Lu Fei drove the car into the yard, just in time to see David Fan opening the trunk and putting Xindi's luggage inside. Xindi looked at Xincheng getting out of Lu Fei's car after a night away, without showing any surprise, but rather some delight. Lu Fei was still in a hurry to attend a meeting, so he just greeted them before leaving.

  Xin Chen walked over, smiling and said: "Passport and international flight tickets are in the innermost layer of the bag, ID card and Beijing flight ticket are in the outer layer, don't let this bag out of your sight."

  "You repeated what my mom said exactly word for word." Xindi couldn't help but laugh, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "Chenzi, no matter what my mom says, just ignore it, okay?"

  Xin Chen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, Auntie won't say anything to me."

  After all, she was his own mother. Xīn Dí also didn't want to discuss this topic anymore. "I'm leaving, you stay here and be good, don't disappear silently before I come back."

  "No, you're just watching a fashion show, the demolition compensation won't be paid out that efficiently." Xincheng yawned, "Get on the train, don't miss it, have a safe trip."

  As David drove the car out of the yard, Xin Chen went upstairs to take a bath and change her clothes. Then she brought the property certificate, ID card, and rushed to the demolition office to handle the procedures. The staff at the demolition office told her that after signing, they would arrange for an intermediary agency to inspect and evaluate her house's main structure, decoration, and ancillary facilities. They would then send her a "Real Estate Appraisal Report" as soon as possible. After confirmation, she could arrange to receive the demolition compensation, but the specific time was uncertain.

  Xin Chen didn't expect to get the money immediately, but she thought that after signing the documents, there would be nothing more to do with her. She had no idea it would be so complicated. She thought, wanting to extricate herself wasn't as simple as she thought.

  After leaving the demolition office, she could only go to David Fan's office at the advertising company with a gloomy mood. Yan Xuhui had already returned to Beijing after completing the shooting. She had been working overtime for this period of time, revising the pictures, and all that was needed was for David Fan to review them, provide modification suggestions, finalize the draft, and then proceed with post-production printing.

  David Fan saw halfway, his mobile phone rang, a smile appeared on his face, "Xin Di is calling." He got up, "Has it arrived? Yes, Lao Yan inviting you to dinner is justified, wait for a moment, I'll go out and talk to him."

  He walked out of the office, and Xin Chen continued to look at the pictures. After a while, a tall girl walked in straight, looking down on her, it was Shen Xiaona who had met here before. Xin Chen glanced at her, and his eyes returned to the LCD screen.

  Shen Xiaona looked at her bluntly, "What are you doing here?"

  Xin Chen replied casually: "Of course it's work. If you have any business to discuss, please contact Zhenzhen at the front desk."

  Shen Xiaona ignored her, and her gaze fell on a new photo frame on David Fan's office desk. The photo inside was taken at the press conference in Beijing in late March this year. David Fan walked onto the T-stage to present flowers, and familiar reporters captured the moment when he and Xin Di hugged each other. The brilliant lights shone on both of them, and David Fan, wearing a navy blue shirt, looked majestic and handsome, his tall and strong body slightly leaning towards the petite Xin Di. A lily separated the two, and his face was about to touch her upturned face. The scene was truly captivating. David Fan had received this photo early on but only suddenly remembered it in the past few days, found it, enlarged and printed it, and placed it on his office desk.

  Shen Xiaona was taken aback at first, and reached out to take a closer look, but Xincheng was watching her with an ambiguous smile. She didn't want to lose the momentum, so she withdrew her hand and casually walked over to sit in David's seat. "Whose fashion company is this picture from?"

  I didn't expect Xincheng to turn off the display screen immediately. Shen Xiaonan was first stunned by her actions, and then became angry, "What do you mean?"

  Xin Chen turned his chair halfway around, backing away from the desk a bit, facing her directly without any intention of retreating. "If I'm not mistaken, you're also from the clothing company? These pictures aren't convenient for you to see. If possible, please don't disturb my work."

  Shen Xiaona didn't expect that in her own company, she would be treated like this. She had always been received with courtesy when entering and exiting the advertising company, but suddenly facing such inflexible treatment, she was stunned. Just then, David Fan finished his phone call and came back, immediately shouting: "Weifan, how can your employee be so rude?"

  "Is there something you want from me, Xiao Na?"

  "Nothing's wrong, can't I look for you?"

