Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - What Money Couldn't Buy (Part Three) (Wishing this year's college entrance exam candidates success!)

He suddenly appeared.

Without warning, without a sound, if he hadn't spoken, I probably would never have noticed him.

Yu He.

He still looked like a young man in his early twenties, with a handsome face, his hair, which was neither too long nor too short, was casually combed. He wore a business casual suit that wasn't new but was very neat, and his leather shoes were polished to a shine.

Even though we were almost touching, he didn't look at me; his gaze was entirely fixed on the person in the coffin. His hand gently stroked the coffin lid, as if he wanted to touch a precious jewel but was afraid that his hand would defile it, so he could only admire it from behind the transparent barrier.

We immediately distanced ourselves from him, watching him warily from ten meters away, while he merely gave us a polite bow, his expression perfectly calm... or rather, he didn't pay any attention to us at all.

"What's going on...?"

I asked him in a trembling voice, but he remained silent, looking down at the Blood Fiend in the coffin, his eyes gentle, extremely gentle, to an abnormal degree.

"I'm asking you, Yu He... what... what's going on?!"

I finally couldn't hold back anymore. My increasingly out-of-control emotions manifested in my words, raining down on him as if every word I uttered was a bullet that would riddle him with holes.

"Why... Isn't Blood Fiend dead?! I saw it with my own eyes! Without a physical body, even her remnant soul vanished into nothingness, utterly tragic and absurd! I witnessed the entire process of her final demise!!!"

"... I see. That's really enviable."

"!?"

This was the first time he had responded to what I said.

Envious?

"What... is there to envy?"

"At least you saw her one last time, isn't that something to be envious of?"

He leaned against the coffin as if he were leaning on a beloved lover, his gaze shifting from the Blood Fiend to me.

The moment our eyes met, I felt a jolt in my heart.

What kind of look is that?

The first thing you feel is gentleness, an unparalleled gentleness, which even the combination of all the healing male protagonists in shoujo manga cannot compare to. But this gentleness is like a beautiful shell, hiding beneath it a chaotic mix of all emotions, like a vacuum separating his heart from the outside world.

"Tell me, Miss Ye,"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three of us.

Have you ever loved someone?

Regarding this--

"What's the point of asking this? Answer me! What's this Blood Fiend thing all about!"

Have you ever loved someone?

"What have you done! What do you want to do! Give it to me now--"

"Why not answer? I'd like to hear your understanding of love."

"..."

I cannot answer that.

Perhaps due to laziness, or perhaps due to some deeper reasons, I have never carefully examined my own feelings—for me, love, friendship, and family ties are mostly mixed together, and I don't want to think about them too much.

At this time--

"If you are well, then it is a sunny day."

Haoyue suddenly said something that sounded familiar.

"... oh?"

"This is something Xiao Ye told me before, taken from an essay written by a talented woman from her hometown... I don't know the original meaning of this sentence, but in my opinion, it's quite fitting to use this sentence to explain my understanding of love."

"That's interesting. So, Miss Haoyue, could you tell me how you determine if you've fallen in love with someone?"

"It depends on whether you're willing to abandon your reason and do something foolish for her... right?"

"'Foolish thing'... Haha, it really is. I still remember the stories my mother told me when I was little, lying on her sickbed in that dilapidated house in my hometown, which was being eaten away by termites..."

Yu He gave a wry smile, squinted his eyes, and recalled the past.

"From then on, I felt that the love and friendship in stories were really perplexing... Why would a knight fight a dragon for a Princess after only meeting her once? Why would two men of normal intelligence go to great lengths for each other after just drinking sworn brotherhood wine? Why would a prince abandon his obligations as heir to the throne and marry a commoner woman for so-called love? If it's just about continuing the race and procreation, then you can simply choose the best genes to breed. Love is unnecessary and even harmful to reproduction. Not to mention that people in love always do all sorts of messy things under the guise of love—foolish, cruel, or meaningless—yet they are not ashamed but proud of it. It's really very strange, but as I grew up, I realized... it seems that I'm the stranger one."

His smile became increasingly enigmatic, and my patience was wearing thin.

