bestfiction Chapter 152 Fragility
Chapter 152 Fragility
Qiao Xiao crossed her arms, stared sharply at Liu Ye, and said coldly, "Speak, what are your conditions?"
Liu Ye's lips curled slightly upwards. He first narrowed his eyes, then revealed a meaningful smile, and said softly, "Just tell me what you need, and I can provide the corresponding assistance. However..."
She paused briefly, pointed to Jiang Yu not far away, and continued, "I just need him to help me with something."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Xiao couldn't help but let out a cold laugh and said sarcastically, "You're asking for people right in front of me? That's really arrogant."
Liu Ye quickly waved his hand and explained, "Oh dear, please don't misunderstand, Miss Yan. I just want to hire this national mathematics competition champion. You know, someone as outstanding as him must already have quite a few companies contacting him."
Qiao Xiao remained unmoved and responded coldly, "Sorry, we refuse."
Liu Ye didn't seem to have given up. She continued to persuade her, "Don't be in such a hurry to give an answer, Miss Yan. Think it over carefully. This might be a rare opportunity for you."
At this moment, Qiao Xiao suddenly took a step forward, approaching Liu Ye, and glared at him angrily, saying, "Have I lost my memory? Or have you selectively forgotten the things you did before?"
Liu Ye glanced subconsciously at Jiang Yu, who was standing to the side, glaring menacingly with a frighteningly gloomy expression. She felt a little scared, but still forced herself to say, "That...that was just a small misunderstanding."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu snorted coldly, his voice so deep it seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his throat, like a blazing flame suddenly bursting forth in the cold air.
He clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "Misunderstanding? Do you think a simple 'misunderstanding' can wipe the slate clean?"
Liu Ye involuntarily took a small step back, forcing a smile on his face. He raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a slightly ingratiating tone, "Jiang Yu, no matter how capable you are, you're still just two students. Some things can't be solved by your own abilities alone, so don't be too unrealistic."
Qiao Xiao looked at the person in front of her expressionlessly, her eyes extremely cold. She said in a tone devoid of any emotion, "Give up this idea immediately. Don't be delusional. Even if it means death, we will never cooperate with you."
Upon hearing this, the smile that had been on Liu Ye's face vanished instantly, as if blown away by a sudden gust of cold wind.
Her face darkened, and she coldly replied, "Fine, if that's how it is. However, I can offer a different condition, Yan Rui. If you're willing to stay by my side, I promise to let Jiang Yu go and never bother him again. I'll also provide him with comprehensive protection. How about that? That should be very attractive to you, right?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu, who was standing to the side, immediately roared in fury, "Impossible!"
Faced with Jiang Yu's anger, Liu Ye remained unfazed. Instead, he softened his voice slightly and said softly, "Don't worry, Jiang Yu, I mean what I say. If you don't believe me, look, this is the contract. I brought it here specifically for you to see."
As she spoke, she pulled a thick contract from her file bag and placed it on the table in front of her.
Although Liu Ye's chubby face looks plump, when she speaks, her unique voice makes her sound like a successful and influential person.
Qiao Xiao, who had been staring intently at Liu Ye, clearly saw the greasy ambition hidden deep within the fat on the heavily made-up face of the other man.
After a moment of contemplation, Qiao Xiao reached out her hand and said to Liu Ye, "Let me see the contract."
Jiang Yu immediately spoke up to stop her: "Rui Rui, you can't!"
Qiao Xiao turned her head, gently patted Jiang Yu's hand, and softly comforted her, "Don't worry, Yu, I'll be fine. No matter what, we'll have to face this sooner or later..."
After saying that, she ignored Jiang Yu and turned her attention back to the contract on the table.
The contract was dozens of pages long, with text densely packed on it, like a swarm of ants crawling across the paper. But even so, Qiao Xiao quickly figured out Liu Ye's true intentions.
Qiao Xiao: Hmph, Liu Ye not only wants me to obediently serve her, but also wants to take this opportunity to get revenge on me. How ridiculous.
Qiao Xiao closed the thick contract in her hand expressionlessly, and slowly said, "I'll think about it."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye's thick, fleshy face seemed to be injected with boundless vitality, and began to tremble dramatically and rapidly, looking exactly like someone was about to die.
She replied with a broad smile, "Great! I'll be waiting for your good news!"
After saying that, Liu Ye stood up, picked up the bright red handbag that was placed to the side, and then swayed her hips and left the room arrogantly.
Watching Liu Ye's departing figure, Jiang Yu could no longer suppress his anxiety. He rushed forward and tightly grabbed Qiao Xiao's slender arm, urging her with urgent concern, "Rui Rui, no matter what, you must not fall for her tricks! Don't you know what kind of person she is? This is clearly a trap!"
