Quadruple split.

Chapter 2647 Read

"What's not working?"

Although she asked the question aloud, Yu Chen subtly shifted her gaze, clearly indicating that she was not entirely unaware of Xia Lian and Marina's accusations.

"Of course, your current attitude won't work."

Xia Lian sighed, gently poked Yu Chen's forehead, and said irritably, "Although I don't know what's going on between you two, there's at least one thing I'm sure of: you're interested in Hei Fan, and Hei Fan is interested in you too."

Yu Chen gave a somewhat lonely smile, sat down on the wooden chair next to the stained glass, sighed softly, and said in a low voice, "Things aren't that simple, Sister Xia Lian."

"No, no, no, girl, it couldn't be simpler."

Xia Lian plopped down next to Yu Chen and said very seriously, "You're interested in him, and he's interested in you. That's the most important thing. As for everything else, everything else can become very simple."

Yu Chen didn't speak, but just shook her head with a wry smile, not agreeing with her saintly sister who had zero dating experience and had been worrying about a certain man for over a century.

In fact, if we're just talking about dating experience, these four girls are pretty much evenly matched.

Kachina, as the 'most unwanted beauty' within the Dawn Cult, obviously has no luck with men, so there's no need to even mention her.

Although Marina has recently been pursued by Sir Gerbin Fernand of the Justice Church, and she doesn't dislike him, her progress is far slower than that of Yu Chen and Hei Fan. So far, their most intimate interaction has been chatting while going to the market to buy groceries, and that was only because they were going the same way.

As for Xia Lian...

Honestly, Yu Chen gets a headache every time she thinks about her saintly sister's mess.

In fact, although the 'entanglement' between Xia Lian Zhuye and Luca Tiffilo was complicated, it was not a big secret among the higher-ups of the Dawn Cult. At least Pope Saint Ambrose, Ascetic Tom, Chief of the Battle Sisters Marina, and Chief Inquisitor Pegasus knew about it. In addition, there were Yu Chen, Mo Tan, and Kachina, so many people knew about it that they couldn't even count them on one hand.

However, compared to Marina, whose relationship with Gerbin was at most just a casual acquaintance, and compared to Yu Chen, whose relationship with Hei Fan was clearly more than friends but less than lovers, Xia Lian and Tifiro were almost at the point where they could no longer even be friends.

Although Mo Tan always thought Tifiro was a pretentious jerk, as the saying goes, it takes two to tango. The two of them had wasted more than a hundred years, leading to the situation they are in today, and Xia Lian herself definitely bears some responsibility.

Putting aside other things, Xia Lian's responsibility is undeniable. After hearing Tiffello's confession-like words before his bloody battle with the Dark Night Cult's Knight Commander, she allowed him to train, become stronger, further his studies, succeed as Pope, and then run away, instead of turning into a yandere and forcibly doing this or that to Tiffello before he broke through to the Legendary rank, or at least forcing him to give a straight answer.

From the time Tefero was seventeen until he abdicated and fled, Xia Lian had decades to break the deadlock. Yet she did nothing, only starting to search the world after Tefero left. While this bitterness and frustration are worthy of sympathy, in Mo Tan's words, she absolutely deserves it.

The result is that this person, who has made a complete mess of his own emotions, is now seriously offering advice to those in the know. It's only because Yu Chen has a good personality that he's able to do this. If it were Luca or Mo Tan, the previous Pope would probably have been scolded to death.

however--

"I've been there."

Under Yu Chen's dumbfounded gaze, Xia Lian said this with a somewhat gloomy expression. After the former began to rack his brains, wondering if he had remembered the Holy Maiden's love history wrong, he changed the subject and sighed, "I've already suffered the same loss, there's no reason for you to suffer the same loss."

Yu Chen was slightly taken aback: "Sister Xia Lian, I..."

“You are different from me, and Black Vane and that little rascal Tiffilo are different too, but if things continue like this, I’m worried that your future will be the same as ours now.”

