The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Xu Nian spent the week in a daze, endlessly taking from others.

Xu Xi began to strictly restrict his personal freedom, never removing the shackles on his hands and feet except for eating and going to the toilet.

Despite Xu Nian's repeated assurances that she would never go out, it was to no avail.

Xu Xi seemed to have her ears covered, unable to hear anything anyone said.

Only three things remained in her mind.

Requisitioning grain, requisitioning grain, and more requisitioning grain.

After the magic period ended, her work seemed to get busier; she would leave early in the morning and not return to the basement until very late at night.

The reduced rest time did not affect her daily grain collection frequency at all.

It was fortunate that Xu Nian came from a manual labor background; otherwise, an ordinary person would have been blown to bits long ago.

The key point is that Xu Xi's methods are always violent expropriation.

Xu Nian felt absolutely no pleasure during it.

He felt like his whole body was about to fall apart; every movement was excruciatingly painful.

Every time Xu Nian saw Xu Xi's crazy appearance, she couldn't reconcile her with the gentle and tender girl in her memory.

What exactly has Xu Xi experienced over the years?

He had tried asking Xu Xi this question, but all he got in return was a cold reply.

"You killed her with your own hands, and I buried her among her favorite white rose bushes."

Is this considered an answer?

Xu Nian shook her head with a wry smile.

He knew that Xu Xi must still exist inside this crazy girl's body.

However, he didn't know how to call out to her.

The distance between them was so close, yet so far.

Fortunately, he was certain that neither Xu Xi nor Xu Xi would take his life.

only....

"Xu Xi, can we talk about something...?"

"explain."

"Could you be a little gentler..."

"Letting you live is the greatest mercy I can show."

A cold glint flashed in Xu Xi's eyes.

On New Year's Eve, firecrackers roared both outside and inside the house.

After the New Year, Xu Xi removed the restraints from the man's body.

Xu Nian rubbed her sore wrists and sat up from the creaking bed.

"Lunch will be delivered."

Xu Xi put on her clothes one by one in front of the man.

Then, she glared at the man, her eyes filled with threat.

"If I ever find you leaving this house again, you'll never be able to leave this bed for the rest of your life."

After leaving those words, she put on her little leather boots and left the basement.

As the sound of the sports car engine faded into the distance, Xu Nian quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then sat by the window, staring blankly at the scenery outside.

What exactly am I to Xu Xi right now?

He gazed at the birds flying freely in the sky, his eyes filled with confusion.

Brother?

She seems to have never called herself "brother".

Boyfriend?

He seemed to have absolutely nothing that made him worthy of Xu Xi, who was now in such a high position.

After much deliberation, two words finally came to mind.

Prisoner.

She satisfied her inner desires and thirst for revenge by torturing him.

He gave a bitter laugh and sighed softly.

If I had known, I wouldn't have said such cruel things to her ten years ago.

That way, at least I won't suffer such torture after I get out.

But he never expected that he would be sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve instead of the death penalty.

Even more unexpectedly, Officer Zhang was able to clear his name of the fabricated charges against him and release him ahead of schedule.

Life is unpredictable; you can never know what will happen next.

Speaking of which, how are my old friends doing?

Since his release from prison, he has never contacted them.

Apart from learning from Xu Hu that Qi Yu had gone to teach in a rural area, he knew nothing about the current situation or whereabouts of the others.

He couldn't know either.

Xu Xi confiscated his phone, and he is now unable to contact anyone.

After staring blankly out the window for several hours, Xu Nian left the windowsill and wandered around the villa before finally stopping in the study.

Without a cell phone, he had no way to pass the time.

Why don't you read a book for a while?

His gaze wandered among the books on the bookshelf.

Most of Xu Xi's book collection consists of economics-related books.

There are also some English magazines and weekly publications.

Finally, Xu Nian's gaze fell on a dusty book at the very bottom of the bookshelf.

He took out the book and gently brushed the dust off the cover.

Butterfly's Desire

The pages have faded and are starting to yellow.

Zhou Xiaoman, how are you doing now?

Did she write a bestselling book and fulfill her dream of becoming a popular author?

He didn't know, and had no way of knowing.

He sat in the boss's chair, opened the book to its title page, and read it carefully, page by page.

Although I had already read the entire book, I could still feel that suffocating atmosphere when I reread it.

The violet, growing in adversity, has a turbulent life, yet it still blooms with beautiful bouquets.

Has she met her other half and started a happy family?

Xu Nian was so engrossed in reading that she forgot about time.

The shadow cast by the table lamp on the corner of the table grew increasingly slanted until it disappeared completely.

"Do you like her a lot?"

A cold, detached voice shattered the tranquility of the study.

When he came to his senses, a cold and aloof figure was standing in front of the man, staring intently at him.

"Uh...no..."

As soon as Xu Nian spoke, she felt a little guilty.

After all, ten years ago, he used Xiaoman as a shield to ruin his wedding with the girl in front of him.

He quickly put down his book, put on a solicitous act, and took off the girl's coat.

Suddenly, he felt a violent push and fell to the ground.

"What is it about me that I lack compared to her?!"

Xu Xi clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

Am I uglier than her? Am I poorer than her?

"No...no..."

"Then why did you go with her! Why did you leave me?! Why are you still thinking about her?!"

Anger flared in Xu Xi's eyes. She forcefully pushed the man down, sat on him, and began her daily task.

Tonight, she showed absolutely no tenderness.

It's like a violent debt collection machine.

Xu Nian gritted her teeth, but still could not bear the excruciating pain.

He wanted to explain something, but his lips were firmly sealed by the girl's soft, thin lips, preventing him from uttering a complete sentence.

That night, the man's screams echoed throughout the entire villa.