Jiang Fei returned to the Ji family.
Her wedding date with Ji Wei was set for a day three months from now.
Three months is enough time for a lot to happen.
For example, the Gu family attacked the Ji family, catching them completely off guard. Later, the two families had many conflicts of interest. For instance, it was rumored that the Gu family was cutting off all of the Ji family's business dealings at all costs. Furthermore, the two powerful families suffered huge losses in this invisible war, which aroused the upper echelons of the metropolis to become restless and eager to take their place.
Of course, all of this has nothing to do with Jiang Fei.
When she first heard these rumors, she simply raised an eyebrow and smiled. After that, she didn't react at all. In fact, as time went on, if anyone talked about these things in front of her, she would only feel annoyed.
The power struggles among conglomerates sound boring; they're not as interesting as the illusory beauty created by the holographic images outside the window.
Ji Wei created a wonderful environment for her. Unlike the other dull, cold white rooms, the warm lighting and cozy decor made it resemble that tin shack, but in a deluxe version.
Even if she has something to do on weekdays, Ji Wei will always come back early and have three meals a day with her. If she has free time, she will even cook the meals herself.
Just like they used to be in that tin shack.
Jiang Fei enjoyed it with a clear conscience.
Ji Wei's favorite thing is still to enjoy the starry sky with her.
Even if the starry sky is fake.
He said he always remembered one night when he was sitting on the sofa in the tin shack, unable to see anything, and she lay lazily beside him, describing the beauty of the starry sky to him.
Even when Jiang Fei told him that it was all fake, he just smiled and gently took her hand: "It's fine if it's fake."
Later, Ji Wei became busy.
Jiang Fei knew very well that it was Gu Xi who had made the move.
The weariness in Ji Wei's eyes began to deepen, and her sharpness diminished considerably, instead adding a touch of composure to her delicate face.
Jiang Fei observed these subtle changes and simply thought it was amazing how a person could transform. Of course, it was the beautiful woman who was amazing; as for the others... she wouldn't notice.
Later, even though Ji Wei was deliberately hiding this information, Jiang Fei still saw from the dense news reports that the Gu family and the Ji family had suffered considerable losses.
Just a few days before the wedding, Jiang Fei went out and bought a lot of expensive clothes and jewelry for the wedding day.
She ran into Gu Xi at the mall.
His complexion looked no better than Ji Wei's; it was as pale as paper, and his already stern face looked even more like a plaster statue.
Neither of them spoke, and Jiang Fei simply walked away, meeting Gu Xi's sinister gaze with nonchalant ease.
Gu Xi raised her hand, but only touched the gentle breeze that stirred up when she left.
That evening, Ji Wei, unusually busy, suddenly returned home early.
Jiang Fei didn't ask anything, so he didn't say anything either, and just continued to admire the starry sky as always.
During this time, he rarely did anything out of line. He was waiting, waiting for Jiang Fei to be willing to approach him again, just like before.
That very night, just before going to bed, Ji Wei embraced Jiang Fei, pulling her tightly into her arms, and whispered, "I don't want to let go, Jiang Fei."
He could keep everything out, but if she wanted to leave, there was really nothing he could do.
"You won't leave, will you?" Ji Wei asked, her grip tightening as if desperately seeking confirmation, as if she wanted to pull him into her very bones.
He always felt that she would disappear, and the closer the wedding date got, the stronger his feeling became.
Especially today, she ran into Gu Xi.
Jiang Fei's response was simply a lazy pat on the back: "Of course." No.
It's just that Gu Xi still has a tiny bit of goodwill towards her.
...
On the wedding day, the weather in the metropolis was unusually sunny.
The wedding was held outdoors.
An ancient and modern castle, a lawn, and several holographic cameras.
The scene was magnificent and extremely luxurious.
There weren't many guests, and the melodious piano music filled the entire venue.
After thousands of white doves were released, the wedding proceeded smoothly.
This wasn't Jiang Fei's first time wearing a wedding dress, so she wore it with ease, slowly walking towards Ji Wei to the accompaniment of the wedding march.
