Su Yumian entered the room and immediately put away the bag of books.

  After carefully pcing each one, she was drenched in sweat.

  After taking a shower, she returned to the living room and noticed the ointment on the coffee table. She picked it up, unscrewed the lid, and used a cotton swab to carefully apply it to the bruises on her chest and waist while facing the full-length mirror.

  The cool, mint-scented ointment quickly soothed the pain.

  It was still early, and she had originally pnned to read a book, but after a long day, her headache became unbearable. Exhausted, she y down and quickly fell asleep.

  In the middle of the night, Su Yumian had a nightmare.

  In her dream, Jiang Yihuai pounced on her like a vengeful spirit. No matter how she tried, she couldn't shake him off. The fear and terror felt so real that she tightly grasped her colr and jolted awake, gasping for breath.

  The night was still deep, but she didn't dare to sleep again. She grabbed her phone and immediately called Shao Yuwei, but no one answered.

  Subconsciously clutching her phone, she noticed that the light on the balcony next door was still on. After hesitating for a moment, she opened Shao Wenbai's WeChat.

  [Are you awake?]

  There was no response for a long time. Just as her eyelids were about to close, her phone vibrated.

  [Mm.]

  Su Yumian, a little slow to react, checked her phone. Suddenly, another message popped up.

  [Look outside your window.]

  She lifted her head. The silent night sky was filled with twinkling stars—scattered, bright, and dazzling.

  [Do you see the V-shaped formation straight ahead? That’s the Gemini consteltion.]

  Her phone vibrated several more times.

  [In ancient Greece, the Gemini twins were born from a golden egg. The older brother brought war and floods to the kingdom from birth, becoming a harbinger of disaster. The younger brother, however, was kissed by the god of love and became a protector of humanity.]

  [The older brother was jealous and tried to kill the younger brother several times. But the younger brother understood him, and when a sacrifice was needed, he volunteered himself.]

  [The younger brother’s sacrifice made the older brother realize his mistakes. He fought bravely for the kingdom and, after his death, he and his brother were blessed by the gods, becoming one of the twelve zodiac consteltions—Gemini.]

  [Because of this, Gemini is the only zodiac consteltion with twelve connected stars. It is known as the most beautiful consteltion, yet also the hardest to find.]

  [Finding something rare is special. Thinking of it that way, do you feel a little better?]

  Su Yumian smiled. He must not type often; it had taken him nearly ten minutes to send that message. But, just as he said, she had discovered something rare. It was as if her restless heart had been infused with warmth again.

  She picked up her phone and replied: [Thank you, I feel much better.]

  On the other end, Shao Wenbai also smiled slightly at her message. Just as he was about to return to his report, his phone vibrated again.

  [Under the same night sky, I’m really happy to be watching the stars with you. Good night—]

  —

  Under the same night sky, the study in the vil was still lit.

  Jiang Yihuai stared at the empty bookshelf, his mind repying the image of Su Yumian leaning in Shao Wenbai’s embrace earlier that day. Frustrated, he smashed the cup in his hand.

  Just then, his WeChat notification chimed. It was a message from Shi Muxi.

  [Baby, are you done with work? I haven't seen you in days, I miss you so much~]

  [I’ve been looking up all sorts of date spots. Let’s go out next week, okay?]

  …

  Jiang Yihuai scrolled through the messages absentmindedly until he saw the st one:

  [Can I come over now?]

  His fingers paused. Since Su Yumian had already said she wanted to cut ties and start fresh, why was he still holding on? Shi Muxi was his girlfriend, after all.

  [Come.]

  On the other end, Shi Muxi, curled up under her bnkets, nearly jumped with excitement when she saw his reply. She had subtly hinted and even flirted with Jiang Yihuai several times before, but he had never responded. She thought this time would be the same, yet unexpectedly, he agreed.

  She immediately got up to change clothes.

  Her roommate, still awake, noticed her heading out in the middle of the night and asked curiously, “Xixi, where are you going so te?”

  "You wouldn't understand. A night of passion is worth a thousand gold pieces. If our school beauty is heading out this eagerly, it must be for her rich and handsome boyfriend."

  Another roommate, engrossed in her game, teased. Shi Muxi blushed bright red.

  Before, Jiang Yihuai had refused to touch her, making her feel like he could leave at any moment. She had no sense of security. But tonight, if they finally slept together…

  She would officially be Jiang Yihuai’s woman.

  So, when picking out her clothes, she specifically chose a matching lingerie set.

  She took a taxi to the vil. Before she could knock, the door opened from the inside, and strong hands pulled her in. In the next second, she was pressed against the wall as he kissed her aggressively.

  Shi Muxi was stunned for two seconds before nervously, hesitantly, responding to his kiss.

  They kissed as they moved, with Jiang Yihuai leading her to the living room, pushing her onto the couch before pressing himself on top of her.

  His urgency overwhelmed her, making her tilt her head back.

  His kisses trailed down to her neck, moving lower, while his warm hands skillfully lifted her top, caressing her skin.

  Shi Muxi's heartbeat raced, her breath quickened, anticipation filling her.

  But just as Jiang Yihuai touched her bck bra, he suddenly froze.

  “W-What’s wrong?” Shi Muxi asked, confused.

  Jiang Yihuai rolled off her and sat on the couch. “Sorry, get up.”

  Still caught in the heat of the moment, Shi Muxi was stunned. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.

  "Huai-ge… Did I do something wrong?"

  She reached out to touch him, hoping to rekindle his desire, but he caught her wrist before she could.

  Jiang Yihuai’s voice was cold. “I don’t like repeating myself.”

  Shi Muxi bit her lip in grievance but didn’t dare say another word.

  Jiang Yihuai’s expression softened slightly as he adjusted her clothes for her. His voice carried a hint of gentleness. “Be good. It’s te, I’ll have the driver take you home.”

  A few minutes ter, the driver arrived. Shi Muxi looked at Jiang Yihuai’s back. From the moment she arrived, he had kept his back to her. Even now, as she was leaving, he said nothing. She bit her lip with hesitation, but finally left when the driver urged her.

  Jiang Yihuai lit a cigarette, watching the smoke rise. Unbidden, Su Yumian’s face surfaced in his mind. He closed his eyes and called Gu Yizhou. “Where are you?”

  Gu Yizhou had been with a girl, just about to make a move. Seeing his friend’s call, he held up a finger to hush the girl before answering. “This te at night? What, can’t sleep?”

  “Find me a clean woman. I need to vent.”

  Gu Yizhou: “?”

  Didn’t he just reconcile with Su Yumian? And now he was pying around again?