But he never expected the parting to come so abruptly.
Just three days after her eighteenth birthday, early in the morning, the heart rate monitor emitted a sharp, piercing alarm.
Everything happened in a flash.
Doctors and nurses rushed in, resuscitation efforts began...
Gu Chengyu stood in the corner of the room, his aura terrifyingly cold, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, knuckles white.
He watched her, like a delicate flower suddenly deprived of all moisture, wither rapidly, her face pale.
But the doctors had said she could live into her twenties.
Yet, in the next moment, he understood clearly: how could a girl with such a vibrant soul, who had poured her all into secretly acting out joys and sorrows, truly achieve a heart as still as water, utterly without ripples?
Every fluctuation of emotion was a burden on her fragile heart.
Her vitality was draining away at lightning speed, her soul on the verge of scattering between heaven and earth. She had no merit to protect her. Once scattered, it would be utter nothingness.
Without almost any hesitation, Gu Chengyu's powerful divine sense instantly spread out, gathering the dispersing sparks of her consciousness into the depths of his own sea of consciousness, protecting them with a gentle yet firm hold.
Before the attack from the world's consciousness could arrive, he immediately took her far away from this minor world.
For the first time, he actively pleaded with Xiao Qi: "Please, save her. I know you have a way."
Gu Chengyu had long seen that Xiao Qi was no ordinary figure; he must have methods unknown to him.
Xiao Qi's usually grinning face showed a trace of emotion.
Looking at the faint point of light within Gu Chengyu's sea of consciousness, he shook his head and became serious:
"She has no merit, cannot condense divine sense. By the rules, she can only dissipate. This is the law of heaven and earth."
Gu Chengyu's eyes darkened, filled with obsession.
Xiao Qi paused, then changed his tone: "However, it's not absolutely impossible."
"If someone blessed with great fortune and immense merit shares their fortune and merit with her, it might protect her soul from scattering. There might even be a chance to send her into the world of cultivation to live a new life."
"The prerequisite for sharing fortune is the recognition of the Heaven and Earth Supreme Treasure, the Heart-Link Knot. It means the two must be of one heart, unwavering unto death."
Xiao Qi flicked his wrist, and an intricately crafted red knot seal appeared in his palm.
"This thing happens to be with me. I can lend it to you."
"But, her soul is too fragile. You can't protect it for long."
"Moreover, she has no body, cannot be reborn, and has no consciousness. And you still want her to fall in love with you? That's too difficult."
Gu Chengyu remained silent, looking at him with a stubborn gaze.
Xiao Qi scratched his blue hair and slapped his forehead: "Right! Next to the Soul Department, there's also a System Bureau. They specialize in defying fate and changing destinies. They might have a way."
"Just not sure if they can handle something like bringing the dead back to life..."
The two went to the System Bureau.
The System Bureau initially didn't want to get involved. But looking at one who seemed dejected yet radiated a terrifying aura of a sword master, and another who seemed frivolous on the surface but had an unbelievably solid background with blue hair, they ultimately decided it was good to foster friendly relations and offered a solution.
"We can try sending her back to the world of your first life."
"Your divine sense can also go, but it will be attacked and suppressed by that world's consciousness, replaced by the Gu Chengyu of that lifetime."
"There happens to be a girl there with the exact same birth date and time whose lifespan is about to end. Su Qianqian can replace her. As compensation, the System Bureau will take that girl to be reborn in another world."
"But a foreign soul is likely to cause rejection. There will be some side effects. However, if you two are... that kind of relationship, to a certain extent, you can nourish her. After all, in your first life, you were the world consciousness's favored son."
"The maximum time limit is only two years."
"Two years later is that girl's destined death calamity. If by then you haven't successfully shared fortune, she will still die."
"Furthermore, within those two years, you absolutely must not reveal any information beyond that world's understanding to her. Otherwise, while the world consciousness can't touch you, it will instantly erase her."
Gu Chengyu didn't hesitate in the slightest: "Alright."
He immediately thought of a plan.
She loved scripts and novels, and he had read many too.
