"You speak as if you’ve uncovered so great tragedy as if you hold power over with this knowledge.
But tell , Luo ng—what do you hope to achieve? Pity? Justification for your failures? A final grasp at significance before you fade into irrelevance?"
Luo ng’s jaw tightened, his hands trembling at his sides. "You—"
"You should have left when you had the chance," she continued, her voice sharper now, a cold finality settling in.
"But instead, you chose to stand here, spewing words like a desperate man grasping at the last remnants of control. You want to hurt? To question myself? I don’t. And I won’t."
Luo ng’s breath hitched.
For the first ti, he saw it clearly—he had lost. Not just Gu Jin, but any power he thought he had over her.
She wasn’t shaken. She wasn’t vulnerable.
She was untouchable, standing in front of him with an unwavering presence that made his very existence feel small.
Long Yifan took a step forward. "Leave. And this ti, don’t co back."
Luo ng’s gaze flickered between the two of them, searching for sothing—anything—that would give him a sense of control again.
But there was nothing left. Just the weight of his own bitterness pressing down on him like an unbearable burden.
With a sharp exhale, he turned on his heel and walked away.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the silence, growing fainter with each step until, finally, he was gone.
Gu Jin exhaled softly as if releasing the last thread of sothing long overdue.
Long Yifan turned to her, concern flickering in his eyes.
"Jin... is it true?"
She looked at him then, her gaze unreadable. "Does it matter?"
He studied her for a mont before shaking his head. "No. It doesn’t change anything."
She nodded as if she had expected that response. "Then let’s not waste ti dwelling on it. Leave."
Long Yifan’s heart was filled with anxiety and he moved to hug her, but Gu Jin had a stop feature with his hand and she said calmly,
"No need. Leave."
"I know so of the best psychiatrists Jin, they will cure you. Are you free this evening?" Long Yifan asked.
He felt a lump in his throat.
He couldn’t bear it.
He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the woman he loves, break completely.
He cursed himself for not knowing the truth earlier.
If only...if only he had known earlier...
Gu Jin chuckled,
"No need. It will get better. I have my family now. I will heal on my own."
Long Yifan shook his head, "It’s not that simple-"
"Did you not understand?" Gu Jin calmly turned him,
"I said no need, Long Yifan."
Her words hung in the air, final and absolute, a boundary drawn in stone.
Long Yifan clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
He wanted to fight this—to fight for her, for the chance to help her, to lift whatever invisible weight she bore alone.
But looking at her now, he realized that she was not soone who accepted salvation from others.
She stood there, unyielding, untouched by the storm that had just passed.
There was no fragility in her, no hint of a broken woman needing to be fixed.
Whatever burden she carried, she had long since made peace with it in a way that no one else could understand.
"Jin—" He tried again, softer this ti, almost pleading. "You don’t have to do this alone."
A small, knowing smile touched her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
"I’m not alone. And even if I were, I would still be fine."
Her certainty shook him. She wasn’t rejecting him out of stubbornness, nor was she pushing him away to be cruel.
She simply didn’t need him the way he wanted her to.
That realization stung more than he cared to admit.
A heavy silence settled between them, filled only by the distant rustling of the wind through the open windows.
Finally, Long Yifan exhaled.
"Alright," he murmured, though every fiber of his being resisted. "If that’s what you want."
Gu Jin inclined her head slightly, acknowledging his acceptance.
Long Yifan hesitated for a mont longer, searching her expression for any trace of hesitation, but found none. Without another word, he turned and left.
The door clicked shut behind him, sealing the space between them with finality.
Gu Jin remained still, listening to the fading sound of his footsteps.
She exhaled softly, pressing her fingers against her temple.
She had won. The past had been severed, and the burdens she carried laid bare.
And yet, for reasons she couldn’t quite place, she felt an emptiness settle in her chest—a hollowness she refused to na.
But that, too, would pass.
Everything did, eventually.
Just like sadness.
Just like pity.
Just like love.
Just like loneliness.
She was reminded of the psychiatrist’s words, "You aren’t broken. You just have to work on opening up. Don’t stop yourself from feeling emotions."
She tried.
In fact, for a long ti, she had felt three to four emotions, love, pain, sadness, and pity.
She loved Long Yifan, but eventually, she let go.
She pitied Yan Yue, hence adopting her, but now...she doesn’t feel pity for anyone.
She was sad when Long Yifan sided with Gu Aihan, but now, even that feeling has faded away.
She does feel pain though. It’s unbearable, but it makes her feel alive.
She does feel warmth. Staying with the Gu Family, she was suddenly reminded of the blissful ti of her previous life.
And she believes they are her key to recovery.
However, even if she can’t recover, Gu Jin felt it was alright. It was her way of living.
At least she won’t feel an ounce of disappointnt when soone betrays her.
For so reason, flashes of her ti with Luo ng appeared in her mind.
Life was truly strange.
It felt like just yesterday, she had t Luo ng. The little boy, who was like a bright sun, captivating hundreds of girls.
She had t him when he was still untainted by ambition before his need for validation consud him.
He had been kind then—naïve, perhaps, but genuine.
The world had not yet hardened him, and in those early days, she had seen sothing almost admirable in his persistence.
But ti has a way of changing people. And Luo ng had not been spared.
Gu Jin exhaled slowly, letting the mories drift like fallen leaves in the wind. She did not resent them, nor did she cling to them.
They simply existed—remnants of a past that no longer had any hold over her.
The world did not stop for broken relationships, nor did it mourn the people left behind.
Perhaps that was the greatest lesson of all.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Jin exited her room and went to military training. After finishing her military training, she went to the staff’s office to find the professor of the summoning departnt.
Alas to her dismay, the professor of the summoning departnt was on leave.
She could only return to exit the staff office.
"Do you want to know about the summoning elent?" Long Yifan asked.
Gu Jin was a bit surprised to see him, before nodding.
"Do you know about the elent?"
"I do. In fact, I know about the summoning portal too. If you want, I can guide you. I can swear that I am more knowledgeable than the professor." Long Yifan smiled softly.
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, before asking, " Do you have any proof to back your words?"
"how about continuing this conversation in the back mountains of Beijing University?" Long Yifan proposed.
Gu Jin thought for a while before nodding. She had more than enough cards to escape any situation now.
Soon, both of them arrived at the back mountains.
Long Yifan smiled and waved her hand. A white majestic dragon appeared behind him.
The sheer presence of the dragon was overwhelming. Its scales shimred under the faint moonlight, each one a testant to the power it possessed.
The runes etched into their form pulsed with ancient energy, their glow illuminating the surrounding trees in an ethereal light.
Long Yifan stepped forward, his fingers brushing against the dragon’s massive form with an air of familiarity.
The creature lowered its head slightly, a deep, reverberating growl echoing through the forest, not in threat but in recognition.
"This," Long Yifan said, glancing at Gu Jin, "is Neo. My contracted beast."
Gu Jin studied the dragon carefully, her mind already piecing together the implications.
A summoned beast of this caliber was no simple feat.
Contracting a spirit beast was already rare, but for Long Yifan to have bonded with sothing as powerful as Neo spoke volus about his abilities.
"So," she said, crossing her arms, "this is your proof."
Long Yifan chuckled. "More than sufficient, I assu?"
Gu Jin gave a small nod. "It does explain your confidence."
Long Yifan took a step closer, his expression turning serious.
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