Qiao Xiao: "I understand, but given the current situation, if we don't agree to her conditions, with her abilities, no matter where we hide, we probably won't be able to escape her grasp."
At this moment, an unconcealable sadness and self-blame surged in Jiang Yu's narrow, fox-like eyes.
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, and gritted his teeth as he said to Qiao Xiao, "I'm sorry, it's all because I'm so incompetent that I dragged you into such a dangerous situation..."
Qiao Xiao comforted her, "Don't say that, it's not like she's been implicated." Then, she frowned and complained indignantly, "That Liu Ye, I already let her off the hook, letting her linger until now. She doesn't know how to repent and is courting her own destruction!"
System: "Jiang Yu's favorability has increased by 2 points, and the current favorability is 82."
Night fell silent. Jiang Yu and Qiao Xiao returned to their house. Qiao Xiao's expression remained as calm as ever, while Jiang Yu's brows furrowed slightly and his lips pressed tightly together, revealing a hint of worry.
"I absolutely cannot agree to Liu Ye's conditions anytime soon, you can rest assured about that." Qiao Xiao's voice was calm and firm, as if stating an undeniable fact.
Jiang Yu sat on a chair to the side, and after hearing Qiao Xiao's words, he slowly took off his glasses.
His deep eyes were fixed on Qiao Xiao, his gaze revealing concern and worry.
After a moment of silence, he replied softly, "Yes, get some rest. You must be tired too."
Qiao Xiao nodded slightly and turned to walk towards the bedside. Jiang Yu's gaze never left her figure. Watching that familiar face gradually disappear into the distance, a strange sense of loss welled up in his heart.
He felt as if there was an invisible barrier between them, which he could not cross no matter how hard he tried.
As the door closed gently, Jiang Yu remained sitting there quietly, reflecting on what had caused them to drift apart.
Countless questions swirled in his mind, leaving him feeling lost and helpless. Yet, at this moment, it seemed he had no other choice but to silently wait and watch…
He could only keenly sense Qiao Xiao's cold attitude towards him, which felt like a sharp dagger piercing straight into his heart.
Jiang Yu: Rui Rui, have you lost interest in me?
He felt that Qiao Xiao seemed to have lost interest in him, regarded him as dispensable, and had begun to ignore him.
Whenever this thought came to mind, Jiang Yu would feel a heart-wrenching pain, wave after wave crashing against his fragile mental defenses.
They've only been dating for a few months, so why are they facing this situation in such a short time?
Was it because I didn't do enough? Did I not satisfy her? Is that why she lost patience with me?
Jiang Yu looked at herself in the mirror with suspicion: "Have I become ugly?"
As he spoke, he raised his long, slender hands and gently stroked the skin on his cheek. "I've been staying up late these past few days, and my skin isn't in the best condition anymore. No wonder she..."
Jiang Yu looked slightly haggard. Although he still looked handsome and unchanged in the mirror, he saw himself as an ugly monster because of his deep-seated self-doubt and unease.
"Jiang Yu, think about it carefully. What exactly does she love about you? What do you have that attracts her?"
"You know perfectly well that from the very beginning, she had absolutely no interest in you..."
As he pondered, Jiang Yu's narrow fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, revealing an undisguised sense of resentment and desolation.
Jiang Yu covered his mouth tightly, lowering his voice, afraid that if he raised his voice even slightly, he would wake Qiao Xiao, who was fast asleep. His tone was unusually serious, but he tried his best to control the volume, as if every word was squeezed out from between his teeth.
"You're utterly useless next to her! But... but I'm not willing to be a good-for-nothing like this! I want to protect her too!"
Liu Ye's words kept echoing in his mind.
“We’re just students. How can we possibly compete with her? There’s no way we can win.” This made Jiang Yu feel incredibly anxious and helpless. He frowned and kept thinking of a solution.
On the other side, Qiao Xiao slammed the contract in her hand onto the table, then slumped into her chair, her hands desperately covering her forehead.
"If all else fails... we might as well just kill her!" Qiao Xiao said through gritted teeth, her eyes as cold and murderous as frost in the dead of winter.
"It's been so long since I've done anything, I almost forgot there was such a simple solution that could make her disappear from this world!"
System: "Host, please calm down. Unless Liu Ye comes to provoke you, going there rashly is tantamount to courting death. I just investigated the security system there, and it's definitely not something an ordinary person can easily crack."
After hearing the system's words, Qiao Xiao's face became even more gloomy and ugly.