Xia Lian looked at Yu Chen seriously and asked, "Do you think that my current relationship with Tifiro is good?"

"..."

Faced with this question, no matter how much Yu Chen disagreed, he could only shake his head.

“I’m not a smart person. In fact, if I were as smart as Margaret or Ilphus, many of these problems might not have existed in the first place.”

Xia Lian shrugged and said calmly, "Even so, as someone whose life experience is richer than yours and Hei Fan's combined, I can still see some things. For example... at least in Hei Fan's eyes, the problems you two are facing are much more serious than the problems I and Tifiro are facing."

Yu Chen could only nod, because she could also see that every time someone complained about how terrible Tiffilo was, they would subconsciously reveal a feeling of 'Is it really worth you getting so hung up on this little bit of trouble?!'

Besides, Yu Chen was the only one among the group who, apart from Yi Dong, Gu Xiaole, and Lucy, vaguely sensed that Mo Tan might have some kind of problem. He had to admit that if his speculation was correct, then the problem between the two was probably much more serious than the problem between Xia Lian and Tifiro.

"so what?"

Just as the girl was about to unconsciously fall into deep thought, Xia Lian suddenly broke the eerie silence, gritting her teeth and saying, "This has nothing to do with whether it's troublesome or not, right? It has nothing to do with whether it's easy or difficult to solve, right? Is it because it's too difficult and troublesome that you don't like it? Are you thinking of giving up? If not, you should do something no matter what!"

"Uh……"

Yu Chen stared intently at Xia Lian, who seemed to be speaking to her, yet also to herself. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"As I just said, Wangyu, I am neither a smart person nor a thoughtful person."

Xia Lian revealed a smile she had never shown before, a smile that, like Yu Chen's, was even more lonely: "But I am someone who has paid a price, and now, I see my own reflection in you..."

【? ! 】

Kachina stared in astonishment, about to say something, when Marina promptly silenced her with a silent mantra.

“I…I know he has many difficulties.”

Yu Chen pursed her lips and said softly, "I don't know what to do, so..."

"So you think it's okay to leave it like this for now? At least you can talk to him and see him often?"

Xia Lian abruptly interrupted Yu Chen, and unusually, asked in a somewhat aggressive tone, "Do you think this is a good thing? Is it possible that I thought the same thing decades ago? Do you think I regret it now?"

Yu Chen, seeing Xia Lian so serious for the first time, paused slightly: "I..."

"You are a smart, thoughtful, and understanding girl, Wangyu. Except for not being as good as me in fighting and not being as old as me, you are better than me in every way, much better, much better."

Xia Lian looked intently at Yu Chen's chest and said seriously, "But that doesn't mean you won't make the same mistake I did, Wang Yu. I never said I wanted you to have a perfect ending, and I never even hoped for a wonderful ending with Tifiro, but... I don't want to regret it."

Yu Chen sighed silently, her expression somewhat subtle, and said, "...Sister Xia Lian, please look at my face and not speak elsewhere."

"Ahem, don't worry about the details."

Xia Lian coughed lightly, looked at Yu Chen again, and said seriously, "But whether I want to or not, I already regret it now. Luca Tifero has been a decrepit old man for a long time, and those moments that I failed to seize back then can never be recovered."

At this point, even Xia Lian Zhuye, whose will was as firm as if her nerve endings were dead, couldn't help but have tears well up in her eyes, her heart filled with sorrow. "Mentor..."

Marina casually applied a second layer of holy word seal to Kachina's mouth while gently tugging at Xia Lian's sleeve, as if she had returned to the days when she was still a little girl and couldn't fall asleep without Xia Lian by her side telling stories.

During that period, Xia Lian often showed this expression as well. However, as Marina and Kachina grew older and became more sensible, their mentor rarely showed that worrying or worrisome look anymore.

However, not wanting others to worry about you doesn't mean that the things that cause worry and sorrow will quietly disappear. On the contrary, the regrets buried deep in your heart will only become more and more painful.

