C3 The past

Yang Yi was frozen in place, the phrase "sacrificing herself for him" triggering memories of when she first encountered Ye Yu.

It was the day after she received her acceptance letter from Yangcheng University—a prestigious achievement that many envied, yet it brought her immense distress.

Her father, a professor at Yangcheng University, was addicted to gambling. He never contributed financially to the family and frequently squandered their money.

Her mother toiled in a factory by day and crafted handmade goods at night, all to earn extra money to provide Yang Yi with a conducive learning environment.

But the relentless work took its toll on her health.

Seeing her mother weakened in the hospital bed, Yang Yi felt like a burden, weighing her mother down.

Overwhelmed with guilt and unable to see a way forward, she took her admission notice and plunged into the Yang Spring River as the sun set.

The shock of the frigid water snapped her back to reality. Her mother had struggled for eighteen years to raise her, and to die now would be the ultimate betrayal.

She didn't want to die; she wanted to reach the shore. But not knowing how to swim, her struggles only made her sink faster.

As the evening light waned and her cries for help were muffled by the water, Yang Yi lost hope and ceased to struggle, closing her eyes and praying to be more devoted to her mother in the next life.

That's when Ye Yu appeared. Despite not knowing how to swim, he leapt into the river, risking his life. Standing at 1.85 meters tall, he managed to lift Yang Yi up in the three-meter-deep water.

Luckily, the current of the Yangquan River was gentle. Ye Yu inched along the riverbed, guiding Yang Yi to the bank. With her help, he clung to the riverside grasses and they both made it back to dry land.

Bathed in the warm glow of twilight and caressed by a soft breeze, Yang Yi and Ye Yu exchanged their first words:

"Should I repay you with my life?"

That single question sealed their relationship, which lasted until Ye Yu's tragic death in a car accident.

Following Ye Yu's passing, Yang Yi received countless love letters, but her heart had departed with him. If it weren't for her ailing mother needing care, she would have unhesitatingly let her own life follow his.

"Sorry, I already have a fiancé named Ye Yu; your names are quite similar," Yang Yi said with a strained smile, though her eyes betrayed a hint of sadness. "Listen, you're out of work, right? Why not join us at Yangquan Wine Cellar as a security guard? The pay isn't great, but it beats being homeless."

Ye Yu accepted the offer with enthusiasm, motivated not by the money but by his connection to Yang Yi.

His experiences in the otherworld had taught Ye Yu that money wasn't the true ruler of the world; it was merely a tool for those in power to control things. The real force that commanded the world's obedience was martial power.

"Beep beep."

A car horn echoed from the end of the alley as a black Mercedes-Benz pulled up.

"Yang Yi, come on, we're going to be late!"

A girl leaned out of the passenger window, her voice sickly sweet, which made Ye Yu cringe.

"Okay, I'm coming," Yang Yi responded, ushering Ye Yu into the car.

Once inside, Ye Yu noticed a man in the back seat, apart from the driver and the girl named Shu. He was smartly dressed, though his small eyes and narrow forehead suggested a less imposing presence.

He frowned upon seeing Ye Yu enter the car and questioned Yang Yi about the situation.

Through their conversation, Ye Yu learned that the man was Liu Hao, the son of Liu Meng, the owner of Yangquan Wine Cellar, and also its executive director. The girl named Shu was Yang Yi's assistant and the deputy manager of the operating department. They were on their way to a capital investment meeting that evening.

During the drive, Yang Yi introduced Ye Yu to Liu Hao, who merely glanced at Ye Yu and nodded, clearly unimpressed.

Ye Yu was unfazed. Considering his clothes were salvaged from a garbage heap, he felt fortunate enough that they were odor-free.