If anyone asked Ye Qianfan now whether he regretted what he had done, the answer would unquestionably be yes. He watched Wei Dongyan grow old surrounded by children and grandchildren, living happily and healthily with his partner into his eighties and nineties.
Meanwhile, Ye Qianfan—the man whom Wei Dongyan had indirectly driven to death—seemed to become an error that had never existed at all. Hatred surged through Ye Qianfan’s heart. A low growl escaped his throat, like a beast on the verge of going berserk.
“Do you regret it?” The voice remained as cold as ever, seemingly pleased by the hatred and unwillingness in Ye Qianfan’s eyes.
“So what if I do?” Ye Qianfan’s face was expressionless. His wrist still burned fiercely, and he could clearly feel the wounds there.
“Then would you like to do it all over again?” A faint, almost imperceptible temptation entered the icy voice.
“What price do I have to pay?” Ye Qianfan had never believed there was such a thing as a free lunch.
“I don’t have enough energy left. I need to leave this place… If you agree to help me…” the voice continued.
“…All right.” Ye Qianfan still distrusted the owner of that voice, but he had no reason to refuse. He did not want to die in that bathtub and leave Wei Dongyan to live such a happy life.
“Deal accepted!” The instant Ye Qianfan spoke those words, the voice cried out in excitement.
Ye Qianfan’s vision suddenly went black, and he felt his body being violently shoved out of the dark space.
The bathwater was still running and had long since overflowed, spreading across the entire bathroom floor. Ye Qianfan opened his eyes and discovered himself lying in the bathtub in his pajamas, soaked from head to toe. The water was hot, yet for some reason a chill seemed to seep from his very bones.
The fruit knife he had used to cut his wrist lay quietly on the floor. Its blade was perfectly clean, without a trace of blood.
“Was I dreaming?” Completely drenched, Ye Qianfan wiped a hand across his face.
“No… It wasn’t a dream.” A ring of fine markings had appeared around his left wrist where there had previously been nothing. It resembled an exquisite bracelet, fixed tightly to his skin. He stared blankly for a moment and ran the fingers of his right hand over the delicate pattern. Then he heard a familiar voice.
“Congratulations. You have activated the Exchange System.” “…What?” Before Ye Qianfan could react, enormous wooden cabinets appeared before him. They were packed with all kinds of things. Some were familiar to him; others he had never seen in his life.
“What are these?” Ye Qianfan asked tentatively. “Where am I now?” No one answered.
The voice that had surrounded Ye Qianfan every moment during his suicide had now vanished without a trace. The space around him was filled with an eerie silence.
“…” Since no one would answer, Ye Qianfan could only follow the path in front of him. The place resembled an enormous supermarket. Beneath every item was a red number, which Ye Qianfan guessed must be its price.
He walked around and discovered that the variety of goods was astonishing. There were not only daily necessities, but fresh ingredients and even living creatures—various kinds of poultry, for example.
Everything was arranged neatly on wooden shelves. Yet whenever Ye Qianfan tried to inspect something more closely, it would automatically move in front of him, as though the space itself knew what he was thinking.
Can I buy the things in here? Ye Qianfan wondered with a frown. And how am I supposed to obtain the currency used to buy them?
The instant the thought appeared in his mind, his wrist suddenly prickled as though struck by a needle. Lowering his head, Ye Qianfan was astonished to find that the tattoo on his wrist had transformed into something resembling an LED display. A glaring red “0” shone on it. All right. That was probably the amount of currency he currently possessed.
Ye Qianfan smiled wryly. He still did not understand how the space operated, but before he could reason it out, a powerful force abruptly dragged him back outside. The moment Ye Qianfan was pulled out of the space, he heard a door opening.
He looked up and saw a woman standing before him—a woman who should have been attending the engagement banquet with Wei Dongyan, dressed in a beautiful formal gown.
Her name was Liu Qingjiao, the daughter of a business magnate, and she was usually so arrogant she seemed to look down on the entire world. Ye Qianfan had met her a few times before, but he had never imagined that she would be the third party who came between him and Wei Dongyan.
“You?” Although Wei Dongyan had always concealed Ye Qianfan’s existence from Liu Qingjiao, she had not been completely oblivious. “I remember your name is Ye Qianfan, right?”
