Chapter 162: I Think I've Fallen in Love with You

"Immediately cut off surveillance on Yang Yi!"

After the lip-reading expert deciphered Yang Yi's words, the senior FBI supervisor in charge of monitoring her immediately ordered the surveillance channel severed.

"I told you, this is playing with fire!" he said to the Special Agent and the Deputy Director, "Do you think monitoring her with machines alone, without people, can fool her? We still don't know what level of Awakened she is now; acting rashly like this is too reckless!"

"Fortunately, she never kills." The Deputy Director had just broken out in a cold sweat all over; especially that last glance Yang Yi cast at the surveillance camera, opposing an opponent like that would make anyone feel doubled pressure.

"Just because she didn't kill before doesn't mean she won't kill in the future. Moreover, she will cause harm greater than killing! The decision from above is still too risky..." the Director said with worry, his gaze lingering on the Special Agent who had remained silent.

Benjamin Edy, the FBI Headquarters Special Agent, finally spoke: "This is our job. With such a terrifying human weapon entering our country's territory, shouldn't we conduct surveillance?"

The Director couldn't help but sneer coldly; the order from above to monitor Yang Yi wasn't just for the safety of the Ark Country, but he only said, "You saw it too, that glance of hers just now was a warning! She has already discovered our surveillance; we must stop. If we knowingly violate this, we will provoke her!"

"I will report to superiors immediately." Benjamin Edy said.

##

Not long after, Assistant John and the bodyguards arrived, pushing through the crowd to escort the two away from the jewelry store.

All the way, Chris remained very silent.

They sat in a black business van; the rear compartment was spacious. John sat in the front passenger seat, while only Yang Yi and Chris were in the back, silence spreading between them.

"Where are we going?" John forced himself not to look at Yang Yi.

Yang Yi looked at the dimming sky outside the window and instructed, "Find a high-end restaurant; if we can book the whole place, that's best. Reserve a table for a candlelight dinner—one that overlooks the city night view."

John involuntarily straightened up and responded, "Yes!"

Yang Yi glanced at him silently, and John felt his whole body tense up.

Overlooking the city night view, going to eat a candlelight dinner—this scenario was originally Chris's "expectation," but now it was arranged personally by Yang Yi. Chris knew this was her way of apologizing.

He turned his head, looking at the endless stream of traffic outside the window, saying nothing.

Yang Yi reached out her right hand to hold his; Chris pulled away directly. He crossed his arms over his chest, sat leaning against the car door, and a distance opened up between the two of them.

John silently observed the two from the rearview mirror; seeing Chris's movement, he sucked in a cold breath in his heart.

Yang Yi smiled helplessly, stopped moving, and turned her head to look out the window on the other side.

Strange city scenery, dazzling lights, foreign faces rushing past; in a daze, she thought she was dreaming. Everything here was so strange, yet she didn't have that usual sense of floating in the air, that helpless drifting feeling.

Even though the man beside her was currently angry with her, she felt not a shred of annoyance, only a faint helplessness, a wisp of mild petulance like light smoke, and infinite tolerance.

She pressed her face against the car window glass; it was cool. Perhaps the Evil God's gaze yesterday had exhausted her, and she felt a bit drowsy.

She fell asleep without realizing it.

She had a brief dream, dreaming of when she was in elementary school, learning the lesson "The Little Match Girl." She remembered clearly; before the teacher even explained it, she had previewed the text. It seemed to be winter; at night under a dim light bulb, she curled up on a bed made of wooden planks in a corner of the storage room, burrowing into a pile of broken cotton wadding, placing the textbook neatly on her knees, reciting the text silently while tears flowed silently.

"... The little girl felt as if she were sitting in front of a huge stove; the stove had shining copper feet and copper handles, burning brightly, warm and cozy, how comfortable..."

She looked at her hands, frozen, cracked, and oozing pus, imagining herself warming by the stove too, feeling the warmth the little girl felt.

"... The match ignited, the light fell on the wall, and there it suddenly became as transparent as thin gauze... The goose jumped down from the plate, with a knife and fork stuck in its back, waddling across the floor, walking straight toward this poor little girl..."

She also felt a roasted goose waddling toward her; she could even smell the aroma of that goose—even though she had never eaten roasted goose.

