Chapter 31 Half Sea, Half Fire

The most beautiful helplessness in love is meeting the right person at the wrong time.

A feeling of absolute strangeness washed over her, leaving her panicked. Yet, her body betrayed her heart before her mind could even process it. Xue Zhuining could not discern this sensation that was pulling her under; her rational desire to resist clashed with an unbearable physical longing—a purgatory that felt like the brilliant blooming of a flower, half ocean, half flame.

The light in the man's ink-black eyes expanded, finally transforming into a sky full of brilliant stars that illuminated her world.

His hand slowly relaxed, like a drowning man who had finally lost his last ounce of strength. The ripples beneath them had turned into a massive whirlpool, threatening to pull him under. This realization made him panic; his large hand clamped onto the back of her head, and he kissed her urgently. In the brief pause between breaths, his muffled voice emerged: "Can you forget the past? Forget the bastard I used to be... Cat, forget them, wouldn't that be better?"

Forget. This was the answer he gave her, the choice he offered. He could have her, yet he could not give her what she truly wanted—a pure love. It had become a rainbow forever out of reach for both of them, and when the sunlight eventually faded, all such fleeting beauty would come to an end.

"Cat, do you know how much I once wanted to pull out the thorns of your disguise? But if I did, it would hurt you; if I leave them, it hurts me." Lu Huaining gently kissed away her bewilderment, pressing his forehead against hers, repeating it over and over, "It's alright, everything is worth it, it’s all worth it..."

The tenderness shed by his usual indifference made her heart tremble like a leaf caught in the wind. Under his lead, she felt like a lone boat in the ocean, rising and falling with him, unable to find a shore where she could rest.

The night was like an enchanting vine, bearing the weight of too many tears that slid down in silence, splashing into dust-free droplets and rippling outward in waves of mistaken love.

The night was as still as water.

Xue Zhuining finally closed her eyes amidst the man's fiery obsession. Lu Huaining’s slender fingers gently stroked her pale, cool cheek, wiping away the faint, alluring arcs of her teardrops. He tidied her messy hair and slowly lowered his head to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry for hurting you so deeply in the past... and for not protecting our child."

In her sleep, she seemed to frown at the intimacy, her face showing signs of restlessness. Her lips moved slightly, and her brows furrowed tighter.

The man watched her with smiling eyes. He took her small hands in his, enveloping them completely, his gaze drifting from her furrowed brow down to the faint, old scars on her arms from her days of filming.

Perhaps sensing the warmth in his palms, Xue Zhuining’s frown gradually smoothed. Her lips parted, and her pale face grew calm.

Lu Huaining kept his eyes fixed on the bruises on her wrists. He curled his thin lips and spoke softly: "Perhaps even you don't realize how heartbreaking your stubbornness is. You must think everything I did was a calculated effort to take revenge on you. But do you know? The first time I saw you, it was your voice that captivated me. Back then, you were so happily sending birthday blessings to your boyfriend with the notes under your fingertips. I originally thought you would just be a stranger passing through my life, but fate kept arranging our meetings. When I finally found out who you were, it wasn't so much that I wanted revenge, but rather, I just wanted to give myself a chance to get close to you."

As he finished, Lu Huaining slowly lifted his gaze to her peaceful face. "Su Yi once told me more than once that you were a woman so calm you were almost cold. But I know that because you love *The Phantom of the Opera*, you fell in love with a cake named after the female lead. It's not that you can't love; you just need a reason..." He held her and sighed gently, his fingers interlaced with hers as they rested on her flat stomach. A faint smile touched his lips, adding a touch of tenderness to his indifferent features. "So, when I knew you were pregnant with our baby, I thought, perhaps with him connecting us... would you feel more at ease? Would you, because of your love for this child, slowly forget your hatred for the baby's father? Maybe even love me a little bit..."

But this child, who had no chance at life, had left, destined to be a broken beauty.

"I know this child left you heartbroken. I know you're in pain, but I can't let go of your hand. I can't convince myself to let you leave my world with hatred and regret after you’ve pushed me out of your heart. I'm sorry for ruining your peaceful life, sorry for deceiving you..." Lu Huaining listened quietly to the sound of their hearts dancing together in the night. "So, when I learned from that script that you hadn't actually lost your memory, I thought, let us give that unfinished story an ending without a conclusion. If that phone call hadn't happened, I would have kept it a secret forever. I'm sorry for choosing to lie to you again."

"During the time I was injured, I saw you set aside everything from your past to look after me. Even if it was just out of guilt or your own merciful charity, I naively thought, what if my wounds never healed? Could we just live like this forever..."

