Chapter 124: A Counterproductive Scheme

"Ah Ye, you..." Mei looked at Ye Jingxuan, wanting to say something but hesitating.

"What about me? Mei'er, what do you want to say?" Ye Jingxuan looked at her and asked patiently.

"It's nothing!" Mei shook her head and ultimately swallowed the words she had intended to ask.

Because of Wanqi Wenyue's sudden appearance, she had been worried that he would be reminded of those forgotten events, which was why she had intervened so anxiously earlier. Now, seeing that his mood seemed fairly good, she felt she had been overthinking.

"Mei'er, are you worried about me?"

She had wanted to drop the subject, but she hadn't expected Ye Jingxuan to bring it up himself.

"Mm, I am a little worried," Mei admitted, nodding, as there was no need to hide it.

"I'm fine!" Ye Jingxuan replied, gently stroking the top of her head.

"Good, that's a relief! Actually, I think keeping past pain in one's heart is a form of self-torture. For instance, when I was bought and sold as a slave, recalling it occasionally served as a warning to myself, but if I were to dwell on it constantly, I would surely be driven mad by those memories!"

Seeing him say he was fine, Mei felt relieved, yet she couldn't help but offer a bit more guidance, specifically using herself as an example. She remembered someone once saying that when a person encounters someone who has suffered even more than themselves, they might think, "So I am not the most miserable one after all," and consequently, they stop dwelling so much on their own hardships.

However, Ye Jingxuan completely missed her intention. When he heard her say she had been bought and sold as a slave, his heart began to ache uncontrollably.

"Mei'er, you were once a slave?" Ye Jingxuan asked softly.

His voice was so faint that Mei failed to notice the emotions he was struggling to suppress. She continued according to her own line of thought: "Yes, I was an orphan in that world, too. I was captured by slave traders when I was very young. Although I escaped many times, I was always caught and severely punished. The body of an elf is special; no matter how badly injured I was, my skin would never leave a trace, so those slave traders were always unscrupulous when dealing with elves. As long as they didn't kill me, it was fine. After every escape, besides the beatings, the surveillance would become stricter, and they wouldn't give me enough food or water, fearing I would have the strength to run again. But in the end, I succeeded in escaping. And in the process, I became stronger and stronger, so no one dared to target me again!"

Mei's tone was quite casual, but in Ye Jingxuan's mind, her words involuntarily conjured images of her as a young child being brutally beaten, starving every day, and hiding alone to avoid capture.

He had once speculated that she had an unknown past, but he had never imagined that when he finally learned of it, his heart would ache so intensely. He had never known that a person could feel such profound heartbreak—a feeling of being unable to breathe, a pain that reached its peak yet could not be released. It was far more agonizing than the humiliation he had suffered himself!

Ye Jingxuan couldn't help but raise his hand to clutch the fabric over his chest, as if that could alleviate the pain in his heart.

However, he did not interrupt Mei. He wanted to know more about her past; he wanted to understand her better so that he could draw closer to her heart.

Mei had only intended to point out that Ye Jingxuan's experience wasn't the worst, hoping he would put the matter behind him entirely. But after she finished, she noticed his expression was off. His