Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

Xu Qing asked again, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Luo Qianyu looked at him.

She wanted to laugh.

I wanted to play along with him and say, "Yeah, that kind of person is really stupid."

She forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

but.

As I laughed, the tears started flowing even more fiercely.

The smile froze on his face, then vanished without a trace.

Because she knew.

That "idiot" is the man in front of you.

If she really is dead.

If that lie had never been exposed.

If she hadn't rushed into the cemetery that rainy night, and hadn't stubbornly stayed by his side in the hospital.

He really will jump.

He really will go to find her.

Xu Qing watched the changes in her facial expression.

From a forced smile to an instant breakdown.

The smile on his face vanished.

The lighter spun in his hand and almost fell to the ground.

"Alright."

Xu Qing scratched her hair in frustration.

"It's just a dream, is it really that big of a deal?"

"It's like I'm really dead."

"Aren't I sitting here perfectly fine right now?"

"I can also be your emotional dumping ground, and listen to you cry."

Xu Qing stood up and patted the dust off his bottom.

"Quickly wipe away your tears."

"It's so ugly."

"She wasn't exactly stunningly beautiful to begin with, and now that she's crying, she looks like a little cat."

He complained, but his hand reached into his pocket, looking for a tissue.

After searching for a long time, all I found was a mint.

It was a little awkward.

Luo Qianyu didn't move.

She raised her head, her peach blossom eyes, washed by tears, were frighteningly bright.

She looked at Xu Qing, her eyes no longer showing the evasiveness and guilt she had shown before.

Instead, there was an unprecedented determination.

And a hint of questioning.

"Xu Qing."

Her voice was soft and quiet.

She was completely unlike the little girl who had been crying just moments before.

Xu Qing paused.

"what?"

"What kind of acceptance speech will he give this time?"

Luo Qianyu ignored his banter.

She looked directly into Xu Qing's eyes and asked, word by word:

"That dream felt so real."

"It felt so real that I thought it was happening in another parallel universe."

Xu Qing frowned. "You've been watching too many sci-fi movies, haven't you?"

Luo Qianyu shook her head.

She stood up from the wicker chair, her coat slipping halfway down, but she didn't care.

She took a step forward, barefoot.

He stood less than half a meter away from Xu Qing.

At this distance, I could smell the faint scent of mint on him.

You can also see your own disheveled reflection in his pupils.

"Xu Qing."

"Since you're so smart, why are you so afraid of losing your life?"

"Since you think it's something only a fool would do to die for someone else."

"Then tell me."

Luo Qianyu took a deep breath and asked the question that had been nagging at her for days, a question that felt like a thorn in her heart.

"While I was in the hospital."

"You knew perfectly well that I was that nurse."

"You can clearly smell the gardenia scent on me."

"You clearly saw how I peeled the orange."

"You know perfectly well that I'm not dead at all."

Why won't you say anything?

Xu Qing's body stiffened.

That instant.

All the expressions on his face, whether mocking, joking, or impatient, froze.

It's like the pause button has been pressed.

The air on the terrace seemed to stop flowing at that moment.

Only the distant chirping of unknown insects continued, oblivious to their impending doom.

Luo Qianyu did not back down.

She stared intently into Xu Qing's eyes, not missing a single, subtle reaction from him.

"You were pretending to be crazy in the hospital."

"Let me wipe your body, let me peel an apple for you, let me listen to your story about that 'fallen comrade'."

"You see me like a clown, hiding in front of you, afraid that you will recognize me."

"You see me being completely manipulated by you because of my guilt and heartache."

"Aren't you secretly pleased with yourself?"

"Don't you feel good about getting revenge on me?"

Luo Qianyu's voice grew louder and louder, and her emotions became more and more agitated.

But Xu Qing knew.

This is not anger.

This is a grievance.

It's that feeling of being seen through completely, yet still kept in the dark and acting like a fool.

Xu Qing fell silent.

He lowered his eyes, avoiding Luo Qianyu's burning gaze.

He took the mint out of his pocket, opened the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.

A long time passed.

He chuckled softly.

The laughter carried a hint of self-deprecation and a touch of helplessness.

"Luo Qianyu".

"You've become smarter."

"You weren't this perceptive before."

He raised his head and looked at Luo Qianyu again.

The pretense was gone from his eyes, replaced by complete composure.

"Yes."

"I knew it was you."

"I knew it was you from the first day you entered the ward."

"I'd recognize your scent even if you turned to ashes."

Luo Qianyu bit her lip, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Then why don't you say so?"

"Why are you playing along with my act?"

"Because it's fun?"

Xu Qing shook his head.

"Fun my ass."

"Look at my girlfriend, whom I thought had been dead for a year, suddenly appearing in front of me, lively and energetic."

"She was still wearing a nurse's uniform and a mask, just putting on an act."

Do you know what I was thinking at that moment?

Xu Qing took a step forward.

Approaching Luo Qianyu.

That powerful sense of oppression instantly enveloped her.

"I'm thinking."

"Should I just rush over and rip the mask off your face?"

"Then I'll grab you by the neck and ask you questions."

"Where the hell have you been all year?"

"Ask me, why did you lie to me?"

"Ask yourself, watching me search the world for you like an idiot, watching me cry for you, go crazy for you, and die for you."

"Do you feel a great sense of accomplishment watching from the shadows?"

Xu Qing's voice was very low, as if it were squeezed out from between her teeth.

He carried with him a year's worth of suppressed anger and pain.

Luo Qianyu was so frightened that she took a step back and bumped her back against the railing.

She looked at Xu Qing's reddened eyes.

A sharp pain shot through my heart.

"Then...why didn't you do that?"

As Xu Qing looked at her terrified expression, the fierceness in his eyes slowly dissipated.

He reverted to his lazy demeanor and shrugged.

"Because I'm a coward."

I'm afraid I'll scare you away.

"I'm afraid that if I expose you, you'll disappear again."

"After all, you have a criminal record."

"You just left without saying goodbye, and a year has passed since then."

"How could I dare?"

Xu Qing chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"and."

"I can tell you had a tough time acting."

"To avoid being recognized, he strained his voice until it became hoarse, and now he walks with a limp."

"If I expose you on the spot, you'll lose face."

"I'm the kind of person who knows how to cherish and pamper women."

He spoke of it casually.

But Luo Qianyu understood.

He wasn't there to watch a play.

He did this to leave her a way out.

He is waiting.

Wait until she's willing to take off her mask, wait until she's willing to confess, wait until she's willing to walk back to his side.

He was carefully protecting her pitiful self-esteem in this way.

At the same time, he was also protecting his own heart, which was already riddled with holes.

"Xu Qing..."