Xie Yubai did not answer her question.
He simply stared blankly at the bracelet.
He remembered that he had kept many of her belongings at first, so why was this bracelet the only thing left that was related to her now?
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a graceful figure in the distance. The corners of his lips curled into a faint, almost crazed and dark smile, yet his eyes were filled with tenderness and longing.
Soon.
Soon, he would see her and hear her voice again.
Cen Xi felt an inexplicable sense of panic.
She wasn’t worried about Xie Yubai doing something inhumane or cruel, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something disturbingly unhinged about him now.
“Xie Yubai, are you…” She tried her best to steady her uncontrollably racing heart and trembling voice. “Are you in your right mind right now?”
“Of course.” Xie Yubai lifted his eyelids to look at her, his expression lazy and weary, yet somehow giving off an illusion of peaceful tranquility. “I have never been more clear-headed than I am at this moment.”
Cen Xi opened her mouth, but no sound came from her throat.
**
“What are they talking about? Why can’t I hear anything?” Song Yuanxing was burning with curiosity, feeling as if ants were crawling over his heart, itching unbearably.
Sheng Tianming nudged him. “Move aside a bit, you’re blocking my view. I can’t see anything.”
Song Yuanxing clung to the corner of the wall, bumping Sheng Tianming hard with his hip. He snorted coldly, then lowered his voice deliberately, mindful of the situation. “You’re the one who should stay away from me.”
“You…”
Liang Yicheng, crouching with her petite frame, rolled her eyes in exasperation at the bickering above her. “Why are you two so childish? Arguing like little kids.”
Song Yuanxing and Sheng Tianming spoke in unison, “Who’s childish!”
They glared at each other, then spoke simultaneously again, “I’m not a kid!”
“Why are you copying me?” Again, their voices overlapped.
Fu Nanchuan glanced over and commented, “Quite in sync.”
“Who wants to be in sync with him?” Their words and even their pace matched perfectly.
Fu Nanchuan raised an eyebrow, as if to say: Isn’t this synchronicity?
Liang Yicheng cupped her face and clicked her tongue twice. “If you two aren’t in sync, then no one in this world is.”
Song Yuanxing: “…”
Sheng Tianming: “…”
Feng Jingchen watched the scene with a smile, but when his gaze shifted to Cheng Yuan beside him, a shadow flickered in his eyes.
Compared to the others, Cheng Yuan had seemed distracted from the start.
Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the two figures in the distance—or more precisely, on Xie Yubai.
The voice in her mind was making her particularly irritable.
[Host, the System currently detects that the male lead is in a poor mood. This is the perfect time to offer comfort and increase affection value.]
[Host, don’t chicken out! Be brave and go for it! I support you in spirit!!]
[Friendly reminder: The male lead’s affection value toward you has remained at 0. Please work on raising it as soon as possible.]
[Host, have you forgotten? If you fail to complete this mission, you won’t be able to return to your world, and you won’t survive until the end!]
[Host, stop hesitating. Hesitation leads to defeat!]
[The male lead is currently at the lowest point in his life. If you offer comfort now, you’re sure to gain affection value.]
Hearing this, Cheng Yuan felt like laughing.
Affection value? Really?
She was one hundred percent certain that if she followed the System’s instructions and approached him now, she would absolutely meet her end.
Don’t ask how she knew—she just did, having already lived through it once.
Well, not exactly. To be precise, she had learned about her future fate in advance, along with identifying some lies along the way.
It was strange.
But upon careful thought, this was the Apocalypse—what was wrong with having a little cheat?
[I’m quite curious—why did you have to kill his wife? What did they ever do to you?]
No wonder Xie Yubai went mad.
It would be abnormal not to.
[This is a predetermined rule; it cannot be changed.] The System paused. [Besides, this kind of setting is currently the most popular.]
Cheng Yuan’s lips twitched.
She continued fishing for information: [I shouldn’t be the only one in this world, right?]
This time, the System didn’t respond.
Cheng Yuan thought she had touched upon some forbidden secret and was about to try another approach when a sudden chill ran down her spine.
A possibility occurred to her, making her breath hitch, her heart race, and her palms sweat.
The image of her own fate from the dream flashed through her mind, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.
No wonder the System had gone silent and hidden away…
It was scared too!
But.
Cheng Yuan swallowed hard.
Wasn’t it possible that she was scared too?
Why did she have to find out now, of all times…
There was no way to escape!
“Cheng Yuan, Cheng Yuan.”
A gentle voice pulled her back to reality. She forced a smile. “What is it?”
Feng Jingchen asked, “Are you feeling unwell? You look very pale, and your hands are trembling.”
Liang Yicheng stood up, rubbing her numb calves, and asked with concern, “Sister Yuan, are you okay?”
Cheng Yuan shook her head with a smile. “I’m fine. I just remembered a nightmare and got scared.”
The others nodded, tactfully refraining from further questions.
Liang Yicheng suggested, “Since we can’t hear anything here anyway, why don’t we go back and rest?”
Sheng Tianming whispered, “Sister Cen Xi…”
Liang Yicheng shot him an annoyed glance. “Sister Xi is talking with the boss…”
Her voice trailed off abruptly.
She stiffly turned around and forced a dry laugh. “Sister Xi, are you done talking?”
Cen Xi looked dazed, her expression vacant. She replied with a faint “Mm.”
Feng Jingchen had never seen Cen Xi like this before. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his beautiful eyes flickered with concern. “Xiao Xi, did something happen?”
“Cen Xi, we’re a team,” Fu Nanchuan said earnestly. “If there’s any difficulty, you can tell us. We’ll solve it together.”
“Yeah, Sister Xi.”
Song Yuanxing and Sheng Tianming nodded emphatically.
Cheng Yuan pursed her lips.
What was it about?
Of course, it was about Xie Yubai’s wife.
“Is it about the boss?” Fu Nanchuan cut straight to the point when Cen Xi remained silent for a long time.
“The boss’s story?” The others exchanged curious glances. “What kind of story is it?”
From the time they met Xie Yubai until now, he rarely spoke with them. Even the title “boss” was something they insisted on calling him themselves.
Cen Xi hesitated, words caught in her throat.
“Want to know my story?” A low, magnetic voice resonated in everyone’s ears.
“B-Boss.” The group stood stiffly, like elementary school students called upon by their teacher.
The man’s posture was lazy and casual, with a hint of roguishness, yet his demeanor was impeccable.
“My story…”
He seemed to be reminiscing, savoring the memory carefully, only to be left with bitterness. “The story isn’t long, nor is it hard to tell. It can be summed up in just four words.”
Forever losing the one you love.