So Marina subconsciously did the same thing she did when she was a child, gently tugging at Xia Lian's sleeve, telling the world's gentlest and most caring mentor that she was not alone.

“I’m fine, little Mary.”

Xia Lian smiled and ruffled Marina's hair, then took a deep breath and whispered to Yu Chen, whose eyes were lowered, "But Wang Yu, you still have a chance. You and Hei Fan still have a chance."

Yu Chen nervously twisted her fingers and said in a low voice, "I don't know about opportunities. I only know that if I don't want to cause him any trouble, this is the best way."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Xia Lian shrugged, saying nonchalantly, "But the problem is, why should we try so hard not to cause him any trouble? I didn't cause any trouble for that brat Luke back then either. He told Fao he was going to train behind my back, and I let him be; after he came back, he wanted to hide from me at the Inquisition, and I let him be; later, even after he became Pope, he still avoided me every day, and I still let him be. And what did that prove? Did it prove I was great?"

Yu Chen: "..."

"That's not how it is, Wangyu. He won't appreciate it. Those bastards won't change their stupid ideas just because you're understanding."

Xia Lian bit her lower lip and said in a trembling voice, "I've been considerate to him for decades, and all I got in return was that bastard leaving without saying goodbye. What's worse is... he put on a victim's face, as if it's my fault for living so long!"

Yu Chen: "...Sister Xia Lian."

"Elifis knows! Margaret knows! Ambrose knows! Little Tom knows! Anderson knows too!"

Xia Lian clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, saying, "I'm the only one who didn't know! And what happened? In the end, everyone will think, 'Tefiro sacrificed too much,' 'Tefiro was always enduring,' 'Tefiro was always working hard silently.' To hell with it! Who's the real victim here?!"

【…】

Yu Chen gently grasped Xia Lian's other hand, while Kachina, whose mouth was sealed with three sacred words by Marina and who couldn't utter a single word, went around to the back and hugged her mentor, whose figure was now far inferior to her own.

"I don't know what's wrong between you and Hei Fan, but if you're as foolish as I am, Wang Yu, you'll definitely regret it."

Xia Lian raised her hand to cover her eyes and said softly, "Besides, you are different from me. I was really stupid back then and had no idea what that kid was thinking. But if it were you... you should be able to know something about Hei Fan's thoughts."

Yu Chen, who had thought she couldn't persuade him, was now genuinely wavering. She pursed her lips into a thin line and whispered, "But I don't know what to do."

“In situations like this, nobody knows what to do, Wang Yu.”

Marina smiled gently and said softly, "But I think you should know very well what you want to do."

"What do you want to do..."

Yu Chen paused for a moment, then subconsciously said, "But that would definitely cause him trouble."

"So what?"

Having finally broken the seal on the Holy Word with great willpower, Kachina glared and said angrily, "So what if he causes trouble? You're sighing and arguing with yourself every day because that kid is causing you trouble, aren't you? What, only he can cause you trouble, but you can't cause him any trouble? Did you owe him something in your past life?"

"It's like I owed him something in my past life."

Marina smiled and said leisurely, "Then I'll definitely be even in this lifetime."

"Well……"

"So, Wangyu, what do you want to do now? Don't worry about who you'll cause trouble for, and don't think about the consequences. Just tell me what you're thinking right now."

"I'm a little unhappy right now."

"Hmm, what next?"

“I don’t like being left here. They didn’t take me with them when they went to Sumir! Yizou and Luna were allowed to come along, and even Theresa went there! She’s not even a member of the Holy Church Alliance…”

"so what?"

“I want to go too. I’m sure I can help, and I want to keep an eye on him. He’s very popular!”

"Huh? I didn't see that coming."

"What if someone can spot it?"

"Uh, well, you're probably not as attractive as me, are you?"

"And most importantly..."

"What is it?"

"It's me who wants to see him."

"Eh?"

"...I haven't seen him in so long."

"You people from another world, can't we see you in another world too? I remember you were taking classes in the same academy, can't you see me?"

"can see."