Translator: Kingbao Editor: DarkGem

  Lu Jinnian pushed open the bedroom door. It was silent and, when he went in, he saw Qiao Anhao lying on her side of the bed in deep sleep.

  He walked over softly, not making any sound. With the faint glow of the lamp, he stared at Qiao Anhao’s face for a while before reaching out to pry her phone out of her hands. He placed it on the bedside table and moved back to lightly cover her exposed back with the blanket.

  Lu Jinnian sat on the side of the bed for some time before reaching out to touch her face. With his thumb, he caressed her cheeks and under her eyes as though he was wiping away her tears. He gradually moved his hand up to her head, leaving it there silently.

  Ever since five years ago, after he found out that she was someone he could never love, he had always stayed cold and calm in front of her. Even if he would lose control occasionally, he could quickly catch himself and hide his true feelings, not letting her find out that his love was the reason behind his rash actions.

  Other than his mother, she was the only one in the world he cared about.

  His mother had given him life, let him experience the coldness and darkness of the world, but Qiao Anhao had given him a new life. She was the reason warmth and light still existed in this world.

  But she would never know that in his life, she was his drive and hope.

  Even now when he finally succeeded, she was still his drive and hope.

  No one knew that all these years, even if he had a family, he had been living alone.

  Even if he was constantly surrounded by people now, they would never know that deep inside, he was buried in loneliness.

  Ever since he was young, he had never asked for much—he only wanted her. But there were many things he couldn’t get, and those included her.

  He once thought of fighting for her, but before he could even start, he had been disqualified. Soon after, she started avoiding him.

  It was a mystery to him why she had started avoiding him.

  Even to this day, he still wasn’t clear why she had left his life.

  It was on one of the nights that Xu Jiamu had a gathering. On that night, he was feeling horrible because of her and had drank a lot. Intoxicated and muddled, he seemed to have seen her. His memory wasn’t intact and he wasn’t sure if it actually happened, but she had asked him something and he seemed to have replied. And when he came awake, she had no longer been around. He had asked Xu Jiamu of when she left and he said she’d left early, so he wasn’t sure if their conversation had actually happened.