169: Chapter 169: Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?

Wang Donger's heart sank abruptly.

The way he asked this almost amounted to presupposing something.

She bit her lower lip, struggling to keep her voice steady: "Naturally… the truth."

Lu Jing took a slow breath and exhaled just as slowly, as if organizing his words or perhaps trying to sort through his own equally chaotic thoughts.

He looked at Wang Donger, his gaze sincere, his voice low and clear as he spoke, word by word:

"Snow Empress is… very beautiful, and in this regard, she is no less than you. Her figure, temperament, background, and strength are all impeccable. Although her personality is cold, she is actually very pure at heart and values relationships deeply. A woman like this…"

He paused, his gaze becoming more profound as if recalling every little detail since he first met Snow Empress:

"To say I don't like her at all would be hypocritical and disrespectful to both you and her. Especially considering… all the things we have experienced together. From our first meeting in the Far North, to the years spent together on Sea God Island, and then our life-and-death struggle in the Sunset Forest. I have seen her at her most vulnerable, and I have seen her at her most resolute. She has saved me, and I have helped her. This bond has long since surpassed that of simple companions. I do… indeed have those kinds of feelings for her; at the very least, she is no longer just a normal friend!"

He spoke very slowly, every word seemingly carrying weight.

He did not use fiery words, nor did he deliberately try to be sentimental; he was simply calmly stating the facts and his inner feelings.

Yet it was precisely this calm sincerity that made it feel more real and more impactful.

Wang Donger listened quietly, her heart feeling as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

It felt somewhat stifled and sour, yet… strangely, there wasn't much anger or resentment.

Because just as Lu Jing had said, Snow Empress was indeed impeccable.

Such a stunningly beautiful, powerful, uniquely tempered woman who also cared for him deeply.

Spending time together day and night, sharing life and death—if one were to say Lu Jing had absolutely no feelings for her, that would be the abnormal thing.

Unless Lu Jing were a stone, or simply not a normal man.

She even put herself in Lu Jing's shoes, thinking that if it were her, facing a woman like Snow Empress, she would likely find it hard not to be moved.

This was human nature; it could not be blamed.

However… understanding is one thing, but accepting it is another matter entirely.

Then what about her? What should she do?

Say she accepts it? Her heart would inevitably feel somewhat awkward and uneasy.

After all, love is inherently selfish and exclusive.

Who would be willing to split their beloved in half and share them with someone else?

Even if that person is Snow Empress, the Sister Snow whom she also respects and even likes somewhat.

Say she doesn't accept it? That also doesn't seem… all that justified.

This World, after all, is the Douluo Continent.

Among the nobility and powerful Spirit Masters, having multiple wives and concubines is the most normal thing in the World.

Ten thousand years ago, Tang San only had Xiao Wu, which instead belonged to the minority of the minority—a devotion that was highly praised.

But that was, after all, the minority. Was she really going to force Lu Jing, make things difficult for him, or even… make him angry, feeling that she was unreasonable and not magnanimous enough, just because she couldn't accept it?

Wang Donger's heart was in complete turmoil.

Various thoughts, emotions, and concerns were intertwined like tangled hemp, leaving her agitated, her chest feeling as if it were stuffed with cotton, stifling and panicky.

She didn't know what to say, nor did she know what to do.

Subconsciously, she tightened the arms wrapped around Lu Jing's waist, as if this could grasp something, as if it could bring her a glimmer of security.

Lu Jing didn't speak again either, simply holding her silently, feeling the slight tremors of her body and the waves in her heart.

He knew that this matter could not be rushed, nor could it be forced.

She needed time, and he needed time, to think and to face it.

Time slipped away bit by bit in the silence.

The night deepened. Moonlight from outside the window passed through the thin curtains, casting cold spots of light onto the floor.

Wang Donger closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep, but Snow Empress's face, Lu Jing's words, and those chaotic thoughts kept flashing through her mind.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep no matter what.

In the end, Wang Donger opened her eyes.

She stared at the top of the canopy, the agitation and confusion in her heart not only failing to subside with the passage of time but becoming increasingly clear.

She needed to do something, or rather, she needed to confirm something.

She gently removed Lu Jing's arm from around her waist, her movements as soft as possible, not wanting to wake him.

Then, she carefully lifted the quilt, stepped barefoot onto the slightly cool floor, and groped around until she found her nightgown and slippers, quickly putting them on.

After doing all this, she looked back at Lu Jing on the bed.

Lu Jing seemed to be asleep, his eyes closed, his breathing steady.

But Wang Donger knew that he was likely awake and just wasn't stopping her.

She did not hesitate further, took a deep breath, gently pulled open the door, and slipped out of the room like a ghost, silently closing the door behind her.

The corridor was empty, with only dim, yellow lights.

Wang Donger's heart was beating a little fast; she tightened her thin nightgown around her to ward off the chill of the night breeze.

Then, she stepped forward, her goal clear but her steps hesitant, walking step by step toward the other end of the corridor, to that room belonging to Snow Empress.

She didn't know what she was going to do or what she was going to say.

Perhaps she just wanted to see with her own eyes and ask with her own mouth, or perhaps she just wanted to find some kind of answer from Snow Empress, or… some kind of opportunity that would allow her to make a decision.

The night was quiet and deep.

The young girl's worries were like the night itself—dark and unclear, yet incredibly real.

…

Late at night, everything was silent.

The bright moon, like a silver plate, hung high in the sky, casting down its cold, bright radiance, shrouding the streets, alleys, and rooftops of Heaven Dou City, as well as the courtyard of this secluded mansion, in a hazy silver veil.

A slender, thin figure, wearing only a simple silk nightgown, stepped barefoot on the slightly cool wooden floor, passing silently through the quiet corridor.

Moonlight passed through the window lattice of the corridor, flowing over her body and outlining her beautiful yet slightly tense silhouette.

Her pace was very slow and very light, as if every step was treading on the tip of her soft heart.

The moonlight illuminated her stunningly beautiful face, which was shrouded in a layer of complex worries.

Long eyelashes cast heavy shadows under her eyelids, obscuring the surging hesitation, confusion, anxiety, and a trace of… determination in her eyes that even she herself could not quite articulate.

Finally, she stopped in front of that tightly closed door.

This was Snow Empress's room.

She stood quietly outside the door, looking up at it, as if she could see through the thick wooden planks to the cold, peerless woman inside.

Her right hand slowly raised, hanging in mid-air, her fingertips only an inch from the door panel, yet it felt as if they were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and it was a long time before she let it fall.