Chapter 27: 1-14

Before anything else, Yu Qingyu had to try to have a serious conversation with Liu Wei, alone.

So, on Sunday, he waited near the gym's entrance since early morning. Because Liu Wei continued to ignore his messages and phone calls, and Yu Qingyu had no idea where he lived, his only option was to try to catch Liu Wei here, before the training.

He waited, and waited, and waited…

Around half past 8, his teammates finally started coming, one by one. But Liu Wei was still nowhere in sight.

It was only two minutes before 9 that he appeared, leisurely walking toward the gym, as if he had all the time in the world. He didn't seem to notice Yu Qingyu, who was slouching on a curb across the empty parking lot, trying hard to remain awake against the overwhelming sleepiness.

Seeing Liu Wei finally arrive, Yu Qingyu instantly jolted awake and sprang right back to his feet. "Liu Wei!" he called, running through the lot to where Liu Wei was.

Liu Wei paused in his tracks for a second, but soon resumed walking, not sparing Yu Qingyu a single glance.

"Liu Wei!" Not giving up, Yu Qingyu cut in front of him, blocking his way. "Can we just talk? Please?"

Liu Wei looked at Yu Qingyu with a dark, unreadable gaze, no emotion showing on his face. He still hasn't said anything or reacted in any other way, but at least he stopped.

It seemed to be a good sign. At least he wasn't completely unwilling to listen to what Yu Qingyu had to say.

Yu Qingyu took a deep breath, gathering all the courage he could muster, and looked straight into Liu Wei's eyes. "Umm, where do I start…" Although he did plan what to say beforehand, and he reviewed it a thousand times, now that he was standing in front of Liu Wei, his mind suddenly went blank.

"S-so, you know who I was in your world, right? Since you said you despise me…" he finally muttered after a moment of silence.

Liu Wei stood completely motionless. Even when his phone started ringing, he still didn't react at all.

Yu Qingyu couldn't help but sigh. Since Liu Wei only referred to him by his system's ID, he wanted to confirm that Liu Wei did indeed know that he had taken over Chen Rumin's body before saying anything else. Just to be absolutely sure. Although there was no other plausible explanation…

Not getting any answer, he had no choice but to continue. "Well, you see… I understand why you would hate me for that. But the thing is, I didn't actually want to betray you! I really didn't… However, I had no choice. The mission I received from my system was to cooperate with the city council and help them capture you. So you see, I…"

"So what?" Liu Wei interrupted Yu Qingyu's explanations, the tone of his voice so cold it made Yu Qingyu shiver.

The whole world seemed to stop for a moment, as the two men stared at each other in silence, disturbed only by the constant ringing of Liu Wei's phone.

Yu Qingyu started wringing his hands, trying to ease his anxiety. "I know that I have wronged you, and that my excuses don't mean anything to you. I don't expect you to forgive me. But, can't we come to a truce? I need to do those missions. I just want to survive!" Biting his lip, Yu Qingyu looked up into Liu Wei's eyes with apprehensiveness, but also a bit of hope.

However, that hope was immediately crushed. Liu Wei was still as cold and unmoved as before, or perhaps even colder. "So do I," he answered curtly.

Yu Qingyu heart sank. But he still needed to confirm one more thing. "Does that mean that your mission is…"

"There you are!" Jiang Lu's angry voice suddenly rang from behind him. It seems that getting impatient, he went outside the gym to look out for Liu Wei. "It's already past 9! What are you two doing!?"

Liu Wei lifted his sight from Yu Qingyu, and raised the corners of his lips, giving Jiang Lu a slightly forced, tight-lipped smile. "Sorry, sorry. As you can see, I ran into… a small obstacle on the way." Saying this, he passed by Yu Qingyu, walking toward the entrance.

Yu Qingyu quickly turned around, wanting to stop him, but before he could do anything, Jiang Lu interjected.

"Fu Zhiren, just let it go!" He sighed and shook his head. He took a quick glance back, and when he was sure Liu Wei went inside and was no longer within earshot, he took a step toward Yu Qingyu. "It's good that you're trying to straighten things up, but now it's not the time. And don't wait for him after training either, okay? If you pester him too much, he might stop coming!"

"That… might be a good thing," Yu Qingyu answered in a quiet voice.

Jiang Lu was visibly taken aback. "What?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

"Well, it's just that…"

Before Yu Qingyu managed to explain anything, Jiang Lu interrupted him again. "Wait, hold on. We'll talk about it later. For now, just go."

Not waiting for the answer, Jiang Lu walked back into the gym, closing the door right in front of Yu Qingyu's nose.

'Well, 520. Any thoughts?' Left alone, Yu Qingyu consulted the system.

[It appears that cooperation won't be possible. It would be best for Host to treat Liu Wei as an enemy from now on.]

Yu Qingyu let out a long sigh. Things weren't looking good. Of course, losing one mission wouldn't have any serious consequences for him, but if the situation were to repeat… If Liu Wei were to follow him to the next world as well… Then, he'd really be in serious trouble!

He should have just failed his mission in Liu Wei's world. It made him uncomfortable from the start, and it was worth only 10 points. If he only decided not to betray Liu Wei, and let him destroy the city, he wouldn't be in such a predicament right now. If only…

But alas, it was too late to regret it now.