Chapter 483: Existence?

When Chen Xiaolian got to again, he found that he was lying on a bed.

The soft bed, the familiar scent, the familiar room.

It took him one second to recollect himself.

This is… … my home.

He silently sat up and looked outside the window – it was dark outside.

The air conditioner was running and the air inside the room felt somewhat dry. Chen Xiaolian could feel the surface of his parched lips peeling from the dryness. Then, he noticed a cup placed on the nightstand. There was water inside the cup.

Chen Xiaolian reached for the cup and gulped down its contents in one go. After that, he got up and moved to stand before the window.

The lights atop the building opposite his residential complex were on.

Chen Xiaolian heard the room door open up behind him and turned around. He saw a familiar and charming face enter the room.

“Ah, you are awake!”

Yu Jiajia entered the room and looked at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian quietly observed Yu Jiajia with a calm expression. His expression caused Yu Jiajia to be at a loss for words.

“I, I heard some sound coming from your room and figured you must have woken up. So, I entered to check up on you. When they brought you back, they said you fell sick and needed rest…”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Yu Jiajia calmly and opened his mouth. “Why are you still here?”

“… …” Yu Jiajia was taken aback for a moment. Then, she bit her lips. “I… …”

“Whatever.” Chen Xiaolian waved his hand and continued in a cool voice. “Where are they?”

“Everyone else had left earlier. Only Roddy is outside. He is sleeping on the couch.” Yu Jiajia thought to herself before continuing in a whisper, “What happened during this trip of yours? Everyone don’t look too good. Roddy’s body is still sporting scars… … you, did you fellows go out and get yourselves involved in a gang war?”

Despite finding it lacking in humour, Chen Xiaolian smiled at the joke. However, his face quickly returned to one of indifference.

“You… are you hungry? You have been sleeping for a long time. Surely you are feeling hungry?” Yu Jiajia’s face seemingly blushed. “I’ve prepared some dishes for you. You…”

“Good. Thank you.” Chen Xiaolian nodded lightly. “Let’s go eat something. I am indeed hungry.”

Chen Xiaolian walked out from his room and saw Roddy sleeping on the sofa. He was deep in sleep.

Chen Xiaolian walked to Roddy’s side and looked down at him for a few seconds. Then, he picked up a piece of blanket from the side and carefully covered Roddy’s body with it.

After following Yu Jiajia into the dining room, he watched as she gently closed the door of the dining room, closing the room off.

Chen Xiaolian looked at the empty table and a look of confusion flashed across his face.

“Ah! Wait up!” Yu Jiajia turned and ran excitedly into the kitchen. In the process, her elbow accidentally knocked into the doorframe. However, she endured the pain. Soon, she brought a large pot out from the kitchen.

A hot and delicious scent wafted up.

Chen Xiaolian looked at the pot and his eyebrows rose involuntarily. “You know how to cook this?”

Yu Jiajia rubbed her palms and there was a bashful look on her face. “… … I did not cook. I just bought it.”

The pot on the table did not contain some average food. Surprisingly, it contained…

Spicy crawfish.

“I, I heard that this shop’s crawfish is very delicious, so I bought some. I have been keeping it hot all this while.” Yu Jiajia squinted her eyes and smiled. “I heard Roddy mention before that you fellows like to go out and have this during summer.”

Chen Xiaolian exhaled before pulling out a chair to sit. “Mm, then let us eat this. It has been a while.”

He picked up a crawfish with his hand, peeled it and stuffed it into his mouth.

The spicy and salty flavour made Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath.

He chewed slowly.

Yu Jiajia, who was right beside him, watched as he ate.

“It is… … pretty good.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head and turned to face Yu Jiajia. “Thank you. It is very kind of you… … mm, you should sit and eat too.”

“Ah, I…” Yu Jiajia was about to pull out a chair to sit down when she turned and saw Chen Xiaolian’s face. She promptly froze up and pointed at Chen Xiaolian. “You… … why are you crying? Is this thing that delicious? So delicious it can induce tears?”

Chen Xiaolian was stunned. He extended his hand to feel the edge of his eye and felt tears on his fingertips.

He knitted his brows as he examined his fingertips.

“You… … are you all right?” Yu Jiajia asked in an anxious tone.

There was a lost look on Chen Xiaolian’s face as he shook his head. “I… … don’t know.”

“You are really crying?”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian was at a loss. He replied with a confused voice. “I don’t know why either… … but it suddenly just came out.”

