Chapter 263: A Small Wish

Watching Li Yan, Nian Yufei’s face was already covered with tears.

"Can you stay a little longer?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"..." Li Yan paused for a moment, then said, "I’ve actually already booked a room on this floor, if anything happens tonight, I can come over immediately."

Nian Yufei shook her head vigorously, "I’m not worried about safety... Watching my mom die in front of me at ten, living in constant fear of death for a whole day and night at ten... I don’t know what impact such an experience would have on others, but for me, it was enormous, terrifying beyond words! Even though I woke up from nightmares countless times afterward, I never feared death when I was awake..."

Li Yan had to acknowledge that a little girl who went through such an experience and didn’t become jaded, rebellious, or introverted, and instead achieved such musical talent and lived a normal life, was very hard to come by.

"I just... just want you to be with me... Back then, I didn’t dare to close my eyes, didn’t dare to cry, didn’t dare to make a sound, didn’t dare to feel hungry, didn’t dare to ask for water... It felt like a child living in a fairy tale suddenly thrown into Hell. I thought I would die, I thought you’d capture me alive, I thought you were with those people... But after enduring for a day and a night, I could see you were also very tired, but you didn’t rest, didn’t sleep, you protected me from the front, blocking the assassins with your body.

In retrospect, I’ve always felt that was the longest day of my life. And you, you also had a gun, you came to kill us, originally a terrifying demon-like figure to me, I even thought you would chop off my head... In the end, your image in my heart changed, you became a mountain, a mountain that could shield me from all danger; you became an angel, a Guardian Angel..."

Nian Yufei spoke quickly, these were words she had wanted to say for seven years, but if he left, she’d have no chance to say them. So she didn’t care about being incoherent, hurriedly saying what she wanted to say, trying to convey it all.

"If you thought that back then, it’s very normal; if you still think that way now, it means in your heart, you’ve created an image of a Guardian Angel using me as the base, but it’s not really me. I’m not an angel! I can’t protect you!"

Li Yan unceremoniously pointed this out, though it might seem cruel to say this to a seventeen-year-old girl with terrifying experiences, precisely because she’s growing up, she can’t continue living clinging to an illusory image, otherwise, eventually, she’d still end up killed amidst hopes.

Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs. He didn’t believe Nian Yufei’s father would kill his only son for a mistress. An illegitimate daughter can be treated kindly and compensated, but a son is always a son, at most just a warning. Nian Yufei’s past experience already showed that her half-brother was still trying to kill her.

Given her background, she must face the harsh reality!

Despite Li Yan revealing that he wasn’t the angel or god in her heart, Nian Yufei didn’t feel a sense of idol shattering. With tears still on her face, a smile emerged. A smile through tears made this fair-faced, jade-like beauty appear even more endearing.

"I didn’t mean that, all these years, my only prayer has been to see you again. Because back then, before they found me, I fainted from exhaustion, and you left after protecting me until they arrived. I never knew who you were, where you would appear, I couldn’t even say a word of thanks.

As I grew older, I thought, if there were any more attempts on my life, I might have another chance to see you. I asked Uncle Mu about assassins, and supposedly aside from direct and indirect contacts, there’s also public task posting on neutral platforms. I thought, with your abilities, you must be a super assassin, if I didn’t ’raise the value’ of my own life, I couldn’t catch your attention. So, I threw myself into piano, working hard to become famous. If one day I became a renowned pianist, maybe the price on my head would be higher, thus increasing the chances of seeing you again... My small achievements today are, aside from fulfilling my mother’s dying wish, all for the hope of seeing you!"

Desperately striving to raise your own assassination price to become famous? Li Yan was speechless, that reasoning was absurd!

But he also understood, this was just a wish of Nian Yufei’s, what truly drove her to delve deeply into the piano and become a prodigy was her escape from the shadow of death!

Without music, without a goal in piano, to escape the shadow of death, she might not have achieved what she has today, she’d have collapsed long ago.

"I waited a long time, expecting to wait much longer, but unexpectedly met you again last time on Cloud Island. You don’t know how shocked I was, if not for your intervention, even though that assassin from Li Kingdom had aimed to kill me, I wouldn’t have known..."

