"At all costs... complete the core mission as soon as possible!"

System 088's unprecedentedly urgent warning, like a final death knell, tolled in Lin Nuannuan's chaotic mind. Highest risk level, unknown interference, cognitive bias threshold... each word was like a heavy shackle, pushing her to the edge of a cliff.

At all costs…including taking advantage of his potential vulnerability due to fluctuations in his “subjective consciousness”? Including taking a desperate gamble with her identity potentially exposed?

Xie Chen's words, "Remember for us," echoed in her ears like a curse. He knew, he must know something! It wasn't just a test, it was more like a... declaration. A declaration that all her pretense might be meaningless in front of him.

Fear, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around her heart. But beneath this extreme fear, a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve, driven to the brink, ignited like wildfire.

There is no turning back. Either complete the mission and fight for a chance of survival, or wait to be completely torn apart by him (or that "unknown interference").

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Her gaze fell on the closed door of the study. Xie Chen had just gone in with that strange music box; his emotions must be far from calm. This was a crisis, but perhaps… it was also the “opportunity” the system had mentioned?

As night deepened, the apartment was deathly silent.

Lin Nuannuan didn't go back to her room. She sat on the living room sofa like a statue, listening to her own heartbeat in the darkness, waiting. She was waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity that might not exist, but one she had to create.

After an unknown amount of time, the study door was gently pushed open.

Xie Chen came out. He didn't turn on the light; his tall figure was just a blurry outline in the darkness, but Lin Nuannuan could feel the heavy, almost tangible weariness and oppression emanating from him. He didn't look towards the living room, but walked straight towards the bedroom, his steps seeming a little heavier than usual.

Now!

Lin Nuannuan suddenly stood up from the sofa, her movement so quick that she even knocked over a cushion. She walked a few steps to the light switch in the entryway, and with a soft "click," turned on the crystal chandelier in the center of the living room, casting a soft glow.

The sudden light made Xie Chen stop in his tracks. He slowly turned around and looked at Lin Nuannuan standing under the light, his brows furrowing in displeasure, his eyes filled with lingering gloom and annoyance at being disturbed.

"You're still not asleep?" His voice was hoarse from staying up all night and a little impatient.

Lin Nuannuan didn't answer. She just stood there, looking up at him, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, almost shattering her eardrums. The light shimmered in her eyes, reflecting a strange light—a mixture of fear, resolve, and a reckless, almost tragic courage.

She walked towards him, step by step, slowly but resolutely. The carpet absorbed her footsteps, and in the silence, only the sound of her breathing growing ever closer could be heard.

Xie Chen stood still, motionless. He simply watched her with his deep, unfathomable eyes, watching her approach step by step, watching the complex and unpredictable emotions in her eyes. He neither stopped her nor asked any questions, as if waiting to see what she was planning to do.

Finally, Lin Nuannuan stopped in front of him. The distance between them was so close that she could smell the crisp tobacco scent and faint smell of alcohol on him, and feel the cold, oppressive aura emanating from him.

She looked up, meeting his scrutinizing gaze, her lips trembling slightly, but she tried her best to keep her voice steady:

“Sir,” she said softly, each word seemingly squeezed out with difficulty from her throat, “you said…some wounds can never heal.”

Xie Chen's eyes flickered slightly, but he remained silent.

Lin Nuannuan continued, as if reciting a desperate line: "You said... some people are destined to live in darkness."

A barely perceptible sob escaped her lips; it wasn't entirely feigned. "But... if even a sliver of light isn't allowed in the darkness... then what's the difference between living and dying?"

This statement was partly a test, and partly a reflection of her true state of mind at that moment.

Xie Chen's pupils seemed to contract slightly. He looked at the misty tears in her eyes, at her forced composure that still betrayed her vulnerability, and at her slightly reddened eyes due to nervousness.

He remained silent, but something seemed to be slowly shattering in his cold eyes.

Lin Nuannuan knew she couldn't wait any longer. If she waited any longer, her courage would run out, and his patience would also run out.

She closed her eyes, steeled her resolve, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his tightly pursed, cold-lined thin lips!

It was an awkward, desperate, trembling kiss. Like a moth drawn to a flame, it carried the heat of despair.

The instant their lips touched, Lin Nuannuan felt Xie Chen's body suddenly stiffen! His muscles tensed up in an instant, as if he had been struck by lightning!

She could even feel the force with which he reflexively tried to push her away for a moment!

Oh no...did I lose the bet?

An overwhelming sense of despair washed over me like a bucket of ice water.

However, just as she thought she would be pushed away hard, or even face more terrible consequences, the stalemate and resistance suddenly disappeared!

Instead, a stronger, more domineering force, as if carrying some kind of long-suppressed, finally erupting madness, seized her and took the initiative!

