Lorin looked at the girl sitting on him, momentarily at a loss for words.

Ever since he first reached out to Xueyi, he’d never imagined things would turn out like this.

Xueyi gazed at Lorin, her emotions clear as day in her eyes. "You know," she said, "today, to wait until now, I deliberately kept up my usual act. I was afraid I might lose control all at once."

In truth, since Lorin arrived at the academy that morning, Xueyi had been watching him. But seeing others approach him one by one to chat, she’d given up on greeting him herself.

During class, watching Lorin doze off, she’d tried poking his cheek a few times with her finger. But it was such a light touch that Lorin never noticed.

One could say Xueyi had been suppressing her emotions since today. No—perhaps even earlier.

Since the moment she saw Lorin in the mountains? Or since Lorin found her here?

"But..." Normally, with Xueyi, Lorin could strike up a conversation even if she ignored him. But now, in this situation, he had no idea what to say.

He was only here to alter Xueyi’s story arc—and nothing more.

"But... I don’t think there’s much about me to like, is there?"

What Xueyi had always wanted was for her efforts to be seen. Her constant hostility toward Lilith was all for that reason.

After all, Lilith’s appearance had overshadowed all her hard work. So she’d thought of defeating Lilith to prove herself.

But Lorin was just a second prince. He couldn’t make her efforts visible to others, nor grant her any power. So he truly didn’t understand why Xueyi would suddenly say she liked him.

"There is!" Xueyi declared firmly. "You’re the only one who truly believed in me! The only one who approached me even after I treated you terribly! The only one who reached out when everyone else shunned me!"

"......"

Lorin admitted he’d done all those things. But he asked himself: had he really done them of his own accord?

It was more like a joke played by that unknown god.

Otherwise, even if this story arc had a character named Lorin, would he really have reached out to Xueyi?

Lorin said, "What if everything I did was with an ulterior motive? Would you still feel the same way?"

This time, it was Xueyi who fell silent, staring blankly at Lorin.

As expected, speaking the truth had calmed her down, at least a little.

"It doesn’t matter," Xueyi smiled faintly. "I believe in you. But even if you have ulterior motives—even if you’re using me—it’s fine."

"I just need you."

Xueyi’s hands circled around Lorin’s neck, her face drawing close again.

Watching the girl’s face approach, with a fragrant yet slightly impatient breath washing over him, Lorin hesitated for a moment.

Just as Xueyi’s lips were about to press against his again, Lorin grabbed her shoulders. "Xueyi, calm down."

But this time, Xueyi completely ignored him. She pushed his hands away and kissed his lips again.

Her breath pressed close. Her tongue, like a rabbit cautiously emerging from its burrow, explored timidly at first. Then, with a hint of familiarity, it quickly sought more—as if trying to memorize his taste forever.

Sensing Xueyi was losing control, Lorin tried to push her away with force.

Xueyi sensed his resistance too. She gripped harder, resisting his resistance in turn.

Lorin didn’t know where she got such strength. No matter how hard he pushed, she countered with equal force.

A sharp pain shot through his lips, and Lorin frowned.

Like this, Xueyi kept pinning Lorin down until both were breathless. Slowly, she pulled away from his lips. A thin thread of liquid connected their mouths, growing thinner and thinner until it snapped and vanished.

Immediately after, a drop of blood fell onto Lorin’s cheek.

Before him, Xueyi panted heavily. Her cheeks flushed like the evening sky, her eyes glazed over, and her lips stained red with blood.

"Now, you bear my mark."

Lorin reached up to touch his lips—a corner of his mouth had been bitten by Xueyi. Both their lips were now stained red with his blood.

Xueyi stared at Lorin. "Do you still think I don’t like you now?"

Lorin swallowed hard. Xueyi’s actions left no doubt she was dead serious.

"Xueyi... you..." Lorin propped himself up with his hands.

Watching him, Xueyi smiled bitterly. "I know I’m just someone who can’t compare to others. Even in my strong suit, I get surpassed by someone who suddenly appears. No matter how hard I try, I’ll never stand in the spotlight everyone’s watching. I can only be a jealous bystander, ending up hated by all."

As she spoke, a tear slid down from Xueyi’s eye, landing on Lorin.

Lorin wasn’t unfamiliar with this feeling. It was like someone with mediocre talent who pours all their effort into something, only to realize that what took them everything was effortless for others.

The harder you chase, the wider the gap becomes.

When effort goes unnoticed, it turns into pressure—a pressure you inflict on yourself.

That was Xueyi. After Lilith appeared, the harder Xueyi tried, the more she became Lilith’s foil. Her family, the academy students—all believed Xueyi could never beat Lilith. So she kept seeking chances to duel Lilith, again and again.

And it was simply because Lilith was the protagonist, while Xueyi was not.

"But..." Xueyi lowered her head, her voice trembling with sobs. "But you... I only want you."

A flower in the crack, starved of sunlight, cannot grow. But if one day sunlight shines in, it seizes that hard-won chance, growing desperately as if trying to embrace the light.

"I really like you," Xueyi said again, lifting her head.

Seeing no response from Lorin, Xueyi slowly got off him. She stood up and looked at him. With a tone like a declaration of war, she said, "I won’t give up. Today is just the beginning. You’ll see."

After speaking, Xueyi licked the blood from the corner of her mouth and walked out without looking back.