Chen Xi heard Qin Lie’s words, and the corner of her lips tugged slightly.

She wanted to tease Qin Lie with a retort, but couldn’t make a sound.

Her chest grew more and more stuffy, and her head heavier and heavier.

In the cramped, enclosed space, the flowing air seemed to have stagnated.

Chen Xi’s breathing became increasingly difficult. She tried to struggle with all her might, but found her entire body had no strength left.

She closed her eyes with difficulty and gradually lost consciousness.

Qin Lie couldn’t hear Chen Xi’s voice. The suffocating heat and dryness pressed down on him with an inexplicable panic.

He called her name softly, called twice, but Chen Xi still didn’t respond.

Just then, the car suddenly dropped down another notch.

Jack’s last bit of support was gone, and the entire weight of the car body suddenly pressed down on Qin Lie.

In that moment, Qin Lie’s mind was unusually calm.

Almost at the same time, the car body pressed down, he let out a muffled grunt, pushed his shoulders upward, and with all his strength, bore the weight of the car body.

Whether it was an illusion or not, a trace of air quietly poured into his lungs, and he seemed to hear Chen Xi’s heavy breathing.

Her slight movement brought some peace to Qin Lie’s heart.

He struggled even more desperately to hold up and support, fighting against the weight of the car body pressing down.

Time passed minute by minute, second by second.

Qin Lie clenched his teeth, his cold, hard jaw almost stretching into chiseled lines. Veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down one by one.

In the long torment, Qin Lie’s breathing became increasingly difficult, and the knife-like pain in his shoulder gradually became numb.

Darkness, stuffiness, panic, and a violent surging in his chest gradually extinguished bit by bit amid the frantic cicada cries outside.

In the convulsive suffocation, Qin Lie suddenly remembered Yang Guan’s words.

“As long as you don’t die, live well.”

He suddenly wanted to live well…

Not for himself.

But because of the woman lying in the darkness.

She said she still wanted to drink at Yang Guan and Susu’s wedding, she still wanted to spend a few more years with her grandmother…

After holding on for an unknown amount of time, just as Qin Lie’s consciousness was gradually scattering, the main door suddenly crashed open with a loud bang.

Then came panicked footsteps, stumbling and rushing in.

Qin Lie, in the darkness under the car, only felt a beam of golden light seeping in.

Immediately after, Liu Boyang’s frantic shouts reached his ears.

“Sister, sister.”

Liu Boyang, holding a jack, fell to his knees beside the car with a thud, his voice trembling with fear.

“Brother Qin Lie, why are you under the car too? Sister, sister, how are you?”

Liu Boyang was in a complete panic, not even knowing what to do.

Qin Lie made a difficult sound from his throat: “Boyang, don’t panic, support the front wheel.”

Only then did Liu Boyang wake up as if from a dream. He dragged over the jack and hurriedly lifted the front wheel with fumbling hands.

The weight pressing on Qin Lie’s shoulders was suddenly lifted.

While breathing heavily, he reached out toward Chen Xi.

His right shoulder felt like it wasn’t his own. He turned back and said to Liu Boyang in a low voice: “You pull her shoulders, be careful not to touch the jack.”

Liu Boyang did as told, carefully reaching under the car.

He grabbed Chen Xi’s shoulders while Qin Lie gritted his teeth and extended his stiff arm to hook around Chen Xi’s legs.

The two of them worked together to pull Chen Xi out from under the car.

Chen Xi woke up after a while and, surprisingly, wasn’t injured.

Qin Lie had been using his shoulder to hold up the chassis until the very end. When he came out from under the car, his shoulder was nearly ruined.

When Qin Zhan heard Liu Boyang describe the dangerous situation over the phone, he was so scared his soul nearly flew away. He wanted nothing more than to slap himself hard.

The shop’s only jack was something he had gotten from a friend, thinking he could save a bit here and there.

After Liu Boyang’s shop was sold, all the tools from there would be brought over.

