Her throat felt dry, as if she had countless things to say, yet didn't know where to start.
After a long pause, she gave a firm nod and uttered a low "mm," then began to tell Cecilia everything about herself.
-----------------------------------
Cecilia felt a pang of sorrow after hearing about Kiana's life over the past few years. She took a deep breath, raised her hand to her forehead, and revealed a deeply troubled expression.
She murmured to herself, "Sigh, it's really been hard on you these years. As for Siegfried, once I see him, I'll definitely have a good talk with him. How could he be so careless!"
At that moment, Theresa walked over as well. She seemed to sense Cecilia's emotions and deliberately fanned the flames, "Exactly, Cecilia! Siegfried has been such an irresponsible father! Just look at you, you're still as beautiful and charming as you were fourteen years ago. And Siegfried? He's practically a greasy middle-aged man now! I say, you might as well just divorce him!"
Far away in Anti-Entropy, Siegfried sneezed and muttered, "Who's talking bad about me behind my back? Could it be that little shorty, Theresa?"
Theresa's words left Cecilia both amused and helpless.
Then Theresa excitedly added, "Besides, I've already fulfilled your dream of founding the Valkyrie Academy! We're standing inside St. Freya Academy right now. If you're willing, you'll be the headmistress from now on!"
Cecilia looked at Theresa in surprise and asked, "What about you, Theresa? What do you plan to do next?"
Theresa crossed her arms, a mysterious smile appearing on her face, and proudly said, "Hehe, starting tomorrow, I'll be the Overseer of Schicksal! So? Shocked by the news?"
Sure enough, just as Theresa expected, Cecilia showed a surprised expression, her mouth slightly open as she uttered, "Huh?"
Just then, a sudden voice broke the tranquility.
The voice of the Dragon echoed in the air, "One last wish left, hurry up, I've waited so long, even the flowers have wilted."
The voice snapped everyone back to reality. Only one wish remained. They looked at each other, and Theresa said, "What should we do? Who gets the last wish?"
As she spoke, Theresa turned her head, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present.
Mei spoke up, "Kiana and Fu Lin were the ones who gathered the seven Dragon Balls, so let them choose."
"Let me choose?"
Kiana's eyes wandered over everyone, unsure who to give the last wish to. She felt terribly conflicted.
So, she turned to Fu Lin for his opinion.
"Fu Lin, how about you choose?"
Fu Lin rubbed his forehead helplessly and asked the Dragon, "I have a question. After three wishes, will the Dragon Balls disappear?"
The Dragon rolled his eyes at Fu Lin, seeming a bit speechless.
"Are you dumb? You don't remember? Once the wishes are made, the Dragon Balls naturally turn to stone and scatter across the world. Also, after each wish, the Dragon Balls need a one-year cooldown before they can be used again."
Everyone heard the Dragon's reply and gasped in surprise, their faces showing disbelief.
They had all thought the Dragon Balls were single-use, but it turned out they could be reused, just needed a cooldown.
Everyone's gaze shifted from the Dragon to Kiana, silently marveling, "So this is what they call a 'god of luck'? Even the stuff she summons is special."
Amid the gasps of amazement, Fu Hua's eyes almost welled up with envy. She was green with jealousy!
She was silent for a long time, finally unable to suppress her inner desire. She slowly walked up to Kiana and softly said, "Kiana, Fu Lin, I'd like to give it a try, may I?"
Fu Lin shrugged, "I don't mind."
Though Kiana didn't know what Fu Hua wanted to wish for, she nodded without hesitation and smiled, "Of course, class monitor!"
With Kiana and Fu Lin's permission, Fu Hua took a deep breath to calm herself. She then looked up at the Dragon and solemnly said, "I wish to have the same luck as Kiana."
At her words, everyone was stunned, their eyes all turning to Fu Hua.
Fu Hua said nothing, just quietly watched the Dragon, waiting for a response.
But the Dragon seemed taken aback by her wish too. After a long silence, it finally spoke, a trace of helplessness in its voice, "Sorry, I can't grant that wish."
Fu Hua's face instantly darkened. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she pressed on, "...Didn't you say you could grant any wish?"
"Pfft!"
Someone broke the tension with a laugh. As the laughter started, everyone couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
Fu Shi laughed with squinted eyes and teased, "Old antique, everyone knows how bad your luck is. Don't make things harder for the Dragon."
