Chapter 140: Lilith Used to Be a Chubby Girl

“Is your past identity really that important?”

Whenever this topic came up, Lilith seemed to wilt a little, even somewhat dejected. It was a complete contrast to her usual lively and spirited self. Zhai Guangyi felt a pang of guilt—it seemed she didn’t like her past self—but he genuinely wanted to know who she had been.

“You already know many of my secrets, but there’s still a barrier in my heart that keeps me from fully trusting you.” Zhai Guangyi shook his head. Lilith’s past identity truly wasn’t important—after all, it was all in the past. Yet, the more someone tries to hide something, the more others want to uncover it.

“Hmm, fine. Actually, in my previous life, I secretly liked you all along.”

Lilith dropped a bombshell right from the start. In his past life, Zhai Guangyi had been a shut-in, holed up at home every day. He had no female friends and had never received a confession. Instead, his guy friends often teased him for being girly. Could it really be that one of those buddies had turned into a girl and now had feelings for him again?

Zhai Guangyi instinctively took a step back.

“Why are you so afraid of me! Is liking someone a crime?” Lilith’s face flushed even redder, her cheeks puffing up in anger.

“No! I’m just a bit surprised.” Zhai Guangyi quickly waved his hands. He couldn’t jump to conclusions; he needed to listen quietly to Lilith’s explanation. Otherwise, after she’d finally mustered the courage to speak, he might shut her down again.

“I used to be really timid and was often bullied by others. Everyone made fun of me. But once, you walked over and said my handwriting was beautiful and that I looked cute sitting in the classroom doing homework. From that moment on, I started liking you.”

Lilith suddenly brought up memories from high school, along with this unexpected confession, leaving Zhai Guangyi at a loss. He now knew exactly who Lilith was.

Back in high school, there was a very, very chubby girl in their class. She was deeply insecure about her appearance but excelled academically. She often became the target of ridicule from other classmates and was even bullied by some troublesome female students. She frequently sat alone in the back of the classroom, doing homework for many of her bullies.

Zhai Guangyi remembered that he had originally gone over to copy homework from that chubby girl. Her handwriting was truly beautiful. Although she was heavy-set, her face was small and delicate. At the time, Zhai Guangyi noticed that she was actually quite cute. To successfully copy her homework, he tried talking to her and casually complimented her.

It was only then that Zhai Guangyi realized she was doing homework for others and understood she was being bullied. After that incident, he reported the situation to their teacher on her behalf.

The next day, the bullies were punished, but that chubby girl transferred to another school. Zhai Guangyi’s memory of her was limited to just that, and he couldn’t even recall her name anymore.

Sometimes, when he carefully reminisced about everything from high school, it all felt strangely distant. It seemed like it had happened just yesterday, yet when he tried to recall the details, it felt as if he remembered nothing—not even the names of some classmates. High school memories truly were a mysterious thing.

“I’m a bit afraid of others knowing what I used to be like. I don’t dare speak up in the group chat, and I don’t even want to interact with those so-called ‘classmates.’ What I fear most is that you might come to dislike me.”

Lilith suddenly grew somewhat despondent as she spoke. Zhai Guangyi found it difficult to fully grasp what she had been through. He had never experienced school bullying and didn’t understand the kind of trauma such experiences could inflict.

“If you don’t want to interact with them, then don’t. I won’t dislike the girl with the elegant handwriting.”

Zhai Guangyi didn’t want Lilith to dwell on those things anymore. What her past identity was truly didn’t matter at all. Just because someone was a former classmate, did that mean they deserved trust?

In truth, Zhai Guangyi was more relieved to confirm she wasn’t one of his old buddies. Otherwise, interacting with her would probably be similar to how he was with Xiong Er—though Xiong Er likely didn’t like men, or else Zhai Guangyi would feel uncomfortable around her too.

The Demon King sitting on the throne quietly curled the corner of his mouth.

Zhai Guangyi hadn’t expected that a small thing he did in the past would linger in someone’s memory for so long, even after transmigrating.

He suddenly felt a pang of guilt toward Lilith. He hadn’t really helped her much, and he hadn’t paid much attention to her fate either.

“Since you remember now, I won’t say any more.”

Seeing that Zhai Guangyi had recalled and didn’t seem to despise her, Lilith slowly let out a sigh of relief, her whole demeanor brightening once again.

“Mhm.”

“Actually, our Demon King’s Army has been preparing for this plan for a long time. There are many hidden Demon King’s Army forces inside the Mesopotamia Forest now, even in the central parts.”

Lilith continued explaining the situation to Zhai Guangyi. Perhaps thinking the Demon King was asleep, she spoke more and more, until she mentioned how to deal with the Elven Divine Tree. At that point, the Demon King Honored One on the throne began coughing repeatedly, and Lilith stopped.

The general situation was that the decisive battle would likely unfold in the Mesopotamia Forest. The army would first head to Banwang City for rest and reorganization. When the Hero’s army arrived, they could just eliminate them in passing. The target remained the Elven Divine Tree.

The reason for deploying troops to Mesopotamia was to drag Dragon God Radon into the conflict. The Demon King’s Army wasn’t limited to the forces currently visible; many factions inside the forest had been developed into the army’s external units.

Lilith told Zhai Guangyi in advance so his True Body would have more time to prepare, and also to ease Zhai Guangyi’s worries about the Hero’s army. Originally, Lilith was supposed to go along, but now it was convenient, so she wouldn’t be going.

Zhai Guangyi, the Demon King, and the others would directly approach the Elven Divine Tree. As for how exactly the Demon King planned to draw Dragon God Radon into the game, Zhai Guangyi wasn’t very clear.

Zhai Guangyi had the System temporarily take over his Elven Body and returned his consciousness to his True Body. He needed to prepare as well. The great battle was about to begin. Leaving aside the issue of the Hero’s forces coming to deliver themselves, just the Demon King’s Army settling in Banwang City would keep Xiong Da and the others busy enough.

Moreover, the Demon King’s preparations were clearly intended to drag the Dragonkin into the conflict, which would inevitably lead to clashes with them. While the Dragonkin harbored no hostility toward his True Body, the same couldn’t be said for the Demon Race.

The Demon King’s army was closing in on the Dragonkin’s stronghold, which was sure to provoke the Dragon God’s wrath. Regardless of helping the Demon King ascend to godhood, Zhai Guangyi’s first priority was ensuring his own safety, as well as the safety of his Followers.

The feedback from Blessings bestowed upon Followers required time to manifest. Zhai Guangyi decided against granting any more Blessings for now, opting instead to stockpile System Currency as a precautionary measure for self-defense in the impending war.