Chapter 27: Holographic Game (Extra)

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Chapter 27: Holographic Game (Extra)

Qi Yingfeng Extra:

You chose to die, and I chose to continue living your life. If I hadn’t loved you so much, how could I have slowly become like you?

He never imagined that he would one day fall for another man. Rather, Qi Yingfeng had never imagined he could truly love someone. He was known as a genius since childhood and learned everything at an exceptional speed. But he always felt alienated. Maybe it was because he grew up in an orphanage, so he always felt isolated from others.

Becoming a professional gamer turned out to be a good decision for him. It provided enough income to meet his daily needs without having to deal with the two-faced nature of others. At some point, his once tanned face had become pale, and he earned the title of “Expert” from his peers.

The arrival of Second World came as a surprise to him. Keyboard games were too simple, causing him to lose interest. If Second World hadn’t appeared, his life as a homebody might have ended there. However, he never imagined this game would bring him both a lifetime of happiness and a lifetime of suffering.

The first time he heard of Miao Lichen’s name was from a woman named Invite2Dream. She possessed a delicate face and the gentle demeanor of a young lady from a wealthy family. She was very good at reading expressions so she rarely offended anyone. She was the first person he considered more than just a stranger in Second World. However, beneath her gentle demeanor, there was also a strong willfulness. Despite already having a fiancée, she actively pursued other men.

But this didn’t concern him. He hadn’t thought of being in contact with her much, but a mission to upgrade his weapon arrived. The soul-binding feeling of his weapon was irresistible, so he asked a woman for help for the first time.

Then came the endless troubles from Cangqiong Palace. It seemed that the man cared deeply about Invite2Dream. Miao Lichen was probably just a man manipulated by a woman. But one meeting shattered this perception. He appeared in red, and despite the warmth of his smile, he was cold and detached like him. With a single look, he knew they were similar.

Later interactions confirmed his thoughts. He shared the same aloofness, the same talent, and the same dullness. Yes, they were both dull in their approach to life. The only difference between Miao Lichen and him was perhaps that Miao Lichen’s parents had planned out his life for him, so he could follow a pre-existing path.

He had been secretly observing him due to their similarities, but at some point, the dynamic shifted. Was it when he felt a rush of heat when their fingertips touched, or was it the rapid heartbeat when he saw his smile? Perhaps it was the uncontrollable physiological reaction when their bodies made contact. By the time he recognized it, things had already evolved into this.

They said Second World was an illusion. How could it be an illusion when a single encounter had left him unable to distinguish between reality and the virtual world? It was just affection, probably just affection…

He deliberately gave Miao Lichen the sub-ring of the Shadow Clan’s inheritance ring. The ring’s attributes were tangible; even without the main ring, it was considered a minor artifact. However, with the main ring present, not only were the abilities enhanced, but they also interacted with each other. In other words, no matter where Miao Lichen was in Second World, as long as they wore the rings, he could find Miao Lichen. This was the only limitation of the ring, and it wouldn’t be a limitation if Miao Lichen never knew and took it off.

Entering the guild was also his way of staying close to Miao Lichen. He couldn’t rely on “chance” encounters to see him every time. This was his decision. Once he had the desire, he wanted it under his control. Breaking his rule of avoiding guilds didn’t matter to him; what mattered was being the person beside CangChen. By becoming an elder, a verbal leash, he could openly stay by his side.

He had expected Miao Lichen’s fiancée, Invite2Dream, or Miao Mengyao as she was known in real life to come to him. He knew she liked him, and he saw the fear she had with Miao Lichen’s sudden appearance. She wanted to escape Miao Lichen, while he had to carefully find a way to get close to him.

He knew he was jealous, but what right did he have to be jealous? Whether Miao Lichen was aware of his feelings or not, he would not reciprocate. A bitter feeling welled in his heart. Perhaps his feelings were deeper than he expected. Was he content with just Second World? No, he always knew the feelings clamoring in him weren’t something the CangChen in Second World could understand. He had fallen for the man named Miao Lichen.

He saw this deal as an opportunity, a chance to truly meet him in real life. Looking up at the highest floor of the Miao Group, he decided to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

A trade whose outcome he already knew, the document was genuine yet revealed someone’s manipulations. The company’s top executives were corrupt, but it was clear Miao Lichen had everything under control. He positioned everything like chess pieces on the board, using seemingly naive tactics to trick countless experts into walking into his trap.

The business tactics he had learned flashed through his mind, but none of them could match this level of perfection. If Miao Lichen were to be considered an opponent, he would undoubtedly be the most formidable one. However, he had never viewed him as such.

He could no longer conceal the smile on his lips. The joy rising from his heart was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. It came so suddenly and was so difficult to suppress. He didn’t really want to suppress it because of the feeling it gave him.

He wanted to get up and leave, but Miao Mengyao didn’t want to let him leave. He saw the affection and caution in her eyes. She truly liked him, even loved him. And it wasn’t just in Second World; he felt it from her in person. But what could he do? He had already decided on Miao Lichen. Any affection he had once felt for her had long since turned into pure disgust.

