In the next moment, Qin Muge reached out and rubbed her eyes.
Evidently, Qin Muge thought she was hallucinating, unable to believe that Ye Xunhuan was right in front of her.
Just as Qin Muge extended her jade-like hand to rub her eyes, Ye Xunhuan slowly spoke: "It’s not a hallucination, I’ve come to see you!"
Upon hearing Ye Xunhuan’s words, Qin Muge immediately opened her eyes wide again, her gaze falling upon Ye Xunhuan at this moment, staring intently at the figure before her.
"You... you..."
Qin Muge’s voice was full of tremors and disbelief.
"It’s me!" Ye Xunhuan said softly: "I’ve come to Beijing."
After hearing Ye Xunhuan’s words once more, Qin Muge finally believed she wasn’t hallucinating, that Ye Xunhuan was truly right in front of her.
Immediately, Qin Muge stood up and hugged Ye Xunhuan tightly.
In this embrace, Qin Muge held Ye Xunhuan very tightly, fearing that loosening her grip would make Ye Xunhuan vanish from her sight. Meanwhile, as she embraced Ye Xunhuan, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.
It seemed as if having Ye Xunhuan before her meant that even if the sky were to fall, Ye Xunhuan could hold it up once again.
Ye Xunhuan gently stroked Qin Muge’s silky hair and said tenderly: "You’ve suffered!"
Qin Muge remained silent, holding Ye Xunhuan quietly, savoring the warmth of this long-awaited reunion.
Unsure how long it had been, Qin Muge slowly released her hold, yet her gaze remained fixed on Ye Xunhuan, as if afraid that in the blink of an eye, Ye Xunhuan would disappear. She had to keep a close watch on Ye Xunhuan, preventing him from slipping away from her sight.
"When... when did you arrive?"
"Yesterday!" Ye Xunhuan replied softly: "I thought you were still in the hospital, so I went straight there!"
"Is he okay?" Qin Muge asked with a pale and unnatural expression, even her delicate body trembling slightly.
Ye Xunhuan naturally knew Qin Muge was referring to Qin Fangbin.
Ye Xunhuan lightly nodded and then slowly replied: "Still the same as before, no change."
Upon hearing that Qin Fangbin was still the same as before, Qin Muge let out a long sigh of relief: "That’s good!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Qin Muge seemed to remember something, speaking bitterly and painfully: "Is what Bodhi told me all true?"
Looking at Qin Muge in her state of anguish, Ye Xunhuan wanted to tell Qin Muge that Dragon Ancestor Bodhi had deceived her, but Ye Xunhuan also knew that if he tried to lie to Qin Muge, she might immediately go to find Qin Fangbin. At that point...
Ye Xunhuan then exhaled a pent-up breath, nodding somewhat helplessly: "Even though I don’t know exactly what Bodhi told you, I know she wouldn’t lie to you. Everything she said should be true!"
Although Qin Muge had already guessed Ye Xunhuan would say this, upon receiving confirmation, Qin Muge felt as if a sharp knife was ruthlessly plunged into her heart, causing her a suffocating pain.
Upon knowing Qin Fangbin was ill, Qin Muge had immediately abandoned everything and rushed back to care for Qin Fangbin.
Even though Qin Fangbin had committed countless mistakes before, Qin Muge put them aside and returned without regret to care for Qin Fangbin.
But who would have thought it was all a deception, a conspiracy aimed at Ye Xunhuan.
She, Qin Muge, was nothing more than a pawn in the game.
Most significantly, Qin Fangbin, to make her believe, actually went as far as truly falling ill to deceive her.
At this moment, Qin Muge’s heart ached deeply, as if thousands of ants were gnawing relentlessly at her heart.
It’s important to know that Qin Fangbin was her father, yet now he was deeply deceiving her, using her against the man she loved.
At this moment, Qin Muge’s complexion was pale as paper, her eyes shrouded like the moon obscured by dark clouds, turning utterly gloomy.
Right now, it seemed Qin Muge’s world was entirely cast in darkness, devoid of any light.
Seeing Qin Muge’s pallor, Ye Xunhuan’s heart was filled with helplessness. Even though he wished to speak a word in defense of Qin Fangbin, he didn’t know what to say.
"What does he truly want to do?"
"I don’t know!" Ye Xunhuan shook his head lightly: "It’s aimed at me, and you’ve been implicated as well. If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened."
Ye Xunhuan slowly took all the responsibility upon himself, hoping this might lessen Qin Muge’s pain.
Qin Muge took a deep breath and then slowly spoke: "If it weren’t for you, I would probably have become a commodity, traded away!"
As she spoke, Qin Muge gave a bitter smile, pain slowly surfacing in her eyes.
"Actually, he was really good to me before, really good." Qin Muge said with a sorrowful expression: "But I never thought it would turn out this way!"
"He treated me as a commodity, something to exchange for benefits." Qin Muge’s eyes reddened slightly: "Do you know what it feels like to be treated as a commodity by your own kin?"
Ye Xunhuan remained silent.
Being treated as a commodity by your parents for exchange.
Ye Xunhuan didn’t know, but it must feel like a knife cruelly stabbing the heart, right?
"When I heard he was ill, I returned, thinking everything would change, and indeed it did. But I never expected all those changes to have ulterior motives; it was all a conspiracy, a huge conspiracy!"
"And I’m just a pawn in this conspiracy!"
As she spoke, mist started to rise in Qin Muge’s eyes, making her already dim gaze even more devoid of color and creating a sense of emptiness.
"He’s my father, yet he treated me like a pawn." Qin Muge slowly extended her hand, pointing to her heart as she spoke to Ye Xunhuan: "Xunhuan, did you know, it hurts here, truly hurts, hurts a lot!"
Hearing Qin Muge’s words, and seeing her face filled with desolation and pain, the softest part of Ye Xunhuan’s heart seemed touched by something, sharply stinging, like a dagger plunged into his heart.