Jian Ci didn't want to be here. The sanctuary, the confrontation, the weight of his own words... it all pressed down on him until he could barely breathe. After that outburst, regret gnawed at him. He shouldn't have yelled at Jian Rui like that. But he had been unhappy, and he had needed to express himself.
And now he had exposed his deepest emotion. He had laid bare his feelings for Yu Xi in front of everyone.
Jian Ci knew his brothers wouldn't tell Yu Xi, but the thought of it lingered like a boulder lodged in his chest. It was heavy and suffocating. He needed space, needed silence, needed to think about what he was going to do next. So he left without a word, his footsteps echoing down the hall until the elevator swallowed him whole.
Meanwhile, Yu Xi was with Xiaobao. He told her not to worry, his voice calm, steady. Xiaobao wasn't concerned at all. She was used to the Jian brothers arguing, used to their tempers flaring and fading like storms.
