He'd Worked So Hard; He Deserved a Reward
Yu Xing paused, immediately suppressing all the thoughts in her mind.
Some things can be perceived even by certain beings just by thinking about them; isn't that how the strange changes in the Mingzhu came about?
However, he hadn't thought about it too deeply, so the Doctor should have only noticed something was wrong and hadn't figured out the whole story.
"It's nothing, it's just that I've lingered here too long, and if I don't leave soon, people might get suspicious." Yu Xing said this, intending to end the conversation.
"The terms of the deal are finalized. I'll step in when you need help, or if you need me to do anything for you, just tell me." The Doctor always had a refined and courteous air about him when he spoke.
He bowed slightly to Yu Xing: "I imagine you wouldn't want us to appear in front of others at the same time, so I'll take my leave now."
After he finished speaking, his figure suddenly blurred into a strange ball of light and shadow, and the murmurs coming from that image suddenly became noisy, as if hundreds or thousands of people were whispering in his ear.
Fortunately, the sound only lasted for a moment, and then, along with the ball of light, it disappeared into the distorted space.
The ancestral hall was quiet, not even a single candle had been extinguished. The candlelight was peaceful, and the protective aura from General Fang's memorial tablet enveloped the hall as always.
Yu Xing took one last look at the plaque. The Doctor said there was no trace of the general's spirit or soul on the tablet, but he always felt that the plaque standing there made it seem as if General Fang was smiling and witnessing everything in the ancestral hall.
This must be an illusion.
Or perhaps it's just a peculiar feeling that lingers in one's heart after hearing all the stories.
Yu Xing chuckled softly, "I'll be leaving now. General, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we won't see each other again."
As soon as he finished speaking, black mist surged up, extinguishing all the candles he had lit in an instant.
The ancestral hall returned to complete darkness, with only a faint ray of sunlight filtering in through the open door.
Yu Xing stepped out of the ancestral hall, turned around and closed the door, then slowly walked out of the secluded courtyard where the ancestral hall was located.
As he expected, just as he turned a corner, he saw Fang Xiao standing there, his expression inscrutable.
Fang Xiao and he met each other's gaze across a narrow corridor, a faint breeze blowing by.
The young man, who bore a resemblance to him, suddenly smiled. His voice was gentle, like a very good-tempered older brother asking his younger brother a very ordinary question on an ordinary day.
Where did you go?
Yu Xing blinked and slowly walked forward. Fang Xiao, seeing his actions, narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly, glancing subtly behind him.
There was nothing behind him, of course.
"Brother, why did you come here to find me? Is something urgent?" Yu Xing asked instead of answering.
"I saw you wandering around the house after you left Mom's. I figured you might not be familiar with the layout since you haven't been back for a while, so I let you wander around," Fang Xiao said with a smile as his younger brother approached. "But I never expected you to just disappear like that."
"I initially thought you went to visit your two friends, but when I got there, I found them learning wood carving from the gardener, and you weren't there either."
Fang Xiao raised his hand and patted Yu Xing's shoulder. "You are a family member I lost and found again. You should know how worried I am about you. When I suddenly found you missing, shouldn't I be anxious?"
He said it nicely, but what he really meant was—
He could monitor any part of the Fang Mansion if he wanted to, Yu Xing, a grown man, had simply vanished, leaving no trace anywhere.
This situation looks too much like an escape.
"Brother, what are you talking about?" Yu Xing's brows furrowed in surprise. "If you couldn't guess where I was, why would you be waiting for me here?"
Fang Xiao paused slightly.
Yes, he didn't know why either. After searching everywhere and failing to find Yu Xing, he was angrily thinking that the person had escaped, but as he walked, he unconsciously ended up here.
Then he remembered that there was such a secluded courtyard in the Fang Mansion, which seemed to be the Fang family's ancestral hall.
The concept of ancestral halls seemed to have disappeared from his mind long ago. Even though he was used to being in control, he had completely forgotten about it.
