Only a few breaths had passed before Ye Feng wanted to push Xie Yuyan away from his shoulder. But Xie Yuyan seemed to have anticipated his next move and straightened herself up again.
"Sorry, Ye Feng. You had to see me make a fool of myself again."
"Xie Yuyan, you..."
Ye Feng opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words, eventually letting out a sigh. Then, he began analyzing the situation.
"So, Xie Yuyan, what you're saying is that ever since you changed your attitude, you've been staying at Li Mucheng's estate?"
"Yes."
Xie Yuyan nodded slightly, speaking in a calm tone.
"Actually, when you fell into the river that day, I once thought about following you. It was Li Mucheng who..."
"What?! Xie Yuyan, what did you just say?!"
Ye Feng had no patience to hear the rest of her explanation. The moment he heard Xie Yuyan's intentions, a surge of fury ignited within him.
"What do you mean by 'following me'? Explain yourself clearly!"
Xie Yuyan hadn’t meant to provoke him, but she knew that if she didn’t stir his emotions now, his detached gaze would soon turn him into an unfeeling machine. If that happened, all the efforts she and the others had made would be in vain.
"I... I'm sorry, Ye Feng... I misspoke."
A look of panic flashed across Xie Yuyan’s face.
"What I meant was that no matter what, I had to find you."
"Even now, Xie Yuyan, you still refuse to be honest? What you really meant was that if I died, you wouldn’t want to live either, right?"
Noticing how Xie Yuyan’s eyes kept darting away, avoiding his gaze, Ye Feng grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face him.
"N-no, that’s not..."
"Xie Yuyan, if you don’t tell me the truth now, from this moment on, we’ll be strangers. I won’t care about anything you do ever again."
"Ugh..."
Xie Yuyan’s body trembled as if her soul had been ripped away, and she collapsed weakly into Ye Feng’s arms.
"I... I’m sorry, Ye Feng... I just didn’t want to lose you. I was willing to do anything to bring you back."
"Tell me, was what I guessed about your thoughts correct?"
"...Yes."
"And after that, what did you do?"
"After that, Li Mucheng gave me a room. Every day, I stayed there, refusing to eat or drink, trying to escape the foolish things I’d done by wallowing in grief. But in the end, it was Mucheng who woke me up and made me pull myself together to search for you."
"......"
Listening to her words, Ye Feng slowly helped Xie Yuyan sit up, his stern gaze never leaving her.
"Why would you do this? It’s all in the past. If you could just learn to let go, you wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. For someone like me, why..."
"I can let go of anything—except you!"
Xie Yuyan cut him off before he could shoulder all the blame, then tightly grasped his hand.
"Ye Feng, do you really think things would just pass? Didn’t you realize that it was your presence that saved us? Whether it was me in danger, Shen Mengli’s poor health, or Su Yuxin and Li Mucheng needing companionship—it was because of you that we found a better path."
"This wasn’t the worst-case scenario because of you. It was because of you that we had a brighter future."
"I... I’m so confused..."
Ye Feng clutched his head, his expression pained as he gritted his teeth against the mental anguish.
"Ye Feng!"
Seeing him like this, Xie Yuyan abandoned reasoning with him. She immediately stood up, moved behind him, and began massaging his temples with both hands.
"It’s okay. Just leave it to me. Relax. Everything will be fine."
Miraculously, with Xie Yuyan’s help, Ye Feng’s discomfort gradually faded. As time passed, the tense atmosphere softened into quiet calm.
"Xie Yuyan... I-I’m fine now. You can stop."
"It’s alright. Let me keep going for a while. This is the only thing I can do for you right now."
Hearing this, Ye Feng fell silent, quietly savoring this fleeting moment of peace.
"If only..."
"Shh."
Before Ye Feng could continue, Xie Yuyan gently hushed him, leaning close to his ear and whispering,
"Let the past stay in the past. Right now, I just cherish this time with you. That’s enough."
"Xie Yuyan... I know your heart isn’t as stubborn as before, but things are different now..."
"Ye Feng, please tell me what you truly feel. This isn’t the real you."
Perhaps because she knew him so well, or perhaps because their past interactions had forged an unspoken understanding, Xie Yuyan cradled his head gently and spoke softly.
"Xie Yuyan, you’re oversimplifying things. Even if what happened on the cliff never occurred, I still couldn’t..."
"How do you know without trying? Ye Feng, you’ve already taken so many steps. Why stop right before the finish line? If things are truly set in stone as you say, why not test it yourself? See if reality matches what’s in your mind."
"It wouldn’t be fair to you all! And I’ve already..."
"I love you. That’s all that matters."
"Xie Yuyan..."
She held his head against her chest, bending down as if to melt his reservations with her warmth.
"I love you, Ye Feng. I know your heart must be in turmoil right now. But we’ve been changing too. I believe that before the end comes, we’ll find a way to overcome any obstacle. So please, give us some time, okay?"
"Xie Yuyan... how could you..."
Ye Feng stared at her in disbelief. The once-proud Xie Yuyan was now humbling herself before him. What had happened to her during their time apart?
"Ye Feng, love can change a person. It’s only now that I truly understand what that means. So... please, just look at me. Watch how I change, okay?"
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
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?"
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