  David glanced over and saw Xin Chen's expectant expression, and said seriously: "Xiao Na, the promotional materials you entrusted me to make, I've already arranged for Xiao Liu to follow up. If there are any specific requirements, you can directly mention them to him."

  Shen Xiaonan obviously didn't expect him to be so formal, pointing at Xin Chen, "Weifan, introduce this young lady to me."

  "Xinhe apparel design director Shen Xiaona, this is our company's part-time graphic designer Xin Chen." David Fan formally introduced, but clearly added a sentence, "Also my girlfriend Xindi's sister."

  Shen Xiaona was shocked, Xindi's name was quite famous in the local fashion industry. Her parents ran a clothing company and she held the title of design director, so Shen naturally had heard of her. She looked at the photo on the table again, then at David Fan, "When did Xindi become your girlfriend?"

  David Fan smiled and said: "I don't need to give a detailed report of my private life to junior sister, right?!"

  Shen Xiaona almost choked, her anger rising, but she could only force herself to hold back, narrowing her eyes and smiling, "Alright, senior, I'll go find Xiao Liu." She turned around and walked out of the office.

  "This performance is barely passable." Xincheng curled his lip, clearly not impressed. David Fan could only console himself: "You're much harder to please than your sister."

  Xin Chen smiled and reopened the screen. "Dai, not being ambiguous with others is a basic condition for sincere love. My family's Di Zi has more stringent requirements for men."

  David Fan naturally understood her implication, chuckled and continued to look at the pictures with her. After all the modifications were reviewed, Xin Chen was about to leave when David Fan also stood up, "Xin Chen, I'll send you back."

  "It's okay, I don't need it."

  "It's not specifically for you, I left my Bluetooth earbuds at Xindi's place yesterday and need to go pick them up."

  Xin Chen could only helplessly get into his car, the two of them went upstairs together, she took out her keys to open the door, but suddenly froze. Li Xiang was sitting on the sofa, folding the laundry that had just been taken down. Xin Di had always been neglectful of household chores, usually hiring a part-time worker who came three times a week to clean. No matter how much she protested, Li Xiang never gave up taking care of her, coming over every now and then to tidy up the room, organize seasonal clothes and bedding.

  Li Xiang's sharp eyes turned to Xin Chen and David Fan, who entered at the same time. David Fan was indeed startled by this gaze, instinctively thinking that he had already known about his stay last night, only assuming that the old lady probably already knew about it.

  Xin Chen said calmly: "Dai, take a look and see where you put your headphones."

  David Fan came to himself, "Auntie hello, I sent Xiao Di back yesterday and left my headphones here." He saw the headphones on the coffee table at a glance, and quickly picked them up. "Are you going back now? I'll send you off."

  "It's all right, Xiao Dai," Li Xiang said with a gentle tone. "You go ahead and attend to your business, I'll sit here for a while longer."

  After David Fan left, Xin Chen thought that he probably couldn't avoid a direct conversation after all. Remembering Xin Di's warning before she left in the morning, she sat down on another sofa and waited quietly for Li Xiang to speak up.

  "Xiao Chen, what do you think of me and your uncle's attitude towards you?"

  "This standard opening line left her a bit speechless, 'Treats me really well!'"

  Li Xiang smiled, "You don't have to force it either. Your aunt is indeed very good to you, and she loves you just as much as she loves Xiao Di. Sometimes, she even cares about you more than she does about her own daughter. As for me, I know we've never been close, but I think I've always treated you fairly."

  "You have already taken good care of me."

  "That's right, I have a clear conscience about this. Dizi is your cousin, and she has always treated you as her own sister, don't you agree?"

  Li Xinyu's voice was soft and gentle, Xin Chen was speechless, and could only nod silently.

  "So I hope you will learn to be grateful."

  "Auntie, I went to the demolition office this morning and signed, after getting the money, I'll go to Kunming immediately."

  Li Xiang nodded, "Xiao Chen, it's not that I'm heartless and want to drive you away. If it were just a simple matter of living in my house, I've never refused you before. But the situation now is not that simple. I don't want to be the bad guy either, there are some things I must make clear to you. Before you were even born, your grandparents came to me and insisted that I pretend to be pregnant, then after you were born, we would take you back and register you as our own, so your father wouldn't have to bear the reputation of being an unmarried father and it wouldn't affect his future life. Your uncle is a foolish person, he agreed to this without even thinking about it. Doesn't he realize that as public servants, how could we openly defy the family planning policy? Don't we value our careers and our jobs? Because of this, my husband and I had our first big fight, almost to the point of divorce, before he finally compromised."

