Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 21

The night was as tranquil as water, and the water mirrored the serenity of the night.

Su Lili sat on a beach chair by the sea, gazing at the moonlight reflected on the distant water. It shimmered like silver scales, slowly dissolving with the rhythm of the tide.

Cheng Jinyang approached and sat down beside her. Su Lili hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t lean her head against him.

“Jinyang,” she said softly. “Why did you come to save me?”

Cheng Jinyang looked at her, surprised. “You’re not happy I came to save you?”

“It’s not that!” Su Lili hurriedly replied. “I just… just…” Her voice trailed off, tears silently falling.

“Why are you crying?” Cheng Jinyang chuckled lightly but felt a twinge of pain in his heart. He reached out to pull her into his arms.

To his surprise, Su Lili gently pushed him away and said in a low voice, “I’ve been thinking a lot these past few days. After all, I am of demon blood, and you… you belong to the human world. Perhaps, in the end, we are fated to be apart…”

Cheng Jinyang: What?

How did this suddenly turn into “fated to be apart”?

Lili, you’ve changed. The old you wasn’t this poetic!

“Do you know who my mother is?” he said, bursting into laughter on purpose. “My mother was the legendary Southern Dipper Star Lord! Technically, I’m half-demon myself. How does that make us ‘fated to be apart’?”

“I know,” Su Lili replied bitterly. “But I am a demon. The human world won’t accept me. Or… would you be willing to leave it all behind and live in the demon world with me?”

Uh, this? Cheng Jinyang was immediately at a loss for words.

That was obviously not possible. He had too much at stake in the human world—a thriving forest of responsibilities, so to speak. Not to mention his duty to the Northern Army, the people of Jingkou Town, and his clan, the Shendu Cheng family.

If he truly abandoned everything to wander the world with Su Lili, he’d be the most unworthy leader imaginable.

“Jinyang.” Seeing his silence, Su Lili held his hand and smiled gently. “I’ve already made up my mind. From now on, I’ll do everything I can to advance, with my ultimate goal being the throne of the Heavenly Emperor.”

“When I’ve established a strong foothold in the demon world, I’ll have absolute power to protect you. You can live happily in the human world, and I’ll wait for you here. If life becomes unbearable there, you can secretly come to me. We’ll live quietly under assumed names. And if you ever miss the human world, you can always return. I’ll still be here, waiting for you…”

Cheng Jinyang was utterly stunned. Lili, what kind of mindset is this?

No demands for status, no insistence on exclusivity. The best-case scenario is being together; if not, she’ll wait silently. This was the pinnacle of a soulmate’s devotion. Even Cheng Jinyang, who prided himself on his steadfast will, couldn’t help but feel moved to tears.

Of course, with Lili being this understanding, if he didn’t give her some sort of promise, he’d be the worst.

So Cheng Jinyang pulled her into his arms once more and said sincerely:

“Lili, don’t worry. Leave the matter of how we’ll be together to me. I’ll figure it out.”

“Jinyang,” Su Lili murmured, not pulling away this time but leaning into his embrace. “I don’t want to make things hard for you…”

“You’re not making things hard for me,” Cheng Jinyang said as he tilted her chin up in a classic overbearing manner. “Woman, if you keep thinking about leaving, that’s what makes things hard for me.”

Su Lili: ……

Jinyang’s sudden, awkward attempt at acting like an overbearing CEO made her want to laugh, but the bittersweet feelings in her heart hadn’t fully subsided. Yet, like a honeyed warmth, joy began to rise within her.

Caught in this confusing whirl of emotions, she had no idea how to respond and could only nervously close her eyes.

Hmm? Seeing her close her eyes, Cheng Jinyang instinctively leaned in to kiss her.

Su Lili’s lips were, of course, soft, carrying a charming warmth. Yet her response was clumsy, like a frightened little creature, simply pressing against his without moving.

Noticing her tightly shut eyes, trembling eyelashes, and the way her hands nervously gripped the hem of his clothes, Cheng Jinyang refrained from anything bolder (like slipping in a playful flick of the tongue). Instead, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and lifted her onto his lap.

“Ah!” Startled by the sudden move, Su Lili let out a soft cry.

As the sound escaped her lips, she suddenly realized that the others were still asleep in the wooden house not far away. If they were woken up, tonight’s tender moment would be cut short. She hurriedly clamped her hands over her mouth, wide-eyed, and stared at Cheng Jinyang with an expression that seemed to plead: I didn’t make too much noise just now, did I?

Cheng Jinyang couldn’t help but laugh at her adorable expression. Realizing this spot was indeed too close to the wooden house to do anything further, he set her down and took her hand with a smile.

“Come on, let’s go for a swim.”

The two of them ran hand in hand along the beach, soon stepping into the waves.

The island’s beach was surprisingly pristine, with fine, soft white sand. Stepping on it was exceptionally comfortable, still retaining a trace of the sun’s warmth from the day.

Cheng Jinyang rushed a few steps into the sea, but suddenly stepped into a void. The seabed here had an extremely steep drop-off, and the depth abruptly exceeded three meters.

He quickly adjusted the direction of gravity to stabilize himself from sinking. Beside him, Su Lili kicked to float upwards, then sped toward him, wrapping her arms around him to lift him until his mouth and nose broke the surface of the water.

“Are you okay?” Su Lili asked anxiously.

“I’m fine, just swallowed a bit of water.” Cheng Jinyang spat the salty liquid out and laughed. “Bitter and salty at the same time!”

“Don’t scare me like that.” Su Lili pouted slightly, but Cheng Jinyang slipped out of her arms and grabbed her hand, urging her to dive underwater.

Beneath the waves, the seabed was full of coral and schools of fish. With no predators on the island, it seemed like a surprisingly livable place. Cheng Jinyang dove deeper and managed to catch a small, wandering sea turtle. Proudly, he held it up to show Su Lili as if presenting her with a treasure.

Su Lili reached out to touch the turtle’s head, but it snapped at her with a sharp clack. Quick on reflex, she flicked its head with her finger, causing it to recoil painfully and retreat into its shell.

“How dare it try to bite my Lili?” Cheng Jinyang pretended to be furious and flung the turtle upward with a playful gravitational shove, sending it flying.

“Oh no, don’t bully it,” Su Lili said, torn between laughter and exasperation. “It doesn’t have any sense of reason!”

“There’s nothing special about its head. Here, touch mine instead.” Cheng Jinyang grabbed her hand and placed it on his own head.

Su Lili burst out laughing, unable to catch her breath.

The two swam together for a while, and without realizing it, they ended up on the opposite side of the island.

Cheng Jinyang carried her ashore, walking unsteadily through the soft sand. Su Lili curled up in his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck, eyes shyly closed, too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

Looking around but finding no suitable spot, Cheng Jinyang hesitated again.

The atmosphere was perfect, and Su Lili, being a demon, wasn’t bound by human conventions. In theory, he could take advantage of the moment. But something about the setting made him reluctant to proceed.

Perhaps they had been standing there too long, for suddenly Su Lili lifted her head and boldly captured his lips with her own.

That unexpected kiss wiped out the last shred of Cheng Jinyang’s reasoning.

What followed was a scene of passion that, perhaps, need not be shared with others.