Fu Hua glared at Fu Shi and retorted, "That's only because you exposed my story. Now everyone knows."
Fu Shi instantly pulled a pitiful face and looked at Fu Hua with big, sad eyes, "Old antique, you've changed. You actually yelled at me. And I just wanted you to get answers right and win a prize. What did I do wrong?"
Fu Hua was speechless. After a moment of silence, she said, "I got a little emotional. I apologize."
Fu Shi was secretly happy but pretended to be stern, cleared her throat, and posed with exaggerated pride,
"Ahem, since you've apologized so sincerely, of course I'll generously forgive you. But really, that wish you made was so... unrealistic, it was kinda absurd! I actually thought you'd wish for Fuxi, Nuwa or Cheng Lixue to be resurrected."
Fu Hua was surprised by her words and tilted her head at Fu Shi.
Fu Shi rubbed her forehead and said, "Fuxi, Nuwa were your close friends, and Cheng Lixue, she's your student!"
Fu Hua nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Then if one were to be resurrected first, who should it be?"
Fu Shi thought for a moment and answered, "Hmm... I think Cheng Lixue should be first, since you feel the most guilt toward her."
Hearing that, Fu Hua didn't hesitate and immediately nodded, "Alright, let's go with your suggestion."
At that moment, the Dragon completed the final wish. Its voice echoed in the air, "All wishes have been granted. Now... goodbye~"
Before the words finished, the Dragon turned into a stream of light and returned to the Dragon Balls.
At the same time, the once-glowing seven Dragon Balls lost their brilliance and turned dull, looking like ordinary stones.
Suddenly, the seven Dragon Balls exploded and shot off in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, Fu Lin's figure flickered rapidly through the air. He swiftly caught the seven stone Dragon Balls and landed gracefully.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, "You can do that?!"
Fu Lin, with a thought, stored the Dragon Balls into his system space and said, "What else did you expect? Just so we're clear, we don't have a Dragon Ball radar.
You don't seriously think we can scour 510 million square kilometers of Earth to find Dragon Balls that could be in any remote corner, do you?"
Theresa nodded, half-understanding, "That... actually makes a bit of sense."
Just then, Fu Shi smacked her head and looked around, exclaiming, "Ah! I almost forgot, Cheng Lixue's been resurrected. Where is she?"
Everyone immediately began scanning the area.
At that moment, a rustling sound came from a bush nearby. A figure slowly emerged.
It was Cheng Lixue.
She looked dazed, glancing around in confusion. When her eyes landed on the group, they widened in shock, and she called out one by one, "Overseer, Lady Theresa, Lady Cecilia, and..."
Suddenly, her pupils shrank. She had spotted three of her masters among the crowd, and for a moment, couldn't tell which was the real one.
It took a long while before Cheng Lixue came to her senses, eyes misting as she nearly burst into tears from emotion.
"Master!"
With a choked cry, she rushed forward, straight into the arms of the true Fu Hua.
Fu Lin, who had opened his arms to receive her, silently dropped them and pouted.
Kiana☆ came up behind Fu Lin and said quietly, "Fu Lin, you look kinda disappointed?"
Fu Lin trembled and quickly denied, "No way. You must be imagining things."
Fu Hua, following her heart, stood still and let Cheng Lixue fall into her arms, gently stroking her head like comforting a frightened child.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. A stick of incense's time passed quietly.
At last, Cheng Lixue slowly released her embrace, but her gaze never left Fu Hua's face.
Her eyes were moist, as if soaked with tears, and her expression carried confusion and vulnerability.
"Master, in this second life, Lixue... wants to be your rebellious disciple, no, I want to stay with you always and never be separated again."
Her voice trembled, as if it had taken great courage to say those words.
_______________________
P.S.:
Fu Shi, "Did something outrageous just get deleted?"
Fu Lin, "I saw it too. Cheng Lixue seemed to want to become a rebellious disci, "
Cheng Lixue, "No, I didn't! You heard wrong! The great Lady Cheng Lixue has altered your consciousness. You now forget what I just said."
Fu Shi, "That's my line!"
Fu Lin, "Isn't a line just whoever says it first?"
Fu Shi, "Fu Lin, you!"