Fei Chaichai's eyes flew wide open.
How could Li Yuyuan, who had disappeared for two months, be here?
She suspected it was an illusion.
Just as she was about to lean in to confirm, the only source of light vanished with a bang.
The stairwell door had been shut.
In the airtight space, only Fei Chaichai's pounding heartbeat remained.
Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other in so long, or perhaps because the man she'd glimpsed just now seemed too unfamiliar, but she felt uncertain, and tentatively called out, "Li Yuyuan?"
No answer.
Yet that dangerous presence kept drawing closer, forcing her to retreat step by step.
Until her back pressed against the cold wall and there was nowhere left to go, Fei Chaichai suddenly remembered something and stomped her foot hard.
The motion-activated light flickered on.
The moment the light came on, what she saw wasn't the man's face, but the tattoo coiled around his wrist.
He pressed a finger down, lowering the brim of her cap, cutting off the sudden light and slicing through her field of vision, leaving only that stretch of pale, cold neck visible—the withered tree still there.
Fei Chaichai: "…"
Somewhat baffled, she adjusted her cap back into place and tilted her head up, feeling for the first time just how tall Li Yuyuan really was.
He was truly tall.
Standing in the shadow he cast, she felt like a small boat sailing through the night, liable to be capsized by a giant wave at any moment.
Still, whether because the surroundings had brightened or because it had truly just been her imagination, that unfamiliar expression that seemed ready to devour a person had vanished completely from Li Yuyuan's face.
Though still cold and distant, at least he no longer looked like he'd eat her alive.
Fei Chaichai's fear of the unknown gradually faded, replaced by the irritation of having been toyed with.
He'd deliberately stayed silent to scare her, had he!
She was angry now: "Li Yuyuan!"
The same three characters—just now they'd been cautious, laced with an anticipation she herself hadn't noticed; now they were full of force, as if she wanted to punch him with her voice alone.
Li Yuyuan hummed in acknowledgment.
Fei Chaichai: "…"
Apparently, the phrase "full name equals scolding" didn't exist in his dictionary.
Fei Chaichai took off her cap and poked at his nonexistent conscience with the brim, cursing directly: "You're a grown adult, and you still pull this kind of boring prank? Is it fun?!"
To put as much distance between them as possible, she pressed herself into the corner, a tiny little bundle.
Her palm-sized face was mostly covered by her mask, the rest hidden behind her frizzy bangs, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, glaring at him furiously.
Unfortunately, it had zero threatening effect.
Li Yuyuan stood still.
But after being scolded like that, he lowered his lashes, seemingly earnestly reflecting on her accusations, before finally concluding: "Probably not as fun as you playing with your old flame."
"…………"
How did he always manage to catch her in the act of doing something bad?
The fire in Fei Chaichai's chest immediately died down by two-thirds.
She was unconvinced, but she wasn't in the right, so she could only swallow her frustration, take off her mask, skip the explanation, and shift the topic with a bright smile: "I didn't expect you to come watch the competition in person too."
"Too."
That one word seemed to hit some nerve in Li Yuyuan. He glanced sideways at her ingratiating smile, and the corner of his lips lifted slightly in a faint smile: "Aren't you here to meet your new flame?"
"…………"
It was bad enough that he'd caught her running into her old flame—how did he even know she was here to meet a new one?
Fei Chaichai was utterly shocked, suspecting everyone around her, until she finally turned the suspicion on herself and realized belatedly: "The kind person from earlier was you?!"
No.
That wasn't the point.
The point was that she'd already witnessed Li Yuyuan's ability to twist black into white that night in the alley.
If word of today's new flame and old flame got back to the ears of No. 108, she couldn't even imagine how badly her reputation would suffer.
Fei Chaichai quickly clarified: "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm absolutely not the kind of fickle playboy who has one foot in the boat and one eye on the shore. If circumstances allowed, I would be stubbornly and devotedly loyal to your brother!"
After pledging her loyalty, she didn't forget to win him over, promising Li Yuyuan: "I'll also love the house and its crow—I'll treat you well too. Last time you…"
"What circumstances."
Her smooth flow of speech was interrupted by this abrupt question.
Fei Chaichai didn't catch up for a moment.
Li Yuyuan's voice continued, low and slow, asking her: "Material, or physical."
His tone was flat, but the brief pause between the words made what should have been a simple, ordinary question somewhat complicated.