  Xin Chen didn't think there was such a past, she smiled slightly, "Grandpa and grandma's request is indeed unreasonable, you refused to do so."

  "My husband and I have always had a good relationship, we never quarreled before. But every time we argued after that, the reason was mostly related to you or your father. Including that time when your uncle used his connections to help your father avoid going to jail, it can't be said that it didn't affect his reputation and job at all. Even if I wasn't good enough to you, he has already done more than enough for you. So now I have a little selfishness, I believe you can understand too. You and Lu Fei, it's impossible..."

  "It's really unnecessary to say anything more, Auntie. I cherish the feelings of Uncle and Di Zi towards me, and thank you for your tolerance towards me all these years. Whatever thoughts you have about me, I don't mind, but there's no need to express them, it's pointless to hurt the harmony. Xincheng looked at Li Xiang, his expression calm, "I promise you now, I will leave as soon as possible and won't do anything that would make Uncle and Di Zi uncomfortable, is that okay?"

  After Li Xiang left, Xin Chen only felt that her palms were all cold sweat, and her heartbeat was heavy as if it had caused resonance in her ears. She lay down on the sofa, using the yoga breathing method she had practiced before, relaxing her body, slowly adjusting her breath until her heartbeat gradually returned to its normal rhythm.

  She lay there for an unknown length of time, and fell into a dream. She was walking alone on a narrow and dark road, surrounded by absolute silence. All she could do was monotonously repeat her steps forward, with the scenery around her remaining unchanged - a dull gray mist that seemed to stretch on forever. There was no end in sight ahead, nor any sign of where she had come from behind her. This desperate journey seemed endless, and yet she couldn't stop.

  Her mobile phone rang, waking her up. She lay there quietly until she regained the ability to move, struggling to sit up and pick up the phone on the coffee table. It was Lu Fei calling. She pressed answer, and Lu Fei's voice came through: "Xiao Chen, can I come over now to take you out for dinner?"

  She should have been grateful that the phone call pulled her out of her nightmare, but his consistently warm and calm tone suddenly made her furious. She shouted harshly: "I won't eat, I won't eat." She slammed down the phone and threw it onto the coffee table, where it collided with a glass, producing a sharp, ear-piercing sound. Startled, she finally calmed down, covering her eyes in despair.

  The night fell gradually, and the room was so quiet that it made her feel suffocated. She got up to turn on the light, then turned on the TV, and lay back down on the sofa.

  She gave up TV when decorating her home and only watches online TV on her computer in her free time. The screen in front of her is showing a variety show, the host and guests are chatting and laughing, at least adding some liveliness to the room.

  She slowly regained her composure, thinking that all the work at hand had been completed and she didn't plan to take on new tasks to tie herself up. It's likely that from now on, she'll just have to wait idly. She was never one to be impatient, but suddenly couldn't bear to stay in this city without a specific deadline anymore.

  The doorbell rang, and Xin Chen went to open the door. She saw Lu Fei standing at the door, feeling apologetic for her outburst on the phone earlier, but she couldn't muster up a polite attitude towards guests. However, Lu Fei didn't pay attention to her stiff face, walked straight into the dining room, opened the food box in his hand, and went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks. "Come eat."

  Xin Chen was a bit confused, she thought, could it be that last night after drinking she said something she shouldn't have, resulting in Lu Fei now putting on an air of naturally taking care of her.

  Lu brought over a plate of stir-fried noodles, a steamed eggplant dish, and a bowl of fish soup. She placed them on the table, hot and fragrant, and she was indeed hungry. Deciding there was no need to be polite, she sat down across from him and started eating with gusto.

  The two of them didn't say a word, as if sitting down to eat like this was the most natural thing in the world. After Xin Chen finished eating, she efficiently cleared the table, took the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen to wash and put them away, and when she came out, she saw Lu Fei standing by the window in the living room, looking outside. The soft light of the lamp made his tall and straight back seem even more striking, causing her to stop in her tracks, momentarily stunned.

