My wife is a witch princess.

"You have something to ask me?" He turned around, his mouth still full of foam, his voice muffled. "Didn't sleep well last night, thought about it all night?"

"I went to sleep." Xia Li shook her head, her silver hair swaying. "After waking up, I suddenly thought of a few questions."

"Tell me about it." Song Che rinsed his mouth and wiped the water from the corner of his lips.

She looked up, her gaze earnest: "I want to know... am I 'mature' enough now?"

Song Che paused for a moment, then smiled, a hint of helplessness in his smile: "Well... I can't really say. Because I myself might not even be considered mature. Maturity isn't something that comes with age."

"So you didn't know either." Xia Li's tone didn't betray disappointment, but rather seemed to confirm something.

"Well, in my opinion, you're now willing to learn humbly and know you have shortcomings, so you're already on the right track. Besides, don't you witches only become adults at three hundred years old? Your standards are different from ours."

"Didn't you say that maturity has nothing to do with age?"

"Your Highness has made rapid progress," Song Che praised with a smile. "Actually, you're already quite... well, quite sensible. You just lack the time to live here. Stay a little longer, and you'll naturally understand what 'maturity' truly means."

"Is it... responsibility?" she pressed.

"I don't know." Song Che shook his head honestly. He wasn't confident he could guide Xia Li on this matter, and he himself harbored his own selfish desires and calculations. In his shallow understanding, a truly mature person should be able to remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses before them, but he admitted he couldn't do that—if half of Mount Tai were to collapse, he estimated he would be scared out of his wits.

Xia Li nodded and didn't ask any further questions, as if this answer was enough.

She turned around and began to wash up.

The living room door was then pushed open a crack.

Peach blossoms peeked in with half their heads, their noses a little red from the cold, and their hair wasn't as neat as it had been before they went out, making them look pitiful.

“Brother Song Che…” she said softly, her voice trembling with fear, “I apologize to you on behalf of my sister… She’s just impatient, she didn’t really want to fight you… If my sister doesn’t go home, I will… or you can spank Tao Xiang’s bottom.”

Song Che, holding a toothbrush, looked towards the living room and then at her: "It's nothing, I didn't take it to heart. But about your blessing ceremony..."

"What are you after? There has to be a reason, right?"

"Brother Tu... can you take us in?" Tao Xiang sniffed, her eyes a little red. "We've been wandering for so long... My sister is fierce, but she's actually afraid of having nowhere to go. She's just stubborn. Last time she even made me steal steamed buns."

"Then what about that wicked black-haired woman we talked about before? Why did she bully you? What exactly is she... a monster?"

“She…she’s like a ghost.” Tao Xiang frowned as she recalled, “She must have…lost the ability to speak. Yes, she lost the ability to speak. She communicates with us, and sometimes she writes on the ground. Her handwriting is quite beautiful, but…she stutters, like a wild man.”

Song Che listened but didn't find any useful clues.

He couldn't speak and communicated through writing—he genuinely didn't know this person.

What did she write?

"Consecrate the gold coins, [comma]"

"That's it?"

“Hmm…that’s it.” Momoka thought for a moment and added, “But it’s a bit strange. Every time she writes these five characters, she puts a comma after ‘light’…and then the pen explodes.”

"It's blown up, this is so weird."

“Yes!” Tao Xiang nodded vigorously, gesturing, “When the pen exploded, she got even angrier, standing there without saying a word, her eyes were terrifying… I didn’t dare to move, her eyes were glowing.”

"Okay then." Song Che didn't quite believe it.

"Brother Song Che, you have to believe me, I'm telling the truth!" Tao Xiang looked at him anxiously, afraid that he wouldn't believe her.

“I have some doubts,” Song Che said, looking at her. “But I won’t kick you out. When we get more gold coins later, we’ll have your sister ‘bless’ them. I want to see what’s hidden behind these gold coins.”

Chapter 79 No one will keep looking for you except Xia Li

After breakfast, I started my daily study session as usual.

