Chapter 111: Completion World (Thirteen)
The girl holding Qi An's veil revealed a look of anticipation for a good show. She widened her eyes, prepared to deliver some well-mannered mockery of Qi An's appearance. But when the veil fell and she caught a clear glimpse of the face hidden behind it, her expression instantly froze.
"That Lu An's veil just got pulled off! Don't block me, I've always been curious what he looks like. Is he really as ugly as the rumors say..." A girl pushed past the nobles blocking her path, her earlier elegant demeanor seemingly replaced by growing excitement. But when she finally reached the front row as she'd wished, her expression instantly changed. "How could this...?"
"Didn't they say Lu An was ugly?"
The person who had always worn a veil seemed utterly at a loss over what was happening. Everyone could see that girl staring blankly at the torn veil in the other girl's hand.
"Wang Zhen, how could you do this to Lu An Princess? She kindly reached out to help you, yet you cruelly disregarded her kindness and ripped off her veil?" Just as an awkward silence settled over the crowd, a handsome young man was the first to speak, his voice carrying undisguised accusation. "You need to apologize to Lu An Princess! Now, immediately. Otherwise... don't blame me for lacking gentlemanly conduct."
Almost the moment the young man finished speaking, many young men began condemning the girl's lack of morality. The girl gritted her teeth, looking helplessly at the noble ladies she was close with in normal times, only to find them all averting their gazes, not daring to meet her eyes.
The reason she had made such a move this time was actually something her sisters had planned together. And to achieve better results, today's little drama had already been quietly circulated among the noble circles.
But now...
Everything was completely different from what they had envisioned.
These people had just been wearing expressions of wanting to watch a good show, yet now they were acting as if they stood on the side of justice and blaming her.
"Lu An, I'm sorry." The girl forced the words out through gritted teeth.
"Aren't you going to give the Princess her veil back?"
Before her true face had been revealed, many people had felt a sense of disdain toward the girl's overly fragile demeanor and somewhat timid posture. No matter what happened, she never seemed to have the strength to resist, just like now—she was clearly wronged, yet all she could do was stand there in a daze.
But...
"I finally understand why, even knowing Lu An Princess is Prince Tommy's fiancée, Prince Potter still insisted on courting her." Someone murmured quietly to the side.
Because she was worth it.
Even if she was just an ornament, there were countless people who would be moved by her. No one could bear to see her being bullied.
She was simply too delicate, so she must... be protected by them. Otherwise, she would surely wither from the storms of the outside world. Lu An was like a fragile, precious flower that had to be grown in a greenhouse, so... she needed someone to protect her, or she wouldn't survive.
"Did something happen just now?" A sweet, clear voice suddenly rang out from the doorway—delicate and crisp, like a young girl's voice.
In fact, the one who had spoken really was a very cute little girl.
[An'an, it's... Zhao Qizhu and Si Mao!]
The system's voice in her mind caught Qi An's attention. She turned toward the doorway and found that the little girl who had just spoken was indeed Zhao Qizhu, who was also wearing a princess gown.
Moreover, the gown on Zhao Qizhu was very similar in style to the one Qi An was currently wearing.
Si Mao was right behind Zhao Qizhu, and his attire was completely different from everyone present—not noble attire at all.
"Did you bully my... older sister?" Zhao Qizhu bounced over to Qi An's side and asked the girl holding Qi An's veil with a sweet smile.
"I... I didn't. I was just careless..." Looking at Zhao Qizhu's adorable face, the girl seemed to realize something, her complexion turning ashen.
"Careless, huh... I'm so sorry, big sister. It seems I accidentally used a bit too much strength." Zhao Qizhu's smile remained perfectly sweet. It seemed she wanted to help Qi An retrieve the veil. Her fair, delicate little hand landed on the girl's hand, but the instant they touched, the girl suddenly let out a shrill scream. Her face contorted intensely. "Oops, I accidentally hurt big sister. Big sister won't blame me, right?"
The veil appeared in that fair hand. Zhao Qizhu covered her mouth as if embarrassed.
"Ah, it's nothing, nothing." The girl's voice was trembling.
Her other hand was now trembling constantly.
That hand of hers had just... completely lost all sensation.