Ji Wei was also looking at her, his heart pounding in his chest. Countless joys and inexplicable fears were pressing on his body, causing his eyes to redden slightly.
Only when she stepped forward and placed her hand in his did his heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally ease a little.
Where no one could hear him, he whispered, "I will always be good to you."
He didn't know if Jiang Fei had heard him, but he saw her smile gently, a smile that was exceptionally charming, yet felt distant.
Ji Wei unconsciously tightened her grip on her hand a little.
The two walked to the altar in front of the castle and listened to the master of ceremonies read the vows. Ji Wei solemnly replied, "I do." Just as Jiang Fei opened his mouth, a commotion broke out at the exit of the wedding.
Not too much, not too little, the timing was just right.
The disturbance was very deliberate.
Ji Wei's tense body trembled, and she looked at Jiang Fei almost instantly.
Jiang Fei remained calm, as if she had anticipated this scene, and turned to look.
At the wedding exit, several men in suits carried an object covered with a white veil and placed it under the altar: "Miss Jiang, this is a gift from Mr. Gu."
After the man finished speaking, he lifted the white veil.
Gu Xi sent a piano.
That piano he used to keep in the music room and play alone.
The surface of the zither, as black as jade, reflects a dazzling light under the illumination.
Jiang Fei narrowed his eyes, and the next second he looked precisely into the distance.
At the end of the lawn, on a hillside, a person stood quietly, still wearing a sharp suit, but the difference was that the neat tie he used to wear had been replaced by a bow tie.
It looks just like... a wedding dress.
Ji Wei grabbed Jiang Fei's hand in a panic, as if afraid that she would change her mind.
Jiang Fei paused for a moment, then looked at the man below the stage: "Tell him..."
As she spoke, she looked up at Gu Xi again and said, "Let's leave it here."
After saying that, she turned around and looked at Ji Wei.
Not far away.
Gu Xi stood in the light, looking at the blinding wedding in front of her.
She had changed into clothes that matched her perfectly, but she only glanced at them casually.
piano.
All three of his kisses with Jiang Fei were related to the piano.
He gave her all the ambiguity and beauty they shared.
She seemed to say something, but he couldn't hear it clearly. However, he knew that he didn't like what she said, because after she finished speaking, she looked away and smiled as she talked to Ji Wei.
The person who delivered the piano returned and said cautiously, "Mr. Gu, Miss Jiang said..."
Gu Xi remained silent.
The man continued, "Miss Jiang said, 'Just leave it here.'"
Gu Xi's body trembled.
He knew perfectly well that she wasn't talking about the piano, but about him.
Did she think he was there to escort her to her wedding?
Gu Xi chuckled sarcastically, her gaze fixed on the pair of figures in the distance, her hand gently stroking the metal bones on her wrist, just as Jiang Fei had touched them countless times.
When the emcee asked Jiang Fei again, "Do you do?", and when Jiang Fei, dressed in a pure white wedding gown, gently nodded and said "I do," Gu Xi clearly heard a taut string in her mind snap completely.
He slowly turned around, walked towards the car not far behind him, and when he returned, he was casually playing with a pistol in his hand.
In the past, out-of-control beasts in the arena would be shot, not to protect people like him, but to prevent them from frightening the nobles.
But later, when those people discovered that the out-of-control beasts were even more ferocious, they indulged in their pleasure even more.
They would deliberately shoot the beast in non-lethal places to stimulate its bestiality, watching countless people like him being torn apart and thrown about.
He came from that kind of environment.
He was never a good guy to begin with; his hands were stained with blood, and he wouldn't mind getting a little more on them now.
Gu Xi looked at the altar and at the bride and groom who were about to kiss, and a surge of resentment welled up in her heart.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
A voice kept tempting him in his mind.
Kill him, and Jiang Fei will belong to him alone. Gu Xi slowly raised the pistol, aiming it at Ji Wei's heart, but the next second, he paused when he saw the smile on Jiang Fei's lips, struggling to suppress the surging beast in his heart, and finally slowly moved the pistol towards Ji Wei's shoulder.
If he kills Ji Wei, Jiang Fei will fear and hate him.
He doesn't want these.
If I hurt him, there would be no wedding.
The bullets shot out swiftly and silently, like bullets.
Gu Xi calmly tossed the pistol aside and stared expressionlessly at her "achievement."
But the next second, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at the scene in front of him in horror.
"Watch out!" came the woman's exclamation.
Then, the delicate bride forcefully pushed the groom aside, and the bullet that was supposed to be shot at the groom's shoulder seemed to have been redirected, piercing the bride's chest instead.
Everything became deathly silent; the sunlight overhead had vanished, replaced by gloomy black clouds.
Bright red blood quickly spread across the bride's wedding dress, turning her chest a deep crimson.
Ji Wei stood there, stunned, as if completely frozen. After a long while, he slowly squatted down and embraced the woman in his arms: "Feifei..." His voice paused when he touched the sticky bloodstains on her wedding dress, and then his hands trembled violently, "Feifei, Feifei..." he repeated over and over.
Why did she protect him?
It's always like this! I always protect him without him knowing.
But... she really didn't need to do that.
He didn't want her protection...
A flurry of footsteps sounded from below the stage. Gu Xi, her eyes bloodshot, ran towards them. Her usual cold and composed demeanor was gone, and her expression was one of panic and horror, as if cracks had appeared on her face.
The Ji family's bodyguards surrounded him, preventing him from getting any closer.
Jiang Fei leaned against Ji Wei's chest, praising the system's accuracy in her heart, then slowly turned her head to look at Gu Xi, and whispered, "Gu Xi..."
Ji Wei's hand holding her trembled.
She called out Gu Xi's name, even though she was in his arms at that moment.
The longing in her eyes was also for Gu Xi.
From the moment he presumptuously regained her memories, all her feelings for him vanished without a trace.
If he hadn't changed partners back then, if he had treated her better, even better... what if...?
A sudden warmth spread through my fingertips.
Ji Wei's fingers trembled, and the blood flowing from Jiang Fei's lips stained his hand. Her warmth was slowly fading away.
Gu Xi, looking disheveled, broke free of the bodyguards' restraints, rushed forward, and snatched Jiang Fei away.
Ji Wei collapsed to the side, not moving, just looking at Jiang Fei.
She... probably wants Gu Xi, right?
"Jiang Fei, Jiang Fei, you'll be alright..." Gu Xi's voice trembled.
Ji Wei stared at him intently. The Gu family tycoon, who had threatened him to cancel the wedding not long ago, now looked like a lost and dejected wanderer, carefully holding the woman in his arms.
"Jiang Fei..." Gu Xi kept calling her name.
Jiang Fei slowly raised her eyes, looked at the man in front of her, smiled with her eyebrows curving, but tears fell from the corners of her eyes: "Gu Xi, I'm so cold..."
Gu Xi's hands trembled as he frantically took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "It's not cold anymore, it's not cold anymore..." he repeated over and over, but when he saw the bloodstains on her chest, he tore open the cuff of his shirt again and pressed it tightly against her chest, as if trying to stop the bleeding wound. "Jiang Fei, let's go home, okay... You said you wouldn't let me be all alone anymore. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll take you home..."
His words eventually became nothing but confusion.
The next second, his voice abruptly stopped.
Jiang Fei struggled to pull his hand away, took the strip of cloth from the torn shirt cuff in his hand, and covered his arm with it.
Gu Xi froze, looking down at her arm.
—What she covered was the direction of her own metal skeleton.
For a moment, Gu Xi was stunned, like a fool.
Even at this moment, she was still upholding his dignity.
But he did many things to hurt her.
“Jiang Fei…it’s okay…” Gu Xi said gently, “It’s okay…”
The holographic camera above his head precisely captured his exposed metal skeleton, revealing the secrets he once didn't want anyone to see, and the pride he once held dear, all in detail to everyone's eyes.
“Gu Xi,” Jiang Fei interrupted him, speaking haltingly, “before, at the engagement banquet, you asked me a question… You asked me, ‘Is there anything I want to say to you?’…”
"Can you ask me one more time?" Jiang Fei murmured, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused.
Gu Xi's body trembled, her Adam's apple bobbed, and after a long while, she said hoarsely, "Do you have anything... to say to me?"
Jiang Fei gave a weak laugh: "...I want to say...back then, I was the one who served as the test subject for your experiment..."
"For the sake of helping you... could you... please not use me to exchange for Miss Lin..."
Gu Xi froze, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes suddenly fell down her cheeks.
It turns out, she knew everything.
She knows everything.
"Okay." Gu Xi nodded vigorously. "No trade, Jiang Fei, no trade."
Jiang Fei slowly raised her hand and stroked his cheek, glancing at the favorability rating above his head: "That's great."
She whispered.
Then his hand slowly fell down.
"Jiang Fei!" Two low growls suddenly rang out.
Ji Wei stood there, his eyes lifeless. After a long while, a tear of blood slowly rolled down his right eye, and his vision gradually darkened.
At the same time, the system's voice sounded.
Gu Xi's favorability rating: 100.
[System: Congratulations, host, mission complete!]
Jiang Fei drifted away from the original owner's body, glanced at the man who was burying his face in tears, and lazily withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself:
"System, this is the end."
...
Outside the castle.
Lin Jiu stood quietly under the wall, her expression blank and her face expressionless.
For nearly a hundred days, Jiang Fei had not seen him again, but he had secretly met with her many times, like a thief carrying stolen goods that could not be seen in the light of day, only able to catch a glimpse of her from a distance.
Today is her wedding day.
She didn't invite him, but he still came.
As he listened to the piano music of the wedding march coming from inside, and the touching vows spoken by the emcee, he seemed to smile in a daze.
For a moment, he had a unique realization—that he was the one who had sworn "I do" with her.
It was while he was lost in his reverie that the sound of hurried footsteps came from inside the castle.
He returned to reality and saw Gu Xi running out carrying a woman, her expression panicked and pale, her clothes torn, revealing horrifying metal underneath.
Lin Jiu's gaze, however, was fixed on the woman, who was wearing a suit jacket, with her elaborate and gorgeous wedding dress exposed.
That's Jiang Fei.
He followed behind Gu Xi and caught up with her.
No one paid attention to him, and no one stopped him.
Even after he got into the car and sat opposite Gu Xi, he saw Gu Xi's hands trembling violently as she held the woman in her arms. Looking at him, who seemed so superior, she pleaded in a low voice, "Please, Jiang Fei, don't fall asleep, please..."
Lin Jiu stared intently at the woman in the wedding dress.
Gu Xi said that was Jiang Fei.
But... he just found it funny.
Jiang Fei should be married and happy right now...
Instead of leaning against another man's chest, her body ice-cold.
The car stopped at Gu's.
Jiang Fei was rushed to the research lab for emergency treatment.
Lin Jiu stood in the empty, pale corridor. Gu's bodyguards passed by, watching him warily, but he seemed to be unable to perceive anything. All the functions of his body had stopped working, and his whole body seemed to be completely rusted.
I don't know how much time passed, maybe a day, maybe two, but the door to the research lab finally opened.
The leading expert, his eyes gleaming with exhaustion, simply shook his head: "I'm sorry, Mr. Gu, Miss Jiang has already..."
Lin Jiu wouldn't listen to the rest of what was said.
He quietly turned and left, returning to the tin shack.
He remained calm throughout, calmly dragging his severed arm back into the house, calmly going into the kitchen to prepare dinner for two, and calmly finishing his meal...
Just like when Jiang Fei wasn't around a while ago.
She was just at the Ji family's house.
He turned on the TV as usual, and it was filled with reports about the wedding and the news that "Gu Xi is a cyborg".
That once proud and unparalleled man from the metropolis is now being judged and ridiculed by everyone, and even photos of his exposed metal skeleton are being spread recklessly.
Lin Jiu watched expressionlessly. After an unknown amount of time, the television screen switched to a report on the grand wedding: "The groom has fainted and his condition is currently unknown. The bride has been taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. According to sources, the bride was pronounced dead a day ago..."
Lin Jiu's movements froze completely upon hearing the words "declared dead".
He didn't understand the meaning of death, but at this moment, he suddenly understood.
Death is a terrible thing.
Death took Jiang Fei away, for a longer period and from a greater distance than marriage had taken her away.
He couldn't even sneak a peek at her anymore.
He didn't know where she went.
Lin Jiu felt something cold flowing down his cheek. He reached out and touched it in a daze, and touched a liquid called "tears".
Lin Jiu stared blankly at that tear, as if it had pierced his heart. His data went wildly chaotic, and his heart began to ache overwhelmingly, so much so that he curled up in a corner...
After a long while, Lin Jiu heard a voice inside her saying "insufficient energy".
But soon, a crisp "snap" came from her heart and drowned out her thoughts. Lin Jiu looked down at her chest, where white smoke was rising.
Lin Jiu felt everything in front of her begin to darken.
Is it death?
It turns out that death isn't just scary; it can also be... beautiful.
...
The top floor of the Gu's Building.
The piano room was empty; the only piano there was long gone.
Gu Xi stood disheveled by the window, staring blankly at the dark, heavy clouds outside.
He had been watching like this for two days and two nights.
Jiang Fei is dead.
He killed her with his own hands.
Gu Xi looked down at her left hand, the very hand she had used to kill Jiang Fei.
The metal skeleton looked particularly repulsive at that moment, even he himself thought so.
The whole city saw his most shameful side, but no one felt anything about it anymore.
Mockery or fear seemed to have no effect on him anymore.
The woman who carefully protected his arm and shielded him has disappeared.
Everything has lost its meaning.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Xi reached out and stroked her arm, closing her eyes slightly as she felt the sensation in her arm.
"Hey, Gu Xi!" A familiar female voice called softly in his ear.
Gu Xi responded softly, without opening his eyes. He knew that if he opened his eyes, the voice would disappear.
"Don't be so lonely anymore," the woman's voice continued.
Gu Xi's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and she squeezed out a soft "hmm" from deep within her throat.
He didn't want to be so lonely anymore.
The next second, his hand, which was stroking his left arm, suddenly tightened, and his fingertips dug into the gap between the metal skeleton and the flesh, sending a piercing pain through him.
Gu Xi groaned, watching the blood gushing out, but he still gritted his teeth and pulled the metal bone out of the bone.
His left arm hung limply at his side, as if it were crippled.
Blood was everywhere.
Gu Xi was panting heavily. After a long while, she walked to the side and pressed a button on the wall.
This music room has no holographic projections, no technological features that this world should have; it's just a simple room.
Including... that floor-to-ceiling window.
The window slowly opened, and a cool breeze blew wildly.
Gu Xi looked at the dark clouds beneath her feet, narrowed her eyes for a long time, smiled, took a step forward, and stepped into the clouds.
He won't be lonely if he goes to find her.
But in the other world, she must stay with him.
...
One year later.
The metropolis remains a place where the gap between the rich and the poor is enormous; the line between dazzling prosperity and utter poverty is often very thin.
Ji Wei stumbled along the shabby alley, his hands rubbing against the surrounding walls as he probed the road ahead. His fingertips were already raw and bleeding. The rain soaked the man's thin face, and his long-unseen complexion was exceptionally pale, like that of a dying man.
After waking up from the wedding a year ago, he could no longer see anything.
The doctor said the prosthetic eye was ruined.
There is no possibility of ever seeing it again.
It was like going back to the time when he was blind, except that back then Jiang Fei would hold his little finger and lead him through the city.
Now, he is all alone.
The Ji family will not allow a blind man to be in power, even though the Ji family has already been severely weakened in its struggle with the Gu family and is not as powerful as before.
The Ji family was taken over by Ji Yuntian. Perhaps because he was wary of the lesson he learned last time, Ji Yuntian did not drive him away, but instead sent people to keep a close watch on him.
Under Ji Yuntian's leadership, the Ji family gradually declined, and within a year, its assets had dwindled to almost nothing.
He escaped while Ji Yuntian was not monitoring him, wanting only to return to that tin shack.
Just like he still stubbornly wears the ring he exchanged with Jiang Fei at their wedding banquet.
He still fantasizes that she is his wife.
He walked for an unknown amount of time, until he tripped over a step about a hand's width high, and knew that he had arrived at the tin shack.
His fingerprints had been deleted, but the moment he touched the iron gate, it was pushed open by him.
There is no lock.
Ji Wei was startled, then excitedly pushed open the door, but stopped in her tracks when she smelled the rusty and dusty air inside.
No surprises.
Jiang Fei is unlikely to appear.
This place... has been deserted for a year now.
Following his memories, Ji Wei walked step by step into the kitchen, dining table, sofa... everything held memories of him and Jiang Fei.
He unconsciously curved his lips into a smile, which turned his eyes red.
However, as he walked to the corner, his foot bumped into something.
He slowly reached out and touched a person huddled in a corner.
No, it's not a person.
Because he touched metal, and that severed left arm.
It's a robot.
Ji Wei touched the heart area that controlled his body's functions, and then froze.
His heart was split in two.
Ji Wei was stunned for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly, got up and sat back on the sofa, curled up, and a tear fell onto the sofa.
She was no longer the refined woman she once was; she was now utterly dejected and disheveled.
...
Cave.
Jiang Fei eagerly opened her eyes, her expression more genuine than usual, despite her usual languidness.
She floated to the edge of the ice bed, looking at her perfectly intact body: "System, spirit coins?"
[System: Host, your mission in the last world was completed excellently. Ji Wei's bounty is 6 million spirit coins, Lin Jiu's bounty is 6 million spirit coins, and Gu Xi's bounty is 7 million spirit coins, totaling 19 million spirit coins. Adding to the previous 81.8 million spirit coins...]
Before the system could finish speaking, Jiang Fei interrupted it: "You just need to tell me if there are enough spirit coins to revive my true form?"
[System: ...That's enough, there's even 800,000 spirit coins left over.]
"Very good." Jiang Fei smiled sincerely, gently stroking her cheek, her eyes more tender than ever before. After a long while, she floated up. "Where is the Revitalizing Spirit Stone?"
The system did not respond, but in the next instant, golden light surrounded it, gradually engulfing the ice bed. The immortal light shone brightly, and a crimson bead emerged from the light, transforming into dazzling starlight, and fell into the body of the woman on the bed.
In an instant, Jiang Fei felt his soul sink and then go to his body.
The golden light gradually faded, leaving only the ice bed emitting a faint blue glow.
Jiang Fei remained fast asleep, her lips red and vibrant, like peach blossoms.
[System: Host? Host? Host?]
After calling for a while, the woman on the ice bed finally stirred. Her eyelids trembled slightly, and then she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of clear, bright eyes.
She lazily covered her mouth and yawned, then slightly bowed as she stood up. Her black hair, as black as silk, did not fall lifelessly, but instead swayed slightly with her aura. Her gauze dress was as white as snow, her eyebrows and eyes were alluring, yet she was so aloof.
The system paused, stunned.
The unconscious host was not even half as radiant as the awakened host.
"Little thing, are you mesmerized?" Jiang Fei glanced sideways and said lazily.
[System: No...]
“You’re in my head,” Jiang Fei hummed softly, his powerful divine energy carrying a slight echo. “In the past, you could know my thoughts, but now, it’s far too easy for me to know yours.”
As she spoke, she lowered her eyes and gently touched her cheek. After a long while, she slowly walked to the cave entrance. Looking at the shimmering golden barrier around her, she reached out and touched it lightly. The barrier trembled and then gradually dissipated.
In the distance, mountain peaks rise majestically, shrouded in ethereal mist.
Jiang Fei squinted, gazing at the vast cloud field beyond the heavens, and after a long while, she smiled softly and murmured:
"I've gone back."
Author's Note: This world has come to an end!
Finally, we're going back to the main world!
I'll spend a day or two organizing the outline of the main world; the main world isn't expected to be too long.
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