Xia Li sat to one side, her gaze fixed on the open books, but her thoughts drifted far away. There was so much for her to learn, as vast as the endless sky outside the window.

Song Che put down his pen, stood up and stretched his stiff shoulders before heading to the restroom.

As he passed by her, Xia Li suddenly looked up and said softly, "Tell me, is it hypocrisy or sincerity to be insincere towards someone?"

"How long will it take to watch?"

Song Che scratched his head; the question was a bit convoluted. "This... is a question with blurred lines. We have a saying here, 'A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions.' It means that if someone can 'pretend' to be sincere to you their whole life, then it's not much different from genuine sincerity. However, it depends on the person. Some people care a lot about what you really think."

“Then…” Xia Li’s fingertips unconsciously traced the edge of the book pages, “If I ‘pretend’ to like you, can you assume… that I like you?”

“Theoretically… yes.” Song Che paused, turned to face her, and said seriously, “But it’s not necessary. I don’t want you to treat me like this. You don’t have to force yourself to ‘like’ me just because I like you. I’ve said it before, you are an independent individual, not an object, and you don’t need to exchange ‘like’ for anything.”

"But... I don't understand anything." Her voice trailed off.

“This is not your fault.” Song Che’s tone softened. “According to the age of a witch, you should be in a period of exploration and learning at this stage. In terms of human learning speed, you have already made great progress.”

He looked into her eyes and said, “You know what? Don’t deny that you have a complete soul, that you have your own thoughts, just because you don’t understand something for the time being, or because you have some shortcomings. You are not anyone’s appendage.”

Xia Li listened attentively to Song Che's explanation.

"Then you..." She looked up again, "aren't you afraid that once I understand everything, I might... stop liking you?"

"I'm scared." Song Che gave a helpless smile. "I'm terrified, scared to death."

He took a step closer, speaking candidly: "But I've always felt that when I like someone, I want her to become a better person, not to force her to stay by my side and demand that she like me. Of course... if you really like me, I'll be very happy, that's called mutual liking, but what's forced isn't mutual liking."

It's often said that forced relationships are never sweet, so you just go for it and see what happens. But once you actually force it, there are always a lot of problems.

He paused, as if remembering something, "Your Highness, you still don't have a clear enough understanding of your own value. Think about it, if a girl isn't very smart, isn't very beautiful, is just ordinary, or even penniless... does that mean she has no sincerity, no soul? Xia Li, you are not an emotionless machine. You have a heart like mine, and your inner world is just as colorful as mine. I can see that you are trying very hard to move forward."

"Song Che's ideas... are always amazing." Xia Li rarely praised him so directly.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Song Che deliberately puffed out his chest, feigning a smug look, but quickly composed himself. "However, this is actually... a quote from a book. I saw it, thought it was particularly well said, and wrote it down. Now I'm telling you, hoping... it might be of some help to you."

Xia Li fell silent.

She seemed to be processing these words, or perhaps worrying about something else. After a long while, she whispered, "I'm afraid... that after I understand everything, I'll find... that I don't actually like you. What should I do?"

“Then you… bloom alone.” Song Che looked at her, his gaze calm, even somewhat relieved. “I have witnessed it and appreciated it, and that is already very fortunate.”

He changed the subject abruptly, with a touch of emotion, "Your Highness, you really are different from before. Back then, you..."

He paused, choosing the right words, "Back then, Your Highness didn't quite understand how to respect others, didn't understand the value of money, and didn't fully grasp the principle of 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.' Apart from the powerful magic you inherited, you seem to have... no other 'advantages.' But I know that you've always had one great advantage—purity. For better or worse, you've always expressed yourself purely."

"Hmm." Xia Li didn't deny it, accepting the assessment frankly. "I know I didn't do well before. But the senior who taught me didn't have time to teach me more before heading to the 'Witch's Death Star.' I am..."

She paused here, seemingly realizing she had let something slip, but ultimately continued along the same line of thought, "It was only a hundred years after Song Che's 'death' that I slowly came to understand how mischievous I was as a child."

"What did you say?" Song Che's brows furrowed suddenly.