  At this time, Lu Fei suddenly turned around. The old-fashioned house had a very long depth, separated by the narrow and long living room and dining room. The two people's eyes met, and Xin Chen didn't even have time to put on that careless smile. In an instant, she was so tired that she almost couldn't support herself, leaning against the kitchen door frame.

  Lu Fei walked over, grasped her hand and led her to the sofa, letting her sit down. "What happened today?"

  "You really have faith in me, thinking that I would only make a fuss and throw a tantrum after something has happened."

  He smiled, "Yes, I'd like to see you unreservedly lose your temper, but now you're too controlled."

  "Who has the right to be inconsiderate of others? I'm sorry for snapping at you just now. To be honest, my mood isn't great and I couldn't maintain basic courtesy."

  "Don't apologize hastily, tell me the reason."

  "The relocation procedures are too troublesome, I'm feeling annoyed for no particular reason."

  "Are you in a hurry to leave?"

  "It's really urgent." Xincheng smiled wryly, "If my uncle wasn't too busy with work, I would have entrusted the demolition and relocation to him, then left quickly, at least leaving a more dignified back view for everyone."

  "Last night I asked you, if I invited you to stay, would you agree?"

  Xin Chen made an effort to recall, but couldn't get a grasp of it. "I shouldn't have said anything, and even if I did, it was just drunken nonsense that can't be taken seriously."

  Lu Fei smiled wryly and sighed, "You're so drunk, you didn't even respond to my request."

  His eyes gazed at her with a lingering look, and she found herself once again unable to bear such scrutiny, involuntarily weakening and turning away from his gaze. "What do you want, Lu Fei? Do you want to see just how cold and rude I can be?"

  "I want to hold on to you, the method is clumsy, and I clearly know that the tighter my hand grips, the more anxious you will be to break free, but I have no choice but to try."

  "Being dependent on someone is a terrible thing, I won't let myself go through it again. Moreover, I have enough reasons not to stay, so don't try anymore, okay?"

  Lu Fei gazed at her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you so unhappy."

  Xin Chen smiled, "Lu Fei, don't say sorry to me again. You always do this, can't help but be soft-hearted, and if you keep going on like this, I'll really think you owe me an apology. But the truth is, you don't owe me anything. Don't insist on taking my happiness or life as your responsibility, you can't handle it, and neither do I dare to let others bear it."

  "You think I'm a soft-hearted, guilt-ridden good-for-nothing, trapped by my own sense of responsibility." Lu Fei's smile deepened at the corners of his mouth. "But Xiao Chen, if even now I still dared to think I was responsible for your life, then I really wouldn't understand you at all. All I hope is that you're happy, no matter what the premise of that happiness is, whether it's me or not."

  The next afternoon, Xin Chen received a call from the demolition office, informing her that she must go to handle the formalities. She thought it was arranging an intermediary agency for her to inspect the house, and responded listlessly.

  Outside, it was drizzling with a hint of coolness in the air. Xincheng arrived at the demolition office and reported her name to the staff. After a while, the general manager of the demolition company, who claimed to be surnamed Wang, personally received her and told her that as long as she signed a few documents, the demolition fee would be transferred to her account immediately.

  Looking at those tedious documents, Xin Chen couldn't help but feel puzzled. Wang Zong said politely: "Miss Xin, you also know that this demolition project is developed by Haotian Group. Lu Zong called from Shenzhen early in the morning, and we naturally followed her instructions."

  He picked up his mobile phone and dialed a number, after saying a few words, he handed it over to Xin Chen, "General Manager Lu wants you to answer the phone."

  Xin Chen answered the phone, and indeed it was Lu Si's voice: "Little Chen, hello."

  "Hello, sister Road."

  "I've already spoken with Director Wang, you just need to sign the documents and give him your bank account number, he'll get everything processed for you in the shortest time possible."

  "Thank you."

  "Don't be polite, Xiao Chen."

  This turn of events was too unexpected, Xin Chen put down her phone, calmed down and thought carefully, deciding that there was no need to hesitate. She quickly signed the documents, handed over the relevant ownership certificates and keys to the staff. After a while, the cashier came over, handed her the transfer receipt, and the house of less than 70 square meters turned into a sum of cash, deposited into her bank account.

  As he came out of the demolition office, the rain got a bit heavier. Xincheng opened his umbrella and walked a few steps before stopping involuntarily to gaze across the street at the place where he had grown up.