Having arrived here, he had guessed that his younger brother had most likely entered the ancestral hall. However, the thought that his brother might have escaped made him uneasy, and his mood inevitably became gloomy.
He had to wait here; he needed to see his brother as soon as possible and confirm his existence. Otherwise, he thought he might go crazy.
Fang Xiao didn't realize that even under these circumstances, he didn't have the slightest thought of going to the ancestral hall to look for someone.
He asked with a hint of unease, "Why would you even think of going in there?"
Yu Xing, with a natural expression, walked past Fang Xiao and said as she walked, "I wandered around and ended up here. Suddenly, I remembered that when I was a kid, that old bastard Fang Deming would often drag me here to make me kneel."
Fang Xiao's gaze followed Yu Xing's movements. He caught up with Yu Xing, and at the same time, Yu Xing's words reminded him of the past.
It seems that this is indeed the case. When his younger brother was very young, Fang Deming would scold him or even hit him whenever he made a mistake. However, when Fang Deming was particularly busy or with Xu Wan, the old man would not even bother to scold or beat him. He would just impatiently wave his hand and send his younger brother to the ancestral hall to kneel as punishment.
Each time he knelt in the ancestral hall, a day and a night was considered good. Once, Fang Deming completely forgot about his younger brother and only remembered him four days later—it was Fang Xiao who subtly reminded him.
Fang Deming's expression changed. After all, he was his own son. He hurriedly led Fang Xiao and Grandpa Gardener to the ancestral hall, opened the door, let Grandpa Gardener in, and brought his younger brother out.
Fang Xiao saw Fang Xing faint in the gardener's arms, looking pale and weak. His already thin frame became even thinner, and he looked like a piece of paper, as if he could be blown away at any moment.
"The moment I arrive here, I'm reminded of the days I was punished, of those harsh reprimands without any explanation." Yu Xing's steps were unhurried, her tone not agitated, but rather carrying a faint smile.
This left Fang Xiao was following behind him and could only see half of his profile, wondering what he was thinking.
Is it resentment, disgust, or nostalgia?
"Speaking of which, brother, you don't seem to have ever been forced to kneel as punishment, have you?" Yu Xing tilted her head.
Fang Xiao then saw the faint smile on his lips, paused for a moment, and then realized, "I've never been forced to kneel in the ancestral hall. If I made a mistake, I'd usually be forced to kneel directly in front of him, or... I'd be dragged in one of the people I trust most in the port area and have them cut off one of their fingers."
Fang Deming said, "I shouldn't have made those basic mistakes, but I'm the one who's going to inherit his family business. I made the wrong decisions, causing losses to the port's business. He can't treat me according to the port's rules, so..."
Fang Xiao's lips curled into a mocking smile, "If I make a mistake, I will personally punish my trusted confidant."
"Fang Deming made me watch the expressions on their faces when their fingers were chopped off. He told me to remember that an incompetent leader can't even protect his own confidants. I was incompetent, which is why I dragged them down with me."
Fang Deming uses completely different parenting styles for his two sons.
This was the first time Yu Xing had heard of this past event. "How old were you back then?"
"Around ten years old, I guess," Fang Xiao replied casually.
When he was ten, Fang Xing was only six, and had no idea what his older brother did except when he bullied him.
Yu Xing couldn't help but sigh, "... Fang Deming is truly outrageous."
"Yes, I think so too. I started getting involved in port affairs at a very young age, and most of my close associates were just teenagers, around seventeen or eighteen."
"Only they would find me, a child, quite amusing and also pitiful. After getting to know me better, they also learned about my methods."
"Those who have worked for Fang Deming for many years only flatter me, the young master, thinking that even if Fang Deming sent me here to observe and learn, he wouldn't be too harsh on me. So they treat me politely on the surface, providing me with good food and drink, but in reality, they don't let me do anything."
