The Most Beautiful

"Dead?"

In the private training grounds of Tiansheng Group, a young man with a deep, long scar across his forehead paused his workout. He took a pristine towel from someone nearby to wipe away his sweat, his tone indifferent. "Fifteen men, and they couldn't handle one academy student?"

The person who handed him the towel bowed humbly. "Reporting to the Young Master, that is correct. According to them, they only heard a dull thud. Before they even saw the opponent move, all of their men were sent flying into the walls. The opponent asked Big Dog who sent them. Big Dog didn't answer, so he was killed. There wasn't a single intact bone left in his body, and his internal organs were completely ruptured, as if he had been crushed to death by immense force."

"Is he a Tower Climber? What floor?" The scarred youth turned around, his expression showing a hint of surprise.

The man bowing lowered his back even further. "We checked. He has never entered the World Tower."

The youth pondered, "Are you certain? Some people are good at hiding their tracks."

The man nodded while still bowed. "Absolutely certain. In this world, there is no one Tiansheng wants to investigate that can remain hidden, unless the First Consortium is protecting them."

"Good." The youth frowned and sneered. "He ruined the good thing I had going with Cheng Queyi. I only intended to give him a warning, but I didn't expect to hook such a big fish."

He tossed the towel aside and turned back to resume his training. "Those people didn't expose anything, did they?"

"Well, there is a slight issue." The man picked up the towel to put it in the laundry bin, hesitating. "They tried to be clever, and they screamed a few times when Big Dog died."

"Unnecessary!" The youth increased the speed of the treadmill and began to sprint. "If they're exposed, so be it. Pin Big Dog's death on him. I want to know the secret of how a non-Tower Climber can take on fifteen men at once!"

The man bowed and retreated from the training grounds.

In reality, the thin boy's injuries were far less severe than those of Wang Wen.

In this day and age, where injuries from the World Tower are so frequent, medical technology has advanced rapidly. Injuries like a stab wound to the abdomen or ruptured organs are not life-threatening as long as treatment is timely.

It was Wang Wen's "overuse of the brain," a condition with no identifiable cause, that depended more on fate and the patient's own willpower.

Seeing the thin boy come to the hospital full of energy to visit him, Wang Wen felt relieved.

The boy quietly gestured toward Cheng Queyi, who was peeling an apple, and winked at Wang Wen, mouthing the words: "Three days."

Wang Wen frowned, turned his head toward Cheng Queyi, and let out a deep sigh. "Why are you peeling it, you wasteful woman? Don't you know all the nutrients in an apple are in the skin?"

Cheng Queyi gave him a smiling glance and continued peeling the apple, unbothered.

"Someone, please, do me a favor and take her away." Wang Wen groaned weakly. "If she stays here, I'm worried I'll never recover."

The boy left; after all, having just recovered from serious injuries, he needed plenty of rest.

The person on the sofa also left, leaving behind a stack of the latest class records.

The person by the door left as well, leaving behind an access pass for the Intelligence Department.

Wang Wen tilted his head to look at Cheng Queyi. "You should go too. You've worked hard these past few days."

Cheng Queyi picked up the apple and asked him, "Senior, do you need me to feed you?"

"That's not it." Wang Wen propped himself up. "Can you tell me what your mindset is right now? Why are you being so good to me for no reason? I really only mentioned it in passing!"

Cheng Queyi set the apple down. The smile on her face faded slightly as she remarked with emotion, "Didn't you also save my life for no reason with that 'passing mention'? Why were you so good to me then?"

"How strange." Wang Wen feigned disdain with a scoff. "You've looked like this since you were a child; don't you have any self-awareness? Heroically saving a beauty is a common flaw for men. Why would there need to be a reason?"

"Senior, do you also think Xiao Yi is beautiful?" Cheng Queyi rested her chin on one hand, twirling a loose strand of hair with her fingers, and stared into Wang Wen's eyes as she asked.

Wang Wen looked at the Cheng Queyi before him, her appearance gradually overlapping with the face from that lifetime in his memories.

The Cheng Queyi who was so full of pain and insecurity, She used to ask him that often, too.

