The black cat merged into Serena Tong's body and disappeared.
"I'll take you to where you belong. There, everyone carries a fragment of the Witch Goddess's spirit, just like you."
You'll fight and survive there, until the last one standing gathers all the spirit fragments and guides the Witch Goddess back from her ancient lost path.
"The world will change in the end."
"I hope you make it back alive."
Arthur Liang spoke mildly as he led Serena Tong away.
Serena took one last look back—at the boy wrapped in blazing fire walls in the sky, and then at Queenie Tong, still on the phone, completely oblivious to what was happening.
"Oh, right."
Arthur Liang seemed to remember something and smiled: "Actually, there were never any snipers, launch platforms, or high-energy lasers. That was all fake."
He looked at Serena Tong, studying her face.
Then he added another line.
"But you made the right choice."
He walked beside Serena Tong, serious-faced: "If you hadn't agreed to leave with me, I would've personally—"
"—torn that kid to pieces."
"That would've been a very simple matter."
Arthur Liang spoke, but Serena Tong didn't respond. The two walked on in silence.
Ahead, strange rune patterns appeared, weaving themselves into a small door.
Arthur Liang reached out, pulled open the door, and gestured politely for her to go first.
Both of them vanished.
The rooftop returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Maybe the moment I realized I liked him was when he first stood up and offered to walk me home."
The phone call continued.
Queenie Tong lay sprawled on the sofa, listening to Lynn Chen's shy voice on the other end.
Queenie hesitated to ask about it, worried she might be too forward.
But clearly, the girl who called herself Lynn Chen wasn't the type to be difficult.
After a brief conversation, Queenie found herself even more envious of Lynn's relationship with Evan.
Back in high school, the two of them could even live under the same roof.
That kind of experience made Queenie so jealous she almost wanted to jump up and down.
"But back then, I didn't want to admit it. All our classmates and friends were around, and Evan just seemed—well, I couldn't tell if he was cold or just awkward."
Lynn Chen spoke, recalling that night at Imperial Grand, lost in memory.
A boy's shoulders are born to bear responsibility. So when he meets a girl he truly likes, he'll always feel he's not good enough, not ready yet, unable to shoulder the duty of 'saving the world' for her.
I believe Evan Lin is exactly that kind of boy—responsible, dependable. It's like, for a girl's happiness, if he doesn't have a house or a car yet, a boy who truly loves her will often hide his feelings. Only selfish guys use 'true love' as a way to hijack happiness.
Queenie Tong rambled on, saying all sorts of things.
She felt she should try to push away the girl on the other end of the call—her biggest love rival right now—but Queenie couldn't bring herself to say anything that would hurt Lynn Chen.
Of course, Evan Lin could definitely afford a house and a car now. But honestly, things like that probably don't mean much to him anymore.
His ambitions are way beyond what normal people care about.
Saying this, Queenie glanced absentmindedly up at the sky.
No matter what, at least right now she's closer to Evan—sharing the same sky, breathing the same air, feeling the salty sea breeze rising from the ocean beneath his blazing cube.
"What about you?"
Lynn Chen suddenly asked, "When did you start liking him?"
"He's definitely not someone who's good at expressing himself. And Evan... yeah, sometimes he's just a total straight guy."
Straight guy.
Lynn couldn't help but giggle when she said that word.
Combining that word with Evan's always calm face really was a perfect match.
"I... I don't know either."
Queenie thought for a moment. "Honestly, the first time I met him, I actually found him pretty annoying."
But later he helped me, and I started thinking he was amazing—and he made me feel really safe.
But I can't really say when I started liking him.
Honestly, girls are all the same. We never really know when or how we'll end up liking someone.
But as long as you're sure it's love, that's enough.
Queenie's face was full of resolve.
"You really make a lot of sense."
Lynn Chen nodded in agreement, feeling oddly relieved.