Fang Xiao felt that he hadn't reminisced about the past like this in a long time. It was probably because chatting with his younger brother always made him unconsciously think of his childhood.
"So I made those gang 'old men' who looked down on me suffer one by one, while those few teenagers became my confidants... and my friends."
"Fang Deming used my friend's fingers to force me not to make mistakes, and of course I dared not make them again. Every time I saw the missing part on their hands, I would think of every immature decision I had made."
A promising young heir was forced into this cruel environment, and at the same time, not only his own spirit was sacrificed, but also the bodies of others.
However, this youthful drive and ruthlessness shattered the moment the truth about Nanshui Town was discovered.
Fang Xiao trembled all over, tears streaming down his face, and begged Fang Deming not to do it when he chopped off their fingers with his own hands.
Later, as he watched his trusted confidant being dragged before him, he swiftly and decisively brought down the knife. But as the confidant clutched his arms and screamed in agony, a hint of suppressed resentment flickered in Fang Xiao's eyes— Fang Deming.
It wasn't until he learned that the gangs in the port were fake, created by Fang Deming out of boredom, that he realized that the gang elders he disliked and the young cronies he had recently recruited were nothing more than a matter of a single sentence from Fang Deming.
[The gang is a mixed bag, with rapid turnover, but those who remain are all highly capable, ruthless, and vicious.]
Everyone in the gang was born from this passage, and then, following the most basic logic, became almost a real resident of Nanshui Town.
Fang Xiao felt utterly bored. Friendship? Friends? They no longer existed. Who would want to be friends with something his disgusting father had created? It would only make him look like an idiot for having shed tears.
He was in his early twenties then, and he was tired of playing these boring role-playing Yugi with Fang Deming. Because he no longer focused on port affairs, the so-called "wrong decisions" not only did not decrease but increased. Fang Deming used the same trick again and told him that because of his recent poor performance, this time, one finger was not enough, so he would cut off the whole arm.
The boy who was pulled over was a very young boy, only sixteen years old. After joining the gang, he had always followed Fang Xiao. He had a very likable personality, and you could say he was too clever for his age. He was also very shrewd and knew how to handle things in a way that was beyond his years.
The boy learned everything very quickly. Fang Xiao "brother" and was always smiling. In fact, Fang Xiao spoiled him a lot, and he knew the limits of that spoiling. Everyone in the gang knew that this kid was highly valued by Fang Xiao.
Fang Deming naturally knew how to strike at Fang Xiao's weak points. Since he valued him, he would use this young man as a scapegoat for all the mistakes Fang Xiao had made recently.
It's not a finger, it's an arm.
The boy's face was deathly pale, filled with terror. Seeing Fang Xiao pick up the knife, he trembled violently, forcing himself to calm down. "Brother, brother... please think of something, save me! You must have a way! If you save me, I'll go through fire and water for you! I'll give my life for you!"
"I'm sorry." Fang Xiao was very indulgent towards the boy because the boy was the only one who dared to call him "brother" from the very beginning.
He liked this nickname very much.
Even if the boy is just a fake person, he can still find a bit of pleasure.
However, out of the corner of his eye, Fang Xiao caught a glimpse of Fang Deming's arrogant and self-assured demeanor, as if he were just waiting to see Fang Deming regret his mistake and feel guilty, and then casually say a few words like "This is the price you pay for your poor performance" after Fang Deming chopped off the boy's arm. Fang Xiao suddenly curled the corners of his mouth.
That was the first time he smiled when he "punished himself" in front of Fang Deming.
With a flash of light, it wasn't the boy's arm that fell, but his head.
The boy's mouth, still agape, begging for mercy, rolled to Fang Deming's feet, his eyes filled with fear and pleading—the knife had been too swift; the boy hadn't even had time to show any shock.
"I know I haven't been doing well lately." Fang Xiao gently placed the cleaver on the table, a deep smile on his face. "One arm is too lenient. Wouldn't Father be more satisfied with this punishment?"
