Chapter 232: Junnan

"Oh?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. "Kill me... that's interesting, it's a great idea."

"Is that so?" The pale-faced young man nodded. "Buddy, I think so too."

Qi Xia stared at the young man for a moment, feeling curious about him.

His face was very handsome and seemed harmless, but there was a fierce edge in his eyes and brows.

"What's your name?" Qi Xia asked.

"Chen Jun Nan." The man paused, then continued, "And what about you, buddy?"

"Qi Xia."

"Is that so... Qi Xia." Chen Jun Nan slowly smirked. "How ridiculous..."

"Ridiculous?"

This person gave Qi Xia a familiar feeling, but Qi Xia couldn't recall where they had met.

"Qi Xia... why exactly?" Chen Jun Nan's manic smile quickly twisted, but after just a few seconds, his eyes were filled with tears. "Why the hell are you here...?"

He seemed to be in a very complex emotional state, on the verge of breaking down, or perhaps he had already broken down long ago.

This question also annoyed Qi Xia, because Zhu Que had asked the same thing.

"Why do you ask that?" Qi Xia said, puzzled. "What's your relationship with Zhu Que?"

Chen Jun Nan lowered his head helplessly and asked blankly, "Absurd... me and Zhu Que? Qi Xia, are you here to save Lao Qiao?"

"What?"

"You'd already escaped... so why come back?" Chen Jun Nan gritted his teeth and asked, "You're not here to save Lao Qiao—instead, you came back just so I could kill you, didn't you?!"

This statement was shocking, but it was within Qi Xia's realm of understanding.

It seemed his previous deduction was correct—he had indeed escaped from "Zhong Yan Zhi Di" before, but why had he returned?

"So I really did escape...?" Qi Xia nodded. "Chen Jun Nan, how long have you been here?"

He felt that before Lin Jin arrived... or even earlier, Chen Jun Nan had been his teammate.

It was just that Chen Jun Nan retained too many memories, making it hard for him to stay sane.

"How long have I been here...?" Chen Jun Nan said with a bitter smile. "What kind of question is that? Is that the stupid trend now?"

"What...?"

"Aren't we all here for different amounts of time?! Chen Jun Nan slowly dropped his bitter smile and said angrily, "Didn't we come here together?! This endless loop of a cursed place... are we supposed to rank who came first now??"

This person had way too many memories.

In his memories... did he remember the original state of "Zhong Yan Zhi Di"?

Qi Xia thought for a moment and softened his tone. "Tell me about it? What exactly did we go through?"

Chen Jun Nan's mental state was still unstable. After hearing Qi Xia's question, he trembled all over and said, "Qi Xia... back then, the three of us agreed—I'd cover for you two to get out... but you abandoned Lao Qiao and escaped on your own."

"Wh-what?" Qi Xia was stunned.

"You've lost your memories, so you can't even make excuses anymore?" Chen Jun Nan sneered. "Seven years—that's a whole seven years. Facing Qiao Jia Jin, who wanted to help you with all his heart... how could you bring yourself to do that? How shameful, Lao Qi. Do you know how many times Lao Qiao died alone in those seven years?"

"I..."

"Think about it with your conscience..." Chen Jun Nan said. "How many times did Lao Qiao die for you? No... let me rephrase—when has Qiao Jia Jin ever died for any reason other than you?"

Qi Xia felt a bit troubled after hearing this.

"Chen Jun Nan, although I don't know what happened before... based on my understanding of myself, I couldn't do something so heartless." Qi Xia gazed sadly at the sky. "As long as someone shows me true sincerity in this world, I wouldn't let them face deception. The only people I want to deal with are those full of lies and deceit."

Chen Jun Nan fell silent.

After a long while, he slowly shook his head.

"True, even with such a huge change, you're still you." Chen Jun Nan grabbed his hair. "Damn it... for seven years, I've wanted to kill you every single day... but when I finally see you, I hesitate. Lao Qi, tell me, buddy—are you a self-serving villain... or a hope worth trusting?"

Qi Xia didn't know the answer to that question.

"Before I answer you... I want to know what exactly happened before?"

After hearing this, Chen Jun Nan slowly stood up and replied, "Lao Qi, seven years ago, you clearly escaped."

"But... how do you know I escaped?"

"You told me yourself—you said that after that day, you'd succeed." Chen Jun Nan stared at him seriously. "Didn't you escape? Are you going back on your own words now? I showed you true sincerity, but you repaid me with deception?"

"Are you saying... I told you personally that I was about to escape?" Qi Xia still found it strange. "It sounds like we had a good relationship before—why didn't you take me with you?"

"Because I said I didn't want to go." Chen Jun Nan's gaze turned cold again. "But I never thought you'd leave Lao Qiao behind too... after that, you never showed up in the interview room again..."

"So that's what happened..." Qi Xia nodded slowly. "So you didn't see me leave with your own eyes... you just noticed I was gone..."

"What do you mean?" Chen Jun Nan was a bit confused. "So you still deceived me?"

"No." Qi Xia shook his head. "Chen Jun Nan, is it possible... that it wasn't me deceiving you, but me being deceived?"

"Are you kidding me, buddy?" Chen Jun Nan was so angry he laughed. "Lao Qi, in 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di', how many people could deceive you?"

"Yu Nian An is one of them," Qi Xia said.

"Who?" Chen Jun Nan was stunned.

Seeing Chen Jun Nan's puzzled expression, Qi Xia felt something wasn't right. "You've never heard of the name Yu Nian An?"

"'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' has so many people—do I have to remember every name?"

A strange thought began to swirl in Qi Xia's mind.

"Chen Jun Nan... were we really close before?" Qi Xia confirmed.

"How to put it?" Chen Jun Nan hesitated. "You're not the friendliest person—I felt closer to Lao Qiao."

Qi Xia shook his head. "Fine, even if we only met a few times, you couldn't possibly not have heard of 'Yu Nian An', right?"

Chen Jun Nan grew more confused the more he heard. "What... just because I met you, I have to know Yu Nian An? Is Yu Nian An that girl who appeared in the last three cycles? She might be pretty and capable, but I don't know her."

Qi Xia knew he was referring to Lin Jin.

"No, it's the girl who's been with me all along today." Qi Xia said. "She's Yu Nian An—she's my wife."

"Your what...?" Chen Jun Nan stroked his chin. "Wife?"

This simple question left Qi Xia's mind in chaos.

In other words, this original comrade... this man named Chen Jun Nan, had no idea he had a wife.

So, it seemed... Yu Nian An must have appeared within these seven years.