Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 404: Where Did You Go?

Song Lianhe snapped back to her senses, fragmented and broken images flashing before her eyes.

From her first time transmigrating into the book, to the second time when everyone here forgot her, to the Nanchen Army laying siege to the city, and finally, to him looking at her corpse before picking up a knife...

"No! Don’t!"

She desperately tried to lunge forward, but her body wouldn’t move at all. No matter how she screamed, the man in the vision didn’t respond.

"Zhou Cangyan! Zhou Biwu! Stop, don’t!"

The man in the vision had cold, indifferent eyes. He slowly turned his head, and his gaze unexpectedly met hers.

Song Lianhe froze. ’He... did he see me?’

She raised a trembling hand, reaching for the man in the vision as if across time and space...

At that very moment, Zhou Cangyan stood on a hill, gazing at the person lying there, not a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

He knew he only had one chance to take this gamble.

Zhou Cangyan averted his gaze and decisively raised the sharp blade in his hand—

"Zhou Cangyan..."

The faint voice, carried on the wind, made the man freeze in place.

Slowly, he turned his head.

Song Lianhe lay there, completely drained of strength. She managed to pull a faint smile onto her pale face, her sparkling eyes fixed on him without blinking.

Zhou Cangyan stared at her blankly for a long moment. Then he lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, and suddenly let out a laugh.

"I knew it..."

He strode over and pulled her tightly into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck. His arm muscles were tense as stone. The person in his embrace was limp against his chest. He wanted to hold her with all his might, yet he was afraid of hurting her.

"Where did you go?"

Even now, his voice was tinged with unease, as if he feared this was all a dream.

Song Lianhe was so exhausted she closed her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I went to... a very faraway place."

She remembered something, opened her eyes, and gave him a gentle push.

Zhou Cangyan paused for a moment before reluctantly letting her go.

Song Lianhe tilted her head to look at him. Despite her fatigue, her eyes were full of life.

She leaned in a little closer and whispered, "Just now... were you going to die for me?"

Zhou Cangyan gazed at her, his light brown eyes captivating.

"Not to die for you, but to find you."

"Find me?"

"Yes. To go to your world and find you."

"You..."

Song Lianhe looked at him, stunned. "W-what do you know?"

He said slowly, "I know that you are not of this world, nor are you an ordinary person."

Song Lianhe opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she was too shocked to utter a single word.

"I remember everything." He looked at her and said, "Absolutely everything."

"..."

Song Lianhe was both shocked and overjoyed, but the whole thing was so incredible that for a moment, she didn’t know where to begin.

"That time at Huaxu Square, you saved me, but I lost all my memories of you. I never expected you to return... I suppose Heaven took pity on me, but it made you suffer."

Song Lianhe finally understood. Looking at him again, her voice was filled with disbelief. "So when you said you were going to find me..."

He lowered his gaze, his tone light. "To go to your world... if that was the only way, I didn’t mind giving it a try."

"Idiot!" Song Lianhe cursed him angrily. "Try my ass! What if you couldn’t come back?!"

He curled his lip into a slight smile. "Then I could still be with you forever. Either way, it’s not a loss."

"You... you fool! You idiot!" Song Lianhe was cursing him, but her eyes were red. "Gambling with your own life, are you stupid? If you really couldn’t come back, what about your subordinates? What about your maternal grandfather? And Sui Ning City? And your revenge? Were you just going to abandon all of that?"

’You’re the villain!!’

’You have the responsibilities of a villain! Without you, how is this novel supposed to continue?’

The man who was so decisive and cold in the original story was actually willing to give up his life for her. Song Lianhe couldn’t help but cry whenever she thought about it.

She would rather he remained arrogant and detestable forever than see him give up on himself so easily.

Zhou Cangyan looked down and smiled, seemingly unconcerned. He took her hand and placed it in his palm. "There are so many things to do in this life, one after another. You have to prioritize."

To him, nothing in the world was more important than her.

Her heart grew heavy in that instant. More than being moved, Song Lianhe was filled with lingering fear.

’If I hadn’t woken up in time, would he have already...’

"AWOO—"

Chun Hua suddenly cried out, interrupting them.

They both looked over. Song Lianhe reached out emotionally to stroke its head, which was covered in fine fuzz.

It had guided her back once again, saving her and saving him.

Worried that her condition might worsen, Zhou Cangyan carefully picked her up and carried her down the hill.

Song Lianhe leaned against his chest. With every jostling step he took, she swayed and closed her eyes.

Zhou Cangyan’s brow furrowed. Fearing she might never wake up again, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Lianhe, can you talk with me for a bit?"

Song Lianhe forced her eyes open. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Can you tell me about your world?"

"Of course. It’s... it’s..."

Song Lianhe opened her mouth but found she couldn’t say a word.

"What’s wrong?"

She sighed softly and looked at him helplessly. "I can’t talk about myself." Fearing he would misunderstand, she quickly added, "It’s not that I don’t want to, but I can’t. Because... it’s like a restriction. I have to obey it."

’This world has its own rules. I can’t reveal anything about the real world.’

He watched her intently, then chuckled softly. "Mm, I understand."

Song Lianhe looked up, her gaze fixed on his stubbled chin, lost in thought.

"What are you looking at?"

He asked unhurriedly, his gentle gaze sweeping lightly across her face.

She raised her hand and gently caressed his face.

"Don’t blame yourself."

The man’s expression stiffened.

"Everything is preordained by fate. It’s not something you or I can decide."

"Then can this ’predestination’ still change?"

He asked it casually, but the hands holding her had already clenched into tight fists.

"I don’t know."

Song Lianhe seemed truly exhausted. She rested her head against him, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier as she drifted into a stupor.

"I just remember... the old Daoist said..."

The karma of three lifetimes, a cycle unbroken.

"What did he say?"

Zhou Cangyan was about to ask again when he realized she had fallen asleep. He lowered his gaze and held her tighter, pressing his cheek against her forehead, his eyelashes trembling.

Only then did he dare to show the joy of having her back after fearing she was lost.

——

Sishui City had been reduced to ruins.

Walking through the city, one could see burned-down houses everywhere, and citizens sitting in front of their homes, weeping.

The danger of the war had passed, but how were the common people supposed to go on living?

Song Lianhe was awakened by the commotion outside.

Song Lianhe pushed herself up and realized she was in an infirmary in Sishui City.

’To be back again... it feels like a lifetime ago.’

In the courtyard, Manager Meng was saying, "The Princess Consort is fine, really! Stop making a fuss here! Don’t you have work to do at home? Go on, get back to whatever you were doing!"