Chapter 33 - Miss Black Eyes
On a bustling street filled with people coming and going at all times, Sophia stole a sideways glance into a dark alley and saw her cousin, Guang Ai, kissing Chen Shiao—the infamous young master of the Chen family.
Sophia was surprised by the sight—not so much by the kiss itself, but because it hadn't been long since she had seen Ai kissing Heng Tai, the young master of the Heng family.
Sophia couldn't understand why her cousin behaved that way, but she didn't really mind either; after all, little more than just blood ties connected them. Without paying much attention to the incident, she continued on her way home.
What Sophia didn't know, however, was that there was a reason for that behavior. Since she was little, Ai had always been compared to her cousin Sophia by their parents—especially by their father. Ai didn't understand why her looks had to be constantly measured against Sophia's, why her intelligence was always set side by side with her cousin's, and even in cultivation, why this comparison kept coming up.
Ai hated it all. She detested being constantly compared to someone else, feeling that nothing she did was enough to please their parents. Yet, at the moment when Sophia suffered a sudden setback—a significant drop in the efficiency of her cultivation—Ai saw a chance to steal the spotlight and, for the first time, put herself ahead of her cousin.
At the age of 12, Ai was already known by practically everyone in the city. Even though she wasn't as beautiful as Sophia, her beauty was striking enough to stand out among the other girls. Unlike her cousin, her hair was ordinary and completely black, but what truly caught people's attention were her eyes—pitch black, and when they fixed on someone, it was as if she could see straight into their soul.
And that wasn't all. Like Sophia, Ai displayed her talent by reaching the first stage of Body Refinement at the age of 9. Everyone was impressed, but it didn't seem to matter to anyone; her father still reprimanded her for not having reached that level sooner—even though she had worked relentlessly for two long years to achieve it.
Time passed, and just under two years later, hardly anyone remembered her anymore—especially since Sophia, the so-called genius girl, had just reached the second stage of Body Refinement, and all attention had shifted to her.
Seeing that she was more irate than ever, Ai thought sadly,