“I was a naughty child,” Xia Li repeated.

“Not this sentence, the previous one.” Song Che’s voice unconsciously rose a little.

“One hundred years after Song Che’s 'death'.” Xia Li repeated clearly, her blue eyes looking at him with a hint of confusion, as if she didn’t understand why he was suddenly so nervous.

"After I 'died'..." Song Che's voice was a little dry. He took a step closer, "You didn't come to my world immediately? Instead... another hundred years passed?"

“Yes.” Xia Li nodded, as if stating a perfectly natural fact. “I traveled for about ten years, and then… I searched for you for ninety years. Because I heard that the souls of people who have made a pact with a witch may go to the ‘Witch’s Death Star.’ So I continued to travel while looking for a way to get there… Fortunately, I finally found you.”

Her tone was flat and straightforward, yet every word struck Song Che's heart like a heavy blow.

"So, you're not a hundred years old now?" Song Che asked. "You're... two hundred years old?!"

“Yes.” Xia Li nodded again and added, “During that time, I also learned more things. I originally wanted to find you and return the gold coins I borrowed from you before… but I was cheated out of a lot of the thousand gold coins I had saved up at that time, and in the end, I only had one left.”

She frowned slightly, recalling the troublesome past. "I thought back then, if a few hundred years had passed and all my money and possessions had been swindled away, even if I found you, I wouldn't have any money to repay you, and the contract we made before... wouldn't be able to be fulfilled."

"So, for me, it was just a moment of closing and opening my eyes..." Song Che murmured to himself, his eyes somewhat unfocused, "but for you, it was a hundred years of walking alone..."

a hundred years.

She searched for him for a hundred years because she found him within a hundred years. What if she hadn't found him? Would she have kept searching?

This thought made Song Che's heart clench.

"Why...why did you come to me?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "Just to...complete the contract?"

Xia Li shook her head, her clear blue eyes revealing her innermost thoughts: "Because you said you didn't want to die." Her tone remained calm. "At that time... I had already developed a semi-finished longevity potion, just one step away from completion."

—So what you gave me back then was a longevity potion.

—So you already started to care about me back then.

"Yeah, I was just a little bit short back then, but now I have to start all over again."

Chapter 80 Falling in Love with Someone You Shouldn't Have (3k)

"Xia Li."

Song Che called her name in a low voice, but the rest of his words seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't say them.

"Hmm?" Xia Li tilted her head slightly, her blue eyes reflecting his dark expression. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Song Che shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "I just... need to think things through. Can I... be alone for a while?"

Xia Li looked at him, paused for a moment, and said, "You don't want me to hear what you're thinking."

"Ah."

"Okay." She nodded without asking any further questions or hesitating. "I won't bother you."

……

For the entire day, Song Che locked himself in his bedroom.

Xia Li moved silently around the living room, occasionally tidying up the already neat table, adding food to Bruce's plate, and finally quietly returning to her room.

Song Che sat down against the wall furthest from Xia Li's bedroom. He had secretly estimated during the last event that at a distance of about seven or eight meters, those jumbled thoughts would become indistinct. At this moment, he needed that distance.

He was examining everything he had done so far.

A witch from another world with an almost infinite lifespan and a mortal with only a fleeting hundred years—two lives that should never have intersected are forcibly bound together. Will there really be a good outcome?

No matter how unruly Xia Li was in the past, he was the first to form a contract with her. As a human, he was born with the ability to disguise himself. Faced with such a beautiful girl, he subconsciously played the role of "reliable" and "gentle." Even though she later caused him headaches because of her naivety, she still believed in the "goodness" he showed.

Xia Li is still figuring out the meaning of "like" in a daze.

And all of this was almost entirely guided and intentionally orchestrated by him. No matter how immature she was in the past, the starting point of this whole affair ultimately stemmed from his instinctive impulse to get close to, and even possess, a beautiful woman when he faced her.

So, what will happen to Xia Li, his girlfriend, when human lifespan comes to an end?

When she truly understands emotions, how profound will the pain that follows be?

Song Che hesitated.