Chapter 042: Meeting Again Across Lifetimes

Seraphina never imagined she would see Silas Sterling again under these circumstances.

Perhaps due to being in the entertainment industry, Silas’s hair wasn't a conventional black, but dyed a light brown. In his left ear, he wore a black stud—ancient and mysterious. His face was undoubtedly extraordinary. His clothing was standard: a simple white shirt paired with black trousers.

Yet, even in such simple attire, he exuded a sense of wicked charm. One couldn't tell if it was because of his shimmering "peach blossom" eyes and that black stud, or if it was an inherent quality.

When Silas saw Seraphina look over, his body stiffened slightly. The girl in his eyes wore a light green dress that carried her unique style. Her ink-black hair fell to her waist. She sat there with the Konghou resting against her shoulder, her hands still resting on the strings. Her poise was elegant, her temperament ethereal.

One song,

"The Greatness"

; it was just like the first time he saw her.

He had actually arrived long ago. However, at the auditorium, he hadn't sat in his assigned seat, instead finding a corner to sit in. There, he could watch the person he wanted to see without restraint. When he saw her get up to leave, he followed. He followed her all the way here.

He hadn't intended to show himself, choosing to stay in the shadows. As long as he didn't want to be seen, he was capable of ensuring she wouldn't find him. He hadn't expected to hear her play this piece again. He couldn't help himself; he took a few steps forward to stand by the window where he could see her more clearly.

He just hadn't expected her to look up... No, perhaps it wasn't that he hadn't expected it, but that he had anticipated it yet still chose to walk forward, standing where she could see him. Only his own heart knew what he was thinking.

Facing each other like this, Silas felt a flicker of helplessness. Should he say hello? Or pretend he hadn't seen her and turn to leave? Compared to the latter, he was more inclined toward the former—not just out of upbringing, but because he

wanted

to.

However, he who was normally flawless in social interactions found himself unable to initiate a greeting for a long while. Was it because he didn't know what to say? Of course not. He was simply... a bit afraid. That was all.

Just as he was hesitating, he saw the girl smile at him. It was as radiant as the sunset, as beautiful as a fresh blossom. His heart suddenly felt scorched. The hand hanging by his side instinctively clenched into a light fist.

Her rosy lips parted slightly: "Silas."

She was calling him. His heart skipped a beat. So, this was how it felt to hear his name from her lips? Despite the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind, nothing showed on Silas’s face. Only his hand at his side clenched and unclenched several times before he gave a small smile and a polite nod. "Miss Pierce."

The smile on Seraphina’s face froze for a moment.

Miss Pierce...

Such a distant form of address.

She remembered he had called her that when he saved her in her past life. But it had only been that one time. Perhaps seeing her despondence, his way of addressing her changed after he gave her a stern lecture. He used to call her "Serene." Like her parents, he used her nickname.

But Seraphina was Seraphina after all; she quickly controlled her emotions. Her shallow smile returned, though this time it was noticeably more sincere and radiant than usual.

She stood up, finding her limbs a bit stiff, and quickly smoothed her skirt as a cover. "...What are you doing here?"

She didn't want to call him "CEO Sterling," but given their current relationship, using his full name felt inappropriate, and she didn't particularly want to use it anyway. So, she simply skipped the title altogether.

Silas clearly felt that her attitude toward him had changed. At the blind date, even though she maintained the grace and etiquette of a noble daughter throughout, her stance had been very firm. She hadn't had a good impression of him. She had rejected him directly and even hinted at wanting no further interaction.

But now, her attitude was different. When Xander told him over the phone what he had seen at the mall, Silas had been skeptical... Yes, skeptical. But even with doubt, he had been happy. Only now was he certain that what Xander said might actually be the truth. Her feelings toward him were indeed different from the day of the blind date.

How it changed or why it changed didn't matter. What mattered was that her attitude

had

changed; she was no longer shutting him out so firmly. That was enough.

"It’s rare to be back at school. I was just looking around and happened to walk here." Looking at the elegant, gentle girl before him, Silas exhaled softly and smiled. "Care to walk together?"

