The stadium is the perfect place for reminiscing. Many people, amidst the tense atmosphere, dream of their childhood and uncover some life philosophy. But for me, childhood was a nightmare. "I won't! I won't end up like you. Irresponsibly bringing a child into this world just to make her suffer like you. Fucking balancing your own conscience!" I yelled at my biological mother.
"I'll go talk to her, try to persuade her," the man beside my mother said.
"That's it, dear, I have no regrets," my mother helplessly smiled.
My childhood was spent in blind dates. Some were unattractive, some came from poor families; but what could I do? I didn't have the right to choose. I shouldn't even have the right to procreate.
My mother got married at the age of thirteen and gave birth to me at fourteen, but my father was a thirty-year-old alcoholic. But all things considered, that was already quite good – at least she got married to a familiar neighbor. Unlike my grandmother, who had so many tragic and tumultuous experiences, I won't dwell on that.
When I turned ten, my mother arranged for me to study at the welfare institute before her death. Although they didn't find a good family for me in the end, at least she had the chance to close her eyes. She was twenty-four that year.
Even my always-arguing father fell silent during that time. I was really moved when he voluntarily said he would take care of me. However, it only lasted a few months, and then he disappeared.
I had to work, study, and do everything that benefited my own survival on my own.
These hardships were unfamiliar and strange to normal people from Acadia. To further illustrate this, fate even personally gave me a great gift:
"Why work so hard? Unhappy women age quickly, you know..."
"Just be lazy, don't you want to go to the mountains with us? There's a cute little deer there."
"Sorry, sorry, you're just too ambitious. Maybe I'm not worthy of you..."
That's loneliness.
Perhaps I was born with a vibe that repels strangers.
How could this be? Why? Why must all this pain happen to me?
All thanks to the devil called "Lingnan Disease."
It's a floral disease that makes flowers wither before blooming in the summer, a terrifying genetic disease.
The scary part is that nobody with the disease can live past the age of twenty-five.
But strangely enough, even though the patients die so young, the disease hasn't disappeared yet. Every patient never gives up hope of leaving offspring.
So sometimes I become superstitious and rely on the ethereal fate to explain my misfortune –
"Are some people truly born to suffer?"
After all, there are so many happy people around. Isn't it possible that I unintentionally took on some of their suffering? Because not everyone is qualified to be constantly happy!
Afterwards, I moved to Red Port. In this largest city in our country, where trade with foreign countries is integrated, I learned foreign knowledge, worked for foreigners, and still had to find time for the assignments from the welfare institute.
It was only then, influenced by the foreign atmosphere, that I realized "Lingnan Disease" wasn't some generational parasite devil after all – it was just kidney failure caused by genetic decline except in the potassium organ.
Although it's a disease that can be cured even with a minor surgery in foreign countries, it's one of the deadliest diseases in Red Port. After all, Acadia's magic of treatment is like those noble bloodlines; it only restores you based on your DNA. Transformation and even things like enhancing your existence are beyond its scope.
Speaking of foreign countries, all I needed to do was traverse a desert of less than a thousand miles, gather less than ten thousand dollars for a boat ticket, or simply sneak onto the deck of that iron bird from a foreign country, and I could find myself in a different world, I could gain a new life.
Maybe it's even possible to obtain a budding, adorable, brand new life from within me.
But for someone like me, who struggles to set aside even a penny each month, and with the consistently high prices in Red Port for foreign products, it's an impractical plan.Now I am seventeen years old, to be honest, I have already missed the age when patients with the victim syndrome can find a husband.
But I feel an incredible sense of relief.
Having completed the magic course at the welfare institute early, I have freed myself from the needs of ordinary Acadian people. The only thing left for me to take a chance on fate.
The professor at the welfare institute said to me, "Go and participate in the magic festival. The local welfare institute has only one spot, and it's for you."
"If it were anyone else, I would just let her see the world."
"But this year it's you, Prince An. I hope you can get first place, you have the qualifications."
Why give me hope again? Why can't I just die quietly? I'm just one year away from being too old for the age limit to register.
But as long as I make a name for myself in the magic competition at the Fireworks Festival and get employed by a noble as a strategist, earning a million a year would not be a problem. It's only a matter of time before I gather enough money for treatment.
But maybe this is life. Just when you're about to give up, the heavens place a obvious carrot in front of you, leading you to continue like a donkey, but there's never an end in sight.
But so what? I will gladly accept this enticing poison.
Looking back now, maybe I wasn't thinking about making money to treat my illness.
I just wanted to beat up those noble ladies.
How could they understand the amount of power a dying person can unleash?
Even for Turing Aucia in front of me, it's the same.
——————————————————————————
Magic Festival Finals Fifth Match Turing vs Prince An
"Come here, Teresa."
"Madame, did you call me?" Teresa softly closed the door, her hands folded in front of her abdomen, with a solemn and elegant posture, a quiet and solemn expression, just like before.
"It's okay, relax," Oedipus leisurely sat at a gray stone table with a chessboard laid out, saying, "I have prepared a little question for you here."
"May I?" Oedipus looked at Teresa, playing with the black king chess piece in his hand, his eyes sparkling with colorful and deep colors.
Teresa unconsciously swallowed, nodded and said, "Of course, Madame."
"About this chess game..."
"A caged bird enduring silence." Oedipus placed the black king on D8 of the opponent's chessboard.
"A hypocritical and cowardly chess player." Oedipus reached into the box again and took out the black queen, placing it on E8.
"A clever well bottom flower." Just like before, Oedipus took out the black rooks from the box and placed them on A8 and H8.
"And the countless traitors at the mercy of fate." Then he took out the black pawns and filled the seventh column.
"Finally, the lonely ruler with many enemies." This time, Oedipus took out a white chess piece, a white king, and placed it in his own white king's position.
"Teresa, if it's you, which side would you like to play?" Oedipus smiled and lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertips, the exquisite and elegant chess set on the surface emitting a dull ethereal light. Teresa's mouth slightly trembled, feeling an imperceptible heat compelling her to sweat.
Time passed bit by bit, Teresa felt her upper and lower lips sticking together.
"Is this a bit difficult for you?" Oedipus waved his hand towards Teresa. "Let's look at something simpler."
