“…I was gone for years, and you still managed just fine without me, didn’t you?
I’m begging you—just let me go.”
Li Yedao’s tone was complicated.
Too many emotions were tangled together in his chest for him to sort out which one weighed the most.
The good news was that Eden had finally softened.
The bad news was that she had only softened verbally—she still hadn’t let go.
She admitted fault, but had no intention of changing.
The two of them were simply destined to never reconcile.
“Well…” Elysia’s expression suddenly turned odd, her gaze drifting off to the side.
“Actually, Yedao…
you were never really out of Eden’s sight.”
Li Yedao looked at Elysia in confusion.
He still hadn’t realized that the expression of the person behind him had already changed.
Elysia noticed it.
Eden’s face had darkened in an instant, but after biting her lip, she still turned back to Li Yedao and finished what she had to say.
“Eden somehow got hold of a whole set of equipment, and on it…
there were live images of you.
So during all those years you were away, Eden actually knew what you were doing.
At least, she knew most of it.”
“That’s also how I saw it back then.
At the time, you were talking to someone who looked a lot like Mei.”
The room fell silent, as if every sound had been sucked right out of it.
Li Yedao froze.
In the span of a heartbeat, the confusion on his face passed through disbelief and then hardened into something cold.
Slowly, he turned his head and looked into those golden eyes behind him.
Eden wasn’t looking at him.
She was staring coldly at Elysia, her gaze like blades of ice.
She did not deny it.
“Great.
Great, great, great…” Li Yedao laughed in anger.
“And here I was actually softening just now.
I actually thought maybe we could sit down and talk this out.
Looks like there’s nothing left to talk about.”
His gaze moved off Eden and paused briefly on Mebius’s face.
Mebius frowned.
“You suspect me?”
“Not really.” Li Yedao withdrew his gaze, his tone calm.
“Mebius, you’re one of the few decent people in the Golden Courtyard.”
“…Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Of course it was.”
Li Yedao smiled at her, then fixed his gaze back on Eden.
By now, the culprit’s name had already surfaced in his mind.
Vill-V.
It had to be her.
No morals whatsoever!
Just what price had Eden paid you, damn it?
You even sold me out?
…
…
After a long, exhausting stalemate, everyone finally forced themselves to sit down and talk about something resembling a real solution.
Of course, Eden still hadn’t let go of Li Yedao.
If anything, she was holding him even tighter.
Li Yedao glanced down at his fingers, which were nearly white from how hard she was gripping them, and took a deep breath.
He’d lived long enough to experience more than his fair share of absurd situations, but today’s farce absolutely ranked in the top three.
“Go on, Eden.
What will it take for you to let me go?” There was already a note of exhaustion in his voice.
“I have a girlfriend now.
I don’t have time to play house with you.”
“Exactly!”
Firefly immediately chimed in, her eyes locked on the way Eden and Li Yedao were pressed tightly together.
The more she looked, the hotter that sour fire inside her rose.
Who exactly is Yedao’s girlfriend here?
Don’t think being one of his guardians means I’ll be scared of you!
Eden said nothing.
But she didn’t need to.
The answer was written plainly in her eyes.
Let him go?
Not a chance.
Elysia looked left, then right, completely at a loss.
She poked Mebius lightly on the arm and whispered, “What do we do now…?
Whose side are we even supposed to take?”
Mebius shot her an irritated look.
“Are you an idiot?”
“…You called me names again.” Elysia shrank back pitifully.
Mebius had no patience to comfort her.
Her gaze kept shifting between Li Yedao and Eden.
Both of them were friends she had known for years.
Taking either side would be inappropriate.
The only thing she could do was see if there was some compromise that would keep them from shattering things beyond repair.
After thinking for a moment, she finally spoke. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“How about this—both of you take a step back.
Eden, let Li Yedao leave.
Li Yedao, come back and visit Eden a fixed number of times each week—”
“No.”
Two voices cut in at the same time.
Not Li Yedao’s.
Eden’s and Firefly’s.
Eden frowned, her voice cold and rigid.
“I can’t let him leave me.”
Firefly’s expression was even uglier than Eden’s.
“And I’m not letting Yedao come see her again.
I don’t want him going out one day and getting drugged and taken away all over again.”
That was, in fact, a fair point.
If the three of them hadn’t found him in time today, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
If Li Yedao and Eden were allowed scheduled meetings, then sooner or later there might come a day when he left and never came back.
“Then what are we supposed to do?” Mebius spread her hands.
“Should you two just fight it out?
Winner takes him.”
The two women fell silent at the same time.
If they really fought, the person who would be put in the worst position would only be Li Yedao, caught in the middle.
So long as things hadn’t completely broken down yet, neither of them wanted to be the first to take that step.
The room stayed quiet for a long time.
In that silence, each of them searched for an answer of their own.
In the end, it was Eden who yielded first.
Her lips moved, and her voice came out through clenched teeth, every word sounding as though it had been carved out of her flesh.
“Yedao has to move back in.
As for everything else…
I won’t interfere.”
“Impossible.”
This time, the one who answered was Li Yedao.
He refused faster even than Firefly.
Setting aside the fact that he had already gotten used to living outside, just imagining Elysia and the others learning about his current love life was enough for him to foresee a fresh wave of disaster.
“I already have a girlfriend.
My life outside is perfectly fine.
Why would I move back?”
“Then break up,” Eden said flatly.
“Anything your girlfriend can do, I can do too.”
Li Yedao went silent for a few seconds.
Then he decided to blow things up.
“One person isn’t enough for me.
I’ve got more than one lover outside.
There’s no reason for me to give them up just for you.”
The moment those words fell, Elysia’s eyes went wide, Mebius’s brows shot nearly off her forehead, and even Firefly froze.
None of them had expected him to smear dirt on himself so directly—and so ruthlessly.
Eden, however, showed no sign of surprise.
The faces of those women from the surveillance footage flashed one by one through her mind.
Her expression darkened completely, and her voice sank to freezing.
“I should have taught you better than to go around flirting with women outside.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
Li Yedao didn’t even look at her.
He lowered his head and casually adjusted his sleeve cuffs, and that indifferent attitude was more cutting than any verbal rebuttal could have been.
Eden said nothing.
She reached out and gripped his jaw with her fingers, forcing his chin up with enough strength to slightly distort his lips.
Then she lowered her head.
In front of Firefly.
In front of everyone.
She kissed him directly.
There was not a trace of gentleness in that kiss.
It poured years of pent-up resentment and obsession into his mouth all at once.
Elysia covered her mouth in shock.
“Oh my God!
You two…!”
Eden was crying.
Tears spilled from the corners of her tightly shut eyes, sliding down her cheeks and slipping between their pressed lips.
But she didn’t stop.
Her hand still held his jaw in place.
Her lips remained firmly pressed against his.
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
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
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