He was less than half a meter away from her, his chest heaving violently, his whole body drenched in sweat as if he had just been fished out of the water.
The back of his shirt was soaked through, sticking tightly to his body, and his hair was messily plastered to his forehead; he looked utterly wretched.
"You..."
Kiana opened her mouth, her voice terribly hoarse.
She subconsciously shrank her neck back, her body instinctively adopting a defensive posture.
He's going to scold me, right?
He definitely will.
Not only did I break our promise, but I also almost made him lose face in front of Kevin and Mei, and I even tried to run away in a cowardly manner again...
An immense sense of guilt, like a massive boulder, smashed ruthlessly onto her chest.
She looked at Su Yu's bloodshot eyes. She imagined how he must have fought against the current like a madman through that crowded sea of people, just to find a troublemaker like her who should have disappeared long ago.
"I'm sor..."
Before she could finish her apology, she was interrupted by Su Yu's movement.
He didn't roar, didn't question her, didn't even bring up a single topic related to "running away" or "why."
He simply let out a long, heavy breath, then, somewhat drained of strength, sat down heavily on the concrete floor beside Kiana.
"Phew...! Man, I'm dying of exhaustion!"
Su Yu casually wiped the sweat from his face, not caring in the slightest about the dust on the ground dirtying his trousers.
"This crappy stadium... huff... the design is so user-unfriendly. It doesn't even... doesn't even have an elevator that goes straight to the roof..."
He adjusted his sitting position, leaning back against the casing of the exhaust fan.
Then, he extended a finger, pointing at the blindingly bright stage below, and turned his head, his eyes holding a mix of relief from surviving a disaster and a hint of teasing.
"Hey, Kiana."
His voice still carried the panting of intense exertion, but his tone was as relaxed as if they had just come up to catch a breeze.
"Although watching Miss Eden's concert from here doesn't require a ticket and counts as the VIP of VIP treatment... surely you didn't run up here to dine on the wind just to save a few bucks, right?"
Below, Eden was slowly rising on the lifting platform, her golden evening gown glittering under the spotlights, like a goddess descending to the mortal world.
From this angle, the entire dome arena looked like a treasure bowl filled to the brim with starlight. And they were like spectators sitting in the clouds, enjoying this unique perspective all to themselves.
Kiana froze.
She looked at Su Yu's profile, which wore a faint smile, but her tears flowed even more uncontrollably.
No blame.
No disappointment.
Not even a heavy "Are you okay?"
He just... complained about the stairs being too high, then sat down beside her, accompanying this idiot just like always, watching this scenery that didn't belong to her.
Su Yu took out his phone, his fingers tapping rapidly on the screen. The dim light of the screen illuminated his sweat-covered chin. As the "Sent Successfully" notification sound rang out, he stuffed the phone back into his pocket and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Alright, done."
"Kevin said they'll go buy some drinks and wait for us downstairs in a bit."
"I say, you really can run. I'm definitely taking first place on the step count leaderboard today."
The wind poured in from the heights, making the hems of their clothes flap loudly. Below, Eden's singing sounded like background noise coming from another world, distant and blurred.
Su Yu turned his head, looking at the small figure beside him still curled up into a ball. She looked so fragile, like a glass artifact that would shatter at the slightest touch.
He had to say something.
The atmosphere now was too heavy; it didn't suit her.
"Hey, I say..."
Su Yu deliberately spoke in an exaggerated, slightly teasing tone—his usual trick for masking awkwardness.
"Although I know Mei and Kevin are indeed a perfect match, and that 'old married couple' vibe of theirs is impossible to intrude upon... running away out of jealousy because of that? Miss Kiana, isn't your possessiveness a bit too strong?"
He tried to use this lame joke to make her bristle like she used to, hoping she would jump up and retort, "Who's jealous, you idiot?"
Even if she just cursed him a couple of times, that would be fine.
However, the expected rebuttal did not appear.
Only the whistling of the wind remained in the air.
Kiana continued to hug her knees tightly, burying her head. After a long while, her shoulders began to tremble violently again.
Not out of anger, nor out of embarrassment.
That was... the prelude to a breakdown.
"Why..."
A hoarse voice came from the crook of her arm, carrying a broken sobbing tone.
"Why... did you come to find me?"
She slowly lifted her head. That face was streaked with tear tracks. The luster of the past was gone from her eyes, leaving only a dead, silent gray.
The vicious whispers of the Herrscher of the Void still echoed in her mind. Every single word was reminding her: She was a disaster, an anomaly, a source that only brought misfortune to others.
"I am a monster..."
Kiana reached out with a trembling hand, looking at her pale palm as if it were stained with blood that could never be washed away.
"I am a liar."
"I promised you I wouldn't run away again, but I can't do it... I can't control it."
"As long as I'm alive, it will always follow me, ready to destroy everything at any moment."
She looked at Su Yu, large tears rolling down.
"I'm not worth you doing this, Su Yu. I'm not worth it..."
"You should have let me disappear. That would be the Happy Ending..."
The smile on Su Yu's face slowly faded.
He looked into Kiana's eyes, filled with despair, and felt as if something in his heart had been viciously yanked.
That girl who wandered alone in Arc City, who persisted in fighting even amidst the ruins. That girl who, despite being covered in scars, desperately suppressed the Herrscher consciousness to protect others.
She actually said... she isn't worth it?
Not worth it?
What kind of joke is that?!
"Because I haven't cleared the game yet."
Su Yu spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible in the wind.
Kiana paused, looking at him with teary, blurred eyes, seemingly unable to understand this nonsensical statement.
Su Yu reached out and, with irresistible force, grabbed her trembling wrist. His palm was scalding hot, the temperature burning its way through her skin and into Kiana's frozen heart.
"Our game has only just had its folder created, 'The Three-Year Sakura' has just gone viral, and the game script hasn't even reached the climax yet—how can the female lead quit halfway through?"
He used a little more force, pulling her closer to him, and looked straight into her eyes.
"What monster, what liar... I don't care about that stuff. I don't care about those tragic drama settings."
"What I care about is, back in the VIP box just now, who was it that pushed the popcorn to me and said it was quite sweet?"
"Who was the person who, despite feeling pain in her heart upon seeing Mei happy, still showed that gentle smile?"
"Kiana."
Su Yu's tone became incredibly earnest, even carrying a seriousness rarely seen in him.
"You are not a monster. You are the clumsiest, most gluttonous, and most worthy-of-saving fool in this world."
"As for why I came to find you..."
He paused, looking into those eyes that reflected his own shadow.
"Because you are my female lead."
"Without the female lead, my story... can't go on."
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