Fei Chaichai vaguely felt that Li Yuyuan still seemed to have misunderstood something, but she didn't press further, answering first: "Physical, of course—that's why I really want to see your brother again."
Having received his answer, Li Yuyuan said no more, just watching her from beneath lowered lids.
His emotions were faint, devoid of warmth, yet somehow condescending—any casual glance felt like an examination.
Fei Chaichai guiltily averted her gaze.
Her attempt to play the victim and fish for information about No. 108 had failed once again, and she still had to continue winning him over.
Picking up where she'd been interrupted, she rummaged through her small crossbody bag as she continued: "Anyway, about that generous gift I promised last time—I brought it for you…"
Before she could finish speaking, she felt the gift's hanging cord, quickly yanked it out, and held it up to Li Yuyuan like a treasured offering. She didn't bother describing the gift with words, but the eyes she turned toward him sparkled brightly.
Translated, it probably meant something like—See, I told you I'd deliver, and I really did get you a gift like no other before or after!
But Li Yuyuan didn't seem particularly interested. His gaze lingered on that face waiting to be praised.
Only when she pretended her arm was getting tired did he slowly withdraw his gaze and glance at the gift in her hand.
It was a fluffy milk tea-shaped keychain.
Smaller than her fist, but that didn't affect the clarity of the text embroidered on the cup.
Li Yuyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone slow and deliberate, laden with meaning: "So this is what you meant by 'love me, love my dog.'"
"Huh?"
What kind of reaction was that?
Shouldn't he be so moved by her thoughtfulness that he'd call her "sister-in-law" on the spot?
Fei Chaichai was confused. She shifted her gaze from Li Yuyuan's face to her own hand, and just then caught sight of the milk tea name embroidered on the keychain.
It read—
"I want to play with your heart."
"……………."
How did she end up grabbing the gift meant for No. 99!
Fei Chaichai's eyes darkened twice over: "Sorry, sorry, this isn't for you."
She quickly corrected her mistake and searched for the right gift, but the fingertip hooked around the cord suddenly felt lighter.
The keychain had been taken off and now lay in Li Yuyuan's palm.
He looked down at it seriously, not particularly interested in her explanation. After listening, he said flatly, "So, the one you want to play with is your new flame's heart."
"Who said that!" Fei Chaichai's volume shot up, startling the motion-sensor light that had just gone out back on.
Li Yuyuan showed no particular reaction. After two or three seconds, he lifted his eyes and swept a glance over the girl who was protesting too much, reminding her: "Your voice cracked."
"…"
The more she said, the more wrong it got.
Fei Chaichai decided to stop talking altogether. She snatched back the keychain and placed the real gift into his palm.
Perhaps because one item had been exchanged for another, Li Yuyuan didn't fight for ownership of the "milk tea" again. He lowered his gaze to look at his own hand.
Unlike the flashy, hidden-meaning plush keychain, his generous gift was plain and unadorned—a red triangular talisman pouch.
The pouch was wrapped in sutra text, every inch seemingly steeped in the incense of the temple, its scent now faintly drifting through the air. It should have calmed the mind and soothed the spirit, yet it stirred up the peace that should have been.
The air suddenly fell into silence.
Fei Chaichai quickly introduced it: "This is a peace charm. You can hang it in your car or put it in your wallet."
She figured Li Yuyuan certainly didn't lack material possessions, but given his unpleasant personality, he must have made countless enemies in business. Who knows if one day he'd be "assassinated" by a rival. So she'd specially gone to the most efficacious Lingzhao Temple in Yunxia City to obtain this peace charm.
Even if it wasn't a great achievement, it was at least a show of effort, right?
But after she finished introducing it, Li Yuyuan still hadn't said a word.
Because of the angle, Fei Chaichai could only see his slightly lowered lashes, which concealed all his thoughts and emotions. He was quieter than ever before, and she had no idea what he was thinking.
She felt a bit deflated.
His reaction was even more subdued than before.
She really couldn't figure out Li Yuyuan's preferences. She didn't push it and gave herself an out: "You're not Christian, are you? It's fine—if it's inconvenient to keep, you can give it back. Buddha won't blame you."
With that, Fei Chaichai reached to take the gift back.
But Li Yuyuan curled his fingers, clasping the talisman pouch into his palm.
Regarding this generous gift, he still offered not a single word of commentary. He merely returned her polite pleasantry: "Buddha will forgive you too."
Fei Chaichai was stunned, quite surprised that ivory could come out of Li Yuyuan's mouth.
