Peninsula: My e-sports dream shattered, I chose to become an actor.

Sana Minatozaki walked quickly out of the dormitory building, the night wind blowing against her face.

She instinctively shrank her neck, then straightened her back.

You can't shrink it, or you'll mess up your carefully styled hair.

A black sedan was parked by the roadside, its body gleaming discreetly under the streetlights.

Before she could even get close, the back window of the car slowly rolled down, revealing Li Mingye's face with a friendly smile.

"Come on up."

Sana Minatozaki opened the car door and sat down in the back seat. The car was well-heated, and the temperature difference with the outside made her shiver slightly, her fingers curling slightly on her knees.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." She said, while secretly trying to catch her breath, trying to make herself sound like she had run all the way here.

"It's alright." Li Mingye smiled nonchalantly, his gaze lingering briefly on her with a gentle appreciation.

"If it's Sana, it doesn't matter how long we wait."

He paused, then added, "And—Sana looks beautiful today."

Sana Minatozaki subconsciously raised her hand to brush a stray hair behind her ear, a smile she couldn't hide appearing on her lips, and the little stone hanging in her heart finally fell to the ground.

She hesitated for several minutes in front of the mirror before leaving the house, rummaging through her closet and making a mess of her clothes, but in the end she still chose this thin knit sweater to match the long skirt.

Unfortunately, she had very little time and no way to prepare in advance.

Li Mingye naturally noticed her obviously thin outfit, but it seemed that Japanese girls were quite resistant to the cold, so he didn't say anything more.

He greeted the driver, and the car smoothly glided into the lane.

Then he turned to face Sana Minatozaki and casually asked, "Sana, didn't you go out with anyone today?"

Sana Minatozaki paused for a moment.

Going out with someone else? If I go out with someone else, will I still be able to sit here?

However, she then thought that the key point of the question might not be "whether she went out" but "whether there was anyone there".

Was he testing her—testing whether she had a boyfriend?

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she tried to keep her tone natural:

"No, all my other friends went out to celebrate Christmas. Momo and I have been staying in the dorm."

"Has no one asked Sana out?" Li Mingye casually remarked, his tone unhurried.

Sana hesitated for a moment, a faint blush rising on her cheeks: "Yes, there is... but I refused."

"Is he a boy?" Li Mingye grinned, raising his eyebrows at her.

That expression wasn't aggressive at all, yet it made Sana's heart skip a beat.

She nodded slowly, her eyes unconsciously drifting towards the car window.

This oppa's gaze is way too direct.

Being stared at so closely by a face like that really tests your heart's ability to take it.

Li Mingye sighed, "Sana is indeed very popular."

"No way," Sana quickly waved her hand, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

"Oppa is really popular. Many of my friends ask me for oppa's contact information. I've asked him at least ten times in private."

"Really?" Li Mingye raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his expression, yet also finding it reasonable. "Then why didn't you give it to Sana?"

Sana Minatozaki got stuck.

She opened her mouth, the words she had prepared swirled on her tongue, and then she swallowed them back.

Of course I can't give it to them.

If she gives it away, won't she and Momo no longer be special?

Besides, Momo would definitely be unhappy...

However, she obviously couldn't say these thoughts out loud. She pursed her lower lip, thought for a moment, and chose the safest way to put it:

"Because I didn't want to bother oppa..."

Is that really the reason?

Li Mingye tilted his head, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

Those eyes appeared even deeper in the dim light of the carriage, clearly reflecting her bewildered expression.

Sana Minatozaki's face flushed several shades red.

She hastily turned her head away, lowered her eyelids, and pretended to be studying the night view outside the car window, which wasn't actually that interesting.

She bit her lower lip, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

What's going on? Oppa's being way too aggressive today!

He's usually very polite and keeps his distance, so why is he chasing after her and hitting her today?

She stole a glance at Li Mingye's smiling face, and a certain suspicion slowly began to grow in her mind.

Sana Minatozaki quickly pinched her palm.

Don't overthink it, what if it's not true?

Sana Minatozaki took a deep breath, forcibly pulling herself back from those boundless thoughts.

