Soulbound Lovers

Liu Qinglan looked at a document and felt a headache coming on.

She closed her eyes and used her fingers to massage her temples.

An involuntary sigh escaped her lips, and her eyelids trembled lightly.

”Sister, I don have to go. ” A voice said from beside her.

The voice was male, and it sounded like an awkward cross between a boys and a mans voice.

”I can go to Xingshan public high. ”

”Don worry, your sister will figure it out. ” Liu Qinglan soothed.

”…but sister… ”

”Its rare to get a tuition scholarship to A-One high. I will find a way to pay for everything else. ”

Liu Qingfeng did not continue to argue when he heard his sisters assurance.

Although he wanted to work to contribute to their two-person household, his sister did not allow it.

She wanted him to have an ordinary childhood and attend school without worries.

However, Liu Qingfeng worried.

His sister was only six years older than him.

When their parents died, she was only sixteen and was forced to grow up before her time.

At twenty-one, she didn go out with friends or dress up to impress boys.

Instead, she worked multiple jobs, and all surplus money was saved for his future.

Thinking about it made him feel bitter.

He wanted his sister to have fun, but more than anyone, he understood why she couldn .

Sister, I will let you have a good life one day. He thought, and determination hardened his eyes.

”Its late. We should go to sleep. ”

Liu Qingfeng opened his mouth to say something, but he didn say anything in the end.

He just looked at his sister and moved over to hug her.

”I love you sister. ”

Liu Qinglan chuckled and ruffled the teenagers hair, ”have a goodnight. ”

”You too sister. ”

After that, the two exited their small sitting room and went to their equally small bedrooms.

When the door closed behind her, Liu Qinglan lost her smile.

She had said she would take care of everything, but she wasn confident she could do it.

”Should I sell a few more designs? ” She muttered under her breath.

With a light sigh, she walked to a small desk; placed beneath the rooms only window.

On the desk was an old laptop, a few sketchbooks, and other drawing material.

She picked up the sketchbook and flipped the pages one by one.

”How many will I have to sell this time? ”

Her stomach lurched, but she forced herself to smile.

”It doesn matter as long as I can let him live well. ”

This time, her smile was more genuine.

Although she hated selling her designs, it was more important to provide for her brother.

Now that Qingfeng was going to high school, she couldn be stingy with his school expenses.

”It doesn matter. ” She repeated and closed the sketchbook.

After that, she changed into her sleepwear, slid into her bed, and turned off the lights.

In less than ten minutes, Liu Qinglan was asleep.

Her subconscious mind wandered in her dreamscape and brought her to a training field.

Like before, a man was practising at the centre of the training field.

The man was one hundred and eighty-eight centimetres tall.

He had a well-sculpted face and black hair that fell to the middle of his back.

He wore black robes and black boots that reached his knees.

When she looked at him, Liu Qinglan was reminded of male characters in xianxia novels.

”You are here. ” The man said when he saw her.

”I am here. ” She replied and walked to one side of the training field.

As before, two mats were placed across from each other, and she took the one on the left.

”You are later than usual. ”

The man stopped his practice and moved to the extra mat.

His weapon was slung over his shoulder, and Liu Qinglan eyed it in curiosity.

”What kind of weapon is that? ” She asked.

The weapon was in the shape of a sword.

However, the upper half of the blade was wider than a greatsword, while the bottom half broke into five blades.

Each blade was a different colour, and each tapered to a point.

If one looked closely, one would notice that the points were arranged like a five-point star.

”Its a self-refined weapon. ”

”Does it have a name? ”

”Chaos Slayer. ”

After that, the two sat in silence.

Since her twenty-first birthday seven days ago, Liu Qinglan had the same dream when she fell asleep.

No, it wasn the same dream. It was more like a sequence of dreams.

In each dream, her soul would wander to the training field.

When she got there, the man would always be there; swinging his weapon and hitting targets.

However, he would always stop when she arrived.

As if spending time with her was more important than honing his skills.

Although it was wishful thinking, Liu Qinglan liked it.

In real life, she never allowed herself to be less than practical.

This dream was the only flight of fancy in her otherwise dull life.

It didn matter what it all meant, what mattered is that she liked it.

She liked spending time with the man even if most of that time was spent in silence.

”You look troubled. ” The man suddenly said.

Liu Qinglan sighed, and her hands shook slightly.

She tried to smile, but couldn summon the energy or will to do so.

”Qingfeng has been accepted into A-One high school? ”

Gu Haoyu knew that Qingfeng was Liu Qinglans brother, but he knew nothing about A-One high school.

”A-One high school is the best high school in Xingshan city. Its ranked first in the country. ”

”Isn it good that he was accepted there? Why are you troubled? ”

”He has a full tuition scholarship, but we have to pay for everything else. Uniform, books, lunch,… ”

Gu Haoyu was a little confused.

They had only been meeting for one week, and he didn know much about her world.

In his world, there were no such things as high schools.

When children reached a certain age, they would join a sect or find suitable work.

Because of this, it was a little difficult to understand her world.

However, he understood the underlying problem.

He understood that Liu Qinglan wanted to send Liu Qingfeng to A-One high school but didn have the means to do so.

If that was the case, he had many ways to help her.

Gu Haoyu was about to say something when the girl suddenly laughed.

”Enough about my problems. Can you tell me about you and your world? ”

”What do you want to know? ”

”How old are you? ” Liu Qinglan suddenly asked.

From his looks, Gu Haoyu was less than thirty.

In her opinion, he was a little older than she was, but not by much.

However, he came from a cultivation world.

How he looked wasn necessarily reflective of how old he was.

”I will be ten thousand in less than a hundred years. ” The man answered.

”Your genes are exceptional. You don look bad for a ten thousand years old man. ” She chuckled, and Gu Haoyu smiled.

”You will also stop ageing when you begin to cultivate. ”

”I can cultivate? ”

”I will teach you if you want. ”

Liu Qinglan smiled ruefully but didn answer.

This dream was her haven, her hideaway from reality.

She knew that everything in this place wasn real.

However, she wanted to believe when Gu Haoyu said things like that.

She was tempted to believe in immortals.

To believe that there were many worlds and many universes.

She wanted to dream about a handsome man and accompanying him to soar the heavens.

However, her mind was too practical.

All her fantastical thoughts were left in the dream and not thought about during the day.

In this way, she could accept her life as it was.

She could accept the inevitability of an ordinary existence and the necessity of sacrifice.

It was enough to dream when in a dream.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, Gu Haoyu studied her features.

He knew she didn believe his words.

She thought he was a figment of her own imagination.

However, he couldn force her to understand.

All he hoped was that she would eventually believe him.

When that time came, the stars would align, and their paths would no longer be parallel.

At that time, he would take her to explore the heavens and master the secrets of the universe.

”Its almost morning, I will see you later. ” Liu Qinglan said as she stood up.

”Wait… ”

”Is there something? ”

Gu Haoyu looked at the girl and also stood up.

”Is there jade in your world? ”

”Jade? ” Liu Qinglan was surprised.

Of everything she thought, she didn expect he wanted to talk about jade.

”Is there? ”

”There is jade, but I can afford it. ”

When her parents were alive, her father once gave her mother a jade bangle.

The bangle was made of poor-quality nephrite jade, but it was considered expensive for ordinary people.

After her parents died, Liu Qinglan was forced to sell the bangle when she couldn afford rent.

As she thought about it now, she couldn help the bitterness that lumped in her stomach.

”Can you promise me one thing? ” Gu Haoyu asked.