He never expected it would nearly cost Chen Xi and his brother their lives.

When Qin Zhan returned, he brought barbecue and liquor to calm their nerves, plus a bottle of red flower oil for his brother to use.

As soon as he entered, he found Chen Xi calmly repairing cars.

Qin Lie had already gone back to the VR arcade, and it seemed only he needed the liquor to calm his nerves.

Qin Zhan insisted on drinking, ran to the VR arcade, and dragged Qin Lie over by force, pressing him down on the sofa in the tea area.

When Qin Zhan clumsily pressed on Qin Lie’s injured shoulder, Qin Lie’s body stiffened slightly.

Qin Zhan shouted to Chen Xi: “Sister Xi, come drink!”

After shouting, he pulled open Qin Lie’s collar and looked inside.

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Qin Zhan frowned: “Bro, how did you get hurt so badly?”

Qin Lie’s right shoulder had a large bruise that extended to his back, looking both fierce and frightening.

“Tsk tsk tsk, Boyang said your shoulder was stiff, but he didn’t say you were hurt this badly.”

Chen Xi was dismantling the steering wheel when she heard this. She looked up toward them, then took off her gloves and walked over.

She asked Qin Zhan, “Did you bring the red flower oil like I asked?”

Qin Zhan nodded and pulled out the red flower oil from the plastic bag on the coffee table, handing it over.

Chen Xi took the red flower oil and said to Qin Lie, “Take off your T-shirt, I’ll massage it for you.”

Qin Lie didn’t take it seriously and waved his hand: “No need.”

Chen Xi: “Take it off.”

Qin Lie: “No need.”

When the two spoke, their gazes only touched briefly before each looked away indifferently, as if avoiding something.

“What do you mean, no need? You’re hurt this badly.”

Without a word, Qin Zhan grabbed Qin Lie’s T-shirt and started pulling it up.

Qin Lie couldn’t use his shoulder strength and let Qin Zhan succeed, really wanting to slap this kid to death.

Once the shirt was off, the hideous bruises and robust muscles were laid bare.

Qin Zhan heartlessly howled: “Bro, stop working out, are you even letting others live?”

Qin Lie was too lazy to deal with him and looked down without speaking.

Chen Xi poured red flower oil into her hands and gently applied it to Qin Lie’s bruised shoulder, slowly spreading it evenly.

Qin Lie felt a spicy heat spreading across his shoulder.

He slightly lowered his head, and all his tactile nerve cells seemed to concentrate on his right shoulder.

After applying the red flower oil, Chen Xi used the base of her palm to gently massage in circles on the injured skin.

Following Qin Lie’s iron-hard muscle lines, she slowly worked toward his back.

Qin Zhan asked Qin Lie with a smug expression: “Bro, does it feel good? My Sister Xi’s massage technique is personally taught by Dr. Yang. Even Brother Yang Guan isn’t as good as Sister Xi.”

Chen Xi glanced at Qin Zhan and asked him, “What food did you buy?”

Qin Zhan bent down to rummage through the plastic bag on the coffee table.

“Barbecue, cold dishes, beer, oh right, I ran into Bearded Zhang and bought your favorite yogurt sweet fermented rice.”

Chen Xi smiled: “Put the sweet fermented rice and beer in the fridge for a while.”

She spoke casually, her gaze moving from Qin Lie’s bulging muscles to the ceiling.

Her palms, soaked with red flower oil, kneaded smoothly over the man’s solid, rough skin, from shoulder to back, working her way down.

The spicy heat spread along his skin to her palms.

“Does it hurt?”

Chen Xi asked coldly.

Qin Lie shook his head.

Chen Xi increased the pressure in her hands.

The muscles under the skin suddenly felt like they were being torn apart. Qin Lie wasn’t prepared and let out a soft hiss.

Qin Zhan put the yogurt and beer in the fridge and turned around to see this scene.

He said with a laugh, “Bro, there are no outsiders here. If it hurts, just groan.”

Qin Lie: “Get lost.”

