Chapter 229 - 4.55

Xu Jiaqi gritted her teeth, a venomous glare aimed towards the bizarre figure being launched. In return, the figure just kept on laughing, as if mocking Xu Jiaqi for the situation while at the same time taking pity for it.

Her last bits of energy was depleted as she struggled to get out of the shackles that pinned her down out of nowhere, and the world literally breaking apart with large crevices appearing in the blank space and covering everything up, gobbling the entire place in void didn't help in the slightest.

Xu Jiaqi felt an overwhelming sense of uneasiness as she tried to get away from the void, but still ended up being consumed by it anyway.

The figure, who was left behind, watched as he was once again left alone, the woman disappearing from his sights.

"..What a nostalgic meeting." He whispered, snapping his fingers once to teleport to another place.

_______

Xu Jiaqi didn't detail the whole incident, but still left the huge pieces of information that she thought the System needed. Her disappearance was indeed uncanny, but the strangest thing was the time difference.

Perhaps it was because the realm was truly not a legitimate space, but rather just a half-done copy.. The time flow was extremely broken. Incomparable to the realm their missions laid within as of now.

According to Xu Jiaqi's experience, only a few hours at most should've passed. The first few hours was spent unconscious, whereas the last hour went to the talk with the figure.

Every single time she tried to think about that annoying being, it irked her beyond repair.

"Can you tell me who that was? The being said that.. You know him, and that you were the one who saved me." Xu Jiaqi questioned.

[...Logically speaking, I don't think I did much. I did locate you and pinpoint your exact location, but until the end.. Was I even able to make a change? If anything, I suspect that the being had originally only wanted to keep you in there until he finished talking before ejecting you out forcefully. Not for any other reasons like keeping you restrained there.]

[I do know who that being is, and coming in contact with him just solidified my guess even further. Unfortunately, it's the same old story.. I can't tell you unless we advance a lot further.]

"..I guess so. We haven't even completed the fourth world yet, I shouldn't expect much.. That's what you want to say, right? Well, you've got me. Thank you for working so hard to rescue me, little baby." Xu Jiaqi smiled.

"Above all, I'm really thankful that you helped me. It was not a pleasant experience.. Being made to feel like I was completely powerless in front of him." Xu Jiaqi sighed. "Really not a good experience."

After that, they continued to talk some more, before the System was reminded of the big elephant in the room. They were still in the System space. In the mortal world, a lot of things had happened as Xu Jiaqi disappeared for quite some time.

The biggest culprit to every incident was waiting by Xu Jiaqi's body right this very moment.

Tang Yizhou. This man was undoubtedly the one who was most affected both physically and mentally in this whole process. He was drained, his whole world started falling apart the moment Xu Jiaqi disappeared.

The System, worried about how much the man could spiral downwards even further if he was left alone brought the matter up.

[Ah, right, Host.. How are you feeling right now? Since you have merged back with your astral body, even though your mortal body is in a little bit of a problem, I will certainly be able to send you back down there. If you're ready, please tell me, I will set the whole thing up.]

Since quite some time had passed without the soul and the body having a concrete connection, the thread that bound the two entities together had weakened. This meant that Xu Jiaqi was actually incapable of going back to the mortal world by herself, and needed some extra steps before she could go there.

"..Right now would be fine. I was in a coma, right? Even if I'm sluggish in the mortal world, it shouldn't poise any problems. It's not anything out of the ordinary." Xu Jiaqi said.

The System also thought that it was reasonable.

[Okayy!] The System activated his processes and sent the Host, down, wishing her good luck on her misadventures.

____

After she transferred back to the mortal world, she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to the side slightly. This small movement was picked up by Tang Yizhou's sharp eyes.

His whole body immediately trembled, as he got closer to confirm that the pale and sickly lady's eyes was indeed open, even though it was just a little. He stretched his hand out, letting his fingers linger upon the woman's skin, ever so gently as to not cause any sort of harm to her.

Tang Yizhou called up the attending doctors right away with a stern tone. He watched as the woman began to regain her vitality, fully opening her eyes and moving her head. After such a long time, her mobility was considerably affected, and she suffered a lot of tension in her body.

"...Yizhou." With her utmost effort, she uttered his name to the world. Her voice was weak and small, but it was of no matter.

This word. This one word was enough to send the esteemed President Tang into tears, as he broke into small sobs and uncontrollable nodding.

"Yes. I'm here, Qiqi. I'm here." Tang Yizhou cried out, holding her hand tightly. The woman he loved had returned, and the first thing she said was his name. He couldn't even begin to describe it in words. The emotions he felt. Everything.

The thing he had wished for had finally been delivered to his hands. It took years, but that wasn't relevant. As long as Xu Jiaqi was here by his side, he didn't care about anything else- he had realized this fact somewhere in between their relationship.

To this date, Xu Jiaqi was akin to a pillar of support that held his heart upright. Removing her from his life was the same as toppling down his heart. He acted like a robot devoid of any sort of emotions. The only form of salvation he had in his suffering was the time he spent in the hospital, watching over her serene appearance as she slept without care.

He had regarded it as cruel sometimes. She had left him behind like this. It made him consider doing the same thing as her, forcing himself to sleep right beside her. They could rest together, and that was an idea that made him happy.

But he never pushed through with that purpose because he knew that the woman wouldn't like it, and would even scold him for being foolish and not sensible. He knew her.

And as such, he continue forward even if it felt like pure torture to him.

"...Hi," Xu Jiaqi croaked out. "Sorry for everything.. Can you fetch me a glass of water?"

"Right now, if you were to tell me that your request was burning down the whole world, I would use up everything to try and accomplish it." Tang Yizhou fumbled with his words. He didn't even know what he was saying, but he just wanted to talk. Wanted to converse with the woman.

His hands moved about and poured sterile water that was prepared by the side. He had longed for this very moment. Thousands upon thousands of times. It never happened.

Today, somehow, she came back to him. Like an angel falling down from the sky, she recovered even though everybody else had told him to drop the matter and move on from her.

He didn't do that, he would never dare to do anything like that.

He would rather wait for an eternity rather than intentionally bringing her life to an end, even if she wasn't conscious. Just the mere thought of her still breathing brought him joy.

"..Water is enough." Xu Jiaqi coughed, covering her rather chapped lips with her hand.

Tang Yizhou hurriedly supplied the fresh water, helping her gulp the entire cup down. It instantly made Xu Jiaqi feel refreshed.

"Come here, come closer," Xu Jiaqi beckoned for him to approach her. He did, and ended up receiving a gift that surpassed anything else he knew.

A small peck on the lips. So light, so fluttery. Like a feather accidentally touching his lips. So sweet and filled with happiness.

"I didn't buy any presents when I was in the dream land, so this is all you will get. It's a bad souvenir, but it will have to do, en?"

A bright smile from the woman.

It illuminated his world.

The separation was over. She was back. 

There shouldn't be any more tears spilled, but..

He couldn't stop it. Couldn't hold himself back as he broke down in tears in front of her, into a melting puddle of chaotic emotions. 

"..En," 

A small sound of agreement was all he could say in return.