After a moment of silence, she slowly raised her head and asked coldly, "So what should I do in this situation? Do I really have to wait for her to deal with us first? Before she makes a move, should I maximize my goodwill towards her?"
The thought of having to interact with other men next made her feel a wave of nausea.
She could no longer contain her inner turmoil and screamed hysterically, "It's unbearable! After experiencing so many dimensions, my mission is either to seduce this man or to win over that man. It's disgusting! Every time I think about it, I feel nauseous!"
"This dimension has taken far too long. I really want to just kill Jiang Yu and then kill myself, completely abandoning the so-called strategy. I don't want to collect those so-called fragments anymore either."
Her tone was dejected, as if living was the death of her.
Just then, a calm yet gentle response, "Okay." That simple word flashed through Qiao Xiao's mind like a bolt of lightning.
The scene shifts, and the commander is seen staring bitterly at the cold screen in front of him. The person on the screen is so close yet so far away.
His eyes were slightly moist, and glistening tears seemed ready to spill over at any moment. He knew all too well that his beloved had endured this hardship for far too long.
Commander: "She has always had a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder related to cleanliness..."
At first, Qiao Xiao had almost no memory of him. She pursued anyone with a playful heart and without any psychological burden. However, as the memories deep within her heart were awakened, the more she recalled, the more she rejected and resisted contact with other men.
Especially as she encountered more and more people, that intense resistance snowballed and grew larger, almost engulfing her entirely.
The moment he spoke, Qiao Xiao's resolve to give up was completely shaken. At that moment, she truly longed to see him again.
A slight upturn of her lips revealed a poignant and bitter smile, as if she were holding a candy so bitter it made one frown, but she knew that the sweetness hidden within that candy was unparalleled in the world.
Despite feeling exhausted and helpless, I couldn't help but want to persevere a little longer.
"Perhaps there was something wrong with my strategy..." she murmured softly, her voice weak and listless, as if all her strength had been drained away.
As soon as she finished speaking, she slowly stood up and walked heavily toward Jiang Yu's room.
Reaching the door, she raised her hand and gently knocked, producing a few crisp sounds.
Jiang Yu was deep in thought when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He was startled and his eyes showed disbelief.
After a moment's hesitation, he tentatively asked, "Rui Rui?" His voice held a hint of uncertainty and anticipation.
Immediately afterwards, a short but clear response came from outside the door: "It's me."
After receiving a positive reply, Jiang Yu could no longer contain his excitement. He quickly jumped up from his chair, rushed to the door, and opened it without hesitation.
The door was slowly pushed open, making a slight creaking sound. As the crack in the door widened, a figure appeared before them—it was Qiao Xiao.
She appeared incredibly weak, as if a gust of wind could knock her over. The instant the door swung open, Qiao Xiao could no longer support her weight and collapsed forward.
Jiang Yu, who was standing not far from the door, felt a sudden tightness in his heart upon seeing this, and hurriedly reached out his hands to steadily catch Qiao Xiao's swaying body.
Feeling Qiao Xiao's weakness, Jiang Yu's heart tightened even more. He carefully helped Qiao Xiao walk step by step towards his bed.
"Rui Rui?" Jiang Yu called out Qiao Xiao's name anxiously, his voice filled with concern and worry.
He dared not take his eyes off Qiao Xiao's face for a moment, for fear of missing any subtle change in expression.
Qiao Xiao opened her eyes slightly with difficulty. Her once bright and beautiful eyes had lost their luster, replaced by deep fatigue and weariness.
She said in a voice so weak it was almost inaudible, "Jiang Yu, I really can't take it anymore... I'm so tired... No matter what I do, I can't stop Liu Ye from harassing us."
Hearing Qiao Xiao's words, Jiang Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of relief: "She is finally willing to put down her strong facade and face me with her vulnerable side."
His expression changed slightly. He lowered his head, his face full of apology, and said softly, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I failed to protect you properly, which is why you suffered so much."
System: "Jiang Yu's favorability has increased by 10, and the current favorability is 92."
Upon hearing the notification sound, Qiao Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but on the surface, she maintained her weak and pitiful appearance.
She gently patted her head, seemingly trying to relieve the discomfort caused by the headache, while intentionally leaning her body slightly against Jiang Yu's broad shoulders.
Her eyes remained sharp and cold, her mind racing as she plotted how to complete the mission as quickly as possible.
"Only eight points left... Please, hurry up, we must finish this guide quickly!" Qiao Xiao prayed silently in her heart.
The atmosphere didn't last long. Soon, Qiao Xiao started to pretend to be exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.
Tomorrow she will have to get up early to go to school as usual, but fortunately, the heavy homework has already been completed smoothly under Jiang Yu's patient guidance.