On Blue Star, online literature was developed, with concepts like systems, transmigrating into books, and strategizing/romancing targets being prevalent.
He could have Qing Yu accompany her, present the events of his first life as a book, and have her go after the male lead.
He also didn't want her trapped in someone else's body. She was originally so beautiful; in a new life, she naturally had to be even more beautiful.
He wanted to give her a more stunning appearance and body.
Ancient texts recorded the Innately Alluring Body, and above that was the Innately Perfect Alluring Body, most suitable for dual cultivation, nourishing oneself while also replenishing the man, one of the innate holy constitutions.
Gu Chengyu took out a spiritual pill refined from the cultivation base and alluring bone of a Harmony Sect Saintess, looking at Xiao Qi: "Is there a way to purify and upgrade this?"
Xiao Qi's eyes widened: "Wow! Big shot, you're hiding such good stuff! Formed from the essence of an Innately Alluring Body? Although it seems the original owner practiced a somewhat... unclean path, it's indeed a treasure..."
"As for upgrading and purifying? Let me think..."
He rummaged through his treasures with a pained expression for a long time, finally pulling out a small vial of chaotic gas:
“Here, this is a life-saving thing my family's that person gave me. It can cleanse all things and reshape essence. Combining the two can reshape a perfect physical body for her.”
Tsk tsk, an Alluring Bone Holy Body, that must be... quite something. Really a bargain for you.
Gu Chengyu ignored the latter part of his sentence, solemnly accepting it: "Thank you. In the future, if you need Gu Chengyu, I will not refuse even at the cost of my life."
Xiao Qi curled his lip: "Remember what you said, Sword Venerable big shot! Once you ascend to the upper realm, you must help our family fight a few more battles."
Gu Chengyu agreed. Looking at the spiritual pill, now elevated a grade and shimmering with radiant light, he let out a sigh of relief.
Whether the him from that first life would fall in love with her... he was partly confident, yet partly unsure.
After all, he knew all too well what kind of person he was in that lifetime.
But she was so beautiful, and with a body that men would find irresistible... even if it started with mere attraction, the probability of him losing his bet would be smaller.
Gu Chengyu did not have Qing Yu order her to fall in love with him, fearing it would backfire.
He also hoped she could get to know the him of that world freely, without shackles.
Subsequent events proceeded according to plan.
Qing Yu pretended to be a system, fused the spiritual pill for Qianqian, nourished her soul, and reshaped her body, making her even more fair, delicate, and stunning than the fairies of the cultivation world. Combined with that alluring bone constitution, she became a blend of pure innocence and seductive charm.
During that time, Gu Chengyu was actually always there.
He was going to gamble this once, for her.
【The First Time He Saw Her】
On the day she first arrived in the new world, Gu Chengyu, under the pressure from the world's consciousness, retained a sliver of awareness.
He ordered Assistant Zhao to take a detour to the old city district.
The world's consciousness immediately attacked. Unwilling to clash head-on, it immediately pretended to fall into slumber.
Half an hour later, he sensed something and opened his eyes again.
Sunlight filtered through dappled tree shadows and the atmosphere of mundane life.
He saw her.
A girl, wearing a simple, clean white shirt and jeans, walked gracefully into the flower shop.
It was her.
Su Qianqian.
Standing in the sunlight of the same world as him, with a vivid vitality.
At that moment, a surge of aching bitterness and heart-fluttering emotion washed over him, nearly drowning him.
This was their first real meeting, he had seen her.
And she, unaware that their initial encounter was, in fact, his desperate contrivance.
A single glance, a fleeting moment.
The attack from the minor world came swiftly, that thread of forcibly retained consciousness instantly scattered.
He was plunged completely into darkness.
This time, the ending will be a good one, right?
Not like the last life, where she suddenly closed her eyes.
He hadn't had time to tell her in person that someone had praised her excellent grades, someone had seen all the little secrets she hid away, someone had been accompanying her all along.
Nor had he time to stand before her and say, he liked her.
He had so many things left undone, so much he couldn't bear to part with, but in the end, they all coalesced into a single obsession.
Su Qianqian, you must like me, like me a little more.
You must live.
