Chapter 58: Unable to Lose, Therefore Apologize

After Shen Yi left, Fang Xiaoling sat alone under a tree to think for a while. She decided that before returning to the school to continue her mission, she would first make a trip back to the Starlight Realm. No matter what, it was she who had given those spiritual entities hope.

Hope, once given, should never be stripped away.

She organized her words of apology in her heart, opened her eyes in the Starlight Realm, and walked to the castle window. However, she was stunned by the scene outside the castle: the bonfire was gone, and all the spiritual entities were standing in neat rows. Seeing Fang Xiaoling poke her head out, they cried out in unison, "We are sorry, Lord of Light. We were wrong."

"Ah... No, the one who should apologize is me." Before returning, Fang Xiaoling had been filled with dread, afraid that the spiritual entities would not accept her apology. Yet, once she made up her mind and took action, she discovered that things were not as terrifying as she had imagined.

Rongge stepped forward from the crowd and, acting as the representative of the Starlight Realm, bowed respectfully to Fang Xiaoling. "Forgive us, Lord of Light. After prolonged discussion and reflection among the spiritual entities, we have reached a conclusion: the Starlight Realm cannot survive without the Lord of Light!"

Cannot lose, therefore apologize.

It had nothing to do with facts.

Fighting back her tears, Fang Xiaoling bowed deeply to all the spiritual entities in return...

In the hospital of the real world, Roland sat curled up on the staircase steps. "There's no chance left..." she muttered to herself, feeling a lingering regret over her previous impulsive action of exposing her identity to Tian Hu once again. This meant it would be extremely difficult to make him believe she was Li Mengli.

"Sigh—" Roland let out a helpless sigh. The sudden appearance of this world's father had disrupted all her previous plans. Now Tian Hu basically regarded her as a monster; how could he possibly fall in love with her?

At this moment, she felt a profound sense of loneliness.

Or rather, she finally became aware of her own solitude. In truth, ever since she was sixteen years old, loneliness had always accompanied her, never leaving her side. Because of this, she had always desperately focused on her missions, ignoring the growing sensation blooming deep within her heart as time passed.

Now, when she was forced to notice this monster named "loneliness," she was astonished to find that it had completely occupied her inner self.

Roland, seasoned through a hundred lifetimes, felt warmth and wetness on her face.

"Roland..."

She jerked her head up. Around the dim stairwell, apart from herself, there was no one else.

"Roland, I want to talk to you." The voice rang out directly within her mind. To be honest, at that moment, Roland felt a trace of comfort. Come to think of it, she was not entirely alone after all.

"Li Mengli, you are getting more and more impressive. You can actually communicate with me directly like this," Roland remarked with a hint of emotion. "All of you are getting more and more formidable..."

"I haven't done anything; the one who has changed is you." Li Mengli's voice sounded ethereal. "Perhaps you can only hear me when you are willing to listen."

"Nonsense." Roland stood up, pushed open the door, and walked without looking back toward the restroom at the end of the corridor. "Sorry, but I suppose I'll be stuck in this body of yours for the rest of my life."

"The one who should say sorry is me. I used to think you were a bad person."

"Heh, what do you mean? Am I not a bad person now?" Roland looked at the mirror in the restroom, reached out to pull a paper towel from the dispenser, and gently wiped away her tears. Yet the reflection in the mirror stared back at her without moving a muscle.

"At least none of this was something you initiated on your own. It was that place called the Tower..." Li Mengli pressed both palms against the mirror. "My father was also killed by the people in the Tower, right?"

"It seems you are much more reasonable than your sister." Roland looked at her. "It's a pity that nothing can be changed anymore. What has happened has happened."

"No, Roland, listen to me. That's why I came to find you." Li Mengli said urgently, "The authorities are deluded, while the onlookers see clearly. Actually, if we think about it from another angle, if the Tower can effortlessly erase a person's traces, couldn't the Tower perhaps also have the ability to restore a person's traces?"

Roland narrowed her eyes. "Interesting. Go on."

"They are higher-dimensional existences, so my father might just be able to..." Li Mengli herself felt this sounded too far-fetched, her voice growing much softer than before. "I was just thinking that if you really can defeat the Tower in the future, perhaps you could make the Tower restore all of this."

"Restore everything..." Roland subconsciously repeated the words. Although what she wanted to restore and what Li Mengli wanted to restore were not the same thing, Li Mengli's words did serve as a reminder. This conjecture was not difficult to verify; she only needed to wait for the next vibration of the earpiece.

"I heard what the artificial intelligence in the earpiece said as well. Clearly, what you need to do right now is first elevate your rank as a traveler. Only then will you have the chance to approach the Tower," Li Mengli continued. "The key to completing this mission is to make Tian Hu fall in love with this body, right? What if I take control? I love him very much, I am certain I love him, and I feel that I am the one best suited to complete this mission!"

"Such careful scheming." Roland clapped her hands. "Little girl, do you really think I'm that easy to fool? You want to make me hand over the body to you with just a few words? Besides, even if you take control, it's useless. It will be hard for Tian Hu to trust this body again. No matter who is in control, the outcome will be the same—he will stay far away out of fear and suspicion."

"Tiger-ge is not that kind of person. At his core, he is very kind. If he knows I am in trouble, he will definitely not stand by and watch," Li Mengli stated with conviction. "We should tell him everything; anyway, he already knows a bit of it, doesn't he? After that, let me control this body, and I will definitely make him open up his heart. I am certain he has feelings for me. Will you give me a chance?"

"Just you? A high school senior?" Roland raised an eyebrow and said with disdain, "Do you know charm arts? Do you understand human nature and psychology? Do you know what men like? If even I couldn't succeed, you think you can pull it off? Little girl, you are too naive. You haven't even held a boy's hand, have you?"

"If romance required knowing as much as you claim, how many people in this world could ever be together? Even if you understand all the men in this world, it doesn't necessarily mean you understand Tiger-ge. Everyone is a unique existence, right? How could there possibly be a single formula in this world that applies to everyone?" Li Mengli said earnestly. Seeing Roland's half-smiling expression, which clearly showed she had not taken it in, Li Mengli immediately changed her tune, "Fine, I know you only believe you are right. Even if I don't know any of those things you mentioned, aren't you still here? You can teach me how to date, right? I'll take action, you give the orders, and I'll listen to everything you say. That should work, right?"

Roland fell silent, appearing to consider the proposition.

Seeing an opening, Li Mengli pressed on, "Anyway, since you feel you can no longer complete the mission yourself, why not let me try? If I do anything wrong, you can just replace me. Isn't that fine?"