Return of the Antagonistic Lady Boss

Chapter 1156: Chapter 1128: Revealing Fate with a Single Sentence (Fourth Update)

Yu Minglang was taken aback by Qian’s words, and after a few seconds, he shook his head bitterly.

”There’s no such thing as ghosts and gods in this world; it’s all made up by people to scare themselves.”

Qian nodded, then shook her head.

”I don’t comment on such supernatural phenomena, but what I want to say is that when we’re finally buried beneath yellow earth and white bones, what can remain?”

”The spirit.”

Qian nodded.

”Yes, wealth doesn’t count, and what truly remains for the descendants is nothing but a spirit. Balan is gone now, but if you imagine him returning, what would he say to you?”

”He would hate me, hate me for taking his life.”

”I don’t think so. If he could come back, he would be excited at the sight of the bottle in your hand and say, ’Today you brought the wine!’

Yu Minglang was startled by Qian’s description but relaxed his brows faintly.

”So you know him well.”

According to Balan’s character, he might indeed say that.

”I’m a psychologist; as long as I interact with someone for a while, I can analyze their personality traits. Just take Balan, for example. In your past dealings, they were always personal rather than professional, right?”

”Yes.”

He genuinely appreciated Balan, and Balan felt the same.

But neither of them ever crossed boundaries; both were principled people with ironclad discipline and bottom lines.

In the end, Yu Minglang didn’t know what had happened over the years to make Balan become who he is now.

”Did the two of you ever make any agreements?”

”What kind of agreements?”

Qian looked ahead, ”Something like a vow to remain faithful to your duties.”

”Yes, overseas, everyone takes an oath.”

”I’m not talking about that oath. Did you ever privately discuss ideals, beliefs, between you and Balan?”

Qian believed there must have been. After all, when Yu Minglang entered the training camp, he was at an age filled with youthful exuberance, how could there have been none?

As she said this, Yu Minglang’s thoughts seemed to be transported far, far back.

He was with Balan and several other brothers from different countries, setting an ambush, cooking late at night out of their helmets, substituting water for wine when there was none. Someone complained about being exhausted and asked why, but Yu Minglang merely sneered in response, refusing to answer.

Only Balan answered seriously—he said it was for faith, for that glory in his heart.

So among that group, Yu Minglang found Balan the most agreeable.

Seeing him deep in thought, Qian gave him some time. Those past memories combined with the present out-of-sync reality, the chilling wind added a feeling of poignancy to the unpredictability of life’s challenges.

Qian poured a bit of wine on the ground.

”Just as your vow once said, you pursued him for ideals and beliefs, he abandoned ideals and beliefs. If time could turn back to then, Balan at that time would surely want you to remain true to your beliefs. Balan at that time likely wouldn’t wish to see his current helplessness. It must be the harsh reality that changes a person’s ideals; struggling bitterly in reality, surely he would reminisce about the good times eating wild vegetables together. As you now offer him a drink, sending him off to the afterlife counts as a tribute to your acquaintance, and that’s enough.”

Qian looked up at the sky. The deep winter sky was pitch black without a single star in sight.

”In my concept of time, I believe the world is a big circle; everything connects at the ends. The beginning and end seem the same yet they’re fundamentally different. You met while respecting each other’s faith and loyalty first, now it’s ending because what each of you holds onto is different. ’Never forget your original intention’ is many people’s wish in youth, but how many can truly see it through? If I were Balan, seeing you would remind me of the old me. If my actions guaranteed the need for me to pay the price, I’d rather die at your hands; isn’t that also a kind of original intention.”

Yu Minglang stayed silent for a long time, then looked up at the sky.

As if responding to Qian’s words, the once pitch-black sky slowly cleared, revealing the bright North Star.

There was just that one star in the night sky, refusing to be overshadowed and shining bright.

Yu Minglang stared at the star for a while before speaking.

”I really want to know what he’s gone through all these years.”

Qian cut straight to the point.

”Actually, you’re more lost. If you had the same experiences as him, would you hold onto your faith even if it was exhausting, or would you compromise like he did for life’s necessities?”

She wagered that when Yu Minglang looked at Balan, it was as if he were looking in a mirror; he once admired Balan greatly.

Yu Minglang didn’t answer but raised his bottle, gesturing at Qian, who clinked it with him.

It was not a shared drink between spouses but a toast to confidants.

In this life, Qian was his greatest confidant.

”Life doesn’t need to give you the answer to this question. Your upbringing and education ensure you won’t ever have the chance to walk the same path as him, but if you insist on entangling over this, I stand by my professional integrity, you and him are different. Even if he were born into nobility, and you were born in a chaotic land, if you two switched circumstances, you wouldn’t make the same choices he did.”

”How can you be sure?”

”Based on my understanding of my partner beside me. You’re smart but too smart. So smart you follow only one path, wanting to be with only one person, rejecting anything else. So you have an emotional purity; your heart holds onto the belief that what you’ve chosen is the best in the world, and you’d rather dedicate your life to this belief.”

”Until that day, I always felt Balan and I were the same kind of person,” Yu Minglang said bitterly as he gazed toward the direction where Balan fell.

Qian hit right at the heart of the matter he was most unwilling to face; compared to killing a once close friend, Yu Minglang found Balan’s betrayal even harder to accept.

What kind of experience leads someone who once held firm faith to a path of unscrupulous infamy for money?

A changed heart is scarier than a dead man.

”What he’s been through we can no longer know; his actions before death have already made it clear—he yearns only for the original beauty.”

Qian took out that photo stained with dried blood, the lovely person in the photo still as fresh, yet reality has witnessed transformative changes.

”At the end of his life, he must have returned to his purest moment. If he truly hated you, why would he give you such a treasured photo?”

Qian set down the bottle and gently held his face with both hands, unsurprised to see two lines of tears streaming down Yu Minglang’s cheeks.

She softly spoke, ”Balan must see you as his old self. The faith you cling to now is the path he did not complete, so he wants to give you the most beautiful thing to honor the spirited times you once shared.”