The surroundings were vast and desolate, the air filled with a bloodthirsty aura that sent shivers down one's spine.
Ye Luan remained silent, gazing at him indifferently.
Xiao Chizhan suppressed the madness within his heart and calmly walked towards her, tugging at the corner of her lips. "Luan Luan, smile."
*Smile your ass.*
She flicked his hand away, turning to leave.
Xiao Chizhan grabbed her arm directly, his voice trembling slightly. "You say I'm a madman, so you only want to escape. You'll never love me, will you?"
"Love you?"
Ye Luan acted as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world and retorted.
"Xiao Chizhan, have you forgotten how you treated me? Whipping me, imprisoning me, threatening me. Do you expect me to love you?"
Her tone was cold and detached, and it felt as if Xiao Chizhan's heart had been ripped out by bloody hands.
"Our past is too humiliating. We can never go on. Xiao Chizhan, let go."
Her wrist was held tightly, sending throbbing pain.
Ye Luan pried his fingers open one by one, her expression cold.
"You wanted my life before, and I wanted to kill you too. We are like two hedgehogs hurting each other. If we get close, it will only lead to bloody wounds."
"Bloody wounds?"
He laughed, a chilling laughter.
"Luan Luan, but even if it means bloody wounds and dying from torment, I don't want to let you go. What should I do?"
Ye Luan looked up. The madness and obsession in his eyes were terrifying, as if they could destroy the world. The pain in her wrist caused a flicker of anger in her eyes.
"Let go."
Her chin was roughly lifted. His languid yet dangerous crimson eyes stared at her, a truly horrifying sight.
"You can't forget the past? I can make you repay it all. You can do whatever you want. Won't you stay?"
Ye Luan sensed a change in him and dared not provoke him further, maintaining a cold expression.
The surroundings were eerily silent.
Xiao Chizhan looked at her, gazing at her quietly. The terrifying aura around him gradually faded, and a hint of wronged innocence appeared on his devilishly handsome face.
He reached out to embrace her.
"Luan Luan, it's because I love you that I want to lock you by my side. Where did I go wrong?"
Her body was suddenly embraced, the force hurting her soft flesh.
"Xiao Chizhan, you don't understand how to love. Imprisonment is not love, threats are not love. This kind of love is obsessive and terrifying. No one likes it. True love is fulfillment, it's letting go."
Hearing her words, a flicker of confusion crossed Xiao Chizhan's eyes.
Fulfillment? Fulfillment for her and Lu Feibai?
Let go? But without her, he didn't want to live. She was like a poison, entering his heart, seeping into his lungs. He couldn't break free.
"Luan Luan, you don't like being imprisoned. I'll give you freedom. You don't like me? I can learn from Lu Feibai. Please don't go."
Ye Luan was amused by his words, an angry laugh escaping her.
"You say I like Lu Feibai?"
"Isn't it true? In your heart, he is always more important than me."
A frost settled over his face, his crimson eyes glinting with a bloodthirsty killing intent.
Ye Luan's heart ached with anger. She pushed him away, her eyes filled with rage mixed with disappointment.
"Xiao Chizhan, how many times do I have to tell you for you to understand? I told you, I consider him a friend. A friend! Don't you understand?"
"A friend?" Xiao Chizhan couldn't help but question. "Then what do you consider me? Why is he more important to you than me?"
What does she consider him?
Ye Luan lowered her gaze, covering her chest.
"Hmm? Why aren't you speaking?"
His tone was terrifyingly cold.
Faint snowflakes continued to fall in the air, landing on her long eyelashes and forming a thin layer of frost.
Xiao Chizhan reached out to brush them away but froze as she suddenly looked up.
Her gaze was so cold that he could clearly feel himself losing her.
"Xiao Chizhan, no matter what I consider you, it cannot erase the humiliating past, nor your insults, threats, coercion, and imprisonment."
His expression turned stiff and painful, feeling a chill to his bones.
"Don't forget, you once vowed to kill me, how you wanted to force me to die willingly."
After speaking coldly, Ye Luan saw his frozen state and turned to go back inside.
She no longer wanted to engage in these meaningless struggles and arguments with him. Such a madman would only achieve his desires through plunder and卑鄙 (bēibǐ - despicable/base means).
It was laughable that she had been under the influence of the Buddha Heart Powder for so long, yet had never doubted him.
Ye Luan, Ye Luan, give up your ridiculous thoughts.
Someone like him cannot change, and you cannot change him.
After entering the room, Ye Luan sat on a round stool, propped her forehead with her hand, and thought for a long, long time.
He was obsessive and cruel, he would not let go.
And she could not forget all the humiliations he had inflicted upon her, making it impossible for her to stay by his side without reservations.
What should she do? How could she escape this madman?
"Little girl, if you think of something, remember to find me."
Xie Beihan! Xie Beihan!
A trace of self-mockery flashed in Ye Luan's dazed eyes. How could she think of using Xie Beihan to escape him? Xie Beihan, that lunatic, might very well make her fall even more miserably.
Could it be that she truly had to die to escape all of this?
The cold wind carried snowflakes that quietly fell on the windowpane. Inside, it was too cold.
Ye Luan shivered and went to close the window.
Outside, the sky had already turned dark.
Under the dim night, in the courtyard, that person was still standing.
The desolate and chilling moonlight fell upon him. His white robe was stained with frost, giving him a cold and desolate appearance.
He seemed devoid of feeling, his eyes cast down, quietly gazing at the snow on the ground, lost in thought.
Ye Luan's heart ached, and she instantly averted her gaze, slamming the window shut.
The wind in the northern lands was cold and biting. That night, it had also snowed.
Xiao Chizhan stood like a statue in the courtyard, silent and still. His crimson eyes, unfocused, stared at the snowflakes on the ground, lost in thought.
He stood there all night, until his legs grew numb and stiff, until he could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.
The next morning, as dawn broke, Ye Luan emerged from the house and saw him kneeling in the snow, his white robe covered in frost, his expression indifferent and calm.
Ye Luan stood at the doorway, her pupils widening in shock.
A gentle breeze stirred the pear blossoms on the branches, scattering them onto the ground, where they were crushed into mud.
She walked towards him stiffly, her gaze lowered. "What are you doing?"
Xiao Chizhan heard her voice, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared on his cold and terrifying face.
"You said you couldn't forget the past, that I once wanted your life. Now, I'm giving you a chance to leave."
He took out a knife and threw it to her, his voice calm.
"Come, kill me. I'll give you my life."