“You… …” Yu Jiajia hesitated a moment before asking nervously, “Did something happen to you? Xiaolian?”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian looked at Yu Jiajia for a long time. Then, he turned back, picked up a crawfish and gently peeled it. He did not utter a single word as he did all that. It was only after stuffing it into his mouth did he whisper out, “Someone very important to me died.”

“… … …” Yu Jiajia was shocked.

She was a young woman. So young that death was something hard for her to face.

Hearing those words, Yu Jiajia did not know what to say.

“You… … must be feeling very sad.”

Chen Xiaolian froze for a moment before lowering his head to look at his own hand. He said in a hushed tone, “I… … I do not know. That is why I feel strange. I should be feeling very sad. But for some unknown reason, I just… … couldn’t feel sad. My heart feels empty. It is as though… … there is nothing there. Mm, nothing there at all. I think I should be crying my heart out for a long time; yet I inexplicably do not feel like doing so. I feel… … too calm. This feeling of calmness is making me feel guilty and despicable.”

He raised his head. There was a bitter smile on his face. “Don’t you think I am a cruel person? That person meant so much to me. And yet, after that person died, I don’t feel sad at all.”

Yu Jiajia was dumbfounded and could only watch Chen Xiaolian silently. She watched as he calmly peeled one crawfish after another and ate them.

Chen Xiaolian ate slowly. However, the speed at which he peeled the crawfish was fast. It did not take long before the bottom part of the pot became visible.

“You… you have eaten it all up? Ah…” Yu Jiajia exclaimed. “Did I buy too little? I bought up to three jins (1 jin = 0.5 kg)!”

Chen Xiaolian cast a glance at Yu Jiajia and said, “Normally, when Roddy and I go for this, each of us can eat up to eight to ten jins.”

“So… are you still hungry? Should I cook something else for you?” Yu Jiajia hastily stood up.

Chen Xiaolian shook his head. He got up and walked into the kitchen. There, he washed his hands, wiped them clean and walked back out.

“Sit down.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “There is one thing that I have always wanted to ask of you, but I kept forgetting about it. I might as well grab this opportunity and ask you about it now.”

“Eh?” Yu Jiajia was momentarily stunned. Her face suddenly blushed and she asked with a demure face. “You… … what do you want to ask?”

Chen Xiaolian pondered for a moment and his fingers lightly tapped the surface of the table. “Qiao Yifeng. What is your relationship with him?”

Yu Jiajia was taken aback. “Qiao… … Qiao Yifeng?”

She cast a peculiar gaze at Chen Xiaolian. There was an extremely peculiar expression on her face…

“Him? Naturally, he is my father. Was there a need to ask about that?” Yu Jiajia cast a concerned look at Chen Xiaolian. “Xiaolian, what is going on with you?”

As she said that, she saw that there was a spot of oil on the edge of Chen Xiaolian’s lips that he failed to wipe off. She subconsciously reached out in a natural manner, picking up a piece of tissue from the table before leaning over to wipe Chen Xiaolian’s mouth.

This move from her caught Chen Xiaolian off-guard.

These sets of actions were done too naturally. It was as though this act of intimacy was something natural between the two of them.

Additionally, when performing those actions, there was a bashful and affectionate look on Yu Jiajia’s face. That expression on her face caused Chen Xiaolian to grow suspicious.

He tilted his head and moved backward, getting up in the process. He stepped backward and looked at Yu Jiajia. “You… … what are you doing?”

“?” Yu Jiajia was surprised. She looked blankly at Chen Xiaolian and said, “You… … there is something on your mouth…”

“I asked, what are you doing?” Chen Xiaolian used his hand to wipe his mouth. “You… … you…” He hesitated for a moment and continued, “Don’t you think that your actions earlier was a bit wrong?”

The expression of shock was stuck on Yu Jiajia’s face. She cast an incredulous look at Chen Xiaolian before a peculiar look washed over her face. She said in a hushed tone, “Xiaolian? You… … what is going on with you?”

“Me?”

“Yes, what is going on with you? What did I do wrong?” Yu Jiajia’s eyes suddenly turned red. “You suddenly left for so long. When you came back, you were sick and your friends were wounded. Yet, you refuse to tell me anything… you refuse to explain anything to me… … now, I had just lightly touched you, you… … what is wrong with you?”

Chen Xiaolian grew baffled.

The indignant look on Yu Jiajia’s face… … and those words… something was not right.

“Considering our relationship, I felt that there is no need for me to explain those things to you. Also, that action of yours from earlier… I feel that it is not right.”

