Chapter 456
The announcement of Zai Jiu repeatedly brought up a name that bore an uncanny resemblance to his own.
For a time, he despised this similarity, but as the days passed, the resemblance faded.
In the past, when people heard "Yu Xun Ge," they might still think of the once-prominent Yu Xun Huan, who had graced the top hundred of the rankings. But now, as that name transformed into "Zai Jiu Xun Ge," no one spoke of Yu Xun Huan anymore.
Though he had started with an SS-level divine talent, he now found himself stuck here, languishing in this place.
There were no dungeons, no gear, no space for him to unleash his ambitions and aspirations.
He had forgotten which day it was—he had been losing track of time more frequently. He heard players returning with Hei Fei, expressing envy for their family of three, living carefree without danger.
He had asked them, “How about we switch places?”
The player fell silent, staring at him in shock and anger, as if he had uttered something truly vile.
He had become an ordinary person with no future in sight.
Even if he leveled up, he would lose 5 points in attributes.
A number that was neither too much nor too little, it wouldn’t plunge him into despair, but it effectively severed any hope he had of rising.
When he expressed a desire to train with Hei Fei, the reaction from all the players was simply: “What are you still messing around for?”
What good would it do for you to level up, other than leeching off experience?
Hei Fei had even pulled him back into the house, saying, “I’m busy with important matters! Don’t cause trouble.”
Yes, even Hei Fei had important things to attend to. She was working for Ding Hai, earning gold and potions, growing stronger and better every day.
While he, each morning, opened his eyes to witness himself deteriorating a little more.
The curse left him feeling cold and empty, stripping away even the last shred of meaning in his life.
The question he pondered most was: why was he still alive?
The second most pressing question was, who had cursed him—was it Yu Xun Ge or Su Yi Tong?
The third question was… why did Yu Xun Ge hate him so much?
**Chapter 350: Yi Qiu Guo**
Even though his only two attribute boosts came from Yu Xun Ge, he knew she must hate him. If she could, she would certainly exclude him from her list of concerns.
He had sensed it long ago, after being contracted by Hei Fei. When Yu Xun Ge had the ability to help him live a better life but chose to ignore him, he had begun to realize.
At that time, he was unwilling to believe it, afraid to accept it, as he still relied on Yu Xun Ge’s influence to improve his situation with Hei Fei.
If he had once been doubtful, then after Yu Xun Ge’s name appeared repeatedly in the Zai Jiu announcements, he could be certain: Yu Xun Ge hated him.
Even if she couldn’t pressure Hei Fei to release him from the contract, she could have made his life better.
With her contributions to Zai Jiu, she didn’t even need to show up; a single word from her would suffice. Ding Hai would surely negotiate with Hei Fei, ensuring her brother wouldn’t have to remain a slave to her.
But not only did Yu Xun Ge fail to do this, she also allowed Ding Hai to keep Yu Qing Shan and Yi Qiu Guo locked up here.
Ding Hai could not go against Yu Xun Ge’s wishes, so there was only one explanation: Ding Hai had interpreted Yu Xun Ge’s thoughts and was acting to alleviate her troubles.
He considered countless possibilities, pondering during his idle moments and while cleaning Hei Fei’s scales, why Yu Xun Ge harbored such hatred for him.
Their relationship had once been so good. During the second internal test of the game, she had helped him numerous times, and later, when he offended the Lin family, she had intervened on his behalf.
He racked his brain but couldn’t pinpoint the moment when Yu Xun Ge’s hatred for him had begun.
This question, he had asked Yu Qing Shan and Yi Qiu Guo.
Why were they locked up here? It was a shared mystery among the three of them.
However, Yi Qiu Guo showed little interest. She preferred to spend her time eating, drinking, and playing, scrolling through her phone.
She was busy, even while confined here.
After moving in, she started a social media account dedicated to taking photos of Hei Fei, amassing over fifty million followers. Every day, when Hei Fei returned from work, she would photograph and edit her pictures, even filming vlogs!
The money earned was split fifty-fifty with Hei Fei.
At first, Hei Fei couldn’t be bothered with her, but now, Yi Qiu Guo’s words carried more weight than many players who frequently teamed up with Hei Fei, simply because she claimed to be Hei Fei’s manager.
It seemed Yi Qiu Guo was always happy wherever she went. She had a big heart, not letting much trouble her, yet her heart was small enough to hold only her own little joys, devoid of ambition or desire.
When the wind blew, she would simply go with the flow, quickly adapting to any new environment.
Her happiness bore a cruel innocence, as she never cared about the lives of others, nor did she bother to analyze whether they loved or hated her.
