An Liya felt her brain was a complete mess after she spoke.

If her life wasn't coming to an end, coupled with Tang Lan's provocation…

The usually innocent An Liya would never have been able to say such blunt words, even if it meant death.

But after hearing An Liya's words, Qiao Yu didn't have any erotic thoughts; instead, he fell into deep thought.

Did he love An Liya? If it was just about the physical aspect, then he definitely did.

What man doesn't love a beautiful woman?

As long as a man's nostrils are still breathing, he must be lustful. Qiao Yu was a man, so naturally he was no exception.

But what about spiritually? Loving someone can't just be about their body and appearance, because those things will eventually fade with time.

No one can be eighteen forever, but there will always be someone who is eighteen.

No matter how beautiful a face or body is, you'll get tired of it after a while.

If you're so shallow as to like someone's body, then you'll naturally be tempted by someone else with a better-looking body when you meet them.

Qiao Yu thought about it, but there seemed to be no answer to this question.

He was naturally attracted to An Liya. If he hadn't met Zuo You first, he might have accepted An Liya without hesitation.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in the world.

In the multiple-choice questions of life, no matter what you choose, there will be regrets.

An Liya was more novel to him than Zuo You, but if a person chose a new person because of novelty, they would also choose another person because of novelty in the future.

Constantly trying and failing, constantly regretting, over and over again, endlessly – that's the entire life of this kind of person.

Zuo You was willing to stay in the underworld, a place as dark as night, waiting for him. If he was outside having sweet and romantic relationships with other women, then he would be too much of a bastard.

"I'm sorry, An Liya, I think you might have misunderstood. I've always just thought of you as a very good friend," Qiao Yu said with a wry smile.

An Liya's face turned pale in an instant, as if she had been struck by a heavy blow. Her delicate body was even a little unsteady.

She felt like an invisible hand was grabbing her heart and dragging it down, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"It's, it's okay, it's really okay," An Liya said, but tears still rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Tang Lan couldn't bear to watch any longer. As a woman, she could naturally see that An Liya had fallen in love with Qiao Yu.

"Hey, Qiao Yu, you're going a bit too far! It's okay to play with someone's body, but how can you play with their feelings!" Tang Lan frowned and hurried forward to support An Liya.

Qiao Yu: "…"

For a moment, the scene became very awkward. Qiao Yu and An Liya were both silent and didn't speak.

Some words, once spoken, would make it impossible to even be friends.

"Forget it, forget it, I'll leave you two some space to be alone. I'll come find you again next time, my Tang family's son-in-law~"

Tang Lan also saw that the atmosphere was not right, and she was completely superfluous here.

With An Liya here, Tang Lan couldn't directly push Qiao Yu down either.

She was just unrestrained in her words; she had no practical experience at all.

However, what she had just said was all true. After getting her revenge, her only wish now was to leave a bloodline for the Tang family.

The earth dragon surged, and a thick vine wrapped around Tang Lan and carried her away into the distance.

By the Soul Cleansing Lake, only Qiao Yu and An Liya remained.

Qiao Yu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say it for a moment.

He was the one who took An Liya away from the mountain.

He couldn't explain what kind of mentality he had at the time, but when he heard that An Liya was going to marry someone else, he felt a resistance from the bottom of his heart.

But after bringing An Liya here, what could he give her? It seemed like he couldn't give her anything.

For the first time, Qiao Yu felt that he was a very selfish guy.

At this moment, a delicate body leaned over and tightly grasped Qiao Yu's arm.

"It's okay, Qiao Yu, you don't have to feel guilty or blame yourself. I'm willing to follow you. You're the person An Liya cares about most now. You can confidently do anything you want to do."

An Liya seemed to see what Qiao Yu was thinking. She held Qiao Yu's arm, her face still stained with undried tears.

"...I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

Qiao Yu knew that apologizing wouldn't work for An Liya, but at this time, he really couldn't think of anything else to do besides apologize.

"It's okay, I don't blame you. It's enough to be able to clearly feel you by my side now," An Liya said with a smile.

If people could possess the people they love without any regard for the consequences, then the world would have been completely chaotic long ago.

Love rivals would kill each other, and simps and backup lovers would cut down the main characters one after another. All those who didn't get love would be blinded by rage, thinking, "If I can't have it, then you can't have it either. If I can't get it, then I'll destroy it."

But the world is like this after all, orderly, cyclical, and with conserved energy.

If one person is happy, then there is someone behind them sacrificing for it.

Regret is always present in every stage of life.

Codyger understood this principle, and An Liya naturally understood it as well.

"Let's go into the Soul Cleansing Lake. Professor Shen asked me to bring you here, it should be for this, right?" Qiao Yu took a deep breath to calm his mind.

"Okay!"

An Liya took a deep breath and then walked towards the lake.

Looking at the sparkling lake surface, An Liya suddenly hesitated.

She squatted down and reached out to test the lake surface, but quickly retracted her hand with a disappointed look.

"Qiao Yu, can you turn around? This lake will only work if you take off your clothes," An Liya asked.

"Okay!"

Qiao Yu didn't have those worldly desires at this time. He turned around and closed his Ghost Eyes. He even retracted his mental power and didn't look back at all. His back was now a blind spot.

There was a rustling sound of undressing behind him, followed by the tinkling sound of something spreading through the water.

About half an hour later, An Liya's voice sounded again from behind Qiao Yu.

"Qiao Yu, I'm ready!"

An Liya smiled, like a lotus emerging from the water, beautiful beyond description.

Qiao Yu was a little dazed, and then he quickly shook his head to calm himself down.

"Let's go, let's go back after we're done. I have to tell Professor Shen and the others about the discovery in the Soul Cleansing Lake," Qiao Yu said with a deep breath.

"Okay." An Liya nodded.

A light gate appeared in the dungeon, and An Liya and Qiao Yu returned to the real world. It had been seven days since Qiao Yu and the others entered the Soul Cleansing Lake.

Just as the two were walking on the shady path of Jingda University, An Liya suddenly said,

"Qiao Yu, let me teach you how to use the Wrath of the Gods."

A crystal-clear longbow appeared in An Liya's hand. It was the S-grade equipment, Wrath of the Gods!

"Why should I learn this? Isn't it enough to have you? You just need to ride on it," Qiao Yu asked.

"Have you ever thought about what if I leave one day?" An Liya asked back.

"Why are you suddenly asking this? If you leave, the Wrath of the Gods will definitely be taken away by you too, so it's even more useless for me to learn it."

Qiao Yu waved his hand and continued,

"Besides, there's plenty of time in the future. You can teach me when you're free."

"It's not that... I just think, um... it's nothing."

An Liya opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, but in the end, she couldn't say it, and just showed a smile that Qiao Yu couldn't understand.