╔═══ Author's note ════╗

Edited by Psycho S.

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Bing Shi debated with Xuan Mu as she sighed, "It feels nice to win against those who are way above my league. Do you think Mo Luwei was pressured by everyone to perform his very best because he's called a genius?"

"No, he's just your average cocky bastard. Don't think too deeply about him," Xuan Mu, with a spear now in hand and a look of annoyance on his face, dismissed the thought, "He had a sad past, but in this life, who doesn't have that?"

"Well, that's true," Bing Shi nodded in agreement, feeling the weight of Xuan Mu's words as she clutched her staff tighter.

Without warning, Xuan Mu slashed through the safety net's support. He watched, detached, as a figure fell towards a balcony below. The man's screams grew louder and more desperate, ending abruptly with a harsh thud against the balcony.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

Trapped in a vicious cycle, Silika's ex found himself leaping from balcony to balcony against a relentless timer. The sight of the ground below made his blood run cold, the threat of death a constant shadow over him.

The worst torment, however, was the utter isolation. Desperate for any sign of human connection, he dialed his phone, screaming into the void for friends, family—anyone to pick up. "Answer me, damn it!" he shouted, his voice hoarse with misery. When a call finally connected, his heart leaped with hope, only to be crushed as his frantic pleas for help were met with silence.

Police, too, turned out to be an unreachable lifeline. And on the rare occasion, someone appeared within shouting distance, he would yell for help until his throat burned, only to watch in horror as they continued to ignore him as if he was thin air. "Can't anyone fucking see me?!" he screamed into the uncaring expanse.

"I'm not a ghost," he assured himself, even as the physical pain of his exertions mocked him. His legs ached with each jump, bones creaking in agony, lungs searing as if aflame with each breath.

The architects of his misery, two figures who seemed to revel in his pain, ensured no escape. Attempting to flee this cycle by entering an apartment was futile; they'd cruelly reset him back to the start. Missing the time mark meant beginning anew, trapped in a hellish loop.

"Fuck! How do I get out?!" he raged, his mind a whirlwind of panic and fear. "What kind of sick game is this? ?" His voice broke, echoing off the uncaring walls, a testament to his despair.

Silika's ex's existence had become a never-ending nightmare; each attempt to escape met with failure, each cry for help unanswered. The cycle continued, a relentless test of endurance and sanity, leaving him to wonder if this torment would ever end.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

Xua Pu thought about his host's biggest trump card: her husband. All he had ever seen, up until now, was the busy Xuan Mu tending to his own problems and business. Bing Shi was only a bit more cost-efficient than Xuan Mu when it came to managing the business? Hmpf!

His host didn't spend even one-tenth of the resources that Xuan Mu would need to spend! Hmpf! No wonder Kuro bragged about her so much! He also felt like bragging about the host! Today, Bing Shi was a bit exhausted, so she let her husband take care of her business, but this... her husband was wasting his superpowers too much!

"You know what?" Bing Shi mused, perched on the rooftop's edge, her gaze sweeping over the city's nocturnal lights. The distant, desperate cries of Silika's ex barely reached her, lost in his own terror. "It's not the fall that's scary... it's the sudden stop at the bottom that's scary."

Silika's ex was so consumed by his fear of heights that he became oblivious to her words and everything else around him.

Beside Bing Shi, Xuan Mu settled, extending a warm cup of milk towards her. "Wanna get drunk?"

"Wanna, wanna," Bing Shi accepted the cup, taking a generous sip before exhaling deeply. "Whew."

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

After what felt like an eternity, Silika's ex finally reached the bottom of the building. But not only had he reached the bottom of the building, he would also reach the bottom of his life in more than one way...

As the police and ambulance came to his rescue, nobody noticed the couple sitting at the top of another building, like shadows in the darkness, concealed from everyone's sight.

"There is a bomb in my tummy," Bing Shi called out with her eyes closed, resting her shoulder against his. She would hum as she lay her head against his.

"Look at you, getting all sleepy and drunk like a baby," Xuan Mu caressed her stomach, not bothering to open his eyes either, "Come to me."

In response, Bing Shi cuddled nearer, playfully comparing their stomachs with her hand, "My bomb is bigger." When her hand traced lower, she stopped, "I take it back."

He held her hand in place, "You're asking to be bent over my lap."

"Why? I'm only telling the truth?" she asked innocently. There was something about him that made her want to throw her independence away, give him all her worries, and kneel before him to receive the sweet punishment; his loving care, his tender devotion, his whole-hearted commitment.

"For stating the obvious," he answered, frustrated yet amused.

The warmth of the milk lulled them into a drowsy state, their eyes struggling to stay open. Yet, when they did manage to look at each other, their faces lit up with a smile that wouldn't go away. Such a smile was sweet and genuine; such a smile was dedicated for only the other; this smile, tender and loving and all things sweet, was their own little secret.

Gradually, they leaned in, their laughter quiet as they playfully licked away the milk mustaches adorning their lips.

Xuan Mu cradled her face, deepening their kiss, his actions speaking of a promise of realness, signifying that he was awake, connected within.

A million thoughts, centered around his love only for her and her love for him, were made obvious at this moment: their kiss matched the fiery lights streaking across the black skies in diffusing blue streaks, lifting both their hearts heavenwards.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

A few days later...

Mo Luwei found a way to keep Silika's entire salary under the excuse that she had to repay her debts. It was a good move from him to cut her streams of income. If an average person was in her shoes, they would either commit suicide or turn into his slave.

On the movie set, everybody applauded themselves with wide grins. The director gave out some notes and recommendations. After a few grateful words that were obviously sincere to certain people and insincere to others, he dismissed everybody with a shout.

It was 22:30 PM when Bing Shi walked out of the projection room. The studio PR agent asked her to answer a few questions from the journalists who were in there for half a day, but only now were they allowed to give out questions. She managed to answer a few questions, made a dozen selfies, and signed some autographs.

The company didn't allow Silika to keep social media as they feared for her reputation. She could only post things after she gained their approval. This was, quite honestly, an understandable move on the company's part.

Sometimes, talent didn't matter as much as an artist's personality. One could be the most beautiful and amazing singer in the world, but if their character were shit, nobody would like them. That was why agencies focused so much on an artist's public image.

· · ──────── · ⊱❈⊰· ──────── · ·

One day, Silika Lin refused a huge bouquet of roses from President Mo; his sudden show of interest caused another sensation on the internet, and, with glee, some companies threw up grand headlines that caught the attention of certain people.

Mo Luwei wanted to make the people who kidnapped Su Min believe that they had taken the wrong woman. At the same time, he was also trying to repay Silika for saving his life, even if the way he was going about it was wrong...

Did he care that he was endangering Silika's life by bringing so much attention to her? No, not at all. He was doing this for Min'er. Besides, that woman, Silika, needed to be put in place for being so ungrateful... She may have saved his life but never thanked him for paying off her debts!