The dim light shines through the lush and intertwined leaves, dimly illuminating a corner of the night sky.
The spring breeze rustled the leaves, making a rustling sound, which, along with Xu Shiyue's voice, drowned out the noise on the street.
The noisy sounds around seemed to be pushed away suddenly, and moved farther and farther away from Lu Shizhen.
She was covered by Xu Shiyue from behind, and her wrist that was holding the car door handle was held in Xu Shiyue's hand.
The man's voice had a faint smell of alcohol, and at such a close distance, it made Lu Shizhen's ears feel hot.
The constant stream of passing vehicles created gusts of warm wind, constantly reminding Zhen as she landed how ambiguous their actions were at the moment.
The red earlobes were almost melted by the ambiguous warmth in this second. How could Lu Shizhen not understand the meaning behind Xu Shiyue's words
But she felt like there was a knot in her heart, making her feel very uncomfortable. Her tone was also particularly stiff. She clarified in a serious manner: "Ms. Xu, I didn't kidnap you. You came to the celebration banquet voluntarily."
"Now that the banquet is over, there is a hotel nearby. I think given Ms. Xu's financial situation, any suite should be affordable, right?"
Xu Shiyue, however, seemed to not understand Lu Shizhen's obvious refusal. She still leaned behind her and asked, "In that case, can I stay at your house for one night?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen turned his head suddenly.
Looking at Xu Shiyue's face which was very close to him, he reminded her: "Miss Xu, my home is not a hotel."
“So it won’t be empty.”
I don’t know if it was because Xu Shiyue was a little drunk, but his usually impeccable and calm tone now sounded a lot more lonely and desolate.
Her chin remained on Lu Shizhen's shoulder, and her slightly deep voice seemed to be embedded in her body, as pitiful as a cat abandoned by its owner.
And cat lovers can never refuse a cat's request.
Lu Shizhen softened her heart again and compromised: "One night at most. You have to leave tomorrow morning. I still have work to do."
"Thank you, Teacher Sixteen." Xu Shiyue curled her eyes at Lu Shizhen when she heard that.
Those dark eyes were covered with a layer of alcohol-like mist, and starlight was sprinkled and fell on them.
The sound was bright yet hazy, and the sound that drifted into my ears with the wind was full of bewitching tenderness, like a cat and a fox.
Lu Shizhen's heartstrings trembled, and the chaotic syllables floated randomly in her heart.
Without caring whether Xu Shiyue could stand steadily or not, she opened the door and quickly got into the taxi.
Beams of street lights arranged at intervals on both sides of the road flashed past the window, illuminating the carriage in flickering light.
Lu Shizhen sat leaning against the window, looking at the night view outside as if avoiding it, but his gaze was distracted for a moment and then focused on Xu Shiyue's figure.
The fairly spacious carriage was divided into two by the two people, and Xu Shiyue was sitting on the other side of the back row.
Just now at the celebration banquet, she was complimented by Editor-in-Chief Chen and toasted with a few glasses of wine. Later, she drank the champagne poured by Xiaoning. Now she seemed a little drunk. Yayu's eyelashes drooped like a fan, hiding her resting eyes underneath.
It was just a short nap, but Xu Shiyue's back was still straight, without any sign of relaxation.
The flickering light fell on her body. Without the ribbon, her collar drooped to the sides, leaving inch after inch of whiteness in Lu Shizhen's sight.
I don't know if it was to let out a sigh of relief or simply out of carelessness, but Xu Shiyue untied the ribbon on her collar at some point, and it hung loosely on both sides, like a restless mess in the calm.
The cold white color complements the net-like darkness of the night, spreading up one by one from the tightly closed buttons at the bottom, writing the temptation of rebellion in the orderliness.
Lu Shizhen paused, hesitating whether to remind Xu Shiyue, but he heard the man's voice before him: "I'm in a bad mood."
The voice came suddenly, and Lu Shizhen's heartbeat suddenly stopped, and then he subconsciously denied it: "No."
"I do." Xu Shiyue said.
The man's voice was as calm as ever, unable to conceal the brewing alcohol in him.
Lu Shizhen blinked in confusion, unable to tell for a moment whether Xu Shiyue was asking her a question or if she was simply talking to herself as she was drunk.
The street lights were still flickering on the car window glass, and Xu Shiyue was still sitting in her seat with her eyes closed, but she seemed a little unprepared because of the two sentences just now.
An idea popped up in Lu Shizhen's mind.
Even if she already had the answers to some things in her heart, she didn't seem willing to give up until she heard Xu Shiyue actually say it.
The awkward feeling was still twisted in Lu Shizhen's heart. She glanced at the drunken Xu Shiyue and said, "Why are you in a bad mood? Shen Yanxing cares about you so much that he even called you."
Lu Shizhen's tone was very calm, so calm that it seemed a little too stiff.
She didn't like to mention the name "Shen Yanxing" so much. As she spoke, she seemed to be finding fault in her head and made many complaints.
