My wife is a witch princess.

His parents have always respected his choices, but at this crucial juncture of his senior year of high school, the sudden appearance of a female friend who wanted to apply to study at home left Song Che feeling uncertain.

This can't be rushed; we need to lay the groundwork slowly. Let's get back to studying at home first.

On the way back, Song Che bought some instant noodles and hand-pulled noodles at the supermarket. "I'll cook noodles for you for lunch. Now that you've learned how, you can make noodles for me next time."

"Okay, I'll learn it."

Xia Li, with her hands in her pockets, suddenly stopped and lowered her voice, "Why are people staring at us? Have they discovered my identity? Silver hair really is too conspicuous..."

“Xia Li, you need to know something, and it’s very simple…” Song Che stopped beside her. “Silver hair isn’t a disaster or an omen of misfortune. Look at their expressions, aren’t they… not exactly malicious?”

"Yes. But there were a few people whose gaze lingered for too long."

"Then go back and watch it. Usually, they'll feel embarrassed first."

Xia Li raised her blue eyes and calmly met their gazes. The others were taken aback at first, then blushed and hurriedly looked away. But after a few seconds, they couldn't help but steal a glance again, and when they found Xia Li was still watching, they quickly ran away like startled rabbits.

Xia Li was puzzled. "Why are you blushing? I've already tried my best to suppress my aura."

“Even a young male chef will blush,” Song Che said seriously. “Even an unserious person will blush.”

“Improper people…” Xia Li glanced at Song Che’s face, doubting whether his statement was accurate. She thought that people who read small books were the most improper, but she was an exception, because she saw it by accident… and accidental sightings don’t count.

Xia Li had no idea that Song Che was so calm now, simply because he was used to seeing her. The first time he saw Xia Li, her face turned as red as a peach. At that time, the witch's glance made four words appear in Song Che's mind: "ethereal fairy." Of course, this impression collapsed in just one month, turning into "big ball of faith," "foodie witch," and "debt-ridden witch."

Xia Li couldn't find a flaw in his expression, so she instead brought up the confusion that had been building up over the past few days. Based on her observations and reading, the world wasn't as peaceful as it seemed. Combining five thousand years of history with the retreating dwarves, Xia Li raised a question:

"That Great Wall, stretching for thousands of miles... was it to prevent giants from invading?"

Song Che slipped and almost stumbled on the snow.

You mean to say that you, a witch, are going to shout "Tata Kai" next?

Even if Song Che couldn't remember clearly, he wouldn't confuse giants with history.

"...That's how it's written in the book?" he asked with some difficulty.

"Based on the retreat of the dwarves and the construction of the Great Wall, I deduced that this was the result."

That scared me to death! I thought official history had become more unofficial than unofficial history.

"'The Retreating Dwarves' is a work of fantasy literature, a fictional creation. The Great Wall is real, originally built to defend against northern nomadic tribes... but you can't mix fiction and historical fact to draw conclusions." Song Che himself didn't remember it quite accurately. "Creativity is a human trait, but there is a clear boundary between works and reality. It might be a bit too early for you to get involved in these things now."

“…Oh.” Xia Li’s tone revealed a hint of disappointment. Since the giant was fake, the traveling magician was most likely also fictional. Song Che had already said that only science existed here, only things that didn’t follow the laws of magic. Even as she asked these questions, a sliver of hope remained in her heart.

She loved and studied magic, initially out of a belief in protecting something.

If a witch loses her magic and cannot defend her beliefs, can she still be considered a witch?

Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the iron gate. Song Che opened the creaking iron gate and stepped aside to let Xia Li go in first.

"The history I showed you this morning is the actual trajectory of this world, but it is mainly limited to the last five thousand years. The ancient times before that are still shrouded in mystery for humankind."

As Xia Li entered the residential area, Song Che followed her in, closing the door behind him. A small path had been trampled into the snowy alleyway, making the ground slightly slippery. Song Che tugged at her sleeve, signaling her to slow down.

"So you should understand now, there is no such thing as 'magic' here as you think. To us, it's more like... a bunch of supernatural legends. Therefore, everything you mention about magic will be considered 'strange talk'."

Xia Li nodded, indicating her understanding: "Then, can I assume that they haven't discovered the existence of magic yet?"