“Fine, I’ll get lost.”

Qin Zhan looked at Chen Xi with a grin: “Sister Xi, massage hard, don’t feel sorry for him.”

Chen Xi looked up: “Get lost.”

Qin Zhan cheerfully got lost, whistling a tune at Liu Boyang with dancing eyebrows.

He felt that Sister Xi and his brother had potential.

Without Qin Zhan’s chatter, the surrounding air suddenly became somewhat frozen.

Chen Xi worked silently, kneading Qin Lie’s shoulder with varying pressure.

After a while, she spoke quietly: “Thanks.”

Qin Lie didn’t look up and waved his hand toward Chen Xi behind him.

The two had no other words.

After treating Qin Lie’s injury, Qin Zhan eagerly started organizing drinks.

The four of them sat around the coffee table, eating and drinking. Qin Zhan drank the most today, hugging Liu Boyang’s neck and saying drunkenly: “Fangfang, don’t worry.”

Chen Xi asked him with a laugh: “Don’t worry about what?”

Qin Zhan: “I will marry you.”

Liu Boyang pushed Qin Zhan aside.

Chen Xi suddenly asked Liu Boyang: “Your girlfriend should be in her second year of graduate school this year, right? What are her plans after graduation?”

Liu Boyang took a sip of beer and smiled: “She hasn’t figured it out yet.”

Chen Xi didn’t ask for anything more. These were two kids she had watched grow up.

Although they hadn’t gone to college, she knew they were both very hardworking.

The days ahead wouldn’t be bad.

After drinking until after ten o’clock, Qin Zhan fiddled with a projector he had gotten from somewhere, insisting on dragging everyone to watch a movie with him.

Chen Xi: “What time is it? Aren’t you going home?”

Qin Zhan adjusted the projector while saying: “I’ll leave later. If I go back too early, my parents won’t be asleep yet.”

Liu Boyang laughed at him: “Look at you, such a coward.”

Qin Zhan glanced at Liu Boyang: “Turn off the lights, we’re watching a horror movie. Don’t chicken out later.”

Qin Lie was too lazy to play with them. After finishing his last sip of beer, he got up and went back to his side.

Last time, after the roasted whole lamb, they couldn’t get a taxi from here. Yang Shan hadn’t drunk that night and drove everyone home in batches.

Tonight, he planned to make do on the sofa for the night.

The lights next door quickly went out, and no light came through the open small door tonight.

Qin Lie walked to the sofa and lay down. In the darkness, he gradually felt the area from his right shoulder to his back, where Chen Xi had massaged, becoming hot bit by bit.

The intermittent sound effects of the horror movie came from next door. He turned his head and saw the moon pressed against the huge glass wall, creating a hazy glow.

He suddenly sat up, walked to the computer desk, bent down, and turned on the computer.

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he might as well continue editing the third character’s PV.

Chen Xi sat on the sofa watching the horror movie for a while, finding it boring.

She got up to use the bathroom, and when she came out, she saw that the small door nearby was open.

A dim beam of light shone in from the VR arcade, spilling onto the dark stone brick floor and creating a faint shimmer.

Chen Xi unconsciously walked to the small door and saw that a computer desk had appeared beside the VR arcade’s sofa at some point.

Qin Lie sat at the desk with his back to her, the light from the computer screen enveloping his entire figure.

In the darkness, it was like his whole body was filled with light.

Chen Xi hesitated for a moment, then walked through the small door into the VR arcade.

Qin Lie heard footsteps behind him, stopped moving his mouse, and turned around to look.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness behind him before he could see the approaching figure.

He pondered for a moment, turned back to face the computer screen, and clicked the mouse a few times.

Chen Xi walked to the desk and saw the image on the screen, suddenly startled.

“This is… what I drew, the third character?”

Qin Lie hummed in acknowledgment, his gaze fixed on the screen, his hands not stopping their work.

After a while, he casually asked: “Not going back?”

Chen Xi: “Mm, can’t get a taxi, making do for the night.”