Fang Deming saw the coldness in his eyes and never punished him in this way again—some looks only need one glance to know, and such punishment was no longer effective against Fang Xiao.
Indulging the boy who called him "brother" was merely to please himself. Fang Xiao pulled himself out of his memories; now his real brother was right in front of him, and that was what made him happiest.
His younger brother was still defending him. "When we were little, I didn't know you'd been through so much. I always felt that fate was unfair. You dressed so smartly every day, had a whole bunch of people you could boss around, and were so powerful."
"Now I understand, you really went through a lot, brother." Yu Xing was still smiling when she talked about kneeling in the ancestral hall, but her tone became somber when she spoke of Fang Xiao.
"It wasn't easy for you to be forced to kneel in the ancestral hall." Fang Xiao still remembered that Fang Xing hadn't eaten or drunk anything for four days and almost lost his life.
He never had the chance to talk to his younger brother about his feelings when they were young, but now he suddenly asked, "Are you afraid when you're kneeling alone in the ancestral hall?"
Fang Deming is extremely immoral.
At first, Fang Xing was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall, without food, water, or candles. Fang Xing was timid and afraid of the dark, so he knelt until it got dark and started banging on the door, trying to get out. Fang Deming had the nanny, Li, add a lock to the door from the outside, so no matter how much the child inside cried, they wouldn't let him out.
Even though the child cried his heart out, repeatedly saying he knew he was wrong and begging his father, those cries didn't even reach Fang Deming's ears, because Fang Deming had specifically instructed that Fang Xing's matter shouldn't bother him.
After several times, Fang Xing seemed no longer afraid of the dark, and knew that crying for help and shouting were useless, so the ancestral hall became quiet.
Fang Xiao pretended to be passing by, just like before, wanting to hear if her younger brother was alright, but all she heard was the sound of wind, followed by a chilling silence.
Each time Fang Xing was calmly locked up and calmly released, his gloom grew heavier. He locked himself in a protective shell, viewing everyone in the Fang family as enemies, isolating himself from the walls of his heart.
Fang Xiao couldn't understand Fang Xing's thoughts.
"I'm not afraid." Yu Xing is now Fang Xing. Hearing this question, although he has no memory of Fang Xing's childhood, he knows the answer when he thinks of General Fang's memorial tablet in the ancestral hall.
"At first I was probably a little scared, but after a few times I got used to it, and later I not only wasn't scared, I actually liked it."
"... You like it?" Fang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, every time I make a mistake, I hope Fang Deming is too busy and just tells me to get out of here and go to the ancestral hall." Yu Xing shrugged, a sly glint in her voice. "Even though I'll go hungry, it also means I won't have to spend several days with Fang Deming and Xu Wan."
"At first, I was afraid someone would come to inspect, so I knelt down very seriously. When I was let out, I couldn't even stand up; my legs felt like they were going to break. But later I found out that, apart from Grandpa Gardener, no one else seemed to like stepping into the ancestral hall, so I felt at ease sleeping inside."
Fang Xiao: "..."
Yu Xing turned her head and gestured with her hands to describe it to him. "There are several futons in the ancestral hall. You can put the futons together and use them as a bed. Although it will be cold at night, I still feel very at ease. It may be a little cold, but it's quiet."
No one bothered them, and no one attacked them.
"Even if Grandpa Gardener comes to pick me up and sees me sleeping, he won't tell Fang Deming. Grandpa Gardener is really kind. Besides, I always sleep very well, and I wake up immediately when I hear the door open, kneeling down again before it opens."
Yu Xing looked at Fang Xiao, seemingly genuinely unconcerned as she talked to him about her childhood cleverness, her smile growing wider and wider, "I would pretend that my legs couldn't move, and have Grandpa Gardener help me out, then I would get the right to stay in my room all day without moving. Even my food was brought to my room by Grandpa Gardener. Hehe, I never got caught."
When talking about this, Yu Xing excited, as if he was still very proud of it even today.
