"Yu Rou, how about we end this conversation here today? I would like to think about it some more… alone." Yuan suddenly suggested.
After a moment of silence, Yu Rou said, "Okay… I'll leave you alone for tonight. Please think about this carefully, brother. I don't want to be separated from you."
"Un."
After turning off the lights, Yu Rou left Yuan's room and returned to her own room.
However, just as she prepared to sleep, her phone began ringing.
Yu Rou looked at the caller; it was from her father, Yu Yong.
"Yes, father?"
"Did you speak to him?" Yu Yong asked her.
"I did, father."
"What was his response?"
"Brother Tian… He said that he needed some more time to think about it." Yu Rou said.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort immediately followed, and Yu Yong said, "What does he even need to think about? The answer should already be obvious! Did the illness start affecting his brain?! Yu Rou! You tell him that he has three days to decide! If he doesn't decide by then, we'll decide for him by disowning him!"
"I... I understand, father. I'll tell Brother Tian."
Yu Rou tossed her phone on the bed after Yu Yong ended the call.
Plop!
Yu Rou's body suddenly collapsed onto the bed in an exhausted manner.
"How did it come to this…? I just wanted to live a peaceful life with Brother Tian even if I had to take care of him forever…" she sighed.
Meanwhile, inside his own room, Yuan tossed his plan to cultivate for the night and began pondering what he should do now that he's been thrown into this difficult situation so suddenly.
As much as he wanted to remain inside the family and stay with Yu Rou, he didn't want to continue playing the instruments just so his family, mostly his parents, could feed off his fame and hard work. Furthermore, if his family disowns him, he will finally have a good excuse to tell Yu Rou to stop taking care of him so she could also live a normal life.
'The cultivation world… I want to explore more of it— every nook and cranny if possible. But that won't be possible if I spend most if not all of my time playing the instruments like I used to. But… How am I supposed to live alone when my body is like this? Like Yu Rou had said, I cannot survive by myself...'
'Even if I can somehow manage by myself, where can I go?'
'Wait… I should have a bank account with a couple of thousands inside. Maybe I can use that money to move out and then find some way to earn more money.'
'But how can I earn money when I'm in this condition? If only I can earn money just by playing Cultivation Online…'
Yuan proceeded to spend the entire night thinking about his plan just in case his family really decided to disown him.
The following morning, Yu Rou came to his room, and she asked him in a tired voice, almost like she didn't get any sleep, "Brother… Did you think about it? Father… He said you only have three days to decide or he'll disown you."
"I don't need three days to decide, since I have already come to a decision." Yuan said, and he continued, "I know you want me to stay here, but I really don't want to give up my freedom even in Cultivation Online as I had in the past. I know you don't want this, but I also want you to live your life without any large responsibilities like taking care of me every day, and it's not like we're not going to see each other ever again."
"But where are you going to go? Who will take care of you? How are you going to survive?" Yu Rou asked him.
"You're probably going to laugh at me for saying this after what I just said, but I'll need your help for a few more things if I want to live by myself. Can you do that for me? If not… I'll just let fate decide my life." Yuan said in a sighing voice.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Yu Rou sighed, "What do you need me to do for you, brother? I'll hear you out at least. What's your plan?"
"I should have an account with a few thousand dollars inside, and I'll use that money to move to another place, which should last me a couple of months. I'll also use some of that money to hire someone who can take care of me in your place. This way, you won't have to worry about me as much anymore. However, I'll need someone you can trust to take care of me."
"I also plan on making money, but I'm not sure how I can do that at the moment. Perhaps there is a way I can earn real-life money by playing Cultivation Online."
"Hmm…" Yu Rou listened to Yuan's plans with a serious look on her face.
"I understand your plans…" Yu Rou spoke after pondering for a moment, and she continued, "I guess you can use that money to move out of the house and hire a maid or something, but who will fit that role? I don't think there is anyone that I trust enough to take care of you every day. As for making money through Cultivation Online, that is very possible, as you can sell items or gold in the game for real-life currency. In fact, it's already a huge market with tens of millions of dollars being traded every day."
"Really? I can do that? If that's the case, I can simply sell some things and earn money that way," Yuan said.
"But you'll need someone to do that for you since you obviously can't do it yourself, and that might give away your identity, so it's really risky unless the person doing it can be trusted." Yu Rou sighed.