A bright crescent moon was half-hidden, the pointed roofs of Western-style buildings appearing indistinct in the shadows.

Fu Xueli was helpless and isolated. The tingling sensation at her ankle made her body slightly stiff, completely drained of strength, unable to move at all.

The feeling the handcuffs brought to her body was not only erotic, but also humiliating and frustrating to the extreme.

Finally enduring until her feet were sore and hands aching, unable to endure anymore, Fu Xueli took a deep breath, deliberately provoking him, “Xu Xingchun, why did you handcuff me? Are you a pervert?”

From the angle she could observe, Xu Xingchun hung his head, his expression invisible. But his entire being was excessively quiet, like a rock, yet it couldn’t help but make one’s heart fearful.

This kind of quietness easily reminded one of the psychotic killers in movies, like enjoying the ritual sense of tranquility before a carnival.

Fu Xueli’s fingers turned cold. With both hands cuffed together, resting on her knees, she clenched her fists tight. Her shoulder straps dragged and slid open halfway in embarrassment, her delicate collarbone clearly prominent.

She turned her head to the side, stubbornly saying nothing.

After a long while, her temper rose again. When her temper rose, her courage grew a bit. When her courage grew, the feeling of grievance came too.

Fu Xueli couldn’t help herself—willfully and chaotically she kicked off the shoes he had just put on her. Struggling to move her body, her cold pale foot instead stepped on his shoulder, using her toes to lift Xu Xingchun’s chin.

Effortlessly making him raise his head along with the movement. Borrowing the faint dim moonlight, she finally saw his face clearly.

Having just drunk alcohol, now there remained a slight dizzying sensation. As if suddenly, that youthful face overlapped with the present. Delicate features, indifferent and somber expression. His eyes like a deep abyss, containing an unmelting gorgeous coldness.

“You… what exactly do you want to do?”

Her teeth chattering, she didn’t know when tears had already fallen.

From choking up to wailing, it was only a matter of a few short seconds. Her body trembled slightly in her crying, reproaching with a sobbing tone, “Xu Xingchun, you’re so scary like this.”

“Don’t scare me, okay… My hands hurt so much.”

Half true, half false, cunningly and unreasonably complaining, paired with those two worthless tears.

Fu Xueli produced it effortlessly. Even she herself couldn’t distinguish whether it was simply alcohol fermenting the grievance and helplessness in her heart, or whether she was taking advantage of the situation to act crazy and play dumb toward Xu Xingchun to gain sympathy.

Acting coquettish was a woman’s most basic means of dealing with men.

The emotions came too naturally, as if they were taken for granted. No matter how many years they’d been separated, starting from their student days, when Fu Xueli was unconscious and hardly aware, she had been pampered by him. Whether being reasonable or throwing tantrums, she had always acted as she pleased.

It was extremely rare—occasionally she couldn’t help but reveal the weakness and shame belonging to females, and the dependence carved into her bones. The target was always Xu Xingchun.

Her eyelashes were dampened by tears, the delicate makeup on her face half ruined, completely without her usual charming and proud appearance. Ice skin and snow flesh, fragile enough to shatter with a gentle pinch.

After a moment of silence, Xu Xingchun pinched her chin with one hand, his fingers ice-cold, wiping away her tears for her as if no one else was present.

She sobbed intermittently, the transparent liquid carrying scalding stimulating temperature.

“Fu Xueli, you really love to lie.”

He lowered his head, picked up the high heels and put them back on her feet.

—

Wrapped in a loosely styled jacket, Fu Xueli took off her shoes, adjusted the chair back low, hugging her knees, curled up in the passenger seat.

After staring out the window at the traffic and trees for a while, she withdrew her gaze and discovered through the rearview mirror that Xu Xingchun was staring at her face.

So she directly tilted her head to look at him, “Peeking at me again?”

Fu Xueli hugged her jacket and sat up, her eyelids still a bit red and swollen. After being so embarrassed just now, her face was now neither red nor was her heart racing. Unhurriedly she licked her dry lips, “Xu Xingchun, what are you thinking about?”

Xu Xingchun looked ahead and drove, his elbow lazily propped against the car edge, using his fingers to press against the space between his brows, eyes half-lowered, seemingly not wanting to talk much.

“Why did you just say I love to lie?” she asked again.

Ignorant and fearless.