  In the densely populated residential area, a large gap was left after the demolition of some public houses and warehouses in the early stage. Some storefronts along the street had closed their doors, while others had put up signs such as "Demolition Sale" to attract customers with loudspeakers. However, the urgent and enthusiastic calls did not bring in any customers, but instead revealed a sense of desolation in the rain.

  She slowly raised her head and looked towards her own home.

  On the fifth floor, the balcony was covered with anti-theft netting, and the leaves of the morning glory were still lush green. The purple-red flowers had already bloomed to the fullest, but in a few days, there would be no new buds, and the leaves would gradually turn yellow and wither, while the vines would slowly decline. And this once densely populated residential area would be relocated, demolished into a wasteland, and then a shopping mall and high-end office building, apartments would rise up.

  If she comes back again, there should be no more traces of the past left.

  Xin Chen didn't let herself stay any longer, she walked forward along the street, found an airline ticketing office, went in to inquire about flights and discounts, and booked a morning flight for the next day. After getting the ticket, she called Xin Kai Ming, who was surprised, "Why so urgent?"

  "It's a waste of my dad's marriageable age, he's not young anymore."

  This mischievous response made Xin Kai's mouth twitch, but he couldn't help but not laugh. From being a secretary to becoming a leader, he had a clear understanding of the world. The demolition compensation was transferred to Xin Chen's account at an astonishing speed, and Xin Chen decided to leave without any delay. The connection between them didn't need further thought, so he could only say in a relaxed tone: "Xiao Chen, come over for dinner tonight."

  "No, Uncle, I still need to go buy some things. I have a dinner appointment with friends tonight. Can you please let Aunt know for me? I won't go say goodbye in person. Once I arrive in Kunming, I'll call you right away."

  Lu Fei's phone rang again, "Xiao Chen, what time are you planning to book your flight?"

  The road is far away in Shenzhen, thousands of miles away, but suddenly intervened in this matter. Xincheng naturally didn't have to ask Lu Fei how he would mention this question, and just told him the flight time. He sighed lightly in the receiver: "Why so urgent?"

  She couldn't give him the answer she had for her uncle, so she fell silent for a moment. "Please thank Luosi sister for me, and thank you too."

  This thank you made Lu Fei silent. At this time, he was standing in front of the window, behind him was his new office, with a polished yew wood floor, a large and tidy desk, dark bookshelves filled with fine books, a black leather sofa set by another window, a crystal vase on the coffee table holding a calla lily, and a tall potted plant with sprawling leaves in the corner.

  Today he officially took office, in the morning Wang Feng presided over the board meeting and introduced him to shareholders and senior executives. In the afternoon, there was a project investment work conference waiting for him, and he had to have separate talks with department managers. At night, he had to entertain clients. His secretary began arranging his schedule according to his instructions, and he had already entered a tense working state.

  The glass wall isolated the hustle and bustle from the city below, but through the phone receiver came a variety of sounds: raindrops hitting the umbrella densely, cars driving by non-stop, motorcycle and electric bike horns blaring incessantly, and the cacophony of human voices. He could imagine her standing in the midst of the bustling street, holding the phone like him, maintaining a still and listening posture, as if the rain, the surrounding traffic, and the throngs of people were all unrelated to her.

  The intercom phone on the desk rang, and he said into the mobile phone, "Sorry." He hung up and answered, and his secretary's crisp voice came through: "Director Lu, it's time for the meeting."

  "Got it, thank you."

  "Go ahead and get busy, I need to go buy some things too, see you later."

  "Xiao Chen, I have a meeting to attend right now and another engagement tonight, so I'll probably be back very late. I'll come pick you up at the airport tomorrow morning."

  "Alright, thank you."

  When Lu Fei came to ring the doorbell, Xin Chen had just gotten out of bed and opened the door with a toothbrush in her mouth before running back to the bathroom. She had booked the earliest discounted flight and calculated that she would have enough time to wash up slowly, but Lu Fei arrived earlier than expected, so she could only quickly brush her teeth, wash her face, comb her hair, tie it into small buns, and then go change clothes. "I'll be right there."

  "No hurry, have breakfast first."

  Lu Fei brought over steamed buns and soy milk, and Xin Chen knew at a glance that the paper bag was from a local old brand with no branches. She used to love eating this, and Lu Fei clearly remembered that whenever he visited her during holidays, he would specially buy them in advance and rush to her home, smiling as he watched her eat.

