Under the soft glow of the dim lights, Qi Yuze stood in contemplation, his gaze directed upward toward the expanse of the night sky. Liu Xinyu didn't know if it was just the soft glow of the lights on the balcony or the silence of the night, but she felt that Qi Yuze seemed to possess a striking and captivating appearance.
The subtle illuminations accentuated his classically handsome and refined facial features, casting gentle shadows that added to his allure. His stature exuded a quiet strength, his shoulders squared and his posture poised. With eyes that held a bit of introspection, he seemed to be lost in thought.
Despite the somber surroundings, there was an undeniable magnetism to his presence, a magnetic pull that Liu Xinyu couldn't resist, making her walk towards him.
As she came closer, she looked at the pack of cigarettes and a lighter in his hand. Her brows arched up a little as she couldn't help speaking, "For someone who gave me a lecture on how I don't value my life, you sure don't value your own life very much."
Qi Yuze seemed to be so lost in pondering the mysteries of the universe that he did not even notice when she came to stand by his side. He raised his brows at her in question.
Liu Xinyu leaned on the railing as she pointed at the cigarette he held, "Smoking kills. Don't you know that? The warning should be there on the packaging."
Qi Yuze held up the cigarette pack and looked at it before passing it to her silently. Liu Xinyu took it from him and noticed there was no warning label. Was it too early for that? Since she was no expert on exactly when the cigarette packaging had warning labels, she cleared her through and went on, "Anyway, the truth is still that smoking kills. You can't possibly know that now. Tobacco use is responsible for more than 8 million deaths annually worldwide! Numbers can never be wrong."
"And where does this statistics come from?" asked Qi Yuze with a particular interest.
'From the future, duh!' was the answer she wanted to give him but that wouldn't sound too good and might even make her less credible, so she had to choose her words wisely. "Does it matter where it comes from? And why are we even discussing the statistics?"
"You started it," he reminded her oh-so-kindly.
Liu Xinyu coughed awkwardly, "Let's start from the beginning. You have double standards."
"I do?"
"You do!" she insisted. "I accidentally fell into the water and had cramps so I couldn't swim to save my life. What about you? You are purposely and knowingly choosing to walk on the path that had a bleak future and more often than not, has no future at all."
Qi Yuze usually didn't have a habit of talking to strangers for this long and neither did he like arguing. He did not see any value in fruitless arguments. So, he would never waste his time on them either. He never even liked explaining himself to others. But right now, contrary to his usual behavior, he chose to tell her, "You know I was watching you since the time you came to the garden." Liu Xinyu paused when she heard him speak. "So, I know that you did get startled by something and slipped into the water. However, when you first fell in, you did not struggle at all. If that's not a clear sign of your real intention, what really is?"
Liu Xinyu pursed her lips before replying, "It might not seem like it and you might not even believe it either but the truth is, I have no intention of giving up on my life. I'm not a quitter. I value my life very much."
Qi Yuze looked into her dark eyes which seemed to be glowing at the moment with conviction and sincerity. He did not question her words again. But whether he believed her or not, only he knew.
Thinking of something, Liu Xinyu hesitated but still chose to inquire, "By the way, who was that woman with you earlier?" Qi Yuze glanced at her inquisitively as she went on. "Oh, you know the one who looks like a real-life ice goddess that descended the world and made us mere mortals fear even looking at her?"
"That's an interesting description," commented Qi Yuze but when he contemplated he also agreed with Liu Xinyu's description. Nan Xing indeed gave the impression of an ice goddess at first sight but she was the warmest person in his life, so he seemed to always forget that her exterior was still ice-cold to the rest of the world.
Seeing the warm and friendly smile that lit up his face at the mention of the woman from earlier, Liu Xinyu's eyes grew colder. Even his captivating eyes seemed to carry a range of emotions that Liu Xinyu was unable to comprehend which made her feel apprehensive. That was her mother! Her own biological mother! This man's expression at just the mention of her mother was too suspicious.
Alarm bells were ringing in Liu Xinyu's mind and she would never ignore these warnings from her instincts. This man had feelings for her mother. No! That's not allowed!
Reigning in on her temper, Liu Xinyu tried to probe further, "So, who is she to you? Sister? Relative? Friend? She seemed very concerned about your health. Don't tell me she is your girlfriend?"
Noticing Liu Xinyu's keen interest in Nan Xing, Qi Yuze grew wary of her. He never liked sharing things about his Xing Jie with others. Especially with a complete stranger like Liu Xinyu whose purpose was unclear at the moment.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest as she stared down at her, "Why are you so curious about her? What do you wanna know? Why so much interest in her?"
I knew you wouldn't answer. But it was worth a try. Now, you forced me to do this.
Thinking that to herself, Liu Xinyu's smiled at him beautifully, displaying her charms perfectly using the soft glow of the dim lights to her advantage. She batted her eyes a little at him shyly as she took a step towards him and said, "Who said I'm curious about her? What I am interested in obviously you!"
Qi Yuze's brain froze and stopped working for a moment there as he didn't know how to react to this. He did not expect this answer from her and that too at this moment. And the way she changed from such a confident girl who was calling him a hypocrite straight at his face, she actually became a shy girl who couldn't look into his eyes now. What kind of sorcery was this?