Lu An'an's body trembled slightly as the images she had temporarily suppressed in order to survive flooded her mind again.
"My lord, all I ask is that my family live. I'm willing to give up everything I have in exchange. Please grant my request!"
The desperate girl knelt on the ground, humbly prostrating herself at the feet of the high and mighty god who seemed to pity all things in the world yet was indifferent and heartless, begging the god to grant her family a glimmer of hope.
But the gods were unwilling to take on this hot potato. It was just a small world that was about to wither and disappear. To them, it was just a trivial matter in their long and boring life that could not stir up any waves in their hearts.
The god, high above, coldly watched the girl kneeling below, filled with sorrow and stubbornly demanding an answer. Suddenly, he remembered that not long ago, many people had knelt before Him in the same way, begging Him to extend a helping hand and save their collapsing world.
As the deity slowly recalled those who had prayed before, a strange ripple stirred within him, giving rise to a sense of inquiry.
His emotionless eyes swept over the girl below, casually checking the situation in the small world. He then discovered that among the many people who had come to plead with him, there was actually the girl's nemesis who had been entangled with her for several lifetimes.
The god, seeing the equally exhausted man, projected this scene onto the girl's eyes.
The weary man, equally desperate, pleaded with the gods: "Please restore everything to its original state; I want her to have her way."
The god saw, as desired, the bewilderment and collapse that came from hatred losing its anchor on the girl's face. The god casually propped his chin on his elbow, his tone calm and even, yet every word was cruel: "Go back. In the predetermined plot, none of you were going to die, were you? It was yourselves who deviated from the predetermined path. Why should I pay for your mistakes?"
The gods refused their request, but on a whim, they accelerated the speed at which the gods regained their memories in each subsequent rebirth. The gods were curious: if they knew the whole truth and their unchangeable fate, would the small world collapse even faster because of them?
Soon, the gods learned the answer to the question, but little did they know that it would cost them their lives.
For a long time, the director of the Time and Space Administration Bureau, who could not accept the gods' indifference to all life and their cruel mockery, finally joined forces with those who had been toyed with by the gods to pull the gods down from their pedestals. With the power of the gods, they exchanged it for a final chance to be reborn—this time, the story will be written by them, no longer subject to the will of the gods.
But the price is that if they cannot change the predetermined fate, they will all face eternal oblivion.
*
Lu An'an stood there stunned, fragments of memories flashing through her mind, including the memories sealed away by her master.
In that memory, she saw that when she broke into the back mountain that her master never allowed them to enter, what she saw was Pei Sheng playing chess with her master in a sea of flowers!
Lu An'an suddenly looked up, her gaze fixed on Pei Sheng, her voice trembling slightly: "You...could it be..."
Pei Sheng's lips curled into a playful smile, his voice carrying a subtle, unspoken meaning: "An'an, your master in this world has more than just you as his disciple."
Lu An'an was somewhat taken aback: "Why did Master hide this from me?"
Pei Sheng let out a soft laugh, a laugh that seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm: "An'an, the way we've come to this point, the male and female protagonists turning against each other, is our own choice. We can't be loving senior and junior siblings, so I told your master that I wouldn't become his disciple, and I asked him not to reveal my existence to you. I just didn't expect that old man to seal your memories."
Lu An'an gradually calmed down, and a thought flashed through her mind: "Was our falling into the sea the end of our previous life?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Sheng immediately looked up, staring directly at Lu An'an, his tone carrying an almost imperceptible chill: "Lu An'an, it seems that your memory is still incomplete."
Lu An'an already knew the answer. Instead of answering, she asked, "Master once mentioned that your goal is to destroy this small world, and your every move seems to be repeating the past trajectory. So why are you...?"
Her words trailed off at that moment; she seemed hesitant to ask the question.
Pei Sheng, discerning her thoughts, picked up on her unfinished words, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery: "Why should I help you fulfill your wish, is that it?"
He lowered his eyes gently, concealing the self-mockery and loneliness in them, and slowly opened his lips: "I just don't want to live a life controlled by others, just like you. Giving you what you want is just to find a way out for myself to break free from the predetermined script, nothing more."
Lu An'an was suddenly speechless. She vaguely felt that Pei Sheng's words might contain some falsehoods, but their long-standing opposing stances prevented her from having any thought to delve deeper into their truth.
She remained silent for a moment, then slowly stood up, looking down at Pei Sheng with a question that had been building up in her heart since she arrived on the island: "Did you go to such lengths to lead me to this isolated island just to reveal these things to me?"
Pei Sheng also stood up, concealing his thoughts, and put on his nonchalant expression again. "Of course not, it was just a whim, I changed my mind. Lu An'an, I have to thank Fu Zhiyan. Your being with him helped me find the perfect ending to this story."
Lu An'an's heart sank suddenly, and an ominous premonition surged within her like an undercurrent. Her delicate brows furrowed. "What do you want to do?"
Pei Sheng's lips curled into a meaningful smile as he said slowly, "You'll know once everyone arrives."
Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, right, you seem to have forgotten our entanglements from previous lives. Once everyone is here, I'll remind you of them all at once. How can I let you recall interesting things by myself?"
Lu An'an's eyes narrowed sharply. "Pei Sheng! What do you mean?!"
Pei Sheng gracefully accepted the clean white towel handed to him by his bodyguard, gently wiping the water off his body. Ignoring Lu An'an's questioning, he simply ordered in a low voice, "Take Miss Lu to change her clothes."
Then, he turned his head and looked at Lu An'an with a smile, his eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation. Although his words were soft, they made Lu An'an feel a sudden flutter in her heart.
"You should also get ready to welcome Miss Lu's reinforcements."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