Qin Lie said nothing more. In the quiet arcade, only the crisp clicking of the mouse could be heard.

Chen Xi watched for a while and asked: “What are you doing?”

Qin Lie: “The third character’s PV.”

Chen Xi: “PV?”

Qin Lie explained: “Game promotional video.”

Chen Xi glanced at Qin Lie’s right shoulder, still stiff, and his arm moving the mouse was somewhat labored.

But the lines appearing on the computer screen were incredibly smooth.

He seemed completely unaware of the serious injury to his shoulder.

Chen Xi watched him skillfully type strings of code that looked like hieroglyphics, feeling somewhat dazed.

She had never seen Qin Lie like this, focused on doing one thing.

And what he was doing looked very difficult.

Qin Lie finished typing a string of code and turned to glance at Chen Xi.

“Want to take a look?”

Chen Xi: “Hm?”

She was stunned for a moment before reacting, nodding and saying: “Okay.”

Qin Lie casually clicked play, got up to give Chen Xi the chair, and walked a few steps to sit on the sofa.

Chen Xi pulled over the chair and sat down at the computer.

On the screen, the desert was boundless. In an instant, wind and sand rose, and the world turned yellow and murky.

A woman in red robes stood in the fierce wind.

Her courtesan’s attire couldn’t hide the lonely chill of someone high and unreachable.

A tall man stood opposite her.

His brown robes were travel-worn, his eyes covered with a black silk band that fluttered in the wind.

He spoke, his voice rough like yellow sand.

“You ruled the martial world, undefeated by any. Ten years without a trace, yet here in this northern wasteland, you became a prostitute?”

The woman’s expression was indifferent as she spoke lightly: “Do I know you?”

The man’s lips moved, pulling into a bitter smile.

“I became famous young and had the chance to duel with you once. You took my eyes.”

The woman’s expression showed slight confusion, as if thinking.

“I said then that you had exceptional talent. These eyes were useless and would block your path.”

She smiled: “Are you here for revenge? Or to repay a debt?”

The man said nothing, his blade already unsheathed.

The woman smiled: “You came at the right time. In this wasted life, I seek only one defeat.”

Music suddenly began, like a tune played on an erhu, desolate and tragic, powerful and resonant.

A red figure leaped up, a crescent moon blade in her left hand, an ice-thin long sword in her right, breaking through the yellow sand.

Silver-white and ice-blue blade light and sword energy instantly wove into a net of heaven and earth, along with a deadly red beautiful shadow, sweeping toward the man.

In the next second, time seemed to suddenly stop flowing, and the music became slow and quiet.

The man slightly lowered his head, his old robes and black silk band fluttering in the wind, also seemed frozen in space and time.

Every grain of sand surrounding him, every sword energy, every fold of clothing, even every wisp of wind, became clear, slow, and substantial in the man’s extraordinary perception.

The man held his long blade horizontally, the scar on his palm suddenly fierce.

In the next second, the deep music resumed, accompanied by heavy drumbeats.

Like the man’s heartbeat, wanting to speak but stopping.

The cold blade raised an impenetrable barrier, blocking the sharp and treacherous blade light and sword energy.

The wind howled, and the world was yellow and murky.

The man’s figure was like an earth-shaking sandstorm, the woman like a blood-colored phantom.

Cold light intersected, life and death hanging on a grain of sand, a gust of wind.

She was swift as the wind, his time moved slowly in the chaotic sword energy.

She was ethereal as a phantom, but his blade seemed to have gained a soul, reading the deep meaning of her every movement.

Her moves changed in a thousand ways, but he was like a meditating monk, his blade cutting through all illusions in the world.

Heaven and earth shook, and wind and sand retreated.

The woman laughed loudly toward the sky: “Have you been thinking of me every year for these ten years?”

The man had no words, swinging his blade to block her heart-piercing sword.

The woman’s curved blade swept over: “If not, how could you understand my killing intent better than I do?”

The man continued in silence, responding with even more powerful moves.

