At this moment, her arm vibrated lightly. She raised her wrist to check – a message from Meng Qing: Finished with that crybaby, shall we go back together?
Yu Yi smiled, opened the mission completion icon in the bottom right of her terminal, and typed a message to Meng Qing: Let’s go back together.
Meng Qing: Three, two, one!
Yu Yi lightly pressed “Confirm”, and the scenery before her changed. She returned to Meng Qing’s courtyard room, with Meng Qing standing in front of her, looking at her with a smile in his eyes.
Yu Yi took a deep breath. She could return to this moment, and he would also return to the moment before leaving after completing the mission. Although she had returned from that time and space first, her own time and space was this same instant seeing him return. However, only seeing him return made her truly at ease. That’s why she had waited for him in that time and space.
This was the first time during a mission she had cared about someone besides the target. As Yu Yi thought this, she stared blankly at Meng Qing.
Seeing her staring, Meng Qing’s smile gradually faded. He gazed at her, stepping closer, his expression becoming serious. A blush rose on Yu Yi’s face, her heart pounding in her chest. As he approached, she continued staring into his eyes, gradually tilting her head back.
He slightly lowered his head, gently touching her lips and staying there, his arms encircling her waist and shoulder, drawing her into his embrace. Yu Yi closed her eyes, a sweet feeling spreading in her heart.
“Sister Yi… Young Master Meng! Sister Yi?” A panicked voice suddenly called from outside the door.
Yu Yi hurriedly lowered her head and pushed Meng Qing away.
Realizing she was still wearing her mission space-time outfit, she quickly opened her terminal to change into the dress she had worn before leaving, simultaneously calling out, “Wan’er, what happened? Is something wrong?” If it weren’t urgent, Yu Wan would not have come to the courtyard to find her, and her voice indeed carried anxiety.
Yu Yi instantly changed her dress, saw that Meng Qing had also changed into a long robe, and opened the door without waiting for Yu Wan’s response.
Yu Wan stood outside, roughly wrapped in a cotton-padded long skirt, wearing only a thin nightgown underneath, looking panicked. “Sister Yi, Xin’er is gone.”
Yu Yi’s heart suddenly sank, and she rushed out without waiting to ask Yu Wan for details. Yu Wan chased after her, but was left far behind before even leaving the courtyard. Yu Yi lifted her skirt and ran quickly, no longer hiding her martial arts skills, her heart filled with intense regret and self-blame!
She had thought Yu Xin had overcome the shadow of that incident, but only now did she realize Yu Xin had never truly moved past it.
Before this mission, when she accidentally encountered Yu Xin in the central courtyard, Yu Xin had already been contemplating suicide, but she had been too dull to notice Yu Xin’s abnormality.
She had spent two hours discussing mission plans with Meng Qing and kissed him in his room after returning from the mission, while Yu Xin had been alone in despair.
Meng Qing caught up, lifting the hem of his long robe, running faster than Yu Yi. By the time Yu Yi arrived at Yu Xin’s room in the main courtyard, he was already checking her pulse.
“How is she?” Yu Yi asked in a trembling voice.
Meng Qing did not answer immediately, kneeling on the bed and performing chest compressions. Yu Yi understood and felt her legs go weak. Forcing herself to maintain a calm expression, she stepped to the bed and said, “Mother, everyone leave the room. Having everyone crowd here prevents Xin’er from breathing.”
Yu Song and the others, who were at a loss, immediately retreated to the doorway. Behind them, Yu Yi used her terminal to purchase epinephrine, her fingers trembling violently, making mistakes twice. After taking two deep breaths and forcing herself to calm down, she selected the correct dosage. A bean-sized subcutaneous injector appeared on the bed’s edge, and she quickly injected the liquid into Yu Xin’s body.
Half an hour later, under the emergency treatment of Yu Yi and Meng Qing, Yu Xin finally recovered her pulse and began to breathe weakly.
Meng Qing opened the terminal, a dark blue light beam scanning evenly across Yu Xin’s neck.
After observing her for a while and seeing her breathing and pulse stabilize, he relaxed his furrowed brow and said: “She’s fine. Fortunately, her cervical spine is not injured. There’s some blood stasis in the throat’s soft tissue, and she’ll recover with a few days of rest.”
Yu Yi walked to the door and told Yu Song-shi and her several sisters who were anxiously waiting outside: “Xin-mei has been saved and will recover after proper care for a few days.”
“Fortunately, Young Master Meng was here,” Yu Song-shi said, placing her hand on her chest and sighing with relief as she asked: “Yi-er, do you know what happened? Why would Xin-er suddenly want to… herself?”
Yu Song-shi remembered discussing with Yu Yi about changing Yu Hui’s room yesterday. She went to the west wing to check if Yu Hui was awake. Passing Yu Xin’s room, she heard something fall to the ground and, finding no response when she called out, pushed open the door to find Yu Xin hanging from the beam.
Unable to lower Yu Xin, Yu Song-shi frantically called for help. Fortunately, Fu Cheng and his mother lived in the main courtyard’s side room and heard her call. They came quickly and took Yu Xin down, but she had already stopped breathing.
Yu Wan, who lived next door to Yu Xin, was awakened by Yu Song-shi’s call. Without stopping to dress, she ran over, seeing Yu Xin hanging.
She immediately went to find Yu Yi, not finding her in her room and thinking she might be in another courtyard.
Yu Yi, hearing her mother’s inquiry about why Yu Xin would do such a thing, felt a strong sense of guilt and self-blame. She had wanted to tell her mother about Yu Xin’s situation, but Yu Xin had begged her not to, understanding that she didn’t want to worry her mother. Now, helping Yu Xin keep this secret seemed to be a grave mistake. If her mother had known earlier, she could have paid more attention and shown more care.
Noticing Yu Yi’s unusual expression, Yu Song-shi guessed she knew something. She sighed, first asking Yu Wan to put on outer clothes to avoid catching a cold, then instructing Yu Hui and Yu Yue to watch Yu Xin and inform her when she wakes up. She then said to Yu Yi: “Yi-er, come to my room and talk.”
Yu Yi softly agreed and followed Yu Song-shi to her room to explain Yu Xin’s experience at the Lei household in detail.
Yu Song-shi was both shocked and saddened.
Although still angry that Yu Yi had kept this from her, seeing her full of guilt, she didn’t reproach her further. She sighed deeply: “Yi-er, let’s keep this between us. The younger sisters are still young, so don’t let them know. Someone must stay with Xin-er these days to prevent her from having such thoughts again.”
Yu Yi agreed: “Daughter will stay with Xin-mei.”
Yu Song-shi said: “I’ll accompany her during the day, and you’ll stay with her at night. You’re young and can stay alert while sleeping.”
Yu Yi nodded silently.
Coming out of Yu Song-shi’s room, the mother and daughter went to Yu Xin’s room. Yu Song-shi bowed to Meng Qing: “Today, thanks to Young Master Meng, for saving my daughter… I am grateful beyond…”
Meng Qing hurriedly bowed in return: “I don’t deserve such praise. I’ve always treated Xin-mei like my own sister. Today’s actions were only natural and cannot be considered a favor. Please, Madam Yu, don’t say such things. This is Xin-mei’s bedroom, and I shouldn’t stay long.”
Yu Song-shi nodded: “I thank Young Master Meng.” Then she looked at Yu Yi: “Yi-er, see Young Master Meng back to the other courtyard. Come back to replace me tonight.”
