By the time Elysia and the others rushed into the room, Li Yedao was already unconscious in Eden’s arms.
Eden sat on the floor with both arms wrapped tightly around him, pressing his entire body against her chest.
Her cheek rested against the top of his head.
She held him so tightly that it hardly looked like an embrace.
It was more as though she wanted to press him into her very bones, so the two of them could never be separated again.
Elysia stopped dead in the doorway.
Her entire mind went blank.
“Eden…
what did you do?!”
“You’re only going to push him farther and farther away from us!”
Firefly’s expression had completely darkened.
Her clenched fists trembled faintly at her sides, nails digging into her palms.
If Eden’s identity weren’t so special, Firefly would already have charged forward and taken Li Yedao back by force.
“Give him back to me!”
Her voice was frighteningly low.
Normally, even the most possessive person would have backed down somewhat after being caught like this by so many people.
Eden didn’t.
If anything, she pulled Li Yedao even tighter against her chest.
Then she raised her head and coldly swept her gaze across every face in the room.
“He’s mine.”
“Please leave.”
Mebius frowned deeply.
“Li Yedao has his own life.”
“You can’t keep him locked up forever.”
“No.”
Eden gently shook her head.
Her voice was calm and certain.
“Yedao’s life only needs me.”
“I can be his family, his lover, his enemy, and his friend all at once.”
“He doesn’t need anyone except me.”
The words struck the room like a hammer.
All three women froze.
Mebius had always believed she understood Eden extremely well.
But at this moment, she had no choice but to admit—
Eden had completely lost herself in this obsession.
Unfortunately…
She wasn’t the only one.
The instant the word lover reached Firefly’s ears, her expression changed.
“I said…”
“Give him back to me!”
Firefly suddenly lunged forward, body pitching ahead as she prepared to tear Li Yedao out of Eden’s arms.
Eden didn’t retreat.
She didn’t even raise an arm to defend herself.
Instead, she pulled a gun from her clothing.
The muzzle pressed directly against Li Yedao’s chest.
“One more step.”
“I can’t guarantee what happens to him.”
Firefly’s feet stopped dead.
Elysia and Mebius, who had been watching from the side, both changed expressions immediately.
“Have you lost your mind?!”
Mebius’s eyes widened.
Eden smiled.
It was an extraordinarily calm smile.
So calm that it sent chills down their backs.
“Yes.”
“One thousand and one days ago, on the day he left…
I stopped being myself.”
She paused.
Then tilted her head slightly, as though reconsidering her wording.
“No.”
“Perhaps I should say that this is the real me.”
“Eden was never a good person.”
“I’m selfish.”
“I always have been.”
“You—!”
Mebius bit her lower lip as her thoughts raced.
The situation was extremely difficult.
Eden held all the initiative.
She had a gun.
And an unconscious hostage.
Eden’s love was so painfully twisted that there was no guarantee she wouldn’t actually—
Wait.
Love?
Something seemed to occur to Mebius.
Her expression shifted.
The anxiety in her eyes became certainty.
“Go ahead, then.”
Firefly and Elysia both froze.
What?
Eden still had the hostage!
Eden narrowed her eyes.
Her finger rested motionlessly against the trigger.
“You think I won’t?”
“If Yedao dies, I’ll simply go with him.”
She moved the muzzle away from Li Yedao’s chest and pressed it against his temple instead.
Then she calmly looked up at the three women.
Her finger remained on the trigger.
But she never pulled it.
Mebius sneered.
“Why did you stop?”
“Or is it that…
you don’t dare?”
“Mebius!”
Elysia anxiously jabbed Mebius in the waist from behind and hissed through clenched teeth, “Stop provoking her!”
“She really might lose control!”
Mebius ignored her.
She continued staring directly into Eden’s eyes, certainty sharpening the provocation in her voice.
“Looks like I was right.”
“You’re not afraid to die.”
“But you don’t dare make him die with you.”
“You value him more than your own life.”
“How could you possibly bear to hurt him?”
“Eden…” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“That gun isn’t even chambered, is it?”
