Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This was the only person he loved his entire life, and he was willing to even die for her without the slightest regrets as long as she remembered that he loved her that much. He wished he could knead herself into himself and become his missing rib.
He thought back to when their family of three stayed by the beach and smiled. He felt his heart suddenly warmed up and something tugged at his heartstrings. His heart was warm and beating out of control.
He seemed to hear God tell him, “Ye Chen, this is your missing rib.”
He found it, and he would not allow anybody else to take it from him.
Even if it meant that she would go to hell, he wanted her to bring his love down.
Cheng Anya, in her daze, indulged him and said, “You are my man.”
Third Young Master Ye suddenly leaned in and kissed her as their lower bodies moved even more vigorously…
Their passion knew no bounds.
…
After hearing the maidservants’ report, Rong Yan mildly acknowledged and pondered deeply as she looked at the cactus that was almost two meters tall. This virus was the pain as the man had only seven days left whilst the woman would not live for long.
Should she watch them die or try to save them?
Rong Yan gently smiled and mocked herself a little. She was just as unable to save herself. To think she would even wishfully try to save somebody… William, who seemed kind but was extremely cunning and vicious, would absolutely not allow them to leave. He was certain she would definitely release them to bring Chu Li to them.
As Rong Yan pondered about it, she eventually went quiet.
A moment later, she stood up and left her mansion for Prince William’s palace.
The central atrium was spacious, bright, and had a small bed of roses in the center.
Prince William was currently practicing his swordplay. He was extremely proficient in fencing and had intricate moves. His svelte figure, in combination with his swordplay, was properly attractive.
A lieutenant colonel saw Rong Yan approach and was about to report her arrival. Rong Yan raised her hand to stop him and beckoned for the lieutenant colonel to back off. She stood aside and admired Prince William’s intricate swordplay. Putting aside the awkward identities they had, the scene was actually quite heartwarming.
Prince William knew quite some time ago that she had come but made no mention of it and continued his fencing moves.
Rong Yan’s heart fluttered.
It was ages ago that she took a liking to watch him in swordplay. She always felt that he was handsome, elegant, and overbearing, fascinating her younger self. To keep up with him, Rong Yan went to learn fencing but was not serious about it. She was looking for a chance to stick around Prince William and get him to teach her how to fence. Despite her ulterior motive in learning fencing, he, however, still taught her seriously.
Rong Yan eventually took a serious liking to fencing.
Those were good days.
As childhood lovers who took a liking to each other, their deep feelings for each other were envied by many. Their pure and innocent love without worry was without motive, scheme, or hypocrisy.
Those days were still sunny.
Today, however, things took a complete change.
“Yan Yan, please help me this once. His Royal Highness Richard has taken an interest in you, and the country will belong to me once we have gained his power. Please help me.” William once gave her hand away to somebody else.
“Are you asking me to become a bed warmer for another man?”
“Yan Yan, I’m sorry…”
“Very well, William. It’s over between us.” She decisively turned away but could not stand up against the schemes of others. She eventually fulfilled William’s wishes and was given to His Royal Highness Richard, dressed as a slave.
Her dignity was utterly trampled.
She hated William, and even so in her dreams. She, however, let go of her wealth, power, and the grudges of old when she fell in love with Chu Li. As those were stories of the past, she did not want to think about them. Five years later, things had changed.
Today, William had control of the entire country. While he gained the world, he lost her.
Rong Yan knew that it wasn’t him not liking her, but he had too many complications. She had resigned herself to them, and it was clear that there wasn’t the slightest possibility of a relationship between them.
She knew that William was deliberately fencing before her, but her heart was no longer touched. All his effort came to naught.
“Yan Yan, were you looking for me?” Prince William stopped fencing a moment later as he looked at Rong Yan lovingly and gently.
Rong Yan nodded and gently said, “Prince William, just like the old days.”
He wore a white fencing suit with a blue waistband and looked attentive and princely as he stood under the sun. Rong Yan could not help but recall the past and could not help but gasp as well. She could have never expected them to end up like they are now.
William’s face turned dark and said, “Nobody’s watching.”
Rong Yan calmly smiled. “There are actually quite a number of them watching, but you aren’t giving them the opportunity.”
“Opportunity…” Prince William laughed bitterly, becoming the lonely prince. He looked up and swept away all his disappointment. “You were looking for me?”
“Let them go,” Rong Yan said with elegance amidst her calm. “You also knew that they ate the green crabapple and that the lady has a virus. Once they have intercourse, the man will only have seven days to live. Since they already do not have that much longer to live, why are you making things difficult for them?”