After Chen Xiaolian said that…

Yu Jiajia grew furious.

“Not right? No need to explain? Chen Xiaolian! What kind of crap are you spouting?” Tears suddenly trickled down Yu Jiajia’s cheeks. “You… how could you say that to me? How could you! Is this how you treat your girlfriend?”

When that last word entered his ear, Chen Xiaolian felt that the situation was most absurd.

Girlfriend?!

Girl… friend?

Who?

Yu Jiajia? Girlfriend?

Seeing tears flowing out of Yu Jiajia’s eyes, Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and a thought struck him. He did his best to suppress his emotions and said softly, “You… … don’t cry first. Wait! I want to ask you… … you, you, you are….”

He took a deep breath. “You said, you are my girlfriend?”

Yu Jiajia appeared frightened by Chen Xiaolian’s face and cried out, “Of course I am your girlfriend! Chen Xiaolian… … you, what are you thinking? You… what is wrong with you?”

What's wrong with me?

I should be the one asking that of you!

When did you become my girlfriend?

At that moment, a sound came from the living room. Next, Roddy opened the door of the dining room and walked in. He saw Yu Jiajia confronting Chen Xiaolian, her face full of tears.

Roddy frowned.

Chen Xiaolian exhaled, his heart was pounding. “Roddy! Right on time! Tell me, who is my girlfriend?”

This abrupt question caught Roddy by surprise. He frowned at Chen Xiaolian, a gloomy look on his face as he answered, “Xiaolian. What is wrong with you? Have you gone mad?”

He walked over and gripped his shoulders tightly before whispering, “Of course it is Qiao Qiao! Qiao Qiao is gone… … you, are you over saddened?”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness!

He might actually think that he had gone mad if not for this answer.

He turned to Yu Jiajia and spoke bluntly.

The relationship between him and Yu Jiajia was never that close to begin with. Presently, this girl was throwing up a ruckus before him. Not to mention… … at this moment when Qiao Qiao had just died, she came up and claimed to be his girlfriend?

Chen Xiaolian felt a trace of anger gushing out from within. “Yu Jiajia, did you hear that? When did we have that kind of relationship? My girlfriend is Qiao Qiao!”

“Qiao Qiao? Who is Qiao Qiao? Who?” Yu Jiajia abruptly screamed. She pounced at Chen Xiaolian in an attempt to grab him. However, Chen Xiaolian ducked away. Roddy frowned and stepped before Yu Jiajia. He said, “Hey, Yu Jiajia, what are you throwing a fuss for?”

Roddy’s voice was also very blunt as he spoke, “When I was bringing Chen Xiaolian back, I had already felt something amiss. Why were you so concerned about him? The way you are behaving is simply not right! Yu Jiajia, could it be you have been harbouring feelings for Chen Xiaolian all this time? However, he already has a girlfriend. Get it? His girlfriend is also my good friend! You cannot keep throwing a ruckus.”

Yu Jiajia’s figure flinched and she fell weakly onto a chair. She looked at Roddy, a look of surprise on her face. “You… what are you talking about? What are you talking about? I am Chen Xiaolian’s girlfriend! We have always been together!”

A shocked Roddy turned to look at Chen Xiaolian. There was a confused look on Chen Xiaolian’s face.

Using the guild channel, Roddy quickly asked Chen Xiaolian, “What is going on here?”

“You are asking me?”

“Could she be delusional?”

“I feel something strange about this…”

Yu Jiajia sat before the table and sobbed. She cried for a good minute while Chen Xiaolian and Roddy looked on helplessly.

Suddenly, Yu Jiajia jerked her head up. She stared vehemently at Chen Xiaolian and Roddy. “Enough! I don’t care what type of prank you two are playing! Stop it! Otherwise, I am going to get mad! Chen Xiaolian! Roddy!”

Chen Xiaolian and Roddy exchanged glances. With a frown, Chen Xiaolian said, “Prank?”

“You still want to keep it up?” Yu Jiajia grew furious. She jumped to her feet and glared at Chen Xiaolian. “Are you planning to keep this up?”

“Wait!” Roddy suddenly held Chen Xiaolian back. There was a peculiar expression on his face as he looked at Yu Jiajia. “You say that you are Chen Xiaolian’s girlfriend… … do you have any proof of that?”

“Proof? Are you mad? I am his girlfriend! What proof do I need?” Yu Jiajia shouted furiously. “Roddy, this prank has gone far enough! I really hate this kind of prank! Stop it!”

