Free Web NovelChapter 245: I Did What You Told Me To
"You are right about one thing," I said after a moment, thinking about everything that happened in the space of two lifetimes. "And that is something I never thought I would say."
I really did hate admitting it.
Saying that Meilan was right was like trying to swallow a chicken bone the wrong way...it stuck in my throat and threatened to kill me if I didn’t fix the situation fast.
It also left a bad taste in my mouth... but everyone here knew that Meilan was going to die. I might as well give her what she wanted to hear.
Meilan’s expression changed so quickly that it almost made me dizzy.
One second, she looked furious enough to bite through the vines holding her in place, and the next, her lips curved as if I had just handed her a crown and told her that she really was the center of the universe.
She tried to flip her hair over her shoulder, but the vine wrapped around her waist and arms did not give her enough room to complete the motion, but I had to give her points for trying. The failed attempt made the smile on her face look even more ridiculous, but she did not seem to notice.
"Of course I am right," Meilan replied, her chin lifting as if demanding more compliments from me. "I am always right. I appreciate you knowing that after all this time. It really will go a long way in mending all the horrible things you have done to me."
The change was so abrupt that, for one whole breath, I had nothing to say.
It was either that or her words left me stupefied. It really was a 50/50 thing here.
I stared at her, genuinely speechless, because the woman had just gone from screaming about betrayal and stolen devotion to preening in the air like a prize-winning rooster with a vine around its middle.
Then again, maybe that was the problem with Meilan.
She could not survive a conversation unless she could twist it into a scene where she was admired, envied, or obeyed.
And there she was.
The Meilan I knew better than myself was back.
Instead of pointing that out, I simply nodded and cuddled deeper into Yuche’s arms. The movement made his hold tighten, but this time, he did not give me that warning look.
Maybe he felt the change in me before I fully understood it myself.
Maybe he could hear the difference in my breathing, or maybe he had finally learned that when I stopped sounding annoyed, the situation had become much worse.
"You were right," I agreed. "You see, in this life, I took your advice."
Meilan’s smile froze.
There...that was better.
I tilted my head slightly, watching her face because I did not want to miss a single second of it. "Do you remember what you told me as you got our compound to stone me to death?"
The yard went still.
This was the first time I had actually come out and admitted it in front of everyone that I had been reborn.
I had circled around it, hinted at it, reacted to things no one in this life should have known, and made enough comments for the people closest to me to understand the shape of the truth. But I had not said it plainly. I had not stood in front of Commander Li, his team, Jiang Meilan, and the four men currently making my life significantly more complicated and confirmed that, yes, I had been reborn just like she had.
I felt the reaction move through the people around me like a pulled wire.
Yuche stiffened first, his arms tightening around me so carefully that it almost hurt worse because of the restraint in it. Chenghai’s hand shifted against the porch pillar, the wood creaking beneath his fingers. Zhenlan did not speak, but the air around him went cold and sharp, while Lingyun’s laughter disappeared so completely that the absence of it felt like another weapon being drawn.
Meilan’s eyes narrowed. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Anger flashed across her face, but beneath it, I saw fear.
It was not fear of dying, though she should have been more concerned about that. It was fear of losing control of the story.
For someone like her, truth was not dangerous because of what it revealed. Truth was dangerous because it belonged to whoever said it first. freēwebnovel.com
"I do not remember," she said at last.
The answer came out too flat, too careful, like she thought denial was a wall she could build fast enough to stand behind.
I almost laughed.
If forgetting had been enough to absolve people, the apocalypse would have been filled with saints.
"You told me to stay home in this life," I replied, my voice steady. "You specifically told me not to compete for things that did not belong to me."
Meilan’s jaw tightened, but she did not interrupt. That alone told me she remembered.
Maybe not every word. Maybe not the exact shape of the yard, the stones, the blood in my mouth, or the way people had looked away once the first rock landed and the rest became easier.
But she remembered enough. She remembered standing above me and calling it justice. She remembered using the compound she had won to turn a crowd into a weapon.
I smiled at her, and for once, I let the smile stay. "So I did exactly what you told me to do."
Her face twitched.
"I did not compete for a single thing that did not belong to me. I did not chase after your compound. I did not chase after your position. I did not chase after your people, your supplies, your approval, your men, or your future." I paused for dramatic effect because if Meilan was going to accuse me of being the villain in her story, I might as well enjoy one decent line before the curtain dropped.
"I stayed home. And because I did... I won."
