Because I do not wish to hear rumors that my subordinate foolishly took his own life.
On the other end, Joanna said, “I’ve already told Yichen that the sapphire was stolen by Ye Xiyang. By now, Ye Xiyang is probably being interrogated by Yichen!”
“Miss Qiao,” Li Cheng stared meaningfully at the sapphire and said, “I helped you gather intel on the enemy, and now I’m letting you personally get rid of your rival in love—don’t you think you owe me a proper thank you?”
Anna sneered, “Li Cheng, I don’t think you understand your place, do you? Last time, you tried to steal a gemstone from the research department for them. If I hadn’t given you that money in time, Yichen would have had you thrown in jail by now.”
That time, Yichen had an allergic reaction and was hospitalized after eating shrimp that Little Qi brought him. Anna was walking behind Yichen with Little Qi when she overheard someone talking on the phone in the corridor. Out of curiosity, she approached.
She heard Li Cheng on the phone, saying he was in debt to loan sharks because of gambling, and in desperation, he was planning to take a gemstone from the research department to pay them off.
An idea flashed through Anna’s mind.
She told Li Cheng she would pay off his loan shark debt, but only if he did as she said.
When the person on the other end didn’t reply, Anna coldly continued, “Even if I didn’t confront you, you’d have told Yichen about the real culprit yourself. Telling me about it first is just a way to make me owe you a favor.”
“Miss Qiao, what are you saying? Now that you know, it’ll be even easier to get close to President Lin in the future.”
She understood: with this knowledge, if Yichen ever mentioned his feelings for Ye Xiyang, she would have grounds to retort that a thief like Ye Xiyang was unworthy of his affection, let alone being his girlfriend.
Anna poured herself a glass of red wine and walked out onto the balcony. Gazing at the shimmering wine, she smiled, “If you ever need anything, I’ll take care of it for you, including matters in the research department.”
Li Cheng laughed, “Thank you, Miss Qiao. I was just teasing you earlier. Don’t worry, I’ll help you clear the path to becoming the future Mrs. President of TC Group.”
Anna took a sip of wine, voicing her suspicion. “What’s so special about that sapphire? Why are you and Yichen both so nervous about it?”
“It’s a one-of-a-kind gemstone in the world,” Li Cheng replied, then changed the subject. “I don’t think Ye Xiyang stole it for money. President Lin is a gold mine himself, far more valuable than any gem.”
As he spoke, a thought occurred to Li Cheng—could it be that Ye Xiyang knew the true value of the sapphire?
“A girl who’s never seen the world wouldn’t recognize a gold mine even if she saw one,” Anna scoffed. “She’s already out of the picture, so there’s no need to waste any more time on her.”
After hanging up, Anna, Li Cheng gazed at the sapphire in his hand, blue light refracting through it.
He didn’t think spending time on Ye Xiyang was a waste at all.
…
Fang Yun was surprised to see Little Qi return. “Xiyang, why are you back?”
Little Qi’s face was clouded with sorrow and exhaustion. “I missed you, Auntie, so I came back. I’m so tired…I’m going to sleep.”
Just as Fang Yun was about to call her back, Little Qi paused. “Auntie, from now on, don’t mention Lin Yichen in front of me.”
With a bang, she walked into her room and closed the door.
Now it was Fang Yun’s turn to look troubled.
Did they have a fight?
Little Qi threw herself on the bed and covered her head with the quilt.
Beside her, Xiaobai hopped onto her and pressed its paws on her. “Little Qi, if you’re upset, you should go somewhere with lots of handsome guys. Don’t you love looking at handsome men? If you keep looking, you’ll forget your troubles.”
“Where’s there a lot of handsome men?” Her muffled voice came from under the covers.
Xiaobai turned its cat eyes. “Nightclubs!”
Little Qi sat up, throwing off the quilt. “I don’t want to see anything, don’t want to do anything. I just want to leave Earth.”
“You really want to leave Earth?”
Hearing this, Little Qi looked at it expectantly. “Do you have a way?”
Xiaobai nodded. “There is a way, but once you use it, you can never come back.”
Little Qi was puzzled. “Be clearer.”
“You were created by Planet Mu, so you have Mu’s energy in you. If you die, the signal will be sent back to Mu, and then they’ll come to rescue you.”
At the mention of death, Little Qi shivered. “If I’m dead, what good does it do for them to find me?”
“We Mu people are advanced, aren’t we? If they take you back, they can definitely revive you.”
“That sounds totally unreliable,” Little Qi tapped its head. “And what if I die but the signal doesn’t go out? Then I’d be really dead for good.”
“…”
“I’ve searched the system—this is the only way.”
Little Qi pondered deeply.
She made up her mind.
…
That night, in a room neither too big nor too small, a girl was found hanging herself. And then…
Little Qi touched the rope around her neck and shouted in frustration, “Xiaobai, I’ve been hanging for ten minutes—why am I still breathing?”
