The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 51

The traffic light turned from red to green, allowing pedestrians to cross.

“Hiss—Bang!”

The black sports car swerved in an arc and slammed into the person in front, the fierce scraping sound exceptionally jarring.

Her consciousness slowly rose into the sky, and stars filled the heavens, raining down upon her.

Drip, drop. Drip, drop.

So cold. It’s my blood.

“Di di di, di di di di…” The alarm clock rang again. This time, a slender hand pressed it firmly.

“It really is eight-thirty.” Yao Yuan sat upright on the bed, her mind briefly blank, almost forgetting what she was supposed to do. But finally, memory returned to her body and was not stolen by anyone.

Why didn’t that strange Spirit Artifact strip me of my memory? She hesitated as she stepped into her slippers and walked toward the washroom. If it wanted to sign a contract with her, wouldn’t it be more convenient to simply erase her memory and throw her into the past?

There was no time for more complaints. As before, she picked up her enamel mug to rinse her mouth.

The face in the mirror showed no anomaly. Her small lips were tightly pressed, and her deep brown eyes were full of vigilance. She stood in front of the mirror for a long time but didn’t wait for her reflection to start weeping blood or give her a scare, like a scene from Final Destination.

This time, she walked out of the washroom much slower, wary of a knife flying in from somewhere, reliving the horror of Final Destination.

Fortunately, the Spirit Artifact’s trustworthiness might be a 0.5. She successfully reached the clothes placed on the stool and put them on one by one. The tarot cards lay quietly on the desk, not yet swept away.

【Which card will it be if I draw one more?】

She already had a vague answer in her heart. Her hand rested on the deck, and she gently used her fingertip to slide out the top card.

The back of the card felt like it had a low-temperature flame attached to it, making her fingertip sting slightly. She pushed the half-drawn card back. It didn’t matter if it was the one or not.

Yao Yuan covered her chest. Her heart was beating powerfully and didn’t hurt at all. She could still feel the circulating pathways continuously transporting elemental particles to it.

Although it claimed to send her back to the past, the changes caused by the Devil were not actually reversed. Realizing this made her feel like breathing was easier.

Her phone vibrated on time, and a text message exactly like the one in the past appeared on the screen: 【Meet next Saturday at noon for a tea party.】

Her heart remained calm. Yao Yuan quickly replied in the chat window: 【Sorry, I have something very important I can’t get out of. I won’t be attending this time.】

She pressed confirm and sent it, then decisively powered off her phone. Now, she just needed to rush to the traffic light and… What was going on downstairs?

A sudden scream stabbed into her ears, like a celebrity wearing a mask being discovered by a group of fans.

Curiosity got the better of her. Yao Yuan stood by the window and looked down. Her eyes met a patch of deep blue, with scarlet roses swaying in the wind.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and looked down again: My goodness, it’s still there! She was actually seeing someone making a heart shape under the dormitory building! Fortunately, they weren’t using flammable candles but individual fresh flowers.

She pulled the curtain shut and left her dorm, descending the stairs. As she stepped off the last step, she was face-to-face with the excited expressions of the onlookers.

“Say yes! Say yes!” A somewhat uneven chorus filled her ears, mixed with softer whispers.

“Is she a mixed-blood?” “Still a girl, hahaha.” “It, it’s that person…”

What’s wrong with these people’s minds, to be so excited about such an embarrassing spectacle? She lifted her sling bag to shield her face, her lips involuntarily curving upward.

It was… a little bit happy.

【You are anticipating it.】 The Starlight had said so. The mind-reading Devil was right.

Happy or not, Yao Yuan remained focused on rushing forward. She had to get there before the car passed the traffic light. Although being actively hit sounded more awkward, as long as the Starlight was there—”Please go out with me.” A bouquet of roses blocked her way.

【I wonder what kind of person the Spirit Artifact prepared for me.】 Thinking this, she looked up, and her heart rate instantly accelerated.

The blue-eyed woman’s features were gentle, and her eyes were clear like a lake. Her nose bridge was high, her lip line slightly wide, and her jawline a bit distinct, making her entire face look very upright and honest.

Why, upon seeing a completely different face, did she still think of the Starlight at this moment?

【Do you think your love is special? It’s just that no powerful beauty has ever taken a fancy to you.】 The Spirit Artifact’s spiteful words… absolutely shouldn’t be the truth.

“The first time I saw you, I knew you were special.” The blue-eyed beauty dropped the bouquet and extended her hand toward Yao Yuan. Even the gesture was exactly the same.

Her rationality kept rejecting this. That mysterious Spirit Artifact already possessed this ability. It was joking to try and create a perfect lover modeled after the Starlight.

“Excuse me, I’m very busy.” Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, she pushed the person’s hand aside and ran against the crowd.

She used to love clear blue eyes because the protagonists in shojo manga always had light-colored eyes. Black or blonde hair was great, and she especially liked people who looked upright…

Yao Yuan couldn’t help but glance back, and her face flushed even more: The person was wearing the kind of dress most commonly seen in fairy tales! The wicked Spirit Artifact knew even this. Are there so many mind-reading creatures?!

The fairy-tale beauty followed her unhurriedly: “Where do you want to go on a date?”

“I said I’m very busy.” She covered her chest and kept jogging, hoping her heartbeat would slow down, but it stubbornly sped up.

“Then shall I make the choice? How about 【Going to the highest place in the world to watch a meteor shower】?” A hand gently pressed onto her shoulder.

