A ragged breath jolted Su Yu awake. He blinked his groggy eyes, dazed as he stared at the familiar ceiling. It wasn’t a dream—everything was real.

He remained trapped in the abyss. A torrent of desire relentlessly washed over reason. His parched throat couldn’t utter even a trace of a cry for help. He could only endure silently in the shadows, waiting for collapse.

The moon dimmed. Shadows fell across the snow-white wall. Weary to the bone, he slumped down.

“Unfulfilled desire brings only pain. Even satisfaction leaves nothing but emptiness.”

Su Yu tilted his head back. Memories slowly resurfaced—ripping open the affection buried deep within him. Cracks spiderwebbed across her once gentle, serene face: the very face he’d cherished, now shredded and bloodied. This woman… was Xia Qian Ge, the girlfriend he’d spent years with.

When purity lies in ruins and the girl you once adored reveals a hidden self… how much love can remain?

Physical pain was nothing compared to soul-deep agony—a belief collapsing without warning. Why… why had she changed? He remembered every detail that once filled him with love. Now, no matter how hard he searched, everything was unrecognizable.

She was Xia Qian Ge, yet not the Xia Qian Ge Su Yu loved. Before him stood only a stranger wearing the same skin.

The woman seemed deaf to Su Yu’s cold sarcasm. Lost in madness, obsessively possessive, her nerves limp, fingertips trembling—as if still floating on cloud nine, utterly unaware of his words beneath her.

“Then I’d rather stay this way—never satisfied.” She leaned down, biting Su Yu’s earlobe with deliberate pressure. “Didn’t you love me? You’re the only cure for my illness. Could you bear to watch me waste away?”

“Who are you… really? Give her back to me…”

Su Yu glared at her, dizziness swirling in his head. The drug she’d given him was messing with his system. He couldn’t muster strength; his thoughts turned muddled and chaotic.

He could only watch helplessly—trapped in a tormenting nightmare he couldn’t wake from. He watched her claim him, her suppressed longing surging like a dam breaking.

A breeding ground for desire. Love had twisted into mutual torment. Every time he saw the flushed red on her face—a reason slaughtered by craving—he felt only revulsion.

The face he once found breathtakingly beautiful now stirred not a hint of affection.

“Heh… Xia Qian Ge died long ago—the moment you said ‘break up.’ *You* killed her.”

The woman lowered her long, delicate lashes. Shadows veiled the light in her eyes. “After the breakup, I bought this house. We lived here two years. *Our* home. So why could you leave without a second thought?”

“I…” Su Yu’s words died on his lips. For a flicker, he saw the old Xia Qian Ge in her—but his voice stayed laced with malice. “I don’t love you anymore. That’s all.”

“But you said you were getting married… a lie, right?”

“None of your business.”

“*None of my business?*” Her gaze sharpened like icy blades slicing the air. “Isn’t this state *your* doing? If you’d never entered my world, how could I be like this?”

“I hate you…” Her teeth clenched, emitting a grating sound that tightened the chest. “But I love you too. I won’t blame you… just obey me.”

Her pale palm cupped Su Yu’s cheek, gazing at him with tender devotion. Yet the eyes he remembered as clear and pure were now dim—like a still pond stained by drops of ink, swirling into a swamp of desire.

“Give up. Truth can’t stay hidden. Someone will find I’m gone. Police will break the door. Your deeds exposed—you’ll be scorned, despised… locked in an asylum.”

“When? Today… or tomorrow?” She scoffed, licking his earlobe. Desire reignited. “We won’t wait that long. It ends before they come. I said it—we’ll be together forever.”

“Delusional. You’re truly insane…”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t love me. I love you. Love never needed to be mutual.” She guided his limp arms around her slender waist, making it seem he embraced her willingly. “I’ve wanted this… feared scaring you. Now? No more caution. Maybe it’s for the best.”

“When did it start? Why us? We shouldn’t have ended like this.”

Su Yu let out a hoarse growl. He still clung to a sliver of hope. His cold, scornful words—dripping with contempt—stirred not a ripple.

He’d proposed the breakup *because* he loved Xia Qian Ge. Never meant to trap her. Now *he* was imprisoned. Everything changed since that snowy farewell.

“From the moment I loved you… I was already beyond saving.”

She smiled—a beautiful, sorrowful curve. Her crimson lips trembled. Heart unrested, she rose, yanked the curtains open.

Star-speckled night. Moonlight poured like liquid pearl. The deep void pulled the gaze inward, irresistibly.

Su Yu hadn’t seen the sky in ages. His thirst for fresh air was a wing-clipped falcon yearning for sky, a beached fish craving ocean. But Xia Qian Ge had caged him—and herself. Neither would ever be free.

Her hand suddenly linked with his. Fingers interlaced, palms pressed. Only then did he feel how icy her palms were. All her desperate possession… perhaps just to share warmth, to stop her own cold.

“Xiao Yu… Happy New Year.”

As her words faded, starlight dimmed—replaced by brilliant bursts: fireworks exploding across the night.

Colors unfurled like blossoms, blooming fiercely, chain after chain—a vision of eternal bloom.

Su Yu turned. He watched her gaze fixed on the sky, light flickering in her eyes.

Fireworks faded. Ash drifted on the breeze. Her eyes dimmed too, dark as the void.

“Our turn now, Xiao Yu.”

She turned sharply. Her gaze—dark, fallen—locked onto him.

Su Yu stayed silent. He instinctively stepped back—but his ankles were chained. No escape. He stared at the gleaming knife, voice trembling. “What… what are you going to do?”

“I said it. We’ll be together forever.”

She pressed close, smiling radiantly—a smile that outshone the fireworks. She was breathtakingly beautiful. So many had adored her. Pity… the one she loved stood before her, loving her no longer.

“What a wonderful scent… We’ll be happy.” She inhaled deeply, expression ecstatic, riding a wave of euphoria.

Su Yu sniffed too. Gas. His pupils snapped tight. He stared at her.

He’d been wrong. That fleeting tenderness nearly fooled him. But before him stood only the madwoman—terminally ill.

“You want us to die together… so others think I loved you?” Su Yu gritted against the blade’s chill. “You’re truly beyond saving.”

“Yes. But not enough. I’ll release your life first, Xiao Yu… then follow you. So everyone sees how fiercely I love you. They’ll envy us… bless us.”

She whispered like a murmur. The dagger shot forward—straight to his heart. No hesitation.

The blade parted flesh. Numb from the gas, pain was dull. Strength ebbed with thick blood welling in his mouth. Body chilled. Thoughts stalled. Vision blurred. Her face faded.

He slumped back. Cold crept inch by inch. Death was here.

She slowly withdrew the knife, pressed her body to his chest. Now *she* gave warmth. Bodies fused. Hearts merged. This was the love she craved.

“Xiao Yu…”

Her mind blurred. Gas flooded her system. Hallucinogens surged. She drifted into fantasy—the beautiful ending they *should* have had. Just the thought curved her lips.

“I love you.”