Chapter 62

A tremor shot up Ruan Ning's spine and slammed into her brain. She nearly collapsed against the windowsill, her fingers digging into the dust-covered ledge. Was the heavens playing a joke on her?

"How is it you? Shouldn't you be... at your mother's birthday banquet?"

For a moment, Ruan Ning forgot to breathe—she had never imagined Bai Xingmiao would come looking for her at her home.

In terms of regular contact, Jiang Yihao and Bu Chen bombarded her with calls and texts almost every day, while Bai Xingmiao only sent his routine game invitations, as distant as a star at the far end of the universe.

Yet he was the first to chase after her to her house, abandoning everything on his mother's birthday banquet to come find her.

She had once believed that even if the world ended, Bai Xingmiao would never lower his proud head to seek anyone out.

"Would you be willing to come watch the meteor shower with me?"

Bai Xingmiao leaned quietly against the hood of his car, his dark, cold features as if dipped in ink—deep, indifferent, and obscure.

"Wha—what did you say? Right now?" Ruan Ning's heart raced, waves of shock crashing inside her. Bai Xingmiao's voice proved it was real, not a hallucination.

"Now," he answered firmly.

Bai Xingmiao had a naturally comic-book perfect figure, and Ruan Ning could see him clearly from upstairs.

In the past, she had chatted with him over the network, close yet distant, waiting for his replies.

Now the tables had turned—she was the princess on the balcony, looked up to from below, while he waited for a single glance from her.

Ruan Ning couldn't name the feeling, so she just quietly watched Bai Xingmiao.

His suit vest hugged his long, flawless frame, one leg crossed over the other, the pressed trouser hem riding up slightly, a black bow tie at his neck—he still bore the resplendent handsomeness of someone who had just attended a banquet.

She had never imagined he would stand beneath her window one day. Bai Xingmiao appeared before her without warning, leaving her no retreat.

He was like a real-life Lansen guarding the Holy Sword Throne, gazing up at her. Ruan Ning lowered her head slightly and fell straight into his deep, ink-washed pupils.

"Why me?"

"There are many guests at my house today. If they found out, it wouldn't be easy to explain."

Ruan Ning's heart pounded like a drum as she rambled incoherently, fine sweat beading on her forehead.

She heard the relatives downstairs heading out one by one, their laughter drifting through the courtyard. As they boarded the cars in groups and the keys turned, engines rumbling to life, Ruan Ning's heart leapt to her throat.

Bai Xingmiao had parked at the back of the yard, right on the road they'd have to pass to leave the neighborhood. If they turned the corner, they'd see her chatting with a strange man below through the window!

"Why did you come to find me today? You shouldn't be here."

"Please, just go back. I can't leave with you."

Ruan Ning's voice trembled along with her body.

"..."

Bai Xingmiao seemed lost in his own world, as if he couldn't hear the people coming. Backlit by the headlights, his melancholic eyes were clear as water.

"I wanted to see you."

That single plain, simple sentence from Bai Xingmiao detonated a thunderous boom in Ruan Ning's heart.

Her pupils dilated, her fingers clenched, carving ten deep gray streaks into the windowsill.

"You... you... it's impossible, you can't..." Ruan Ning stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Was this the reclusive, ethereal Bai Xingmiao, who seemed like a cloud-shrouded moon?

"It's true."

A mist gathered in Bai Xingmiao's eyes.

Why did he come looking for her? Bai Xingmiao asked himself the same question.

Today was his mother's birthday, and as usual, he attended the banquet as the host, receiving the handful of guests who came.

The birthday atmosphere in the Bai family had always been subdued. Whether it was Bai Fuzhou's or his own birthday, neither of them paid it much mind.

Bai Fuzhou was busy with work and despised the wasteful extravagance of high-society gatherings; she only celebrated birthdays to catch up with friends she rarely saw.

When Bai Xingmiao was in elementary school, his father had died of illness, leaving one fewer person to celebrate his birthday. So year after year, the birthday banquet was no different from any other gathering—just another marker that the earth had carried him through another lap of life.

At the start of the banquet, he saw the Jiang mother and son make their grand entrance. Their mothers were old friends, and when acquaintances met, pleasantries were inevitable.

"Auntie Bai, happy birthday. Wishing you health and longevity, and may fortune shine upon you."

"Oh, Xiao Hao, what a good boy. You've grown taller, and even more handsome."

"Not at all, I'd be happy if he were half as good as your Xiao Miao."

"What are you saying? Our kids are all wonderful. Xiao Hao is cheerful and sunny, I like him just as he is. I even wish Xiao Miao were half as lovable."

Bai Xingmiao watched their exchange from a distance, finding it clichéd.

The birthday gathering was like a timed mob-respawn quest: every year around the same time, the same NPCs gathered, said the same lines, then vanished until the next year's quest triggered.

Watching the mother and son, a faint ripple passed through Bai Xingmiao's eyes.

He often stood alone on the sidelines, observing people's actions, minds, and expressions.

