You said you hated men, why are your eyes now full of love?

Memories are like sand trickling through an hourglass, each grain marking events of the past.

Some fade gradually, like drifting clouds, slowly washed away by the flow of time.

But others seem embedded in your very flesh and bones, forever etched deep in the soul, impossible to forget even if you tried.

...

She recalled her early elementary school days. Because of her introverted and quiet nature, the boys in her class always took pleasure in bullying her.

During class, they would tug at her ponytail, call her all kinds of awful nicknames, or snatch her backpack and toss it around among themselves.

Those childish pranks were bearable.

But one day, under the pretense of a joke, a boy tried to forcibly kiss her. Unable to endure it any longer, Ruan Qingqing knocked the boy to the ground right in front of her classmates.

Her sudden display of aggression scared the others.

From then on, her classmates slowly started seeing her as a freak.

Even her deskmate—the only one who was friendly with her—ended up ostracized by everyone else.

"Why do you keep talking to me? Xiaomei and the others don't want to play with me anymore. It's all your fault! It's all because of you!"

"You monster! Stay away from us!"

That childish voice, full of bitterness and resentment, echoed clearly in her mind even now.

...

Later, when she grew older, her mother moved them to the slums in the southern part of Tianhua City.

Due to certain events, their relationship with the neighbors became extremely strained.

Ruan Qingqing often heard the neighbors whispering behind her back, calling her and her mother a pair of seductive women who corrupted society.

The only exception was the old lady who lived downstairs. Every time she saw Ruan Qingqing, she smiled and gave her a sweet and delicious White Rabbit candy.

Occasionally, after school, the kind old lady would invite her over for dinner.

But one month later, the old lady suddenly died.

Her death was unexpected, with no warning signs at all.

According to the police report after the autopsy, the old lady had fallen accidentally while cooking, hit her head on the corner of a table, and lost consciousness. During that time, excessive intracranial bleeding caused her death.

At that moment, Ruan Qingqing had been standing downstairs, watching as the old lady's frail body was carried away under a white sheet.

She clutched her mother's hand tightly, intense guilt pressing down on her heart like a heavy stone—one that, even now, she couldn't shake off.

If only... the old lady hadn't gotten so close to her.

Maybe then, the neighbors wouldn't have despised her by association. Maybe a visiting neighbor would have checked in, noticed the accident in time, and saved her.

Instead of now... where no one cared.

...

Then there was the young store manager who always used his position to make unwanted advances on her.

Even though she always found ways to avoid him, the young store manager never withheld her pay or treated her unfairly. Yet, just because he stood up for her once, his shop was destroyed by people under Situ Yan's orders, and he himself was tortured brutally and suffered pain he shouldn't have had to endure.

...

Even her mother, who had sacrificed so much to care for her, had fallen ill, and her health deteriorated with each passing year.

Looking back, everything that happened made Ruan Qingqing feel like a curse. No matter where she went, misfortune seemed to follow, dragging down the people around her.

Just like today.

Before meeting her, Ji Mu was a proud son of heaven, sitting alone in the clouds, admired and respected by everyone.

It was she... who brought him down to earth and involved him in unnecessary troubles every day. Now, just like her, he is whispered about, avoided, and shunned.

And with each incident, the dangers he faced only grew worse.

She didn't know what an ancient martial artist was. But judging by the way Situ Yan and his men spoke about them, they were clearly on a whole different level from ordinary people.

She had no way of knowing if Ji Mu could keep walking away unscathed when facing these kinds of enemies. This time, they made it through. But what about next time? Or the time after that…?

Who could guarantee that they wouldn't encounter even more dangerous enemies in the future?

Ruan Qingqing felt a wave of panic rising in her heart. She was scared. She didn't want this to keep happening.

"Mu Mu, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in all this trouble." She lowered her head in guilt, unable to summon the courage to meet his eyes. "It must be miserable to know someone like me."

As memories resurfaced, she suppressed her emotions and spoke in a soft, seemingly casual tone.