Xie Chen's arms suddenly encircled her waist, pulling her tightly against him, almost as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones! He lowered his head, no longer passively enduring, but deepening the kiss with an almost predatory attitude!

This kiss was no longer Lin Nuannuan's tentative, fleeting touch. It was aggressive, with a punishing bite, an undeniable possessiveness, a madness that seemed to devour her soul! A faint taste of blood filled the air; it was unclear whose lips had been broken.

Lin Nuannuan's mind went blank; she had completely lost the ability to think. She passively endured this storm-like onslaught, feeling like a small boat adrift in a raging sea, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

She could feel his burning body temperature, his rapid heartbeat, and the complex and dark emotions he suppressed beneath his cold exterior—anger, struggle, doubt, and perhaps… even a trace of desperate dependence, like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood, which he himself was unaware of.

After an unknown amount of time, just when Lin Nuannuan felt she was about to suffocate, Xie Chen suddenly released her.

A thin, ambiguous strand of saliva stretched between their lips. Lin Nuannuan's legs were so weak she could barely stand, relying entirely on his arm, still wrapped around her waist, for support. She gasped for breath, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen, her eyes filled with confusion and the glistening tears of their passionate kiss.

Xie Chen was also slightly out of breath. He looked down at her, his deep eyes churning with an unprecedentedly violent storm. There was lingering desire, resentment at being offended, and profound confusion, but deep down, there seemed to be a trace... an extremely faint, almost imperceptible, emotion, like a crack being pierced through solid ice...?

"Ding—!" System 088's notification sound rang out clearer than ever before, even carrying a hint of excited tremor:

"Core mission [Kiss of Trust] has been completed!"

"Task reward settlement in progress..."

"Points +100! Current points: 125!"

"Global energy stability has slightly improved!"

"Warning: Due to the controversy surrounding the method of task completion, the 'trust' level has been assessed as [critically achieved]. The subsequent impact is unknown. Please proceed with caution!"

Critical moment reached? Controversy? Before Lin Nuannuan could even ponder the meaning of this hint, Xie Chen's next action sent a chill down her spine.

He released his grip on her waist, took a step back, and widened the distance between them. He raised his hand and rubbed his lips heavily with his fingertips, as if trying to wipe away some unclean mark. Then, he looked at her with an extremely complex gaze, a mixture of scrutiny, mockery, and an indescribable weariness.

"Is this what you wanted?" he asked, his voice hoarse, carrying a chilling aftermath and a knowing sharpness. "The goal you were willing to achieve by offering a kiss?"

Lin Nuannuan's face instantly turned from rosy to deathly pale.

He knew! He had always known she had ulterior motives!

Xie Chen looked at her suddenly changed expression, and a cold, indifferent smile appeared on his lips. There was no warmth in that smile, only endless desolation and self-mockery.

“Very good.” He nodded, his gaze like the sword of final judgment, pinning her to the spot. “You got what you wanted.”

"Now, tell me—"

His voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an unquestionable command and an ultimatum-like pressure:

Who exactly are you?

The moment the words left her lips, Lin Nuannuan felt as if the air around her had frozen! The piercing alarm from System 088 blared wildly in her mind!

"Warning! Warning! The crisis of identity exposure has reached its peak!"

"The world's rejection reaction is intensifying!"

"Signal strength of unknown interference source surges!"

"Host! Answer immediately! Otherwise..."

Otherwise what? The system didn't say, but the unspoken implication was ominous.

Looking into Xie Chen's dark eyes, which seemed capable of devouring everything, and at the undisguised, cold expression on his face awaiting the final answer, Lin Nuannuan knew that the final moment had arrived.

She opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry that she couldn't make a sound.

Does it refer to "Lin Nuannuan"? Or... does it acknowledge "Su Nian"?

Regardless of the answer, they all seem to point to an unpredictable and dangerous future.

But in this deathly still and critical moment, another unexpected event occurs!

Xie Chen's expression suddenly changed. Without warning, he raised his hand to cover his head, letting out a suppressed, extremely painful groan! His body swayed, and his eyes were instantly filled with a chaotic golden light, which flickered violently, as if it were fiercely fighting against some invisible force!

"Get...out..." he gritted his teeth, squeezing out broken words as if he were roaring at another consciousness within him.

The golden light and the dark color in his eyes intertwined wildly, sometimes as cold and sharp as Xie Chen, and sometimes revealing a completely unfamiliar majesty and indifference, as if from the ancient wilderness!

Subjective consciousness?! And those unknown interference lines?!

Lin Nuannuan stared in horror at the sudden turn of events, completely frozen in place.

The suspense in the story reaches an unprecedented climax—the mission is barely completed amidst controversy, the female lead's identity faces final questioning, and the intensifying battle for the male lead's inner consciousness pushes everything to the brink of complete chaos! The next scene will be a moment that determines fate!