Chapter 231: Walking Together to the End of This False World

Private Kenryu High School.

Today was a rest day, so there was almost no one else on campus.

But the Cherry-Haired Girl had come to the school anyway.

She made her way through the silent hallways, finally stopping in front of a classroom door.

The nameplate read: Class 1-B.

Lin Guang reached out and slid the door open. Afternoon sunlight poured through the spotless glass windows, casting long golden beams across the floor.

Inside the classroom, someone was already waiting for her.

Zihan sat quietly in her seat, third from the left in the second row.

She was dressed in a crisp Kenryu High School uniform today, a dark sailor-style top paired with a pleated skirt, her silhouette far more defined than when she wore gym clothes.

Her right eye was still covered by a white eyepatch, but her purple left eye was already fixed on Lin Guang, carrying a smile.

"Mengmengxiang."

Lin Guang nodded. "Mm."

Today, it was Zihan who had asked to spend time alone with her.

Her left eye swept across the rows of empty desks. "Back when Su Fang hadn't yet entered this world, we still had to come to school here on the first day of every cycle."

She smiled and patted her own desk. "This is my sacred throne."

Then she pointed to the desk beside it. "That one is Tangtang's spot. She always liked to hide fashion magazines under her textbooks."

Finally, Zihan's gaze settled on the second-to-last seat by the window.

She looked at it and said softly, "That was your seat, Mengmengxiang."

"Honestly, that time was really happy, you know. Even though the lessons were the same every cycle... it was still so happy."

Zihan murmured, "Later, you disappeared for a while. But thankfully, in the end, you came back."

"......"

She paused suddenly, then let out a self-deprecating smile. "Fancy that, me getting all sentimental... I suppose it's because of that dream I had a few nights ago, the one whose contents I can't even remember."

"Ah, right. You don't remember any of that, do you?"

"Well then, allow me, Hermit's Purple, to give you a little lesson!"

A moment later.

The home economics classroom.

"Heh heh, to brew a perfect magic crystal in this sacred trial ground, you must not only tightly control the flow of time, but also calculate the fusion ratio of ingredients to one ten-thousandth!"

"Take this! Aurora Sacred White Stream!"

"Aurora Goddess's Forgiveness!"

"Infernal Unrivaled Scorching Wave Cannon!"

Zihan's presence was overwhelming; even from outside the window, one could see purple magic power flashing within the classroom.

Yet half an hour later...

"H-How can this be..."

Zihan slumped her shoulders, staring down at what could at best be described as a barely-formed strawberry cream cake before her.

To be honest, it was a bit ugly, all lumpy and uneven.

"My masterpiece!"

But the next moment, the apron-clad Cherry-Haired Girl had already scooped up a bite with a spoon and popped it into the purple-haired girl's mouth.

"Mmm—"

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined.

She mumbled around the mouthful, "Though its appearance leaves much to be desired, the sacred white light contained within has already erupted across my lips and teeth with devastatingly sweet power!"

Pausing, Zihan took the spoon from her mouth, scooped up another piece of cake, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks, and held it up to Lin Guang's lips, looking at her expectantly.

"Come now, my beloved friend."

Lin Guang was briefly taken aback, but she said nothing. Instead, she opened her mouth and obediently accepted the bite.

"Heh heh, tastes pretty good, right—"

Zihan squinted her eyes in satisfaction, the blush on her face deepening as she studied the Cherry-Haired Girl's lovely features.

But as she looked, her gaze began to drift.

"......"

It was a while before she snapped back to herself.

"If only... Ziyun could be here too. I really wish she could taste this as well."

Lin Guang looked into her left eye.

That gaze held a mixture of longing, grief, resignation... and more.

By now, she knew the truth, of course.

Ziyun, or rather, Lu Ziyun, was the name of Zihan's younger sister.

Zihan once again turned her gaze to the Cherry-Haired Girl before her:

"Don't mind me. I hold not a shred of doubt toward the New World."

She said softly, "It's just that I still have a bit of a dilemma. I don't quite know what I should do."

"When the New World begins and all traces of the past are washed away, I still haven't decided whether I should have you recreate the Ziyun in my heart within that world."

"I've actually been thinking about this for the past few days, and I still haven't found an answer. Even now, I haven't made up my mind."

She tilted her head slightly, gazing at the setting sun outside the window, her voice carrying a note of frankness. "But..."

"At least for now, I've figured out one thing."

"According to Phoenix, the flow of time in this world should be much, much faster than the outside."

She took a deep breath. "That is to say, by the time everything comes to a close and you anchor your existence back to the outside world, she'll probably still be strutting around with that Prideful attitude, causing trouble for people at the Federal Hero Academy."

At that, the corners of Zihan's lips curled up slightly.

She shifted her gaze back to Lin Guang's face, her purple eyes clear and crystalline. "If you happen to run into her out there, do me a favor and look after her."

"It would be best if you could tell her just what kind of magnificent deeds her big sister accomplished together with you... Ah, never mind. I don't want to make her sad. It's best if she never knows."

She was caught between hope and hesitation.

But the next moment, she looked seriously at Lin Guang once more. "That girl Ziyun is stubborn as a mule. She speaks with sharp, barbed words that aren't easy to like, but her heart is kind."

"If you're willing to indulge her, I can rest completely at ease."

"......"

In those beautiful purple eyes, the image of the Cherry-Haired Girl nodding seriously was reflected.

Zihan seemed to shed an enormous weight from her shoulders, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew... The covenant of fate I wished to entrust to you is all there is."

In that moment.

The classroom fell silent once more.

The golden sunset stretched both their shadows long across the floor.

Zihan looked at Lin Guang, who was so close, and suddenly two patches of obvious blush floated up her cheeks.

But there was not a hint of retreat in those purple eyes.

She said earnestly, "Since the gears of fate have completed their final interlocking."

"Then, before my existence is reshaped anew... my friend, grant me an embrace to seal our covenant."

"Before everything comes to an end, I will walk with you to the end of this false world, and I will never abandon you."

"......"

Lin Guang was silent for a moment.

After more than ten seconds, she finally rose from her desk, took a step forward, gently opened her arms, and welcomed the purple-haired girl's embrace.

The instant their bodies touched, Zihan's frame tensed slightly, then went soft and relaxed.

"Thank you... Mengmengxiang."

Zihan's voice sounded, muffled against the girl's shoulder.