Chapter 707: Let Go

The Three-colored Cat clawed at Li Ji’s clothes and scrambled up to the top of his head.

It stretched its neck, took a deep breath, then lifted a paw and pointed at a carriage in the crowd, letting out a loud cry.

MEOW!

‘Manman’s in there!’

Li Ji snatched the cat down, stuffed it into his robes, and immediately executed Qinggong, soaring into the air.

He flew over the surging crowd, heading straight for the unremarkable carriage!

「Inside the carriage.」

Ah Qi murmured, “You only met him first, that’s all. If you had met me first…”

Hua Manman softly interrupted him.

“By that same logic, I only met you first. That doesn’t make it anything special, does it?”

Caught in a logical contradiction, Ah Qi couldn’t find the words to refute her.

Hua Manman’s voice was unhurried.

“You feel my appearance in your life was very important. Likewise, Li Ji’s existence is just as important to me.

He is to me what I am to you.”

Ah Qi’s lips tightened, and his eyes reddened. His heart ached terribly.

“Don’t say any more,” he said in a trembling voice.

He didn’t want to hear another word.

Hua Manman knew her words were cruel to Ah Qi, but what needed to be said had to be said.

“Even if you forcibly abduct me, I will do everything I can to escape.

I will even come to hate you in my heart.

Because you would be the one to separate me from the man I love. I could never forgive you in this lifetime.

Ah Qi, do you want me to hate you for the rest of my life?”

Ah Qi felt as if a knife had been brutally twisted in his chest, the pain so sharp he could barely breathe.

He almost begged, “Please, stop.”

Hua Manman looked into his eyes and asked in a soft, quiet voice.

“Love is a beautiful thing. You shouldn’t stain it with hatred and resentment.”

Suppressing the roiling emotions in his heart, Ah Qi said in anguish.

“What can I do? I love you in my own way. I don’t know if this way is right—it might be a bit extreme—but I have no ill intent. I just want to be with you, that’s all.”

Hua Manman replied, “When you love someone, you do everything you can to make them happy, not imprison them by your side in the name of love.

That kind of love only satisfies your possessiveness. But for the person you claim to love, it’s an utter disaster.”

Ah Qi opened his mouth, wanting to argue.

But he didn’t know how to begin.

After a long silence, he finally forced out a question.

“Do you love him?”

Although he didn’t say a name, Hua Manman knew who he was talking about.

Hua Manman admitted without hesitation, “Yes, I love him very much.”

Ah Qi pressed, “What if he betrays you in the future? What will you do then?”

Hua Manman smiled.

It was a magnanimous, open-hearted smile.

“It wouldn’t be the end of the world. We’d simply part ways and go on with our separate lives.”

Ah Qi pressed on, “Won’t you regret your choice?”

Hua Manman said, “Maybe. But so what if I do?

Even if I regret it in the future, at least right now, in this moment, my heart is completely full of him.

I don’t want anyone but him.

And I won’t go anywhere but to his side.”

As she finished her last sentence, the light in Ah Qi’s eyes completely died out.

At the same time, a commotion erupted outside the carriage, sounding like a fight had broken out.

The next moment, the carriage’s door curtain was flung open from the outside.

Li Ji planted one foot on the carriage shaft.

He took in the scene inside and immediately extended his right hand to Hua Manman.

“Manman, come here! Quick!”

The Three-colored Cat poked its head out from his robes, meowing at Hua Manman.

‘Woman, we finally found you!’

The man and the cat stared intently at Hua Manman, their eyes sparkling.

For a moment, Hua Manman had the strange feeling of being a child again.

She was standing below a wall, and a cat was perched on top of it.

A girl and a cat, looking at each other.

Hua Manman couldn’t help but smile.

‘The most beautiful love at first sight in this world is encountering your smile in a dark time, and never being able to forget it.’

Ah Qi saw the smile gracing the corners of her eyes.

It was a joy that came from the bottom of her heart.

A smile that would never appear when she was with him.

Hua Manman wanted to move closer to Li Ji, but her right hand was still held in Ah Qi’s death grip.

She had to look at Ah Qi and plead.

“Ah Qi, let go.”

Still unwilling to give up, Ah Qi asked, “Do I really not have even the slightest bit of hope?”

Hua Manman shook her head.

“I’m sorry, you don’t.”

Utterly decisive, without leaving a sliver of room for negotiation.

Ah Qi’s heart filled with immense bitterness.

“I really do like you. So… I want you to be happy.”

He slowly loosened his fingers.

Hua Manman took the chance to pull her hand back and shifted toward Li Ji.

But because she had only just woken up, her body was still very weak. Merely moving that short distance was exhausting.

She placed her hand in Li Ji’s palm.

Li Ji immediately grasped her hand tightly and pulled her into his embrace, holding her with all his might.

At this moment, he felt as if he had just survived a catastrophe, his heart filled with the profound relief of having made it through.

‘Thank god Manman is still alive.

Thank god I found her.’

The Three-colored Cat struggled to poke its head out from between the two of them, letting out a dissatisfied protest.

MEOW MEOW MEOW!

‘This is no time for a public display of affection! You two need to figure out how to clean up this mess outside!’

Hua Manman looked up and finally noticed that the area outside the carriage was swarming with commoners. Not far off were city guards armed with weapons. The people were surging outward while the soldiers desperately tried to hold them back. The scene was a total mess.

She was greatly surprised. “What’s happened?”

Li Ji said, “It’s too much to explain in just a few words. I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

With that, he ripped off his own black cloak and completely covered Hua Manman with it, leaving only her eyes exposed.

In the eyes of the world, the Regent Queen, Hua Manman, was already dead.

Until he could find a suitable explanation, Li Ji couldn’t let her be seen by the public, lest it cause unnecessary panic and backlash.

Li Ji swept Hua Manman up into his arms, broke through the crowd, and landed beside Princess Ningyang.

“Grandaunt, I must trouble you to look after her for me. I will be right back.”

He set Hua Manman down, then casually plucked the Three-colored Cat from his robes and tossed it aside.

Princess Ningyang looked at Hua Manman. Seeing her completely shrouded in the cloak with her face hidden, she couldn’t help but be curious.

“And this is?”

Li Ji replied, “She is someone very important to me.”

He turned to Hua Manman and whispered three words.

“Wait for me.”

Hua Manman knew there were priorities and now wasn’t the time to pour out her heart. She answered obediently.

“Okay.”

Li Ji looked at her deeply. “Don’t run away again.”

Hua Manman said helplessly, “Alright, I won’t run.”

She gave him a little push, signaling for him to hurry up and get to it, to not waste any more time.

The young couple had just been reunited, and Li Ji was utterly unwilling to part from her.

‘Right now, I just want to drop everything and walk away,’ he thought.

‘Let someone else handle this. I just want to find a quiet place to be all lovey-dovey with Manman.’