out to refuse, a low and slow voice sounded: "Fine wine paired with a beautiful woman, it would be a pity not to let her have some."It's Shen Xiujin!Jian Tong lowered her eyelids, hiding the bitternes...I regret it.

When he saw the woman's stiff back, he began to regret it.

"Jian Tong," a woman's voice, soft and faint, arose like a whisper, lost in memories. Lu Mingchu's body jolted, he looked at the woman by the stairway anxiously, waiting for her to continue... "Who"

Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat. He stared in disbelief at the retreating figure, which was gradually disappearing into the distance.

He thought she would be angry, that she would be upset, that she would demand to know who he was and how he knew her name.

But he had anticipated all possibilities, except that she would be so indifferent.

To easily dismiss the name, wasn't it... also denying her own existence

For a moment, he hesitated, lacking the courage to pursue and seek clarification.

Zhao Zhao skipped over with a medicine box in hand, her figure slender and lively. Lu Ming looked at the girl, always so cheerful and bright.

She ... was completely different.

Perhaps that's why the woman kept Zhaozhao, a girl who clearly wasn't suited for the service industry, by her side all along.

"Oh, Big Brother Mingchu, how did you hurt your hand It's so serious"

Zhaozhao was oblivious, sensing the strange atmosphere. Lu Mingchu retracted his palm, "Let my assistant handle it."

He said.

At this moment, he didn't want any woman to get close to him, even if that person was someone like Zhao Zhao, who was always cheerful and truly treated him as an older brother.

The assistant stepped forward and took the cotton swab from Zhao Zhao's hand.

……

Late at night, the wind started to blow.

The temperature difference between day and night on Erhai Lake is sometimes still larger than that in plain areas.

A woman stood in the most remote little hut in Yiji.

She stood there, frozen in place.

How long it had been, she didn't know. Nor did she know what she was thinking about.

The large wooden door at the entrance was pushed open.

I knew you'd be here.

I was blocked at the door by a tall man.

Lu Ming's eyes were fixed on the woman in the room, his thin lips moving slightly.

"Aren't you really coming with me"

A deep thought flashed in his eyes, and finally he said:

He is here.

Although no name was given, Lu Mingchu personally saw the woman who seemed like a dead tree coming back to life. However, because of these three words, her face turned pale and she became terrified.

For a moment, a sharp pain spread through his chest, and he suddenly felt like laughing. "I haven't even said who 'he' is."

He chuckled wryly.

In the end, what kind of impact did that person have on her

"Who... who is it" The woman felt a dryness in her throat, her voice hoarse and broken as she asked.

Lu Ming closed his eyes, then opened them again. “Can you please not act like this… Jian Tong, you make me feel depressed. No woman has ever made me feel so utterly drained.”

“I… I’m not a good woman,” she said. “You should leave tomorrow.”

"Shen Xiujin will be here soon, really. Don't leave with me" he said. "I can take you away, it's still not too late. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."

At first glance, Lu Ming saw the woman turn around, clutching a photograph tightly to her chest. She stood there, shaking her head and firmly saying:

"I will not leave."

She won't leave, this is her lifelong home.

Even if he came, he couldn't take me away.

She said.

"Heh heh~ You know him better than I do. What do you think he wants to do Can you stop him" Lu Ming sarcastically said, "This time, he came here, he looked for you for so long, how could he willingly give up on taking you away Can you stop him"

The woman lifted her head and nodded firmly, "I won't leave. He can't take me."

She said, putting the portrait back on the table and slowly walking toward the door: "It's late, Mr. Lu, you should go back to your room. There's nothing more I can offer you here."

After she finished speaking, she personally locked the door, ignoring the man. Amidst the night wind, she walked through it.

……

The next afternoon

I received a short message.

The boss of Yiju's place told me that a lot of unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared in the city. They were all dressed in black suits, white shirts, and black leather shoes. It seemed like they were looking for you.

This is a message from the proprietress of the tea shop.

A woman's heart skipped a beat, and she felt inexplicably frightened.

She told herself: Don't panic, don't make a fuss, he's in Dali Ancient City, he can't find her.

Besides, Erhai Lake is so vast. Although she lived in Dali Ancient City for three years, she met some people, but not many people knew her.

Although she thought so, she still immediately called her acquaintances and asked them not to reveal her whereabouts.

Days passed in this seemingly peaceful yet fear-ridden existence.

Lu Mingchu still lived here, he was a guest, and he had not violated the agreement they had signed. She actually wanted to drive him away.

"Why don't you ask me who I am" In a bright afternoon, Lu Mingchu stopped the woman hiding from him at the corner: "You're hiding from me."

The woman looked up: “I’m not hiding from you, I’m doing this for your own good.”

"Do what's best for me. Keep saying it, 'what's best for me.' "

Actually, you're doing this for yourself. You're afraid of taking on emotional debts, of owing someone feelings. Right

"Is there something wrong" she glanced at the man before her indifferently, "Should I deceive you, Mr. Lu, that's for your own good"

“I wish you would deceive me, I wish you would be more despicable, go ahead and deceive me!” He raged, the evil fire in his chest had nowhere to vent. He thought again about that night, he had merely mentioned that person, and this woman seemed to come alive.

"You think these three years hiding here have been peaceful and smooth You think your heart is still as calm as water"

Wrong!

You're already dead!

What is the difference between being like a stagnant pond

Without any emotional fluctuations, without joy, anger, sadness or happiness, don't you ever look in the mirror

"You can't see it, you're just left with this shell. Is there nothing inside anymore"

No, no, no! That's not what he meant!

Lu Ming couldn't control himself and spoke without thinking. Although his heart repeatedly told him to stop, his mouth kept blurting out hurtful words.

He uttered these spiteful words, yet in his heart he kept denying them: No! Not at all! These weren't the things he meant to say!

He wanted to say——Jian Tong, can you have some compassion for yourself! Can you live like a real person! Can you please not only come alive because of Shen Xiu Jin's three words!

You are a living person! Not someone who lives for anyone else!

That's right! That's what he meant to say!

But he!

"Sorry..." He apologized, raising his head, but his heart sank. The woman before him remained impassive, yet he saw despair in her lifeless eyes.

With a slight tilt of her chin, she straightened her spine and pulled herself up, "Empty, solid; living people, dead people; Mr. Lu, it has nothing to do with you."

After she finished speaking, she straightened her back and walked past Lu Mingchu, striding forward.

It looks, proud and aloof... but how can you tell, that raised chin, straight spine, all seem too deliberate.

Lu Ming initially reached out to cover his face: "Damn it!" What the hell did he say!t-looking. But I don't know her name...' He paused, then added, 'But I always feel like I've seen her before.'"Isn't it familiar, the reason why Jian Tong got involved with Shen Xiujin again after bei...