Perhaps a second passed, perhaps ten minutes.

The dark, quiet environment bred a heavy, suffocating atmosphere.

Lu Xing had completely given up. He sat on the floor with his legs spread, closing his eyes to rest.

‘If I live, I live. If I don’t, I die. What’s the big deal?’

Xia Yeshuang sat just a few centimeters away. They were so close that the edges of their clothes brushed together, the fabric of her skirt tangling slightly with his trousers.

Sensing that Lu Xing had closed his eyes, Xia Yeshuang finally took off her sunglasses.

She leaned against the elevator wall. Even though she couldn’t see anything clearly, she still turned her head to stare at the faint outline of his profile.

Xia Yeshuang didn’t understand.

She didn’t understand how their relationship had suddenly collapsed like this.

Just a month ago, they were sharing a red velvet cake in a sunlit piano room. Now, she could only stare at his shadow in the darkness, taking advantage of the moment his eyes were shut.

Back then, it felt like just another ordinary day.

Xia Yeshuang’s usually confident, proud eyes grew lonely.

She hated the way Lu Xing stabbed at her with his words whenever they met now. But she hated even more that she was still so hopelessly infatuated with him.

In all her life, Xia Yeshuang had never felt so “cheap.”

Lu Xing had rejected her so clearly, yet she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to be near him.

What was this?

She had no experience, no point of reference, and no solution.

Lu Xing was like a stone. She had cried, she had laughed, but he remained completely unmoved.

Xia Yeshuang looked away. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

Perhaps.

From the moment she chose to use Lu Xing just to piss off Wei Qingyu… she had personally planted the seeds of her own sadness. Now, she was simply reaping what she had sown.

Xia Yeshuang let out a sarcastic laugh, her eyes shimmering with a dull, aching light.

After an unknown amount of time, she checked her phone. Still no signal, and the battery was at its limit.

Beside her, Lu Xing was like a monk in deep meditation. Aside from the steady rhythm of his breathing, he had not made a single sound.

The space was filled with a thick, palpable blackness. The dying light from her phone offered almost no comfort.

Xia Yeshuang felt as if she had been abandoned in a wasteland.

She was scared.

And because she was scared, she reached for a solution.

After a long moment of mental preparation, she gently leaned her head onto Lu Xing’s shoulder, subconsciously rubbing against the fabric of his shirt.

“I didn’t eat today,” she whispered. “I’m a little tired. Let me lean on you for a bit.”

Lu Xing did not react.

‘Thankfully, he didn’t speak.’

Xia Yeshuang let out a tiny sigh of relief. If Lu Xing had still been as aggressive as before, she would have been too ashamed to touch him.

It was strange.

Logically, she and Lu Xing had already shared far more intimate moments. But quietly leaning on his shoulder provided a sense of security more profound than any kiss they’d ever shared.

Love and desire… the two are worlds apart.

Desire can be bought with a few thousand yuan, but love, this ancient legend, is something that cannot be hunted down.

What Xia Yeshuang needed wasn’t a kiss. She needed the peace of just being with him.

Her past impulsive actions were born from a frantic fear of losing that peace; she hadn’t known any other way to hold on.

On the surface of their relationship, she was the employer. She seemed strong, dominant, and in control.

But Xia Yeshuang knew the truth.

No.

Lu Xing, the one who seemed to be at a disadvantage, was the one who truly controlled the strings of their connection.

So when Lu Xing showed signs of leaving… Xia Yeshuang found she had no trump cards, no leverage, and no way to make him stay.

She laughed bitterly to herself.

It really was like the lyrics of that song: It’s so unfair between us. Love and hate are all manipulated by you.

In this “transaction,” Lu Xing could exit with ease. She was the only one left behind to chew on old memories until they lost their flavor.

Restless and spiraling, Xia Yeshuang felt the internal conflict gnawing at her. She hated the dark because it forced her into the abyss of her own thoughts.

She didn’t want to fight with herself anymore, so she decided to pick a fight with him instead.

Anyway, things were already this bad. What else could happen?

Feeling a sudden burst of nervous energy, she poked the back of Lu Xing’s hand.

“Why are we not suitable?” she demanded. “I feel like I’m a match for you eight hundred times over.”

Lu Xing was handsome, but she was beautiful too.

Even if Lu Xing wanted to find a “rich lady,” those women had money but wouldn’t spend it on him; they’d have prenups and lawyers. But she was different. She was willing to spend everything on him.

Xia Yeshuang felt they were the best match in the world! That “senior sister” she met the other day was just a sickly, annoying person who happened to act sweet!

Lu Xing did not answer.

Xia Yeshuang didn’t give up. She jabbed him with her elbow.

“We might both die here. Before I die, can’t you just answer me?”

“Pfft… cough, cough, cough!”

Lu Xing was caught off guard. The sharp jab caught him right in the ribs, making him hack for breath.

Xia Yeshuang panicked instantly, her hands frantically searching for him in the dark.

“Ah? Did I really hit you? Where? Is it serious?” she cried out anxiously. “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t think you were so weak!”

Lu Xing: …

Damn it!

Is she born with this mouth?

It’s one thing to elbow me, but you’re following it up with a mental attack?

“Alright, alright, I’m fine.”

Lu Xing caught her searching hands and firmly moved them away.

Sigh.

This “Little Goldie” had the strength of a bull. He had been trying to play dead to avoid the conversation, but it clearly wasn’t working.

If this were CEO Wen or any of his other clients, they would have understood his silence and stopped pushing. Only Little Goldie’s head was so empty that she couldn’t grasp the subtext of “no comment.”

Lu Xing rubbed his temples. No wonder the thinkers and the doers never get along… one thinks the other is pretentious, and the other thinks the first is reckless.

Finally, he spoke.

“We aren’t suitable because I like older people.”

“Huh?”

Xia Yeshuang was stunned.

If he had said he liked sweet girls, or mature “big sister” types, or even “pure desire” styles, she could have gritted her teeth and changed her wardrobe. But Lu Xing just had to like older people.

How are you supposed to change your age?

The answer paralyzed her. She never expected the barrier to be something so immutable. Everyone likes eighteen-year-olds; why didn’t that rule apply to Lu Xing?

“It’s a personal preference. I can’t help it,” Lu Xing said, spreading his hands in a mock apology.

‘Sorry, I just like older sisters. You’re younger than me… there’s nothing I can do.’

Xia Yeshuang found it absurd. “Then why didn’t you return that little dog keychain?”

He had returned the expensive watch and the keys, but that simple little white dog keychain remained with him. During her darkest moments, she had used that fact to comfort herself.

If he kept it, didn’t it mean he felt something?

Lu Xing paused for a second.

Then he said casually, “That keychain was just a keychain. It didn’t mean anything special.”

“I didn’t bring it with me today. If that made you think I like you, I’ll mail it back to you tomorrow.”

Ding…

The power flickered back on. Bright, clinical light flooded the small space.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Xing stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. He pressed the door release button. As he took his first step out, he heard a soft, broken murmur drift from behind him.

“Lu Xing… do you really not have a heart?”

…

…

[Challenge Goal 2 :

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Progress: 4/7.]

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