to find a different emotion in his evasive gaze, even if it was just a little bit of reluctance.
But apart from a hint of evasion, there was nothing else in Qin Luo's eyes.
Seeing this, Huang Lu's eyes dimmed, as if filled with the desolation of utterly shattered hope. But then, something occurred to her, and she stood up shakily, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw, and walked step by step toward Qin Luo.
In no time, Huang Lu walked up to Qin Luo. The two were only inches apart, so close that the tears in her eyes were clearly visible.
She raised her head and stared straight into Qin Luo's eyes, her gaze a mixture of questioning, resentment, and despair.
"But what can I do? When I realized that my heart was stirring with feelings for you, I understood that love has no logic whatsoever."
"Perhaps it was the composure and calmness that you inadvertently revealed, or perhaps it was the gentle patting on my back and your warm words when I was filled with fear and anxiety when I first arrived at this fifth level of the abyss, which soothed my long-parched heart and made me feel a sense of peace I had never felt before."
"At that moment, I couldn't help but think, is this what they call love? Why am I like this? I've only met you twice, and we haven't even spent a day together, but my heart seems to be out of control, and I'm starting to worry about you."
“I struggled with it, telling myself it was ridiculous, but my thoughts of you just wouldn’t stop. Once they took root, they spread wildly, and I couldn’t control them at all.”
As she said this, the light in Huang Lu's eyes gradually dimmed, but a flicker of resentment still lingered:
"Qin Luo, I just want you to know that my feelings are genuine, not as worthless as you think. If you don't believe me, I'll show you my heart!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Huang Lu suddenly placed her hands on the dress, her eyes filled with determination, her fingers gripping the fabric of the hem tightly. Without the slightest hesitation, she forcefully tore the fabric apart with both hands.
But the expected hissing sound did not occur. Just as she placed her hand on it, the Holy Spirit Guardian Array emitted a holy light, which enveloped her, freezing her in place and preventing her audacious act.
Qin Luo looked at Huang Lu, who was frozen in the light, and a complex expression flashed in his eyes, a mixture of relief and a hint of guilt that was hard to detect.
He couldn't help but think to himself:
Why are they all like this?
Thinking back to Murong Liyue before and Huang Lu now, Qin Luo felt somewhat helpless. Luckily, he had made preparations in advance, otherwise, this matter would have been truly unmanageable.
Whether it was Murong Liyue or Huang Lu, they were both so reckless in the face of love, expressing their feelings in such an extreme way, which left Qin Luo somewhat at a loss.
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