"If you're showing up in front of me just to spout these utterly idiotic and childish nonsense, you might as well save your breath! Tell me, what exactly is this Blood Fiend thing?!"

"You're asking what happened to her?"

Yu He looked down at the stunningly beautiful woman in the coffin, and only after a long while did he raise his head.

"What could it be? It's just the wishful thinking of a foolish man, a last-ditch effort to hold onto a fading relationship, a tragic remnant, that's all there is to it, that's the thing."

"..."

I have absolutely no desire to understand him anymore.

(Hey, Haoyue!)

I whispered to the bright moon.

(How?)

(Wait for my signal, then immediately take Little Butterfly and leave. I will help you stop Yu He.)

(But you--)

(I'm worried about leaving Little Butterfly here. I'll stop Yu He. You take her to a safe place—or hand her over to Xiao Wu who's there to meet you—and then come back immediately to help me.)

(Okay, since you said so, Xiao Ye, you must be confident, but... I feel like Yu He acting more and more strangely.)

(How many people in the upper echelons are of sound mind? Let's wait and see, and not launch any rash attacks!)

"I heard everything, it's not nice to ignore people."

He suddenly said, "But it doesn't matter. What can he do even if he knows?"

But his next sentence struck me like a blow.

"I think it would be better to entrust the Planet Will Nono rather than taking it to a safe zone or handing it over to Little Nuonuo Xiao Wu. After all, she is a high-ranking member, and although she has no combat experience, she should be more than capable of protecting a little girl."

"Varied--!?"

"I'm quite close to her, and I know her pretty well. In fact, she's such a good girl who's genuinely good inside and out, except for her expressionless face. She's so easy to understand."

"How could you...?"

The three of us stared at him in astonishment. He smiled mockingly, as if regretting our ignorance.

"I'm curious how I knew she was in Business Capital and had joined your side? I'd like to ask you in return, why didn't I know? The Void Realm notified me immediately when Little Nuonuo disappeared. So think about it, she disappeared just when I was about to deal with your group, so where could she have gone? I'm fully aware of everything happening in Business Capital, not to mention Little Nuonuo is someone I know very well. I know her, but she doesn't know me. Do you really think she could hide herself right under my nose?"

He knew.

He'd known all along that Neumann was on my side!

It's possible that Yu He spotted Neumann the moment she entered the Business Capital, but simply didn't report it to the Leader!

But why did he do that?

Knowing that Neumann came to find me, I still allowed her to join our side.

What benefit would that bring him?

You know, Neumann was --

" --Neumann is my nemesis, isn't that what you think?"

I readily admitted it.

"It's precisely because Neumann is a threat to me that I need to cultivate a good relationship with her, to make her a friend rather than an enemy, in order to protect myself—that's what you think, right?"

The mockery in his tone grew increasingly pronounced.

"But unfortunately, you're wrong. Little Nuonuo's abilities can theoretically restrain me, but do you really think I'm afraid of her? She knows nothing about economics, and even if she could complete mathematical modeling, she wouldn't be able to get involved... Her abilities aren't as omnipotent as you think. Without exaggeration, I have no less than a thousand ways to get rid of her or make her completely obedient to me. Why go through all that trouble?"

"..." really.

To use an online game analogy, Neumann is a newbie who accidentally got a max-level account, while Yu He is a pro player who leveled up to the max level bit by bit. Although the former's class has a counter to the latter's, it would still be extremely difficult for the former to defeat the latter.

"... Then why did you approach Neumann, and why did you become 'friends' with her?"

"Good question, but," he shook his head, "This seemingly simple question was one year and two months ago that I couldn't answer, because all along, I didn't even know the answer myself."

Until one year and two months ago?

If I remember correctly, I traveled through time during that period.

And,

Blood Fiend died at that time.

Wait, really?

Don't tell me,

Yu He, don't tell me you actually--

"Loneliness... Everyone is lonely, Miss Ye. People spend their lives in alienation and indifference. Even if they occasionally find true friendship or love, they can never truly understand others... Perhaps that's why I only believe in money. Money is my only friend, the only thing that won't abandon me..."

