Chapter 335: Chapter 321: The Thirty Years She Disappeared (2)

When all was said and done, she was simply outmatched.

She accepted it.

But...

Gu Xi’s eyes snapped open. She fixed the man across from her with a sharp gaze and demanded, "I can accept you scheming against me to get the Superpower Seed, but why did you have to go after Qee Ran?"

Ever since she last saw Qee Ran, Gu Xi couldn’t understand it. How had the once warm and sunny young man turned into someone who radiated such dark, negative emotions from his very core?

The Qee Ran she remembered wasn’t like that. He shouldn’t have been like that.

Gu Xi could never make sense of it.

Until today, when she saw Yun Ye’s pure black eyes. The dark, negative emotions within them were a perfect match for the aura Qee Ran now possessed.

...Yun Ye must have done something to Qee Ran.

"You ask me why?" The man across from her suddenly smiled, his pure black eyes staring hauntingly at Gu Xi. "Xiaoxi, do you really not know the reason?"

He said, "All of this is because of you, Xiaoxi."

Males all across the universe possess a natural wariness toward any other male who covets the female they desire.

He was no exception.

Back then, he had seen Qee Ran’s feelings for Gu Xi at a single glance.

But Gu Xi was the female he had set his sights on. How could he tolerate another coveting her?

"Was it really for me?" Gu Xi watched him, her expression growing increasingly calm as she slowly shook her head. "No. I’d guess the reason you went after Qee Ran was because he ruined your grand plan, wasn’t it?"

It all probably started on the eve of the great war:

The Zombie Emperor had suddenly left the swamp. For Yun Ye to get everything back on track, he had to force it back into the marshlands before she could find it.

Only then would he have the opportunity to use her to draw out the other Superpower Seed that was hidden there.

But at the time, on the eve of the war, Li Ming was keeping a very close watch on the entire team.

Yun Ye couldn’t sneak away, so he decided to target Xiao Yu—the most rebellious, impulsive, and hot-tempered member of the entire Doomsday Squad.

He deliberately provoked Xiao Yu, who couldn’t hold back and started a fight with him.

Yun Ye had planned to use the fight as a pretext to storm off, feigning hurt and anger. He never expected Qee Ran to grab hold of him while pretending to break up the fight, completely ruining his chance to leave the team alone.

Qee Ran hailed from a powerful clan like the Qee Family. As the meticulously groomed heir, how could he not have seen countless schemes and plots growing up?

Even if he wasn’t as shrewd as the ever-scheming Li Ming, Qee Ran must have seen through the ruse back then...

Sure enough.

"Xiaoxi, you really are clever." The man across from her let out a soft sigh, a dark, profound light glinting in the corners of his pure black eyes.

Qee Ran was just a lowly carbon-based lifeform. Not only did he covet the female he had his eye on, but he also dared to ruin his grand plan. Of course, he had to be taught a lesson.

He had originally intended to control Qee Ran and turn him into one of his spare puppets.

After all, Qee Ran’s status as the heir to the Qee Family was quite useful.

But unfortunately, the carbon-based lifeform’s willpower was unexpectedly strong. Though he had failed, what he left inside the man’s body was likely even harder for him to accept than death itself.

That was the price for defying him.

The corners of the man’s mouth twitched into a stiff, eerie smile.

"You know, Xiaoxi, you actually have good taste," he said suddenly.

Gu Xi fell silent for a moment.

She understood what he meant. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

’...After she disappeared back then, Qee Ran had been the first to leave the Doomsday Squad and return to the Qee Family. While family matters were part of it, the main reason was likely to find her.’

’He wanted to leverage his family’s power, to climb higher and see farther, to... possess enough strength to rescue her and protect her.’

’Gu Xi even suspected that Qee Ran had dealt with Yun Ye over the years. Though he was only feigning compliance, it was still a deal with the devil.’

’Gu Xi couldn’t even imagine how Qee Ran had managed to get through all these years, shouldering everything alone, preferring to be misunderstood by others rather than offering a single word of explanation.’

’It wasn’t worth it... It really wasn’t.’

She took a deep breath, suppressing the heavy pain in her heart. Her gaze grew firm and calm once more.

"You know, I’ve never cared about many people," Gu Xi said suddenly.

"Yes, you don’t care about many people. But among that small group, I was never included." The man’s voice was tinged with a surprising hint of sadness and grievance.