And every time, he would answer firmly and earnestly, "Our Xiao Yi is the most beautiful in the world."

Until she ended her own life of suffering, and when he found her on the verge of death, she still asked the same question:

"Captain, is Xiao Yi beautiful?"

Today, hearing those words once again and looking at the eyes waiting for an answer, Wang Wen's heart involuntarily spasmed with the same intense pain as before. Like a conditioned reflex of his combat nerves, he said firmly, "Our Xiao Yi is the most beautiful in the world! No one can compare!!"

Cheng Queyi was stunned.

She reached out and gently wiped away the tears streaming from Wang Wen's eyes.

He spoke the most powerful words with the calmest expression, yet his tears flowed incessantly as if they didn't belong to him. What on earth had this boy been through?

She had heard countless compliments and praises since she was a child.

Never had any of them been this heart-wrenching.

Why?

Why was it like this?

Cheng Queyi's eyes also turned red, her nasal cavity feeling as if it had been filled with lemon juice, stinging and unbearable.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Please don't cry."

Seeing that Wang Wen's tears only increased as she wiped them, Cheng Queyi completely panicked.

This man had just woken up from a coma and hadn't had much food or water for days.

If he kept crying like this, he would be rushed back to the doctors for emergency treatment in no time!

Wang Wen pushed her hand away, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

He let out a long sigh and shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, "I really am getting old. Once you reach a certain age, it's so easy to get sentimental."

"Pfft." Cheng Queyi wiped the back of her hand with reddened eyes and laughed, "A little boy playing at being mature."

Wang Wen put away all the flippancy and unruliness he had deliberately displayed to disguise his age. He looked at her with soft eyes and said in a low voice, "Xiao Yi, protect yourself well, and live this life happily and contentedly."

Cheng Queyi stared at him blankly, listening blankly as he spoke words she couldn't understand, one by one.

"May all the scheming and intrigue have nothing to do with you."

"May all malice and evil intent stay ten thousand miles away from you."

"May every encounter you have be kind and simple."

"May every decision you make be correct and composed."

"May every harvest be something you truly look forward to."

"May everything you gain be something you deeply love."

"May the scenery always remain at every street corner you walk past."

"May you wake up smiling from every dream you have."

"May you taste delicious food without worrying about gaining weight."

"May you only shed tears when you are moved."

"May you never have to part whenever you gather."

"May you be reunited whenever you part."

"May you receive every blessing I can possibly think of."

"May you live a life of peace, joy, and health, forever as beautiful as a rainbow."

Cheng Queyi left.

She was afraid that if she didn't leave, her heart would shatter.

No boy had ever treated her like that before.

No boy had ever looked at her with eyes like that.

It wasn't adoration, and it certainly didn't look like lust for her beauty.

That gaze, as gentle as the winter sun, was the deepest, most profound cherishing one reserves for family.

She was perfectly fine, so why did he have to look at her like that?

Cheng Queyi did not know the answer to this question.

She only knew that when she heard him as if he were trying to dump all his own good fortune onto her at once, she panicked.

Even one's closest kin wouldn't go that far.

He didn't owe her anything.

On the contrary, she owed him a massive debt of gratitude that she could never repay.

Why did he have to treat her this way?

What on earth did he want?

If he wanted something, he should just say it!

Why be like this?

Why only give endlessly, never asking for anything in return?

What exactly was he trying to do?

Cheng Queyi left.

She left the hospital in tears.

No one understood why she was crying.

Just as she didn't understand why Wang Wen was crying.

In the hospital's private ward.

Wang Wen felt physically and mentally exhausted; he felt he desperately needed a quiet rest to recover his drained spirit.

So, he pulled up the covers, preparing to get some much-needed sleep.

Unfortunately, things in this world rarely go as one wishes.

The ward door was knocked, and Yu Zhi walked in, hesitating.

Wang Wen said to her with some helplessness, "I don't have the energy to mess around with you right now."

Yu Zhi's expression was conflicted. After hesitating for a moment, she plucked up the courage and said, "I didn't know it would turn out like this. I thought he was just going to find someone to scare you a little."