“Yan Yan, you are rarely so concerned about the affairs’ of others,” Prince William said as a hint of self-mockery flashed through his blue-black eyes. “When did you become such a saint?”
“So I was always, in your eyes, an unpardonable villain?” Rong Yan deliberately misinterpreted what he said and laughed despite looking slightly cold.
Prince William flustered and quickly raised his hands in denial. As she saw Rong Yan seemingly growing indifferent, he could not help but feel somewhat unhappy, yet unable to do anything about it. He could never raise his temper at her.
“I will never let them go,” Prince William said as ruthlessness painted his kind face. “Since they are never going to live for long, they can die here. What’s wrong with them enjoying their final seven days here?”
“When did the Prince William who claimed to be calm become so agitated?” Rong Yan mocked him. “Aren’t you just afraid of Ah Li will locate me? I am neither related nor know the two of them, so what’s there to be worried about?”
Prince William paused and deeply looked at Rong Yan with his passionate blue-black eyes. “Yan Yan, was I ever calm after I met you?”
Rong Yan gently smiled and said, “William, you were very calm when you gave me away.”
Prince William’s face turned white, and he felt his heart perforated by a fine silver needle. As the pain almost caused him to collapse, he could not help but laugh out loud, almost tearing in the process.
His delicate features were contorted into a terrifying mess. His insane laughter had mournful desperation to it.
Rong Yan’s gaze slightly sank.
“Yan Yan, you hate me,” Prince William said with certainty. Amidst his desperation, there was that shard of elation and hope that persevered despite the slim odds. “Tell me you hate me.”
Rong Yan shook her head. While she used to hate him, what was left was probably a slight grudge that she could not resist using to give him a taste of how she felt when she lost all feelings for him.
If she still hated him, she would not stop with vicious words.
“Yan Yan, I heard my mother say that the deeper the love, the deeper the hatred. Tell me, do you hate me because you still love me?” A hope sprung in Prince William’s eyes as he rushed over and grabbed Rong Yan’s hands. “Tell me, is it the case?”
His close-up face was as beautiful as before. Nevertheless, Rong Yan’s heart was not moved at all.
She reached out her hand and seemed indifferent. As she stood like a white lily above all, she said, “I love Chu Li, and will love only him.”
Prince William’s face instantly became a collapsed flower. The brightness in his eyes dimmed. He suddenly roared terrifyingly. “I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him! Ahh!!”
Rong Yan looked on coldly as his berserk moment had nothing to do with her. She was pondering how she could get William to let them go. Chu Li once told her that there was nobody she could not persuade in the world.
He was actually wrong. Convincing William was an uphill task.
If she had feigned interest in him and gave him space, Prince William would have been elated and the odds of Third Young Master Ye and Anya leaving would hugely increase.
But it was a pity that Rong Yan, had she done that, would not be herself.
“You can’t kill him, that we both know.” Rong Yan smiled calmly. As she had heard that once too often, she did not take it to heart. “William, do you know what you look like? A dog with no master.”
“What did you say?!” A storm roiled in Prince William’s blue-black eyes. He would not allow anybody to trample on his ego, and this was despite however much he loved Rong Yan.
Rong Yan looked him in the eye fearlessly. She then slowly said, “Am I wrong? You just won’t let me go and rule your country so negligently. How are you different from a dog without its master? I am not saying that you are a dog without its master after Country R has been bombed. I should offer you some advice. When it comes to matters surrounding me, Ah Li is a man of little patience. With only ten more days to the cut-off timing I agreed with him, there is no guarantee that he won’t level Country R if he doesn’t hear from me by then.”
“You…” Prince William’s face changed and he broke into cold laughter.
Rong Yan looked at him, not seeming to mind him. As she hit the nail on the head, she said, “When you sacrificed me at the beginning to hope to gain the world, your dream came true. You, however, lost me in said process. What does it mean to not only lose the world but to lose me as well? If that was the case, wasn’t it a waste to send me to Richard back then? What a double loss!”
“Yan Yan, how long have you not heard from the outside world?” Prince William suddenly said as he smiled gently. He looked gorgeous and attention-grabbing when he smiled. “The First Terrorist Organization, the Mafia and the Dragon Gate are in a massive conflict. Once the dust settles, whether the Mafia or the First Terrorist Organization would come out tops is still unknown. Do you think what you told me would become reality if he doesn’t even have the ability to protect you?”
Rong Yan listened on without panicking. She tucked her hands behind her and stood up. She said, “William, why are you telling me this if you are already so certain of the outcome?”
She stopped him with that statement.
Rong Yan smiled and said, “Stop digressing and let them go. Consider it an act of charity, if it helps. William, would me owing you a favor sweeten the deal?”
