Chapter 2467 - 2456 Side Story: Ji Xiuran

She journeyed across the world with her grandfather while he accomplished his dreams and ceaselessly expanded the Ji family’s territory.

The girl was still young and was still naive and clueless about romance, but he wasn’t worried. Life was a long journey, and he still had a lot of time with her. He was also confident that his Little Worriless wouldn’t easily take a liking to other men.

However…

He made calculations for everything but forgot to include heaven’s will.

“Emperor Ji, your body is probably…”

The elderly man next to Haitang was staring at the man with deeply locked brows.

After learning about his body’s condition, the man didn’t say anything. It felt like all of this had been predetermined in the unseen world.

“Sigh, extreme intelligence comes at a cost…” the elderly man lamented with a soft sigh and a regretful shake of his head sometime later.

“Mm, I understand.” The man was also quiet for a long time before turning to leave with a bitter smile.

A swordsman had a sword, a scholar had a pen, but from now on, Ji Xiuran wouldn’t have Worriless Nie anymore.

It appeared the heavens didn’t permit him to be in her future.

“Ji Xiuran!”

Haitang hastily chased after the leaving man. “You must recover well…”

The man paused and his gaze landed on Haitang. “But I still have many things to do.”

“Many things? Could they be more important than your life?!” Haitang pressed worriedly.

“Then you think lying in bed will stop him from taking my life?” Ji Xiuran pointed at the sky.

“I’ll tell Worriless…” Haitang pulled out her phone.

Ji Xiuran shook his head. “No need.”

“Ji Xiuran, what do you mean? Doesn’t Worriless have a right to know about such a big thing?” Haitang frowned deeply.

“It’d just add to her worries,” Ji Xiuran replied softly.

“Just what are you saying? Do you plan to keep it a secret from Worriless then push Worriless away?!” Haitang asked.

Ji Xiuran remained silent.

“Heh, Ji Xiuran… You’re so heroic. Just who do you think you are? Are you really treating yourself like the male lead in a tragic romance? You’d shoulder all the big problems yourself and completely disappear from this world all by yourself?!” Haitang demanded furiously.

“Every person has the power to make their own choices. It has nothing to do with heroism.” After saying that, the man turned to leave without looking back.

…

On the island, inside the dilapidated storehouse, the man slowly opened his eyes, his complexion pale. He seemed to have had a dream. He dreamed about a first meeting, he dreamed about mutual companionship, he dreamed about loneliness and despair.

Soon, the man fixed his white shirt with difficulty and faced the camera with a warm smile.

“I wish you a happy new marriage.”

As the man spoke, a ripple of emotion surfaced in his eyes. He lowered his head, not wanting the camera to capture any of his emotions.

It was a long time before the man faced the camera again.

“Farewell.”

…

Next to the ocean, the man repositioned himself into a more comfortable position. He remembered that he and that girl had also sat next to the ocean like this many years ago and talked about their future as they ate a boxed lunch.

Feeling the breeze from the ocean, the scene of their first meeting started playing again in his mind.

At the Ji Estate:

The sun was blazing high in the sky.

The girl was walking while carrying a giant pot, already soaked in sweat.

She used a tree branch to prop the giant metal pot up and threw a lot of the food she stole from the Ji family’s kitchen under the pot as bait.

A moment later, having set up the bait, the girl hid behind a giant tree.

She held the rope tied to the tree branch in her hand. She originally wanted to use this giant pot to capture the birds living in the Ji Estate’s rear mountain, but not a single bird took the bait after waiting for a long time.

The girl was starting to drift to sleep when a boy holding a book appeared and stopped in front of the pot. He was startled and looked around him but didn’t see a single person. All he saw was the pile of food sitting under the pot.

What is this doing here…?

The boy knelt down and curiously trudged forward with his head sticking out curiously, looking underneath the pot.

The drowsy girl felt movement from the rope in her hand and reflexively pulled it to the left.

A loud “bang” rang out and the pot dropped down. Before the boy could react, he was stuck inside the pot.

The girl excitedly sprinted out from behind the tree and stopped in front of the pot. She shouted with exhilaration, “Wow! Hahaha, I’ve caught it, I’ve caught it!”

“Who’s there?”

When the girl heard a voice coming from inside the pot, she jolted in fright. “Wow, the bird has honed a spirit! Are you a goblin? You can speak?!”

“Who are you?”

“Hm? Me? My name is Worriless Nie, what about you?”

“…”

Worriless Nie…

Worriless…

At that time, he never would’ve guessed that he would be trapped by such a clumsy trap.

And this trap lasted his entire life.