I dare not open my eyes, hoping it's just my illusion

The moonlight flowed like water, spilling onto the concrete floor of the rooftop balcony and reflecting a cold, clear light.

Lin Mo sat in a wicker chair when the door behind him creaked open.

"Weren't you going out to have fun with them?"

Xie Yuling's voice was muffled, as if squeezed from her throat, carrying a hint of a reluctant nasal tone.

"It ended, so I came back to see you."

Lin Mo turned around, the moonlight outlining his sharp silhouette.

Xie Yuling's heart skipped a beat, but her words were entirely unforgiving: "Oh, you've seen me. Now you can leave."

After speaking, she turned to leave, her back ramrod straight as if she had suffered a massive grievance.

But the little voice in her heart was stomping hard enough to pierce through the floor.

Aren't you going to come and stop me? Lin Mo, you blockhead! If you don't stop me now, I'm really going back!

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Every step felt like treading on cotton, slow and heavy. She pinned all her hopes on the reaction of the person behind her.

Idiot! Fool! Why hasn't he come yet!

Xie Yuling was cursing him out thoroughly in her mind.

Just as she was about to lose hope and push the door open in resignation, a sudden warmth wrapped around her wrist.

An irresistible force pulled her back.

The next second, she was yanked backward, crashing solidly into a warm embrace.

Lin Mo's deep laughter vibrated by her ear. "Ah, let me guess. Were you just cursing me out as a fool in your head?"

"You... you're so annoying!"

The young girl's cheeks burned fiercely. She buried her head tightly into Lin Mo's chest, her voice muffled.

"Yes, I'm very annoying."

Lin Mo tightened his arms, resting his chin gently on the top of her head. "But I'm about to leave for Tianjing. Do you really not want to say a proper goodbye to me?"

Those words acted like a key, instantly unlocking all her disguises and defenses.

The girl's shoulders trembled slightly, and a low voice emerged.

"Mom said that when you go to a big place like Tianjing, there will definitely be lots and lots of girls who like you and chase after you every day."

"Probably not."

Lin Mo's reply was quite the mood-killer. "I've asked around. Very few girls participate in the national math competition. After all, that stuff drains both brainpower and stamina."

Xie Yuling, infuriated by his cluelessly blunt remark, lifted her head and glared at him with puffed-out cheeks.

Looking at her pouting face, Lin Mo couldn't help but chuckle. "There are no other girls."

Suddenly, Xie Yuling asked, "You will protect me too, right?"

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, carrying a trace of imperceptible fragility. "Just like... like how you protect Jiang Yunlu."

This girl, she really couldn't get past that.

Lin Mo sighed inwardly and reached out to rub her soft hair, his movements incredibly gentle.

"Of course. Haven't I been doing exactly that right from the start?"

That single sentence completely settled Xie Yuling's heart.

She didn't force him to make a choice, because she knew that pushing him would only hurt him, and hurt herself as well.

No wonder Ning Qingcheng always called him a central air conditioner, a scumbag who warmed everyone up.

How could Xie Yuling not feel this kind of gentleness that treated everyone well?

But deep down she also clearly knew that this kindness was actually kept only between them, never spilling over to outsiders.

So she simply raised her hand, her slightly cool fingertips gently caressing Lin Mo's cheek.

"I've secretly thought that it would be great if you weren't so outstanding. If you were just ordinary, and I was the only one who could see you."

"But then I thought, if you really were that ordinary, I probably wouldn't have liked you in the first place."

"People really are such contradictory creatures."

She spoke softly, as if talking to Lin Mo, but also as if murmuring to herself.

As her words faded, the young girl suddenly stood on her tiptoes, closed her eyes, and kissed him.

It carried a desperate, all-or-nothing courage, along with the unique, fresh sweetness of a young girl.

After a long while, their lips parted.

System: Fate is something that, if treated too casually, will be missed, but if taken too seriously, will bring sorrow.

Sansha Island.

Jiang Yunlu leaped up and dove into the swimming pool.

It was so late, yet she was still swimming.

Like a tireless fish, she darted back and forth through the water, mechanically stroking her arms, letting the freezing pool water envelop every inch of her skin as she tried to use physical exhaustion to suppress the turbulent restlessness in her heart.

On the second-floor terrace of the villa, Situ Yunshu and Jiang Chengshan stood shoulder to shoulder, silently watching their daughter in the pool.

"Does Nannan... really have to torture herself like this?" Situ Yunshu's voice revealed a hint of helplessness.

Situ Yunshu looked at Jiang Chengshan.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing. This is how she used to vent her inner pain before. Even though we want to help her, there are many things we simply can't do anything about."

Jiang Chengshan knew very well that some things had to be digested personally.

At that moment, Jiang Chengshan's phone rang.

He glanced down at it and couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"This guy, could he be any more blatant?"

Hearing this, Situ Yunshu looked over and immediately chuckled.

"This young man sure is direct. Well then, let's not interfere. Let's go to sleep, it's getting late."

Hearing this, Jiang Chengshan's face turned green. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Isn't it a bit too early? I still have some business at the company, let me handle that first..."

"Don't even think about running away. Get back here!"

Situ Yunshu gave him no chance to struggle. She reached out, grabbed him by the collar, and half-dragged him toward the bedroom.

Poor comrade Old Jiang was thus forcibly dragged onto the battlefield, beginning his own personal inferno.

Downstairs, Jiang Yunlu was completely oblivious to all this.

She only felt her limbs growing heavier and the air in her lungs thinning. Every stroke of the water carried a sense of desperate resolve.

Just as she was about to reach the point of exhaustion.

Splash!

Another sound of something entering the water came from behind her, much louder than the commotion she had made earlier.

Jiang Yunlu stiffened all over and abruptly turned her head.

Ripples spread across the water as a dark shadow swam swiftly along the bottom of the pool. Without a hint of hesitation, it headed straight for her.

The posture didn't look human; it was more like a shark locking onto its prey.

"Who is it?!"

She instinctively backed away, her voice trembling slightly from tension.

"Auntie? Mom?"

The aquatic shadow broke the surface, and a familiar face appeared under the moonlight. Water droplets slid down his neat short hair and sharp contours.

It was Lin Mo.

Jiang Yunlu's mind buzzed, and she was completely stunned, her back slamming heavily against the freezing pool wall.

"You... how could you be here?!"

Lin Mo didn't say a word. His pitch-black eyes locked tightly onto her amidst the glinting water, and with a few strokes, he was right in front of her.

Before Jiang Yunlu could react any further, he extended his powerful arms and scooped her out of the water and into his embrace.

The freezing pool water and his scalding chest formed a fierce contrast.

The next second, a kiss carrying an irresistible intensity pressed down heavily upon her.

Jiang Yunlu did not struggle.

Perhaps she had no strength left, or perhaps... she simply didn't want to.

So it turns out that being exhausted to the extreme really does cause hallucinations.