  At this moment, under his gaze, she felt a bit unappetizing and forced herself to finish eating. She got up and ran out to close all the windows in the room, then picked up her luggage and laptop bag that had been packed up last night, "Alright, let's go."

  Lu Fei didn't notice her locking the door, and they went downstairs together. The rain from yesterday came and went suddenly, no one knew when it stopped in the night, and the air was fresh and quiet at dawn. Xin Chen stood under the sweet osmanthus tree waiting for Lu Fei to back up the car, a gentle breeze blew by, and the rainwater accumulated on the leaves fell onto her body, she was completely unprepared, and that bit of coolness made her let out a startled cry. Lu Fei saw from the rearview mirror that she looked up at the tall sweet osmanthus tree, shaking off the water from her hair, a shallow smile floated onto her beautiful face, he held his breath, almost unable to hold on as he tightly gripped the steering wheel.

  It has been 11 years since he saw her shaking the wisteria tree with a mischievous look, creating a flower rain, and then tossing her head to shake off the petals on her body. They were once infinitely close, but gradually drifted apart, separated by oceans. Now he is about to see her off, and the distance between them will be pulled open again.

  Lu Fei drove the car out of the city and just as they were about to get on the airport expressway, he suddenly said: "Xiao Chen, I'll take you to see your flower, it won't take long."

  Before Xin Chen could respond, he had already turned the steering wheel and driven onto a left exit.

  In front of me, a straight road leads to the suburbs, where there is a large area of natural lakes and wetlands. Before Xincheng, I had come here to participate in a hiking trip around the lake, deep into the heart of the lake's connection to the river. I am not unfamiliar with the environment here, and I have also noticed that on one side of the lake, there is a residential area under construction. At the time, my companions were debating whether it was reasonable to build a residential complex in an area marked as a suburban wetland ecological protection zone. However, regardless of how you look at it, the villas built on the beautiful lakeside have caught everyone's eye. They temporarily interrupted their journey and went to the sales office to take a look around. A few friends with economic means even asked the staff about the price.

  The weather didn't clear up, the clouds in the sky were dense, looking out from the car, there was a thin mist floating on the lake surface, along the lakeside was a row of tall and straight water cedars, outlining the lake's shoreline. The car drove into the neighborhood and stopped in front of a linked villa, he got off, came around to open the door for Xin Chen, stretched out his hand to hold hers, she could only get off with his help.

  A tall man walked a light yellow Golden Retriever, strolling leisurely along the still damp driveway in front of the yard, with small birds chirping in the trees, carrying the serenity unique to a post-rain morning.

  This is a three-story villa that has not been renovated, with uniform light gray wall tiles and a sunroom, an attached garage without doors, empty and facing the courtyard. The yard has not undergone any cleaning, only one corner is neatly placed with flowers moved from her home, each pot is in good condition, two pots of trailing fuchsia have small fruit, water droplets on the heart-shaped leaves of the Celosia, various monthly blooms are blooming, a nearly one-meter-high branch of bamboo is stretching out, without any wilted flowers or yellow leaves, it can be seen that these plants have been carefully taken care of.

  "I've already found someone to design it and will start decorating in a few days."

  Xin Chen's mouth curled up, and she smiled. "The environment here is not bad, but," she casually pointed to the flowers with her chin, "I plant flowers based on the principle of good living and blooming vigorously. They may not match the environment here. After you finish decorating, you can find a landscape designer to plan the courtyard and choose suitable varieties."

  Lu Fei's voice was neither fast nor slow, "I don't need to find someone to plan what's most suitable for me. I'm just telling you that half a month ago, I bought this house; yesterday, I just took over a new local job. In the future, I may visit relatives, go on business trips, or take vacations, but most of the time, I will be settled here."

  Xin Chen turned back, her eyes clearly writing: Why are you telling me this?

  Lu Fei looked at her, his eyes also clearly and unmistakably saying: You should be clear why.

  He gazed at her, his eyes deep and profound. Xincheng found once again that the man standing in front of her had a calm demeanor, she couldn't resist his gaze, and turned her head to look at the flowers instead. "Alright, same old saying, people come and go, it's all about being happy."

  "I'm telling you this, not to bind you with my plans. I just want you to know that if you don't want me to accompany you now, I'll stay here and wait for you, no matter how long it takes." Xincheng was speechless, Lu Fei said briefly, "Let's go, I'll send you to the airport."

