Pirate Phantom
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[AR] Chapter 7: Conflicting Feelings / Morning
🕑 Added 2025-08-06 16:28:50 +0000 UTC[Spoilers ahead if you haven't read the free 1-6 chapter in scribblehub]
“Mmm… uuh…”
Under the moonlight, Fengling was instinctively performing some ancient, mysterious ritual.
The clothes Luo Yuan left on the washing machine had somehow ended up on her bed.
She hugged the blanket and those clothes, rolling back and forth like a worm. Her body twisted with a strange rhythm.
“…Luo Yuan…”
She had already given up trying to rationalize what she was doing. She just softly muttered his name, doing something that should have been deeply embarrassing.
Up until she reunited with Luo Yuan half a day ago, she’d been surviving like a mindless beast—fighting, killing, existing without reason.
That stretch of time had been too long. So long that she feared this so-called rebirth was just a fragile dream.
When she found herself alone again, she tried to fall asleep early so she could see him sooner. But no matter how she turned, she couldn’t sleep.
She was scared that if she closed her eyes, she’d wake back up in the ruins—back in that endless nightmare that had once hunted her down when she collapsed from exhaustion.
Almost like possessed, Chen Fengling went to the bathroom and picked up the clothes Luo Yuan had left behind…
To her surprise, the heavy loneliness that usually clung to her quietly faded. In its place came something else—a forbidden thrill.
She could barely remember what she was doing, but her body hadn't forgotten. Instinct carried her through.
“Ah… ahh…”
Right before she could finish the ritual and cast what could only be described as a very… wet spell, her phone dinged with a special alert.
“Eep!”
Startled, she shot upright, pretending like nothing had happened. But her flushed cheeks and the damp clothes told a different story.
Fengling clutched her face and quickly stuffed the clothes into the washing machine, slamming the start button.
“Uwaaa… what the hell am I doing…”
It finally hit her what she’d just done. She hadn’t heard the word in ages, but it came back to her now: she had… self-serviced.
And with his clothes.
This was straight-up perverted behavior.
“It’s not my fault… it’s this body! This body has too many urges! I’m not that kind of girl…”
She tried to convince herself, frantically checking her phone to distract her mind.
“You there? Wanna come to my club tomorrow? My senpai’s really nice.”
Fengling’s face twitched.
She didn’t care much, but from a purely logical standpoint… this was a rather bold invitation.
He opened with “you there” and immediately mentioned another girl.
“No, no… it’s not like I like Luo Yuan. And it’s not like he’s chasing me or anything… I shouldn’t expect anything from him…”
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
“Sure. Let’s meet at ten tomorrow.”
She sent the reply quickly, pulled the blanket over her head, and tried to calm her racing mind.
Strangely enough, the hollow, empty feeling that haunted her disappeared. Being with the real person was way more effective than fantasizing with his laundry.
Fengling chuckled to herself, then paused when she remembered a word from his message.
Senpai.
She knew exactly who he meant.
In her previous life, she’d met the club president—Ye Xintong. A woman completely different from herself. Passionate, bright, kind, and strong.
Luo Yuan’s growth into someone strong wasn’t just tied to what happened tonight—it was also tied to Ye Xintong.
When disaster first struck in the last life, before Luo Yuan had awakened any powers, he and Fengling were cornered by infected in a school building. Ye Xintong was the first to awaken flame abilities. She appeared like a true hero, saving them and rallying the survivors to avoid even greater tragedy.
Luo Yuan, who had originally been hesitant, was deeply influenced by her. She became a big part of why he set his goal to save the world.
He had feelings for her. Deep ones.
But unlike that one book with Caesar, there was no prince here—and Luo Yuan wasn’t some tragic sidekick either.
Still, with time, their feelings grew deeper. They were close to something more, just one step away. But before either could say anything, during a beast horde attack, Ye Xintong died shielding everyone.
Fengling remembered how Luo Yuan looked that day—exhausted and broken. She hadn’t been able to do anything back then. All she could do was pat his shoulder and try to get stronger.
