On the first day back to class, Lu Li noticed something off about Chu Jingyi.

Sure, the silly goose was usually weird enough. But today, she was especially strange. Ever since Lu Li walked into the classroom, she’d been sneaking glances at him, like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. Yet every time he turned toward her, the girl would snap her head away and pretend to admire the scenery.

Did I get more handsome?

Lu Li touched his cheek, not without a little narcissism. He hadn’t expected to hit a second growth spurt at sixteen. Pretty impressive, honestly.

Just then, a wave of chatter rose in the classroom. Lu Li lifted his head and looked over, and his expression froze.

If Chu Jingyi being weird was one thing, then what was An Baili doing today?

Today, An Baili had taken off those black-rimmed glasses. Her two braids were undone, and her ink-dark hair fell smoothly down her back. Her brows and eyes looked like they’d been painted by hand, and her smile was bright and lovely. She looked exactly like a beautiful girl who had stepped out of a painting.

Fairly speaking, on looks alone, An Baili was absolutely number one in Lu Li’s heart.

Like Xizi by West Lake, she looked perfect in either light or heavy makeup.

Lifting the hem of her little skirt, An Baili spun once in front of Lu Li’s desk.

“Li, do I look pretty today?”

Very pretty.

The boys in class were practically drooling. Seeing her take the initiative to get close to Lu Li, they beat their chests in regret, hating themselves for being blind enough to miss a top-tier beauty.

Lu Li said nothing and pretended not to notice.

Praising a woman’s appearance was actually a very ambiguous thing. Especially when the praise came from a man. In a man’s eyes, beauty was often tied directly to sexual attraction. Across both his lifetimes, Lu Li had only sincerely praised two women. One was An Baili. The other was Sister Yameng.

If An Baili was Xizi, beautiful in every style, then Sister Yameng was Mulan, valiant and dashing.

As for Chu Jingyi... with how airheaded she was, she was probably just a big-headed foot soldier charging forward with her head down.

A trace of warmth brushed across his cheek. Startled, Lu Li took half a step back.

An Baili had actually kissed him while he was lost in thought.

Lu Li looked at An Baili in shock and suspicion, trying to figure out what screw had come loose in her head today. But An Baili merely rose on her toes, then skipped happily back to her seat. Beside her, the silly goose had her mouth hanging so wide open it could fit a melon.

Chu Jingyi had ten thousand questions in her heart, but she stubbornly held them back.

Because the silly goose could tell that An Baili was smiling with narrowed eyes, clearly waiting for her to ask.

“They’re all liars... always tricking me,” Chu Jingyi muttered gloomily.

She had trusted Lu Li and Baili so much. So why did every one of them like keeping things from her?

Her gaze landed on Lu Li’s right cheek. There was a faint, damp kiss mark there. Her heart felt awful. She pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.

“You should wipe it off.”

Lu Li took the tissue and blanked for a moment. Then he understood what she meant.

“Jingyi, do you have something you want to tell me?” Lu Li took the initiative to start the conversation.

“...Yeah.” Chu Jingyi hesitated. “You didn’t join any clubs last year, right? Do you want to join our high school volunteer club?”

A student volunteer club?

Maybe clubs like that had started with good intentions. But under a rotten system, they had long since lost their original meaning. Expecting self-restraint to raise people’s moral standards was the most unrealistic thing there was. If you wanted people to do good, the most direct and effective driver was material reward.

A student volunteer club at Chuanhai No.1 High School was nothing more than a game for rich young masters and young ladies.

Of course, Chu Jingyi wasn’t included in that group.

“I’m planning to start a club myself.”

“Start your own club? But you’ll be in senior year next year. You’ll have to quit then.”

“I know.” Lu Li answered honestly. “I’m planning to make a game development club. I’ll put down our computer teacher as the faculty advisor. I’ll just hold his hand and make him sign it.”

“You really won’t consider joining the high school volunteer club? I’m the president, you know~” Chu Jingyi still tried to tempt him.

“I was actually planning to poach you over as a founding member of my game development club. So? Class monitor, what do you think?”

Chu Jingyi was genuinely tempted.

Starting a club from scratch with Lu Li?

That sounded... just a tiny bit, a little bit, a teeny tiny bit interesting.

The silly goose opened and closed her mouth, but not a single word came out.

“I’m joining too!” An Baili suddenly cut in.

“I didn’t invite you.”

“I’m requesting to join! If you don’t agree, I’ll cry! Morning study is about to start, and everyone’s already here. If I cry now, everyone will definitely notice us, right?” An Baili puffed out her little chest.

Once you gave in to a threat the first time, there would be a second and a third. The best way to deal with threats was to accept short-term pain and destroy the threat itself.

“If you cry too quietly, I’ll look down on you.” Lu Li let out a snort.