After saying that, Yu Jiajia rapidly turned to grab a handbag that was placed somewhere to the side. She pulled out a wallet, opened it and tossed something out on the table for them to see. “You want proof? Just look!”

Chen Xiaolian and Roddy glanced at the item and they instantly became dumbfounded.

The item she pulled out from her wallet was a photo.

Inside the photo was a young couple snuggling intimately – one look was sufficient to tell that those two were very intimate.

In the photo, Chen Xiaolian was smiling tenderly. Yu Jiajia was also smiling – hers a charming smile. Her head was leaning on Chen Xiaolian’s shoulder as they snuggled together. The affection in her eyes was obvious for all to see.

The moment he saw that photo, Roddy grew furious. “Chen Xiaolian! You… … you actually had a relationship with her! When did you begin two-timing Qiao Qiao! You bastard!”

Chen Xiaolian’s face paled.

He frantically dashed into his own room to pull out his wallet.

He recalled having that same photo inside his wallet.

The moment he snapped open his wallet, he felt his world turning upside down.

The photo was right there before him.

The photo was exactly the same as the photo that Yu Jiajia had shown them.

In this photo, Chen Xiaolian and Yu Jiajia were snuggling intimately.

However, Chen Xiaolian suddenly felt his breath becoming laborious.

No… … no… no!

This photo was correct.

The background and the actions inside this photo was correct.

However… … the people inside was wrong!

Chen Xiaolian could still remember it. He had taken this photo… … with Qiao Qiao.

Qiao Qiao!

The girl in the photo should have been Qiao Qiao, not Yu Jiajia.

Chen Xiaolian dashed back into the living room. He grabbed hold of Roddy and showed the photo to Roddy.

Roddy was furious. However, before he could throw it away, Chen Xiaolian grabbed his hand and said, “Roddy! Look carefully! Look at it carefully! Look at the background!”

Roddy turned his attention back to the photo and became shocked.

The background in the photo… … shockingly…

That was the hotel they had stayed in after the end of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang instance dungeon.

There was no doubt about it.

But back then, Yu Jiajia could not possibly be there.

“This… … what is going on here?”

“Give me your mobile phone! Hurry!”

“Ah?”

“Your mobile phone! Hurry!” Chen Xiaolian bellowed.

Roddy quickly pulled out his mobile phone and handed it to Chen Xiaolian, who swiftly opened it up and accessed its cloud photo album.

Roddy kept many photos inside his cloud. Many of them were of him with friends and classmates from school. Naturally, there were also photos of his good friend Qiao Qiao.

Chen Xiaolian quickly browsed through the photos inside. Two minutes later, he haplessly handed the mobile phone back to Roddy. Next, he pulled out his own mobile phone and browsed…

No…

No!

No!

No!!!

All those photos he took with Qiao Qiao remained. However, inside the photos… … Qiao Qiao was not there anymore.

In all the pictures Chen Xiaolian took with Qiao Qiao, her role was replaced by Yu Jiajia.

As for Roddy, Qiao Qiao’s image had disappeared from the photos that should have her.

“This is the photo we took for last spring’s hiking trip… … everyone in the team is in here, Qiao Qiao… … is gone.”

“Here, this is during my birthday last year. This photo was taken when Qiao Qiao came to give me a present… she is not here anymore… why?” Roddy browsed through his own mobile phone, beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Chen Xiaolian slammed his mobile phone on the table.

There was a desolate and terrifying look on his face.

Yu Jiajia observed their actions with a confused look. Then, Chen Xiaolian moved over and stared into Yu Jiajia’s eyes. “You said you are Qiao Yifeng’s daughter?”

“… yes.” Yu Jiajia suddenly felt slightly nervous. The gaze Chen Xiaolian gave her was like the calm before the storm.

“Now, I am going to ask you. How many daughters does Qiao Yifeng have?”

“… two.” Yu Jiajia replied quaveringly.

Chen Xiaolian’s eyes lit up. “Two?”

“Of course! One of them is me, and the other is Soo Soo. You know her as well. Soo Soo likes you so much… … Chen Xiaolian, what is wrong with you? You… … don’t scare me.”

Chen Xiaolian fell into a seated position on the floor, his heart sinking to the deepest depths.

Qiao Qiao… … disappeared.

Not a simple ‘death’.

Rather, she had completely ‘disappeared’.

All traces of her existence in this world had disappeared.

It was as though she had never existed in the first place.

…