Fang Xiao was genuinely stunned. He felt something welling up inside him along with the smile on his brother's face, as if someone was punching him repeatedly from beneath a thick layer of ice, trying to break it.
This dull, even throbbing sensation was hard to describe, but the unease that had been creeping into his heart because his younger brother had gone to the ancestral hall had completely vanished.
It turns out that my younger brother's childhood memories of the ancestral hall weren't so bad. He stayed there for a while, and his mood improved afterward.
Not only that, his younger brother was also willing to pass on these feelings to him, sharing his emotions with him so enthusiastically, something that had never happened since his younger brother was born.
Fang Xiao instinctively stopped in his tracks, raised his hand to his chest, and felt his heart beating strongly, proving that this was not a hallucination; everything he heard was so vivid.
Yu Xing noticed that he hadn't continued walking, and turned around inexplicably. "Brother?"
"It's nothing." Fang Xiao snapped out of his reverie; the menacing aura he exuded when Yu Xing had just stepped out of the ancestral hall was gone. "I'm just happy to hear you're happy."
They had walked back to the vicinity of Xu Wan. Fang Xiao started walking again, smiling, and said, "I haven't felt this happy in a long time."
"... Spending all day at home with Xu Wan and Fang Deming, it's no wonder you're unhappy." Yu Xing didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to belittle the two of them, and then casually added, "Brother, we can go to the Snow Festival tomorrow, you'll definitely be able to relax."
"Not only is there a festival, but there are also living people from this tour group. It must be quite lively for you, right?"
Snow Festival...
Fang Xiao's joy suddenly faded.
He was really looking forward to traveling with his younger brother. Not only was this the first time they had gone out together since they were adults, but even when they were children, they rarely had such an opportunity.
My younger brother is really looking forward to it.
And I hope he can relax and have fun at the Snow Festival.
His younger brother is so good to him now; there are no more misunderstandings or secrets between them. How wonderful it would be if things could stay this way forever.
However, if Fang Xing knew that the purpose of the Snow Festival was to completely assimilate him during the ceremony, he would never have the thought of leaving...
Fang Xiao Xiaotong shrank back.
He realized he didn't want to see how disappointed and angry Fang Xing would be when she found out she'd been scammed again.
Moreover, he designed the Snow Festival himself, extracting the feelings he had gradually assimilated and distorted in his years of resisting that belief and placing them into the Snow Festival ritual.
When the sacrificial ceremony begins, Fang Xing will soon experience all the struggles and final compromises he has made over the years.
Fang Xing's consciousness will also move towards a compromise, then settle down, accept faith, and become someone who can control the entire Nanshui Town with him.
However, once Fang Xing is recognized by "it" and gains the qualification to control Nanshui Town, he will definitely know the truth about the Snow Festival. Accepting faith does not mean accepting all family ties. Fang Xiao and Fang Deming are clear examples of this.
When the younger brother learns the truth, he will only retain his loyalty to this faith, and he will definitely feel disappointed and disgusted with his older brother who deceived, schemed, and used unscrupulous means!
My younger brother is still excited about playing together tomorrow; compared to that, he seems so pathetic.
Fang Xiao felt as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer, and a sense of reason that had long since abandoned him quietly returned.
Why would he betray his brother's trust and help the snake keep his brother? Shouldn't the python have done that itself?
Yes, what he really thinks is that all he wants is for his younger brother to return to the Fang Mansion, to come back and be with him, to control Nanshui Town together, and to embrace a free future together. The prerequisite is that his brother still remembers his kindness!
However, everything that is about to happen at the Snow Festival will undoubtedly break this premise.
How could he make such a stupid decision?
Fang Xiao's mind began to go blank. He covered his head, a stinging pain fermenting inside, as if a pair of snake children were looking down at him from the void.
He crouched down in pain, covered in cold sweat, unable to speak at all. He couldn't even answer when his younger brother, whose face had suddenly changed, ran to his side and asked him what was wrong.
