The ambiguous atmosphere vanished the moment those three words were spoken.

Sensing Lin Changli's emotions, Kong Sang said softly, "I want you to be my boyfriend to get revenge on him, but if that's all, Si Yu is fine too."

"I want to say... of all the men in the world, when I want to have a boyfriend, that person will definitely be you, Lin Changli."

As the ice and snow melt and spring begins to arrive, someone's emotions, like a rollercoaster, are pulled back to the bright and sunny season.

This change in mood left Kong Sang both amused and exasperated: "How stingy! If you want to know something, just ask. I might not tell you, but I won't lie to you."

Lin Changli smiled broadly: "Then I'll just ask you directly, do you like Nie Jingxing?"

Kong Sang's face was somewhat blank, but she shook her head firmly: "It's not that I like him. I have to admit that he is very important to me. For a long time, I put everyone else out of the world and he was all I saw and thought about."

"I thought Nie Jingxing was my only bond to this world, my only motivation to live. But then... he beat me so badly that I ended up in the hospital, shattering my pathetic and ridiculous illusion."

"He made me realize that there is no one I can rely on. I may not want to live, but I can only live by myself. Otherwise, I will always be a canary dependent on others."

He hugged the delicate woman tighter and said, his smile fading, "If you don't want to be a caged bird, then let me be one. After we get married, you'll be in charge of the household, and everything I have will be yours."

Kong Sang smiled gently: "If you can do that, then I will take good care of you."

"Hehe, you don't need to raise me, you just need to feed me."

Every three sentences were filled with lewd jokes, and Kong Sang was too annoyed to speak, so she obediently leaned on Lin Changli's shoulder, letting his warm hands wander around...

When the two met up, Si Yu looked at Kong Sang's ravaged clothes and was so angry that his mouth twisted in anger.

He angrily rebuked, "Lin Changli, are you even human? What kind of dangerous place is this? How could you eat alone... Bah, I mean how could you do such a thing? What do you take me for, a rag doll to vent your lust?"

Lin Changli was too lazy to explain to the idiot and simply ignored him.

Kong Sang replied in a leisurely tone, "Rag dolls? You know a lot about them, do you have any at home?"

Si Yu's face flushed red and then turned pale: "How could that be? That thing is expensive, and it's worlds apart from the feel of real skin. I'd have to be crazy to buy that..."

Belatedly realizing the strange looks from everyone, Si Yu's face twitched, and he weakly explained, "I really didn't buy it. A friend bought it, and I just glanced at it."

Everyone's lips twitched. What a "friend" he was.

Kong Sang rolled her eyes at Si Yun, then beckoned to the pale-faced Qi Yun Shen and said, "I'll help you suck out the source of infection behind you, so Yu Wei can heal your wounds."

Qi Yun Shen glanced at the stone Kong Sang was holding and nodded: "Thank you."

Kong Sang made Qi Yun Shen take off his clothes, revealing a bloody mess on his back. Yu Wei's almond-shaped eyes widened in shock; the damage was so severe, yet this man hadn't uttered a sound the whole way.

Kong Sang pouted and said, "I have to say, you're too patient. If you had uttered even a few words, Yu Wei would have had to support you the whole way. If you had even a fraction of Lin Changli's ability to chase women, you would already have two kids."

When the Phoenix Stone is near the wound, others cannot see anything, but Kong Sang can sense that something is being drawn out.

Qi Yunshen remained seated, looking at Yu Wei who had her head bowed, and said, "Nie Kongsang, if Lin Changli were forced to abandon you for the sake of someone very important or for the greater good, would you still like him?"

"Huh? Am I crazy to like someone? If I can let go, it means they're not important. There are plenty of men out there. If one isn't right for you, just find another. What's there to agonize over?"

Qi Yun Shen scoffed lightly, "Yeah, I wonder what you're struggling with?"

Her fingernails were almost crushed as Yu Wei said hoarsely, "If he saved you many times, if he was forced to do it, if he..."

Yu Wei was interrupted by Kong Sang before she could finish speaking.

He said strangely, "You guys aren't implying anything about mosquito blood, are you? Never mind, I'm not interested. I'm just expressing my opinion."

"Even if there's some huge inside story, the moment they abandon you, it's not worth continuing to invest. Don't you understand the importance of cutting your losses? If you owe them too much, then find a way to repay them."

"When a person dies, there are always relatives and friends. If that's not enough, burn more paper money for the dead. After you get married, you can set up a longevity tablet at home and let your sons and grandsons worship it. Surely that will pay off the debt?"

"I really don't understand what you're agonizing over. Your fiancé is incredibly handsome. Aren't you going to sleep with him and leave him for some other woman? Are you even a member of the Nie family anymore? Have you lost your mind? Woof woof, woof woof woof..."

Kong Sang looked terrified: "Woof woof!" Why did her voice sound like a dog's bark?

"Woof woof woof!" Kong Sang's face twisted with anger, trembling. The system still wouldn't acknowledge that he was An Xiuqi. Even if he wasn't, they definitely had some kind of connection. What a bastard!

Lin Changli, his face dark, pulled the person into his arms to comfort him: "It's alright, don't talk."

Lan Ye stared in astonishment at the young lady who had suddenly started barking like a dog: "Say, what language is that? This is truly an eye-opener!"

Yu Wei looked at Kong Sang with a complicated expression, then stepped forward to repair Qi Yun Shen's back. This time, the recovery went very smoothly.

Qi Yunshen stood up and took Yu Wei's hand. Yu Wei looked at Qi Yunshen for a while, then stared at Kong Sang, took a deep breath and took his hand back. Kong Sang was right; she shouldn't have hesitated and hurt herself and others.

Qi Yunshen's face showed a visible ease; the slight smile that usually comes from a person who is ascetic was enough to bring a new dawn to Yu Wei's silent world.

Standing together, the atmosphere was inexplicably filled with pink bubbles. Lan Ye felt a toothache from looking at it and looked away, but then felt her little finger being hooked.

Looking back to his side, a bald, large head leaned close: "Let's make up the numbers."

Lan Ye's stomach churned, and he roared angrily, "Get out, or I'll kill you!" He even swore, showing just how disgusted he was; he couldn't maintain his noble demeanor anymore.

Seeing the Heavenly Phoenix Stone being taken out, the group knew their journey was over and felt much lighter. They started walking back, intending to see if they could get back to the village via the groundwater.

But things didn't go smoothly. Even though they weren't afraid of the mutated insects and rats blocking their way, when they returned to their starting point, the underground waterway they had come up through was already sealed off...

They had some food on them, but not much. In particular, Kong Sang Si Yu had nothing at all; he had burned everything. The remaining food was barely enough for six people to eat one meal.

It had taken them almost a day and a night to make this round trip down here. Si Yu had been down there for four days. Now that their hopes of getting out had been dashed, everyone's fighting spirit had been extinguished, and they were all exhausted.

The group sat together to rest, pondering what to do.

Kong Sang was wearing the outer pants that Yu Wei had taken off, which eliminated the risk of her exposing herself. Girls are usually more careful when they go out; Yu Wei was even wearing a pair of fleece-lined thermal underwear underneath...

The group was in a terrible state, their clothes pieced together from various sources. Fortunately, Si Yu was their human source of warmth, so they didn't freeze to death.

"You can go out, right? Go out and figure something out. We'll wait for you," Kong Sang said to Lin Changli, her voice no longer barking like a dog. She breathed a sigh of relief.