Cheng Mo didn't stop.
One step.Then another.
Until there was barely any space left between them.
Li Shen didn't move back.
If anything, he leaned in slightly—eyes sharp, breath steady, as if he'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"Finally," he muttered. "Thought you'd just stand there and pretend you're above all this."
Cheng Mo's gaze didn't waver.
"You're done."
It wasn't a question.
Li Shen let out a short laugh—harsh, biting.
"Done?" he repeated. "Not even close."
His eyes flicked toward me for a fraction of a second—just enough to make something twist in my chest—before snapping back to Cheng Mo.
"You really think this works?" he said, voice dropping, turning colder. "Playing protector now?"
A pause.
Then his expression darkened.
"After what you did to her?"
The words landed heavy—but not shocking.
Not anymore.
Because I already knew.
The truth had burned long ago.
Still—
he said it like a weapon.
Like he wanted to tear something open again.
"You sent her to that hospital bed," Li Shen continued, each word deliberate. "For your revenge."
His jaw tightened, anger finally spilling through without restraint.
"And now you stand here—touching him like you didn't break his life ?"
Cheng Mo didn't deny it.
Didn't look away.
Didn't soften.
"I never said I didn't," he replied quietly.
That calm—
it only made it worse.
Li Shen scoffed, shaking his head, but there was something unstable in it now.
"Unbelievable," he muttered. "You admit it so easily."
His eyes flickered to me again—
and this time, the jealousy wasn't hidden at all.
"And you—" he said, voice tightening, "you're just fine with this?"
The question hit harder than the accusation.
But before I could answer—
Cheng Mo moved.
Not away.Closer.
Just enough to block that line of sight again.
A silent refusal.A claim.
Li Shen's expression snapped.
Something raw flashed across his face—anger, frustration—
and beneath it—
something almost desperate.
"…You really chose him," he said under his breath.
Not mocking this time.
Not sarcastic.
Just… bitter.
And that—
somehow—
was worse.