He was the type who softened to kindness, not force. If An Baili had asked nicely, he probably would’ve turned a blind eye and agreed. But before the emperor had even spoken, the little eunuch was already panicking.

The silly goose hurriedly grabbed An Baili’s hand.

“Eh, Baili, don’t, don’t! Lu Li, just let Baili join. It’s not a big deal, right? If you agree to let her in, then I’ll agree too.”

So An Baili hadn’t been threatening him. She’d been threatening Chu Jingyi.

Lu Li gave An Baili another look. Today’s An Baili was much smarter than usual. From the moment she entered the classroom, she had been trying to seize the initiative. Lu Li had actually been the slow one to catch on.

He shot An Baili an unfriendly glance.

“Since Jingyi put it that way, fine.”

After morning reading ended, Lu Li walked straight over to An Baili, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her outside.

“I need to talk to you.”

An Baili let him drag her all the way to the rooftop. Pressed against the wall by Lu Li, she gave a charming smile.

“What’s wrong? I looked too pretty today, so now you want to make a move on me? Just be careful not to do it inside. If it leaks out during class later, it’ll be hard to clean up.”

“I think I made myself clear last time.” Lu Li’s expression didn’t change.

“Li, I know your personality, your hobbies, your weaknesses, even everything about you. I know exactly what kind of person you are. But have you ever tried to understand me?”

An Baili asked a question that should have sounded absurd, yet it made Lu Li fall into thought.

What kind of person was An Baili?

Before his rebirth, he could’ve answered that easily. But now, he couldn’t see through her anymore.

“I exist only for you.”

It should have sounded like a vow that would last until the seas dried and the rocks crumbled. But coming from An Baili’s mouth, it only made Lu Li’s skin crawl.

“No matter what, I won’t give up on you. Unless you kill me. Push me off this rooftop right here, and An Baili dies. Then no one will bother you anymore.”

Even as she said those words, her voice was trembling. Clearly, she wasn’t really some witch who had calculated everything to the end.

Couples who loved each other to death usually didn’t make it to the end. Love driven by passion died on the beach when the tide went out. Lu Li had always thought his love with An Baili was that kind.

But now it seemed An Baili didn’t see it that way at all. From the very beginning, their views had been completely opposite.

“An Baili. I hate you right now. Do you know why?”

An Baili’s pupils trembled slightly as she waited for him to continue.

“People live in this world with their own identity and their own place. There are things they should do, and things they absolutely shouldn’t. So let me ask you this. What is the one thing a person should never do? Here’s a hint. What are the gravest crimes in our criminal code?”

An Baili slumped against the wall like all the air had gone out of her.

“So... that’s what it was...”

Seeing that she had only just understood, Lu Li couldn’t help but sneer.

‘So that’s what it was’? An Baili, just how twisted are your values? If I didn’t spell out something this obvious, would you never understand it for the rest of your life?”

In their relationship, the one truly at fault was Lu Li. He had been the first to betray An Baili, so on the day he asked for a divorce, he had been guilty and suffocated the whole time.

But outside of love, what An Baili had done was something Lu Li could never accept.

Being with An Baili was no different from holding a ticking time bomb. One day, he might end up with not even bones left.

A yandere was something that should never exist in real life.

“Li, I can give you a reason to forgive me.”

“There is no reason that can excuse what you did.”

An Baili pleaded as she clung to one of his arms.

“Just this once. If you see that thing, you’ll understand.”

“Are you done yet?!” Lu Li had finally run out of patience. Today it was just this once. Tomorrow it would still be just this once. There would always be a next time. It would never end.

He shook off An Baili’s hand and left the rooftop.

When he pushed open the stairwell door, Lu Li paused. He remembered closing it before coming up. So why was it left slightly ajar now?

He didn’t think too much about it and quickly headed downstairs. Halfway down, he let out a long sigh, then quietly circled back. He was worried An Baili might do something stupid and try to kill herself. She was exactly the kind of woman who could throw her life away like that.

An Baili was still leaning against the wall, unmoving. The only sound was her faint sobbing.

Lu Li didn’t know how many times he had hurt An Baili since his rebirth.

No matter how cold and heartless he acted on the surface, his heart was still made of flesh. They had been husband and wife for a whole lifetime. How could there really be no feelings at all? If you raised a dog for that many years, you’d still be reluctant to part with it. Let alone a woman who had obeyed your every word.

Lu Li crouched in the stairwell, with only a single wall between them. They sat back to back. He quietly listened to An Baili’s crying.

A husband who made a woman cry was absolutely a bastard. Lu Li felt that he was exactly that kind of bastard. No matter how righteous his excuse sounded, he had still been the one to abandon An Baili first.

Where had it all gone wrong?

In the darkness, Lu Li fell silent like a statue, his thoughts drifting into memories both familiar and distant...