What?
Elysia and Firefly immediately focused on the weapon.
Looking carefully, the position of the slide really did seem wrong.
For safety reasons, most people wouldn’t carry a firearm with a round already chambered.
Eden had simply drawn the weapon and used it immediately.
In other words—
There might not even be a round in the chamber.
Hope reignited in Elysia’s eyes.
She cautiously took a step forward.
Her voice became soft and gentle, as though she were coaxing a child in the middle of an emotional breakdown.
“Eden, be good.”
“Give Yedao to me, okay?”
“We can sit down and talk this through.”
“There has to be a way to solve this!”
“Elysia, you—!”
Mebius nearly choked.
The person Eden cared about most was Li Yedao.
And she was already this emotionally unstable.
Walking up and asking her to hand him over was basically charging directly at the muzzle of a gun!
Sure enough—
Eden, who had already lowered the weapon slightly, immediately darkened at Elysia’s words.
Her hand moved.
Not to pull the trigger.
To rack the slide.
Click.
A round was chambered.
The gun rose.
This time, it pointed at Elysia.
“Sorry, Elysia.”
“Even you can’t take him away from me.”
“Huh?”
Elysia froze on the spot.
Her expression hovered somewhere between shock and the total collapse of her worldview.
This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go!
Wasn’t Eden supposed to suddenly realize the error of her ways, burst into tears, hand Yedao over to Miss Pink Elf, apologize properly once he woke up, and then have everyone live happily ever after?!
“Eden…”
“You’re joking, right?”
…
…
No one knew how much time passed.
Eventually, the drug began wearing off.
Li Yedao’s eyelids twitched.
His consciousness slowly floated upward from the depths of chaos.
He opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Elysia, Mebius, and Firefly several steps away.
All three were staring at him with completely different expressions.
More precisely—
They were staring behind him.
Someone was holding him tightly from behind.
His back was pressed against a warm, soft body.
Two arms were locked around his chest so firmly that he could barely move.
A familiar scent entered his nose.
He didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
Eden.
His final memory was of that piece of cloth being pressed over his mouth and nose.
She had used some unknown substance to knock him unconscious.
The next step would probably have been keeping him by her side forever, never allowing anyone else to touch him again.
After all this time…
She was still the same.
Complicated emotions churned inside Li Yedao.
From the moment he stepped into the Golden Courtyard, he had given Eden more than one chance.
He had even deliberately brought Firefly with him.
He wanted Eden to see.
To understand.
To take one step back on her own.
But she hadn’t.
Not only did Eden refuse to admit she had done anything wrong—
She had blamed him for being cruel instead.
“…Eden.”
Li Yedao finally spoke.
His voice wasn’t loud.
But everyone in the room heard it clearly.
Every gaze focused on him at once.
Even Eden’s body suddenly stiffened.
She lowered her head.
Their eyes met.
Her golden eyes were overflowing with emotions far too intense to conceal.
Obsession.
Infatuation.
Panic.
Grievance.
Stubbornness.
Layer upon layer, so concentrated they seemed ready to spill out.
“Stop.”
Li Yedao didn’t struggle.
He didn’t push her away.
He simply looked at her calmly.
His voice was soft.
Almost like a sigh.
“How could you make such a foolish decision?”
Eden didn’t argue.
The fingers clutching his clothes tightened.
Then loosened.
Then tightened again.
Her knuckles turned white.
Like a drowning person desperately holding onto the last piece of driftwood.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Yedao…”
“You’re all I have.”
“I really only have you…”
“Please don’t leave me…”
Her pride.
All of it shattered.
Broken into pieces too small to gather back together.
The woman standing before everyone was no longer the dazzling Eden adored by countless people.
She was simply a lonely soul standing in an empty wilderness, watching her only family walk farther and farther away—
Without knowing how to call him back.
After one thousand and one days and nights…
Eden finally lowered her pride.
But she still hadn’t recognized what she had done wrong.
And those words—
Had come one thousand and one days too late.
join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I’m a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 230)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
Yu-Gi-Oh!
— Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 355 “Is this chat group even serious?” (Completed)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal!
(Completed)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77 From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa (Completed)
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 265
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 377
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (Completed.)
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume5/8
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 170
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 135
Supernatural Multiverse 210
My Harem Is Indescribable 120
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 120
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 130 Still playing traditional Honk 105 The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120 What Should I Do After Switchi 85 Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80 Transmigrated as Sukuna 165 Checking In in Demon Slayer 105 The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 120 I Refuse to Become a Heroic 115 My Best Friend Into a Slime?
90
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (Completed)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero?
105
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 115
Why did they assign me to Uma 100
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 110
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 160
Honkai’s Otherworld?
Wait—Who Are You People?!
150
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 75 The Uma Musume Who Became 80 I’m Definitely Not the King of 160 After Maxing Out Every Class 170 Honkai: World Modulation Mode 150 I, the Elden Sword Saint 80 Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 115 No One Knows Pokémon Better 75 From Trilobites to Titans 70 Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 130 DanMachi: My Party Members Are 150 An Anime Heroine Darkened 70 Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 100 Honkai: The Fire Devil 145 Honkai Transformation Cards Volume3/15 Age of Heroes, I’m Just a Back 120 Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 100 At age 8, she co-starred with 80 Honkai: Schicksal Media 105 An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 85 Chainsaw Man, but I’m Aatrox 75 Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 60 Morgan Shirou’s Journey in Dan 43 DanMachi: Get to Work, Dimensi 95 Honkai: Star Rail—Kiana Cried!
63
Sakiko Togawa: A Blood-Soaked Cards Volume2/32 Detective Conan: My Whole 65 Honkai: Star Rail:Reincarnated 92 In the Nasuverse, but I Practice Scientific Cultivation 53 Honkai: Starting Out as a God of Luoxing 65 Honkai: I Really Never Intended to Start a Harem!
33 join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178) Zenless Zone Zero: I’m a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 230)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 ) Yu-Gi-Oh!
— Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 355 “Is this chat group even serious?” (Completed) I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal!
(Completed) Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77 From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa (Completed) Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 265 From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20 Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 377 Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (Completed.) I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume5/8 The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135 Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67 Uma Musume: From Beginner 170 Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85 Uma Musume: I Want All 120 I Can Copy Unique Skills 135 Supernatural Multiverse 210 My Harem Is Indescribable 120 Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 120 Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 130 Still playing traditional Honk 105 The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120 What Should I Do After Switchi 85 Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80 Transmigrated as Sukuna 165 Checking In in Demon Slayer 105 The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 120 I Refuse to Become a Heroic 115 My Best Friend Into a Slime?
90 A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (Completed) What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero?
105 Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 115 Why did they assign me to Uma 100 DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 110 The Gacha Merchant Who Started 160 Honkai’s Otherworld?
Wait—Who Are You People?!
150 Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 75 The Uma Musume Who Became 80 I’m Definitely Not the King of 160 After Maxing Out Every Class 170 Honkai: World Modulation Mode 150 I, the Elden Sword Saint 80 Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 115 No One Knows Pokémon Better 75 From Trilobites to Titans 70 Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 130 DanMachi: My Party Members Are 150 An Anime Heroine Darkened 70 Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 100 Honkai: The Fire Devil 145 Honkai Transformation Cards Volume3/15 Age of Heroes, I’m Just a Back 120 Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 100 At age 8, she co-starred with 80 Honkai: Schicksal Media 105 An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 85 Chainsaw Man, but I’m Aatrox 75 Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 60 Morgan Shirou’s Journey in Dan 43 DanMachi: Get to Work, Dimensi 95 Honkai: Star Rail—Kiana Cried!
63 Sakiko Togawa: A Blood-Soaked Cards Volume2/32 Detective Conan: My Whole 65 Honkai: Star Rail:Reincarnated 92 In the Nasuverse, but I Practice Scientific Cultivation 53 Honkai: Starting Out as a God of Luoxing 65 Honkai: I Really Never Intended to Start a Harem!
33