Chapter 1568 - 1564: Fang Wushang's Engagement

"But ah, in this situation, it's a great opportunity for me. I do hope she stays asleep."

Lan Yang's fingers moved near Fang Wushang's lips.

"Stop!"

Ye Qiu instinctively grabbed Lan Yang's hand, removing it from Fang Wushang's face, and questioned loudly:

"Are you trying to take advantage of Wushang's unconscious state?"

Lan Yang chuckled again and waved his hand at Ye Qiu, continuing:

"How can you say that? This is my rightful power, Ye Qiu. Do you know what Fang Wushang is fighting against right now?"

"Do you know what happened to the company that caused all this?"

"I heard it dissolved..."

"Yes. The development costs plus the compensation led them to high debt, and the company eventually went bankrupt. So now the maintenance of the VR servers is handled by the technical research department of the Fang Family enterprise. Simply put, it's the department I oversee!"

Lan Yang walked to the other side of the hospital bed, making eye contact with Ye Qiu. He showed a demon-like smile and pressed his face close to Fang Wushang's cheek.

"—In other words, Fang Wushang's survival depends on me now. Hence, I am entitled to demand compensation of equal value, don't you think? After all, her life is in my hands!"

Hearing these words, Ye Qiu became even more convinced of a certain thought.

This man intends to exploit Fang Wushang's condition, using her life for his own personal gain.

He then stood up, looked down on Ye Qiu, took back the smile that had lingered on his face, and coldly ordered me, saying:

"I don't know what agreement you made with her in the game, but I want you to have no interactions with her from now on. I hope you won't have any contact with the Fang Family."

Ye Qiu clenched his fists tightly. But Ye Qiu couldn't do anything now. Frozen as if in ice.

Ye Qiu knows that the world isn't solved by mere force, and Ye Qiu didn't just hit the person in front of him directly.

Several seconds later, Lan Yang stepped aside, saying mockingly:

"The wedding ceremony will be held here next week. I hope you can come. Cherish this final farewell, hero."

At this moment, all Ye Qiu wanted was a sword.

To pierce his heart, to cut his neck. Not sure if he sensed his own impulse, he patted Ye Qiu's shoulder, then turned and left the room.

Back home, those recent memories still surfaced in my mind. Deeply concerned, I curled up on my bed, staring blankly at the wall.

"It's the matter of me marrying Fang Wushang, you know."

"Fang Wushang's life is maintained by me now."

In my mind, Lan Yang's lines replayed like a movie. Ye Qiu's heart burned like heated metal.

But—. These might be because my self-awareness is too strong.

Lan Yang has been close with the Fang Family from the start, that's why he can become Fang Wushang's fiancé.

He is trusted by Fang Wushang's father and is very responsible in the company.

It's possible Fang Wushang was destined to be that man's wife long ago, compared to him, Ye Qiu was merely part of her fabricated interaction in the game world.

Such rage, trying to keep Fang Wushang from that man's atmosphere, was nothing more than childish selfishness—.

For the two of them, the time they spent adventuring was their real world. At the very least, Ye Qiu is convinced of this. The vows exchanged there, the words, every second spent together, all shone like gems.

"I want to stay by Ye Qiu's side for a lifetime—"

Fang Wushang's words, her smiling face gradually drifted away.

"Sorry, sorry, Fang Wushang, I can't do anything."

Sad tears drop, drip, drip, onto clenched fists.

"Brother, the bathroom's free now!"

Naoya called toward Ye Qiu's room on the second floor. But there was no response.

Since coming back from the hospital in the evening, Ye Qiu had locked himself in his room, not even coming down during dinner.

Naoya placed a hand on the doorknob, hesitating for a moment. If he didn't sleep soon, he'd catch a cold, she thought to herself, increasing her grip.

Click, she twisted the handle and opened the door. It was very dim inside. She thought he surely had been sleeping, but then a cold breeze from the room made Naoya shiver. Seems the window wasn't closed.

No helping it, Naoya shook her head, tiptoeing into the room. After closing the door, she slowly approached the south windowsill, only to find Ye Qiu wasn't asleep but curled up on the bed, so she stopped.

"Ah, sorry, brother, I thought you were asleep."

Naoya said apologetically. After a brief silence, Ye Qiu spoke in a lifeless tone:

"Sorry, can I have some time to calm down alone."

"But, but it's so cold in the room."

Naoya reached out, touching Ye Qiu's hands. They felt as cold as ice.

"Not good, your hands are too cold, you'll catch a cold. Go take a bath."

After saying this, a little streetlight from the window illuminated Ye Qiu's face, Naoya realized something must have happened to her brother.

"W-what on earth happened?"

"Nothing."

The voice was weak, with a hint of sobbing.

"But—"

Before these words finished, Ye Qiu wrapped his face in his hands, hiding his expression from Naoya, speaking self-deprecatingly:

"I'm really useless. I decided recently to stop saying such disheartening things."

Hearing this half-spoken, Naoya immediately understood. She cautiously and softly asked:

"Regarding Fang Wushang, what truly happened?"

Ye Qiu's tense body suddenly relaxed. He replied with a painful low voice:

"Fang Wushang went to a distant place. A place unreachable by my hand."

Now everything was clear. But seeing Ye Qiu sobbing, resembling a child, stirred great emotion in Naoya's heart.

After closing the window, pulling the curtains, and turning on the air conditioning, Naoya sat beside Ye Qiu. After hesitating for a moment, she hugged the icy Ye Qiu in her arms. Ye Qiu's tense body instantly relaxed.

Naoya whispered softly into Ye Qiu's ear:

"Cheer up. If it's someone you love, don't give up so easily."