  Two people got on the car, Lu Fei drove to the airport, helped her with check-in and luggage consignment procedures, sent her off to the security checkpoint, she took over her laptop bag, turned around and looked at him, "I've never waited for you, Lu Fei, I don't need you to make up for me in this way."

  "If I must say that this is compensation, then it's compensation for the deficiencies in my own life. Forgive my selfishness, Xiao Chen, I couldn't keep you from leaving, and I should have let you live the life you wanted without any burdens, but I still couldn't help imposing this expectation on you."

  Xin Chen's eyes wandered uncertainly, "I can only say that a wait I didn't want to accept probably won't bind me."

  Lu Fei smiled, "Right, I only use it to bind myself, you are free."

  "Freedom?" Xin Chen also smiled, "When I was young, I yearned for it. As I grew up, I wandered the world and made the four seas my home, enjoying a life of freedom and ease. Now that I can control my own life, I'm not sure if this is the freedom I wanted." Farewell, Lu Fei.

  She walked straight into the security checkpoint, put her laptop bag on the conveyor belt, passed through the metal detector and picked up her bag to walk straight in.

  Lu Fei gazed at the figure disappearing from his line of sight.

  He indeed had many chances to keep her, but he chose to let go, almost personally untying the bonds that would have kept her.

  That night, she came out of the Forever Bar with a drunken intention, leaning on his chest and talking endlessly. She talked about the days they spent together, strolling along the shaded path behind the park, watching movies, listening to him play the violin, playing chess with him... She talked about the rainbow that suddenly appeared in the sky above Gandan Temple, the sunset over the Flower Lake Grass Sea, the lone smoke falling on the vast Gobi Desert, and the distant snow-capped mountains. She talked about their fellow travelers, the small inns without lights, the rainforest infested with leeches, the muddy mountain roads, and the snakes darting through the grass...

  In the dead of night, on a quiet street, occasionally a car would pass by, and her voice would gradually become weaker and more indistinct, nearing exhaustion, yet she refused to stop. He picked her up and put her in the car, checking the time, it was already past midnight. He drove back to his place, carried her into the elevator and home, and laid her on his bed. She looked around dazedly, then suddenly raised her arm and hugged him tightly, kissing his lips. His lips reacted before he did, and their tongues entwined together, with a hint of alcohol, equally urgent.

  The last passionate kiss was almost eight years ago, which first stirred up his youthful desire and made him nearly unable to control himself. Now, the girl he had been dreaming of was in his arms. He kissed her neck, sucked on her wildly beating carotid artery, and gently bit down on the fine blood vessels between his teeth. She cried out in pain, trembling beneath him. Suddenly, he came back to his senses, released her, but she flipped over onto him, mumbling: "Bite me?" She also took a heavy bite of him, her hot breath spraying onto his neck. He remained still, enduring the sweet pain, only gently stroking her back. Her teeth gradually loosened, her lips stuck to the original place, and her body relaxed in his arms, her breathing slowing down and stabilizing as she sank into sleep.

  Lu Fei moved her to his side and lay down, gazing at her closely. Her face was calm, with long eyelashes casting a row of shadows under her eyes, her swollen lips slightly parted, and the breath she exhaled still carried the smell of alcohol.

  Although both of their bodies were equally honest and passionate, he knew that she was caught up in the exhilarating and indulgent feeling after drinking, and if he possessed her at this time, she would wake up and run even further away.

  He couldn't indulge his own desires and take advantage of her at this opportunity.

  The night before last, after leaving Xindi's house, Lu Fei sat in the car and called Lu Shi first. After hearing his request, Lu Shi was surprised: "You want me to do this, are you encouraging her to leave immediately?"

  "She is not happy staying here now."

  The road smiled lightly and seemed to sigh, "Road is not, but I hope you're clear about what you want."

  "I've always been clear about what I want, and that's her. But now I can't keep her, so I have to set her free." He also smiled, "The best way to imprison someone is to build a prison with no limits."

  He spoke in a casual tone, as if joking, and Lu could only laugh and nod in agreement.

  Xin Chen was indeed eager to leave, without a hint of hesitation or nostalgia. At this moment, they were only a foot apart, and as the plane took off, they would soon be thousands of miles apart, yet he did not regret his decision.

  Lu Fei drove back to this city which no longer had Xin Chen and continued his work.