The car door opened and closed.
Yu Li sat in the passenger seat and was about to fasten her seatbelt when she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.
A man's deep voice reached her ears.
"Lili, why is your shoulder wet here?"
Yu Li reached up to touch it and indeed felt damp fabric.
Yu Jiao had hugged her and cried for ten minutes earlier—tears must have soaked through.
"It's nothing." She pulled out a tissue to wipe it. "Were you busy today?"
From morning till afternoon, she hadn't seen much of Bo Jingmo, and she had come to the restaurant alone in the evening.
The man paused slightly as he started the car, then nodded. "A bit. I might be busy for the next few days. There's some business at the company."
"Alright." Bo Jingmo kissed her wrist. "How was your talk with Yu Jiao today?"
"It was fine. She told me some things about the past and mentioned Bai Shaodong. That was about it."
As if remembering something, Yu Li added, "Oh, right. She also said she plans to resign from Deva."
Bo Jingmo glanced sideways. "Resign?"
"Yeah. According to her, her main reason for coming here was to find Limu."
Now that she had found her, there was no reason to stay.
Yu Li curled up in her seat, recalling the look Yu Jiao had given her earlier, and said softly, "Bo Jingmo, the system told me this morning that Deva exists because of me. They monitored you... because of me too."
She slowly turned her head to look out the window, her calm tone laced with an inexplicable emotion.
"If I had stayed back then, you wouldn't have suffered all this, and Yu Jiao wouldn't have waited so long."
"But honestly... even if I had known my leaving would cause all this pain, would hurt people... I still would have gone. I wouldn't have cared about any of you. Doesn't that make me seem cold?"
The man's grip on the steering wheel tightened instantly, his expression darkening.
Yu Li, however, just stared out the window in silence.
An odd quiet settled between them.
The car moved steadily along the road, passing through bustling streets illuminated by colorful neon lights.
The glow filtered through the glass, casting light on Yu Li's profile. She calmly withdrew her gaze, her delicate features composed.
Bo Jingmo drove into a villa and was the first to step out.
Just as Yu Li unfastened her seatbelt, her door opened.
She turned instinctively—only for her face to be gently cupped in his hands.
The man gazed down at her, his deep eyes swirling with complex emotions. His voice was hoarse, rough like gravel.
"Wife, that was their decision. My identity was always a problem. Even without the system, Heaven's Law wouldn't have spared me. You're the one who saved me."
Hearing this, Yu Li curved her eyes and touched the corner of his.
"Bo Jingmo, I was just thinking about what Yu Jiao said. She keeps insisting I haven't changed, but the truth is... I've changed so much."
Meeting Yu Jiao while wearing Limu's face—she hadn't expected herself to do that. It hadn't been part of her plans.
She lightly wrapped her arms around Bo Jingmo's neck.
"I've become so soft-hearted, and it's all your fault."
The man lowered his head, slid an arm around her waist, and lifted her out of the passenger seat, pressing a tender kiss to her eyelids.
In the private garage, bathed in the swaying twilight glow, Yu Li was pressed against the car door, tilting her head up to receive his kiss. A large hand cradled the back of her head protectively.
His movements were domineering, like a conqueror claiming territory, greedily taking everything from her lips.
After who knew how long, Yu Li let out a muffled sound and patted his shoulder.
Seizing the chance to catch her breath, she saw his burning gaze fixed on her. Pausing, she licked her slightly swollen lips and curved them into a faint smirk.
Then, she leaned in again, languidly swiping her tongue over the wetness on his mouth—obedient yet provocative, like a bewitching seductress.
Bo Jingmo ruffled her hair, his Adam's apple bobbing as irritation and desire coiled in his chest. He planted several firm kisses on her face before finally carrying her firmly in his arms toward the elevator.
Yu Li looped her arms around his neck, half-lidded and lazy, calling out to him intermittently.
"I'm here." Bo Jingmo pressed the elevator button and kissed her hair. "Drink some water later. Your voice is hoarse from all that kissing."
Yu Li stared at their reflection in the elevator doors and suddenly spoke quietly.
"Earlier in the car... there was something else I didn't say."
The man stiffened slightly, instinctively tightening his hold. "What?"
She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes gradually curving.
"If the system had told me earlier that it would give you to me... maybe I would have stayed."
Lowering her head, she pressed light kisses to his lips, murmuring softly.
"Bo Jingmo, you're mine, right?"
Bo Jingmo froze for a second before his expression melted into tender certainty.
That night, Yu Li had a dream.
She dreamed of her past.
And the memories she had abandoned.
Just world's setting, Yu Li had been an abandoned orphan, living and growing up in an orphanage.
Because she had always been pretty, with fox-like eyes that charmed people when she smiled, she seemed like the type everyone would dote on.
And that had been true—at first.
Yu Li was popular in the orphanage, and prospective adoptive parents often chose her at first glance.
But that quickly changed when people noticed her "oddities."
She often talked to empty air, and dark mist occasionally coiled around her.
When asked who she was speaking to, her answers varied—sometimes a sister, sometimes a brother she didn't know, sometimes other children.
And when questioned about the dark mist, she called it her "friend."
—Yu Li seemed mentally unstable.
The orphanage staff agreed, and Yu Li was returned by multiple adoptive families—sometimes as often as over ten times a year.
At first, people didn't treat her differently because of this.
Until a man arrived—well-dressed, handsome, claiming to love children and wanting to adopt.
In truth, he was a complete monster.
He took one look at pretty Yu Li, rushed through the process, and took her home.
One night, he tried to assault her.
Yu Li simply stared at him with her beautiful fox-like eyes, silent.
Just as his hand was about to touch her, the little girl suddenly giggled.
"Someone told me to kill you."
A child's voice, yet chilling as a demon's.
The man froze, about to erupt—when a streak of black mist flashed before his eyes.
The next second, his head was severed clean off.
Blood sprayed everywhere as his corpse collapsed.
His head rolled to Yu Li's feet, but she merely glanced down before calmly walking to the bathroom to wash the blood off her face—even changing her clothes.
When she was done, she picked up the man's phone from the table and dialed a number with practiced ease.
"Hello, officer? Someone died here for no reason."