(Already exploded to 46, whoa, brothers with monthly passes, give a few to stimulate me, let me have the motivation to burst out a bit)

"What's wrong?" Yue Yao was silent for a moment, and Li Yan could already sense that she was troubled.

"It's nothing, just... now that the mission is over, do you want to take a break before coming back?"

Yue Yao spoke very tactfully, but between the two of them, they were so familiar that even an ordinary sentence could reveal each other's thoughts. Li Yan immediately understood that she was worried he might have psychological issues.

His Heart Demon arises from the frequent killing, subconsciously creating feelings of guilt and remorse. However, his psychological resilience is also very strong, and the most direct trigger for his Heart Demon is using the "Heart Demon" ability; when he first discovered it was too late, the more he used it, the more obvious and intense the side effects became. But this time, the three batches of people he killed didn't see his true self, so he didn't use the "Heart Demon," relying solely on his own abilities to defeat the enemy. Therefore, he could suppress the Heart Demon triggered by the bloody slaughter relatively easily.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Li Yan reassured.

Yue Yao didn't see it that way. "You're different now, compared to before. You used to be alone, or with me, or with Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao, it didn't matter. If something felt off, everyone knew what was going on. Now that you're back, Yurong, Yu Xiaodi, they all care about you. With a woman's observational skills and intuition, if anything's off, they'll notice. Plus, this time you left without saying goodbye for a week..."

"That's a good point... But, after that night ended, I already estimated it might end up like this. Even if it wasn't the case, I would have let others take the lead first, while I picked up scraps at the end. So these few days, I've really just been relaxing. Don't worry, I'll adjust my mindset before heading back."

Li Yan was comforting Yue Yao, yet he wasn't lying. Letting go of everything on his mind and spending these couple of days with Li Jie was actually a great emotional adjustment for him, allowing him not to dwell on that night's events.

"Alright, do what you think is best. Yurong is really anxious, consider whether you should go back directly or give her a call first." After saying this, Yue Yao hung up.

Li Yan sighed slightly; five or six days had passed in a blink. Not only Yurong was anxious, but Xiaodi, Qianyi, Hai Fu, Huang Ying, they would all be worried too, right?

...

"What's wrong?" Li Jie walked over.

They were in the mall because she mentioned she'd never worn a skirt before, so Li Yan specifically brought her to buy one. She had just gone to the changing room, and when she came out, saw Li Yan was on the phone, checked herself in the mirror, and then waited for him to finish.

Li Yan looked at her and smiled, "It's very pretty, you look great in it. Let's buy it!"

Changing the topic, Li Jie asked seriously again, "Did something happen? Or..." She hesitated to finish the question. If he's avoiding discussing the call, it's either something bad happened or it could be a call from his girlfriend, right?

Seeing she's curious but misunderstood, Li Yan hesitated. He hadn't wanted to tell her because he didn't want to affect her mood and wanted her to continue having fun. But thinking it over, since the danger was already removed, it would be better to inform her. Li Chengfeng would tell her anyway, even if they stayed a few more days, they would still need to go back. Better to let her know so she wouldn't worry about her father's safety and could cherish the time more.

"No, it's not like you think. I just received a message... the danger is gone, my mission is completed," Li Yan said softly.

Li Jie was stunned. These past few days, everything felt so wonderful, like living in a fairy tale, without worrying about company matters or mission issues. Upon hearing this, she realized this lifestyle wasn't her real life, just temporary and fleeting. With the mission over, they would...

"Is the danger gone? That's a good thing." Although she tried to smile, her enthusiasm wasn't high, and she understood why Li Yan hadn't wanted to tell her earlier—letting her dream a little longer.

"Yes, you don't have to worry about your father's safety, and your father doesn't have to worry about the bodyguards failing or botching the mission."

"Mm..."

"But they might not return so soon, because Julian may not leave Yun Country right away; it's just not as severe temporarily. Regular protection missions don't require me, but other bodyguards are still necessary."

"Mm..."

"After this, tell your dad not to push so hard. At his age, principles and ideals are sufficient; it's time to consider family more."

"Mm..."

"Are you just going to say 'Mm'?"

"Mm..." After agreeing, Li Jie snapped back to herself and tried to smile, "Are you going back?"

"..." He didn't need to answer her directly; even if he stayed a couple more days, he would still need to return.

Li Jie spoke softly, "Before long several days have passed. Not only do you need to go back, but I also need to return; there's so much to do."

"No problem. When I return, I'll be in City S, we can still meet often."

Li Jie knew this was comfort; they were in the same city before, but they hardly saw each other unless by coincidence. "Let's talk about later things later. Do you remember what you promised me?"

"What?" Li Yan wasn't sure what she referred to.

"You promised me..." Mentioning the promise made Li Jie blush a bit.

Li Yan chuckled, lowering his voice, "I'm okay with it."

"How's the skirt? I think it's pretty, let's buy it?" Li Yan said this to her, but she seemed distracted. "What are you looking at?"

It wasn't skirt season, and City H isn't as mild and short-lived in winter as City S, so not only were skirt styles limited, but there were hardly any other customers in this area. Even the salespeople were in other winter clothing sections attending to customers.

Li Yan followed her gaze around, but didn't see anything unusual; no one was following or observing them. If there was, he surely would have noticed before Li Jie.

"Nothing, I just think... wearing this outside might be cold?" Li Jie pulled him to the mirror outside the changing room.

"Nonsense. But back in City S, it's not as cold, so you could wear it. Haha... If you wore a skirt to your company, you'd definitely stun everyone."

"Let's buy it then. Whether it's stunning, shocking, or scaring a crowd, sometimes doing something crazy isn't bad..."

Li Jie said this while opening the changing room door, intending to change back into pants.

Isn't it normal for a girl to wear a skirt? To her, it almost seemed crazy, requiring special courage. Li Yan found it a bit amusing yet pitiful.

(Thanks to the brothers who rewarded on the 7th: Yuanlai Shi Ni Longzai, kipagod, Cp Pampas, Guojue, zjun971210, Shuyou100505081224547, dongmin8061, Xiao Qi╮, .Piao Ling Ye.) (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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