"Big sister, I got your veil back. Wasn't that super super amazing?" Completely ignoring the startled looks from those around her, Zhao Qizhu simply stretched out her arms and embraced the other protagonist of this incident.
"Who is this...?" Looking at the girl who didn't dare say another word, someone couldn't help but ask.
"She's the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Gode, Lu An Princess's sister. You've surely heard of her name, right?" The person who answered seemed to pause for a moment, their whole body trembling. "That princess whose appearance completely doesn't match her reputation..."
"Though, I heard that the two princesses of Gode aren't on good terms. Especially the Second Princess, she treats Lu An Princess like she's invisible. They rarely see each other when they're in Gode. But... their relationship seems so good..." The speaker looked ahead with confusion, mumbling strangely.
Even though she was actually taller than Zhao Qizhu, Qi An was firmly embraced by this girl. She really did look like a little girl who had missed her family members terribly and finally reunited with them.
"Big brother, long time... no see..."
[Qiang Qiang.]
[An'an, what's wrong?] Hearing her host's call, the system quickly popped up.
[Lu Wuyu said there are only eight transmigrators in this world. Including me, there are already seven known ones.] Qi An's voice grew somewhat subtle. [And these people... I know them all, and they all know me. Qiang Qiang, do you think this could just be... a coincidence?"
"The veil actually got pulled off." Ju Li, standing by the doorway, suddenly raised her head. Her smile completely vanished. "These people have seen... her face. This really is... damn it."
In that instant, the expressions of many people in the world changed. The vast majority of them were usually the powerful individuals who never revealed their emotions.
Just now, a violent surge of energy had erupted from the high tower.
The multiple layers of formations set up to seal the sorcerer had been broken.
And accompanying that, the blood moon had completely... descended.
"I wonder where that young miss is now..." A clear, melodious male voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
Qi An turned to look and found that the speaker was the young man who had once picked up one of Jeanie's crystal shoes. The young man was quite handsome, and his current melancholic temperament added even more points to him. His voice continued to echo. "If that crystal shoe were still with me, that would be wonderful. Then I could find that beautiful young miss."
"You agree, don't you?" The young man with his head slightly bowed suddenly looked up at Qi An.
His voice when asking this question had become strangely eerie. Qi An stared directly at the young man's handsome face, feeling that something was off about this young man. He was smiling, yet the impression he gave was not sunny at all—rather, it was压抑 and incongruous.
It was as if...
Qi An's gaze inadvertently swept across the doll on his shoulder, and her expression slightly froze.
The young man's smile and the doll on his shoulder... were identical.
Qi An heard a familiar, childish voice in her memory. "Need to... find the beautiful... young miss... through the crystal shoe. You agree... don't you?"
This was... a warning.
"What completion condition did you set?" Zhi Le asked Lu Wuyu with a smile, looking at the person standing beside him. "I'm very curious. You spent such a huge price to activate this mode, yet after descending into this world, you didn't do anything substantive."
"My set condition?" Lu Wuyu smiled lightly, but his eyes were cold. "You should have guessed by now."
"So it's indeed related to Qi An..." Zhi Le narrowed his eyes and shrugged, his tone complex—a mix of sentiment and profound confusion. "What charm does Qi An have that even you would fall for him? And not just you, but also... Zhang Zhaoqi and..."
"And you..." Lu Wuyu gave him a cold glance, his words completely devoid of emotion.
"Me?" Zhi Le countered, his confusion deepening. "On what basis did you make that judgment?"
"I activated the battle royale mode naturally because I wanted to be with Qi An." A supremely gentle smile appeared on Lu Wuyu's face again, his words soft and warm, as if his earlier demeanor had been someone else's illusion. Yet his speaking pace had slowed considerably. "To achieve this, besides An'an, I used one requirement as the standard for pulling people into this world."
"That is... people who could come between Zhang Zhaoqi and Qi An..."
"But evidently, my plan failed..." Lu Wuyu continued with an unchanged expression. "Everyone pulled into this world has designs on An'an..."
"Including you..."
"I made Zhang Zhaoqi lose his memory and made An'an descend into this world later. I just hoped those two wouldn't meet in this world, but... they still met..."
"That guy really is... lucky."