18 – Competing with the Manly Bitch for the Fish Pond
“A Yi! I can see the snow mountain!” Yu Ai excitedly pointed ahead, “Look quickly, I can see the white mountain peak!”
The snow mountain ahead had already revealed a glimpse of its snow-white summit, standing out prominently against the yellow earth road.
“Let’s drive faster.”
When they reached the foot of the snow mountain, Ying Yi took out the oxygen tank and windbreaker.
“Ai Ai, the higher we go, the temperature will drop sharply and there might be altitude sickness. We need to conserve our energy and can’t rush.” After resting at the hotel, Ying Yi had spent an hour preparing the capture plan.
The woman said gently, “A Yi, you’re so thoughtful. Every time I’m with you, I feel most relaxed. No wonder Dad always praised you before.”
The man’s hand paused as he handed her the oxygen tank. Yu Ai already knew about the terrible things he had done, yet she was still willing to take initiative to improve their relationship.
Ying Yi hugged Yu Ai tightly, filled with self-blame.
“What’s wrong! A Yi?”
The man held the woman in his arms for a long time before letting go.
“Nothing, let’s go.”
Yu Ai nodded with a smile, “Okay!”
Yu Ai and the others were only there to see the scenery, not to climb the mountain. They only went up to about the mid-mountain area before preparing to return.
“What a pity. If we were professionals, we could see the scenery at the summit. I heard there’s a Tibetan legend that if couples make wishes at Snow Mountain Cloud Top…”
Yu Ai turned to look at Ying Yi and noticed he seemed unwell. “A Yi, what’s wrong with you?”
Ying Yi forced himself to shake his head despite his pale complexion. “Ai Ai… let’s go back first.”
“Why is your breathing so labored?” Yu Ai asked, “What’s happening?”
“Oxygen tank…” Ying Yi felt nauseous, with blood rushing to his head and brain hypoxia.
Yu Ai glanced at the oxygen tank in his hand and saw a large hole at the bottom. “How did your oxygen tank break? Did it get damaged while climbing just now?”
Ying Yi shook his head with difficulty. He didn’t know when it had broken. He felt completely unwell.
“Lack of oxygen in high altitude areas is very serious. It could even be fatal.”
Yu Ai looked around. They were in a remote area and needed to go further down to find people.
“Let’s hurry back!”
She pulled Ying Yi, but after just a few steps, his breathing became more rapid, looking like he might faint at any moment.
Yu Ai supported Ying Yi and gave him her oxygen tank to use.
Ying Yi wanted to refuse. He knew the remaining half tank of oxygen was only enough for one person to make it down the mountain.
“If you don’t use it, I’ll throw away the oxygen tank and we’ll die here together!” Yu Ai’s gaze was determined.
Yu Ai put Ying Yi’s arm over her shoulder and supported him as they walked. “It’s all my fault. You haven’t recovered from your cold yet, we shouldn’t have come to such a high altitude place in Tibet.”
It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I was the one who wanted to bring you to the snow mountain.
Ying Yi wanted to speak but was completely powerless, with only the sound of his oxygen-deprived panting as his heart raced.
He couldn’t even walk on his own, his mind was completely muddled. He began to feel afraid. Would he die? Would he be abandoned?
Before completely losing consciousness, all he remembered was Yu Ai’s slender figure carrying him, and the seemingly endless downhill path ahead that stretched into emptiness.
…
When he woke again, Ying Yi was startled and covered in sweat, frantically looking around for Yu Ai.
“You’re awake?” the nurse beside him asked. “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“I… I…” Ying Yi tried to speak urgently but stumbled over his words in his anxiety.
“Are you looking for your girlfriend?” the nurse asked.Ying Yi nodded, “Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s in the next ward over and hasn’t woken up yet.”
Ying Yi immediately jumped out of bed and rushed to the next room.
The nurse tried to stop him, “Hey! You’re severely oxygen-deprived, you can’t run!”
Ying Yi completely ignored the nurse’s words and dashed into the next room.
There, he saw the woman lying pale on the hospital bed.
“Ai Ai…” Ying Yi gently took her hand, his voice soft.
“She’s fine, she just needs to sleep it off. You should go back to your room now,” the nurse followed him in, trying to persuade Ying Yi to return to his own ward. But he refused to leave, staying by Yu Ai’s side for an entire day.
In the end, Yu Ai, who had been pretending to sleep, couldn’t take it anymore and finally “woke up” to convince him to go back.
“Master, you’re amazing. Just by breaking the oxygen tank, you’ve raised Ying Yi’s Affection Points to 85.”
“You did pretty well this time,” Yu Ai said. She had asked 001 to find a way to damage the oxygen tank, and it hadn’t let her down.
001 happily suggested, “Then let’s push a little harder, maybe use a ‘car accident brings people closer’ trope and try to max out the affection in one go?”
Yu Ai broke into a cold sweat. She definitely didn’t want to lie in a hospital bed pretending to be a vegetable.
“You’re overthinking it. With men, using the same trick twice gets boring,” she replied. This outcome was within her expectations.
001 sighed, “Ah, I read some data that says human psychologists claim many people never truly love another person with 100% unreserved devotion in their entire lives. Affection reaching 60 points is already considered love.”
It had been learning about other aspects of this World recently and was worried the mission might be too difficult. Could it be that its master would never be able to return?
“Pfft,” Yu Ai scoffed, “That’s other people. Your master is different from ordinary folks.”
She had saved Ying Yi’s life, and the original host had shared six years of history with him, yet he still hadn’t been willing to give full points. The essence of men is selfishness.
She had only been in this World for a month—there was plenty of time. This progress was completely under control.
In the following days, their vacation was essentially ruined as they stayed in the hospital. Ying Yi’s cold symptoms began to recur.
Yu Ai took care of him the entire time.
“Ai Ai, you’ve worked hard these past few days. I was supposed to take you out to have fun, but instead, I ended up making you so tired,” Ying Yi said, feeling guilty. How could his health collapse so suddenly?
“You’re my husband. Don’t talk about working hard or not. We’re supposed to support each other for a lifetime,” Yu Ai said gently. “Once you’re feeling a bit better in a couple of days, let’s go back. You’re just not acclimated to the environment here.”
Ying Yi replied, “When we get back, I’ll start exercising properly. I’ve been too busy lately.”
“Pfft,” Yu Ai teased him, “You really do care so much about what others say about you being weak?”
“I’m your husband. In the future, I should be the one carrying you,” Ying Yi held Yu Ai’s hand, his gaze focused. “We didn’t get to enjoy this trip properly. Next year during vacation, I’ll carry you up the snowy mountain again.”
Ying Yi and Yu Ai’s relationship warmed rapidly during this period. By the time they returned home, Ying Yi’s Affection Points had just reached 90.
…
Zhou Hui and Han Haoyu couldn’t get in touch with Yu Ai and the others in Tibet no matter how hard they tried. The two of them, weighed down by their worries, cut their trip short and returned.
Unexpectedly, they ran into Ying Yi at school. This time, Ying Yi’s attitude had completely changed. He even said he would no longer contact Zhou Hui in the future, and even though they saw each other daily at school, he maintained a safe distance.Zhou Hui couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she thought—what kind of bewitching potion had Yu Ai fed Ying Yi? How could she just let go of the fish she had been nurturing for so long? It was too hard to accept.
She quickly arranged another gathering with Han Haoyu, inviting both Yu Ai and Ying Yi out for another meet-up.