The man, receiving no answer, finally fell into an exhausted sleep while murmuring to himself. As his steady breathing blended into the air, the woman’s eyes, previously shut tight, slowly opened, a stinging sensation at their corners.

The night seemed to bring a strange clarity to her previously muddled consciousness. Her body was exhausted to the limit, yet an alarm bell rang in her mind. She did not know how to face the man beside her, or herself, after this maddening night. She, who had been feigning sleep, never expected to uncover so many truths she had been unaware of. Perhaps, if the way they met had been different, it would mean that reality could have been a little brighter.

Xue Zhuining stared blankly into the night. The future she had once envisioned was long gone. She had thought her marriage to Chen Sang would end all tragedy, only to realize it had opened the door to another twisted love. When she had tried to replicate the plot of *Strange Love*, using despair to take revenge on this man, she had not counted on losing her own heart in the process.

Lu Huaining, I would rather you had brought me bone-deep pain from the start, rather than this soul-consuming pleasure that has led me into an ever-narrowing dead end.

The palm wrapping around hers held a warm temperature, yet it made her tremble with fear. Her fingertips traced a character, one stroke at a time, into his palm, until the fragmented lines formed a single word.

That night, she clung to him like a cold-sensitive kitten, and he held her just as tightly, warming her chilled body with his own.

One week later.

Facing the uninvited guest who appeared before her, Xue Zhuining knew that yet another force had arrived to dismantle her defenses.

Su Yi still wore his usual roguish expression, though there was a hint of mystery to it now. Ignoring her protests and questions, he shoved her toward his Land Rover.

Resistance proved futile, and Xue Zhuining sat sulking in the passenger seat. When the car finally stopped in front of a skyscraper, she was startled. "What are you doing bringing me here?"

"Naturally, I'm here to let you witness the brilliance of your man." Su Yi opened the door, gestured for the wary woman to step out, and raised his peach-blossom eyes with a mysterious glint as he looked at the imposing Shengtian Building. "Don't you want to see how your man strategizes in the business world, charming men and women, old and young alike?"

"Su Yi, did he feed you rat poison? Why else would you be at his beck and call?" Xue Zhuining felt a deep, itching irritation toward this flamboyant dandy. He had threatened Xu Ze to trick her into going to the clubhouse last time, and today, she didn't know what kind of devious trick he was up to. She spared no effort in her insults. "Don't tell me you're in love with him."

Su Yi nearly spat out his tea. His desire to flirt with the girl serving refreshments vanished instantly as he grabbed a napkin to wipe the water from his chin.

"Xue Zhuining, could you be any more vicious?"

In the tea restaurant attached to the Shengtian Building, although it wasn't yet lunchtime, employees were pouring in as if by prior agreement, crowding around a large LED screen, waiting for something.

Xue Zhuining was determined to be provocative. "Hey, you didn't just bring me here to watch how Lu Huaining's employees skip work to have morning tea, did you?"

Su Yi was so angry his fingers were trembling. *Damn it all, I gave up a perfectly good day off to play matchmaker for you two star-crossed lovers, and you do nothing but try to skin me alive with your sharp tongue. I won't tell you, I'll just let you be anxious to death. Ha, I'll wait to see you wash the Shengtian lobby with your tears of embarrassment later.*

Seeing the man ignore her in his pique, Xue Zhuining grabbed her phone and stood up to leave, only to hear a scream from the crowd of people huddled together. "Wow, it's our turn... It's the Emperor, he's so handsome!"

Xue Zhuining’s gaze immediately locked onto the screen. Today, Lu Huaining was wearing a dark suit with a white-collared blue-striped shirt. His eyes, like black jewels, were fixed on something with a gaze that held both focus and determination—a stubborn persistence that seemed to pierce through the lens to look at someone or somewhere specific. As she watched him, her gaze seemed to meet his across the screen, intertwining, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Go on, why don't you leave?" Su Yi raised his brows in disdain. "Beautiful Ms. Xue, the door is right there. Go ahead, give me a glimpse of your cold, haughty back."

Xue Zhuining retorted with a look: *I'm not leaving, what are you going to do about it? If you're so capable, bite me.*

On the television, Lu Huaining lacked his usual indifference, replaced by a meticulous solemnity. Looking at him like this, Xue Zhuining even forgot what answer this man—who had disappeared from her life for an entire week after that night—had intended to give her.

Was it to give up, or to continue this endless entanglement?

The man's magnetic voice, as rich and clear as the seasons, traveled through the airwaves from afar. It was as beautiful as celestial music. In that moment, everything in heaven and earth fell silent; only his voice rose and fell, like a babbling brook flowing through the air...