He turned the steering wheel, lips opening and closing, voice flat as he said, “Haven’t you always been like this.”

What kind of sarcasm was this now.

Fu Xueli was unconvinced and wanted to continue asking, but her phone vibrated, buzzing.

Tang Xin on the other end was nearly dying of anxiety. As soon as she answered, she roared, “Where are you?!! Where did you disappear to again?! I had Xixi go back to the hotel but couldn’t find you. Tomorrow morning at five-thirty you’re due on set to start work. Don’t tell me you forgot. Do you have any professional ethics, Fu Xueli?! What time is it now?! Where are you?!”

“Five-thirty? Okay, five-thirty, I know. I’ll be right back. That’s it, hanging up, hanging up.” Fu Xueli agreed readily, perfunctorily using false polite words to brush her off, immediately hanging up the phone.

Not taking it to heart either, she continued calmly and composedly. She yawned, looking at his calm and unruffled profile, “Your car is so clean, without anything at all. Do all people who’ve studied medicine have this problem?”

Xu Xingchun ignored her. Fu Xueli, bored with nothing to do, shook her head back and forth, looking around everywhere. Still bored, she casually pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her bag to smoke.

Opening the car window, waiting for the night wind to rush in, her hair was instantly blown into disarray. Midway her hand stopped again, turning her head to ask, “You shouldn’t mind, right.”

After just a few seconds, she let out a light snort, mockingly thin: “Why am I even asking you? You smoke way more than me.”

She had also forgotten exactly how she found out about Xu Xingchun smoking.

It seemed like once during a high school physical test, only Xu Xingchun in the class had very low lung capacity, and the teacher talked to him. Fu Xueli later stumbled upon it a few times.

Smoke rising, hazily Xu Xingchun’s eye sockets were deep-set, one hand supporting his arm, the other hand holding a cigarette, inhaling and exhaling skillfully, bland yet lazy. She immediately guessed that he definitely smoked heavily.

Later on, she also secretly learned to smoke following Song Yifan.

Just couldn’t learn to be as ruthless as them in letting it pass through her lungs—she’d choke at her throat and exhale. After Xu Xingchun found out, she never saw him smoke again.

Past events in her memory were interrupted by another phone call. Xu Xingchun freed one hand to put on an earpiece, connecting to Bluetooth.

The person on the other end spoke for a while. Xu Xingchun’s brows gradually furrowed, “Where.”

Fu Xueli looked in the direction of the sound. He hung up the phone.

She had just wanted to open her mouth to ask what was wrong when she heard Xu Xingchun say, “Get out of the car.”

“…”

Not asking her opinion either, the car slowly pulled over and stopped by the roadside.

Fu Xueli clenched her fists. In her heart she strongly resented his coldness and this indifferent attitude. She had a very strong sense of rejection and discomfort. Holding back her anger, she didn’t make a sound.

“Get out. I have business.” Xu Xingchun’s face darkened, using an almost cold tone, repeating once more.

Fu Xueli didn’t know where her confidence came from, stubbornly competing with him, “Then take me with you. Anyway, I’m not getting out. After you finish your business, send me back. Don’t even think about leaving me alone.”

Xu Xingchun was silent for a while.

The car picked up speed again.

—

Two or three in the morning.

The gas station worker yawned, looking weary. Fluorescent lights emitted dim pale light. Beside it were dark narrow alleyways.

A black Honda without license plates drove out and stopped. Two young men with dull expressions got out. They instructed the gas station worker to fill it up. Then with unsteady steps they walked to the rest area, each lighting a cigarette to relax.

In the long corridor, a flickering light bulb, the two muttered, conversing in low voices. Suddenly, one of them felt something wasn’t quite right, but for a moment couldn’t confirm where this feeling came from.

Someone was nearby.

The scent of nicotine faintly spreading.

He turned his head to look, preparing to observe secretly, when suddenly his phone rang. His gaze moved upward, just meeting eyes with that unfamiliar man.

The distance was somewhat far. His face was pale and clean, his pupils frighteningly cold, expression stern, the light above his head flickering bright and dark.

That gaze…

Just one second—his heart suddenly sank. He retreated a step backward, pushing his companion beside him.

Before they could react, Xu Xingchun swiftly drew his gun and aimed at them, showing his credentials, saying in a deep voice, “Police, hands on your heads, everyone get down on the ground!”