Chapter 48: Is There Really a Place for Me in Your Heart?

The next morning, the morning mist had not yet fully dispersed, and the rising sun gilded the verdant mountains of the Primordial Holy Land’s Outer Sect area with a golden edge.

Outside Chen Chuan’s small courtyard, a slender figure in moon-white stood quietly.

Ji Siyu had barely slept all night; there were faint dark circles under her beautiful eyes, and her face was somewhat pale and haggard.

But those eyes, clear as autumn water, flickered with a stubborn light.

She tightly gripped her sleeves, her fingertips turning slightly white from the exertion, her heart filled with trepidation and a sliver of humble hope.

She only wanted to see him one more time, to have a proper talk and beg for his forgiveness.

Creak.

The sound of the courtyard gate being pulled open from the inside broke the silence of the early morning.

Chen Chuan stepped out, looking refreshed.

He planned to go to the Pill Hall today to perform Alchemy.

However, just as he stepped over the threshold, he saw the figure standing outside the door, as if condensed from the morning dew.

The moment Ji Siyu saw Chen Chuan, her haggard face instantly radiated an almost illusory glow.

She hurriedly took a step forward, her lips slightly parted.

The name "Chen Chuan" she had rehearsed countless times in her heart had not yet escaped her lips.

Chen Chuan’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, his gaze returning to the indifference and aloofness of yesterday.

He interrupted the words she was about to say, his voice calm and steady, but with an unquestionable finality:

"Eldest Miss Ji, I thought I made it very clear yesterday."

"Since we have already signed the divorce letter, we no longer have any connection. Why bother coming here to pester me? From now on, let us go our separate ways."

"No! There is no divorce!" Ji Siyu retorted hurriedly, as if pricked by a needle, her voice carrying a hint of urgency and grievance:

"I didn’t sign that divorce letter."

"I... I’ve already torn it to pieces."

"Chen Chuan, we are still husband and wife."

What?

For the first time, a truly bewildered expression appeared on Chen Chuan’s face.

He looked at Ji Siyu in disbelief.

This woman, when he proposed the divorce, clearly seemed happy, like a bird escaping its cage.

Hadn’t she always wanted to get rid of him, her scumbag husband?

What kind of play was she acting out now?

Immense confusion caused Chen Chuan to blurt out:

"Didn’t you hate me before?"

"Didn’t you always hope to end this relationship?"

"What is this supposed to be now?"

His gaze was sharp, as if trying to pierce through her heart.

Ji Siyu’s heart trembled at his questioning.

But she forced herself to meet his gaze, her voice soft but firm:

"I was wrong before. I misunderstood you. I don’t hate you anymore."

"Chen Chuan, let’s let everything from the past go, alright?"

"Can we... can we start over?"

Her eyes were full of hope, like a drowning person clutching at the last piece of driftwood.

The commotion here had already attracted some Outer Sect Disciples who were up early to Cultivate or passing by.

"Look, isn’t that the new Junior Sister Ji? The one with the Divine Grade Spiritual Root."

"It really is her. Heavens, she’s even more beautiful up close, just like a Fairy walking out of a painting."

"Why is she here? The one opposite her is... Senior Brother Chen Chuan?"

"Wait, look at Junior Sister Ji’s expression. Why do I feel like she’s about to cry? Being so humble in front of Senior Brother Chen Chuan?"

A crowd gradually gathered, everyone craning their necks, their faces filled with gossip and curiosity.

The favored daughter of heaven, Ji Siyu, was actually showing such a low posture in front of Chen Chuan. This was undoubtedly the biggest news of the year in the Primordial Holy Land Outer Sect.

"I’ll bet a Spirit Gathering Pill that Junior Sister Ji definitely admires Senior Brother Chen Chuan."

"It’s possible. Senior Brother Chen Chuan is the number one in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, possesses the Chaos Divine Body, and has a limitless future! Which woman wouldn’t be smitten?"

"But this attitude doesn’t seem like just being smitten; it’s more like she’s committed some great mistake and is begging for forgiveness?"

The onlookers discussed fervently, guessing all sorts of possibilities.

Especially seeing Ji Siyu’s unusual expression, everyone felt there was definitely something fishy going on.

Hearing Ji Siyu’s request to start over, Chen Chuan’s heart did not ripple much; instead, he became even calmer.

He was silent for a moment, then asked a question that struck directly at the Soul:

"Start over?"

"Ji Siyu, tell me, do you want to start over because of guilt, because you feel sorry for me and want to make amends?"

"Or is it because... you love me?"

Ji Siyu’s expression froze, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, and she was instantly speechless.

Love him?

Panic rose in her heart.

That was it; her urgent desire to reconcile was mostly because she had learned the truth, and her heart was filled with immense guilt and remorse.

She couldn’t bear Chen Chuan leaving because of her misunderstanding, and she couldn’t endure the pain of losing him.

