A monotonous beam of light emanated from Lu Shizhen's cell phone, gradually disappearing into the darkness of the villa as it moved further away.
The sound infused the blurred outline under the moonlight with a soul, and Lu Shizhen stood there, letting the name Xu Shiyue become clearer and clearer in her mind.
Lu Shizhen never imagined that she and Xu Shiyue would meet again under such circumstances.
She never even imagined that she would ever see this person again in her lifetime.
Why is Xu Shiyue here?
How did she end up here...?
Didn't she hate herself so much that she wanted to be reduced to ashes?
The villa was eerily quiet, and Xu Shiyue's voice was calm yet not entirely calm.
The branches outside the window swayed in the calm moonlight, and beneath the surging undercurrents, there seemed to be a deep-seated hatred and resentment.
Lu Shizhen's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly felt like she had walked right into a trap.
A rare moment of clarity reminded her that she was not the same person she used to be, so she forced herself to remain calm and said to Xu Shiyue, "Miss, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Shiyue lifted her foot.
The dim light from the cell phone cast their shadows face to face on the ground, their dark eyes fixed intently on Lu Shizhen's face.
The gaze didn't end quickly; it was like a watercolor pen meticulously tracing the copied drawing, making the viewer feel uneasy.
Lu Shizhen could feel Xu Shiyue's gaze lingering on her face, and could even sense Xu Shiyue's momentary daze in the dim light. She also heard Xu Shiyue say, "You look different from before."
The sound was too calm.
It didn't sound like he was questioning whether he had chosen the wrong person, but rather like he was simply stating a fact.
Lu Shizhen felt a pang of panic, but she forced a puzzled look and said, "But I've always looked the same, and I haven't changed over the years. Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"
"Is that so?" Xu Shiyue asked softly.
“Yes.” Lu Shizhen nodded immediately.
As if reinforcing her belief in this identity, she pulled out a business card from her pocket and introduced herself in a rambling manner: "This is my business card. I have a book signing event in S City recently, and I heard about the story of this villa, so I came here to gather inspiration."
A small card was respectfully handed to Xu Shiyue. She looked at the small white card, paused for a moment, and then took it: "Sixteen."
Upon hearing Xu Shiyue pronounce her pen name, Lu Shizhen immediately nodded and said, "That's me."
But after that response, it was like throwing a stone into a well; no sound came out for a long time.
The dimly lit villa was extremely quiet, with only Xu Shiyue's gaze wandering over the business card.
Lu Shizhen didn't know what Xu Shiyue was thinking, but she still remembered that she had come here.
Worried that Yuanzi's condition might suddenly worsen, she tilted her head slightly and asked Xu Shiyue indirectly, "By the way, I think I heard a few whimpers here just now. Are there any dogs in the villa?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Shiyue's gaze, which had been fixed on the business card, stopped.
Her lowered eyes opened like a fan, and then, as if deep in thought, she asked Lu Shizhen, "Is that so?"
“Yes.” Seeing that Xu Shiyue’s tone was relatively calm when she responded, Lu Shizhen immediately guided the conversation, “And I feel like this dog isn’t feeling too well, is it?”
"Oh."
Suddenly, Xu Shiyue seemed to be in a good mood, and a soft laugh, carried by her breath, rang out in the quiet room.
The light shone between Xu Shiyue and Lu Shizhen, and the girl's dark eyes held a smile that was hard to describe.
Lu Shizhen didn't know what Xu Shiyue was suddenly happy about. Then she heard her raise her hand and snap her fingers, calling out, "Yuanzi."
The metal handle swayed up and down at the end of the corridor, making a clicking sound that was both eerie and somehow understandable.
The tightly closed door was opened from the inside in just two seconds, and Lu Shizhen then heard the light, cheerful footsteps of a puppy.
Yuanzi wagged her tail and walked out of the darkness, barking a clear and loud "woof" at Xu Shiyue, who had called her.
Xu Shiyue skillfully rubbed its head, her cool voice tinged with childlike gentleness: "Yuanzi, this older sister says you're not feeling well."
Upon hearing Xu Shiyue's words, Yuanzi tilted her head, her dark, grape-like eyes fixed on Lu Shizhen.
The tail that had been swaying high gradually slowed down, once, twice... and then it pounced on Lu Shizhen, wagging its tail even more wildly than before.
He didn't look terminally ill or on his deathbed at all.
Lu Shizhen was stunned. Yuanzi pounced on her and knocked the cat carrier off her back.
Whether it was the magical magnetic field between dogs and cats, or some other reason, Yuanzi wagged its tail and licked Qiuqiu, who had run out of the cat carrier in fright, until she was completely wet.
The cat let out a long, drawn-out meow to call for help from its owner, but Lu Shizhen was already too busy to help herself.
Xu Shiyue took a step closer to Lu Shizhen without anyone noticing, casting Lu Shizhen in her shadow.
The phone's light flickered and reflected in the girl's eyes, but her lowered eyelashes kept the light out, revealing a sinister look: "Lu Shizhen, do you think you can lie to me again?"