But—
"Forgive me for what?" She was a law-abiding, upstanding citizen—why would Buddha need to worry about her?
Fei Chaichai didn't understand.
Li Yuyuan, uncharacteristically considerate, listed her crimes for her reference: "Self-deception, or insincerity, or fickleness. Buddha will probably decide as he sees fit."
"……………."
He was taking the chance to insult her, wasn't he!
And how did they end up going in circles again!
After all that hard work, all that mental sparring, she was right back where she started. Fei Chaichai really didn't know what she was killing herself over.
At least Li Yuyuan had accepted the gift.
But had she successfully bought his goodwill? Would he still badmouth her in front of No. 108?
Why wasn't he showing any sign of it at all.
Fei Chaichai resented Li Yuyuan for not understanding social graces. She twirled the mask cord around her finger, around and around, until finally, mustering her thick skin, she morally strong-armed him: "So… since Buddha will decide as he sees fit, you'll do the same, right?"
The words were vague, but the intention was obvious.
Li Yuyuan let out a low scoff, finally lifting his eyes to look at her. He neither refused nor agreed, only spread his palm toward her.
"…What do you want this time." Fei Chaichai had already grown afraid of that gesture.
Li Yuyuan: "Hush money."
"???"
Last time, the generous gift at least had a solid justification. This time, he didn't even bother to put on an act—he just asked outright?
Fei Chaichai refused to feed this kind of toxic behavior. She dropped her friendly expression and used her hat like a slap, smacking that shameless hand hard. "Fine, don't help then!"
With that, she spun around, shoved past the man blocking her way, and yanked the door open, intending to go find No. 99.
But the moment she stepped out, Fei Chaichai froze in place.
When she'd come in, the corridor had been packed with people. Now the noise had faded to nothing, and not a single soul was in sight.
Worse still, she'd been running after No. 99 the whole time and hadn't paid any attention to the route. She had absolutely no idea where she was.
Fei Chaichai was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Behind her, the safety door opened and closed again.
The next second, a force tugged at her small crossbody bag.
Before she could react, Li Yuyuan's figure filled her field of vision—broad shoulders, long legs—his fingers hooked onto her pig-head bag charm, pulling her forward as if to lead her out.
Fei Chaichai: "…"
Extortion failed, so now he was resorting to forced sales?
She stated in advance, "Just so you know, I don't have any fancy gift for you this time."
Li Yuyuan didn't turn around. Only his voice drifted back, sounding somewhat disappointed. "I didn't expect a scholar to be so mercenary."
"…"
She was mercenary?
Fei Chaichai laughed in exasperation, but she didn't make a move right away. She bided her time, enduring like one who sleeps on brushwood and tastes gall, until they walked back to the familiar poolside. Then, with lightning speed, she snatched back her pig-head bag charm.
But at that very moment, Li Yuyuan also let go.
All the force she'd put into the tug rebounded straight back onto her.
Completely caught off guard, Fei Chaichai sent her hat flying from her hand and pitched forward, heading straight for the pool.
But the solution to avoiding a dunking was right in front of her.
On instinct, she grabbed hold of the hand that had been content to watch her drown.
The instant their skin touched, some unbreachable red line ceased to exist.
Li Yuyuan no longer stood by idly. Taking the lead, his long, powerful hand clamped down on that slender wrist and pulled her forward.
The next moment, the hat took the plunge in her place, waking the pool into a shimmer of dancing golden light.
As the ripples spread, fragments of light flickered across the back of that hand with its clearly defined bones and tendons.
The tattoo was dazzling.
Yet it failed to illuminate the gloom in Li Yuyuan's eyes.
He lowered his gaze, idly holding that pale, slender wrist, measuring it with the crook of his thumb—so fragile it seemed a slight squeeze would snap it.
But the girl didn't know her own strength.
The moment she steadied herself, she struggled with all her might to break free, the skin around her wrist already rubbed faintly red, all while she demanded, "Why did you suddenly let go and not save me?!"
Li Yuyuan didn't look up. His voice remained languid and indifferent as he said casually, "Afraid your old flame and new love might get the wrong idea."
"!"
Fei Chaichai immediately stopped struggling. She rose onto her tiptoes, peered over Li Yuyuan's shoulder with only her eyes showing, and furtively scanned her surroundings.
The entire venue had six exits in total.
And at the adjacent exits A and B, two boys stood respectively, wearing identical team uniforms, both looking at her the same way.
Fei Chaichai: "…"