Chapter 272: Confession

24 hours until erasure.

Zongfang closed his eyes and hugged her tightly, saying in a slightly trembling voice close to her ear, "I'll wait for you."

Qiao Suisui felt the warmth of his embrace, a wave of bitterness rising in her heart; she gently pushed him away, looked up into his eyes, her own filled with firmness and determination.

"I will come back." She nodded forcefully, trying her best to make her voice sound calm and strong.

He looked at her deeply, then let go of her hand.

Suddenly, they felt the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly.

Qiao Suisui looked up; the ceiling of the Huangting was shaking. Outside, the once bright blue sky began to turn dark, as if shrouded by a layer of thick, gray fog.

Buildings in the distance began to crack, and massive fissures tore open like the wounds of a wild beast.

High-rise buildings collapsed one after another like sculptures made of sand, and the Beastmen on the streets ran about in a panic, trying to escape this sudden catastrophe.

Strange cracks began to appear in the sky, as if the firmament of the entire world were shattering. Blinding white light shone through the cracks, accompanied by a tremendous roar; the whole world seemed to lose its balance in an instant.

"The Game World is collapsing."

Qiao Suisui took a deep breath, struggling to calm herself down.

She summoned the system, took one last deep look at the men, and confirmed the logout.

The next second, she had returned to her room in the Modern World.

Qiao Suisui shook her head and looked at the clock on the wall.

23 hours and 34 minutes left until total erasure.

Messages from Ye Xi kept popping up; she picked up her phone and quickly replied: "I'm out, I'm heading to the airport to meet you right now."

Qiao Suisui hurriedly stuffed her luggage into her backpack, preparing to leave for the airport. She was filled with anxiety, knowing she didn't have much time left.

Just as she opened the door, she bumped into a woman.

"Mom?"

The light in the hallway turned on; Qiao's mother had an apologetic and nervous look on her face, clearly having stood at her door for who knows how long.

"How did you know I lived here?"

Qiao Suisui frowned at her.

Contrary to her usual behavior, Qiao's mother did not clash with her, but instead said hesitantly, "Sui Sui, I'm sorry. Mom was too harsh on you before. I want to talk to you..." The woman's voice carried guilt, and her eyes were full of expectation.

Qiao Suisui was stunned for a moment, then she looked down at the time on her phone.

"Let's talk when I get back."

Qiao's mother grabbed her arm and pulled a bank card from her pocket to give to her.

This was the bank card she had slammed onto the table when they severed ties; it contained the thirty thousand yuan she had saved up from working over the years.

Qiao Suisui frowned instantly, feeling somewhat dazed. Even though it had only happened last week in the Modern World, she felt as if a very, very long time had passed—so long that she couldn't even muster any anger.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

Qiao's mother said, "It's more convenient to have money when you're living alone. Besides, this is money you earned yourself."

Qiao Suisui glanced at the time again and said, "I made myself very clear to you last time. I will pay back the expenses you spent raising me over the years, and I hope we won't have any further contact."

"I know, I know, but... can blood ties be broken just like that? Sui Sui, Mom was indeed a bit harsh to you in the past. These days I've realized a lot. Let's be a family again, just like before, okay?"

Qiao Suisui turned her head and let out a sigh, seeing the time pointing to eleven o'clock.

"I have something very important to do right now. Let's talk when I get back." She tried to keep her tone calm, but the urgency in her heart could not be hidden.

But Qiao's mother still held onto her without letting go, her volume rising significantly, "You are my own flesh and blood! How can you say you won't see me anymore!"

Just then, Qiao Jiming came up the stairs in two or three strides, his face full of anxiety and worry. He was panting, his back soaked from running; clearly, he had known Qiao's mother was coming and was afraid she would say something hurtful to Qiao Suisui.

Qiao Suisui looked at Qiao Jiming: "Did you tell her the address?"

Guilt flashed across Qiao Jiming's face. He knew that explaining now was useless, but he still didn't want her to misunderstand him, "Mom went through my phone."

"I just wanted to have a good talk with Sui Sui!" Qiao's mother glanced at Qiao Jiming, then looked at Qiao Suisui, and sighed. Just as Qiao Suisui was about to speak, her phone suddenly rang; it was Ye Xi, who had called directly after seeing she hadn't replied.

"Where are you? This is the earliest flight, it leaves at midnight. Hurry up, it takes us 14 hours to fly from here."

Her heart rate suddenly accelerated; she took a deep breath, struggling to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry, I really have something very important to take care of."

Saying this, she forcefully shook off Qiao's mother's hand and ran quickly downstairs.

Qiao Jiming stopped Qiao's mother, who wanted to chase after her, and then turned to follow her out.

He grabbed Qiao Suisui's wrist on the first floor, "It's so late, where are you going?"

Qiao Suisui didn't look back, her feet not stopping, letting Qiao Jiming follow anxiously behind her.

"I said I have something to do."

"What is it? I can help you. Or are you going to see that Teacher Guan?"

Qiao Suisui had no time to answer him and stood by the street hailing a taxi.

Qiao Jiming stared at her fixedly, his chest heaving.

He had ordered flowers and a cake today just to help her celebrate her birthday and to reveal the secret he had kept buried in his heart for so many years.

But from beginning to end, she hadn't even looked at him once.

"I have something to say."

Seeing that the person in front of him still didn't respond, a wave of bitterness and helplessness surged in Qiao Jiming's heart. He wanted to get close to her, but every time he approached, he was always ignored.

Was he really just a younger brother in her eyes?

"Qiao Suisui, I like you, do you know that?"

Traffic flowed endlessly on the road, and the cars speeding past created a noisy ambient sound.

And Qiao Jiming's voice was thus drowned out within it.

Qiao Suisui vaguely heard him say something, but the pressing pressure made it impossible for her to think.

"Jiming, you go back first; if there's anything, we'll talk when I get back."

Her attention was entirely on the taxi with its empty-car light on that was about to drive over, and she completely failed to notice Qiao Jiming standing to the side with his head lowered, his expression unreadable.

She was just about to wave, but her wrist was gripped by the young man a step sooner.

Qiao Jiming pulled her forcefully into his embrace, cupped her cheeks with both hands, and kissed her in a retaliatory manner.

Qiao Suisui's mind went blank for a moment, then she pushed him away with force.

"What are you doing!"

She looked at the person in front of her in disbelief, "Qiao Jiming, are you drunk?"

"I'm not drunk. I am very sober."

Qiao Jiming's eyes were startlingly bright in the night, his pitch-black pupils fixed firmly on her.

"I have no blood relation to you, and I like you."

A honking car whizzed past the two of them, kicking up a gust of wind.

Qiao Suisui's hair flew up; she stared at Qiao Jiming in a daze, opening her mouth but unable to speak.

"I don't care what you took me for in the past, but starting from today, I hope you will look at me from the perspective of a man."

She wanted to laugh a little, but couldn't, and for a moment, she couldn't find any words.

Suddenly, a black Bentley stopped by the side of the road.

The car window rolled down, and Guan Weizhi's gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them, then he said to Qiao Suisui, "Get in the car."

(End of this chapter)