Greed and Folly Know No Bounds, Like a Snake Trying to Swallow an Elephant

The moment Gu Ruoxue finished speaking, the dining table fell into dead silence. The hum of the air conditioner became the only background noise, and even the sound of Liu Qingyue chewing abruptly stopped.

Su Cheng exhaled heavily, forcing himself to stay calm. Truthfully, he already somewhat believed Li Guanqi’s words, so he wasn’t too shocked.

"Thank you for the explanation," Su Cheng said sincerely, "but I still have one question: Why did I lose this memory?"

His gaze burned as he looked back at Gu Ruoxue’s pale face, his eyes full of expectation.

"Sorry, I only agreed to answer one question."

Gu Ruoxue brushed away a stray lock of hair, her expression as indifferent as ever. "I made a promise—I can’t reveal any more information about this matter to anyone."

The brief Q&A session had ended, but the girls present were all exceptionally intelligent and adept at analysis. Their sharp minds quickly pieced together the truth about Su Cheng’s identity.

That’s right—this Su Cheng, who had come from another world, was likely the result of their combined efforts with the Gu Ruoxue of that world to completely eradicate the system.

At this realization, the girls collectively sighed in relief. After all, this Su Cheng still had another Gu Ruoxue in that world as a safeguard—things shouldn’t spiral out of control.

Their confidence stemmed from the fact that, at that point in the other timeline, the Gu Ruoxue of that world still possessed the unused qin. Based on the existing clues and the earlier exchange, they had arrived at this reasonable deduction.

However, just as the girls sank into contemplation, Liu Qingyue suddenly shattered the eerie silence. "No!"

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead—she had instinctively used her ability, only to arrive at a completely opposite conclusion.

"Senior, what’s wrong?"

All eyes turned to Liu Qingyue, and Su Cheng, especially confused, pressed further.

"It’s far more complicated than we imagined."

Liu Qingyue wiped the sweat from her temple and scanned the three girls with a meaningful look. "It’s much more intricate and troublesome than we anticipated."

Ji Qingyi’s brows furrowed, while Li Guanqi’s eyes flickered with worry and gravity.

Gu Ruoxue fell into deep thought, pressing a pale finger to her forehead as if searching for faint traces in her memory. "Are you saying that in that world, our actions deviated far from the original plan?"

The three girls quickly grasped Liu Qingyue’s implication. Realizing the severity of the situation had exceeded their initial estimates, they immediately began reflecting and reassessing.

Only Su Cheng remained utterly lost, completely unable to follow.

Why had these three normally calm and rational girls suddenly become so cryptic and dramatic?

This behavior was completely unlike them!

Before Su Cheng could voice his confusion, he felt three pairs of eyes lock onto him. They hesitated, as if carefully weighing their words.

After a long pause, Ji Qingyi was the first to break the silence.

Her gaze shifted between Liu Qingyue and Su Cheng before she finally spoke. "I hope you can recount your experiences after 'crossing over' in detail—the more thorough, the better."

"Exactly. Only then can we help you properly," Liu Qingyue and Li Guanqi nodded in agreement.

Though Gu Ruoxue didn’t speak, the crease between her brows betrayed her concern for Su Cheng.

"Your experiences and this world’s Su Cheng aren’t entirely the same," she added. "We need to carefully analyze the discrepancies to ensure nothing goes wrong."

In their eyes, finding a breakthrough through Su Cheng was the fastest, most efficient, and most accurate solution.

Yet, despite their goodwill, Su Cheng shook his head and firmly refused.

"Thank you for your concern, but I want to handle this myself. I don’t want to involve too many people—especially you." His tone and expression were stubborn. "This concerns my fate, and I want to take control of it."

His words left the girls at a loss. But they knew this matter was tied to Su Cheng’s destiny—they had to do everything in their power to prevent the impending tragedy.

With a soft sigh, Liu Qingyue stepped closer to Su Cheng and patted his shoulder solemnly. "Su Cheng, how about giving your senior some face and telling us the truth?"