Seraphina was momentarily stunned, then replied: "Sure." It was exactly what she wanted. She had been worried about finding a proper reason to contact him.

"Wait for me a moment." After Seraphina finished speaking, she turned to leave the classroom. Once she was out of Silas’s sight, her pace instinctively quickened until it turned into a run.

It wasn't until she ran out of the Arts Building that she realized what she was doing. Running recklessly through the halls was truly unlike her character. Yet, she had done it anyway. She wanted to see Silas; she was desperate to stand before him and confirm he was okay. She had to admit that.

It turned out that her previous ability to remain calm and not see him wasn't because she didn't want to, but because she had buried that longing deep inside. Seeing him now, she understood how much she had missed him.

Seraphina knew how fast she was running. Yet, when she burst out of the Arts Building and saw Silas waiting by a flowerbed up ahead, she froze. Silas had been outside the window; the walk around was quite a distance. At a normal pace, he couldn't have reached this spot in the time it took her to run here—let alone look so composed, as if he had been waiting for a while.

Her gaze fell on his slightly ruffled hair at the temples, and her thoughts swirled through a hundred turns. Seeing Seraphina run out, a flash of surprise crossed the deep eyes on Silas’s calm face. Then, joy flickered through them—so fast it seemed like an illusion.

Seraphina also realized Silas had seen her moment of lost composure. She didn't feel embarrassed; she naturally slowed her pace, held her handbag in front of her with both hands, and walked toward him, not losing an ounce of her noble poise. It wasn't forced; in Seraphina’s mind, she and Silas were already very close—close enough to trust each other with their lives. Subconsciously, she didn't care about small things like losing her manners in front of him.

Seraphina’s eyes were fixed on Silas until she reached him. This process took less than a minute, but in that short time, her thoughts had drifted far and wide. She remembered things from her past life. She remembered the scene where Silas risked his life to save her.

In truth, when she was wide awake, she didn't quite dare to look back at that scene—neither in her past life nor after her rebirth. Every time she remembered it, it was in a dream. A nightmare.

Silas died to save her, yet he still worried about her, handing the Sterling family over to her so she would have enough security to survive in the capital. Even in death, he thought of her. How could she not repay such profound devotion?

Once she finished avenging the Pierce family and ensured her family's stability, she would spend the rest of her life repaying his kindness. She would prevent him from being entangled with troublesome women or being cheated on, protect him from his enemies, and ensure he lived this life in peace.

Being stared at so intensely by Seraphina, Silas was a bit startled. It made him wonder if something was wrong with him—was his face dirty? Was his clothing untidy? If he weren't someone who could keep his cool, he probably would have started checking himself in a panic by now. But no matter how uncomfortable or flustered he felt, Silas didn't remind her. He didn't dislike being stared at by her.

Seraphina wanted to throw herself into Silas’s arms and hug him. Guarding the massive Sterling family alone for twenty years... she was truly... tired. And she couldn't show it. Otherwise, how could she have held onto the family? The capital wasn't as simple as Sea City; with one wrong move, a great family could be overthrown or even disappear. She had to protect what Silas left behind.

So, even though she was tired and lonely, she turned herself into the "Black Widow"—ruthless, decisive, cold-blooded, and without a single weakness.

Ultimately, she held back. She didn't throw herself into his arms, and she slowly withdrew her intense gaze. With a calm expression, she gave him a small smile. "Let’s go."

Silas nodded. They walked side-by-side with about a meter of distance between them. They walked for a long while, neither opening their mouth, unified in their silence.

Suddenly, Silas stopped, and Seraphina stopped too. They looked at each other at the same time and spoke in unison: "You—"

"You go first."

"You go first."

Again, in unison. After being stunned for about ten seconds, Seraphina suddenly laughed. She even let out a low chuckle. It was a laugh from the heart—as if a cloud of gloom had dispersed—a happy laugh. Silas didn't know what she was laughing at, but after a moment of being stunned, he too curved his lips.

He could feel that she was very happy right now. If she was happy, that was enough. As for the reason, who cared?