Li Yan interrupted her, "I came to find you just for the tickets, now that we’ve reminisced, and you’ve explained and thanked me, I’m not interested in chatting. I’m leaving now..."

Seeing him walk towards the door, Nian Yufei noticed he didn’t say ’goodbye,’ perhaps this farewell meant there would never be another meeting, becoming a vast distance between them.

After waiting for seven years, watching that familiar back, she couldn’t help but leap up and hug Li Yan’s waist from behind.

"Seeing you again, I’m already content. I won’t ask for more, just... could you occasionally contact me? Since that day, for these seven years, in my heart, you’ve been my only relative! The only one who, in life-and-death moments, protected me without counting the cost, without any compensation. I won’t drag you into my personal affairs, won’t ask you to help or protect me, I just ask... to know you’re okay, still alive, then I’d be at peace..."

Assassins live a life licking blood off the blade, you could be powerful seven years ago, powerful now, but what about seven years later? While you can kill an enemy anytime, you could also be killed anytime!

Nian Yufei had already considered him the most important person, but didn’t know where to start paying attention. She knew well the dangers assassins faced, and with each passing year, facing dangers, seeing no sign from him, filled her with worry, fearing he had already perished in some unknown corner.

Now finally in contact, she naturally hoped to maintain some form of connection.

...

Li Yan stopped in his tracks because she was hugging him, paused for a moment, then gently detached her hands, not turning back, simply saying, "Whatever happens, happens! Seven years apart, meeting by chance at a restaurant; I hadn’t planned to contact you again, yet because a friend likes your music, I came to ask for tickets, all of which suggests, if there’s destiny, opportunities to meet will arise."

After saying that, he opened the door and left.

Li Jie was pacing slowly in the hallway, having no intention to eavesdrop, she immediately asked upon seeing Li Yan come out, "How do you know Nian Yufei? Why do you need so many tickets?"

Nian Yufei’s situation stirred some emotions in Li Yan, upon hearing her question, he initially thought of responding, ’Who are you? Why does it concern you?’, but looking at her, he changed his tone, deliberately leaned closer, lowered his voice and said, "I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else..."

Li Jie attentively listened.

"Actually, I’m part-time scalping tickets, Miss Nian Yufei, she’s partnering with us for profit-sharing. She gets a lot of VIP tickets with good spots from the organizers, I sell them off for her, she makes a bit of pocket money."

"..." Li Jie glared at him, the performer scalping their own tickets, do you think I’m a fool?

Seeing Li Yan walking away with a mischievous grin, she reluctantly went back to continue closely protecting Nian Yufei.

After Li Jie returned, Li Yan came back again, entering room 2922.

Taking out the stack of tickets Nian Yufei gave, there were about twenty tickets, not exactly eleven, all staggered as he had requested, showing her care.

Yet staring at these tickets, Li Yan also felt a bit of a headache, whether to give the tickets away for them to listen, or to actually accompany each one? Accompanying different girls to the same concert was a bit tricky!

Handling multiple top assassins simultaneously never troubled Li Yan, but handling multiple beauties seemed more stressful; traveling to Borola to challenge the Clover Organization, he was at ease, but dating several beauties felt like a huge challenge.

He chuckled bitterly, wanting to date multiple people at once, indeed felt a bit greedy. However, he felt the occasion was special, not just another dinner or movie, which was too ordinary.

But, being Li Yan, the King still had the style of a King!

Even though he knew this was a big challenge, he still wanted to try it!

Just like his first time facing an S-Class mission, it seemed like a significant challenge before initiating it, but once completed, encountering an S-Class mission again, he approached it calmly and handled it with ease.

With a slight chuckle, he contemplated managing multiple dates, a challenge indeed. But after thinking it through, he committed to the daring adventure!

Finally, he selected five sets of tickets, carefully arranging them to be as staggered as possible according to their numbers. However, today’s brush with Room No. 001 made him a bit cautious; while he usually just watched movies, multiple dates at the same concert was a bit unconventional.