The scent of tea and the mist of steam drifted and lingered within the dojo. Each person was immersed in their own thoughts, and no one was the first to pierce the veil of this silent air.
Ji Qingyi maintained her usual serene posture with eyes closed, as if nothing in her surroundings could pique her interest or attention, giving off an aloof feeling of detachment from the world.
Perhaps, she would only become slightly more animated if Su Cheng were present.
Liu Qingyue was in her typical state of lazy nonchalance, leaning against the wall with a lollipop in her mouth, playing a mobile game with her head bowed, occasionally glancing up to sweep her eyes over the others.
Though, it was worth mentioning, she was wearing sportswear. Could it be she had participated in some high-intensity activity earlier?
"Can you sense our thoughts and feelings?" Liu Qingyue asked, the words slightly muffled around the lollipop, seeing that the other two had been silent for so long. "Did you detect any despair, or even a sense of pain?"
Li Guanqi shook her head, lowering her gaze to look at the tea in her cup, her tone somewhat dejected: "No. On the contrary, I feel you all are quite at leisure, no different from usual." Her fingers lightly traced the rim of the teacup, as if to conceal the disappointment in her heart.
"You're wrong about that," Liu Qingyue said, taking the lollipop out of her mouth and lightly licking the residual pink liquid from her lips, teasingly. "Our thoughts, inner feelings, and experiences are the same as yours, so our moods and sentiments aren't that different."
Li Guanqi pursed her pink lips, striving to maintain calm in her eyes. "I don't deny that point. At the very least, our interests align, so the problems we face are the same."
"Now you realize we have common interests?" Liu Qingyue said with annoyance, her tone tinged with impatience, her gaze sharp as she stared at Li Guanqi. "What were you doing earlier? Did you come running to me today to discuss with us how to handle Su Cheng's... affairs?"
"I..." Li Guanqi was momentarily at a loss for words. After all, this was indeed a problem she had created herself, and she couldn't shirk the responsibility.
She knew Liu Qingyue also needed to vent her emotions, so she hung her head, prepared to be scolded.
However, after waiting a minute,
Liu Qingyue did not speak again.
Instead, it was Ji Qingyi who suddenly opened her eyes. She elegantly picked up her teacup, took a slow sip of tea, and then set the cup down before speaking in a cool tone: "I am not magnanimous enough to forget your previous actions towards me. Therefore, I hope you have come this time with sincerity and apology, not merely to probe into my life."
Ji Qingyi's words conveyed one meaning clearly: she could forgive Li Guanqi's past rude behavior, but only if Li Guanqi came with sincerity and apology.
And what constituted sincerity and apology?
It was undoubtedly "The Basic Laws of Web Novel Heroines."
Both Gu Ruoxue and Ji Qingyi placed great importance on this book. It seemed the path to redemption lay within it.
Li Guanqi fell into silence, and her silence did not prompt Ji Qingyi to continue speaking; instead, she too fell silent. Liu Qingyue stood to the side, observing the scene with keen interest, a playful smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
A long time later, Li Guanqi finally raised her head, her tone utterly desolate: "This is something he left me, the only thing. I am different from you all. Apart from this book, I have nothing. That's why I was so desperate to actively search, to try and reclaim what I've lost."
She materialized the book out of thin air, placed it on her knees, and stroked the cover with her fingertips, as if caressing her most precious treasure.
"I don't know how to describe my feelings. It's a sense of loss," Li Guanqi continued, her voice low and sorrowful. "I think only by loving someone else more than oneself can one experience this feeling."
She looked up at Ji Qingyi, her eyes filled with envy and longing. "President Ji, to be honest, I envy you. If I could be like you, able to look down upon everything with pride, to disdain all specific experiences and feelings, I imagine I would be very happy now."
Li Guanqi's voice carried a hint of bitterness. "But I can't do it... I can only ignorantly demand yet feel ashamed to ask for help, tirelessly searching, hoping to find what belongs to me."
Ji Qingyi listened quietly without interjecting. Only after Li Guanqi finished speaking did she slowly say, "So, you came here to try and win our sympathy by playing the victim?"
"It seems we can't get along..." Li Guanqi's tone was somewhat dispirited, her lowered head hiding her face. "Although I cannot give the book to you, I will still inform you of any new content from it, as a token of my apology."
With that, she stood up and walked towards the office she came from, preparing to leave.
Ji Qingyi and Liu Qingyue made no move to stop her, watching until she completely disappeared from their sight.
Liu Qingyue stretched her waist lithely, her sportswear riding up as she did so, revealing her slender waist to the air; the beautiful lines of her toned midsection were utterly captivating.
"What's your take on this, Young Lady?" Liu Qingyue asked briskly, a note of curiosity in her tone.
"I'm rather curious whether she felt the pain of loss when her sister left, and if it was the same as what she feels now."
Ji Qingyi set down her teacup and turned to look outside at the targets, as if gazing at an opponent, or perhaps her own heart. "Is this feeling of hers more for herself, or for others? It actually drove her to oppose me repeatedly, taking such great risks."
Her tone held a trace of inquiry.
"She said it herself, didn't she?" Liu Qingyue shrugged, offering a definitive answer. "Only by loving someone else more than oneself can one have this feeling. So, it's the power of love."
A flicker of cunning passed through her eyes, as if she found the topic quite interesting.
Ji Qingyi frowned and shook her head. "Are you saying that, whether she recovers her memories or not, she would still end up like this? She's too immersed in this emotion, not even grasping the appropriate measure. Being good to someone is in the hope that they will be equally good in return. When that equivalent reciprocation isn't received, one should give negative feedback as a reminder."
"Young Lady might experience this feeling yourself someday," Liu Qingyue said, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
Ji Qingyi shot her a glance. "From the sound of it, you seem to have already experienced it?"
"Of course," Liu Qingyue said cheerfully, using her thumb and forefinger to indicate a size as vast as the universe. "Just a tiny bit more than you~"
Her voice was full of confidence and self-satisfaction.
"Enough, let's not talk about such nonsense. Experience is one thing, but we mustn't delay important matters."
Ji Qingyi shook her head, changing the subject. "How is the task I asked you to handle progressing?"
"The procedures are all complete," Liu Qingyue explained, lightly brushing her short hair. "However, after Cornelia returned to Flame City, her mother has been keeping an eye on her, so she can't move about freely." Her tone held a note of resignation.
"If that's the case, she's actually not making a fuss?" Ji Qingyi expressed slight surprise. "That's truly hard to believe."
Liu Qingyue responded with a smile, "She made quite the scene. Her mother had to use reason and emotion, employing every trick in the book, to finally calm her down. If you wish, Young Lady, we can have her make a limited-time return at any moment."
Ji Qingyi raised an eyebrow, asking with noticeable interest, "What are the chances Su Cheng will return once he learns this news?" A hint of anticipation tinged her tone.
"Perhaps he'll come back for a visit, perhaps not."
Liu Qingyue lightly fiddled with her short hair, her tone carrying a note of uncertainty. "I'll do my best to make sure this situation reaches Su Cheng. As for whether he returns or not, that will be his own choice."
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
