"You're begging me to die with you?
Li Qianfan's jaw clenched.
Her Majesty the Empress, as she spoke, was once again descending into madness.
She continued in an impatient tone:
"I've now basically confirmed. It's precisely because you went to Lingnan and re-met me that you can no longer be as close to Su Ziyu as before."
"This is also the effect of the Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam."
"As long as I'm by your side, even if Su Ziyu is confirmed as the future wife of Longxu, she can only be prevented from being by your side for various reasons."
"If this were a novel, Su Ziyu would be the protagonist. Mao Mao and I would only be supporting characters. But now?"
"You, the male lead, are entangled with a supporting character."
"Think carefully, how long has it been since you last saw Su Ziyu?"
"If we were characters in a novel, would readers curse the author for being misguided if the female lead disappeared?"
"With me here, the absolute protagonist, Su Ziyu, can only stand aside!"
"Can you bear to let go of the female lead?"
"Of course not, because you are the unique male lead in this book."
"Yet I, a supporting character who should only appear when needed and be discarded when not, am stubbornly entangled with you!"
"What should I do?"
"I can only die! That way, the story can return to its main plot."
"But I don't dare to die alone, nor can I!"
"Because I fear that after my death, I will still cling to you, just like Duan Xiangning clung to Li Qianfan."
"But if we die together, we won't have to worry about these things."
"After we die, we won't have to care about this world anymore."
"We won't have to care whose son you are, or whose daughter Mao Mao is. Who is Shen Yue, or if people will call us scandalous names."
"I can swear!"
"When we arrive in that world, I will treat you as."
What would Su Nanyin treat Li Qianfan as?
Before she could finish speaking, a heavy chop landed on her neck.
Her eyes immediately rolled back, and she fell backward.
Li Qianfan reached out in time, his arm around her waist.
As her eyes closed, the madness flickering within them quickly extinguished, like an oil lamp running out of fuel.
Also vanishing rapidly from her eyes was—
A darkness that Li Qianfan, upon sensing it, felt a tremor of fear.
Darkness!
The blackness in Su Nanyin's eyes was like a mysterious and eerie black hole.
Within the black hole were countless terrifying insects, or monsters.
They were desperately trying to surge outward, to burst from her eyes and drag Li Qianfan in!!
But as Su Nanyin fainted, that terrifying black hole was immediately sealed.
The insects or monsters that had tried to escape and drag Li Qianfan in were once again locked away in the deepest darkness.
The wind blew.
Li Qianfan gazed silently at Su Nanyin, her head resting back on his left arm.
The mischievous wind.
It lifted a few strands of Su Nanyin's hair that rested on the ground, as if imbued with life, and gently brushed them back, touching her face.
Her expression was serene.
She possessed the innocence of a young girl, the vitality of a young woman, the unique charm of a married woman, and the ultimate maturity of one who had seen the world's splendor.
To put it plainly—
Su Nanyin, at this moment, was a complex being embodying the girl, the young woman, the newlywed, and the mature woman.
Crucially, her mind was also exceptionally mature.
Furthermore, she possessed the excellent quality of giving her all without reservation once she fell in love.
No man could resist the allure of such a woman.
"Don't worry, I will ensure you don't carry any emotional burden and live well."
Li Qianfan looked at the woman silently, and after an unknown period, murmured to himself.
The wind that blew again was noticeably stronger.
The strands of dark hair that had been blown back now covered Su Nanyin's entire face.
When Li Qianfan looked up inadvertently, he realized the warm sun had long since turned cold and quietly descended behind the western mountains.
Su Nanyin woke up at seven-thirty that evening.
Her neck was a little sore.
She frowned, raised her hand to rub her neck, and then opened her eyes.
Car headlights approached.
They flashed across Li Qianfan's face as he drove.
He asked, "Awake?"
"Mm."
Su Nanyin responded lazily, reclined the passenger seat, kicked off her shoes, and placed her feet on the dashboard.
"So smelly."
Li Qianfan frowned. "Can you please stop this bad habit of taking off your shoes in the car?"
"Smelly? You're talking nonsense, aren't you?"
Su Nanyin reached out, grabbed a sock, and sniffed it by her nose.
Li Qianfan made a gagging motion.
He couldn't help but wonder, why did so many women have this habit of sniffing their socks after taking them off?
Ziyu's wife had done it several times.
Shen Chongchong did it too.
And Tang Xiaoni always made him smell her socks to see if they were smelly.
It was utterly baffling—
As Li Qianfan was pondering this baffling behavior, a sock was thrust towards his mouth.
Get lost!
Li Qianfan skillfully dodged, swatting at the hand.
Tsk.
The woman let out a disdainful snort, crossed her feet, and dangled them on the dashboard casually. "Why did you let me sleep for so long?"
Li Qianfan replied, "It's good for you."
"Could you sleep holding me?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you afraid of getting older faster?"
"Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are from heaven."