"I..."
Fang Xiao clutched his short hair in pain, making broken syllables that were meaningless.
Yu Xing stood next to Fang Xiao, looking down at Fang Xiao had suddenly flared up, her expression a mixture of astonishment and coldness.
Although he wouldn't use any curse power in front of Fang Xiao, lest it be discovered by Qianjie behind Fang Xiao's consciousness, his perception was still there, and he could clearly sense that Fang Xiao was no longer as invincible as before.
A very unstable fluctuation of consciousness emanated from Fang Xiao's body. The irritability was highly contagious, and even Yu Xing felt vaguely agitated.
[... his distorted understanding is faltering.]
The system's female voice spoke proactively.
After being fleeced by Yu Xing in the ancestral hall, the system's ability to speak on its own was exposed, so it simply stopped pretending and started speaking whenever it wanted.
"Cognitive distortion and wavering?" Yu Xing was also somewhat surprised. The human brain instinctively rejects cognitive distortions imposed by external forces. Fang Xiao had taken this rejection to the extreme, which is why it had been delayed for so many years.
However, once the cognitive distortion has been completely successful, it means that there is no way to reverse the situation, because even the consciousness of "resistance" has been erased.
It's like someone telling Fang Xiao, "You have these thoughts today because of that snake; that's not what you originally wanted."
Fang Xiao could only think, "Really? Luckily, that snake changed my mind, otherwise I would have been stuck in the past for the rest of my life. I really have to thank that snake."
Not to mention, he is also Xiao Qianjie's puppet, with most of his consciousness controlled by Xiao Qianjie. For example, he can transform the story of Nanshui Town from a book into a movie, and design a series of terrifying and deadly plots for visiting tour groups.
Fang Xiao certainly didn't know why he was doing these things, because it was Qianjie who controlled the decisions he made.
He never even considers whether these things are actually his responsibility; in his mind, he has lost the ability to question them.
This is truly a dead end. People can rescue coerced hostages, but they can't rescue brainwashed individuals who are determined to become hostages.
However, the system now says that Fang Xiao's cognitive distortion is beginning to waver.
Yu Xing herself felt was also a disturbance at the level of her sense of direction.
Therefore, he did not doubt the correctness of the system's statement; he was simply surprised at how Fang Xiao had done it, and why it had happened so suddenly.
[Because there are more variables.]
[When he resisted the cognitive distortion, you weren't by his side. Therefore, the cognitive distortion caused by the snake lacked your sample. But in reality, you were the person most likely to change Fang Xiao's mind.]
Yu Xing thought about it and could roughly understand.
Someone told Fang Xiao, "Your thoughts have been controlled by a snake. I don't like you the way you are now."
Fang Xiao simply thought that whether others liked it or not was none of his business. He liked his current ideas very much and thought his previous ideas were very naive. He was also honored that the snake could control him.
In this way, Xiao Qianjie can ensure that Fang Xiao does not escape control no matter what.
However, when a sufficiently important variable suddenly appears, and Qianjie hasn't received a solution beforehand, it will become...
Fang Xing said to Fang Xiao, "Your thoughts have been controlled by the snake. I don't like you the way you are now."
Fang Xiao sneered, thinking that his younger brother would understand sooner or later.
Fang Xiao hesitated. The idea of "protecting his younger brother," which was ingrained in his bones, made him feel like he was letting his brother down.
Fang Xiao felt apprehensive and began to reflect. He felt that he was behaving well, but he had somehow let his younger brother down. Was there really something wrong with his current behavior?
When the first crack appears in the distortion of perfect cognition, it is no longer perfect.
Yu Xing had deliberately acted excitedly just now. His intention was to show that going to the ancestral hall would not affect Fang Xiao's plans, in order to dispel Fang Xiao's suspicions about the ancestral hall.
Then the conversation turned to the Snow Festival the next day; he wanted to ask about the mourning attire as well...
