He knew all too well what Chaonan was doing. That wasn't a threat, it was a statement of fact.
A wave of icy despair, like the cold current from the deepest ocean trench, instantly drowned Chao Youye. All her courage and persistence were so fragile in the face of absolute power and cruelty that they could not withstand a single blow.
He wanted to protect him. He had to protect him. Even if it meant pushing him away in the most hurtful way possible.
Chao Youye automatically blocked out the rest of the conversation. Expelled, transferred to another school, cut off all contact… as quick and easy as dealing with a lapsed asset document.
His father's cold words still echoed in his ears, but Chao Youye only had one thought in his mind: find Mu Xinrong, and push him away before his father "deals" with him! Push him away completely and decisively!
In the quiet alley behind the school, the setting sun cast long shadows on the two of them. The air was filled with the warm, plant-scented breeze of late summer and early autumn.
Mu Xinrong had a bright smile on her face, and as usual, she seemed to be holding something in her hand, and was walking towards him excitedly.
That smile was pure and unguarded, filled with the sunshine and warmth that only youth can bring. The eyes that looked at him were filled with undisguised fondness and expectation.
"towards……"
Mu Xinrong just opened his mouth, his voice still full of excitement.
"Let's break up."
The cold voice, like an ice-hardened blade, cut off Mu Xinrong's unspoken words and the smile on his face without any warning.
Chao Youye forced herself to maintain the coldest mask, and her violet eyes were filled with ice that had not melted for thousands of years.
He watched the smile on Mu Xinrong's face stiffen and shatter in an instant, and watched those bright eyes quickly fill with unbelievable shock and...deep hurt.
His heart felt like it was being pierced by countless needles at once, the pain was so intense that he almost suffocated. But he couldn't stop.
"I don't like you anymore." Chao Youye continued to speak, and every word was like an ice pick chiseling the other person's heart, and also chiseling her own heart.
"Everything that happened before was just a momentary impulse. Now, it's over. Don't come to me again."
After he said that, he didn't dare to look at Mu Xinrong again, for fear that if he looked at him any longer, his cold mask would completely collapse.
He turned around abruptly and almost ran away, his steps stumbling, each step feeling like he was walking on the edge of a knife.
"Chao Youye! Stop! Explain it to me!" Mu Xinrong's hoarse and broken roar came from behind, with a crying tone and anger.
Chao Youye's steps didn't stop at all, but instead increased in speed. He bit his lower lip tightly until he could taste the rich taste of blood, and only then could he suppress the bitterness surging in his throat and the sobbing that threatened to burst out.
He couldn't look back. Wu Zeyu's venomous eyes must be watching from the dark. He pushed him away, he hated him, only then could he be safe.
The afterglow of the setting sun stretched his shadow long and lonely. And he personally pushed away the only light in his life. In the coldest and most hurtful way.
Just to...keep him alive.
"Ugh..." A suppressed whimper, like a wounded beast, suddenly squeezed out from the depths of Chao Youye's throat, breaking the dead silence in the guest room.
Those memories that were forcibly sealed away—his father's cold threat, Mu Xinrong's instantly shattered smile and the deep despair in his eyes, his own fleeing back, and the heartbreaking roar—were like a wild beast that had escaped from a cage, violently tearing at his confused consciousness!
He suddenly curled up his body, clutching the collar of his shirt tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white with force, as if he wanted to dig out his heart that had been torn apart repeatedly.
My body was shaking violently and uncontrollably, and tears were like a flood bursting through a dam, streaming down from the corners of my tightly closed eyes, instantly soaking my temples and pillow.
It’s not because of the killing in reincarnation.
It’s not because of the coldness of the throne.
It was because of the most real and concrete harm he had personally caused in this world line! He had used the most cruel method to push away the boy who loved him deeply and whom he instinctively wanted to be close to!
He saw the shattered light in Mu Xinrong's eyes and heard his heartbreaking roar! All of this was more painful than countless reincarnations of death!
What right did he have to suffer? What right did he have to cry? What right did he have to… to show his vulnerability in front of Mu Xinrong?
He was the betrayer! The executioner! He had personally severed everything between them in the most despicable way!
No wonder… no wonder Mu Xinrong's eyes revealed such deep pain and resistance when he saw him! That was his instinctive reaction after being pushed into the abyss by him! It was the uncontrollable traumatic stress at the sight of him, the culprit!
The huge self-loathing and despair were like a cold boulder, pressing heavily on Chao Youye's chest, almost suffocating him.
He bit his lower lip hard, trying to suppress the violent sobs, and the sweet taste of blood filled his mouth.
Ye Qingliu watched in silence as Chao Youye huddled in agony, trembling, and silently collapsed on the hospital bed. The surging tears, the suppressed sobs, the deep despair and regret that penetrated his bones... all came through clearly.
Deep in the gray-blue eyes behind the lenses, it seemed as if an extremely complex data stream was being analyzed and deduced at high speed.
This time, it was no longer a cold rule variable, but... an emotional disturbance called "regret" and "self-loathing".
He did not try to comfort or stop Chao Youye's collapse. He just sat there quietly, like a silent anchor, maintaining absolute stability in the storm.
Until Chao Youye's trembling and whimpering gradually subsided, leaving only exhausted gasps and intermittent sobs.
Ye Qingliu slowly stood up. He walked to the bedside and picked up the bowl of warm porridge.
He did not try to feed Chao Youye again, but simply placed the bowl gently on the bedside table with the spoon next to the bowl.
"The choice is yours." Ye Qingliu's voice echoed in the silence, still steady and cold, but with a penetrating power that saw through everything. "Will you indulge in the mistakes and pain of the past and let your core collapse completely? Or..."
His gaze fell on Chao Youye's tear-stained, lifeless face, "...take responsibility for it, face it. Including facing him."
After saying that, Ye Qingliu did not stay any longer. He turned around, left the guest room with steady steps, and closed the door gently.
The room fell into dead silence again. The only sounds left were Chao Youye's weak and painful breathing and the bowl of porridge on the bedside table, which was emitting faint heat.
Take on? Face?
Facing Mu Xinrong?
Facing Mu Xinrong, who was pushed away by him and was badly injured?
Facing Mu Xinrong, who was killed time and time again by his own hands in those reincarnations?
Chao Youye slowly and with great difficulty opened her tear-blurred eyes, her empty gaze falling on the bowl of white porridge on the bedside table.
He stretched out his hand tremblingly and extremely slowly, his fingertips cold and trembling uncontrollably, bit by bit, towards the bowl of porridge.
Not for eating, but as if wanting to grasp that faint but real... warmth.
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