Her voice had regained some of its usual lightness, but if you listened carefully, there was still a slight, almost imperceptible tremor at the end of her notes.

"Oppa said he had something to tell me, right? What is it?"

"Yes..." Li Mingye hesitated noticeably for a moment, then shook his head.

"Let's talk about it when we eat."

He slightly raised his chin, gesturing towards the driver's seat in front:

"This place isn't suitable."

After saying that, he put his smile back on his face: "Besides, this place doesn't have enough atmosphere, does it?"

Sana Minatosaki felt as if something had suddenly struck her heart.

Atmosphere? What atmosphere? What is he trying to say that requires a certain atmosphere?

She tried her best to keep her expression composed, flashed her signature smile, and responded in a well-trained, sweet voice:

"Yeah, oppa's right."

But her heart was in turmoil.

What to do? What to do now?

It seems like oppa is really going to pursue her?

But he's the person Momo likes!

Besides, she had made up her mind not to date until her career was stable; men would only hinder her progress.

Even Li Mingye...

Her gaze involuntarily drifted to his profile once again.

The streetlights flashing past the car window every now and then cut the light and shadow into fragments, which fell piece by piece onto his face.

The lines of his brow bone, nose bridge, and jawline, outlined by the interplay of light and shadow, create an almost unreal beauty, while his eyes are so deep they seem to absorb all the light.

Sana Minato lowered her head and bit her lower lip tightly.

She was shaken.

Li Mingye turned his head to look at Sana, who had suddenly fallen silent.

She had her head down, her fingertips gripping the hem of her skirt, seemingly lost in thought. Her expression was quite serious, so he didn't disturb her and simply turned his gaze back to the window.

He didn't actually know what Sana was thinking; if he did, he would probably be both amused and exasperated.

The biggest difference between his current state and before is simply that he's not as deliberately keeping his distance anymore, that's all.

The so-called "atmosphere" was really just because he didn't want to talk about these things in the car, and had nothing to do with anything else.

But Sana Minatosaki didn't think that way. She was already looking at the question with the answer in mind, so the more she looked, the more it seemed real, the more true it became.

……

The car slowly came to a stop in front of a restaurant.

Sana Minatozaki followed Li Mingye into the private room, and paused for a moment as the door opened.

Candles and roses cast a warm, yellow glow on the snow-white tablecloth. In the corner, an old-fashioned record player plays soft jazz music, and a deep female voice echoes in the air.

Everything was romantic and beautiful, perfectly matching all her childhood fantasies about dating.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

It wasn't because she was unhappy, but because—if all of this was really prepared for her, what was she supposed to do?

The defenses she had painstakingly built up in the car crumbled halfway the moment she opened the door.

If he actually says those things later, will she really be able to refuse?

Her reason asked, "How do I refuse?", but her heart quietly answered, "Maybe I don't need to refuse."

She slowly sat down in the seat opposite her, the candlelight making the blush on her face even more pronounced.

Then she raised her eyes and looked at Li Mingye across from her.

The warm yellow candlelight cast soft shadows on his face, making his already sculpted features even more striking.

He sat there in a relaxed posture, one hand resting on the edge of the table, his shirt sleeve rolled up slightly to reveal a section of his well-defined wrist, exuding the natural air of a noble young master.

She couldn't take her eyes off it.

"What would you like to drink?"

Sana Minatozaki paused for a moment, then quickly recovered: "Red wine."

Li Mingye nodded and said a few words to the waiter.

Before long, a bottle of expensive red wine was brought out.

Li Mingye poured a glass for Sana first, then poured half a glass for himself.

He picked up the wine glass, didn't even swirl it, and tilted his head back to drink the wine in one gulp.

Li Mingye put down his cup and let out a barely audible sigh.

Sana Minatozaki stared at him without blinking.

She had just taken a small sip of red wine, and before the alcohol had even taken effect, her vision was already a little blurry—perhaps it was the candlelight, or perhaps something else.

Then, Li Mingye spoke, his voice calm:

I'm heartbroken.

Sana Minatozaki's hand, holding the wine glass, hovered in mid-air.

"...Huh?"