Who would have thought that this would touch some nerve in Fang Xiao, causing his once very firm beliefs to begin to waver again.
"Won't this cause any problems?" Yu Xing's expression gradually went blank as she mentally communicated with the system, "To be honest, I had already planned everything out, but this whole thing has disrupted my train of thought."
[...]
Who would have thought that this would happen?
The system was analyzed.
[First, Fang Xiao herself has a strong resistance to cognitive distortion and has experience in resisting it. Second, due to her childhood experiences, Fang Xiao has developed an almost obsessive protective instinct towards her younger brother.]
[Furthermore, the snake was used improperly with the book, and you happened to be missing a sample. Finally, the Fang Mansion also has General Fang's memorial tablet, a protective object.]
[Multiple factors combined to meet certain conditions, causing Fang Xiao to waver unexpectedly.]
"I understand the logic, but can you analyze it further? What will happen if he wavers now?" Yu Xing said with a blank face.
If Qianjie weren't around, Fang Xiao, who could somehow straighten out even when completely twisted, would be like a god descended from heaven.
However, Qianjie still controlled most of his consciousness, so when he wavered, Qianjie was naturally the first to notice.
The distortion of perception regarding the new puppet wasn't even finished yet, and now the old puppet has run into trouble first. Will Qianjie still go to tomorrow's Snow Festival in the old puppet's body as planned, carrying the new puppet candidate?
He was thinking too far ahead. He couldn't even be sure how much Fang Xiao was wavering, or whether Qianjie had the ability to quickly suppress the cracks in his understanding and regain control of Fang Xiao's consciousness in a short period of time.
The biggest concern is that because of him, Fang Xiao has escaped Xiao Qianjie's control, and Xiao Qianjie might become wary of him because of this.
This is really affecting his plans.
We can only wait and see.
The system did not provide a definitive answer; its actions so far have already gone too far and it cannot go any further.
This reaction was within Yu Xing's expectations. He closed his eyes, knowing he still had to rely on himself.
"Brother, where does it hurt? Is there anything I can do for you?" Fang Xiao was still struggling in pain, so Yu Xing squatted down, steadied Fang Xiao's shoulders with both hands, and then shook him. "Should I go call the Doctor?"
"Little brother!" Fang Xiao, whether he heard him or not, suddenly reached out and grabbed Yu Xing's sleeve tightly.
"I'm here, what do you want to say?" Yu Xing leaned closer.
"If I... did something to hurt you..." Fang Xiao looked up with difficulty, one of his eyes was covered in red, as if the capillaries near his eyeball had burst due to high pressure.
The two looked at each other.
The things that hurt my younger brother.
They had maintained a tacit understanding ever since Fang Xing escaped from Nanshui Town. They both understood that when Fang Xiao took Fang Xing's things and falsely accused him of making mistakes when they were young, causing Fang Xing to be beaten and scolded, none of this was anything to hurt him.
Everything Fang Xiao did was to ensure her younger brother could leave smoothly.
What can truly be defined as harm is something that goes against Fang Xing's wishes and causes irreversible and terrible consequences for Fang Xing.
Fang Xiao was beginning to feel dizzy. In his vision, a deep, dark snake-like child, a hundred times larger than before, seemed to appear, and waves of familiar dizziness assaulted his brain.
But he still wanted to take advantage of this moment when he was clear-headed to ask the question.
If I... would you... forgive me?
In his bloodshot eyes, besides the struggle to resist the pain, there was an even stronger emotion.
Yu Xing was stunned for a moment.
Fang Xiao was reminding him.
Fang Xiao was subtly reminding him, in this seemingly questioning way, that if he stayed any longer, he would be harmed.
He probably only had that one sentence to say; he didn't cry for help, nor did he try to buy himself any chance to escape the quagmire.
Instead, tell him to run fast.
His eyes conveyed only two words: Run!
A hint of coldness appeared in Yu Xing's eyes.
