Chapter 234 - 4.60

"You made a wise choice. Unfortunately, you weren't this wise before, and a mistake is a mistake. I can't afford to be a saint and forgive you without bestowing you a proper punishment, or that will just be a violation of the protocol." Xu Jiaqi dictated calmly, like the story Yu Xuan told her did not make her falter in the slightest bit.

Really, it didn't.

Xu Jiaqi swept her eyes through the pair in front of him. Tang Yixiu's expression was already turning a bit disturbed, but if her calculations and intuitions were correct, then..

'Hm.'

Some alterations might need to be made, but to what extent?

As she was thinking, Yu Xuan continued to apologize. They then took a short break to dissolve the crazy atmosphere a bit.

"Are you alright, Qiqi?" Tang Yizhou questioned. His woman's safety and condition was a priority above anything else in this world.

"No.. I'm completely alright. What happened.. has already happened, it cannot be reverted. Besides, I'm right here by your side without question. I think.. whatever happens to Yu Xuan from now on, there is no point in holding a deep grudge. The same goes for you, okay? This is my case after all, I want to be the one who decides."

"..You're being too forgiving to that guy. If it was me, I would've completely removed him out of this world by now." Tang Yizhou was struggling to hold back his pulsing emotions.

"I'm not being lenient. I'm just tired of everything, and I think there are better things for me to spend my time on rather than this. Don't you think so too? I've come back, don't you want us to continue proceeding with our.. marriage plans?" Xu Jiaqi smirked.

Tang Yizhou instantly moved backwards a little bit, thinking deeply about her words. It was.. indeed a bit reasonable. Right, right. He shouldn't think too much about this.. Since she didn't want anything to be done, then he should follow her. Definitely not because he wanted the marriage to happen as soon as possible and for Xu Jiaqi to focus on the preparations.

"See? You're agreeing with me now. You're so easy to convince, I'm worried that someone might come in and trick you out of a deal or something." Xu Jiaqi chuckled.

Beside the pair, Tang Yixiu was looking at his older brother like he was some type of garbage who deserved to be thrown into the bin right away in disappointment. Tang Yizhou, although having sensed his brother's impudent gazes, continued smiling happily like a puppy and ignored the other.

What easy to trick? This was the same person that they were talking about, right? Who on Earth would say that Tang Yizhou, the ice demon, was easy to trick??

Even though he wanted to voice out his complaints loudly, he decided not to. Anyway, it was a blessing that his brother came to meet Xu Jiaqi, who he willingly submitted to. Tang Yizhou was like an unstoppable force, no one could match up with him.

At the same time, this also created many grievances for him. For example, he hadn't participated in matters he categorized as 'mundane' like love, practicing abstinence for so long even after achieving high success, only to fall for the woman called Xu Jiaqi this hard.

When Xu Jiaqi was by his side, he could see how much his brother's happiness radiated. In truth, as long as his brother was happy, he couldn't care less. He believed that Tang Yizhou would be able to make choices that matter for him and benefitted him the most.

However, this time, it involved one of the close friends he had made overseas, Yu Xuan. Who would've thought that such a coincidence could occur? Although he was a rather impartial person, the type to only believe his own experiences, knowing that Yu Xuan had plotted against Xu Jiaqi in the past certainly made him reconsider his judgement.

As far as he knew, from what Yu Xuan told them, he had changed severely from the beginning and didn't share the same traits he used to in the past. Punishments were punishments, they had to be dished out appropriately. As much as he wanted to protect this friend he had learned to be fond of, he couldn't.

Luckily, Xu Jiaqi herself did not seem to show intentions of punishing the guy to the max. Tang Yizhou, on the other hand, would certainly not let this guy live smoothly unless Xu Jiaqi held him back.

Yu Xuan was still hanging his head low, the trace of his former bubbly and confident self no longer present anywhere. It was an unsettling thing, seeing how the young man was so out of the norm.

Tang Yixiu pursed his lips, thinking of ways to lighten his brother's acts. Sighing, he tapped Xu Jiaqi's shoulder after realizing that there was no other way than to rely on this omnipotent woman.

"Sister, could you do something about my older brother? I'm worried that Yu Xuan wouldn't survive if his anger isn't quelled. Please say something concrete to him. But.. If you truly want Yu Xuan to fall, then that's your choice as well." Tang Yixiu spoke. Halfway, he felt like he was being a bit unreasonable because Xu Jiaqi was a victim, so he quickly corrected himself and added words of consolation.

"Don't worry. I don't plan to let him be destroyed completely. Besides.. I'm very good at reading people's emotions. Yu Xuan, didn't he help you by a ton overseas? I can kind of see why you're protecting him just from the look in your eyes. Your sentiment towards him, is it more than just a friend?" Xu Jiaqi gave a sneaky look, teasing the other.

A light flush appeared on Tang Yixiu's face, as he shook his head and rebutted Xu Jiaqi's words. "What are you talking about? I only regard him as a friend, nothing more. He did help me a lot, but that's about it. I just want to repay the many favors he gave me."

"If you say so, I won't complain. But in the future.. Let's just say that if the Yu family gives you two problems, come to this big sister. I will give them a nice slap on their faces and tell them to shut up when time comes to play."

"Uh.. If you don't mind me asking, then.." Tang Yixiu fiddled with his fingers for a couple seconds, nervous. "What punishment are you going to give to Yu Xuan? Just a bit curious."

"Ao, Yixiu, you keep asking about him, who is it that you came to see? How come you're asking about the little guy much more than me? Does our Yixiu not like me anymore?" Xu Jiaqi faked wiping tears off of her face.

Tang Yixiu became flustered and waved his hands to deny the accusation. "It's just curiosity, nothing more!"

"Sure, sure." Xu Jiaqi laughed. "Punishments.. hm? Well, I'll talk about it with him later, personally. The secret punishment is something I won't allow you to hear. However, I think the slap I delivered to him is already more than enough for my anger to be quelled."

"Is.. that so??" Tang Yixiu unconsciously smiled, happy for his 'friend' that everything was going to be alright in one way or another.

"Yep! Now, go back and tend to your friend. I might've fallen into a coma for a year or two, but my strength is not something to joke around with. The slap I gave to him, who knows if it might've blossomed into a swollen wound?"

Tang Yixiu nodded, and paid his respects to Xu Jiaqi one more time before saying goodbye and departing.

[Host, are you really letting Yu Xuan go just like that? It's not like you to be so forgiving.. Are you scheming something?] The System was awfully skeptical. He had been with the Host for so many years. The Host he knew was a devil who wouldn't bat an eyelash to the coldest, bloodiest scenes. She would overwork the innocent baby System without restraint. She would do anything to get to her goal.

So, why was she like this now?

'I'm just playing everything safe. I don't want to risk anything again for now, I want to accomplish the goals and trigger the side mission if I have the chance to. If I make an enemy of Yu Xuan, I will just be exposing myself to pointless death flags. Lesson learned from the last suicide mission.'

[..That's good..?! Character development! Host, you're evolving!]

Before, his reckless, unbridled Host couldn't be held back by any means. This sort of change, did it mean that his Host was finally starting to regain some common sense?

'Don't talk about me like I'm some type of creature! What do you mean, evolving? Besides, if I stole away Yu Xuan, wouldn't Yixiu be terribly sad?'

[??]

As always, the System was a bit dumb, he couldn't process what his Host meant thoroughly and why he was giving so much pardon to Yu Xuan when he was just a 'friend' of Tang Yixiu.

The curtains were drawn for today, and the group separated into two, going back to their separate homes.