Over the next few days, Pei Yufeng's mood plummeted to rock bottom, and the two of them barely spoke to each other.
"Sister Zhaoxi, when did you awaken your ability? I awakened mine very early, but my level is still really low. I want to be stronger," Zhang Jili sighed.
Ji Zhaoxi was just about to speak when Pei Yufeng sneered from the side, "Don't waste your breath. This is as good as you'll ever be in this lifetime."
Zhang Jili forced a strained smile. "Alright, then."
Ji Zhaoxi said earnestly, "I've seen many ability users level up before, and they all did so after overdrawing their powers. You might need to participate in more actual combat."
Zhang Jili's eyes lit up. "So that's how it is. Thank you, Sister Zhaoxi."
Pei Yufeng was so angry he could hardly breathe. Where did this guy get so many questions? And she actually bothered to answer them!
Zhang Jili wanted to ask more, but Pei Yufeng, his face dark, pulled Ji Zhaoxi straight into the room.
Lying near the doorway, Shen Jiaxue raised an eyebrow and let out a low whistle.
The room was dead silent. Both of them were harboring anger in their hearts, and neither said a word.
Ji Zhaoxi sat on a chair, silently wiping the crystal core in her hand. Her face, which usually carried a warm smile, was now slightly tense.
Out of anger, her slender shoulders heaved slightly, and she didn't even spare him a glance from the corner of her eye.
Ever since they came out of the laboratory that day, Pei Yufeng had been acting incredibly strange. He kept ignoring her, avoiding her gaze whenever she looked at him, and getting visibly upset whenever she spoke to Zhang Jili.
Ji Zhaoxi truly had no idea what he meant by all this.
Pei Yufeng stood beside Ji Zhaoxi, his shadow completely enveloping her figure. Looking at the reddened corners of her eyes, his throat felt unbearably dry.
Several times, he wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder, but he awkwardly withdrew his hand each time.
Pei Yufeng's mind was also in complete turmoil. Right now, he had absolutely no idea how to interact with her or how to talk to her, even though he had always been so natural around her before.
Smack—
The crystal core slipped from Ji Zhaoxi's hand and dropped onto the table, startling them both.
Ji Zhaoxi kept her head down, her eyes lowered. She unconsciously picked at the grain of the wood, a bitter sourness swelling in her heart.
He definitely felt that she was holding him back. When they returned that day, he had been so angry that he even crashed the car.
The spiritual energy in Pei Yufeng's mind was a chaotic mess. He clumsily clenched his fists, feeling a mix of helplessness and jealousy.
Was she disgusted by his unpleasant way of speaking? Actually, when Zhang Jili said those things, he had been secretly trying to learn from him, but when facing her, he just couldn't bring himself to say the words.
He didn't want Zhang Jili near her, but compared to him, it seemed Zhang Jili was much better at making her happy.
"Pei Yufeng," Ji Zhaoxi finally spoke, a hint of a sob hidden in her voice. "I am truly grateful to you for this past period of time. You've saved me so many times, yet I always end up dragging you down."
"I still have a lot of crystal cores here; I'll give them all to you. It seems like I never asked for your opinion on anything I did, and I don't even know what you like or dislike."
Holding back her tears, Ji Zhaoxi continued, "Otherwise... maybe we should just part ways. I'll go find Sister Jiaxue, and you can go do what you truly want to do..."
Hearing these words, Pei Yufeng froze completely. He lunged toward her, the sound of his boots scraping against the floor piercing the silence.
He stood behind her, his fingertips stopping abruptly just as they were about to touch her. His body trembled from extreme tension.
"We are not parting ways," Pei Yufeng's voice was so hoarse it was almost a roar, yet it carried a slight tremble. "I don't want to leave you, and I don't have anything I truly want to do."
He crouched down in front of her, his hands gripping the hem of her skirt. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was so raspy it was barely audible. "You didn't drag me down. I just like following you. I like whatever you do..."
The sorrow Ji Zhaoxi had suppressed for days instantly broke its banks, her voice heavy with a nasal tone.
"But recently, you never talk to me, you don't even look at me, and you avoid me whenever I get close."
Tears fell onto her skirt like pearls from a broken string, leaving small, dark water stains.
She didn't sob loudly, only choked back quiet whimpers.
"No... it's not like that," Pei Yufeng completely panicked.
At this moment, he no longer cared about boundaries or appropriateness, and carefully wiped away her tears.
"I wasn't ignoring you..." His voice was incredibly hoarse as he clumsily explained over and over again. "I didn't talk to you because I'm not as good with words as Zhang Jili, and I was afraid you'd find me annoying."
His eyes were red, and his words came out in broken fragments. "I always say mean things, and I want to change, but... you just look really pretty in a white dress, and you don't chatter annoyingly. I like listening to you talk to me."
"I didn't get close to you because you smell really good, and I didn't dare to smell it. I felt like it was inappropriate..."
Pei Yufeng's voice kept trembling. He looked at her anxiously, continuously trying to explain himself.
Ji Zhaoxi had been crying, but as she listened, she suddenly felt that something was a bit off. She wiped her tears and listened quietly.
Pei Yufeng held back the tears in his own eyes, his voice also choked with emotion. "I didn't look at you because I think you are exceptionally beautiful. Every time you smile at me, my spiritual energy is thrown into complete chaos..."
Pei Yufeng's hands were still clutching the hem of Ji Zhaoxi's skirt, wrinkling the fabric. He lowered his head, waiting for her judgment.
Listening to Pei Yufeng's words, Ji Zhaoxi's ears were initially just a little red, but when he went on about finding her beautiful, the heat quickly rushed to her cheeks, burning them red.
She tried her hardest to suppress the rising corners of her lips. With bright eyes, she said dryly, "Oh, I see."
Pei Yufeng nodded dejectedly. Looking at his flushed earlobes, Ji Zhaoxi couldn't resist poking one.
Pei Yufeng's body gave a slight shudder, and he even held his breath.
Ji Zhaoxi tried to tug the hem of her skirt out of his grasp, but he held on tightly, refusing to let go.
Ji Zhaoxi grew bolder. She tentatively reached out her hand, placed it on his head, and gave it an experimental rub.
Pei Yufeng's body stiffened, but he still didn't make a sound.
"Who said you aren't good with words? What you said made me very happy."
Hearing this, Pei Yufeng's breathing stopped for a moment.
Seeing that he kept his head down, Ji Zhaoxi thought he might be feeling a bit awkward and was too embarrassed to look up. She cleared her throat. "I'm going to wash some clothes."
But the very second she turned around, she was enveloped in an embrace that carried a slight chill.
Even through her clothes, Ji Zhaoxi could feel how fast Pei Yufeng's heart was beating; its rhythm was an absolute mess.
He held her very gently, yet the hands crossed over her abdomen were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Night fell over the desert, and the pale moonlight spilled across the sea of sand, suffusing the air with an atmosphere of deathly stillness.
Looking toward the window, his tall figure completely overshadowed hers. He buried his face deeply in the crook of her neck, his breathing rapid and heavy, exuding an almost desperate sense of dependency.
The two of them stood there in the living room.
Zhang Jili fell silent for a moment before asking, "They aren't even going to eat?"
Shen Jiaxue shrugged.