She had never been good at leading, never burned bright like them. The flame that warmed others never reached her.
She didn’t have grand dreams.
She only wanted to stay by his side. To help him reach his goal. To ease his pain. All she wanted in return was to not be alone.
That was enough.
She told herself that someone like her was just a side character in his life—a background piece. The true heroine was someone else.
As long as he promised not to leave her, to stay like before, that was already more than she could’ve dreamed of.
But…
That bitter voice in her chest stirred again. That unwillingness. That desire to take more.
It was new. She’d never felt this way before.
Maybe it came from centuries of isolation. Or maybe it was just that one afternoon.
Fengling gently tapped her head, forcing herself to calm down.
“If you can go back… and be with him again, shouldn’t that be enough?”
She whispered to herself.
She remembered how broken he looked, and she didn’t want him to go through that again. He had already done so much for her—she had no right to ask for more.
That thought helped. The conflict in her chest quieted, and soon she drifted into the best sleep she’d had in years.
“Haah~”
Chen Fengling yawned, stretching. She hadn’t slept this well in a long time.
Half-awake, she groped around for her phone. It was already 6:00 AM.
Since she’d gone to bed around nine, she wasn’t tired at all.
After washing up, she quickly braided her hair and clipped on her usual accessories. In the mirror, she looked more energized than ever.
She still wore the white dress. Her silver hair flowed like silk, with a few strands braided neatly. A green leaf and white rose hairpiece sat on her head, adding a touch of life. Her dark brown eyes sparkled, and combined with her innocent face, she looked like an angel fallen from the sky.
She smiled at her reflection. Luo Yuan had said she looked cute like this. That meant she’d done it right.
She slung on her backpack and stepped out—only to return seconds later, red-faced.
She’d forgotten to take the clothes out of the washer.
She grabbed them and set them out on the balcony, in the perfect spot for sunlight.
“Ugh… what a dummy. How are you going to…”
She stopped herself before finishing that sentence. Her cheeks turned even redder.
She headed out again.
The peaceful scenery before the apocalypse passed her by, but she wasn’t paying attention. All she thought about was what lay ahead.
It had been almost ten hours since she last saw Luo Yuan. She had to wait another four.
Even though she knew that in the future, they'd be together 24/7, she couldn’t help but feel excited.
“Ugh… Luo Yuan’s important, but I wasn’t like this before…”
She questioned her own strange state of mind, but she didn’t regret it.
She figured it was just the fear of losing something again after finally getting it back.
Definitely not anything romantic.
Chen Fengling hummed a tune as she entered the classroom. It was noisy, with students still arriving.
Her entrance brought a moment of silence. In a program where the gender ratio was 95:5, someone like her was a rare creature—a bombshell in a quiet pond.
Still, because of that same ratio, no one dared to approach her with any cheesy lines. Most of these guys weren’t exactly Casanovas.
She smiled politely and sat down.
“So elegant… look at that posture. Like a princess…”
One guy had already started dreaming up some melodramatic story about a rich heiress dedicating herself to science.
In truth, Fengling was thinking about what to say when she met them. How to invite Luo Yuan to lunch. How to ask him to stay over again. When to return his clothes.
As for the lecture content… her brain was still in monster-slaying mode.
She had the purity of someone completely untainted by academia. It was only thanks to her brief time leading humanity that she could even function here.
Just when she was about to fall into a peaceful nap for the second time in two days, the bell rang.
After a whole session of psyching themselves up, a few bold students tried to approach her.
But before they could even open their mouths, she was gone.
So fast that even the speedrunners of high school had to admit defeat.
Light on her feet, Chen Fengling headed toward the clubroom.
She’d hesitated last night, but now she was sure.
Seeing her old companion again was worth looking forward to.
From time to time, she pulled out her mirror to check her appearance. She wanted to leave a better first impression than the one she left in the last life.
Comments
AchroniaXenia
Didn't realize it was you that made this story...
