Rain fell steadily.
Not the kind that raged—but the kind that soaked everything quietly. Slowly. Like time itself was trying to erase something.
Shi Mu didn't like that kind of rain.
Too reflective.
Too honest.
She stood under the awning outside the east hall, holding her umbrella but not opening it. The roof protected her well enough.
Across from her, Fu Yunshen approached, hands in his pockets, hair already damp.
They didn't speak at first.
The silence between them wasn't hostile.
But it was heavy.
"You're early," he said.
"You came anyway."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "You expected me not to?"
"I wasn't sure."
A pause.
"I'm still not."
She looked down at the puddle forming at her feet.
Then asked, "Why are you really here?"
He blinked. "You asked me to walk with you."
"No," she said softly. "I mean here. This school. My mission. My path. You've been there at every turn. But I don't know why."
His expression didn't change.
But his eyes did.
They darkened. Flickered.
And then—
"You already suspect, don't you?"
She nodded. "But I want to hear it from you."
For a moment, the rain seemed to fall louder.
Then he said, "I wasn't assigned here. Not by accident, anyway."
"Then why?"
He looked her in the eye.
"To watch you."
Her breath caught.
Not in fear.
Not in betrayal.
But something colder.
Something deeper.
"You're surveillance," she whispered.
"I was," he replied. "Until I stopped following orders."
She stepped back.
Just slightly.
Not out of fear.
But instinct.
"How much of what we have is real?" she asked.
"Everything."
"You say that so easily."
"Because it is."
The rain was beginning to soak through her sleeves.
She didn't care.
"What happens next?" she asked.
Fu Yunshen hesitated.
Then: "Whatever you decide."
[System Notification]
Surveillance Status Disclosed – Emotional Consequences Pending
Brotherhood Value +120 (Direct Confession + Emotional Risk Accepted)
Current Total: 3,300 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu turned away, just enough to see the shadow of her own reflection in the puddle.
"I need time," she said.
"I'll wait," he replied.
And she believed him.
Even if she didn't want to.