A soft voice trembled with emotion.
It was a sorrow born from the past.
Too afraid to face, too unwilling to see.
After the Witch’s first act of defiance, in the real world, Xu Xi witnessed the Witch’s first display of dislike.
Dislike for Xu Xi’s white hair.
“It’s okay, Cressa, it’s just some snow,” a warm, broad hand gently stroked the Witch’s head, soothing her uneasy heart.
Xu Xi’s voice was soft, yet gentle.
The wounds of the soul could only be stitched slowly with threads of care.
Xu Xi understood.
In the second simulation, he had died of old age before the Witch, causing her immense emotional shock that still affected her today.
That void of loss.
In truth, it had already been mostly mended after reuniting with Xu Xi.
Yet, the Witch still feared such scenes, instinctively reacting upon seeing them.
“It’s okay, I’m here, always here…”
His hand brushed through her silver-gray long hair.
With each gentle stroke, the Witch’s expression gradually calmed, her eyes returning to the familiar emptiness Xu Xi knew.
“Sorry, Mentor…”
Cressa lowered her head, almost burying it in her chest, not daring to look up at Xu Xi.
She knew she had caused him trouble.
Though to Xu Xi, this so-called trouble was trivial, not even worth mentioning.
But the Witch felt.
As an object, affecting her master was an unforgivable mistake.
“It’s okay, Cressa, it’s not important,” Xu Xi’s hand continued to stroke, conveying reassurance to the Witch.
His voice was the tenderness the Witch remembered.
Like the spring breeze and the fire in the night.
Warm, comforting, blowing away the Witch’s unease.
“Let’s go, we’re going home,” Xu Xi took Cressa’s hand, grasping her slender, trembling fingers, gently enveloping them, leading the bewildered Witch home.
Without Cressa’s power affecting the surroundings.
Soon.
On the way home, fine snowflakes began to fall again.
This time, the clever Witch had learned to prevent it, an invisible spatial barrier enveloping the air, swallowing all the snowflakes that fell on her head.
Echoing in their ears were the surprised voices of passersby.
“This snow is so strange.”
“Yeah, it stops suddenly, then starts again, harder to understand than a woman’s heart.”
“Let’s go, let’s hurry, or it might get worse.”
Urgent voices, hurried steps.
People worried about the snowstorm worsening quickened their pace, heading towards their destinations.
Xu Xi and the Witch’s figures were inconspicuous in the crowd, walking side by side, their steps slow and steady, leaving even footprints on the road.
“Winter in Yanshan City has its own charm.”
As they walked.
Xu Xi looked at the streets on either side.
The winter city had its unique beauty.
The lights of the cold night warmly illuminated the streets.
The steam in the quiet rolled with heat.
In the silence and whiteness, people bustling to stock up for the New Year added the final piece to the winter scene, the clamor of “people.”
“What’s wrong, Cressa?”
Turning a corner.
Still some distance from the courtyard.
Xu Xi paused, not because he had something to do, but because the Witch suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on a shop by the street.
Following the Witch’s gaze.
Xu Xi saw a hat shop.
In the harsh winter, the hat shop’s business was slow, almost deserted.
But the hats displayed at the entrance were quite novel and interesting.
Xu Xi glanced briefly, not only seeing traditional hat styles but also some specially made “Chuunibyou Hats” catering to young people.
Some were bizarre and ridiculous.
Some were designed to look cool and extraordinary.
Others were character hats from games and anime.
The Witch’s gaze was fixed on those peculiar “Chuunibyou Hats.”
Her eyes scanned left and right, filled with confusion and curiosity, finally settling on a triangular hat.
Xu Xi recognized that hat.
“A Western-style Witch Hat?”
Xu Xi understood, the accomplished Cressa could easily grasp the essence of any item she saw.
That must be why.
As a Witch, Cressa was drawn to the Witch Hat in the hat shop.
Though the Witches they represented were not the same.
“Cressa, do you want to wear it?”
Snowflakes fluttered like out-of-control butterflies.
Mixed with the wind, they clamored in the world.
Facing Xu Xi’s question, Cressa first nodded, then shook her head.
“Mentor, I don’t need it.”
The Witch spoke her true thoughts, she was merely curious about the hat, not truly wanting it.
“Try it, maybe you’ll like it?”
Xu Xi smiled, things that piqued Cressa’s curiosity were rare.
He led the hesitant Witch.
Towards the hat shop.
Amid the shopkeeper’s enthusiastic introduction, Xu Xi took down the triangular Witch Hat, holding it up and down, finally looking at Cressa’s head.
“Cressa, try it on?”
“…Okay.”
The Witch seemed genuinely interested in the hat.
As Xu Xi held the hat, the Witch’s gaze followed its movement.
“Cressa, lower your head a bit.”
Cressa obediently lowered her head, and Xu Xi gently placed the large Witch Hat on her head.
This special hat was quite large.
Much larger than ordinary hats.
The triangular design made it feel heavier.
But it must be said, this triangular Witch Hat looked quite fitting on the silver-gray-haired Witch.
“…Mentor?”
Cressa stood still, wearing a black-and-white dress, the light black Witch Hat on her head, her face delicate yet bewildered.
She didn’t know.
How she looked now.
Whether it was good or not.
“Cressa, can you turn around once?” Xu Xi looked at her, thinking the front looked good, but unsure about other angles.
So, Xu Xi asked Cressa to turn around.
“…Yes, Mentor.”
The Witch was obedient.
But she found her long dress inconvenient to move in.
So, the Witch lightly lifted her dress with one hand, gently pressed the wide brim of the hat with the other, and spun around in the falling snowflakes, showing Xu Xi her full appearance.
![[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/TS-Obsessed-Gamer-The-Ultimate-Return2.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return")