Li Qianfan said with indifference, "Besides, who doesn't die? Does dying a few decades earlier or later make much of a difference? In any case, you old cow, don't even think about trying to get this tender grass."
Damn it!
The woman suddenly hugged his arms with both hands and bit down fiercely.
Drawing blood.
Yet Li Qianfan remained unfazed.
He knew very well that she was retaliating for his bite on her leg.
She nibbled and sucked like a vampire bat.
Only then did she look up contentedly, licked the blood from her lips with her tongue, and provocatively said, "I bit you, what are you going to do about it?"
Li Qianfan didn't even look at her. "Su Nanyin, you're truly childish."
Sigh.
Su Nanyin sighed, looking dejected, and gazed out the car window distractedly.
Today, they had finally opened up and spoken their hearts out.
But what did that achieve?
At best, they understood their importance to each other.
But there was no way to solve their practical problems.
Finally.
The car slowly stopped at the entrance of the Su family residence.
"Help me change."
Su Nanyin lifted her sockless foot and said lazily.
Li Qianfan didn't refuse.
He had already helped her change once, and after the first time, doing it a second time became inconsequential.
"Qianfan."
Looking at Li Qianfan helping her put on her shoes, Su Nanyin said softly, "Do you feel like we're just driftwood, swept along by the current? Completely without autonomy, unable to control our own destiny."
The metaphor was quite apt.
The Four Phoenixes Circling the Beam was a swift river.
They were driftwood on the surface.
When they would reach the shore, when they would stop, was not up to them!
"Let nature take its course."
Li Qianfan finished helping her with her boots and handed her her phone. "While you were asleep, Manager Zhao called. I told him you were with Mom dealing with something important. Manager Zhao asked you to call him back after you're done."
Today was an auspicious day for the establishment of the Dark Blade organization.
But the entire day had passed just like that.
Manager Zhao naturally needed an explanation from Su Nanyin.
"Manager Zhao, I will give you a detailed report in person tomorrow."
Su Nanyin held her phone, glanced at Li Qianfan who had opened the door and gotten out of the car, and said, "It's difficult to explain everything over the phone."
"Alright."
Manager Zhao said, "Then let's establish the office tomorrow, the eighth. Delaying it by a day isn't a significant matter. Oh, right. Li Qianfan is going to Modu on the ninth, isn't he?"
Su Nanyin retorted, "Does Manager Chen expect Qianfan to be in front of him at precisely eight AM on the ninth? Manager Chen is surnamed Chen, not Zhao!"
Manager Zhao remained silent.
Su Nanyin continued, "We will definitely go to Modu. But when we go depends on Qianfan's wishes."
"Okay, I understand. We'll discuss any other matters tomorrow."
Manager Zhao ended the call.
In the living room of the Su family's backyard.
Mao Mao was shouting for the dealer to deal the cards around the table.
Su Mao Mao looked smug.
Shen Chongchong looked indifferent.
Du Yaoyao's eyes, however, were red.
Li Qianfan knew at a glance that Su Mao Mao was the winner and Du Yaoyao had lost.
And she had lost miserably.
"Brother, you play in my stead, I'll go heat up your meal."
Chongchong was obedient, unlike Du Yaoyao, the legitimate wife of the village chief of Li Family Village, who, ignoring whether the village chief had eaten dinner, was urging the dealer to hurry up and deal.
"Changing players is like changing knives!"
This was a common saying at the card table, and it was strangely accurate.
Shortly after Li Qianfan sat down, faint beads of sweat began to appear on the forehead of the previously smug Su Mao Mao.
However, Du Yaoyao didn't win much.
Both of them suspected Li Qianfan of cheating.
Otherwise, how could Su Mao Mao's same-colored 7-8-9 and Du Yaoyao's straight flush have been beaten by Li Qianfan's three 3s?
Three of a kind.
This hand caused Mao Mao and Yaoyao to lose so badly their faces turned green.
Bang—
Du Yaoyao slammed the table, stood up, and placed her bare feet directly on the table, urging Li Qianfan, "Deal quickly! This time, I'm going to bet twenty!"
As Li Qianfan was about to deal, Su Nanyin, who had entered at some unknown time, emerged from the master bedroom with a first-aid kit. "Stop playing for a moment. Qianfan, treat my wound."
Huh?
You're injured?
Ah!
Who was so heartless as to bite your leg so fiercely?
Mao Mao (Chongchong, holding the food, had just walked out of the kitchen) was startled to see Su Nanyin, now in a vest and shorts, with a shocking wound on her right leg.
Originally.
Su Nanyin had a fragile constitution, like delicate porcelain that could break at a touch.
After being bitten so hard, not only was there bruising, but it was also clearly swollen and red.
"I accidentally got bitten by a dog, no need to make a fuss."
Su Nanyin said as she sat on the sofa, placing her right foot on the coffee table, and said nonchalantly, "But this reminds me, I should carry a gun next time I go out. If I encounter a ferocious dog biting someone again, I'll shoot it. Don't you agree, Qianfan?"