Chen Xi watched, dazzled, the vivid color collisions and intense, passionate combat made her blood burn along with it. Her hands unconsciously gripped the chair’s armrests tightly.

Suddenly, the woman rode the wind upward, her long sword stabbing straight at the man’s throat.

The man neither dodged nor avoided, swinging his blade straight at the woman’s brow.

Time slowed its pace again, and the music became sorrowful and distant.

Wind and sand danced wildly, robes fluttered, and long hair floated in the wind.

His blade was faster than her sword.

In the next second, his blade suddenly changed direction and blocked the sword in the woman’s hand.

The music suddenly stopped, leaving only the howling west wind.

The man’s hand dropped down, his blade tip sinking into the yellow sand.

The two faced each other in the wind and sand, speechless for a long time.

The woman’s lips gradually curved into a relieved smile: “You won’t kill me?”

The man was silent. After a long while, he spoke: “You haven’t answered my question yet.”

The woman stood in the wind and slowly began to speak.

“I was born a woman, not greedy for the seven emotions and six desires. I learned martial arts young, and before I was thirty, I unified the martial world and became the supreme person of the rivers and lakes.”

“For ten years after that, no one in the martial world could match me.”

“A person like me either remains the supreme person or falls to become a prostitute.”

“Lewd?”

“Not at all. I simply had no path forward.”

The wind wailed between them, and the man was speechless for a long time.

The woman asked again in the wind: “Why didn’t you kill me?”

The man was silent in the sand for a long time, his knife-carved lips moving.

“You just answered yourself.”

He sheathed his blade, turned around, and walked step by step into the endless wind and sand.

A voice-over sounded in the desolate music.

“You can try it—ten years, every year, every day, every minute, every second, with one person entrenched in your heart.”

“Can you bring yourself to swing this blade?”

The scene cut off abruptly.

Chen Xi found herself flushed without realizing it.

She suddenly remembered when she was drawing this character, Qin Lie had mentioned XP to her. She thought she understood at the time.

Only now did she understand what Qin Lie meant.

Although this male character was designed by her, Chen Xi had never truly felt his sexual tension.

With just one animation, Qin Lie made her burn with desire for the character she had designed herself.

The animation was over, and the surroundings fell quiet again.

Chen Xi sat at the computer with her back to Qin Lie, motionless for a long time.

Qin Lie lit a cigarette and took a drag.

He raised his eyebrows and silently observed Chen Xi’s silhouette through the swirling smoke.

The woman’s outline, in the dim light, had less sharpness and more of an indescribable softness.

Her thin shoulders looked like they would break if grasped.

He exhaled smoke and finally broke their silence.

“How was it?”

His voice was hoarse and rough, inexplicably reminding Chen Xi of the male protagonist in the animation.

Lonely and iron-blooded.

Chen Xi turned around in the swivel chair to face Qin Lie.

She didn’t speak, only looked at him quietly.

Qin Lie had a cigarette in his mouth and also looked at Chen Xi, his gaze gradually becoming somewhat meaningful.

The two didn’t speak, just looked at each other like this.

Suddenly, Chen Xi lightly pushed off with her foot, and the chair’s wheels slid forward to the sofa.

Chen Xi’s legs were almost nestled between Qin Lie’s widely spread, long legs.

In the next second, Chen Xi leaned forward, bringing with her the stirring scent of a woman.

Qin Lie’s breathing caught quietly, his Adam’s apple moving.

Chen Xi reached out, her two slender fingers lightly taking the cigarette from Qin Lie’s mouth.

She leaned back against the chair and brought the cigarette to her lips, taking a drag.

With a push of her foot, the chair slid away again.

Qin Lie was about to reach out and grab the chair’s armrest when Qin Zhan’s voice suddenly came through the wall.

“Sister Xi, where are you?”

Chen Xi, holding the cigarette, shouted toward the other side: “Coming.”

She looked at Qin Lie with a half-smile, got up, and walked toward the next door.