Mo Bai was completely stunned for a moment.
Then he quickly lowered his head, his shoulders starting to tremble violently.
Although he didn't utter a single word, his inner thoughts were already bursting:
"Oh hohoho, hahaha…"
"This guy is hilarious!!"
However, behind him, Shi Ci could only see his trembling figure and the way he hastily bowed his head.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, and a faint sense of pity arose in her heart.
She believed that he was stunned by her words and was now probably so moved that he was holding back tears.
Sigh, such an emotional young man...
With that thought, she stepped closer.
The moment she did, Mo Bai's entire body tensed, his mind instantly going blank.
He raised his head again, a gentle breeze brushing his cheeks and lifting a few strands of his long hair, making him appear even more refined and artistic.
Outwardly, he looked calm and collected, but inwardly, he was in utter chaos:
"This is unnecessary! Sister, there's really no need for this!"
"Even though I wrote a few books years ago, they were just feel-good novels! They had nothing to do with real literature..."
"This atmosphere is way too much for me to handle..."
...
But his thoughts were his alone.
The girl had already moved closer, standing just three steps behind him.
"It's okay, just accept it. I'll comfort you properly..."
Yet, what Mo Bai thought was:
"Forget it! I'm ending this now. I can't take this atmosphere anymore!!"
At this moment, the background music from the little sprite became increasingly intense and powerful, as if the story had reached its climax.
With that thought, Mo Bai picked up the book lying on the ground.
He stood up, gazing quietly at the sunset ahead. After a moment, he turned around.
His eyes swept across Shi Ci and lingered for a split second, a glimmer of admiration flashing through them before he quickly looked away.
The girl was indeed stunning, with a unique scholarly charm.
But having seen countless beauties before, he had developed some resistance to such allure.
Facing him fully now, Shi Ci was momentarily stunned.
Her face flushed red in an instant.
With the sunset and the "literary youth" aura stacking buffs on him, Mo Bai's charm in her heart was skyrocketing. His already strikingly handsome face now appeared even more radiant.
But Mo Bai didn't stop because of her dazed expression.
He took a step forward.
Suddenly, he thought: Walking away like this… maybe that's not a bad idea!
Yes, just like this. Slowly walk off the battlefield!
At that moment, the little sprite flew around and perched on his shoulder, and the background music grew louder.
He resisted the urge to say anything more, determined to surpass this otherworldly literary girl within moments.
But just then, Shi Ci spoke:
"You..."
Mo Bai's pupils contracted as he cut her off:
"Let's go… before the wind stops."
The moment the words left his mouth, he could feel his heart skip a beat.
"This background music is cursed, absolutely cursed!!"
"But now I've interrupted her, so I just need to use the power of that line and get out of here fast..."
Even though his inner voice screamed at him to leave quickly, his steps remained calm and unhurried.
Mo Bai wasn't sure why…
It seemed like the background music compelled him to follow along with the scene, moving in sync with the unfolding drama.
"Let's go… before the wind stops."
Shi Ci mulled over his words, her mind racing.
"Does he mean the ending in the book is already set in stone, unchangeable, and this wind can't catch up to it? That it only brings bittersweet sorrow?"
"I see… I see… He truly is a sentimental soul!"
"And not just that. At this time of day, when most people are gathered with friends to chat and share a meal, this boy sat alone by the riverbank, reading a book. He must be so lonely…"
The thought struck her heart, leaving it trembling unexpectedly.
"Let me comfort you..."
But her train of thought abruptly stopped.
All of this reflection had passed in mere moments.
At this instant, Mo Bai had only just walked past her, taking no more than two steps away.
The distance was perfect—just enough for her to turn and grab hold of him!
That's what she thought, and that's exactly what she did.
Her movements were smooth and swift.
The moment she grabbed Mo Bai's sleeve, his entire body shuddered.
"Damn it, big sis! You've already achieved your dream of approaching a lonely boy reading by the riverside at sunset, haven't you?"
"Can't we just part ways gracefully now?"
"Whatever, I'm leaving by force!"
Mo Bai thought to himself as spiritual energy began to surge within him. He was about to struggle free and vanish into the air.
But at that moment, the literary girl holding his sleeve spoke:
"It's not only in sadness that we cry. People cry when they're happy too. This breeze… it's—it's celebrating our encounter…"
Mo Bai: (ಡωಡ)
Her words were perfectly normal and undeniably touching—especially coming from the lips of such a beautiful girl. They carried a lethal level of charm.
However, in the context of the accompanying background music, all Mo Bai could feel was comedy.
Up until this point, he had barely managed to hold it in, but now, he simply couldn't anymore.
A smile broke out uncontrollably across his face, and his entire body began to tremble with laughter.
Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that he was currently facing away from her, so the girl couldn't see his expression.
This spared him from completely shattering the atmosphere.
Or maybe, in some twisted way, it was a form of self-preservation.
Because if this deeply immersed girl caught sight of his expression, she might not hesitate to swing her seemingly delicate fists at him.
Meanwhile, Shi Ci, having just spoken those words, felt no embarrassment at all.
On the contrary, she felt proud of herself.
After all, the boy had stopped moving.
And he was trembling all over. She took it as a sign that he must be overwhelmed with emotion.
"Surely, in such a beautiful setting, being approached by someone like me—who's not too bad-looking—his lonely heart must be starting to melt."
However, this guy was clearly too shy, to the point where he couldn't even form a reply.
"No matter. I'll use this moment to slowly open your heart, bit by bit. Of course, I'll do it in the way you desire…"
It's coming! The most breathtaking line ever!
With this thought, she suppressed her excitement, her face breaking into an exquisite, graceful smile:
"The gentle breeze that brought us together wasn't a coincidence. Your… name?"
After saying this, Shi Ci immediately began analyzing her performance.
"The smile was perfect, the literary tone flawless, and the pauses were just right…
Apart from the initial awkwardness that made me want to crawl into a hole and die, I'm in the zone now!"
She genuinely felt that this boy was on the same wavelength as her.
He seemed like someone who could become a friend—a kindred spirit!
So...
"Young man, open your heart to me!" she silently chanted in her mind.
Meanwhile, Mo Bai: 〣( ºΔº )〣
This line had too much going on, and for a moment, he couldn't even process it all.
At the same time, it completely derailed his previous plan to just walk away.
He stole a quick glance over his shoulder, catching sight of the girl's intelligent and stunning face, now bathed in layers of golden sunlight.
That smile, illuminated by the sunset, was breathtakingly captivating, making his heart skip an involuntary beat.
For a brief moment, it felt as though everything, apart from the background music, had come to a standstill.
A random thought popped into Mo Bai's head:
"The wind today… it's particularly dazzling."
The next instant, a wave of embarrassment swept over him.
He realized that his brain and mouth had synced up.
That sentence? He had already said it aloud.
This is bad.