But what about love?

That pure love belonging to a husband and wife—how much weight did it actually hold in her heart?

For a moment, she was unable to give a definite answer.

Seeing the hesitation and struggle flashing in her eyes, Chen Chuan understood, and a faint, self-deprecating smile of realization touched the corner of his mouth.

As expected.

"I understand." His voice remained calm, but carried a hint of imperceptible loneliness:

"If it’s just because of guilt, then there’s no need."

"I, Chen Chuan, am not so desperate that I need a woman to stay by my side out of guilt."

"A marriage like this exists in name only; it’s better not to have it."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Ji Siyu’s instantly pale face, his tone decisive:

"I don’t want to live with a wife who doesn’t have a real place for me in her heart."

"Since you tore up that divorce letter, I can write another one in the future. Farewell."

With that,

He no longer looked at her teetering form and walked straight past her toward the Pill Hall, his steps steady, without the slightest lingering attachment.

At this moment, the surrounding onlookers had completely erupted.

"Husband and wife? What did I just hear? They were actually husband and wife?"

"Oh my god! Senior Brother Chen Chuan and Junior Sister Ji were married long ago?"

"Shocking news! The newly ascended Prodigy goddess with the Divine Grade Spiritual Root and the number one person in the Outer Sect with the Chaos Divine Body are actually a couple?"

"Ahhh! My heart is broken; my Fairy Ji already belongs to someone else."

"A talented man and a beautiful woman, both with Divine Grade Spiritual Roots—this is simply a marriage ordained by the Heavenly Dao, a match made in heaven."

"Wuwuwu, if I could gain the favor of a Dao Companion like Junior Sister Ji, I’d wake up laughing from my dreams; I’d even be willing to live ten years less."

"Ten years? I’d be fine living twenty years less."

"Look at you lot and your lack of ambition! But then again, isn’t Senior Brother Chen Chuan a bit too cold-hearted?"

"Exactly, a wife as beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal, and he just tosses her aside just like that? And he even makes her beg him so humbly? What on earth happened?"

The scene was in an uproar, with cries of surprise, sounds of heartbreak, sighs of emotion, and envious, jealous, and hateful discussions intertwined.

The scene was quite tragic for a moment; hearts were broken all over the place, as if everyone had collectively experienced a shock to their Dao Heart.

Ji Siyu stood blankly on the spot, as if all the sounds of the world were receding from her.

Chen Chuan’s words, "doesn’t have a real place for me in her heart," echoed in her mind like a curse.

Is there not?

Is there really not?

She asked herself, tears once again blurring her vision.

No, that’s not it!

In her mind, scenes from the past uncontrollably surfaced one after another:

The husband who was the first to ever cook for her.

The husband who, regardless of the danger to his own life, went alone to save her when she was in peril.

The husband who remembered her birthday and gave her a hairpin for the first time.

Little by little, like a warm stream, these memories had long since unknowingly soaked into her frozen heart.

It was just that she had always been blinded by prejudice, ignoring the feelings that had already quietly sprouted in the depths of her heart.

Guilt was the catalyst, but it was by no means everything.

Having realized this, the confusion and pain in Ji Siyu’s eyes were instantly replaced by a clear and firm light.

She suddenly looked up, gazing at Chen Chuan’s back as he was about to disappear at the end of the road.

Using all her strength, with a sob in her voice but with absolute clarity, she shouted:

"Chen Chuan! It’s not guilt! I love you, I truly love you!"

"From the past until now, there has always been a place for you in my heart. It will never change in this lifetime."

Her clear and resolute voice pierced through the morning mist and the noisy discussions.

It clearly reached everyone’s ears and struck heavily against that receding back.

In an instant, all was silent.

The expressions of all the onlookers seemed frozen in time.

Someone’s mouth was wide open, enough to fit an egg.

Someone clutched their chest, looking like Xizi holding her heart, feeling their young man’s heart had completely shattered into dust.

Someone looked up at the sky in grief and indignation, as if questioning the Heavenly Dao why it was so unfair.

Another person muttered to a companion: "Did you hear that? She said she loves him. The goddess confessed her love in person, but the recipient isn’t me."

The air was filled with a complex atmosphere of shock, heartbreak, and envy.

Along with the feeling of "this gossip is sweet but heart-stabbing."

It could be described as a scene of wailing and howling, with the comedic effect dialed up to the max.

Chen Chuan’s steps paused almost imperceptibly when he heard that confession.

But it was only for a moment, and then he continued forward without any response.

Leaving behind only the woman who had finally bravely faced her own heart.

And a group of onlookers with complex emotions who needed time to repair their Dao Hearts.

Ji Siyu watched the direction in which he disappeared, wiped away the tears on her face, but her gaze became increasingly firm.

She knew her own heart.

Therefore, she would never let go again.