Fortunately, Jiang Siyan didn't seem to mind. Instead, he looked quite intrigued.
He had known for a long time that Nan Yue was shrouded in mystery, but that wouldn't stop him from wanting to understand her or finding the thing within her that could ignite his will to live.
So, he had been looking forward to Nan Yue telling him her secret.
And Nan Yue did indeed tell him the truth.
They were in a Japanese restaurant with light music playing and excellent privacy.
At first, Jiang Siyan used a calm and composed facade to hide his excitement, but by the end, his stiffness was visible to the naked eye.
Wen Xiang Yuan was just as surprised. Nan Yue had never told her about the secret she carried before.
Previously, Nan Yue had considered that Wen Xiang Yuan had no special abilities and was in a unique situation where even self-preservation was difficult, so she didn't want her to worry about such things.
Ultimately, regardless of what Wen Xiang Yuan's identity was, she faced no real life-threatening danger in the mission world.
There was no need for her to wade into these muddy waters.
But Wen Xiang Yuan was growing, and she was growing rapidly.
Perhaps she didn't know her own secret, or perhaps she was unwilling to say, but Nan Yue didn't want to keep things from her.
She truly considered Wen Xiang Yuan a teammate.
Jiang Siyan straightened out his messy thoughts and then looked to the side, somewhat dazed...
Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning had almost finished the four-person serving of salmon.
They looked like they had known for a long time and didn't care at all.
Jiang Siyan held back his frustration. He knew he should ideally express understanding and then find a way to indirectly ask about the others' attitudes.
Gu Xiang Kai was simple-minded and would be easy to question.
But perhaps because he had been spending time with Nan Yue and the others, he suddenly lost the desire to carefully calculate his moves.
So, in front of everyone, he did something he never would have done before.
He asked very directly, "Did you guys know about this already?"
Zhu Xi Ning swatted away the chopsticks Gu Xiang Kai was reaching out with. "Yeah, we knew."
Jiang Siyan took a deep breath. "And?"
Gu Xiang Kai still managed to snatch the last piece of salmon, pretending to casually drop it onto Wen Xiang Yuan's plate.
Then Nan Yue turned and pressed the bell to have the waiter bring another round.
The piece of salmon landed with a soft thud on the plate.
Gu Xiang Kai felt a bit annoyed and answered absentmindedly, "And then, obviously, we have to protect Nan Yue. She's our boss."
"That's it?"
Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning looked at him with the same calm gaze. "Yeah, what else?"
Jiang Siyan looked at Wen Xiang Yuan again. She had learned the news at the same time as him. What was her reaction?
Wen Xiang Yuan's expression had been serious the whole time, and she hadn't said a word, as if she were deep in thought.
"Nan Yue, this matter cannot be told to anyone else besides the four of us."
Nan Yue was a bit surprised. This was the first time Wen Xiang Yuan had called her by her name so formally.
Her tone was so serious that Nan Yue felt as if she were being given an order.
Or rather, Wen Xiang Yuan wouldn't order Nan Yue around, but when she became serious, that exquisite and perfect face would unconsciously carry the gaze of a superior.
Nan Yue nodded. "I know."
Except for teammates she could trust with her life, there was no need for anyone else to know.
Jiang Siyan watched as the conversation at the table returned to food, and his racing heart gradually calmed down.
He even felt like laughing.
He had always wanted to explore Nan Yue's secret, but the moment he truly knew it, he felt fear.
How long had it been since he felt fear after... shen Nian's operation failed?
But looking at the others now, he suddenly felt ridiculous.
Among these people, not one had experienced as much as he had, and not one was stronger than him, yet he was the only one who felt cowardly.
He didn't know whether to call these people ignorant or fearless.
A person who carried, absorbed, and even considered continuing to devour pollution was sitting right next to him.
But the physiological fear quickly subsided, replaced by an excitement and anticipation that made his blood boil.
He now knew why Nan Yue gave off that feeling of thorns of the abyss, because she truly... was someone who had struggled to survive within the abyss.
Or perhaps it should be said that she was the abyss itself.
He was even more curious now. How many more surprises could a person who could coexist with and even devour pollution bring him?
...
"Siyan, after I'm gone, you must study hard. You must become a qualified scavenger and contribute to purifying the world."
"Brother, can't you just stay?"
"I can't. Your brother is very important. And don't you want to see, Siyan? What exactly lies beyond the high walls of the city state? Don't you want to see further places?"
"Further places...?"
"Ah... I'm speaking a bit too profoundly. But this journey of mine is very important. You'll understand once you graduate from school. Someone always has to hold the torch high in the darkness, and I hope you can be that person."
"But my classmates don't like me. Their grades are too far behind mine, so they don't like playing with me. I only have you as a friend, Brother."
"Siyan, in the future, you will meet better friends. Besides being able to play with you, they will be people you can entrust your life to."
"I hope you never give up hope."
...
Jiang Siyan could no longer clearly remember the appearance of that tall figure in his memory. He was too young back then, but those conversations were firmly engraved in his heart.
He had once hated life, hated hope, and hated searching for the truth.
But now he realized that he had never stopped hoping or searching.
That was why he felt so fired up now, so full of fighting spirit, so... like a person who was truly alive.
He said nothing, picking up his small cup and taking a sip. The sake slid down his throat and into his stomach, burning hot.
"How certain are you of this judgment?"
Nan Yue had been secretly observing Jiang Siyan's attitude. She knew he was curious about her, but her secret truly wasn't something most people could accept.
Seeing that Jiang Siyan seemed to be handling it well, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Seventy to eighty percent."
Jiang Siyan pondered for a moment. "If that's the case, it is indeed worth a try."
"But even with me there, I must remind you that this attempt might cost you your life."
The mission boss was the rules themselves, the source of the mission world. If Nan Yue truly made a move against them, at best she would anger them and bring death upon herself, and at worst she would directly trigger a backlash from the rules.
Even if Jiang Siyan were a god, he wouldn't be able to save her.
"Boss, do we really have to take such a risk?"
Nan Yue was silent for a moment. "In the real world, that thing doesn't come out anymore."
It had gone from hounding her every day and even trying to devour her, to disappearing for days at a time, and now it only appeared when Nan Yue used her ability.
Rate on N.U.