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

"But... I still remember the first time I saw Blood Fiend. My first impression of her... was that she was beautiful, dangerous, and unfathomable. That was all. I've always tried to maintain good relationships with my colleagues—the other high-ranking officials—and Blood Fiend was no exception. Whether it was providing her with funding from the Revolutionary Army she used to serve, helping her with chores, or giving her gifts on holidays, it was all just an investment, a simple way to maintain a superficial good relationship. I did it to her, and I did it to the other high-ranking officials; there was nothing more to it."

"Time really flies. Day after day, year after year, almost two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. I've maintained a lukewarm relationship with her all along... But gradually, I've noticed something's wrong. For some reason, I've been initiating contact with her far more often than with other high-ranking members. When organizing events or festivals within the organization, I always give her priority. I only ever worry about whether doing this will leave a bad impression on her. I've always felt that the reason I'm like this is because, subconsciously, I believe that Blood Fiend is more valuable than others. That must be it, but... ha, fate really loves to play tricks."

He sighed deeply, his hand supporting the coffin trembling slightly.

"Not just fate, but also emotions and love, are the worst kind of fraudsters, aren't they?"

"Until that day, I heard the news of Blood Fiend's disappearance. Not long after, Madam's search for her failed. I remember everything that happened that week."

"On the first day, I felt nothing, I just thought, 'Oh, I see, she's dead, what a pity...'"

The next day, I felt anxious and, for the first time in my life, I lost my temper with my subordinates for no reason. It was really embarrassing...

"On the third day, I found myself unable to concentrate on my work. Those familiar documents were piled up in front of me, but I just sat there, lost in thought..."

"On the fourth day, the anxiety in my heart turned into a persistent dull pain. I thought I needed to rest, but I just couldn't fall asleep no matter what I did, not even able to buy myself a good night's sleep..."

On the fifth day, I locked myself in, instructing my secretary not to let anyone disturb me. I paced back and forth in my empty office, utterly lost...

"On the sixth day, I stayed curled up in bed all day, my chest aching terribly, a heart-wrenching pain. I had no strength left in my body, and deep down I felt like nothing mattered anymore..."

"On the seventh day, I regained consciousness and realized I would never see Blood Fiend again. I burst into tears, trembling all over, frantically scratching my head, more fragile than a newborn baby. I had never experienced such sorrow in my life, more intense than hope, more profound than despair, and no amount of money could soothe it. I... Yes, only then did I realize how foolish I had been, how much I had deceived myself..."

Loneliness... Everyone is lonely.

People often spend their lives in alienation and indifference.

Even if one occasionally finds genuine friendship or love, it's impossible to truly understand another person.

Therefore, throughout history, the same tragedies and folly have continued to repeat themselves.

"It wasn't until after her death that I realized I truly understood, that I should acknowledge it, and that I should confront it all."

He took a deep breath.

For the first time, I let down my guard and opened my heart.

To us, to outsiders, to the world

He expressed his true feelings and heartfelt sentiments.

"Yu He has loved A. Warrensding for two hundred years, and has loved her ever since, even now that she is dead."

I love you.

Although I realized it too late.

My heart races when I talk to you.

When I look into your eyes, I can't help but look away.

It's a feeling as naive as that of an elementary school boy, yet it's incredibly real.

As I try to come up with new topics to talk about while we walk, I feel that joining the group and meeting you is truly wonderful.

On a holiday evening, watching you and Little Nuonuo busy in the kitchen, I feel that trying to befriend Neumann —and at the same time get closer to you—was the right decision.

When I think about when and where I'll see you again, and worry about what to say and what I can do to make you smile, I feel incredibly happy to be able to seriously consider such childish and ridiculous things.

I want to see you again.

Even though I've already accepted the fact that you're dead, I still want to see you again.

Tell me,

Is it foolish to give everything for a tragic wish that can never be fulfilled?

Is it a sin to drag countless people into something for one's own selfish desires?

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Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes! Zero Night Yu Genid sends his congratulations! Blood Sister is truly the root of all evil!

To celebrate the college entrance exam (or is that a celebration?), today's chapter is a whopping 4000 words!

So... here comes the Monthly Votes?