Chapter 147: We’re All the Same
Ashe brushed her hand aside, his expression somewhat uncomfortable.
“But if you’re not in a relationship and don’t have a family, doesn’t that mean you’ll always be alone?”
“We’ve always been… Oh, right!”
Freya suddenly remembered something, and started furiously writing in her notebook, “The benefits of Socialized Rearing also include this… cultivating independence from a young age… getting used to single combat… having an advantage in exploring the Virtual Realm… ‘Every citizen of the Blood Moon Realm is a qualified reserve Sorcerer’… Well, I can’t even say that the professor didn’t give me a perfect score this time!”
As Freya wrote, Ashe asked, “Don’t you want to have a perfect union with a lover, or share your joys and stresses with family, or have someone who cares about you?”
“Why are you asking so many strange questions… You’re not thinking about becoming my lover and living with me, are you?!”
“I’ve told you, I’ll be leaving after staying here for at most seven days.”
Freya shrugged and replied, “I don’t need a lover, I just need to spend some money at Mud Cafe to have a perfect union; if I want to share my joy, I can boast about my achievements in the Canopy to my classmates, and if I want to vent my stress, I should go see a therapist; as for care, isn’t that another way of saying ‘investment’? If someone cares about me, it means they want to gain greater benefits from me.”
“If I have a lot of value, everyone will care about me; if I have no value, no one will care about me, even my lover would leave. This is a very simple human nature.”
Ashe softly replied, “But human nature isn’t just about weighing benefits, it also includes truth, kindness, and beauty.”
“But why should I put my hopes in others, rather than invest all my resources in myself?” Freya laughed, “I can go to a restaurant when I’m hungry, go to Mud Cafe when I need it, hire a cleaner when my room is dirty, go to a therapist when I’m under pressure – becoming a therapist is actually one of my future career options – it’s the 17th century, why gamble on human nature when you can satisfy your needs with money?”
“Even my gambling-loving friend Adela wouldn’t dare to participate in this kind of gamble where the other party holds all the cards. Entering into an intimate relationship is just too risky.”
“But don’t you feel lonely?”
Freya put the last period on her assignment, put it back in her bag, and turned to look at Ashe.
“We’re all the same,” she said.
Then she picked up Xiao Xian and affectionately rubbed her face against his. Xiao Xian, on the other hand, disdainfully pushed her away with his paw, “And I have Xiao Xian, how could I be lonely?”
Ashe suddenly realized, looking into the pure and happy eyes of the Bewitcher, that Fernand Snow, the Ogre mayor, had not actually touched the core of the Blood Moon Realm.
Because he too was an orphan, he had no family, he could not love.
Just as Freya didn’t realize the sour smell of her clothes, most people living in the Blood Moon Realm didn’t realize that they had lost the ability to love.
How could someone who had never seen the sun know the warmth of sunlight? How could someone who had never experienced family care believe in selfless feelings?
Perhaps they believe that there is selfless love in this world, they also long for this love, but they believe more firmly that such love will not befall them.
Just as Fernand Snow believed that the Blood Moon Realm did not deserve a savior, they also believed that they did not deserve to embrace love.
The Ogre thought that the Blood Moon sowed seeds of suspicion and erected walls of prejudice to isolate everyone. But in reality, the Blood Moon was draining the seeds of love from everyone’s hearts through education, causing everyone to resist entering into intimate relationships. Prejudice and suspicion were merely the foul stench resulting from the decay and erosion of this loveless soil.
Ashe suddenly remembered Langna – could this werewolf be considered a traitor to Moonshadow because his desire for love was too strong?
Seeing that Ashe had been silent for a long time, Freya couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
Ashe came back to his senses and smiled, “Nothing, I was just thinking about where I could go to make some money.”
“If you are willing to show up, I suggest you work part-time at Mud Cafe. With your looks, while you may not be the top-tier Mud Worker, you’re still middle-to-lower tier, and there should be quite a few customers who would choose you. Why don’t I introduce you to a Mud Cafe? Even if you don’t want to do it for long, you can try it out. Many decent-looking men work as Mud Workers for a night to gauge their market positioning.”
“Thanks, but I’m not skilled enough to earn that money.”
“Being a beginner can also be a good selling point. Many wealthy women especially like virgins, and if you want to practice, I can accompany you…”
“Don’t you have a class at 2 PM? It’s already 1:50 now.”
Freya glanced at the time and hurriedly packed her bag, “Oh no, almost forgot the time. This bowl and plate…”
“I’ll wash them,” Ashe said, “Are you coming back for dinner tonight?”contemporary romance
Here it came again.
Freya felt that strange emotion welling up again.
It had nothing to do with lust, nothing to do with greed. It made Freya both dislike and like Ashe, made her want to stay away from and get close to him.
Could it be a curse from the Four Pillars Religion? Or was it the pollution aura unconsciously emitted by the Demonic Saint?
Despite the thoughts in her mind, she replied, “Hmm.”
“Any particular dish you’d like?”
“Red Flame Lala Fatty Fish Roe Rice Bowl, is that okay?”
“No problem.” Ashe waved his hand, “Be careful on the road.”
That strange feeling in her heart grew stronger, and Freya nodded hurriedly, put down Xiao Xian, and rushed out of the house.
Ashe turned off the shop scouting video and clicked on “Killing Virtual Realm Creatures with Hands: Slashing Fish Dragon Edition”. After watching the video, he got dressed, put on his mask, and summoned his Substitute.
“Wash the dishes, clean up, and if you have extra time, play with the cat. If anything unexpected happens, just dispel the Substitute, got it?”
The Substitute nodded.
Ashe opened a spreadsheet titled “4.29 Full School Timetable” on the Screen of Knowledge. This was a file that could only be downloaded from the Canopy within Caimon Comprehensive University, but coincidentally, Freya was also a student there.
He didn’t just randomly choose a place to stay, he had come prepared.
His gaze landed on a line in the timetable.
“16:00~18:00, ‘Ancient Ritual Faction’, Sylin Karl, Classroom 108.”
After confirming the target, Ashe was ready to go out, but saw Xiao Xian sitting on the floor like a lump, listless and spiritless.
An idea hit Ashe and he cast a Compassion Art Spirit towards Xiao Xian, immediately receiving a wave of pain feedback.
Despite the pain and discomfort, it didn’t seem unhappy, its mood was as calm as if it had grown accustomed to living with pain. It tilted its head at the Compassion Art Spirit in Ashe’s hand, appearing somewhat curious.
“Congenital chondrodysplasia, huh…” Ashe gently stroked Xiao Xian’s head, “Screened from birth, only those who meet aesthetic standards and have utilitarian value are lucky enough to survive, then they live in cages and undergo castration and sterilization. After leaving the cage, they are used as commodities, their value squeezed dry”
“Because we have accompanied pain since childhood, we don’t regard it as misfortune, but as an inevitable fate; because everyone experiences the same, we don’t perceive it as suffering, thus there are no worries.”
He reached out and scratched the chin of the Fold-ear Cat. Xiao Xian revealed a contented and naive smile.
“Being an Observer is really difficult.”
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