Chu Qianli's fingers, holding the chopsticks, tightened slightly.
Looking up, she met Feng Jinrui's anxious gaze, tinged with a hint of disappointment. She moved her lips but could not utter a single word.
The mark of the Qiankun Chain felt slightly warm.
She lowered her eyes and glanced at the system's space.
The red dot had always been there, and the number on it seemed to have increased again.
This time, Chu Qianli subconsciously tapped the red dot.
A string of messages appeared:
"A'li, what exactly is going on? Why haven't I heard from you for so long? How are you? Did you receive the things I sent you?"
"A'li, are you still there? Reply to me! I'm really worried!"
"A'li, can you say something to Senior Brother? A'li, even just telling Senior Brother that you're safe would be enough. A'li, say something!"
"A'li, what's wrong with you? I'm so scared."
"A'li..."
Chu Qianli had no memory of this Senior Brother who kept talking to her, nor did she even know what he looked like.
Yet, she could clearly feel the panic, unease, and fear in his words.
He was someone who truly cared about her.
Chu Qianli replied, "I'm fine. Some things happened before, and I might have forgotten some memories. I'm also not very good at using this thing, and I don't know if this message can reach you."
After sending it, a spinning circle appeared.
Although she didn't understand it, she seemed to grasp that her message hadn't reached its intended recipient.
She didn't know when it would be delivered.
However, one thing was now completely clear.
That was, she truly was Chu Qianli.
She had doubted it before, just as Feng Yexuan had said. In fact, there were many things she had been questioning.
She just didn't want to face it, because she didn't want to doubt her Master.
Master...
"Jinrui, wait a moment, I want to see Master."
"Absolutely not!" Feng Jinrui was now extremely resistant towards Ye Qingying. "You can only ask Fourth Imperial Brother about this, unless Fourth Imperial Brother is willing."
"My Fourth Imperial Brother and I, before..."
"Everything was very good, very good. We fought side by side, went through life and death together. My Fourth Imperial Brother even abandoned all his brothers for you, defied imperial orders to secretly go to Longteng, changed his identity, and protected you!"
Speaking of these matters, Feng Jinrui's heart still ached slightly for his pitiful yet incredibly proud Fourth Imperial Brother.
"Later, I don't know who leaked the secret, knowing that Prince Xuan was in your Longteng. I suspect it was mostly your Master and Yu Linglong's doing."
"They told the former Empress of Longteng about Fourth Imperial Brother's whereabouts in Longteng. That wicked Empress immediately sent a large army to attack Yitie City. I had no combat experience and was no match for them."
"Fourth Imperial Brother then left Longteng and rushed back day and night to save his brothers. As soon as he repelled the Ru Yi, Fourth Imperial Brother wanted to find you. Who knew that at that time, he heard you say you were going to Bei Ming to propose marriage."
She didn't know how excited and thrilled Fourth Imperial Brother was at that time.
It was the first time his woman had actively wanted to be with him!
"But who could have guessed that after Fourth Imperial Brother waited and waited, growing increasingly anxious, all he got was a fake Chu Qianli."
Feng Jinrui stared at her. His attitude towards her had always been gentle, but at this moment, it was incredibly serious.
"This entire affair was orchestrated by Yu Linglong and your Master. Yet now, you're willing to abandon Fourth Imperial Brother for a so-called Master who harmed you! Are you worthy of my Fourth Imperial Brother?"