Chapter 204: Whispers of Regret The door creaked open, revealing Xiaxia and Seraphina stepping back into the dining room.
Xiaxia’s face was a canvas of delight, her eyes sparkling with newfound excitement. The tension that had previously hung in the air had dissipated, replaced by an inexplicable sense of contentment.
Xin, who had been sitting at the table, glanced up, his eyes flickering between the two women.
He noticed Xiaxia’s radiant smile, a stark contrast to the stern expression she had worn earlier.
"What did you two talk about?" Xin inquired, his curiosity piqued by Xiaxia’s sudden change in demeanor.
Seraphina’s lips curled into a subtle smile, her eyes holding a mysterious glimmer. "Oh, just girl talk," she replied, her tone light and airy.
Xiaxia chimed in, her grin widening as she teased, "Secrets, you know. Girls’ stuff."
Xin raised an eyebrow, intrigued yet slightly suspicious. "Girls’ stuff, huh?" he echoed.
Seraphina nodded, her gaze meeting Xin’s with a knowing look. "Exactly."
Xin’s eyes darted between the two women, confusion clouding his expression. "Are you alright?" he asked Xiaxia, who appeared to be both laughing and salivating simultaneously.
Did Seraphina do something? His sister seemed to have gone crazier than before.
Xiaxia giggled, the sound filling the room and inadvertently eliciting a shiver from Xin.
"Ehehehe. Xin, Seraphina is right. The only way to protect you is to have a fake relationship with her. No one would dare lay a hand on you, knowing they’d cross her in exchange."
Xin’s mouth dropped, his surprise evident as he turned his gaze toward Seraphina. How on earth did she manage to handle his unruly sister?
. "You’re amazing," Xin uttered in a low voice, genuine admiration in his eyes.
Xiaxia cleared her throat, her tone shifting to business. "By the way, Seraphina and I decided to do a little shopping and have a spa day tomorrow after school, so you don’t have to wait for us to get home. I think we’ll be a bit late, so you don’t have to worry."
Xin’s expression fell. He suddenly knew what was going on here. Xiaxia had a weak spot for shopping and spas.
"Xiaxia . . . don’t take advantage of Seraphina," Xin said sternly.
"Huh? Who’s taking advantage of whom here? It was Seraphina who insisted!" Xiaxia retorted, her defense immediate.
Seraphina nodded, her smile genuine. "I thought it would be a nice way for us to bond. After all, we’re practically family now," she said, her eyes flickering toward Xin.
Xin found himself at a loss for words, the conversation swiftly transitioning into girly territory that he couldn’t care less about.
For now, it seemed like Seraphina and Xiaxia were getting close. It was one way to start.
Later that evening, after their art session, with Xiaxia standing guard by their side to ensure nothing funny happened, Xin delved into the game, seeking solace in the digital realm after the whole whirlwind of drama that happened in school.
The day had felt unusually long after everything that had happened.
As he logged into the game, he spotted Victor in their usual spot. It seemed Victor had logged in early, but something about his expression caught Xin off guard.
"Victor," Xin called out, approaching him, but he skidded to a stop because Victor’s face was deadly serious, mirroring the intensity of the morning.
Victor approached Xin with heavy steps, his voice laden with seriousness. "Are you really going out with Seraphina?"
Xin fought the urge to sigh. Victor clearly hadn’t gotten over the shock of what had transpired earlier in the day.
"Wait . . . don’t tell me you logged in early because you’re still not over what happened earlier today?"
"Who could get over something like that?!" Victor defended, his frustration evident.
He then collected himself and sighed. "Please tell me she’s not doing it because of some twisted logic, thinking she can save you due to her standing. And you have agreed with it because she’s secretly a manipulative witch."
Xin’s eyes slowly widened. Leave it to Victor to see through everything.
"Y-you . . ." Victor hesitated, sensing the truth from how Xin avoided his gaze. "So it’s true."
Victor turned to the other side and muttered in a low voice that only he could hear, "That sly bitch."
"What’s that?" Xin asked when he couldn’t hear what Victor said.
"Nothing." Victor quickly faced Xin, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, I won’t tell anyone about your fake relationship since that might help your situation . . . somewhat. But tell me something honestly . . ."
Victor stared deeply into Xin’s eyes. "You don’t like her, right?"
Xin tilted his head to the side. "Like her?"
"Like her romantically."
Xin was momentarily stunned before he shook his head. "No."
Romance was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment, and he genuinely believed he wasn’t the right man for someone like Seraphina Fey.
He wasn’t delusional.
"Good." Victor sighed in relief, his easygoing smile returning. "As long as you’re sure about that, everything’s going to be fine."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Xin questioned, confused.
"Nothing. Let’s go and complete this dungeon," Victor said enthusiastically, his energy returning compared to before when he seemed almost dead at the side.
Eventually, Rever and Yuzuro arrived, and Midnight Duchess appeared, surprising everyone as always.
While the trio were venturing into the last dungeon of the Abandon Fortress, another storm was brewing outside Guildbane.
In the dead of the night, Meilyn sat alone in her dimly lit room, the soft glow of her laptop screen casting a ghostly pallor on her face.
The room was quiet, save for the distant sounds of crickets chirping and the occasional passing car outside. The atmosphere was heavy with tension, and a sense of melancholy hung in the air like a thick fog.
On her screen played the video that had shattered her world –– Seraphina’s confession about her relationship with Xin.
Meilyn couldn’t believe it at first.
The mere idea of Xin being romantically involved with someone like Seraphina seemed like a fairy tale story, a nightmare she desperately wished to wake up from.
But as the video played on, the undeniable truth stared her in the face, leaving her heart in knots.
The video captured Seraphina’s confident voice as she announced her relationship with Xin to the world, her words cutting through Meilyn like a sharp knife.
The unspoken question echoed in Meilyn’s mind: When did Xin and Seraphina even meet? How had this relationship blossomed under her nose without her noticing?
The room felt stifling, and Meilyn’s fingers trembled as she clutched the edges of her laptop. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of it all.
She thought she had moved on from her feelings for Xin, convincing herself that her initial happiness upon seeing him alive was simply relief.
But as the days passed, her thoughts inevitably gravitated back to their past relationship.
She remembered the warmth of Xin’s smile, the way his laughter had once made her heart skip a beat. She recalled the days when they had shared secret glances and stolen moments of intimacy amidst the chaos of their lives.
The memories flooded her mind, drowning her in a sea of bittersweet nostalgia.
A pang of jealousy and regret gnawed at her insides. She wished she could turn back time undo the mistakes that had led to their separation.
But now, Xin seemed worlds away, entangled in a relationship with Seraphina Fey, no less.
Meilyn’s eyes welled up with tears, her emotions threatening to spill over.
She felt a deep sense of loss as if a part of her had slipped away, forever out of reach.
At that moment, the realization hit her –– she was not over Xin, not by a long shot.
The wounds of their past still haunted her, refusing to fade into the background.
As the video continued to play, Meilyn’s heartache deepened.
She was left to grapple with the harsh truth that Xin was no longer hers, that he had moved on without her.
In the stillness of the night, she was left alone with her thoughts, haunted by the specter of what could have been.
"Xin . . ."