Chapter 772 (1/2)

“It’s not about killing you or not, I just felt like you were very dangerous and doing anything to you would cause more trouble! Also, when have I ever saved you?” Ye Lang asked, confused.

“Have you forgotten… I was underwater and…” Zhao Yarou blushed again. Thank goodness they were alone or other people would’ve been in shock at her response.

Zhao Yarou’s odd moods were the times she did the most terrifying things.

“Oh, you’re talking about that? That was just an impulse I had, I couldn’t bear to watch you die so I saved the witch that you are,” said Ye Lang. He did not sound regretful-- he did not regret it.

“Li Yue's the witch, I’m not a witch!”

“You’re right, you’re not a witch. You’re a monster,” said Ye Lang.

“...”

Zhao Yarou was silent. She just walked with him as they walked around the huge prison to look for a place to stay. This was just the beginning, they had to live together for ten years.

She did not want to talk much now, they had too much time to do that.

“Zhao Yarou, why are you always following me around?”

As they walked in silence for a while, Ye Lang finally asked.

“Who else would I follow? We’re the only ones here. You’re the only person I can rely on, my brother-in-law…” Zhao Yarou held his hand breezily, like a little girl that needed protection.

Zhao Yarou could be mesmerizingly adorable sometimes if one did not think about her psychotic side. But Ye Lang was the only person to see this.

At this moment, he did not notice this. He just shook his head. “I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about before this. When I was locked up, you didn’t have to come. Why did you follow me?”

“...” Zhao Yarou didn’t expect him to ask or notice.

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s something wrong with my brain. I abandoned my good life as an empress to be locked up with you in jail.” Zhao Yarou finally answered after a very, very long time. Ye Lang hadn’t spoken as he waited for her to answer his question.

After she spoke, he said, “You’re lying!”

“...” Zhao Yarou fell silent.

“Just be honest with me. We’re the only ones here, there’s no need to hide anything,” said Ye Lang as they walked.

“...” Zhao Yarou fell silent once more, her expression complex. She hesitated to tell him her secret.

She had hidden this secret for too long. She felt like it wasn’t worth telling him right now. But just as he said, they were alone. They had to get along for ten years.

Anything could happen in ten years. Could she really hold a secret for that long?

Also, once ten years passed, her objective would’ve been completed. What’s the use of keeping it in?

She chose not to tell him. This was something she had been holding on to for more than ten years!

“That’s fine, I know the answer even if you don’t. I’m not that dumb,” said Ye Lang mildly. There was some emotion in his voice, as if he knew something.

“What do you know?” asked Zhao Yarou nervously.

“I know it’s because you’ll miss me!” he said with a grin.

“...”

“You shouldn’t rely on your brother-in-law like that, this is a serious matter.”

“...”

After some silence, she looked up at the ‘sky’ and said wistfully, “I’ll miss you and I want to rely on you but you’ve always shut me out. You never let me follow you around, you say I’m a madwoman…”

Ye Lang seemed to have recalled incidents that he’d forgotten.

“I want to prove to you that I can do everything you say. Then you won’t shut me out anymore… But just for this, I had to lock you up for ten years, I won’t be able to see you… It’s too long, I cannot accept it!”

“And that is why I followed you here!” vented Zhao Yarou, telling him her heartbreak and dilemma!

Ye Lang fell silent. He could feel the pain in her. He realised that his heart ached too. He was aching for her.

Why?

He did not know, he just understood somehow that everything Zhao Yarou had done, everything he thought was psychotic, was probably because of something he said.

If that was the case, how will he face her, how will he face anyone else…

This was absolutely horrifying!

Zhao Yarou was deep in thought. She felt like the biggest idiot in the world but she did not regret it. She did not regret coming here, she did not regret giving up on all her hard work for the past years.

She wanted to keep him here for ten years to solve the problem being a hindrance to her ruling the world. Once he was locked up, she would be free to act.

But she did not want him to die. If he were anyone else, she would’ve killed them. But she couldn’t do it to Ye Lang.

Hence she could only put him on house arrest. But he was going to escape any place she locked him up in. That was just a matter of time.

That was how she thought of this place, a place specially for locking up alchemy prodigies. It was the most restricted prison in the Tiangongyue tribe. Even regular alchemists weren’t locked dup here.

Zhao Yarou had already thought about all the possibilities. Ten years was the best time span. She could do five years but it was very likely that her goals wouldn’t be completed in five years. Hence, she chose ten years.

But ten years was so long. When he was outside and not with her, at least she received intelligence on his activities. That had been enough for her.

She would not receive any news about him for ten years. She could not accept this.

She felt so horrible that she decided to give up everything, give up all her plans and her position as the empress.

T was a huge dilemma. This was supposed to be the key step to the success of her plan, yet it was also the downfall!

This was the dilemma of life. Sometimes, one had to make choices so abruptly. Choices sometimes required sacrifices.

It was a tough decision to make. These fleeting decisions had to be made quickly or the opportunity would be lost forever.

You had to be very sure and decisive about what you wanted or you’d regret it for the rest of your life.

Just like Zhao Yarou. She had such a short time to make her decision, yet she still chose what she wanted. Other than being a decisive person, Ye Lang was just too important to her.

What Sha Lan said five years later was correct. Zhao Yarou did not like him less than anyone in this world!

This was a kind of stubbornness that only Zhao Yarou would understand!

Perhaps Ye Lang could sense it too.

“What did I say to you? What have I ever told you to do?” asked Ye Lang, confused. He couldn’t remember what he said as a child.

He wasn’t mean, he just couldn’t remember. At that point, part of his soul had been missing. He was a very clueless person then, he couldn’t remember much.

If Zhao Yarou never mentioned it, he would’ve never remembered it. Other than special circumstances, he didn’t recall much.