“Jiang Ruoxue… you…”
I stared at her blankly. It had been a long time since we last saw each other, and I never imagined we would reunite under these circumstances.
Before either of us could say another word, Old Sun chimed in, “Well, little sis, since you two have spoken up, from now on, I’m part of the ‘Extreme Path.’ Just let me know if you need anything.”
My mind was in a whirl, and I barely registered what Old Sun was saying. After staring at Jiang Ruoxue and me for a while, he tactfully added, “Alright, I’ll take a walk outside. You two catch up.”
Only after Old Sun had walked away did Jiang Ruoxue burst into laughter.
Five years apart, yet she looked exactly the same—not a single trace of change.
That was the eerie thing about the “Land of Finality.” No matter how long you were separated from someone, as long as you remembered them, they would always appear wearing the same clothes, sporting the same hairstyle, and carrying the same gaze. Except for those who had completely lost their minds, change was rare here.
“I thought you were dead,” I said.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Asking for trouble again, huh?” Jiang Ruoxue lunged at me, playfully trying to wrestle, but I deftly dodged.
Just like the first time we met, she was overly affectionate, and I feigned annoyance—yet neither of us truly disliked the other.
I really liked Jiang Ruoxue.
After some playful tussling, we sat back down. She grinned at me and said, “You’ve been doing well these past few years.”
“Huh?”
“Nowadays, I keep running into ‘Extreme Path’ members, but the thing is, I never knew any of them,” she said. “I suppose that’s all thanks to you.”
“I’ve persuaded many, but it’s still not enough,” I shook my head. “The ‘Land of Finality’ has its own rules. These people could forget about the ‘Extreme Path’ at any moment. To keep it active, I have to keep pushing forward.”
“Don’t wear yourself out,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “Everything depends on ’cause and effect.’ If the ‘Extreme Path’ is meant to be a massive organization, it’ll grow even if you do nothing. If it’s destined to fail, no amount of effort will change that.”
She was exactly the same as before—no matter how long we were apart, we’d instantly reconnect the moment we met again.
“By the way, why did you suddenly come here?” I asked.
“Well… it’s a long story,” Jiang Ruoxue chuckled sheepishly. “I heard there’s a drop-dead gorgeous girl around here, and I wanted to make her my wife. Plus, I kinda missed you, so I dropped by. The journey was ridiculously long—took me over five hours. You should’ve seen her… probably around six feet tall, stunning like a celebrity.”
Classic Jiang Ruoxue—always leaving me speechless with just one sentence.
“You… came here for a beautiful girl?”
I almost forgot this was her nature. Thank goodness she wasn’t a guy.
“Hmm?” She eyed me suspiciously. “Are you jealous? Fine, I’ll rephrase it—I actually came here for you.”
“Alright, alright…” I sighed and shook my head.
After a brief pause, I asked, “Ruoxue… do you really like girls?”
“Me?” She raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget? I told you we’re the same—I only love myself.”
“But your behavior seems…” I trailed off, unsure how to phrase it without sounding accusatory.
“It might seem like I like a lot of people, but I truly only love myself,” she explained. “I enjoy being with you because you have a great personality, and being around you makes me happy. That’s why I stick to you. It’s just another way I love myself.”
“And what about that ‘drop-dead gorgeous’ girl?” I pressed.
“She’s seriously the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Being around her is just… visually pleasing,” Jiang Ruoxue replied. “But if our personalities or values don’t align, that’s as far as it’ll go.”
I think I understood her now. Indeed, since I started socializing with others, I’ve realized everyone has their own way of living—perfectly self-consistent within their own logic. It’s the kind of knowledge you can’t learn from books.
“So, to me, gender doesn’t matter,” Jiang Ruoxue continued. “If I’m happy, I’ll chat a bit. If not, I’ll walk away. One day, you might see me befriending a celebrity, or maybe some random guy with dyed hair. It’s all just a tiny ‘effect’—the ’cause’ is simply my own happiness.”
I nodded. Honestly, I wasn’t jealous. In fact, I was happy for her.
“So, what have you been up to lately?” she asked. “Just recruiting for the ‘Extreme Path’? Anything fun?”
“Well…” I hesitated. “Not sure if it counts as fun, but… that white sheep is back.”
“The white sheep?” She nodded. “Isn’t that the root ’cause’ of everything? Did you reconnect?”
“Yeah,” I mused. “There are two things bothering me… Since you’re here, can you help me figure them out?”
“Go ahead.”
First, I told her about Old Sun’s earlier incident and the answer derived from “cause and effect.”
I explained my suspicion that the white sheep might eventually break free from the “Zodiac” and ascend to something greater. Or perhaps, in the future, the one who changes this place won’t be the white sheep at all—given what I’ve glimpsed through multiple “future probes.”
“Ugh… you shameless jerk…” Jiang Ruoxue blurted out before I could finish, catching me off guard.
“Wh-what?”
“So that’s why I kept getting dizzy out of nowhere these past few years!” She glared at me in mock disgust. “You’ve been using my ’cause and effect’ to probe the future?! That project is already massive! It’s exhausting! Are you trying to kill me?”
“I…”
She crossed her arms, pretending to pout. “Listen here, Yan—if it were anyone else, I’d have bolted long ago.”
I knew Jiang Ruoxue too well. If she could voice her complaints, it meant she wasn’t truly angry. When she was really mad, she’d just go silent and expressionless.
“You’re right… I messed up,” I admitted guiltily. “I didn’t think about that… I’m sorry.”
“Sorry my foot…” She rolled her eyes. “Come here and kiss me, and I’ll let it slide.”
“Fine. Then you can stay mad.”
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