CHAPTER 63 – Ling Qiuyue's Warning
When Xiao Xi returned, shaken but intact, from speaking with Shen Yichen, Ling Qiuyue cornered her almost immediately near the makeup tent.
The heroine's smile was soft as always, but her eyes—they were the most revealing aspect of all.
There was exhaustion in them, sadness, and a deep-seated fear.
"Xiao Xi," she began delicately, her fingers fussing nervously with the delicate fabric of her dress.
"You're collapsing the world around us."
Xiao Xi stiffened, bracing herself for hostility.
Ling reached out and lightly held her wrist. The touch was warm—like fate itself embracing her, an energy that was supposed to belong to the true heroine.
"You don't understand the burden you carry," Ling whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Gu Yanzhou wasn't meant to survive past the initial chapters.
And your presence, your luck, is forcibly pulling him into your fate—a fate that was never written to exist here."
"I'm just trying to survive the ending that was written for me," Xiao Xi said quietly, pulling her wrist away gently.
"I know.
" Ling Qiuyue's voice trembled, her façade of serenity cracking.
"And I wish you well.
But the world can only handle one true female lead.
The narrative will choose.
And if you stay, one of us will break under the pressure."
Xiao Xi's breath hitched, realizing the depth of Ling's understanding.
Ling sighed, sorrowful.
"I wouldn't want you to disappear.
I truly wouldn't.
But the story doesn't care what either of us want.
It demands balance."
For the first time, Xiao Xi realized the horrifying truth—Ling Qiuyue wasn't her rival in the traditional sense.
She was the only other person suffering under the absolute, suffocating control of fate.