Xiaobai: “…”
Next, she ate an entire bag of pills someone had bought, as if they were snacks. Half an hour later…
Little Qi screamed in exasperation, “Xiaobai, the pills just got digested in my stomach!”
Xiaobai: “…”
Then, she grabbed a high-voltage wire with her bare hands. Her hair instantly stood on end, wisps of smoke curling out.
But…
“Xiaobai, my hair’s burnt, but why is my skin still smooth and fair?”
Xiaobai: “…”
…
No matter how she tried, she simply couldn’t die.
Everything is hard for humans—except dying, which is the easiest.
For others, suicide is over in seconds.
Little Qi felt utterly defeated.
As an alien, even dying wasn’t easy for her. Could anything be harder?
Xiaobai held its breath, waiting for Little Qi to finish wallowing in misery. An hour later, it spoke up, “Little Qi, if you could just stay calm and collected around that human, things wouldn’t be so hard.”
Little Qi, more despondent than ever, gazed tearfully at the ceiling. “I’ve exhausted all my energy, I just want to eat and sleep. How can I have the energy to be calm and collected around that human? Forget it, I’ll just sleep!”
Xiaobai: “…”
As dawn broke, Little Qi suddenly sat up and smacked Xiaobai awake.
Xiaobai, kept up all night by Little Qi’s failed suicides, had barely slept when she started again.
Xiaobai thought, if she doesn’t die, it might be tormented to death instead.
“Xiaobai, I’ve got it! From now on, I’ll go on a hunger strike. If I don’t eat or drink, I’ll have to die eventually!”
“You’d better think it through. That’s the hardest, most miserable way to go.”
Little Qi clenched her fists. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!”
And so, the scene in her room that day was…
Three hours later, “Xiyang, why are you still sleeping? Come have breakfast.”
Fang Yun lifted the covers, but Little Qi didn’t respond, continuing to sleep.
Knowing she was in a bad mood, Fang Yun sighed and left.
Another three hours passed.
“Xiyang, you’ve slept all morning. Get up and have lunch.”
The reaction was the same as three hours before.
Fang Yun sighed again and left the room.
Another three hours went by.
This time, Fang Yun was anxious. “Xiyang, you haven’t eaten all day. Get up and eat something. If you keep refusing food and only sleep, you’ll get dehydrated.”
“…”
Little Qi sat up immediately. “If I don’t eat, shouldn’t I die of starvation?”
Seeing her finally respond, Fang Yun breathed a sigh of relief.
“At least you’re talking again. Come on, get up and eat.”
“I’m not eating,” Little Qi lay back down, covering her head again. “I’m going to be a fasting beauty.”
“…Just how bad was this argument? She won’t even eat.”
Fang Yun glanced around, then went out.
Ten minutes later, under the covers, Little Qi smelled something delicious.
Her nose twitched.
It seemed to be…
She threw back the quilt and sat up.
Before her was a table full of delicious dishes—roast chicken drumsticks, sweet and sour ribs, braised fish…
Oh my, she couldn’t resist, she wanted to eat so badly.
“Xiyang,” Fang Yun said, holding out a chicken drumstick, “food is the foundation of health. Come, try it, it’s delicious.”
Little Qi swallowed hard and was about to open her mouth…
No, she couldn’t give up halfway. She held firm and lay back down.
Fang Yun: “…”
This girl was stubborn to the core.
It seemed there was only one person left who could help.
#
Fang Li waited anxiously in the president’s office.
Five minutes later, Yichen and several senior managers stepped out of the adjacent meeting room.
As soon as he saw them, Fang Li hurried forward. “President Lin, Miss Ye has tried to kill herself for love…”
He stopped abruptly. Yichen stared at him in disbelief, enunciating every word: “What did you say?”
“Miss Ye, she—”
Before he could finish, the tall, handsome man had already vanished from the office.
The executives looked at each other, then at Fang Li.
Fang Li rubbed his nose. “Back to work, everyone!”
Yichen wanted to face Xiyang with rationality and cold detachment.
But he faltered—he simply couldn’t do it.
No one knew what he felt when he heard the words, “Miss Ye has tried to kill herself for love.”
It was as if his heart stopped beating in that moment, pain piercing his chest.
When he rushed into the room and saw someone mumbling under the covers, that heart, which had nearly stopped, finally returned to its normal rhythm.
He yanked the blanket off.
“Auntie, I said I want to be a fasting beauty, just let me—”
“Fasting will only make you an ugly, starved ghost.”
Seeing who it was, Little Qi avoided his gaze. “Why are you here?”
“If I didn’t come, would you really become an ugly, starved ghost?”
“…It’s none of your business. You told me to get lost, now I’m telling you to get lost—get out!”
“I see you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit,” Yichen said darkly. “If you want to die, fine. Resign tomorrow, then die. I don’t want anyone saying my subordinate was stupid enough to commit suicide.”
With that, Yichen turned and left the room.
Little Qi was furious. “You shameless scoundrel, capitalist, profiteer, tasteless man… Quit? Fine! Who needs your job, anyway!”