“I was afraid,” Li Yun responded. When Song Taiji told him what her ability to find talents, he wasn’t sure what to expect. A part of him was afraid that he wouldn’t live up to her expectation and another was her reason for being with him.  What was her intention when she first approached him? “What did you see when you first saw me?” 

Rouxi's mouth opened slightly to respond, but she wasn't exactly sure how she wanted to say. She wasn't sure if she had any expectations of him. She had the ability to see people’s potential, so she never thought it was possible that he could achieve less than anyone else. But his question was valid, what if he decided that he didn’t want to do more with his ability? Or hide himself away and live like a hermit?

Rouxi decided to tell him about it from the beginning, “When I was young, I was told that if I see a person with high potential, I should make use of that person.” 

She was born with the ability, so she never knew that her ability to see aura was unusual until her aunt recognized it and told her to keep it a secret. Everyone had a unique aura that radiated from their eyes.

In mien shiang, practitioners believed that the eyes were gateways to the souls. It was possible for people to see souls, which emitted a special aura, but only in rare instances. However, she was able to see people’s auras at a glance, whether they were weak or strong. As she grew older, she realized people with stronger auras were naturally more talented or gifted in some ways.

There were also different types of glow. She dabbled in mien shiang and categorized the auras into peach luck. Rouxi used her ability to scam people to trust her. She was just a child, and her main goal was to earn her aunt’s favor so that she wouldn’t be abandoned like her father and mother had.

She loved her aunt, but her life was really chaotic. After her aunt and uncle were caught, it was Secretary Liang who appeared in front of her. He took her to China to meet her father.

Growing up, she didn’t know her father, but before her mother passed away, she had instilled in her a sense of hate and fear toward her father and men in general. On her first meeting with Song Taiji, she could understand why her mother was charmed in the first place. Song Taiji’s aura was very powerful and strong. However, staring at him, she felt immediately how strongly connected she was to him by blood.

Song Taiji also realized she shared his ability, and had his son adopt her back into the family. Rouxi didn’t care that he didn’t want to adopt her himself, but it was likely to preserve his reputation.

Li Yun nodded in response, he could tell that Song Taiji was her biological father from everyone's strange interaction, "Could he also see people's aura?"

Rouxi shook her head, she didn’t think their ability was exactly the same. "Song Taiji’s ability is a sort of intuition, but for me, I can see it clearly in people's eyes. It's almost supernatural."

With her ability, she focused on finding people with direct peach luck, and was fortunate to find Ning Xuxu.

“When you saw Ning Xuxu, you befriended her because of that reason?” Li Yun asked.

“I approached her because of it, but I didn’t befriend her because of that.” 

Although her original reason for seeking Xuxu was purely for a partnership, Rouxi did bond with Xuxu over how much they both detested their fathers, and sought to create a legacy that would trump them.

“Aren't you curious about why I approached you?” Rouxi asked.

"It doesn't matter."

“I never thought you could be a fool,” Rouxi tightened her grip on his sleeves. "But I guess I am a bit foolish as well."

Rouxi didn’t like that she was attracted to his aura in the first place. It went against everything she believed in.

She left Imperial City and worked with Ning Xuxu because she wanted to avoid her fate. She wanted to prove to Song Taiji that she could fall in love with someone normal, and that she wasn’t like him in any way. Imperial City was full of people with potential, as it was the only way to survive and live in a city where power and status mattered more than anything else.

She moved away partially because of that, but before she left, Song Taiji told her that it wasn’t possible for her to fall in love with anyone normal. The irony was, she was deeply attracted to Li Yun, either by forces unknown to herself, or because of his powerful aura, she wasn’t sure. 

When their eyes first met, she saw in his eyes a powerful aura that eclipsed a typical person. She approached him to take a better look as she had never met someone with an aura so strong that it seemed divine. She didn’t think it was even possible, but it frightened her enough to run away until he found her again.

“Rouxi, if I didn’t have any potential, would you have approached me?”

Rouxi shook her head, “I’m not sure, but isn’t potential something you have developed? It’s a part of you?”

He didn't have an answer. There were things in life that didn’t have answers. Whether people were born with potential or whether it was learned. As for Li Yun, he never felt like he was a particularly smart child. He was driven by the need to be someone and to have an interesting life. Everything he had achieved so far, could he have achieved it without the system?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Li Yun didn’t expect her to tell him about her ability. Everyone had things they needed to keep to themselves, but he wanted to know her reason. 

“Because I am also afraid? I wasn’t sure if I was in love with you or your potential. I'm afraid you'll lose interest. I’m afraid that even if we are together, my father will use you and you’ll eventually hate me for it.”

He never thought they had similar fears. When the system was pushing him, he decided to run down the path, hoping that it would fall behind him. The problem was, the more he ran down the path, the further it was moving away from everyone else. He had managed to help his friends paved their paths so that they would eventually intersect again. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t think it would be so difficult to find a lifelong partner who would walk that path with him. Almost every woman he met had their own ideas and path. Their path didn’t align with his, and he didn’t want them to change because of him.

When his path intersected with Rouxi again, he wasn’t sure how long their relationship would last. He knew he had a growing obsession with trying to figure her out, and he simply needed to get it out of his system. Their entire relationship was based on mutual interest and attraction, but there wasn’t any plan to ever stay together permanently.

It was the same for her in the beginning. She simply wanted to stay by his side for however long it was possible. Permanence didn’t exist, be it her mother, father, or aunt, they would all disappear eventually. And the thought that Li Yun would eventually lose interest frightened her. The most heartbreaking aspect of the relationship wasn’t a breakup after a misunderstanding, it was when two people who loved each other fell out of love.

Was their relationship easy-going simply because neither thought there was a future? He could predict people’s future making decisions, but why was it so difficult to guess his own?

“I am more afraid of not living up to your expectations,” Li Yun confessed.

His response caught Rouxi by surprise. She never thought it was possible for Li Yun to feel that way. 

He tugged her closer into his arms, “I promise, I'm not going to leave you .”

Rouxi was still hestitant, “But my father…”

"As long as he doesn't interfere, it is fine," Li Yun understood why she was afraid of Song Taiji. Song Taiji was someone who had the ability to use people to their fullest potential. And he had used her to find someone who was suitable for the Song family. Song Taiji wasn’t against their union, he had predicted it.

“He’s going to try to control you in some way.”

“I know,” Li Yun hugged her tightly. 

Song Taiji’s goal was simply to enhance the Song Family's power and influence. Li Yun didn’t like to be used, to be tied to a string and be controlled by someone else. He didn’t like to be involved in political battles. He didn’t like power plays between rich families. But because of her, he anticipated a messy road ahead of him.

“Rouxi, I’m not going to let you go. If your father wants to use me, that’s fine. But we are going to use him for our own path.” It wouldn’t do them any harm, and why couldn’t they use the Song Family's influence for their gains? 

chocomug

End of Volume 3. 

You guys are no help on the poll regarding the hiatus! 7-7 split... I'll release two more and then Volume 4 will be released on October 1st.

I've been randomly editing earlier chapters, so feel free to reread them during hiatus.

Thank you to everyone who has read this far. Thank you for the comments and spelling corrections.