Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

An east wind at night, setting a thousand trees alight with flowers.

Then blowing them down, like a shower of stars.

Bai Xiang stared in a daze, momentarily lost, as if she herself were one of those fireworks.

The two bursts of light in the night sky looked just like him and her.

Seemingly close, yet worlds apart.

Yuan Ahqing came huffing and puffing up to the roof, poking half her head over the edge.

She had wanted to scoot closer and watch with them, but seeing the two of them sitting side-by-side, she couldn’t help but feel like a third wheel.

She scratched her head and, with another huff and puff, climbed back down...

"A gift for you."

Jiang Mu suddenly pulled a ring from his robes and held it out to Bai Xiang. "Look closely. There’s even an inscription on it."

Bai Xiang lowered her gaze to look.

This ring was completely different from the Storage Ring she had before.

It wasn’t a typical Storage Ring, but a simple piece of jewelry.

Its design was simple yet elegant.

The silver-white band had smooth lines, and its face was inlaid with a tiny but translucent, light-blue Crystal Stone, like a frozen droplet of evening dew.

It exuded a unique beauty she had never seen before.

Engraved on the inside of the band was a line of minuscule characters: "From Jiang Mu to Bai Xiang."

’Who is Jiang Mu?’

’Did this guy change his name?’

Bai Xiang raised the ring to her eyes, gazing at the fireworks blooming across the sky through its opening.

The Crystal Stone refracted tiny specks of light.

They fell into her eyes, creating a gentle, shimmering ripple.

At that moment, her heart was a swirl of inexplicably complex, indescribable emotions, sending ripples across its surface.

"Here, let me put it on for you."

With a teasing glint in his eye, Jiang Mu grabbed her left hand without taking no for an answer.

He deliberately skipped her index and middle fingers, slowly sliding the ring onto the base of her slender ring finger.

"Unless it’s an emergency, you’re not allowed to take it off. This little thing has been blessed by the Nine Heavens Goddess herself. It’ll bless you with... hmm, with great wealth and fortune in the future. It’ll lose its power if you take it off."

Jiang Mu spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.

’It’s just a little trinket from my family’s jewelry shop, anyway,’ he thought. ’It didn’t cost much.’

But the real reason Jiang Mu gave it to her was simply to commemorate the day they met.

On his own birthday, in this unfamiliar world, he wanted to create one more shared memory for himself, and for her.

Bai Xiang gazed down at the silver glint on her finger, then slowly raised her hand to examine it against the fireworks.

An unconscious smile spread across her lips.

Though her face was plain and unremarkable, at this moment, framed by the streams of light in the sky, it revealed a moving beauty.

’It’s beautiful,’ the woman thought to herself. ’I am quite pleased with this birthday gift.’

The fireworks finally faded, and silence returned to the night sky.

Before Bai Xiang could fully savor the tender moment, the man beside her suddenly let out a long sigh and said something that completely ruined the mood:

"That cost a fair bit of silver... I’ll deduct it from your wages later."

Bai Xiang: "..."

She shot him a sharp glare.

That man. He just had to ruin the atmosphere.

Jiang Mu laughed heartily, wrapped an arm around her waist, and floated lightly with her from the eaves back down to the ground.

Once they landed safely, he immediately held out his open palm to Bai Xiang.

"Alright, the fireworks are over, the surprise has been given, and the gift has been delivered."

"Now, isn’t it time for my gift?"

Bai Xiang bit her pink lips, and a flustered expression appeared on her usually cool and composed face.

Jiang Mu’s eyes widened. "Don’t tell me you really didn’t prepare anything?"

"Sister Xiang did prepare something! She—"

Yuan Ahqing ran forward and was about to speak, but Bai Xiang clamped a hand over her mouth.

Bai Xiang shot Jiang Mu an annoyed glare and made a "wait a moment" gesture at him.

Then, she grabbed the bewildered Yuan Ahqing and dashed into the rear courtyard like a gust of wind, off to prepare some secret.

Jiang Mu grew bored of waiting. Seeing the table in the main hall laden with fragrant dishes, he decided to start eating first.

After a little while, Yuan Ahqing poked her head in through the door.

"Sir, could you come out for a moment? Sister Xiang and I have a gift for you."

’Do they have to be so secretive about a simple gift?’

Curious, Jiang Mu put down his chopsticks and walked out of the hall.

The courtyard was empty. There was no sign of Bai Xiang, only the cold moonlight blanketing the ground like a layer of silver frost.

Yuan Ahqing brought over a chair. "Sir, please have a seat."

Jiang Mu frowned, amused. "What are you two plotting?"

"Please, Sir, sit."

Yuan Ahqing pushed Jiang Mu into the chair, then trotted over to an osmanthus tree in the corner of the courtyard and picked up a hulusi gourd flute.

The young woman calmed her nerves and brought the mouthpiece to her lips.

A graceful melody began to flow through the night...

The simple, ethereal sound, carrying a sense of purity and tranquility that seemed to wash away all worldly cares, spread through the small courtyard.

As Jiang Mu listened, captivated, a graceful and lovely figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

In that instant, the moonlight seemed to take on a physical form.

It transformed into a blooming snow lotus, gently enveloping the woman’s figure.

What surprised Jiang Mu even more was that Bai Xiang had changed her clothes.

The simple dress she usually wore had been replaced by a white, wide-sleeved gown adorned with cloud patterns.

The garment was still simple, without much embroidery.

But on her, it inexplicably radiated an innate nobility.

It was as if she was always meant to be dressed this way, standing amidst jade pavilions and marble halls.

She also wore a light veil over her face.

Only her autumn-water eyes were visible, adding a layer of mystery.

"This is..."

Under Jiang Mu’s stunned gaze, to the sound of Yuan Ahqing’s graceful melody...

Bai Xiang raised her fair hands, her wide sleeves fluttering, and began to dance.

Dancing with her clear shadow, as if no longer in the mortal realm.

The woman’s movements were as light as a swallow’s, her waist as supple as a willow branch.

With every spin, her skirt bloomed like layers of a night-blooming cereus. It was as if she had crushed ten miles of spring breeze and hidden it within the hem of her gown.