He stopped speaking, and surprisingly it was Su Man who broke the silence, asking: “How did you know that flipping the arrow direction would make the squares move?”

“Oh, that…” Lu Yuwen thought for a moment, then answered, “That was… something I worked out through analysis, of course.”

“Your mind is truly remarkable.” Su Man said, with genuine admiration. “I saw those arrows too, but it never occurred to me that they could be flipped around — and it never crossed my mind that the squares might be movable.”

No one dislikes being praised — especially by the opposite sex.

Lu Yuwen felt a quiet swell of pride, though he kept his expression modest: “Well, I’ve been here for three days, so I’ve had a decent amount of time to understand the environment and pick up on the clues.”

At that, he couldn’t help but ask Su Man: “When did you come in?”

“Yesterday.” Su Man replied. “I’d just arrived when I saw them riding and dragging you behind a motorcycle. It caught me by surprise — I hadn’t expected to find anyone else in the labyrinth.”

Lu Yuwen was a little surprised: “You came in alone?”

Su Man nodded slightly: “That’s right.”

The way she said it made it sound less like she had stumbled in by accident and more like she had entered deliberately.

Why?

Everyone avoided the labyrinth. Why would anyone willingly go in?… Perhaps her family or friends were inside?

But they had only just met — asking too many questions might make her uncomfortable. Lu Yuwen buried his curiosity for now, planning to find a better moment to ask.

This woman was a mystery in every respect —

Going alone into a labyrinth fraught with danger;

Possessing extraordinary stamina and speed;

Her left arm appeared to be injured — from her forearm to her fingers, it was entirely wrapped in bandages — yet it didn’t seem to hinder her at all.

At minimum, right now with him on her back, he could feel that arm was quite strong.

So why the bandages?

It was all too strange.

Su Man had no idea what was going through Lu Yuwen’s mind. She was carrying him and retracing their steps, only to find that after the ground had shifted, the original route was completely blocked.

— Where the square had originally been, there was now a vast sunken pit — as though a foundation had been dug deep into the earth, but no building had ever been raised on it.

Su Man had no choice but to detour around the edge.

Lu Yuwen, worried she was running out of energy, told her to put him down and rest for a moment.

Su Man shook her head: “Let’s find a place to settle first.”

As it happened, there was a small private clinic along the road. She carried Lu Yuwen inside and briskly cleaned and treated his wounds.

Lu Yuwen’s trousers were in shreds and beyond salvaging.

Su Man went and found several pairs of trousers from a nearby clothing shop, taking care of everything herself — even shoes and socks were included.

She returned to the clinic to find Lu Yuwen washing his head and face with cold water.

During his three days in the labyrinth, he had lived in conditions barely fit for an animal — bits of dried instant noodles were still embedded in his hair, and his body smelled sour and stale in a way that was deeply unpleasant.

If not for worrying that the wounds on his legs couldn’t get wet, he would have scrubbed himself from head to toe without a second thought!

Su Man put the clothing on the bed, looked up, and caught sight of Lu Yuwen’s face, washed clean at last — and stopped short.

She hadn’t expected…

Hadn’t expected him to look this… good.

Before, his face had been buried under mud and dried blood — she had only had a vague impression of clean, refined features. Now she saw that his brows were long and his eyes slightly upturned, his features far more delicate than those of an ordinary man. He had something of the look of an immortal sage from a period drama — a certain androgynous, exquisite elegance.

Some men struck you as handsome. Some as cool. Some as dashing. But Lu Yuwen was none of those things — he was simply, entirely… beautiful.

Lu Yuwen picked up the clothes and said: “Thank you.”

He assumed Su Man would look away while he changed. But Su Man didn’t move.

Recalling Su Man’s earlier comment about him being overly finicky, Lu Yuwen thought about it, decided not to be overly finicky, and directly pulled off his tattered upper garment —

—