A major event occurred on the Xianzhou.
One day, the iconic Omniscia on Fu Xuan the Master Diviner's forehead suddenly disappeared. Conversely, an obscure minor divisioner suddenly gained a Omniscia that resembled an amethyst.
Qingque.
Qingque had obtained Fu Xuan's Omniscia!
When this astonishing news spread, countless diviners in the Divination Commission unanimously shared the information, asking in utter surprise:
"Who is Qingque?"
Perhaps because the scene of Yu Xian's heroic sacrifice after slaying thousands of Denizens of Abundance was too shocking, almost no one in the Divination Commission remembered that Fu Xuan had once mentioned this young woman named Qingque, saying she quite admired her.
Currently, the diviners had little impression of Qingque.
However, that was all in the past.
Because now, under Fu Xuan's all-out promotion, Qingque had leapt directly into the upper echelons of the Divination Commission!
Aside from Fu Xuan herself, who could still claim superiority over Qingque, no other diviner could compare to Qingque's status. Her current position in the Divination Commission was clearly second only to one person, above all others!
What happened? What kind of luck did Qingque stumble upon?
How could she—someone never enthusiastic about promotions or raises, a low-level diviner, a young lass—receive such immense favor from the Master Diviner?
100 years later...
While everyone was still bewildered, a new shock arrived.
Fu Xuan actually submitted her resignation to General Jing Yuan, announcing she was stepping down from the position of Master Diviner. At the same time, Fu Xuan strongly recommended Qingque as her successor!
Not long after, the approval came down – Qingque actually really became the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, the supreme leader commanding thousands upon thousands of diviners!
Heavens, what happened?! Has the Divination Commission changed skies? Has the world gone mad?
The clamor of the crowd had long since become irrelevant to Qingque. She was not someone who would dwell on the pointing fingers of others.
On this utterly ordinary day, Qingque just swiftly finished her day's work, then, as usual, shut herself inside her office.
Staring in a certain direction.
From another's perspective, there was just an ordinary wall there, devoid of any decoration, completely without anything worth looking at but Qingque merely smiled with infatuation. She opened her eyes wide with joyous obsession, gazing in that direction, and began speaking incessantly, pouring out the deepest thoughts in her heart.
Because, she could already see it.
What was truly there.
A semi-transparent, faint silhouette, the figure of a man quite a bit taller than Qingque, emanating a faint light, slowly, ever so slowly becoming more transparent. This was the sign of him being rejected by this world, on the verge of dissipating.
But Qingque seemed to turn a blind eye to this. It should be said, as long as she could see the man's form, Qingque was already satisfied.
"Yu Xian."
Qingque uttered his name with immense joy. At the same time, her small hand had already touched the Fayan on her own forehead.
Pain? She was long used to it.
Numbness? She could ignore it long ago.
At this very moment, Qingque's heart held only immense gratitude for this Omniscia that Fu Xuan had gifted her.
"If I had not worn this Omniscia, my beloved, how could I ever see your form?"
Qingque licked her somewhat parched lips, a sudden, alluring blush spreading across the young woman's pale cheeks.
"You, in your soul state, still staying by my side... I'm so happy... Look at me again, look at me once more, let me see you too, my dear..."
Shamelessly, Qingque continuously uttered these highly seductive words of love. Comparing this to her pure, tomboyish image from a century ago, one couldn't say they were exactly the same—they were completely like two different people.
If others were to see Qingque in this state, it would undoubtedly cause quite an uproar. Who among the diviners in the Divination Commission today didn't know that this Grand Diviner Qingque, who succeeded Fu Xuan, was the most aloof, even cold-hearted?
In daily life, Qingque operated like a high-speed robot without emotions, never smiling in her interactions with others. Always, she maintained an expression of cold, unnervingly calm indifference towards everyone!
If not for being Qingque's friend of a hundred years, who could possibly imagine that Master Diviner Qingque could also show an incredibly infatuated, lovesick smile like she does now?
Too intense!
This intensity wasn't just frightening to outsiders; it was enough to make even Yu Xian's scalp tingle—though Yu Xian didn't have a scalp anymore.
Yu Xian fell silent for a moment, watching Qingque stare at him unblinkingly. A feeling of reluctance and an indescribable heartache welled up inside him. But he lowered his head to look at his own soul-body, slowly becoming transparent and void. In the end, he gritted his teeth and made a gesture to Qingque.
"I have to go."
Yes.
A hundred years had already passed since Yu Xian's physical body died.
Qingque assumed the role of Master Diviner, captured the Stellaron Hunters, thwarted Phantylia's conspiracy, established connections with the Astral Express, dealt with various provocations from the Interastral Peace Corporation, and even later advising the General, leading the Xianzhou to join the final decisive battle, achieving a perfect ending...
Qingque had experienced all these events, and Yu Xian, in his soul state, had vaguely witnessed many fragments and remnants of them.
Now, everything had ended, life had returned to peace. Although Qingque's mental state was still concerning, overall, it was steadily improving.
The regrets and remorse in Qingque's heart were gradually resolving, and the path for Yu Xian to leave the simulation was consequently becoming clear. That is to say, Yu Xian was about to return to the real world.
[Detected that character Qingque's emotions have stabilized. Host, do you choose to leave the simulation?]
[Friendly reminder: The host has remained in soul form for too long after death in this simulation. This will cause permanent, unknowable effects on the host. If the host does not leave now—]
"Wait one more minute. Stop rushing me."
The light screen projected by the simulator flickered rapidly before his eyes. Rows of text, some warnings, some prompts, swiftly scrolled past Yu Xian's vision. He pressed his lips together and temporarily ignored them.
Yu Xian needed to bid a final farewell to Qingque.
Although, this Qingque was merely a product of the simulation, having no connection to the real Qingque but an inexplicable emotion stirred within Yu Xian's heart. No matter what, he couldn't harden his heart to simply leave without a care for the simulation's Qingque.
He had to say goodbye.
A silent farewell.
"Goodbye, Qingque. Next time, I will never let you go through this..."
At the final moment before leaving the simulation, Yu Xian controlled his nearly unmanageable soul body. He dragged his form to float in front of Qingque and managed to gently touch her small face.
Yu Xian's semi-transparent hand passed through Qingque's cheek.
through, and in the next instant, Yu Xian's soul completely vanished from the simulation.
The simulation ended. Yu Xian had left.
Only Qingque remained, still staring blankly at the empty wall where no figure could be seen anymore, lost in unknowable thoughts.
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Life Simulator: Starting in Genshin Impact!
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
patreon.com/deadlygoober