The question, laced with harsh coldness, pierced straight to the bone. Fang Zhi instinctively wanted to bite her lip, but the pain made her restrain herself. "I know I shouldn't have kept the performance a secret from you, but I really wanted to participate. Because my brother doesn't agree to me going, I can only participate secretly."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qi Shen chuckled softly, "So it's my fault?"

Fang Zhi didn't deny it, but she turned her eyes away, not daring to look him in the eye. "Everyone is a free individual who can choose their own life. Brother, I am also a person, not a bird in a cage. I want to pursue what I love. If I have the opportunity in the future, I want to go to a bigger stage so that more people can get to know classical dance and witness its beauty."

The stage meant exposure; his treasure was no longer something he could keep to himself. Qi Shen scrutinized her and said calmly:

"What if my brother disagrees?"

Fang Zhi paused for a moment. Since things had come to this point, there was no need to beat around the bush with him anymore. She said softly, "In my heart, no one is more important than my brother. Everything I have now is because of my brother, and I am very grateful."

Qi Shen stared at her intently. "Anything else?"

“I think I do have feelings for my brother, but not the kind of feelings a sister has for her brother.” Fang Zhi mustered up her courage this time. “But I can’t accept my brother’s control over me. True love shouldn’t be about control and unhealthy possession. If he keeps controlling me, one day I will choose to leave because I can’t stand it anymore.”

There was a few seconds of deathly silence in the carriage.

The girl's soft voice was like a delicious candy, sweetening his heart one moment and like the sharpest sword the next, leaving him bleeding. His relaxed expression returned to its previous gloom when he heard her say she had feelings for him.

Qi Shen's face was as calm as the calm before a storm. He repeated, with a mixture of amusement and self-torture, "Leave?"

His handsome face drew near to hers, his voice low and menacing, each word ringing clearly in the carriage: "I advise Zhizhi to give up this idea as soon as possible. Believe me, Zhizhi doesn't want to know the consequences of leaving her brother."