I Will Cease to Exist

"Mengli?"

Ye Feng looked down in surprise at Shen Mengli, who was pouting. He hadn't expected her to be the first to speak up for him.

"Since Xiao Feng doesn’t mind, let me explain things to you. I don’t want him to have to relive such painful memories again."

Shen Mengli muttered reluctantly, gripping Ye Feng’s hand tightly.

"Xiao Feng, leave the rest to me. I don’t want you to go through that pain again."

"Mengli... thank you..."

"Mhm."

Shen Mengli gave Ye Feng a sweet smile before turning to face the three people across the table. She began explaining the situation with the system inside Ye Feng.

"The reason Xiao Feng acted the way he did is because there’s something inside him forcing him to do things against his will."

"Something inside him? Don’t tell me some kind of terrifying chip was implanted in Ye Feng’s brain?"

Xie Yuyan was the first to react, her voice tense.

"You can think of it as something that doesn’t exist in reality. Not only can it decide Xiao Feng’s life or death, but it also forces him to carry out tasks he doesn’t want to do. Even meeting us was part of its arrangement."

"What?"

"How could that be?"

"Something inside him..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yuyan and the other two wore expressions of shock and horror. None of them could have imagined something so absurd yet undeniably real happening to Ye Feng. The revelation shattered their previous assumptions, and memories of Ye Feng’s past actions suddenly connected in their minds.

"So that’s how it was... the kidnapping... getting close to us... all part of some arrangement? No wonder someone came to save me in such a desperate moment."

"Teacher was forced to kidnap me, which is why he suddenly disappeared after that incident..."

"So that’s why Brother Ye Feng said those things to me in the sewer that day..."

......

Ye Feng watched as the three of them sank into their thoughts, swallowing hard. Though his feelings for them were genuine, now that they realized he had only approached them to complete tasks, they would surely resent him. Still, he had expected this outcome.

But to his surprise, Su Yuxin was the first to regain her composure. She fixed her gaze on Ye Feng and asked, "Brother Ye Feng! That conversation we had in the sewer—was that how you truly felt?"

"Well... yes. At the time, your words comforted me when I was exhausted. I really didn’t want to do any of this, but..."

"It’s okay, Brother Ye Feng! Even so, my feelings haven’t changed!"

"Yuxin?"

Su Yuxin stood up from her chair, leaning slightly forward with her small frame, hands pressed against the table as she looked at Ye Feng with determination.

"I still believe in you! And I’ll stand by what I said—I won’t let you get hurt again."

"Tch..."

Shen Mengli, who was sitting on Ye Feng’s lap, couldn’t help but purse her lips at Su Yuxin’s words.

"And me!"

Before Su Yuxin could finish, Li Mucheng also stood up, placing a hand over her heart as she spoke earnestly.

"I can tell that Teacher’s feelings for me were always real! Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today! Even if you were forced into it, I don’t see it as a bad thing. In fact, I’m grateful—because that’s how I got to meet you. It brought you to us."

"Mucheng, you too..."

"Ye Feng."

Xie Yuyan also spoke up, though her gaze was different from Li Mucheng’s firm resolve—hers was filled with endless tenderness.

"I don’t have much to say, because everything I’m doing now is just atonement. I don’t expect you to accept me, but... I still want to be with you. This time, I won’t be selfish again. If you’re still uneasy, I can even—"

"Alright, alright, alright! Xie Yuyan, no need to go that far. I really appreciate all of your kindness."

Ye Feng quickly stopped them, stunned that none of the three harbored any resentment toward him. Was he really as good as they made him out to be? No, no—the priority now was resolving this situation properly. Only then could he truly find closure.

"But you have to understand, I’ve been tangled in too much karma. And because of everything that’s happened, I don’t even know how to move forward. So before anything else, I just want us all to get along peacefully. I don’t want any more conflicts because of me."

"D-don’t worry, Teacher! We’re united now! Right, Yuyan? Yuxin?"

"Mhm!"

"Uh-huh..."

The two nodded in unison.

"Ah... that’s good, that’s good."

"Then... Brother Ye Feng! I have a question too!"

Seizing the opportunity to ease the tension, Ye Feng quickly followed Su Yuxin’s lead.

"Go ahead, Yuxin. I’ll answer anything today."

"I want to ask... what do you plan to do now that we’re back? Like, where will you go?"

"You mean whether I’ll stay or leave?"

Ye Feng hesitated. If he told them he planned to stay in the cabin, they’d probably all crowd in with him. It’d be better to find a place with more space. Maybe...

"I... I think I’ll go home. With Mengli."

Hearing his last words, Shen Mengli couldn’t suppress a smile as she turned and hugged his arm.

"Me too! I won’t go anywhere without Xiao Feng."

"I... I see. That’s fine. As long as you’re not staying here, Brother Ye Feng. The climate here is unpredictable—if you got sick, it’d be terrible."

"Yeah... that’s the plan for now. Since you’ve all asked your questions, I should say what’s on my mind too."

Once the room fell silent and all eyes were on him, Ye Feng finally voiced his concerns.

"At first, I really was just focused on completing tasks. But whether it was with Mucheng, Yuxin, Xie Yuyan, or Mengli... I did terrible things to all of you. The guilt ate at me, so I tried to make up for it by being kinder. That’s how things ended up this way—so I’m responsible too."

"But back then, I was just trying to survive. If I didn’t complete those tasks, I would’ve ceased to exist."