Jiang Yihao and Du Yue were like two people living on different floors of the same building; their daily activities and thoughts were clearly visible to Bai Xingmiao, the observer on the distant rooftop.

One hid a matchmaking plan from her son, the other secretly played football behind his mother's back. Because of their status, they both put on a facade of loving mother and devoted son in front of outsiders—a source of amusement for Bai Xingmiao in observing human society.

People were products of desire. Driven by it, they exposed their selfish, cunning natures. The thought of people shedding their disguises under the pressure of desire, revealing their animal instincts and fighting each other, struck Bai Xingmiao as endlessly entertaining.

But today, he felt rather listless. Perhaps today's observation subjects were too dull, robbing him of the thrill of discovery.

If he remembered correctly, today was also someone's birthday.

Bai Xingmiao pulled out his phone. That person's chat window was still pinned to the top.

[Thank you for your help. I'll always remember the moments we spent together.]

[Wishing you sunshine, laughter, and happiness from now on.]

He didn't know why, but even though over ten days had passed, her message still surfaced at the top from time to time.

When he first read it, he hadn't understood what Ruan Ning meant by sending it. Only later did he slowly realize it was her farewell.

Bai Xingmiao frowned slightly. He had always scorned those who used parting to coerce others into pleading them to stay.

People had a loss-aversion mentality; under the pain of "fearing loss," they made choices that went against their true feelings. Moreover, those who constantly talked about leaving were pitifully cowardly—they'd take three steps away, look back twice, and come scurrying back the moment they heard a sound.

Bai Xingmiao had always sneered at such people.

But Ruan Ning had vanished completely. She never contacted him again, and a few days later, she left the game group.

He had long foreseen this day. He just hadn't expected it to come sooner than he'd imagined.

He had only helped her out of boredom in the first place, curious to see how a commoner student could simultaneously entangle two top-tier young heirs from powerful families, driving them into a tangle of love and hate.

What better observation subject could there be?

A faint sneer tugged at his lips. Life was full of goodbyes every day—what was the point of announcing it so deliberately?

His mother called him over to greet his childhood friend Jiang Yihao. He glanced up. Jiang Yihao had been in low spirits all day, likely affected by the same person.

He exchanged pleasantries with the two mothers for a while, then drifted to the window to stare blankly. Bai Xingmiao kept his eyes on his screen, never approaching.

Counseling others wasn't his strong suit, and Jiang Yihao didn't like exposing his vulnerabilities.

While Jiang Yihao sulked alone, Bu Chen arrived.

He came with a gift to privately congratulate his father's political rival. Bai Xingmiao watched from a distance as he laughed and chatted with his mother.

Bu Chen noticed him behind the crowd, and the two exchanged a glance and a nod.

Bu Chen walked over with a smile: "I thought you'd come persuade me to make up with that kid."

"Is there any need?" he asked.

"No," Bu Chen said with a self-deprecating laugh.

He had to admit, Ruan Ning's actions had stirred the hearts of all three men present. Though she wasn't there, she lingered like a ghost among them. Even the people Bai Xingmiao met seemed listless and disinterested.

Watching the feigned excitement of Bu Chen and the angry phone calls of Jiang Yihao in the distance, Bai Xingmiao felt as if he, too, had been locked inside a building. The feeling was deeply unpleasant.

A faint smile curved at his lips, his eyes fixed on the banquet hall door: "Now I'm more curious to see how far you two will go."

Bu Chen stepped up to stand beside him, also gazing at the door with a grin: "Feels like you're watching us make fools of ourselves."

"More or less."

The smile in Bu Chen's eyes deepened, as if speaking of something unrelated to himself: "I always knew you liked to stir the pot. Had enough of the show yet?"

Bai Xingmiao's gaze went distant: "Depends on how much more comedy you two produce."

Bu Chen's smile finally froze and slowly faded: "There's none. And there won't be any more."

Bai Xingmiao turned to look at his childhood friend, whose expression had turned cold: "What are you planning?"

"Nothing."

"We've always gotten along well. You never bother with what I'm busy with, and I can't be bothered to ask about your weird experiments."

"That's what makes us good friends."

Bu Chen sighed sincerely, signaled for a glass of champagne, and turned to join Du Yue and Bai Fuzhou's conversation.

Bai Xingmiao still stood behind the crowd. He and Bu Chen shared a wordless understanding—both of equal intellect, they understood each other without speaking, a tacit bond that the simple, rash Jiang Yihao could never achieve.

Because they knew each other's temperaments so well, neither ever tried to advise the other. Both knew neither was the type to change their mind easily.

Before long, Jiang Yihao was indeed lured over by the ostentatious Bu Chen, baring his teeth like a beast at the sight of him.

Jiang Yihao's predictable reaction made the evening feel even duller to him.

Just then, the butler came over to say that a Miss Ruan had contacted him about the thank-you letter, and that she hoped the Kamu family could deliver it to the school before the semester ended.

Bai Xingmiao suddenly stilled.

What was she up to?

Was she calling it quits for good?