Faced with his brother's sudden discomfort, he composed himself and replied, "No."
Fang Xiao's body stiffened.
"Even if it's you, if you made me come back just to hurt me, then... I will never forgive you."
Yu Xing reached out and wiped the cold sweat from Fang Xiao's forehead, a slightly sickly smile on her lips, "Brother, from the very beginning, I felt you were trying to harm me, so I didn't want to stay in the Fang Mansion."
But you showed me through your actions that you wouldn't treat me badly.
"I can feel from you that you're still the same person you were when I was a child, someone who would protect me no matter what and help me do what I want to do."
"That's how I feel, I'm not wrong, right, brother? Unless... your acting is even better now than when you were a child, and you've decided to completely deceive me, or even take revenge on me for leaving alone."
"No--" Fang Xiao's vision went completely black, and his ears were ringing. He wanted to tell his younger brother that he wasn't like this... at least it wasn't something he wanted to do, but he couldn't speak anymore.
"Now I've decided to stay at the Fang Mansion because I want to live with you. You've helped me gain so much freedom over the years, why can't I give you happiness for the rest of your life?" Yu Xing continued, her tone extremely calm and indifferent.
"But if you were lying to me from the beginning, you might as well have spoken ill of me, threatened me, and forced me to stay, instead of deceiving my feelings."
"Brother, if you lied to me, I will never forgive you." Yu Xing smiled.
"I am such a ruthless and selfish person. Otherwise, why would I let you suffer alone in Nanshui Town while I ran off to live the life I wanted in the outside world? If you are good to me, I will be good to you in return, but if you hurt me, no matter how good you were to me before, I will abandon you without hesitation."
"So tell me quickly, you're not lying to me, right?"
Fang Xiao suddenly stopped struggling at that moment.
He slowly calmed his breathing, then looked up with a calm expression, returning to his previous demeanor.
In those dark, deep eyes, a cold, serpentine gaze seemed to slowly slither across them.
Fang Xiao's cold gaze swept over Yu Xing from head to toe, then Fang Xiao revealed a gentle yet dangerous smile, "Of course, I would never lie to my brother. And why would I hurt you?"
The rift in understanding was repaired by Qianjie.
As expected, the momentary wavering meant nothing to Qianjie.
But Yu Xing had already planted a seed for a new plan in her answer.
[New plan?]
[You overturned the original plan and prepared a new one in such a short time?]
The system couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm, I didn't want to cause trouble for myself, but Fang Xiao is working so hard," Yu Xing answered inwardly, chuckling softly. "People whose perceptions are completely distorted are basically beyond saving, right?"
"Once I destroy the filming equipment, the person who can stop me most likely will be Fang Xiao, who is right next to me. Qianjie will first use his body to make some threatening moves against me. In any case, Fang Xiao's body and mind are almost impossible to save."
In this simulation, the only valuable person who was taken away was Mingzhu.
Aside from Mingzhu, everyone in the Fang Mansion will die. Even the old gardener will die because of the heavy death energy, and after losing the "protection" of the Fang Mansion, he will return to his original fate.
"But now I'm going to change this predictable outcome," Yu Xing thought to herself with amusement. "I'll come up with a new plan."
"Fang Xiao is just my type—especially when it comes to causing trouble for Qianjie."
"This guy definitely didn't deserve such a boring ending; it really disappoints me."
I want him to live.
This is impossible.
The system is always so cold and impersonal.
"Who says it can't be done? You should have calculated the answer based on the existing conditions. But now I'm going to change those conditions." The coldness in Yu Xing's eyes could no longer conceal the madness beneath.
He's a madman.
Being forced to work is so boring, I just want it to end as soon as possible.
But now, he has found a satisfying pleasure in his boring part-time job, so he doesn't mind causing himself some trouble.
Because he's willing.
The system fell silent.
Yu Xing helped Fang Xiao, letting him lean against him to stand properly, and smiled, "It's good that you're alright, brother. You scared me a little."