Seeking Sorrow and Longing for Heartbreak

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."