The Mighty Mage
Chapter 314: Dream Or Reality

Chapter 314: Chapter 314: Dream Or Reality

Her eyes slowly regained focus, coldness flashed in them, as she stated,

"Mr. Long it better if you maintain distance from me. I can’t bear your mighty presence."

Long Yifan’s eyes flashed,

"Since you are well, I will leave first."

Anger surged in Gu Jin’s body. The calmness and the emotionlessness she always had seemed to have vanished in thin air.

"How can you be so ungrateful? I saved your life but you still decided to side with your fiance. Is she so good? Do you know she wouldn’t even care if you had died in the sea?"

Long Yifan halted in his tracks. A complex emotion passed in his eyes. Yet he remained silent.

Gu Jin gritted her teeth,

"Why do you even love her? Why?" Why her? Why not me?

The reality...the reality of life is...humans are complex. Gu Jin had already decided to give up. But...but she couldn’t let go.

It was as if her mind knew what was right but her heart...it was pathetic.

As a half-doctor herself, Gu Jin felt something was wrong with her. Something seriously was wrong with her, but she refused to admit it.

Long Yifan’s stern voice sounded,

"I can’t break off the engagement."

Gu Jin interpreted his sentence as saying that he still loves Gu Aihan.

Tears burned at the back of her eyes.

Even though she had a lot to say, those words stopped right at the tip of her tongue.

Darkness seeped in her heart and eyes. She knew her words wouldn’t have much effect on Long Yifan but she still shouted,

"Fine! Then be happy! I will stop loving you...no! I stopped loving you the moment you sided with her! Long Yifan if in the future you ever fall in love with me, keep it to yourself.

If I knew that you loved me, I would break your heart. I will never accept you! Even if you are the last man in this world, I will never marry you!

I have given up on you! Did you listen? From now on, I will never love you! So pray to the heaven above, you don’t fall in love with me ever again."

Long Yifan was silent for a long while.

He uttered a ’um’ as if he wasn’t affected by her words at all.

His back was facing Gu Jin, making it difficult for her to see what expression he had on his face.

If only...Gu Jin had seen his expression, she would know how sad he was.

However, for now, all Gu Jin could see was Long Yifan’s retreating back.

The sad expression on Gu Jin’s face slowly vanished. She didn’t cry. She only felt as if something was broken inside her.

Her fists clenched by her sides, nails digging into her palms.

’Why does it hurt so much? I was supposed to be stronger than this. I had already decided to let him go, so why am I still hurting?

How can he be so cold? After everything I’ve done, after all the risks I’ve taken... does he really not care at all?

Fine, if he wants to pretend he doesn’t care, then I’ll do the same. I’ll forget him. I’ll erase every last trace of him from my heart.’

But even as she made that silent vow, she knew it was a lie. No matter how much she tried to deny it, the truth was that she still loved him.

And that realization only made her hate herself more.

Why can she be like others? Those who can move on...they are so lucky.

Gu Jin felt drained.

...........

Long Yifan returned to his tent.

He calmly lay down, as his heart ached. A few tears slowly started to slip from the corner of his eyes.

He placed his hand on his eyes, to not let anyone know how much he was hurting.

Gu Jin’s words echoed in his mind.

"If I knew that you loved me, I would break your heart."

Her voice, usually calm and composed, had cracked with a pain so deep it had pierced through his own defenses.

It had taken all his willpower to turn his back on her, to walk away as if her words had not affected him.

But the truth was, every word she spoke had cut through him like a blade.

He clenched his jaw, trying to suppress the flood of emotions threatening to break free.

His tears flowed silently, one after another, soaking into the fabric of his sleeve.

He felt pathetic, a grown man weeping in the darkness, but there was no one to see, no one to judge.

Why am I crying? he wondered bitterly. I chose this path. Congratulations ba*tard, you succeeded. Now she will never love. You can love her secretly. Watch her become someone else’s. She will blissfully be unaware of the love you are harboring in your heart.

At least she will live a good life, right?

Long Yifan stopped thinking. The more he thought, the more he wanted to kill himself.

Life was difficult for him. But he fought every battle with a smile on his face.

Fought and earned power.

Fought and earned money.

Fought and earned respect.

However...he didn’t get what he craved...love.

Maybe he will never.

Long Yifan bit his lips to swallow the sob that was about to escape his mouth.

He didn’t pray to god and neither begged him. God never listened to his prayer. He had once prayed to god till his eyes dried, but all he got was silence.

Long Yifan closed his eyes and let the sorrow in his heart consume him.

If god had given him even one chance...just one chance where he could pursue Gu Jin, he would have never complained and chased her.

But now...even if he got a chance, he wasn’t sure Gu Jin would ever love him back.

’Who are you kidding with? You will never get a chance!’

Long Yifan felt as though he were floating in a haze, his mind drifting in a place between dreams and reality.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the familiar classroom of Beijing University.

The room was exactly as he remembered it, with old wooden desks arranged in neat rows and sunlight streaming through the large windows, casting a golden glow across the dusty floor.

But something was off. He couldn’t move his body.

It was as if he were a spectator trapped within himself, forced to watch a scene unfold without any control.

What is happening? Long Yifan wondered, his heart pounding with confusion.

Just then, the door to the classroom creaked open.

His breath hitched as a figure slowly walked in. It was Gu Jin. She looked a bit older her face free of the coldness and bitterness that had become so familiar to him.

Instead, her eyes were wide, tinged with nervousness, a sight he had never seen before.

Gu Jin had always been composed, almost emotionless. Seeing her like this sent a jolt of surprise through him.

Gu Jin hesitated for a moment at the doorway, her fingers trembling as she clenched them into fists.

She took a deep breath, her eyes darting around the empty room before finally settling on him.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Sorry? Long Yifan’s mind raced. Why is she apologizing?

But before he could dwell on it, he felt himself smirking, though he hadn’t meant to.

The expression felt foreign on his face, like a mask, he was forced to wear. It dawned on him that he wasn’t in control of his own actions.

He was merely an observer, trapped within his own body.

"If you’re truly sorry, Gu Jin, then prove it," he heard himself say, his voice cold and unyielding.

"After all, I almost died because of you."

Gu Jin flinched at his harsh tone, her eyes widening in shock.

Long Yifan’s heart clenched. He wanted to reach out, to comfort her, but his body wouldn’t obey.

Instead, he watched as his other self stood up from the desk, walking toward her with a predatory grace, like a lion toying with its prey.

"W-what do you want me to do?" Gu Jin stammered, her voice trembling.

The vulnerability in her eyes was something Long Yifan had never seen before.

His other self leaned in closer, a smile tugging at his lips.

"If you’re really apologetic, show it through your actions. Words mean nothing to me."

Gu Jin stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around him in a hesitant embrace.

Long Yifan’s eyes widened in shock.

He had never imagined Gu Jin, who had always been so guarded, would willingly show such vulnerability.

The warmth of her body against his was both a comfort and a torment and for a brief moment, he wished this dream could be real.

However, he heard himself say. "Is that all? If you’re truly sorry, then kiss me."

’Hey...you are being greedy.’ Long Yifan thought, yet his actions were much more honest because he was staring at Gu Jin wondering what she would do.