“You might as well allow them to snitch on me! If that isn’t the case, why are you so repeatedly concerned about these strangers?” Prince William lost his composure and roared. “You will not get your wish, so give up!”
“You are really…” Rong Yan slightly fumed as a fire burned in her eyes. “Narrow-minded.”
“I…” Prince William wanted to explain himself but went silent.
Rong Yan raised her brows and said, “I just happen to click with the girl, so do whatever you wish.”
Prince William was aghast while Rong Yan became angry and was about to walk off. Afraid of seeing the anger on her face, Prince William grabbed her. “Yan Yan, could you please stop this?”
“Right back at you. Are you letting them go?” Rong Yan asked firmly without any possibility of compromise. Her calm countenance seemed imposing, a slight rage glinting past her eyes.
Prince William looked at her deeply and paused for a moment. He then said, “If you want me to let them go, sure. You must promise me a condition.”
Rong Yan coldly laughed in her heart but smiled. She calmly said, “Tell me about it.”
“Marry me,” Prince William said calmly as his blue-black gaze was filled with a deep passion that concealed his trepidation and anticipation.
Rong Yan’s lips slowly curled into an extremely cold smile. “Marriage is a sacred institution. Don’t you think that you’re sordid enough to defile marriage by making a deal out of it?”
William calmly looked at her and said, “As long as you agree, I do not care the least.”
“Your reply has wiped off that remaining memory I have of you,” Rong Yan said ruthlessly. Her tone then sharpened and she said, “It’s been almost twenty years since you knew me. Do you think that I, Rong Yan, would screw over my ultimate happiness for two strangers that I don’t even know? That is such a joke.”
As William remained quiet, Rong Yan’s gaze turned cold. “Are you making things difficult for me, or for yourself?”
“Is it so difficult to marry me?” Prince William said with a deeply passionate look on his face, “I can give you exactly what he can give you.”
“You’re wrong.” Rong Yan decisively disagreed. “He can give me genuine happiness that you cannot. William, stop assuming that I am the Rong Yan of before. The Rong Yan of before is dead.”
William was deeply shocked. He should have realized long ago that it was impossible for Rong Yan and him to work a relationship out. He, however, persisted on the idea of keeping her around him even if it meant torturing each other for the rest of their lives.
As he believed that his sincerity would eventually touch her, he was still willing to love her who was indifferent toward him.
However much he mentally prepared himself, he could not stand up to the cruel words she said.
He was not able to make her genuinely smile.
Hehe… He remembered how someone’s smile in the bed of roses was so gorgeously vibrant.
And that same somebody’s indelible smile who was like the most beautiful pearl in the Adriatic Sea.
But today, she said that he could not make her smile.
Rong Yan, how could you turn your back on me?
“Since that’s the case, let’s settle it this way then.” Prince William was clearly not willing to say anymore. This would do for now, and their mutual torture would do for now. As long as she remained by his side, he was satisfied.
“William, you are too dogged, or perhaps what you feel toward me is no longer love. You can no longer accommodate the person you once loved loving somebody else. There are two things in the world that are especially precious: you possess one, and lose the other,” Rong Yan calmly replied. “You’re driven into a rage exactly because I really matter to you and also because of what you have lost. If you look carefully, you will realize that I have completely changed while you are still at square one. How much more silly could you get?”
William’s pale face under the sun was so despondent that nobody dared to look at it. Rong Yan couldn’t care less about it and calmly said, “If you are not letting them go, so be it. I can make do with anything anywhere. As for you, implicate innocent people and I will really despise you.”
“All that said, you still want the two of them to be free?”
“Yes, that explains why I looked for you,” Rong Yan said as she smiled gently. “We should heartily congratulate and bless the lovers in the world rather than curse them. If they are indeed in love with each other, why should you make things difficult for them?”
“I can’t tell that they are deeply in love.” William coldly harrumphed. Rong Yan then said, “The lady is carrying a virus which promises to kill seven days after initial contact. If the man did not touch her, he might still survive. He, however, in his desire to save her, is willing to pay with his life without the slightest regret or reservation. So tell me, does love even run in you?”
Prince William had a complicated look. If the woman in question were her, he would be able to do it. Why did she only see the deep love that others had?
Rong Yan coldly smiled in her heart. ‘William, I am afraid that the you today does not know what ‘love’ is.’
Her heart was as cold and as determined as it could.
“Even if that’s the case, I will not let them go,” Prince William insisted. He had to kill all possibility of Rong Yan’s location being leaked.
As the conversation progressed, there was nothing else he could say. Rong Yan knew that she was unable to change his mind and gave up.