For instance, when she and Yu Qing Shan were brought here, Yi Qiu Guo believed it was because her daughter was too formidable, and Ding Hai had brought them here as hostages to keep her in check.
This conspiracy theory gained traction on gaming forums, and since Ding Hai had not come forward to clarify the situation, more and more people began to believe it.
When Yi Qiu Guo personally endorsed this theory, it effectively silenced various rumors.
Yu Xun Huan nearly fainted when he saw this trending topic.
He knew Yi Qiu Guo wasn’t foolish.
In the past, she had been a vague outline standing in Yu Qing Shan’s shadow, a mother, a part of the family. But did he truly understand Yi Qiu Guo? Had he ever really seen her? Perhaps not.
Yet now, being here, he felt he was getting to know Yi Qiu Guo a little better each day, understanding what kind of person she was.
He had long seen through his mother. She might not be the smartest person he had ever met, but she was certainly the best at playing dumb. Yi Qiu Guo must have had many speculations, but she chose the one that made her happiest and quickly convinced herself to believe in that possibility.
Since he learned from Yi Qiu Guo that the three of them were hostages, he didn’t want to discuss the topic with her anymore. He unilaterally gave his mother the cold shoulder for three days.
In the end, the matter concluded with Yi Qiu Guo feeling disgruntled and reporting to Hei Fei, who forced him to apologize to his mother to wrap things up.
Fine! He couldn’t afford to provoke her! He still had his father; he would discuss it with him!
But Yu Qing Shan also believed that Yu Xun Ge wasn’t the mastermind behind it all. He was convinced that it was the Ding Hai commander, Yu Zhao Hai, who was orchestrating everything against him.
“You don’t understand the grudges of our generation! She’s suppressing me, afraid I’ll seek revenge when I rise!”
“Your sister? She wouldn’t go that far. We don’t have that much enmity. Even if she found out we were scheming against her, what would it matter now? She’s not that petty.”
Yu Xun Huan: …
Big brother, does Yu Zhao Hai really fear your rise and revenge?
You’re already fifty! What kind of script would you need to take revenge on the second-ranked commander of Ding Hai?!
Yu Xun Huan asked around, growing more and more agitated, more and more desperate. In the end, he discovered that only Hei Fei understood him, as she too believed it was Yu Xun Ge.
He was very interested in Yu Xun Ge. He enjoyed hearing Yu Xun Huan talk about her past character, analyzing the grudges between them.
Hei Fei: Well, it’s certainly more pleasant than Yu Xun Huan recounting his love story with his ex-wife. He was here to scrub scales, not to be an emotional blogger.
For a time, Yu Xun Huan thought Hei Fei hated Yu Xun Ge, but later he realized that whenever he mentioned her, Hei Fei’s attitude was peculiar.
There was wariness, fear, vigilance, and reluctance, but no hatred.
A few times, he mustered the courage to ask Hei Fei if she hated Yu Xun Ge for severing his dragon horn.
At first, Hei Fei calmly and oddly replied that she couldn’t defeat her.
But as the Zai Jiu announcements repeatedly mentioned that name, when Yu Xun Huan asked the question again, Hei Fei’s answer changed to one of fear to hate.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xun Huan suddenly felt how ridiculous his hatred and doubts were.
He suddenly understood Yi Qiu Guo’s feelings.
What good would it do to understand everything? Knowing the truth, what could he do? Could he change the situation? No, he couldn’t.
Since he couldn’t, why not be a little more foolish and naive?
But it seemed Yi Qiu Guo had never urged him to let go.
Most importantly, even when she could speak to Hei Fei, she never made Hei Fei treat her own son any better, nor had she ever bought him equipment with the gold she had.
Perhaps she knew that what Yu Xun Ge wanted was for Yu Xun Huan to live in pain and resentment every single day.
And as long as Yu Xun Huan, whom Yu Xun Ge despised the most, was having a hard time, Yi Qiu Guo could enjoy herself a little more, and Yu Xun Ge might just turn a blind eye.
Or perhaps, she never cared about whether he was doing well or not.
After realizing this, the pain and hatred in Yu Xun Huan’s heart grew another inch.
**Chapter 593: Everyone Else is Irrelevant; She Only Cares About Herself**
Yu Xun Ge hovered above the Su family estate, having just finished reviewing the family report she had requested from Zhao Shu Ying.
Upon seeing that Yi Qiu Guo and Hei Fei had a great relationship, yet Yu Xun Huan’s treatment with Hei Fei hadn’t improved one bit, Yu Xun Ge instantly saw through Yi Qiu Guo’s unspoken thoughts.
Because in her past life, she had been so similar to the current Yu Xun Huan.
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