"So... it's not entirely wrong. But that's the reality of this world." Song Che looked at her. "Have you sensed any 'magic' yourself?"

"Currently, no."

“There’s no magic, so there’s no way to talk about magic. You have to accept that if you live here,” Song Che patiently explained. “Without magic, our way of life and our understanding of the world will change because ‘science’ takes on part of the function of explaining and transforming the world. Take ‘deep diving’ and ‘flying’ for example. Can you imagine humans leaving the earth and going deep into the ocean at a depth of 10,000 meters, or breaking free from the shackles of gravity and flying towards the stars? We can’t do it ourselves, but some people have indeed done it with the help of science.”

Xia Li nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "Then why can't we see stars during the day?"

"Um... I think it was because the sun was too bright?" Song Che stamped his feet at the top of the stairs, shaking the snow off his trousers. "I can't remember. I'll check on my phone when I get upstairs."

Xia Li followed his example, lightly touching her toes to shake off the snowflakes from the edge of her boots, and went upstairs with him.

Her mind was filled with doubts. The things in this world were too new to her. Xia Li didn't know where to start asking questions. Sometimes, asking one question would lead to more questions, causing her to forget other things.

Bruce peeked out from under the door, felt the cold outside, and then sheepishly shrank back in, curling up into a ball on the small sofa.

Song Che picked up his phone from the table, typed in the question, and clicked search. Xia Li, observing from the side, thought the small cube resembled her magic mirror.

She wanted one too.

Chapter 34 The Hypocritical Prince

Song Che put down his phone and held up his index finger. "I remember now. Simply put, the sun is too bright, blocking the starlight. In addition, the atmosphere scatters the sunlight, making the stars even harder to see."

"I thought the stars only appeared at night, but it turns out they've always been there."

"I thought so when I was little, but then I realized we were standing on a star too." Song Che said with a smile. "You said there's a sun and a moon here, and Hit also has a sun and a moon. Could it be that the sun and moon we see are the same one?"

“I don’t understand. If I can go back, I can look into it,” Xia Li replied.

That's a pity. Without great fortune, he probably won't be able to go back in this lifetime.

Song Che: "I don't understand either, but it feels like the same sun and moon... It's a strange feeling that the sun and moon in different worlds are so similar."

Xia Li didn't understand this feeling. She kept looking at Song Che's phone. "How many gold coins is this thing in your hand?"

"A used phone...you can buy one for two or three hundred." Song Che put down his backpack and fed Bruce the cat. "You want one?"

"Yes, it's like the magic mirror; you can ask questions. I need this."

"After we finish eating, let's go shopping." Song Che carried the noodles to the kitchen. "You don't need gold coins to buy things here, only WeChat and cash. I think your gold coins are worth six or seven thousand, enough to buy a new phone."

“The old ones are fine.” Xia Li wanted to spend money sparingly. At least, she wanted to spend until she figured out how to make a living in this world before considering becoming self-reliant. “I’ll give you noodles this time. I learned how to make them yesterday.”

……

Xia Li was indeed not lying. Apart from the fact that her body would tense up due to stress when lighting the gas, that she added a little too much water, and that she cooked the noodles for too long, the rest of the steps were basically correct.

She scooped up a spoonful of soup, tasted it, and looked at Song Che: "...It seems to have no flavor."

Song Che sprinkled some salt in: "Try it again."

"...It's getting interesting!"

Xia Li focused on eating her noodles, while Song Che took a sip of the soup, opened his phone, and pondered the matter of studying at home.

This is troublesome...

If a student's weekly test score drops, the homeroom teacher will definitely call their parents. Not studying hard is a major taboo for high school students. Especially with the older generation's belief that studying is the key to success, Song Che felt that even if his parents usually indulged him… agreeing to let him study at home and even date… it was still unlikely.

Song Che blamed himself for always being able to read Xia Li's emotions. That morning at the library, when Xia Li wrote down the sentence, "[Can we go to the library together every day?]", he thought of the scene from his first time-travel experience, when he was alone in a goblin's lair, and the silver-haired witch had once offered him shelter. He wanted to respond to Xia Li's expectation.

