Chapter 238: Home

Xie Rong and Wang Gege simply watched them from afar, their eyes following Jiang Zhaoyuan and Su Lian until the two of them finally entered the chamber.

"Is there something wrong with His Highness’s friend?" Xie Rong finally broke the silence.

"Yun Ning?" Wang Gege glanced briefly at the woman before turning her gaze back toward the chamber. "She is one of the villains."

"She what?" Xie Rong’s voice was clearly filled with surprise.

Wang Gege chuckled and nodded. "You heard it right. She is one of them, though not the only one. She is the Eighth Prince’s childhood friend who loves him but can never have him, so she tries every possible way to manipulate others for her own benefit."

Xie Rong’s expression turned thoughtful.

"So she is the one who caused Su Lian to fall into the hot spring?"

"I’m not sure about the first time," Wang Gege replied, "but the second time? I’m almost certain it wasn’t an accident."

Her gaze drifted toward the chamber again.

"And if I remember correctly, Yun Ning becomes even more troublesome later in the story."

Xie Rong simply bobbed his head weakly in understanding. "Since we found the female lead... our task is done, right?"

Wang Gege’s eyes immediately brightened.

"I couldn’t wait to go back!"

She hopped slightly in excitement, unable to contain the happiness that suddenly filled her chest. After everything they had gone through, the thought of finally returning to their own world felt almost unreal.

"We need to ask the Eighth Prince how he plans to help us go back to our world..."

Xie Rong looked at her excited expression, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Furen, you seem more excited about going home than you were about finding the female lead."

"Of course!" Wang Gege turned toward him with a grin, but her smile slowly faded into a feeble one. "I realised something after coming here..."

She paused, pressing her lips together as she gathered her thoughts.

"I might have hated everything about our world before. My daily routine, my childhood memories, my mother..." She hesitated before glancing at him. "You..."

She chuckled when she saw his expression, clearly teasing him.

"But then, after leaving here..."

Her voice gradually softened.

"I realised that maybe I didn’t hate everything as much as I thought I did."

She lowered her gaze, her fingers gently tightening around his hand.

"I hated the pain. I hated the things that happened to me. I hated how helpless I felt whenever I thought about my past, so I convinced myself that I hated the whole world instead."

She looked up at him again, her eyes carrying a quiet warmth.

"But after coming here, I started missing those things."

A small smile returned to her lips.

"I miss waking up in my own room. I miss the food I used to complain about. I even miss those boring days when I thought nothing interesting would ever happen."

She laughed softly. "And most importantly..." Her gaze settled on him. "I realised that even though I once thought I hated you, you were still someone I couldn’t bear to lose."

Xie Rong’s expression softened.

Wang Gege squeezed his hand. "So yes, I really want to go home."

She smiled, this time without any hesitation. "Because now I know what home means to me."

Xie Rong looked at her for a long moment before gently pulling her into his embrace.

"Then this husband will make sure Furen gets to go home."

Wang Gege wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest. "Together?"

"Together." Xie Rong smiled.

She smiled against his robe. "And you’re not allowed to change your mind."

"When has this husband ever changed his mind about Furen?"

Wang Gege immediately raised her head. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Xie Rong chuckled, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Ah... This husband seems to have asked the wrong question."

"You certainly did!"

Their laughter mingled in the quiet corridor, and for a moment, neither of them thought about the systems, the missions, or the strange world that had brought them together again.

After a while, Xie Rong gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. "Come. It’s getting late. We should return to our chamber."

Wang Gege nodded, allowing him to lead her back.

By the time they entered their chamber, the excitement from earlier had gradually settled. Wang Gege sat on the edge of the bed while Xie Rong poured her a cup of warm tea.

"Furen," he said as he handed it to her. "This husband thinks we should return to our residence tomorrow."

Wang Gege looked up in surprise.

"Tomorrow? But we haven’t spoken to the Eighth Prince about going home yet."

