268: If everything could start over

Li had thought that being discovered by Gaia was just an accident.

After he had earnestly pleaded with Gaia and promised that his request was very simple—just to protect—Gaia, though hesitant, finally fell silent.

There was a faint but persistent sting in the depths of his heart, a feeling he had already grown accustomed to.

To stay by Tu Nan's side while carrying this pain was the best possible ending after taking such a long, winding detour.

But he was wrong again; Tu Nan found him directly.

"Long time no see, Li."

Those green eyes focused on him once more.

There was no one else in her eyes.

Only him.

"There's no one else here. Are you going to keep wearing that helmet while talking to me?" Tu Nan's tone was calm.

Like a controlled puppet, Li followed the instruction with one movement, obediently taking off the helmet.

Two different ears were liberated from under the helmet, surreptitiously perking up.

Without the obstruction of the helmet, he didn't dare look at Tu Nan again; only a cool breeze swirled gently between the two of them.

"Have you... been doing well?"

He clearly knew Tu Nan was doing well now; she was already the Empress of the Empire. But how did she get to this point? During the days he didn't know about, had she really been doing well?

Unlike Li's evasion, Tu Nan's gaze was unwavering.

"Very well. I've always lived according to my own heart."

"That's... really good."

Li showed a hint of a smile. "Then I can rest easy."

"Do you hate me?" Tu Nan asked him.

Li shook his head.

"Never."

He didn't hesitate.

"Never. I was just afraid, and I didn't understand."

"So you understand now?"

Tu Nan was surprised; in truth, only a little over a year had passed.

Li nodded.

"I once had many teammates. They were all very strong, but they all died." He sank into memory. "They had families, some had lovers or Children, and some had Foster Mothers."

"I survived only because I was luckier than them."

He finally turned his head slightly, looking at this Female Beast who used to be by his side out of the corner of his eye.

"I remember everything you said in the flagship's meeting room, and I heard what you said to those Foster Mothers before the Matchmaking Ball. You said they were no different from anyone else."

Tu Nan hadn't expected that he was truly trying hard to understand everything.

"You were right. I thought you belonged to me only because at that moment, the card I drew was better than yours. But that card game shouldn't have existed in the first place."

He truly understood it all; there was no resentment.

"You shouldn't have been at such an unfair table... I'm sorry."

Tu Nan observed the Male Beast before her.

He really had changed a lot.

Although Li had never been a man of many words, his former silence tended toward an internally defensive arrogance.

He was both proud of his martial prowess and insecure about his status. He isolated himself outside of mainstream society, playing the lone wolf.

But his current steadiness was the cautiousness of someone who had seen how vast the world was, yet still retained that bit of former purity.

This was extremely rare.

Tu Nan finally smiled sincerely.

"Li, I can finally tell you something. And that is—thank you for buying me back then."

She signaled for Li not to interrupt her.

"Yes, I know you're going to say it was just an unfair table. I certainly understand that I shouldn't have been bought and sold as a human being. But..."

Tu Nan sighed. "But that wasn't your problem. It was the system that made everyone fail to recognize the existence of evil."

"You saved me in your own way. You did your best. You're a very good person. If it had been another Female Beast or another Foster Mother, perhaps you two would have had a better ending."

"No!"

Li interrupted her with a tone that brooked no refusal.

"It wouldn't have. That was only because of you."

This was the maximum amount of sweet talk he could muster. Sixty thousand Karu—he had saved for so long; he was never one to spend money recklessly.

In that moment, whether it was right or wrong, it was the greatest stroke of luck in his life.

To think that such luck could be obtained just by spending money.

His wild instincts hadn't failed him. He had done something wrong, and he repented, but in the end, he found he didn't regret it.

"I am a bad person," he could only tell Tu Nan.

Tu Nan shook her head in amusement. "You've really become a better person, Li."

She looked toward a nearby cluster of bushes. No one else noticed the tiny figure there, but she was not among them.

Ao Ao had been squatting there giving a live broadcast to Miao Miao in the back for long enough.

She waved toward them. "Come out, you little rascals."

Li turned abruptly as a small black shadow darted toward Tu Nan, only to be intercepted and scooped into Li's arms.

"Ao Ao, she's pregnant," Li criticized disapprovingly.

"I forgot, I'm sorry... Mama." The usually steady Ao Ao was uncharacteristically flustered.

"Be careful next time, or your two little sisters will scold you," Tu Nan warned him gently.

The little fellow twitched his whiskers bashfully.

The little sisters were very cute. Although they were still too small to say more than two words a day, Ao Ao was completely wrapped around their little fingers.

Tu Nan also called Miao Miao out and stuffed them both into Li's arms.

"I explained to you last time that you need to help Mama and Emperor Teacher do something very important, right?"

The two little ones nodded.

"We need to wait until the little sisters are born, and then everyone will contribute. But first, Mama needs you to be patient."

Tu Nan was also loath to part with the Children, but to restore order to this world, both she and the Children needed to work hard.

"Let Papa take you both to stay with Uncle Big Tree for half a year, okay?"

Li was puzzled. "What's going on?"

Tu Nan explained once again the Children's attraction to the Star Worms and the seemingly outrageous thing they were going to do.

"So the Children are going there?" Li could be considered the person most familiar with the entire situation besides Tu Nan and His Majesty.

He had been to that wondrous space and had experienced it firsthand.

"It's very dangerous. There are many Star Worms on the way, and there's turbulence." The casualty rate of that exploration mission had been very high.

Tu Nan knew she had chosen such a difficult path for the Children, but she actually had no other choice.

"You will help me, won't you?" She sought Li's assurance.

Li looked at the Children.

Seeing their mother ask a question, the Two Children thought she was asking them and nodded very seriously.

"Mm, Mama said if we don't go, maybe all the other kids will lose their mamas and papas. That would be too sad." Miao Miao wrinkled her little nose and waved a small fist at the sky.

"I'll go." The Little Wolf said only three words.

"You're both the best Children. The teachers have taught you so well. Mama is proud of you."

No... it's you who taught them well, Li thought quietly. And he hoped that all of Tu Nan's wishes would come true.

He hoped to guard everything until the better world Tu Nan spoke of appeared.

That way, if there was a next life, he would wish for a fair chance.

Then he could once again, openly and honestly, ask Tu Nan—

"My name is Li. May I get to know you?"

"Would you be willing?"