The power came back in the middle of the night.
The heater hummed to life.
The emergency lantern dimmed.
But Shi Mu hadn't moved.
She was still curled beneath her blanket, one arm tucked beneath her head. Her breathing was soft. Steady.
Fu Yunshen hadn't moved either.
He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on knees, watching the light slowly creep across the floorboards.
He told himself he was only making sure she was warm.
That she was safe.
But that wasn't the whole truth.
When Shi Mu stirred slightly, pulling the blanket tighter, he stood—just for a moment—and walked over.
She didn't wake.
He hesitated.
Then knelt beside her bed.
From this close, she looked younger. Quieter. Like the weight of her mission, her secrets, had loosened in sleep.
He whispered, "Why won't you tell me everything?"
Of course, there was no answer.
He didn't expect one.
Still, his fingers hovered inches from her wrist—drawn, instinctively, toward the faint pulse beneath her skin.
The same way he felt her presence every time she entered a room.
Unavoidable.
Unspoken.
And, possibly, unwanted.
Back in his own bed, he stared at the ceiling.
"If I reach for her… will she disappear?"
The next morning, she awoke to find an extra blanket folded at her feet.
And a small note tucked beneath it:
"You kicked yours off in your sleep."
No signature.
But she knew the handwriting.
Later, at breakfast, Zhou Zhi looked between them suspiciously.
"Did something happen last night?"
"No," they both replied, far too quickly.
Zhou Zhi narrowed his eyes. "Uh-huh. Totally believable."
He leaned toward Shi Mu and whispered, "If he confesses during a thunderstorm, you legally have to accept it. It's romantic law."
She flicked rice at him.
After class, Fu Yunshen caught up with her at the stairs.
He didn't say anything.
Just walked beside her.
Step for step.
No questions.
No pressure.
But his presence felt heavier today.
Like he knew something she hadn't admitted to herself yet.
[System Notification]
Emotional Tether Strengthened: Physical Proximity → Subconscious Attachment
Brotherhood Value +75 (Unspoken Intimacy + Internal Acknowledgment)
Current Total: 1,945 / 1,000,000
That night, Shi Mu sat on her bed long after lights out, staring at the folded note again.
There were lines between them.
Lines she'd drawn carefully.
Lines she couldn't afford to blur.
But with every glance, every word, every moment…
Those lines were shifting.
And she wasn't sure she could hold them anymore.