"I can't do anything right, and I've never even had the courage to truly reject anyone. I'm pathetic… irresponsible."

Every time, Ruan Qingqing found herself wondering—

Why does someone like her even exist?

Useless.

Completely… worthless.

Ji Mu gazed silently at the moonlight spilling through the cracks of the ruined building.

After a while, he spoke, his voice calm.

"Silly goose, do you remember that time in the school cafeteria when you refused to let Fu Rongjing get close to you?"

Ruan Qingqing blinked, momentarily taken aback, but after a long moment, she gave a slow nod. "Yes."

She remembered everything related to Ji Mu with absolute clarity.

That day, when Fu Rongjing's friends had been teasing her, she had deliberately moved her tray, cutting off his attempt to serve her food under a pretense of kindness.

And she had said exactly what was on her mind, in front of everyone.

Remembering how she had forced herself to act firm even as her legs trembled with fear, Ruan Qingqing couldn't help but press her lips together in embarrassment.

"But... what does that prove…?"

"Haven't you already shown that you have the courage to refuse someone?"

"I..." Ruan Qingqing was momentarily dazed.

"When faced with danger, your first thought was to tell me to leave while you stayed behind to face everything alone. How many people do you think would have the courage and responsibility to do that?"

"But this..."

"You got into Yulan High School, didn't you?"

The girl curled her fingers, suddenly at a loss for words.

That's right.

Everyone knew that Yulan High School was the only elite academy in Tianhua City, but very few understood how difficult it was to get in.

The required grades alone had stopped countless students in their tracks.

But with its generous scholarships and full tuition waivers, Ruan Qingqing hadn't wanted to miss this one opportunity.

She wasn't a genius. She didn't have an exceptionally sharp mind. All she could do was memorize and study hard.

She had lost count of how many nights she had spent burning the midnight oil, tirelessly going over the same question bank again and again. The pile of emptied pen refills had grown into a small mountain, and the skin between her thumb and index finger was rubbed raw. Gripping a pen was painful, even with the slightest pressure.

After countless days of relentless studying, she finally endured long enough to see her exam results. By the slimmest of margins—just one point—she barely met the admission cutoff.

Her classmates were shocked that she had made it in, but most remained unimpressed.

"Tch, just dumb luck."

She didn't argue, simply nodding along.

Yeah… After all that effort, all she had managed was barely scraping by.

How could there be no element of luck in this? After all, if she had scored even one point less, she wouldn't have been admitted to Yulan High School.

Ruan Qingqing lowered her gaze, curving her lips into a faint, emotionless smile. "It was just luck..."

"Was it?" Ji Mu's voice asked from above. "But wasn't it also your own effort that got you here, step by step?"

Ruan Qingqing's long, curled eyelashes quivered slightly.

"Don't overlook the things that make you shine," he continued. "Silly goose, what you've relied on has never been mere luck."

His clear, steady voice echoed softly in her ears. The quiet certainty in his words was undeniable.

Something caught in her throat—she couldn't bring herself to speak. She lifted her gaze to his clean, fair profile, as if her body and soul were sinking into a gentle, flowing warmth. In that moment, all the negativity weighing her down melted away.

"Sometimes, backing down doesn't necessarily mean you're weak," Ji Mu said. "As long as your lines aren't crossed, most people would rather avoid unnecessary trouble. Just like me."

Ji Mu shrugged and continued, "I don't really care what others think. If someone insults me, I can't be bothered to retaliate. As long as it's nothing extreme, I usually just let it go."

Ruan Qingqing, having gathered her emotions, suddenly remembered something.

"Then..." she asked quietly, "why is it that you can't seem to tolerate others saying things about me?"

The night sky stretched endlessly above them, speckled with countless stars. The slanting moonlight painted the twilight in delicate strokes, outlining the scene like a painting.

In her line of sight, Ji Mu lowered his eyes, looking at her. A dry leaf had landed on her shoulder, and he casually reached out and plucked it off. Behind him, the dense treetops shimmered under a faint silver frost.

"Because," he said simply, "I don't want you to be alone."

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