“Okay then. If you insist, I am fine with that.” Rong Yan coldly smiled. “Are you, out of your misfortune, hoping that all other couples end like you?”
“Yan Yan, how could you be this…” He could not cough out ‘vicious’, but Rong Yan’s coldness sent him dumbstruck.
Rong Yan harrumphed and said, “You are simply not letting them go because of these knots in your heart, not to mention the fact that you must always come out tops. This is not the Prince William that I used to know. While people always improve for the better, you just have to sink further and further.”
“Yan Yan, why are you making a sport out of me for the want of two strangers? Is it even worth it?” Prince William asked.
“Whether it’s worth it or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that I want to,” Rong Yan calmly said. “William, I can make do with your unwillingness, but I have to tell you that you should not think that imprisoning me means winning my heart. I have loved you in the best ten-over years of my life, and that is enough. Like the ice castle in Siberia that collapsed, it was built because of me and it collapsed also because of me. Our past, like that ice castle, is gone. If you cannot learn to come to terms with it, then live with all the memories and pain for the rest of your life—that, I will not oblige you to. As to whether you let them go, my plea stops here. If you insist on keeping them, so be it.”
Rong Yan turned around and walked away. As she was about to reach the arches, Prince William’s painful voice reached her. “I promise you.”
‘Yan Yan, you remember that castle sculpted out of ice in Siberia. You …’
A ray of hope showed on William’s face.
Rong Yan, indifferent, did not turn back. She walked away.
She had achieved her goal. Although it was not perfect, the process did not matter. Since William promised to release them, that alone was sufficient.
Not long after Rong Yan left, General Chauvet rushed over and softly reported to him. “Your Highness, there is a call from the godfather of the Mafia.”
“Louis?” Prince William’s eyebrows raised in slight surprise.
…
Rong Yan returned to the mansion and carried on reading. As she had no idea what to do with her time in the desolate desert, reading became her biggest pastime.
In the mansion, Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya’s throes of passion had yet to end.
…
Their throes of passion only paused in the afternoon of the next day. As Rong Yan listened to her maidservant’s report, she calmly touched her nose and said, “Gee, this guy sure has an extreme sexual endurance.”
The maidservant was stunned beyond words.
Rong Yan stroked her chin and seriously pondered. Those green crabapples might have an effect on men, and that was something she had to look into. She should find a day and feed Chu Li with a few of them to see if they had any effect on him. She broke into a sinister smile.
In the evening, William came to look for her and Rong Yan turned him down on the grounds of her business.
She did not want to see William for the moment.
Until evening the next day, the couple that Rong Yan had imagined to have made love to the point of exhaustion responded. It was even more amazing that Cheng Anya was the first to wake up.
She had already dressed up, and her face was as beautiful and tender as a peach.
“Rong Yan, please do not tease me,” Cheng Anya said.
Rong Yan stroked her nose as she smiled and blinked her eyes. While she definitely knew how long the green crabapple’s effects would last, the two of them were so over the top that it could not have been the green crabapple’s effect that kept them going.
“Anya, is your man that ‘hungry’?”
Rong Yan was no prude and Miss Cheng was also calm. “That should be the case.”
“While the mansion was built with decent sound insulation, you sounded… extremely passionate.”
Cheng Anya was stunned into silence.
Rong Yan waved to get the maidservants to serve food as they had gotten physical and had to replenish their energy. Cheng Anya said, “Ah Chen, that fool, said earlier that since I had seven days left to live, he would do me for a whole seven days and seven nights and then die in me. He might, for all you know, get his wish.”
Rong Yan was stunned for that rare moment and said, “That’s the most badass and greatest wish possible.”
She paused and said, “But that said, the two of you are free to go. William has given you permission to leave.”
“Really?” Cheng Anya’s eyes lit up and came to life. She was so excited that she wanted to grab Rong Yan’s hands, but then she thought of her condition and quickly stopped.
“Are we really able to leave?”
Rong Yan nodded, and Cheng Anya was ecstatic. “Rong Yan, thank you. I am sure you have cracked your head on this.”
“I did not,” Rong Yan said as she wore gloves. “Stick your hand out and let me take a look.”
“But…”
“It’s okay.”
As Cheng Anya saw that she was extremely calm, she could only stick her hand out and let Rong Yan check her pulse. “Are you a doctor?” Cheng Anya asked.
“I am a biologist.”
Cheng Anya was slightly puzzled as Rong Yan smiled. “I learned the smatterings of TCM.”
A moment later, Rong Yan said, “Your pulse looks steady, but…”
She laughed and said, “Haha. Excessive passion gives this problem.”
