CHAPTER 417: CHAPTER 417: LINGERING AFFECTION

He had to admit, he was in a very sorry state right now, but he truly wanted Ji Yu to stay.

"Jiang Huai, doing such things for someone who wants to kill you—do you really believe anything good will come of it?"

She refused to say anything further; the current situation was response enough.

Ji Yu’s words extinguished all his hopes, yet there was still a lingering attachment in his heart. If it weren’t for this attachment, maybe these events would have ended long ago.

"Yu, do you remember what I did for you back then? You clearly said that as long as you were alive, our relationship would always remain the same, didn’t you?"

He had said it so many times.

Yet why was the ending still so disastrous?

"Jiang Huai, you’ve humiliated yourself to the point of being utterly insignificant. I remember everything you did back then, and I understand what it meant, but you and I have nothing to do with each other now."

She took a deep breath, her face filled with obvious contempt.

"You’re not the same Jiang Huai anymore. You no longer smile just because a stray dog you treated recovered. Everything you do now is for your own gain, and what’s worse, you’ve killed so many innocent people. That’s something you can never escape."

So there was no point in talking further.

Was he Jiang Huai? Certainly, but the things he had done were no longer reminiscent of the Jiang Huai in her heart.

She observed as Jiang Huai’s face gradually turned pale; it was clear his mood had deteriorated significantly.

He was already losing too much blood.

"Yu, why are you so cruel to me? Why must you be so cruel? Why does all your love go to Gu Qixiao? Why?!"

He wished he could ask Gu Qixiao right now—what exactly was it about him that so captivated Ji Yu, making her obsess over him so deeply.

"You could never compare to Gu Qixiao." Her stance on the matter was already abundantly clear.

She quickly packed up a few things. She had no intention of taking him to the hospital.

She had to leave immediately, or else no one could guarantee what extreme measures he might take.

As Ji Yu walked away just like that, Jiang Huai was on the verge of collapse.

He reached out, trying to grab Ji Yu, but in the end, his vision went black, and he passed out.

He had never anticipated such a scenario.

Nor had he ever imagined Ji Yu could be so heartless.

Ji Yu had already left the villa, but perhaps due to the rain today, she felt an intense chill all over, as if the situation in front of her offered no release.

She eventually reached the gates of the villa, but there were many bodyguards stationed outside.

She had always believed this situation wouldn’t be so complicated.

But everything before her was telling her this situation was far from simple.

There was no way for her to escape. Even if Jiang Huai died now, she’d still be trapped here.

As for Gu Qixiao, he also wanted to retrieve Ji Yu at this moment, but various circumstances repeatedly thwarted him.

Hu Jianyu, observing the scene before him, understood well how much Ji Yu’s situation impacted Gu Qixiao.

"I understand Yu’s situation very well. She definitely won’t sit idly by at a time like this."

"If you really can’t hold on, just go rest. The doctors currently don’t have any updates. If you continue this way, it will only make you feel worse. I suggest you avoid trying anything reckless," Hu Jianyu said. It wasn’t that he didn’t wish for them to be together; the current circumstances risked making Gu Qixiao lose all rationality.

"I understand. It’s just that I still have my own principles for this matter. I can’t simply give up. As long as I can keep going, I definitely won’t casually fall asleep like this."

He couldn’t bring himself to give up on Ji Yu; to him, Ji Yu was the most perfect treasure in the world.

"If you think this situation is really terrible, then stop insisting. There will always be other solutions eventually. Yu couldn’t possibly give up on you just like that; don’t let yourself think this will break you."

He had always understood Ji Yu’s situation deeply. As her father, he hadn’t looked into his daughter’s affairs for a very long time now.

So addressing this matter was still important.

"Yu..."

Tears fell from the corners of Gu Qixiao’s eyes. He rarely cried, but Ji Yu’s situation had shaken his resolve.

He drifted off to sleep unconsciously, and before falling asleep, he felt that if he were to wake up, he might miss many important things.

Ji Yu had been searching around for a long while but discovered that the back of the villa opened up to a sheer cliff.

She had no route of retreat.

"Miss Ji, you’d better come back with us. The young master has already been sent to the hospital; he’ll be fine. For now, you just need to come back with us, and there won’t be any issue."

Ji Yu looked at their expressions, sensing that they treated the situation as if it were entirely normal.

But Ji Yu knew very well that the current circumstances were anything but normal.

"Who exactly are you? There’s no way you’re just people from the Charles family."

She no longer wanted to keep pretending; their actions had long revealed their unusual identities.

It was clear they had no intention of answering this question.

Ji Yu watched as they approached step by step. Behind her lay a steep cliff; staying here meant she had already forfeited her only chance of escape.

She was genuinely starting to feel afraid.

"Miss Ji, if you keep backing up, you really might fall off the cliff. I don’t know whether a fall from here would kill you, but at the very least, you wouldn’t leave intact. Girls usually don’t like things like that, right?"

He smiled as he spoke.

Clearly, they knew Ji Yu wouldn’t dare to throw herself off.

Yet Ji Yu was now seriously considering it.

Staying here felt even worse than death. It might be better to just jump off now.

Jumping might bring her liberation.

"I really should leave. I shouldn’t remain trapped here. Staying here will only make me more miserable. Do you people really understand me?"

She was someone who craved freedom. She no longer wished to be entangled like this and refused to stay any longer.

"Miss Ji, you have a child. What will happen to your child if you jump now?"