“You, don’t use the line from my signature!” Yao Yuan was startled and turned around, affected by the person’s innocent blue eyes.

【Forget it, why get angry at a life created by a Spirit Artifact?】

“Watch out.”

Watch out? A pair of arms embraced her shoulders, drawing her into a warm hug. Even the feeling of the embrace was exactly the same. Maybe she really couldn’t resist this sense of similarity.

The engine roared past. A gust of wind lifted the hem of the dress, while also scattering her overly similar thoughts.

Yao Yuan struggled fiercely toward the road but was held tightly by the person in front of her, unable to get even a centimeter closer.

“What are you doing? Let go.” After several continuous taps, the sports car had passed, and she stopped struggling in defeat.

The person also released her restraining arms and gently set her down: “Try to trust me more.”

Trust or not trust, a mere Spirit Artifact—She looked up and was burned by a patch of azure blue. Her heart trembled. The person in front of her was smiling knowingly. The gentle gesture was like a layer of velvet, covering up an inherent arrogance.

【Starlight…】

The call from the bottom of her heart was like a tangible command. Space-time twisted at this moment. The meaningful blue beauty gradually vanished from sight, along with the familiar street, falling into darkness.

Despite not being hit by the car, the Devil descended nonetheless. What would the Starlight use to trade for her soul this time?

Yao Yuan slowly lost her sense of gravity, plunging into a pool of icy bubbles.

A dark shadow heavily suppressed the brilliance of the sun. The sky was no longer azure, and silver chains emerged from the gloom.

Specks of light shimmered upon them, as if stars were looking down below.

The black shadow floated before her, and the scarlet gem stared at her: “Mortal, voice your obsession to me.”

A strange feeling suddenly arose: Was the Starlight like this back then? She did seem to say these words, but why was the sense of oppression so much less?

Is it because I’m too familiar with her? That kind of never-fading coldness was completely absent. The Starlight was cold; even in an excited or angry state, it was a cold flame burning on ice.

The shadow wrapped around her shoulders, pure darkness enveloping her: “Make your wish. I can fulfill any wish.”

“A wish?” Yao Yuan covered her chest: “Any wish?”

“Yes, this is your last chance.” The black shadow locked onto its prey, and silver chains restrained her soul, intercepting the path to heaven.

【I certainly want to date you—】 The words were on the tip of her tongue, but a massive doubt in her heart prevented her from saying them.

This feeling was exactly like… not wanting to talk to the person in front of her at all.

“I want to ask, what exactly did you see in me?” Yao Yuan took a deep breath, pointing her finger at her own cheek.

“The soul.”

Something was wrong, very wrong. Her intuition finally slowly awakened. The scarlet gem in front of her seemed to have lost its inherent luster, transforming into a gray-white color.

“Which part of my soul? Tell me the truth. A real Devil cannot lie.” She approached the glimmer in the shadow step by step, her eyes growing increasingly certain.

“Power. There is a fragment of power in your soul.”

“So that’s it. You need that.” Yao Yuan stopped, her smile undiminished.

A parchment scroll appeared at the fastest speed, and flames burned unknown characters onto it.

“State your wish. The contract shall bind you and me.”

“Let me see~” Yao Yuan did not step forward. She looked up at the contract scroll: “How should I put this, hahahaha—” The shadow did not respond, and the surrounding space began to collapse amidst her hearty laughter.

“It’s too fake, you counterfeit Devil!” Yao Yuan extended her thumb and poked downward: “The Starlight would never say something so disgusting! Nor would she be so foolishly dull!”

Upon this, the stained-glass colored stars let out a crisp cracking sound. Beams of light projected into the small theater. As if an eggshell touched marble, a large amount of semi-solid shadow surged in from above, mixed with golden and red brilliance.

The solidified shadow devoured the false stars, reforming into a perfect human shape.

“Not entirely stupid.” The Starlight tore the fabricated contract and stepped on it, picking her up with one arm.

“It’s nothing, all thanks to the contrast provided by the other party.” Yao Yuan proudly probed: “Was that blue-eyed person earlier you too?” Hmm, I want to know even if it’s unnecessary!

Fortunately, the Devil nodded, a rare look of satisfaction visible in her eyes: “Good.”

“Then the one before was just ‘acceptable’?”

“Correct.”

Yao Yuan thought for a moment: “Acceptable.”

“Dissatisfied with my acting? Or was the hint too subtle.” The Starlight didn’t forget to clean up the surrounding debris while embracing her. The black shadow gradually consumed the domain of the false god.

“No, you were too cheesy. You actually arranged a heart shape under the dorm building!” Her face was full of the smugness that screamed, 【I really liked it】.

“Wait a moment. We have a long time to 【be in love】. I’ll take care of some miscellaneous tasks first.” The Starlight said the words that made her heart race without a care. A streak of red light struck the bottom of the space, stirring up shattering cracks.

“Get out.” The Devil coldly used her magic to consolidate the entire space. Layers of fire licked away the glass structure, exposing the vulnerable Spirit Artifact.

The Spirit Artifact spun and morphed, looking somewhat disheveled: “You didn’t even leave a direction for me to escape. Are you really that merciless?”

“Cut the nonsense. If you want to use my power to break your seal, you should be prepared to be destroyed by me.” Wisps of dust wrapped around the Devil’s fingertips. The Starlight’s killing intent was icy cold.

“Is that so? You saw through me—the first layer of my plan.” The Spirit Artifact raised its eyes, full of mockery.