Cheng Anya was quite embarrassed. Rong Yan then pulled out a vial of an experimental agent from a small box next to her. It was blue and smelled like the ocean. Rong Yan waved it and said, “This was something I managed to formulate yesterday. It should be able to delay the onset of the virus regardless of the virus you have contracted. Do you want to give it a shot?”
Cheng Anya, without hesitation, rolled up her clothes and revealed her pale arms. When she saw the unwholesome strangulation marks and love bites, Cheng Anya was instantly embarrassed.
Uh…
Miss Cheng was exasperated. She should not embarrass herself!
Rong Yan smiled a toothy smile. “It’s okay. I am not some prude, so don’t worry about teaching me the wrong things.”
Cheng Anya was aghast for a moment. Seeing her this calm naturally meant that she was not some prude.
“That… William, did he imprison you?” Cheng Anya curiously asked as Rong Yan injected her with the experimental agent.
“You could say so, but that isn’t a problem. Chu Li will eventually locate me.” Rong Yan confidently smiled as she completed the injection for Anya. Rong Yan then said, “Conditions here aren’t the most favorable and I was not able to create much of the agent. The accuracy of the agent is likely to vary, so effects might not be as good. It should be able to keep you alive for another four to five days, and I’m not sure whether it will be of help. Every additional day you live is an additional chance for you.”
Cheng Anya did not seem to hear her. She was frowning, deep in thought. She suddenly had a eureka moment and asked, “That… Chu Li you mentioned. Is he the Chu Li of the First Terrorist Organization?”
She had heard the young kid and Ye Wei mention Chu Li’s name. He really doted on the young kid.
“Scheming Chu?” She remembered Ye Wei and Eleven mention that, which explained why Rong Yan’s name was déjà vu. When she heard Ye Wei mention Rong Yan’s name once before, she felt that said name had a nice ring to it. She did not recall it until Rong Yan mentioned Chu Li. It was only then she associated Rong Yan with Chu Li.
Rong Yan’s eyes lit up and she suddenly grabbed Cheng Anya’s hand urgently. “Do you know him?”
“Does knowing Ye Wei and Eleven count?”
“Yes,” Rong Yan decisively replied and gasped. “How do you know Wei Wei and Eleven?”
“He is Ye Wei’s blood brother,” Cheng Anya said as she pointed inside. Rong Yan understood what was going on. She did not hear Chu Li mention Ye Wei having a brother but absolutely trusted what Cheng Anya told her.
Cheng Anya turned around and smiled. “That said, my son definitely knows Chu Li. His internet moniker is ‘The world is big but Mommy is the greatest’.
This time, Rong Yan was even more convinced than before.
She had heard Chu Li mention ‘The world is big but Mommy is the greatest’ several times and shook her head as she laughed. “To think you are all one family.”
The two women looked at each other and laughed. Rong Yan then went silent and said, “That said, you can’t let William know. If he does, your escape is dead in the water as he is afraid that you will secretly inform Chu Li. When that happens, you can be sure he will outright kill you.”
Cheng Anya nodded and hesitated for a moment. “That I understand, but as for yourself…”
“William will not harm me,” Rong Yan said with certainty and Cheng Anya was smart enough not to ask. The two of them kept silent for a while and Rong Yan asked, “I heard that it’s utter chaos outside. Do you know exactly what’s going on?”
“That I do not know.” Cheng Anya shrugged and seemed slightly angry. “I am no better than you as Louis had me imprisoned on an island for ten-over days incommunicado. I know nothing.”
Cheng Anya also deeply understood that she was not in their league.
“Louis? He couldn’t be the godfather of the Mafia, right?” Rong Yan exclaimed in shock as Cheng Anya nodded. Rong Yan, like Cheng Anya, was imprisoned in the same way.
Louis almost crushed her body and spirit.
“This is not good.” Rong Yan’s beautiful brows were knitted as she was in deep thought. “You two escaped from the island and ended up here?”
“That’s right.” Cheng Anya simply described what happened to them. As Rong Yan’s face slightly changed, Cheng Anya’s heart slightly pounded. “Hmm? What’s happening?”
Rong Yan deeply looked at Cheng Anya and said, “You must leave now. William and Louis are on extremely good terms. If Louis knows that you are here, William will definitely not let you go.”
Cheng Anya was extremely shocked. “F***! Out of the frying pan and into the fire?”
Rong Yan was at a loss for words.
This analogy was nothing short of… apt.
“I hope William has not discovered your identities yet. You might still stand a chance at escaping.” Rong Yan quickly stood up and had an urgent look on her face. “That won’t do. On second thought, you two must leave tonight as a precaution. William won’t renege on what he promised.”
