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

Pitch black. No light.

It felt like she was standing in an endless abyss.

“Where… is this?”

She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. It was as if thick ink had been smeared across her vision. She looked around but saw nothing. The boundless darkness blocked everything.

“Come here… here…”

Just as her confusion peaked, a faint whisper echoed in her ears.

It was eerie, but something ahead seemed to be calling her.

Her body moved forward on its own, uncontrollably following the sound.

She had no idea how much time had passed.

Thirty seconds? Thirty minutes?

It was impossible to tell. This strange place had already stripped her of any sense of time.

Only when a faint light appeared ahead did her dazed mind start to regain clarity.

Is that… where I’m supposed to go?

She muttered under her breath.

She stepped forward, and with each step, the light ahead grew brighter. The darkness around her gradually receded.

Crunch—

At some point, the ground beneath her had become uneven. Loose stones of all sizes were scattered everywhere. Her eyes swept across the jagged path.

What a strange place…

Still puzzled, she walked faster toward the light’s end. Her vision widened all at once.

What unfolded before her was a desolate city.

Broken bricks and crumbling ruins were scattered everywhere. The streets were full of devastation, with wild grass sprouting from dry, yellow soil. A huge crack split the road, and wrecked cars were crammed into the fissure.

All signs of past prosperity were gone. The only thing that lingered was the bleak, post-apocalyptic decay.

The deeper she ventured into this dead city, the more familiar it felt.

As if… she had once lived here.

When a fallen overpass sign blocked her path and she glanced at the words introducing the city, a chilling sense of disbelief rose in her chest.

This is… Tianhua City?!

Caw—caw—

Crows circled overhead, their hoarse cries piercing the silence.

Dust billowed. A strong stench of rotting flesh assaulted her senses.

The stench of rotting flesh?

Something pulled at her mind. She turned around to find a horrifying scene.

Fu Rongjing and Situ Yan were hanging lifeless from stone pillars, their deaths gruesome.

Fear, panic, regret...

Their final expressions were etched on their faces, capturing the exact emotions before death.

Several unfamiliar corpses lay nearby, just as horrifying. Each body was broken, torn in half, pale bones exposed.

The blood that hadn’t dried pooled across the road, staining it red. The stench of gore mixed with rot. Bits of flesh were scattered, severed arms and legs littering the area.

It looked like the aftermath of a massacre by some monstrous beast.

She covered her chest with a hand. A strange, nameless feeling stirred in her heart.

How strange…

This horrifying scene should have been sickening, but she wasn’t afraid. On the contrary… she felt unexpectedly calm.

Caw—caw—

The crows cried out again.

Her scattered thoughts reassembled, her vision refocused.

Without warning, a small, blood-soaked figure appeared before her.

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“Finally… you've arrived.”

The voice echoed in her ears again.

It was clear that this was the one who had led her here.

Something in the tone felt inexplicably familiar.

"You..."

She pursed her lips, about to ask a question. But the figure slowly turned around.

The woman’s features were breathtaking. Her long, narrow fox-like eyes shimmered with charm. Her red lips looked freshly stained with blood. Beautiful, yet dangerous.

"You..."

Staring intently at the woman in front of her, her pupils suddenly dilated and her heart pounded with shock.

Because the face before her… was identical to her own!

It was another her.

No wonder the voice felt so familiar; it was her own voice!

"Who are you?!"

"Me?"

The woman let out a deep laugh.

Her words sent shivers down her spine.

"I...am you~"

Her mind was shaken.

No, this can't be!

If you are me, then who... am I?!

The fear of losing control spread through her body, and she hurriedly stepped forward to demand answers.

"Explain this to me, what exactly is—"

But before she could finish, the broken road beneath her feet vanished. Everything plunged into darkness again.

She fell into an endless abyss, her mind spinning wildly.

A sharp pain stabbed her head. It felt like an invisible hand was yanking her soul from her body.

Cold wind howled into her ears. Waves of icy air surged over her, lifting her off the ground and dragging her toward some unknown place.

In the haze, unfamiliar memories flooded her mind.

How could she describe these fragments?

It was like she was living someone else’s life, from a third-person view, in a parallel world.

In that world, Ji Mu had also transferred to Yulan High School as the top scorer in the six-school joint exam.

The difference was, he didn’t wear those round glasses that dulled his presence.

Without the barrier to hide his face, he naturally became the center of attention.

Almost every girl in the school was drawn to him, showering him with adoration.

Wherever he went, he stood out.

Compared to his brilliance, she was like a speck of dust.

Insignificant. Unnoticed.

Just a target for bullies to exploit.

There was a vast gap between them. He soared through the clouds, while she struggled in the dirt.

The only fortunate thing was that they were assigned to the same classroom.

Because of that... the bullying would pause, if only briefly.

As soon as class ended and he left, she would return to that miserable, hellish routine. But even so, it was better than the relentless torment she had suffered before.

In her heart, she had always been grateful to him.

Over time, a vague, indescribable feeling quietly took root.

Something like admiration. Maybe longing.

That tangle of emotions made her pay attention to him without thinking.

She noticed the little things.

Like how he liked quiet spaces. How he always drank unsweetened oolong tea.

His personality was cold, but not arrogant.

No matter who asked him for help, he would give an insightful answer.

He never looked at anyone with prejudice.

Even when she was buried in rumors and gossip every day, he never changed his attitude toward her.

Respectful and equal.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling; it was like the dawn breaking, bringing light to her dark world.

Suddenly, a small pebble was thrown into the water, causing ripples on the surface of the lake.

For some reason, she wanted to have some connection with that heavenly being sitting alone in the clouds.

Even if it was so faint as to be almost imperceptible, she didn't want to be nothing. She wanted them to at least know each other's names.

But she never expected this day to come so soon.

And for it to be so terrible.

She remembered it was an afternoon.

Chu Yashi and the others cornered her in the restroom. They beat her, kicked her, every inch of her body burning with pain. Her lips were bleeding.

Even then, they wouldn’t stop. They tried to strip her and expose her online.

So cold... so painful...

Bruised and trembling, she hugged her knees. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

At the moment of her deepest helplessness, a young man appeared.

Like something out of a cliché movie, he used ruthless methods to fight violence with violence, chasing Chu Yashi and her group away.

She stayed huddled in the corner, unable to say a word.

Too scared to lift her head. Too ashamed to thank him.

Her upper body clothes had already been torn to shreds.

She trembled and curled up, exposed in her most pathetic and ridiculous state in front of this new student representative. The humiliation almost overwhelmed her.

Don't speak... please... don't say anything...

She bit down on her lip, afraid he would ask, "Are you okay?" or "Are you hurt?"

That would have made it worse. Her embarrassment would only worsen.

In her heart, she prayed desperately and humbly.

And then—a jacket fell over her head.

The clean and pleasant scent of soap diluted the surrounding stench, and the large size was just enough to easily cover her entire upper body.

There was no ulterior motive, just a simple act of... caring for her fragile, almost broken heart.

She slowly looked up, but he was already walking through the door, having not said a single word.

From then on, the image of his back disappearing from her sight became something that she could never forget, an indelible moonlight in her heart.

...

That night, she carefully washed the jacket. Early the next morning, she went to school to return it.

Only to find out… he had transferred.

Gone to Jiangcheng.

Holding the jacket wrapped in a plastic bag, she stood frozen, unsure of her feelings.

"The jacket... I haven't returned it to you yet..."

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