Lu Shizhen sensed a deep, obsessive feeling, and her hands, which were resting against the low cabinet, clenched slightly.
She was determined that nothing would happen if she didn't admit it, and stubbornly insisted, "I...you, you've mistaken me for someone else, I, I don't know you..."
A sudden gust of wind blew in from outside the window, scattering the tree branches full of green leaves in disarray under the night sky.
Xu Shiyue kept her thin lips tightly closed and didn't say anything more. However, the calm in her eyes was gradually shattered by some uncontrollable emotion, which became more and more chaotic and darker.
The phone was knocked to the ground by its owner's sudden backward movement, and the steady, dim light was instantly disrupted.
Lu Shizhen didn't react at all. She was mechanically pushed against the low cabinet behind her, and her dry lips were suddenly touched by a warm and soft touch.
The sweet fragrance from her memory overwhelmed her.
Xu Shiyue's lips were a little cool, just like the palm of her hand holding her wrist.
Lu Shizhen froze, her breaths mingling and creating a warm, scorching heat that seemed to burn her to ashes in an instant.
Xu Shiyue kissed her.
Memories were like boxes that had surfaced on the sea, suddenly opening in Lu Shizhen's mind the moment they lost their underwater pressure.
She remembered the last time she kissed Xu Shiyue, it was underwater, and she opened her mouth to breathe.
So what's the reason this time?
Xu Shiyue's kiss was relatively gentle, like a dragonfly skimming the water, and she suddenly released Lu Shizhen.
The brief calm is not the retreat of the storm, but a harbinger of an even bigger wave to come.
Their eyes met, and Lu Shizhen gazed at the person in front of her who was also gazing at her.
A faint light illuminated one of her eyes, and Lu Shizhen sensed a hint of madness in her overly calm breathing.
Xu Shiyue still didn't let go of Lu Shizhen's hand, and her face was still only a few centimeters away from Lu Shizhen's.
A neatly trimmed manicure was pressed against the girl's delicate skin, and her chin, which had been avoiding and retreating, was gently lifted.
"You need to open your mouth," Xu Shiyue said softly to Lu Shizhen, as if teaching, or perhaps giving a command.
Lu Shizhen hadn't yet recovered from what had just happened, nor did she understand what Xu Shiyue meant by those words.
Whether it was fear or the lingering unease from the arousal, her voice stammered, "Xu, Xu Shiyue, we...uh..."
Lu Shizhen wanted to negotiate, but forgot what Xu Shiyue had just told her.
And so, as if walking right into a trap, he opened his mouth wide.
The kiss that had just ended landed on Lu Shizhen's lips again.
Although Lu Shizhen was a head taller than Xu Shiyue, she was forced to look up because of her posture while leaning against the low cabinet.
The gentle and mild words turned into a sudden storm, like a tempestuous tempest that abruptly erupted at sea, and invaded Lu Shizhen's mouth like a predatory storm.
After their brief encounter, both of their lips became moist.
Unrestrained kisses relentlessly robbed her of her air, as if trying to suffocate her, or as if trying to drag her down to taste the suffocation that Xu Shiyue had experienced over the years.
The accumulated longing finally overwhelmed me in that instant, spreading uncontrollably.
Xu Shiyue didn't know how the person in front of her had changed his appearance, but she was certain of it from the first glance she saw him.
This person is Lu Shizhen.
Even if she changed her background and her appearance, she could not possibly mistake her.
I will never let her leave again.
Spring has long since shed the cold heaviness of winter, and clothing has become lighter and thinner.
Lu Shizhen could feel the warmth of Xu Shiyue's arms around her waist, and she was unconsciously drawn into her embrace.
Unable to resist.
Or perhaps one has to rely on this force to barely support their body.
That's too fierce.
The nerve endings, which had been calm for years, were swept up by the storm and trembled without exception.
Lu Shizhen had never received such a kiss before. She was being held by this person and almost couldn't support herself.
Lu Shizhen had never imagined that Xu Shiyue would be such a reckless person. Her cool composure, even the tranquility that had always been her trademark, was completely gone. She just held herself tightly, so tightly that she didn't give herself any room to resist or refuse her, leaving her no choice but to submit to her.
It's like a paranoid and tyrannical monarch.
Just like how she was described later in the book.
The smell of ink and pigment was gradually replaced by a delicate fragrance, and the silent night was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.
When it was over, Lu Shizhen was already breathing unevenly, leaning against the low cabinet and Xu Shiyue's arm. Her bewildered eyes were stained with blood from somewhere, as if she had been bullied.
Xu Shiyue calmly and slowly suppressed her breathing, looking down at Lu Shizhen, whom she had confined in this corner of the space.
The well-defined fingers slowly climbed up Lu Shizhen's nape, as if gently wiping away the thin layer of sweat that had accumulated on her neck, but in the end they landed on her earlobe.
Xu Shiyue's voice wasn't very clear, but as she playfully pinched Lu Shizhen's earlobe, she said in a hoarse voice, "Teacher Sixteen, you said you don't know me, so how do you know my name is Xu Shiyue?"
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