"We can speak to him before we leave." Xie Rong sat beside her. "However, there are still matters we need to settle at the residence."

Wang Gege slowly lowered her cup. "Matters?"

Xie Rong nodded. "If we truly intend to leave this world, we cannot simply disappear without making any arrangements."

His words made her pause.

She had been so excited about returning home that she had almost forgotten about the people they would leave behind.

Old Madam Xie... Master Xie... The servants who had accompanied them through everything. And Bai Ruoxi...

Wang Gege’s fingers tightened slightly around the cup.

"Ah... You’re right." She lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling a little guilty. "I was so happy that I didn’t even think about what would happen after we left."

Xie Rong gently took the cup from her hands and placed it on the table. "There’s no need to rush everything tonight. We still have time to make the necessary arrangements."

He paused before adding, "Besides, this husband has already promised to bring Furen home. Before we return to that home, we should properly settle everything in this one."

Wang Gege looked at him. For some reason, those words made her heart ache a little.

"This one..." she murmured.

"Hmm?"

She smiled faintly. "This one has become our home too, hasn’t it?"

Xie Rong’s expression softened.

"Yes." He reached for her hand. "And that is precisely why we shouldn’t leave without saying goodbye."

Wang Gege nodded slowly.

"Then let’s go back tomorrow." She leaned against his shoulder, her voice growing quieter.

"We’ll settle everything here first... and then we’ll go home." Xie Rong wrapped an arm around her. "Mm. Together."

This time, Wang Gege did not say anything more. She simply closed her eyes and rested against him, allowing herself to enjoy the quiet moment.

There were still many things waiting for them when they returned to the Xie residence.

But tonight, she wanted to believe that the long journey that had begun with her unexpected arrival in this world was finally approaching its end.

=====

Later that night, after the two of them had finally settled down, Xie Rong lay beside Wang Gege and slowly closed his eyes.

Wang Gege had already fallen asleep, her breathing soft and even as she curled slightly toward him. Xie Rong reached over and gently pulled the blanket higher over her shoulder before settling back down.

He slowly closed his eyes, the warmth of her presence beside him easing the last of his thoughts. Before long, his breathing became slow and steady, and he drifted into sleep.

Then...

Beep!

A sharp mechanical sound suddenly rang directly inside his ear.

Xie Rong’s brows furrowed.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

His heart suddenly tightened, and his eyes snapped open.

For a brief moment, all he could see was white. A completely white ceiling.

His breathing became ragged as he stared upward, his mind struggling to understand what he was seeing.

"Doctor!" A voice suddenly rang out.

"The patient’s heart rate is changing!" Another voice quickly approached the bed. "What happened? He’s been in a coma for so long. Did he just move?"

"I think so! His fingers moved just now."

"Call the doctor!"

Footsteps hurried across the room.

"The patient is showing a response!"

Xie Rong remained still, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as the unfamiliar voices continued around him.

"Mr. Xu? Can you hear me?"

His fingers twitched again.

The nurse gasped. "He moved again! Doctor, he might be waking up!"

All Xie Rong could see were blurry figures surrounding him, their faces impossible to make out no matter how hard he tried to focus. The room seemed to sway in and out of clarity, while unfamiliar voices reached his ears from every direction.

"His eyes are open!"

"Can you hear us?"

"Doctor, his response is getting stronger!"

The voices became distant, almost as though they were coming from the other side of a wall. Xie Rong tried to move, but his body felt heavy, and his thoughts were slipping away from him again.

Then, amid all those unfamiliar voices, another voice suddenly reached him.

A voice he knew.

"Husband..."

His heart clenched.

The blurry white room disappeared from his mind, replaced by the familiar warmth of the chamber, the faint scent of incense, and the soft voice he had heard every day since she arrived in this world.

"Husband?"

Xie Rong’s eyes slowly opened.

Wang Gege’s voice seemed to grow clearer.

"Husband, are all right?"