Why are you worried about her? It's hard for her to remember Xu Shiyue who left City S and went to the capital in her busy schedule.
And what kind of concern is this? The person has been off the plane for such a long time and is almost finishing his meal when he calls.
What's with the caring check-ups and the passionate fight? It's totally unacceptable!
Seriously unqualified!
"Why should I be in a good mood when Shen Yanxing calls me? She is not you."
Lu Shizhen was finding fault with Shen Yanxing in her heart, but Xu Shiyue's voice brought her back to her senses.
The awkward madness suddenly quieted down, and Lu Shizhen froze in place.
A bunch of fireworks exploded in the darkness, and each tiny spark was filled with excitement, burning away her awkwardness completely.
For a moment, Lu Shizhen didn't know whether he was happy at the moment because Xu Shiyue showed no concern for Shen Yanxing, or because she said that the person she cared about was actually him.
Or maybe both.
"Lu Shizhen, do you sometimes feel as if there is something invisible that is restraining you?"
The clarity in Xu Shiyue's calm eyes had faded, and they were now hazy with a hint of drunkenness.
She just looked at Lu Shizhen, as if she was simply sharing something that was weighing on her heart, her distress suppressed under her not-quite-clear voice.
Lu Shizhen knew how the world worked better than anyone else, and he heard Xu Shiyue's words especially clearly.
It was also extremely surprising that Xu Shiyue could actually feel the restraint of the main system on her.
"It was a two-minute phone call. Apart from the greetings at the beginning, the rest of the time was spent on explaining the work. They pushed me out to listen to this and created a shameful scene for me. They really went to great lengths to do this."
A chuckle came out of Xu Shiyue's mouth with a bit of contempt, and disgust was obvious in it.
She relaxed her straight back a little, and leaned back on the chair, resting her head on her disheveled hair.
Xu Shiyue's words were somewhat casual, but Lu Shizhen took them all to heart.
Therefore, leaving the table just now was not Xu Shiyue's own behavior, but that damn main system intervened again.
Is it true that in these five years, the main system has interfered with Xu Shiyue's behavior countless times
The fact that she can feel this restraint means that she often resists it.
But today, because she had drunk some wine and was not in a clear state of mind, the restraint pushed her to stand up, answer the phone, and utter the extremely ambiguous "Flying Geese".
The long hair hanging on the side of her face was messed up by the raised hand, and a few loose strands hung in front of Xu Shiyue's face.
The street lights outside the window illuminated her profile, and she glanced at Lu Shizhen without leaving a trace. She lowered her eyes and shattered the light inside: "I don't like this feeling, it's as if my whole life is not mine anymore."
This was the first time Lu Shizhen felt the emotions expressed by Xu Shiyue.
For several sentences in a row, the three words "I don't like" were constantly being passed towards her, and finally, they were clearly placed in front of her.
Xu Shiyue hated the constraints that controlled her behavior and was deeply distressed by it.
It was as if a small stone had fallen from an indestructible barrier, causing a subtle but shaking vibration.
The main system was trying to control her, but Xu Shiyue hated and rejected everything the main system had arranged for her.
She doesn't like it.
Xu Shiyue doesn't like it.
These two sentences were like bold and enlarged fonts, deeply imprinted in Lu Shizhen's mind.
Faith is wavering.
Lu Shizhen carefully concealed the existence of the system from Xu Shiyue and asked tentatively: "But what if this can give you the best ending?"
Xu Shiyue did not answer Lu Shizhen's question, but asked: "Do you know what people outside say about me?"
"Selfish, despicable, a madman who will do anything to achieve his goal."
One negative word after another was spoken by Xu Shiyue into Lu Shizhen's ears, which sounded familiar yet strange.
Lu Shizhen used to like to use these words to describe Xu Shiyue in the later period, but now he finds them more harsh than ever: "No, that's all because of them..."
But before Lu Shizhen could finish her words, Xu Shiyue interrupted her: "They are right."
Although it was clearly a negative word, Xu Shiyue accepted it calmly and even happily.
A strong smile seeped out of her eyes, like a flame burning in the darkness, bright and full of danger.
She just looked at Lu Shizhen, her attitude firm to the point of paranoia: "So Lu Shizhen, what I want must be mine, and what I don't want, even if you force it on me, even if you put a gun to me, I will not compromise."
"The person I love is not Shen Yanxing, so I will never be with her in this life." Xu Shiyue looked at Lu Shizhen, his deep gaze looking straight into her eyes, "The person I love caught me in the red sea of flowers, and died in the red sea of fire because of me."
The glaring light came in from the car window behind Xu Shiyue, causing Lu Shizhen's heartbeat to accelerate.
She had never felt that a single sentence could have such great power to turn her world upside down.
In the rearview mirror, a hand slowly crossed the line from the clearly defined back row, and the straight body also silently leaned over.
Xu Shiyue raised her eyebrows slightly, staring into Lu Shizhen's eyes, and asked back to the beginning: "So you are still in a bad mood now?"
(End of this chapter)