The truth is in a single step

The clouds lifted their heads, meeting his unfathomable eyes. Gone was the usual coldness; it was as if a frozen lake had suddenly cracked open, revealing molten lava beneath.

"What others say doesn't matter," his voice was deep and clear. "You only need to listen to me."

My approach to you is no coincidence.

"I remember your class, not because of the honor roll."

"From the moment you moved in, I never intended to just be your neighbor."

With each word he spoke, he took a step forward. Yunxi unconsciously retreated until his back pressed against the rough trunk of the sycamore tree. The summer breeze, carrying a warm scent, swept past, ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead. He raised his hand and braced himself against the tree trunk beside her ear, trapping her within a small space. This gesture carried an undeniable force, yet also concealed an inexplicable vulnerability.

His presence completely enveloped her. The crisp scent of pine wood now became extremely aggressive, causing her heart to race uncontrollably.

"Do you understand now?" He lowered his head, his voice low. "My actions towards you from beginning to end have been premeditated."

Yunxi's heart pounded wildly. She looked up at his face, so close to hers, and the undisguised possessiveness in his eyes made her feel hot all over.

"Why...why?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Shi Xu gazed intently at her, his eyes swirling with complex emotions. There was a familiar persistence in her eyes, a pain she couldn't understand, and a hint of desperate resolve.

"Because," his voice was terribly hoarse, "you're someone I've lost for a long time..."

The piercing sound of a car horn suddenly shattered the spell of this moment.

Shi Xu's body stiffened slightly. The voice was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing his out-of-control emotions. Yunxi saw his hand, which was bracing against the tree trunk, slowly tighten, his knuckles turning white. The burning heat in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by frost.

He straightened up and decisively created distance, as if he were fleeing from something.

"Let's go." He turned around, his voice colder than usual. "It's getting dark."

Yunxi leaned against the tree trunk, her legs still weak. She watched his still upright yet inexplicably lonely figure walking ahead, her heart still pounding.

What was the sentence he didn't finish saying?

What I lost a long time ago...?

That unanswered question, like a riddle hanging in the air, took root and sprouted in her heart.

As she watched his retreating figure, she realized for the first time with such clarity that she had stepped into the web he had woven, a web far more profound and unpredictable than she had ever imagined.