If he had any conscience left, he should not continue to hurt her, he should let go and give her happiness.
Seeing his reluctance and melancholy, Lu Xiaofan’s eyes flickered slightly, feeling a bit of discomfort in her heart.
She knew that even if he let Lin Xinlan go, the one he loved was still Lin Xinlan, and it would never be her.
"That’s really great. You letting her go, does that mean I have a chance now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and a faint smile.
Qiao Yiyang glanced at her, his gaze somewhat complex.
Lu Xiaofan looked him in the eyes and boldly countered, "Am I right? Qiao Yiyang, have you truly decided to give me a chance to enter your heart?"
"Xiaofan, how many years have we known each other?"
Lu Xiaofan was startled, not expecting him to ask this question.
"Eighteen years in two more months," she said accurately.
The time they met was the day that carnage ended.
One could almost say that the time and place they met was disturbing, yet so unforgettable they could not forget it.
"Eighteen years," Qiao Yiyang said with a sigh.
"Time flies. In these eighteen years, you’ve done a lot for me."
Lu Xiaofan slightly lowered her gaze and said lightly, "No matter how much I’ve given, I did it willingly."
Qiao Yiyang looked at her and suddenly said, "Xiaofan, I saved your life back then, and for eighteen years you’ve been devoted to me. Now, you’ve nearly lost your life for my sake again. You don’t owe me any favors anymore."
Lu Xiaofan’s gaze was dubious, and she asked uncertainly, "What do you mean by that? You want to make a clear distinction between us?"
Qiao Yiyang stood up and walked to the window, looking out and said faintly:
"I just want to say, you don’t owe me anything. You don’t have to stay by my side because of past obligations. Now, you are free, you are not my subordinate, nor do you need to risk your life for me. We are equals, you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want."
Lu Xiaofan suddenly sat up with a movement that tugged at the wound on her chest, yet she didn’t even frown.
She stared at his back and asked coldly:
"Qiao Yiyang, are you trying to drive me away? Do you think the reason I’ve devoted myself to you, the reason I’ve served you, is all to repay a debt? Ha, don’t make me laugh. I repaid my debt to you long ago. If I hadn’t been willing to do so, I would have left long ago. Qiao Yiyang, it’s not that I owe you, it’s you who owes me now!"
Qiao Yiyang turned around, his eyes flickering, his look very complex.
Lu Xiaofan said stubbornly, "Am I wrong? It is you who owes me! Qiao Yiyang, it’s time for you to repay your debt to me!"
"You’re right, you’ve repaid your debt to me long ago, now it is indeed me who owes you."
After a pause, he asked, "Tell me, how should I repay you? My life is yours whenever you want it."
"What do I need your life for?!" Lu Xiaofan chuckled, then said lightly, "I’ve been with you for eighteen years, so I want you to be with me for eighteen years too. After that, we’re square. How’s that?"
A complex light flashed through Qiao Yiyang’s eyes.
"You only want me to be with you for eighteen years?" He asked, puzzled.
"Yeah," Lu Xiaofan nodded, her expression a bit desolate.
"Before I met you, my world was a blank space, devoid of even temperature. After you saved me, I told myself that I would protect you for a lifetime, and my world has only you in it."