Before anyone could react, she pulled a cigarette from her pocket and held it out to him.

"Stop!" Gu Ruoxue tried to intervene, but she was too late.

"Huh?" Su Cheng blinked at the cigarette, then at the others, only to find their faces etched with tension—as if they were facing some monumental problem.

"Senior, I don’t smoke. Why are you giving me this?" Su Cheng was utterly baffled. "And why are you all looking at me like that?"

The girls then came to their senses and quickly averted their gazes, trying hard to suppress the turmoil in their hearts.

However, from their furrowed brows and pensive looks, it was evident that the commotion just now was far from over.

The reason was that the system rules of this world had no effect on Su Cheng in front of them at all.

The fact that he was immune to the system here was like getting an unsolvable result for the girls.

"This is really giving me a headache," Liu Qingyue said helplessly as she put away her cigarette and forced a smile. "I originally thought we could help strengthen your body, but it turns out we're really unable to. Now, I'm afraid we can only brainstorm ideas for you."

"Strengthen my body?"

Su Cheng keenly caught the keyword and immediately perked up. "Senior, do you mean there's a way to enhance my physical fitness?"

"To put it another way, there's a special medicine in this world that can improve physical functions," Ji Qingyi explained. "But for some reason, it won't work on you as an outsider."

"I see..."

A look of disappointment flashed across Su Cheng's face, but soon the spark of hope reignited in his eyes. "Maybe there are similar drugs in my original world! By the way, what's its name?"

Ji Qingyi and Liu Qingyue exchanged a look and were momentarily at a loss for words.

The so - called special medicine was an item obtained from the system after Su Cheng entered Yancheng Private School for some time.

It could cure all external injuries.

Although the Life Potion could only treat external injuries, the vitality it contained was beyond scientific explanation.

For Su Cheng and the girls who were already blessed by the system, its effect was negligible. But for this physically weak Su Cheng in front of them, if taken orally, it might have some effect. At least, in theory, it could restore him to the level of a normal person.

They had never actually tested its real - world effects.

Seeing the strange reactions of the others, a sense of loss welled up in Su Cheng's heart.

"You've never been to my world. How could you possibly know if there's such a thing there?"

He murmured to himself, his tone filled with unwillingness.

Just then, Li Guanqi suddenly spoke up. "Senior Ji, are you talking about the magical potion?"

"Yes, exactly," Ji Qingyi nodded in confirmation.

Su Cheng suddenly raised his head, and the spark of hope reignited in his eyes. "Could it be the Life Potion!?"

"That's an appropriate name," Ji Qingyi looked at him thoughtfully. "Judging from your tone, it seems there's a similar thing in your world? Could it also be in my hands?"

"Indeed, there is! And it's the Life Potion!"

Su Cheng said excitedly. "However, in my world, it's in the hands of Minister Gu."

Another crucial piece of information surfaced, and everyone fell silent again. After a moment, Liu Qingyue broke the silence and asked, "How are you so sure it's in her hands?"

"Because you told me," Su Cheng looked at Ji Qingyi and her servant firmly. "I once asked someone for help and also approached Gu Ruoxue, but for some reason, she was unwilling to lend it to me."

"Oh? So that woman is so stingy?" Liu Qingyue raised her eyebrows, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"I didn't think so before, but now that I know she's my still - unbroken - up girlfriend, it feels a bit strange..."

Su Cheng rambled on, suddenly realizing that there was a Gu Ruoxue sitting beside him. He quickly corrected himself. "Um, well, Minister Gu, I'm not talking about you! Don't misunderstand. I'm talking about Gu Ruoxue. No, I mean..."

"Alright, I know what you're trying to say," Gu Ruoxue sighed and interrupted his stuttering explanation. "Let me tell you again. The so - called 'not officially broken up' means that we've actually broken up, but the formalities haven't been completed. As for the other me not giving you the potion, the most likely reason is that you were being used as a pawn by someone."