Chapter 36.1

A simple kiss was nothing, just relaxing.

But when he wanted to go further, Han Yanyan caught his hand, “Let’s go to sleep. I’m tired.”

The boy was a little disappointed. But Han Yanyan wasn’t interested in a pre-breakup lay. As far as her perception of time was concerned, she had been forced from her beloved’s side only a few hours ago, and she had no interest in falling in love or making love at the moment.

The time went by quickly, but the hours were full of fear and anxiety. Han Yanyan lay in bed, her mind awash with thoughts.

Whether or not Yao Chen was Ding Yao, he was rich, powerful, courageous, and strategic, a very difficult man. The funniest thing was that even Leo hadn’t given her any clear instructions on the best way to capture1 him.

If you asked her, the best way would be to point a gun at his head, have him recall the sins he had committed, then award him a bullet. That would be great!

But she had already tried that as soon as she got into the world, and nearly died as a result.

She calmed herself down, recalled the past, combed through her thoughts. This world was obviously a ‘normal’ world, without any of the ‘supernatural powers’ of the previous world. Whether or not the ability to destruct the world belonged to Yao Chen was still unknown. Han Yanyan had a hunch that what had happened back then was more like triggering some sort of self-defense mechanism.

After having dealt with Yao Chen for a few hours, she was convinced that he had no memory of the first time they had met at all. From what she could see, he was just like any ordinary mafia boss. He didn’t seem to have any super powers.

How might one capture such a man?

She closed her eyes, thinking quietly.

No one was perfect. No matter how powerful someone seemed, they must have a weakness. Everyone had wishes, likes, favourites, even if they themselves didn’t realize it.

Ding Yao, for example, liked to tame wild horses.

……

Then… then if Yao Chen was Ding Yao…

Han Yanyan opened her eyes and fixed them fiercely at the ceiling.

Beside her, that rejected boy tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep. The next day, they both got up early for him to catch his plane.

Han Yanyan helped him carry his suitcases downstairs, watched him pack his luggage into the taxi, close the trunk, and then turn to look at her.

“About that, I paid the rent for one more month…” he mumbled.

The house had been rented in his name. When the two of them had become lovers, she had moved in. He hadn’t wanted her help paying the rent. Now that he was gone, she surely wouldn’t be able to afford it on her own, and would have to move back to the school dorms, which would make it inconvenient for her to work at night. But he wasn’t yet financially independent. While still on his parents’ dime, all he could do for her was one more month’s rent.

After that, there would be nothing more to say.

Now that they were at this point, he didn’t know know what more to say. Anything he could have said had already been said when they had agreed to break up. For example, he had advised her not to work at the nightclub, but she needed the money. For example, she had tearfully asked him if he could stay, but he couldn’t.

One couldn’t live on love alone. Life was vast, and only resentment could come of relying solely on love to fill a void.

His path in life had been arranged by both his parents and his own efforts, and his future was clear. But what about her life? What was the future of the girl he loved?

He felt confused, worried and powerless.

At last he said only, “I’m sorry…”

Han Yanyan smiled slightly. She gently straightened his coat and replied, “No need…”

No need to apologize.

This boy shone with goodness in her ‘memory’. He represented to “Han Yanyan” all that was joy and happiness. It was a good thing that they had parted so peacefully.

Tears were welling up in his eyes. He felt like something was different about her, but her calm eyes were somehow reassuring.

As Han Yanyan watched the taxi leave in the morning breeze blow, she began to wonder about the purpose of the boy’s presence.

She had been through more than one world, and been named “Han Yanyan” in all of them. This was her second time around in this world, and her identity had even changed after restarting. It was apparent that Leo had some control over these “worlds”. Although he couldn’t enable her to automatically power-up her strength, he could obviously make some changes and adjustments to the beginning.

So what was the purpose of her “boyfriend” in this world?

Was he just an excuse to refuse Yao Chen?

It was the weekend. In the past, she would tutor four students on weekend days, but when she got the waitressing job at Jinhao, she had been able to take a break. Nowadays, she only took two students a day on weekends.

It was only six o’clock in the morning. Han Yanyan went calmly back to sleep, got up at eight and made a phone call home through the landline.

“Why are you only calling back now? Why didn’t you answer the phone all night yesterday?” her mother complained.

“I lost my phone,” answered Han Yanyan simply. “Why were you looking for me?”

Her mother heaved a deep sigh before saying, “Your brother… isn’t happy. He wants a gaming laptop.”

“Sure,” she replied.

Before her mother could rejoice, she heard her daughter say, “If he stopped dialysis for a month, he’ll have enough for a gaming laptop.”

“What, what are you saying? How could he stop dialysis? Are you trying to kill him?!” her mother accused, startled.

“Since you know how important life is,” answered Han Yanyan coldly, “Save the money carefully for dialysis. Or he could go and get a job himself to buy what he wants.”