Ye Qianfan’s hair was still dripping wet, and he had not changed out of his soaked pajamas. He looked thoroughly disheveled, yet there was not the slightest trace of timidity in his expression as he faced Liu Qingjiao. “Miss Liu, is there something you need?”
“Nothing.” Liu Qingjiao’s gaze traveled up and down his body. When she saw his bedraggled state, contempt and disgust flashed through her eyes. But the moment she noticed the chain around Ye Qianfan’s ankle, her face darkened completely. “I’m getting engaged today. I heard that you, Ye Qianfan, are a famous master of Shandong cuisine in C City, and my fiancé, Wei Dongyan, happens to love Shandong cuisine most. So I came specially to invite you. But from the look of things… you seem to be rather inconvenienced?”
It was naked humiliation. In the past, Ye Qianfan might have snapped back at Liu Qingjiao. But after dying once, he now found her behavior strangely ridiculous.
“I am indeed rather inconvenienced,” Ye Qianfan said calmly. “So please go back.”
Ye Qianfan’s indifferent attitude made Liu Qingjiao feel as though she had thrown a punch into cotton. Her beautiful brows twisted slightly. After a moment, she smiled. “But if you’re willing, I can help you solve this little inconvenience.”
Naturally, the “little inconvenience” was the iron chain around his ankle. Ye Qianfan raised his head and looked at Liu Qingjiao, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Then I’ll have to trouble you… Miss Liu.” At most, he would go to Wei Dongyan’s engagement banquet and cook a table of dishes for him and this woman. Ye Qianfan did not find the idea unacceptable at all.
The love that had once made him desperate enough to live or die for someone had now transformed into hatred strong enough to gnaw that person’s bones and drink his blood.
“Come. Remove that chain from Mr. Ye Qianfan.” Liu Qingjiao’s expression had turned unpleasant. She had never expected Ye Qianfan to agree so readily, without the slightest hesitation. The scene she had imagined, with Ye Qianfan losing control, existed only in her fantasies. Worse, because she had spoken too quickly out of spite, she now had to bring this man to her own engagement banquet.
For the first time, Liu Qingjiao regretted having such a quick tongue.
At her order, two bodyguards entered through the door. They quickly used brute force to break the lock on Ye Qianfan’s chain. Ye Qianfan stood perfectly still until the iron chain fell away from his ankle. Only then did he turn, intending to go inside and change his clothes.
“Mr. Ye Qianfan, could you hurry?” Liu Qingjiao’s face grew uglier and uglier. She had no interest in standing here admiring how calmly he accepted humiliation or favor.
“Oh, Miss Liu.” Ye Qianfan suddenly stopped. Turning back toward Liu Qingjiao, whose expression was beginning to twist, he smiled. “I suddenly remembered that I haven’t been feeling very well lately. I’m afraid I won’t be able to cook at your engagement banquet after all… though if you insist…” “Is that so? What a pity!”
Liu Qingjiao, who had been wrestling with the problem only moments before, immediately seized the escape route Ye Qianfan had offered her. She coughed lightly. “I still have things to do… I’ll be going now.”
“Take care, Miss Liu.” Ye Qianfan was not naturally mild-tempered. Death, however, had violently ground down his sharp edges. He smiled as he watched Liu Qingjiao, his eyes filled with a gentleness capable of enchanting anyone. “But Miss Liu… take one piece of advice from me. You deserve a better man.”
Liu Qingjiao clearly had not expected him to say such a thing. She froze for a moment, then a blush actually rose to her cheeks. Looking thoroughly unnatural, she hurried away.
Only after Liu Qingjiao had left the house did the smile on Ye Qianfan’s face turn cold. He raised his wrist and looked at the tattoo. His eyes were filled with bone-deep indifference.
If what he had seen back then truly was his future, then this woman had personally witnessed his suicide. Not only had she watched it happen, she had done absolutely nothing… simply allowing him to die in the bathtub.
Wei Dongyan would pay for his faithlessness. And this woman would pay for her cold blood as well!!!
Ye Qianfan entered the bedroom and changed out of his soaked pajamas. He touched his ankle, which had already been rubbed raw in places. After thinking for a moment, he changed into formal clothes and walked into the study—the only room in the house with a telephone.
His emotions were complicated as he dialed a certain number. He listened to the ringing tone for a long time before an elderly voice finally answered. “Hello?” “Master.”
At that instant, Ye Qianfan could not stop his eyes from growing wet.