Chapter 230 - 4.56

"It's the greatest gift that I have ever received." Tang Yizhou said.

"...Surely you jest." Xu Jiaqi giggled, sighing before breaking into a coughing fit and turning her head away, to which Tang Yizhou reacted negatively and offered more water to her.

"Where the hell are the doctors? Qiqi, I'm going to drag them there, so please stay put, alright? I won't leave for long, it will just be for a short while. Is it alright?"

"Of course! Why are you asking about such a thing.. Besides, I'm not sick, am I? It's just that my body is a bit weak after being unconscious for so long, probably. There's nothing out of the ordinary." Xu Jiaqi defended her condition.

"...You can't be fully sure, so I will have you undergo a series of tests for your own wellbeing. I just.. don't want to lose you any further than what I already went through. Please.. understand this, Qiqi." Tang Yizhou hugged her one last time before rushing out of the room and

Being left behind, Xu Jiaqi sighed and rolled her eyes. He was overreacting. Though, she did feel bits of pain here and there. Especially her head, which had now contracted a migraine that she deduced to not be able to go away anytime soon.

However, the most important thing is that she was back.

She sat still without moving before calling out to her helper.

'System, is everything alright? Does anything else need to be sorted out?'

Xu Jiaqi didn't feel like anything was off with her except for her ringing headache, but she still wanted to make sure.

[Nope! I already fixed everything. Don't worry, Host! You can continue forth like usual from now on.] The System spoke.

'Okay.. That's good. So, it's about time we discuss the thing you mentioned before. The side quest, right? It appeared out of nowhere, you said?'

The System had reported to her about it, but she wanted to return as soon as possible first.

[Yes, Host. Originally, I thought that it was triggered because you finished something in the realm you were in, but since you told me that all you did was talk with that being.. I'm suddenly more lost than ever.]

It was clear to Xu Jiaqi was not the one who triggered anything in particular. And yet, the quest was unlocked for only the System to see, whereas Xu Jiaqi was blocked off from using her powers in the other realm.

The two thought about the matter deeply, knowing something was off and yet not being able to put their hands on the solution.

After some consideration, Xu Jiaqi voiced out a theory.

'...What if the one who helped break the realm was actually not the being himself, but rather an external force who assisted the break in?'

[..? What are you suggesting, Host?]

'I'm just saying.. Because it seemed like the being actually had more to say, but.. Somewhere in between, before the realm even began to show signs of collapse, he had a moment where he was distracted.. Similar to that. He abruptly stopped his speech, and even though I couldn't see his face, I had a feeling that.. Well, I don't really know.'

[Uhh.. If that's the case, then- Ah! Could it be, the being who helped us deliberately triggered the quest so that I could track you down and help your case?]

'That might be it. Though, I'm just guessing around. I'm just as clueless as you are in this predicament, unfortunately. I was taken there, but I didn't really get much to do as he just talked by himself and relayed what he wanted. It wasn't really a conversation.' Xu Jiaqi sighed.

[Hmm.. I will have to look into that further at a later time. For now, I think we could just roam around and hope that the quest information would be triggered in one way or another. By the events that you detailed, it seems like the quest was really just used as a signal for me to pick up and wasn't meant to actually reveal any information.] The System summarized, to which Xu Jiaqi fully agreed as she had also thought in a similar fashion.

'Then, my first and foremost goal will be to recap whatever happened while I was away. You can continue with your investigation, I will be fine on my own.'

One dynamic that changed ever since they went through the worlds was the System's involvement in the work. Previously, back in their very first tutorial world, the System followed and aided her through the world from start to finish, making sure that she was perfectly fine. However, after more worlds were completed, the dynamic had been replaced with a split in workforce.

The System focused more on the technical side, whereas Xu Jiaqi went full on with her acting and creating her persona. Thus, they were able to work separately whilst also keeping the same goal intact with no problems at all after adjusting with the missions.

It was a progression that was built by trust and approval upon each other's abilities, believing that both of them were able to hold their own grounds with no problems at all.

_____

"Miss Xu, after experiencing years and years of injustice and being treated like a fool, how do you deal with your overflowing hatred towards the inhumane culprits? There are many speculations that surround this hot news spreading across the internet."

"Regarding the matter that I have previously discussed, I no longer have any lingering attachments towards my attackers, but I do think that justice is something that needs to be served no matter what crime was committed." Xu Jiaqi gave a very basic answer and smiled. "I have learned to let go, but that doesn't mean I will let them off easy. That is what I mean to do."

"How about...."

"...."

Xu Jiaqi had a press conference held for her return right after she was released from the hospital.

With this being Xu Jiaqi's first public appearance under her real name and not her internet pseudonym, Xu JIaqi naturally garnered massive amounts of attention and had to face a barrage of incoming reporters who saw this as an opportunity to milk the case to the max.

The buzz that followed the series of incidents from Xu Jiaqi's recuperation to her return to the streaming world quickly blended together, but no one thought that Xu Jiaqi was in the fault in anything.

Even though they were in the unknown about the layers of fraud that Xu Jiaqi laid out in order to reach this point in her life.

It took her quite some time before everything was settled and done.

Today, they bonded together in their living room. Tang Yizhou and Xu Jiaqi, holding each other in their arms while watching a random TV series with a plate of oranges placed beside them.

"It's finally over. I thought that they would pursue the matter even further, but turns out it's this easy." Xu Jiaqi laid against Tang Yizhou's chest, sighing in relief as she tried to peel an orange before getting frustrated after the fruit wasn't peeled in one go.

Tang Yizhou snatched the orange away and peeled it for the woman, taking pleasure in feeding her and even pinching her cheeks while he was at it.

"It's not over yet, you know? What about the Song monkey? How do you plan to deal with him? He also caused you a great deal of trouble, right?"

Tang Yizhou had a large deal of grudges against the man, as he had been trying to hold back from officially killing his life while also suppressing him to the max.

"He did, didn't he? Hmm.. His matter, shall I leave it up to the lovely President Tang? Surely, he would be dealt with easily, right?" Xu Jiaqi nonchalantly said.

"..You are correct." Tang Yizhou smiled and embraced Xu Jiaqi tightly. Her words meant that he had all the decision making rights, allowing him to be as cruel as he wanted to if needed.

In his eyes, from the moment Song Ziyi insulted and bothered Xu Jiaqi the first day he met her in reality, that had already sealed off his fate for good. He wanted him to never again be able to achieve high success for the rest of his life.

"Then, please do me a favor and settle my matters with him appropriately." Xu Jiaqi giggled, pulling his face down for a kiss after the man began to tickle her by nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

"As you wish, milady."

The two seemed so sweet while discussing the destruction of another human being's life, borderline showing psychopathic tendencies without hiding a shred of doubt within their eyes.

What mattered to them were only the feelings between them, nothing else could get in the way of their affection no matter how much they tried.

With a bright smile plastered in each other's faces, they continued to cuddle and enjoyed their day.