Chapter 27: The Reasons for Rejection
In the hot spring.
Night Star Lan was joyfully soaking in the warm water, feeling as if her entire being was rejuvenated.
“Ah~ Such youthful bliss~”
Indeed, soaking in a hot spring is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
When she gets back, she must build one in Loti Shana’s Star Eclipse Nation.
Soon, it won’t just be her and Luo Xi enjoying the hot spring, but they’ll invite all their friends too.
Relaxing with a bunch of adorable, beautiful girlfriends, sharing secrets and listening to their laughter—what a delightful scene!
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, reminiscent of ancient emperors indulging in opulent feasts and debauchery.
Night Star Lan sank into contemplation, wondering if she was becoming more and more debauched.
But then again…
Let it be debauchery!
With so many lovely girls around, and with her unbeatable powers, it’s only a matter of time before she embraces her decadence.
After all, at worst, it just means enjoying some spicy interactions with girls.
She was already pretty much used to hugging and kissing Luo Xi.
Next step? Maybe rolling in the sheets and throwing in some tidal magic for good measure.
Just thinking about it stirred a mix of anticipation, tension, and shyness within her.
She hadn’t always been this way.
Originally, she just wanted to maintain a pure relationship with girls—keeping touchy-feely stuff strictly to the best friend zone.
But somewhere along the line, she and the girls had gotten uncomfortably close.
Thinking back, it all started with Luo Xi. In no time, the distance between them shrank, along with her inner descent.
From just wanting cuddles to yearning for something more… intense.
Luo Xi was the one who broke their stable dynamic.
Strong kisses and pushing boundaries? Totally her idea.
Otherwise, Night Star Lan wouldn’t be daydreaming about getting under the sheets with her right now.
“Hmm~”
Night Star Lan glanced over at the quietly enjoying Luo Xi, paddled over, and snuggled up against her.
“Luo Xi…”
“I refuse.”
“Huh!? I didn’t say anything!”
“You can get a goodnight kiss tonight.”
“Yay~ Wait, you think that’ll satisfy me?”
Night Star Lan shot Luo Xi a mildly annoyed look, feeling the urge to execute some sort of spontaneous justice right there.
But in the end, she knew she’d probably just end up stuck in place.
So, pushing boundaries was most likely out of the question.
But that didn’t stop her from wanting to get even closer to Luo Xi and trying all the things she’d previously been too shy to do.
This world is virtual; once she leaves, it might not exist anymore. Creating sweet memories seems only reasonable.
Of course, Night Star Lan had never viewed Luo Xi as just a virtual character. The feelings she had for her were all quite real—love and dependency alike.
Yet, Luo Xi kept refusing her further advances, as if hiding something in her heart, unwilling to fully open up.
Thinking about it put a little cloud over Night Star Lan’s mood.
In the future, Luo Xi would fulfill her every desire, even take charge.
If she wished, rolling in the sheets would be something casually seen to.
But right now? No chance.
Could it be that their time together just isn’t long enough?
But the issue was that Luo Xi wasn’t human; she was a more advanced life form, which, theoretically, led to a very different interaction model with humans.
Falling in love over time? Not applicable here.
With no complicated emotions, no jumbled thoughts, everything should flow effortlessly with the kind of intuition that shines like an omen.
Since she couldn’t read Night Star Lan’s heart, she would have to trust her instincts for answers.
Night Star Lan felt her mood muddle a bit.
She was like a walking mystery.
With unreadable traits, unpredictable destiny, and vibes that felt certainly out of place with this era, she seemed an anachronism of sorts.
Luo Xi must have noticed these strange traits.
But she still hadn’t asked.
Night Star Lan even began to wonder if she needed to come clean about everything to get Luo Xi to open up.
Should she spill that this world is a game created by Kuro, and she entered to uncover the truth of the past?
Who knows if Luo Xi would even believe that?
According to the setup, Luo Xi should technically just be a game character.
Too troubled.
Just then, Luo Xi reached out and gently ruffled Night Star Lan’s hair, seemingly offering comfort.
“Now isn’t the time.”
“Then when will it be?”
“Once the Origin of the Stars completely splits into two individuals, free from Kuro’s will, I can truly be your Luo Xi.”
“Ah…”
Night Star Lan’s expression turned adorably blank.
So that was the reason?
Currently, there’s a tight connection between Luo Xi and Kuro, even sharing a common will that influences each other’s decisions.
But Luo Xi is laid-back; she has no desire to go out or do anything different.
Kuro, on the other hand, has a passion for everything outside, busy-bodying around, often dragging humans back for tea parties.
Between them, Kuro’s will is the most lively, dominating the Origin of the Stars.
Sure, Luo Xi’s will can sway Kuro, but it’s usually reserved for handling the humans Kuro drags back, spending the rest of her time nose-deep in books.
Night Star Lan’s recent arrival disrupted Luo Xi’s peaceful life, quickly shortening their distance and creating an unusual relationship.
Luo Xi could accommodate Night Star Lan’s minor requests, but when it came to deeper matters, she refused to proceed under Kuro’s unpredictable influence.
Night Star Lan started to understand.
“Ah, I see now. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“Did you ask before?”
“Doesn’t seem like I did.”
Night Star Lan bashfully twirled a strand of hair, realizing she’d totally misunderstood.
It turns out it was all Kuro’s doing, not Luo Xi’s fault at all.
Well then, no big deal!
In the future, as Kuro and Luo Xi split completely due to the curse, they wouldn’t be a unified Origin of the Stars anymore, and their wills would no longer interfere with each other.
That’s when Luo Xi could openly pursue a relationship with Night Star Lan, no shyness at all, just a full-on frontal attack.
“But… do you know how to avoid Kuro’s influence?”
“Kuro’s current actions are a golden opportunity; my intuition tells me once she succeeds, the problem will resolve itself.”
“Oh!”
Now that’s some intuition worth its weight in gold!
Night Star Lan had all the faith in that instinct being spot on.
If things keep trending this way, the power of the Origin of the Stars would spiral into chaos due to the curse.
Kuro and Luo Xi would be forced to split.
One would fall into a long slumber.
The other would become deeply weakened.
They couldn’t even exist in the same spacetime.
All the First Generation would be caught in the crossfire.
The cursed powers would spill over, hiding within certain humans, awakening their star powers while risking d*ath due to the transformation into Star Eclipses.
And thus, the disaster of the Star Eclipses would begin—that’s quite a tragic turn of events.
Of course, Luo Xi had no clue about any of this.
She couldn’t predict her own future, only sensing a vague direction it might take.
The split between Kuro and Bai was inevitable.