But now... I'm caught in a dilemma. I can only bite the bullet and ask my mom, or lie to her. As for my dad, that's easier to say. He's always supported me bringing a girl home. Apparently, my mom was one of those girls he brought home when she was young and naive.

Song Che made a voice call to his mother, and she answered almost instantly.

Beep beep—

"Hey Mom, what's Dad doing?"

"Sleeping like a log, snoring like a ton of bricks." My mother's chuckling voice came from the other end of the phone. "What's wrong, son?"

“Mom, I want to talk to you about something.” Song Che’s voice was hesitant. He couldn’t come up with a perfect reason that would get his mother’s approval, so he finally told the truth, “I want to apply to study at home during my senior year of high school. I need your permission and to talk to the teacher.”

Song Che originally wanted to lie to his mother, saying that he was under too much pressure in his senior year of high school and didn't want to go to school, but that would make his parents worry. After thinking for a long time, he told the truth dryly.

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

Song Che also fell silent, having already prepared himself for rejection.

"Okay, Mom will talk to your teacher later." Mom's voice was gentle. After a pause, she asked, "Dabao, is someone bullying you at school? Is there anything on your mind that you want to tell Mom?"

His mother started nagging again, and Song Che listened quietly.

"No, it's just that I think I might be more efficient at home."

"That's good. By the way, your Aunt Lan is going back earlier than us, so she'll be staying with you temporarily. Okay, I'll hang up now, I'll contact the teacher right away."

Beep beep—

The call has ended.

"All done. From now on, she'll study at home." Song Che put down his phone and began planning the next step. Learning needs to be done step by step; he'll study high school textbooks, while Xia Li will learn modern common sense. He'll buy her a phone and send her straight to Bilibili University for further studies.

"I'm going to buy a cell phone."

"...I'll go too."

Song Che knew Xia Li was going to come along, but that's precisely why he couldn't figure out what she was thinking. Relying on others wasn't the witch's style.

A misconception that even a boy might have gradually surfaced: Could it be a witch...?

He glanced at Xia Li's indifferent expression and dismissed the idea.

First, witches lack the delicate emotions of humans. Second, witches are only obsessed with potions and magic.

He took a sip of the noodles Xia Li had cooked and casually browsed through a few part-time job groups. There were quite a few daily-paid jobs, suitable for flexible earning money from home, although the income was only enough to make ends meet.

After dinner, the two of them busied themselves in the small kitchen, one washing the dishes and the other washing the pots.

Song Che poured a few coins out of his piggy bank, preparing to take the bus to the flower and bird market, where some stalls specialize in selling second-hand mobile phones at good prices.

"Xia Li, let's go."

Song Che called out to the sink. Xia Li had been running to the sink since the meal started, several times. At first, Song Che thought that even a witch would be vain. When he went over to look, he found that she was just standing in front of the mirror, grinning at her reflection.

...like a little dog.

"When buying a phone, pick one you like."

"coming."

Xia Li came out of the washbasin and followed Song Che downstairs. Song Che glanced at her a few times and noticed that the corners of her mouth were still slightly pursed unnaturally. In his princely aloofness, there was a strange hint of... naivety after trying hard.

Song Che walked ahead, with Xia Li following behind. She seemed to enjoy walking behind him. A series of clear footprints were left in the snow on the path, and she stepped into those footprints one by one. Song Che remembered that back in the continent of Hit, this prince never went out on snowy days.

Xia Li sat quietly on the bus stop platform.

Because she wasn't wearing a hat or school uniform, her flowing silver hair and striking appearance made it impossible for any of the students waiting for the bus to sit next to her. Song Che didn't sit either, just stood to the side. This made Xia Li feel inexplicably depressed.

This hypocritical girl hates being alone, yet is afraid of getting too close to others.

During the midday bus rush hour, the bus was crowded. Song Che tossed in two coins, looked around, and didn't find any empty seats. He grabbed the overhead handrail, gesturing for Xia Li to grab it too.

Xia Li stood next to him; her height and demeanor made her look more like Song Che's older sister. Song Che, in his school uniform, looked like a little kid being led around by his parents.

But only Song Che knew that the bus was too crowded and people were sitting too close together. Xia Li was not used to it, so her face became more and more tense and her aura became colder and colder. Song Che was afraid that she would suddenly jump up and flick him on the head.