Su Youzhu was still in her bedroom, doing something unknown.

Gu Jianlin recalled that long embrace, rested his hand against his forehead, and sighed.

In the end, emotion triumphed over reason. This was a rare occurrence for him.

But he still didn't understand why, in the end, he couldn't resist hugging that girl.

Perhaps the atmosphere had reached that point, making it impossible to hold back.

He would have to exercise more restraint in the future.

Otherwise, he'd really end up getting beaten.

At least, when their parents were around, Youzhu's attitude toward him remained normal, without displaying excessive closeness.

However, whenever no one was around, it was a completely different story.

Ding-dong.

Su Youzhu: "Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?"

Gu Jianlin stared at the message, utterly stunned.

This girl might appear to be an ice-cold beauty, but her occasional teasing and flirtation were far from subtle.

It made his scalp tingle.

Gu Jianlin: "Are you crazy?"

Su Youzhu: "What's the problem? They won't come into my room anyway."

Gu Jianlin: "What if we get caught?"

Wait—how did things escalate to the point of talking about getting caught? He absolutely wasn't going.

Su Youzhu: "Don't you have the Lock of Nonexistence? You won't be discovered."

Gu Jianlin: "Is that what Mythical Weapons are for?"

Su Youzhu: "If you don't come, I'll go to your room."

Haha. Goodbye.

Gu Jianlin set down his tablet, got dressed, put on his shoes, and prepared to leave.

He couldn't afford to provoke her, but he could still avoid her.

·

·

With a slam.

Su Youzhu, still nestled in her blankets, heard the sound of the door closing. Her vermillion lips curved slightly.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating her face, porcelain-like and flawless.

"Finally gone."

She gently propped herself up, her delicate frame trembling unsteadily, nearly causing her to fall back onto the bed. Her smooth, fair forehead was now glistening with beads of sweat, her chest heaving violently as her breathing grew heavy.

Her clear, luminous eyes were filled with exhaustion and weakness.

This was the beginning of the Yin Yang Twin Jade's side effects.

A simple jade pendant hung around the girl's chest, its rustic surface engraved with intricate, ancient patterns. One side was as black as ink, while the other was as white as snow—symbolizing the duality of yin and yang, starkly opposed.

When her teacher had given her the jade, they had warned her of its side effects.

When a doppelganger died, it inflicted severe trauma on the original body.

Most devastatingly, the pain endured by the doppelganger would rebound onto the original body tenfold.

"All those who choose to escape shall pay tenfold for their avoidance."

This was the warning left by the scholar who had first discovered the Yin Yang Twin Jade.

Not that Old Gu had tricked her—this Mythical Weapon's benefits were undeniable. As long as you didn't encounter an exceedingly rare Authority like that of the Red Qilin Ancestor, it would essentially grant you an extra life, and life itself was priceless.

As for the pain, if you could endure it, the experience would tremendously benefit your future advancement.

However, her teacher had specifically reminded her that, of those who obtained this Mythical Weapon, few had survived the side effects of their doppelganger's death. Some had even succumbed to the relentless torment, driven to take their own lives.

Thus, Su Youzhu had made thorough preparations. Avoiding her parents was easy enough.

But she could never fool him.

Which meant she had to find a way to send him away.

Su Youzhu pulled open the drawer of her bedside table, revealing two boxes of secret medicine inside.

The Wandering Soul Secret Medicine.

Stone Heart Ink.

These were the two secret medicines she had prepared in advance. The former would place her in a dream-like state for the next eight hours, while the latter would provide partial relief from the pain.

While the effect of the Yin Yang Twin Jade originated from soul-deep pain that no medicine could truly alleviate,

these still provided some level of support.

From here on, she could only endure it herself.

Su Youzhu swallowed both secret medicines, then buried herself under the blankets, bracing for the torment radiating from the depths of her soul. Her consciousness began to sink, as if plunging into a nightmare.

Her phone screen remained lit, its wallpaper a photograph.

In the midst of torrential rain, a black-haired boy held an umbrella, walking alone down an empty street.

A girl with short, pale green hair followed behind him like a ghost. Her icy, exquisitely beautiful face was graced by a rare smile as she quietly made a peace sign, holding her phone to capture his silhouette.

This was their only photo together.

It had been taken before Gu Jianlin's awakening—back then, Su Youzhu often transformed into a ghost, silently trailing behind him. When he became aware of her presence, she would quickly find somewhere to hide, observing his every mood.

If he was happy, she would feel content as well.

If he was upset, she would carefully prepare a homemade meal to cheer him up.

Strangely enough, in the beginning, all she wanted was to make up for her shortcomings toward him, to heal his life.

But somehow, at some unknown point, she had fallen deep.

Perhaps it was because his eyes were as deep and vast as the ocean—one glance could utterly captivate.

The phone screen slowly dimmed and went out.

Su Youzhu allowed darkness to overtake her mind, sinking into a pit of despair and agony.

·

·

At 10:30 p.m., the neighborhood grocery store still had its lights on.

Gu Jianlin thought to himself that they must be here, then walked directly inside.

"You're here?"

Jing Ci, who was cleaning antiques in the display cabinet, spoke without turning around.

Meanwhile, behind the counter, Huai Yin sat in her wheelchair, fiddling with a few ancient copper coins. Her frost-white eyebrows furrowed deeply, her expression unprecedentedly dark, tinged with irritation.