When she held his waist, he wished he had his shortsword. The contact made him want to scrub that area of skin clean. His clothes were already wet, and the warmth made him feel nauseous. What a repulsive woman. He only desired Miao Lichen, and it could only be Miao Lichen.

He pried her off of him and walked out of the cafe. He couldn’t help but wonder: if he had left a little later or been a little more patient, would things have turned out differently? Would Miao Lichen not have blocked the car for him? They say red is the color most similar to blood, but in his eyes, it didn’t seem that way at all. The red of blood, especially Miao Lichen’s blood, was completely at odds with the simple elegance he exuded while dressed in red.

“Miao Lichen, has anyone ever told you that smiling can be quite cruel?”

“Heh…”

His smile remained unchanged, but his grip tightened as he glanced sideways at the nearby commercial buildings. The plan he had decided on remained unchanged. He wanted to ask what he meant to Miao Lichen, but there were no answers now. Perhaps his only comfort was their intertwined fingers. In his final seconds, he was the one that held his hand.

He didn’t know how he had come back to his senses, how he had followed those people to rush Miao Lichen to the emergency room or how he had seen his face covered with a red cloth. Why red? Because Miao Lichen only liked red, Qi Yingfeng insisted on it. When he realized he could never let Miao Lichen go, he received the news of his death.

The only thing he could do was hold his hand. There would always be a place for him by his side. No matter where they were, he wouldn’t leave him. Miao Lichen belonged to Qi Yingfeng, or Qi Yingfeng belonged to Miao Lichen. He once again gently pressed his lips against his forehead. The cool touch was even colder than before. Miao Lichen was still dressed in red, as gentlemanly as ever. There was still a hint of a smile on his face, unmatched by anyone. He was alluring as always, but he only had to charm him.

The white cloth covered Miao Lichen’s body again, hiding him from view.

Later, he found out that the driver was An Yi, the man who loved Miao Mengyao to the point of insanity. When he was taken away by the police, he was still saying that Miao Mengyao would always be a member of the Miao Family. Always a member of the Miao Family? As long as he was there, Miao Mengyao would always hold the surname Miao, because that was what Miao Lichen wanted. But she would never be his wife, because Miao Lichen was Qi Yingfeng’s.

When attending someone’s funeral, one should wear plain black, but he wore flamboyant red. His long hair, which had not been trimmed in a long time, was meticulously styled as Miao Lichen used to do, with not a single stray hair. With a smile, he looked at the memorial photo, unconcerned with the curses and surprises of others.

‘A’chen, today is your funeral, but in my heart, it is our wedding. We may not be able to be together in life, but we can be together in death.’ But how could he arrange for them to be buried together?

Mother Miao was clearly devastated by Miao Lichen’s death and was unwilling to accept it. Seeing him in his red clothes, she kept calling him A’chen. Qi Yingfeng laughed, as it was impossible for Miao Lichen to be standing here, but he wished it was Miao Lichen standing here.

His slightly narrowed eyes stared at the smiling boy in the photo. Miao Mengyao kept saying he was crazy. Maybe he went crazy the moment Miao Lichen died for him. Qi Yingfeng had always been selfish, but this time he generously offered his chance to live to Miao Lichen, but Miao Lichen didn’t take it.

What happened next was that he struck a deal with Father Miao. Perhaps his actions at the hospital had convinced this man, who had just lost his son, to trust him. From then on, he would be the heir of the Miao Family, Mother Miao’s son. He didn’t care about those things; what mattered to him was that he would be buried with Miao Lichen. In a way, this was all good for him. He could never escape the Miao surname, and could pretend he had married Miao Lichen. Qi Yingfeng… now he should be Miao Yingfeng. He would never take Lichen as his name; it belonged to Miao Lichen alone.

He would take on the surname Miao and continue living Miao Lichen’s life, as though the one killed in the car accident had been surnamed Qi.

Due to committing intentional homicide, An Yi was sentenced to death and later died in prison. He did not know the details behind it. The only person who reminded him of Miao Lichen was likely Miao Mengyao, but she was no longer considered a member of the Miao Family, having been reduced to the status of a lowly maid.

Mother Miao treated him as Miao Lichen, but dismissed Miao Mengyao as nothing, intentionally or unintentionally making her do the most tiring work and eat the worst food. Hadn’t she always believed that they were mistreating her? Miao Yingfeng was simply letting her know what true mistreatment was, using her life to repay the debt of raising her for twenty years.

His fingers stroked the enormous photograph. The young man in red still smiled, but Miao Yingfeng’s hair was already tinged with white. No matter how many decades passed, he would never forget it. He pressed his lips against where Miao Lichen’s lips were, smiling just like him in the photo.

‘A’chen, good morning. It’s another new year. Many years ago on this day, I could still hold you. But now I’ve already forgotten how it felt. I really forgot… ’

He had wondered more than once whether these feelings would slowly fade away, but there was no chance to confirm it. So he spent his whole life continuing a long, hopeless love.

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