Song Yan's eyes were cold. He hadn't heard what Shen Yue was saying clearly.
"Don't appear before me again."
Leaving these words, Song Yan didn't even glance at Shen Yue again. He pushed Shen Yue aside and left, radiating an icy aura.
---
Shen Yue truly felt she was too wicked, how could she be so wicked?
Let alone Song Yan, she herself wanted to slap herself.
The system comforted her: [It's okay, it's just the plot. You only need to follow the plot.]
In the original novel, Shen Yue had a tragic ending.
Shen Yue sighed: [Knowing it's a path of no return, why still persist.]
In Song Yan's eyes, there was only Bai Qingzhen. He couldn't accommodate two people in his gaze. Although his personality was gentle, he was fundamentally cold and detached, always standing from a position of power. Shen Yue, in his eyes, was probably like an ant; he wouldn't even spare a glance if she died. Her ending was indeed like that.
However, to Shen Yue, Song Yan was a gentle and unattainable light.
If Song Yan hadn't liked someone else, Shen Yue might have hidden her feelings in the shadows forever.
But when Song Yan fell for someone, Shen Yue couldn't bear it.
She wanted to grasp that sliver of light, even if she were to be wounded all over, she wouldn't let go. Even in her final second before death, she still wished Song Yan would look back at her.
Humble as dust.
Perhaps that sliver of light was merely a mirage created by her prolonged stay in darkness.
The wicked are punished for their wickedness; this has been the truth since ancient times.
Song Yan was not bad, nor did he do anything wrong.
He was simply not the light that belonged to Shen Yue.
---
Song Yan returned to the banquet. Bai Qingzhen saw him and noticed his expression was a bit off. She asked with concern, "Are you alright? You look a bit pale."
In Bai Qingzhen's eyes, Song Yan had always been gentle and seemingly incapable of anger.
But now, he looked very wrong.
He exuded an icy aura, like a storm about to break the tranquility under the dark night sky. His brows were heavy and cold, so much so that it looked like water could drip from them.
After a long pause, he finally uttered a sentence.
"...I'm fine."
Bai Qingzhen didn't believe him and asked again, worriedly, "Are you really okay?"
Song Yan, however, somewhat lost his composure, pressing his brow bone. His jawline was taut. His thoughts were chaotic, his complexion extremely unpleasant, and he felt enveloped by a suffocating, sticky sensation.
"I'm feeling a bit unwell, I'll be leaving now."
Leaving these words, he didn't even wait to see Bai Qingzhen's expression before turning and leaving impatiently.
Inside the enclosed car, Song Yan pursed his lips tightly, tasting a flavor that wasn't his own.
Uncontrollably, the girl's delicate eyebrows, her swollen lips, her fair skin, her slender waist, and the sweet, clear fragrance that sprayed onto his face and emanated from his very bones, surfaced in his mind.
It should have been disgusting, yet his heart was still beating violently. His pursed lips were like a sharp line. On impulse, he touched his lips. Upon realizing his own action, his usually gentle features were shrouded in gloom.
His heart pounded, a palpitation he had never experienced before, making his scalp tingle.
Song Yan was an only child from a prominent family. He had always been in a position of privilege since childhood and carried heavy expectations. He had not failed, and every endeavor of his had ended perfectly, with no missteps.
Yet, that Shen Yue, someone from the rotten depths of society, had barged into his world like this.
His liking for Bai Qingzhen was a foregone conclusion. He liked the passion and vitality emanating from Bai Qingzhen, like a little sun; she was Song Yan's ideal type.
As for Shen Yue... she was like mud on the riverbank, her beautiful exterior hiding a decaying and dirty soul. She allowed herself to fall.
He had merely walked past, and his clothes were splattered with mud, impossible to wash clean, impossible to shake off.
Someone like that...
Yet, it was precisely someone like that who stirred in him an inappropriate desire.
---
Bai Yanzhe was busy, but he still came to his sister's birthday banquet, albeit a little late.
Bai Qingzhen was initially throwing a small tantrum, but upon seeing Bai Yanzhe's gift, all her sulkiness vanished.
It was a beautiful necklace, which Bai Qingzhen adored and eagerly put on.
"Does it look good?"
Bai Qingzhen's eyes were bright.
Bai Yanzhe glanced at it and said, "Not bad."
Bai Qingzhen wasn't entirely satisfied with this answer, but she was in a good mood, so she didn't bother arguing with Bai Yanzhe.
After the banquet ended, guests began to depart.
Bai Qingzhen had made plans to go to KTV with some friends and wanted to ask Shen Yue along. However, she found Shen Yue sitting in a corner, seemingly asleep.
Upon approaching, she realized Shen Yue wasn't asleep but drunk, with an empty wine bottle on the coffee table.
Bai Qingzhen was short on time, and her friends were urging her. She happened to see Bai Yanzhe and asked, "Brother, are you free?"
Bai Yanzhe was very tall, almost one meter ninety, and his years of privileged upbringing gave him a calm and reassuring demeanor.
He glanced at the girl sitting on the sofa and said in a low, resonant voice, "Yes, I am."
"Could you send Shen Yue home then? She looks drunk."
Bai Qingzhen was a little nervous, thinking he might not agree, but to her surprise, Bai Yanzhe readily nodded in agreement.
Although she found it a little strange, Bai Qingzhen didn't think much of it and confidently handed the girl over to Bai Yanzhe.
Shen Yue was indeed drunk, but not so severely that she couldn't walk.
Bai Yanzhe had also had a bit to drink, and a driver was at the wheel.
The back seat of the car was spacious and flat, with a faint scent of men's cologne lingering in the air.
The girl's face was flushed, her lips as red as blood.
Bai Yanzhe, having had a busy day, closed his eyes and rested, his breathing even.
His pale, elegant hand rested on his thigh, and a soft green light flashed on his thumb – a jade thumb ring.
In the extreme quiet of the space, Bai Yanzhe heard a soft, gentle sound, like the faint cry of a kitten, an inaudible sob that could not be suppressed, a muffled weeping.
He opened his eyes and turned his head to locate the source of the sound.
The girl's eyes were closed, her lips tightly pressed together. Her whole body trembled gently from her uncontrollable whimpers, and tears streamed down her eyes, smearing her fair, beautiful face.
Bai Yanzhe stiffened for a moment. He reached into his suit jacket's left breast pocket and pulled out a pocket square, the same black as his shirt, to wipe her tears. But then the tears flowed even more. He sighed and gently patted her cheek.
"Shen Yue."