Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Luoluo, I Beg You, Come with Me

Suddenly, his expression twisted. “Luoluo! Isn’t having me by your side enough? Why did you listen to that streamer? Why did you smash my jade statue? Why did you abandon me? Why!”

Perhaps some sudden thought shattered his usual image of doting affection, and it also made Luoluo recall many details that didn’t add up.

“You call me Luoluo every time I come here. I used to think it was a pet name, but now I realize how wrong it is! Why do you only call me by a version of my surname? I have a given name! I’m Luoyuan!”

“What nonsense are you spouting? You are Luoluo! My wife.”

The man’s gaze softened, his tone turning intimate. “You are my Luoluo. You are my wife, Luoluo.”

In the past, she had been completely bewitched by Cao Songci’s sweet talk.

But now that she knew the truth, she certainly wouldn’t fall into his trap again.

She scrambled back a few steps and demanded, “Song Ci, who are you? In all this past year, did you have any real feelings for me? I need to know—do you see me for me, or are you just looking at someone else through me? And why do you keep appearing in my dreams? Do you love me, or another woman?”

“Song Ci, now I’m afraid to even wonder how much of your affection for me was ever real.”

His innermost thoughts exposed, the man’s face darkened instantly. A flicker of pain surfaced in his pitch-black eyes.

“Why won’t you leave with me? Haven’t I been good to you? In our past life, you promised you’d come with me. Are you going to break your word in this life, too? You’re hounding me for the truth, but is the truth really that important?”

At first, the man’s voice was calm, but by the end, it was choked with a sob. Tears began to slide slowly from his eyes.

He looked utterly pitiful.

Then he threw the question back at Luoluo. “You’re always asking who it is I truly love. But now I have to ask you—have you ever, for even a single moment, truly loved me? Who do you see when you look at me?”

His gaze was sharp as a blade, his expression terrifyingly grim. A single glance was enough to make Luoluo collapse to the ground in fear.

Cao Songci crouched down, seizing Luoluo’s face in his hand and roaring, “No matter how many lives you live, I will find you! I won’t let you be blinded by the debauchery of the outside world. I want you to love me, revere me, and respect me, life after life! I want your future to have room for no one but me! Do you understand? Cao Luoluo! Oh, Cao Luoluo, why can’t you just understand that I’m doing this for your own good!”

His terrifying appearance snapped Luoluo back to her senses. She sobbed, “Song Ci… you’re a god, and I’m a human… we’re not from the same world… The truth is, I came here tonight to say goodbye… We shouldn’t see each other again…”

But before she could finish, Cao Lang clamped his hand over her mouth, shoving her head to the ground. “Luoluo, you’re my woman. You belong to me for this entire life… I won’t let you leave me, and I won’t let you say goodbye. You have no right to leave me! I will control your life and death for all eternity. Have you forgotten? We’ve already sealed a Life and Death Contract. The moment you leave me, you die!”

“Back then, I thought you were just someone from a dream. I didn’t think the contract was real.”

“But the one who sealed the contract with me was you! Luoluo, come with me! I truly love you!”

Suddenly, Luoluo realized her clothes had changed. They were both now dressed in exquisite, cyan-colored ancient robes.

He buried his head in her shoulder, his lips gently sucking at her neck. “My Luoluo, if you just come with me, you’ll be as beautiful as you were before. You won’t have to worry about making a living. Come with me, please?”

A gentle hand wrapped around her waist in a deeply intimate gesture. “Luoluo, you love me very much, don’t you?”

At first, Luoluo tried to struggle free, but under the sway of her emotions, she slowly lost her senses.

She forgot reality. She forgot Shen Zhiyao’s warning. All she remembered was that this man was her beloved, that they had secretly pledged themselves to each other for life, and that they had promised to leave this place together.

“Song Ci… I love you, too…” she murmured, pulling him into her embrace.

In the heat of the moment, Cao Songci asked, “Luoluo… I promise I’ll treat you well for the rest of our lives. Will you leave with me?”

“Song Ci…”

“If you just say yes, we can be together forever. Don’t you love me? Luoluo, say you’re willing!”

“I’m willing, Song Ci. I love you, and I’ll go with you…”

The words had barely left Luoluo’s lips when a clear voice echoed from the heavens. “Don’t agree! The moment you agree, you will die in the real world!”

The clear voice instantly snapped Luoluo back to her senses.

She knew it was Shen Zhiyao’s voice, but when she looked around, she couldn’t find her anywhere.

In truth, Shen Zhiyao hadn’t come in person; she had only sent a sliver of her consciousness.

This was because the spirit was merely a product of coalesced obsession, not particularly powerful.

Cao Songci’s expression changed in a flash. He roared, “What bastard from what sect dares to ruin my plans? Show yourself if you have the guts!”

Shen Zhiyao’s voice continued, “Luoluo, if you go with him, you’ll never be able to return. This is your dream, which means you are its master. He can’t take you away without your permission. But the moment you make that promise, you’ll be trapped with him inside the Guanyin Statue, life after life.”

Cao Songci said, “What’s so bad about leaving with me? Luoluo, didn’t you say the real world is exhausting? That you feel so much pressure? Didn’t you say you love me and want to be with me for all eternity? Come with me. Come with me into the Guanyin Statue. You won’t have to slave away at a job; there will be no stress. I’ll always be by your side. I can make our space into anything you desire. I’ll give you a romance all your own. Stay with me, please?”

Luoluo was a recent college graduate who had just entered the workforce. Like all new graduates, she was struggling to make a living.

She hated the hustle and hadn’t met anyone in the real world who made her heart skip a beat.

That was why the world Cao Songci had created for her was so easy to get lost in.

“You’ll be inside the Guanyin Statue, but it has everything. There’s incense to sustain us, mountains, rivers, food… you’ll never have to suffer from old age, sickness, or death. Please, come with me?”

His tone was so pitiful, so pleading, that she couldn’t bear to refuse him.

Seeing that she was about to be swayed again, Shen Zhiyao’s voice cut in, “Luoluo, have you forgotten your parents? If you leave with him, you’ll die in the real world. What will happen to them?”

Reality was full of disappointments, it was true, but there were also things worth staying for.

Delicious food, beautiful places, good shows, her parents whom she cared for, and a boss who was willing to promote her.

And… there was the promise she had made to herself: that once she had money, she would take her parents to see all the beautiful landscapes their country had to offer.

Thinking of her parents and this world’s Qianqiu, Luoluo completely sobered up.

She shoved Cao Songci away, her voice pained. “I’m sorry, Song Ci. I can’t go with you. My parents are old and have no one else. I can’t leave them with no one to rely on.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep