CHAPTER 412: CHAPTER 412 DEEP AFFECTION, HEAVY SENTIMENT

Ji Yu sat in the room, her mind constantly preoccupied with thoughts of Gu Qixiao.

But since there was no way to contact Gu Qixiao for the time being, all she could do was sulk.

She encountered the same maid as last time, but this time the woman was noticeably more cautious.

"Why do you think it has to be me?" Ji Yu suddenly asked.

The maid was startled by her question, her expression turning helpless as she recalled the things Ji Yu had done before. "Maybe it’s because the bond between you two is especially deep. After all, not everyone gets to experience something like this."

"Yeah, it seems like our bond is indeed deep," Ji Yu said. "But isn’t every single thing that has happened just proof of how awful it all is?"

She was smiling, but the maid only saw the fire in her eyes.

Ji Yu’s mood was foul, like a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment—a disastrous prospect for everyone involved.

Yet Jiang Huai seemed as though he hadn’t noticed anything, still willingly staying by Ji Yu’s side.

"Yu, look at me. I brought you your favorite cake today. Don’t you want to try it?" They were so familiar with each other that Jiang Huai knew every detail, even Ji Yu’s favorite flavors. Her words now mattered little to him.

"Jiang Huai, do you really think this kind of life is fun? The two of us spending day after day picking at every detail, but none of it is as simple as we imagine. Do you even know what’s really on my mind?"

The matters were like thorns deeply impaling Ji Yu’s heart.

And there were still so many things she wanted to say to Jiang Huai.

"Did you give Gu Qixiao the antidote? I’m staying by your side because of him. If you don’t give him the antidote, I’ll do whatever it takes to leave."

Her word had always been her bond.

But Jiang Huai regretted it. He didn’t want things to end like this, nor did he want Ji Yu to follow through with her threat.

To him, these matters were pure torment.

"Yu, how could I possibly not give him the antidote? These things exist because you exist. Now that you’re here with me, naturally, there’s already a place for them to go."

But Ji Yu wasn’t the type to easily believe his words.

In her eyes, every statement he made carried ulterior motives.

"I need to video call Gu Qixiao, or I absolutely won’t believe you. Sure, you can doubt me, and I doubt you too—we both understand each other’s nature. There’s no way we can just trust each other like this."

Both of them were deeply affected by this issue.

He wanted Gu Qixiao dead. She wanted Gu Qixiao alive.

This was the seed of the misunderstanding between them.

Jiang Huai laughed coldly, "Yu, do you think you’ll be as lucky as last time? Try again, and you’ll never leave this place no matter what."

He had already prepared everything, and the antidote had indeed been given to Gu Qixiao.

"I gave Gu Qixiao the antidote. If you don’t believe me, suit yourself. You can try to leave, but let’s see if you even have the chance. Stop overthinking—it’ll only worsen our relationship. What I want now is to see you trust me more and more."

What he desired was Ji Yu’s trust.

And all of her love.

Ji Yu frowned, clearly unable to understand this situation, especially as everything unfolding in front of her touched every one of her sore spots.

She had never encountered anything like this before, making it feel all the more perplexing.

"Is wanting to see Gu Qixiao such an excessive request? I’ve gone this far, and yet you still refuse to even let me see him?"

All her feelings of love resided here.

But things were far from what she had hoped or expected.

"Yu, it’s just your own delusion. The pain you’ve given me is far greater than what I’ve given you. I gave you a needle, but you gave me a knife."

It cut straight to the bone.

The pain had dulled him to the point he’d forgotten what it felt like—he was numb.

"Jiang Huai, doesn’t this exhaust you? I know you’ll forget me soon enough. When you said you loved me, it was just your obsession. Now, shouldn’t this obsession finally fade away?"

Ji Yu always thought his obsession had warped him into the man he was now.

Had locked him in the past.

A past that wasn’t as terrible as he made it out to be.

"Yu, I know how you feel, but this really isn’t necessary. Obsession, love—it doesn’t matter. Right now, I just want to keep you. That’s what matters to me."

In his heart, everything was already decided.

Ji Yu looked at the man before her, unable to stop the flood of complicated emotions.

"Jiang Huai, I don’t have to treat you as an enemy. I genuinely think this is unnecessary. I don’t love you. What I want is a life of freedom—something Gu Qixiao can give me, but you can’t."

This was likely the one thing Jiang Huai hated hearing most. He couldn’t understand what had led Ji Yu to have such an impression.

"Yu, do you really think Gu Qixiao can give you something I can’t? Just tell me—when did you start having this delusion? I’ll correct it for you."

"Normal love." Ji Yu didn’t think his love was abnormal. It was just the way he expressed it that seemed so far from ordinary.

She had tried her best not to let herself feel so downcast, but the weight of everything unfolding around her was still crushing her.

"Yu, you really know how to pierce my heart. You don’t think I can give you normal love? Do you even know what normal love means? Probably not. To me, normal love is keeping the person I love by my side."

And Ji Yu was precisely that person.

His concept of love was simple.

Yet riddled with coercive elements.

Many times, Ji Yu wanted to ask him why he had to make everything so messy.

But each attempt seemed to end in vain.

"Every word you’ve ever said is engraved in my heart. As long as you want me to do something, I’ll do it."

That was the nature of his love.

Ji Yu didn’t know how many irrational things she’d done in the past.

But now she had come to her senses.

"Jiang Huai, let me go—not just for my sake, but for yours too. Wouldn’t freeing yourself be better?"