"... She struck another match on the wall. This time, the match illuminated everything around. Grandma appeared in the light, so gentle, so loving... 'Grandma!' the little girl cried out, 'Ah! Please take me away! I know, once the match goes out, you will disappear...'"

She also seemed to see a person, but not the grandma who had just been scrubbing pots and washing dishes with cold water staring at her, but another woman, a woman who looked very much like her. She knew that was "Mother," that "shameless woman" spat upon and cursed by the Yang family. Although the neighbors also said, "Your mother doesn't want you, she threw you here and left you alone..." she held onto hope, believing her mother was forced to do so and would one day come to pick her up, to take her away from the Yang family. She would hold her, comfort her gently, buy her beautiful clothes, take her to eat delicious food; she wouldn't be called "a child no one wants" by her cousins Tanggetang and the children in town...

She fell asleep with longing and tears; in a daze, a tall, warm figure with a blurred face picked her up, just like in the text— "Grandma picked up the little girl and held her in her arms. The two of them flew away in light and happiness, flying higher and higher, to a place without cold, without hunger, and without pain..."

When she woke up, only she and Chris were in the car, and she was nestled in Chris's arms. The air conditioning in the car was on full blast, but his arms were very warm, just like the stove in the dream.

Seeing her open her eyes, Chris immediately let go of her, continuing to cross his arms and look out the car window, not looking at her once.

Yang Yi stared blankly for a while, and only after a long moment said, "Are we there?"

"Mm." Chris responded indifferently.

"Let's go." She said, getting out of the car from the other side first.

Not far away, paparazzi flashlights were flashing continuously, along with some fans and onlookers, all blocked by the bodyguards.

After Chris got out of the car, she walked a few quick steps to be side-by-side with him and took his hand actively.

This time, Chris didn't pull his hand away; instead, he held it very tightly.

The waiter led them to the top-floor revolving restaurant. Because the reservation was made too late, this high-end restaurant required booking several days or even one or two months in advance, so booking the whole place was naturally impossible. Being able to sit in the best spot was already the result of John's great effort.

Below was the flowing, colorful neon lights of Luocheng; before them was the warm glow of candles; the wine decanter and glass cups reflected fragmented light; Chris's face, in the blurred candlelight, was as handsome and striking as a Greek god in a Western oil painting.

If humanity were to become extinct on some day in the near future, this might be one of the most unforgettable scenes before her death. She thought silently.

She reached out her hand and covered it over the back of Chris's hand.

"Chris, you know, the me of now inevitably suspects everyone's purpose in approaching me. Moreover, there are indeed many real-world obstacles between you and me, such as nationality, politics, stance, the impact and trouble caused after our relationship is exposed... I once thought about breaking up," she said frankly with an open and honest attitude, "because I am just such a person; my first reaction to difficulties is to see if I can escape them; if that really doesn't work... only then will I take the initiative to solve them..."

Chris gazed into her eyes, listening quietly.

"Do you remember I told you my dream is to be a salted fish? This isn't a joke..." she smiled, "How good is a salted fish? You don't have to be responsible for anything, even don't have to be responsible for your own life... I hate all responsibility... but I want to be responsible for you."

Chris licked his dry lips; he felt the blood in his body speed up with her words, as if there was magic in her words.

"I don't know when, but a figure suddenly appeared in my vague future. I was used to being alone, I was used to being solitary; the future in my plans always had only me... but you, like a ghost, broke in and couldn't be driven away..."

Chris locked eyes with her; her pitch-black pupils seemed like an abyss, seemed like a swamp, making him willingly sink deep into them, unable to extricate himself.

"I even convinced myself that he is definitely with me because I am the number one Awakened. Look, Chris Norton, the global superstar all women are obsessed with, has hooked up with the 'God of Humanity'; he has another medal representing his achievement on his chest. Is there anything more capable of highlighting his masculine charm? If I were still that ordinary girl from before, would he still love me? Would he look at me even once? I think, probably not."

"No..." Chris's voice was slightly hoarse, but Yang Yi gently pressed a finger to his lips.

"... I am full of uncertainty about everything; I suspect everyone, everything..." she said softly, "But even if I suspect you, suspect your feelings, I still cannot erase you from my world..."

"Chris, my feelings might not be that pure... and until now, I still suspect your feelings for me... but even with so much uncertainty, I..."

"... I think I've fallen in love with you..."