Ji Chengxuan was speechless, choking back his words. It was all his fault for teasing her too much. Now he was almost no match for Yun Que'er in an argument.
Ji Chengxuan was silent for a long time. Then he grabbed a pebble from Yun Que'er's hand and threw it into the river.
"Look, aren't the ripples beautiful?"
Did Ji Chengxuan actually have such a refined taste?
Yun Que'er was extremely surprised. She turned to look at the river. As the pebble fell into the water, it created ripples that soon subsided. She let out a soft sigh.
"You're really in high spirits today. But what's the use of something beautiful that will soon disappear? It's just fleeting."
Ji Chengxuan stared deeply into her eyes. "This doesn't seem like a sentiment someone your age should express."
He was probing her again.
Yun Que'er looked at Ji Chengxuan boldly. "What about you? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night and instead come to the river for a romantic mood?"
Yun Que'er let out a soft laugh. "Sometimes the things you say also make me think you're not like someone of your age."
Ji Chengxuan licked his lips and said nothing.
Seeing Ji Chengxuan silent, Yun Que'er thought he might be feeling guilty. She bombarded him with questions like a machine gun.
"Some of the things you do are even more mysterious than mine. For example, how did you save Sister Shufen? You're so young but your medical skills are extremely superb. I remember Uncle Ji isn't good at traditional Chinese medicine, but you've revealed your knowledge of it twice. Don't tell me it was taught to you by one of Uncle Ji's friends."
Yun Que'er let out a sneer and asked casually.
"If you're hiding some secrets, just tell me. Is it really interesting for us to keep going back and forth like this?"
Ji Chengxuan took a soft breath and remained silent.
Yun Que'er thought he didn't want to answer, but she wasn't discouraged. Anyway, her main purpose today was to tease Ji Chengxuan. Whether he answered or not didn't matter.
But suddenly, Ji Chengxuan spoke.
"What if I do have extraordinary abilities? What if, like you, I have something to empower me, so I'm destined to be different from others?"
At first, Yun Que'er was dismissive and blurted out.
"Stop showing off. You're talking about..."
Suddenly, Yun Que'er froze.
She turned to look at Ji Chengxuan sharply, her eyes filled with disbelief.
If Ji Chengxuan had only hinted at something before, this time he was directly admitting it.
After a long moment of stunned silence, Yun Que'er staggered back a couple of steps. Her look at Ji Chengxuan was a mix of wariness and disbelief.
"You... you..." Yun Que'er stammered and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
She had only suspected that Ji Chengxuan was also one of those who had traveled through time, but suspicion was just suspicion. She had never found any evidence.
They had known each other for a year, and Ji Chengxuan had never let Yun Que'er detect the slightest bit of his secret. But today, he was openly admitting it?
Ji Chengxuan seemed a bit uncomfortable and turned his head away.
After a while, he shrugged and said nonchalantly.
"What's the big deal? Since that system has started running, there's bound to be someone who draws the fifth - level reward and travels through time. Isn't that normal?"
Yun Que'er was dumbfounded. It was the first time she had heard Ji Chengxuan speak so bluntly. She didn't even know how to respond.
After a long time, Yun Que'er managed to say a sentence.
"Stop kidding! It's impossible to draw the fifth - level reward so easily!"
Ji Chengxuan looked at Yun Que'er and suddenly smiled.
"I never directly asked you if you were someone who had traveled through time. I just said a few words casually, and you admitted it yourself."
Yun Que'er's face gradually turned red. Even at this moment, Ji Chengxuan was still probing her!
Suddenly, she got angry. She ran up and grabbed Ji Chengxuan's collar.
"You've been saying strange things to me all year. So it was all for me to admit it on my own? Since you already knew who I was, why didn't you just say it?"
Ji Chengxuan looked at Yun Que'er in surprise. It was obvious that Yun Que'er was really angry. For a moment, all the words he had prepared to reply to Yun Que'er were swallowed back.
He swallowed hard and asked tentatively.
"Are you angry? Actually, my thoughts are similar to yours. If I can't confirm who the other person is, of course I can't just admit it. Otherwise, I'll just be asking for trouble."
"Stop talking!" Yun Que'er stamped her foot in anger. "Yes, you didn't want to cause trouble for yourself, but you were causing trouble for me! Do you know what would happen if I accidentally exposed myself? They say old friends feel emotional when they meet, but I think it's all a lie! You don't even consider me as one of your kind and have no empathy for me at all!"
With that, Yun Que'er angrily threw the pebble in her hand on the ground and turned around to leave in a huff.
Ji Chengxuan wanted to chase after her, but looking at Yun Que'er's running back, he didn't know what to say if he caught up with her.
He scratched his head. Was he really being too much?
Yun Que'er was extremely angry and didn't care about anything for the moment. She just thought Ji Chengxuan was really insincere.
After running home, she was too lazy to think about anything else and just climbed into bed.
Yun Fujin saw her little face flushed from exhaustion and her forehead covered in sweat. He handed her a towel.
"Wipe your face. Where did you go? Are you angry with someone?"
Yun Que'er grabbed the towel and wiped her face casually, then got under the covers.
"No, I'm not angry with anyone."
Yun Fujin was completely confused. A child of this age showed all their emotions on their face. Besides, they were siblings. Couldn't Yun Fujin tell if his own sister was angry?
But looking at the round lump under the covers, Yun Fujin knew it wasn't appropriate to ask. He gently placed a glass of cold water on the chair beside the bed and went to the kitchen to do the dishes.
Yun Que'er tossed and turned restlessly under the covers. The more she thought about Ji Chengxuan, the more she wanted to punch him.
Admittedly, Ji Chengxuan's reasons were reasonable, and Yun Que'er herself thought the same way.
She had no right to question Ji Chengxuan's thoughts, but she just felt angry.
Since he had already known and they were from the same world, why did he act so distantly? He had to wait for her to confess her identity first before he would open up!
Yun Que'er closed her eyes in a huff and decided never to talk to Ji Chengxuan again.
She would rather fight alone in this strange world than team up with someone as insincere as Ji Chengxuan.
Meanwhile, by the river, Ji Chengxuan let out a long sigh under the moonlight.
He really seemed to have gone too far...
If he had been more honest from the start or been less inquisitive about Yun Que'er, maybe she wouldn't be angry.