Volume One, Chapter 10: Love and Separation Do Not Conflict; It Is Merely Enduring the Pain.

Fang Yi said nothing. He stepped forward, reached out to embrace her, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and let out a low sigh.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Shishi asked. "What did the police say? I didn't go tonight—did they mention anything?"

Fang Yi continued to hold her, his head still bowed, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "They didn't say anything."

"I really should have gone..." Jiang Shishi murmured.

"I didn't want you to be so worn out, having to deal with them," Fang Yi replied. "If they look for you later, we'll talk about it then."

"Come inside." As she spoke, she gave him a gentle nudge. After Fang Yi straightened up, she quickly closed the door.

Once she turned back, she asked, "Fang Yi, why did you come here? We agreed that from now on..."

Before she could finish, her gaze landed on his face and she saw his eyes were rimmed with red. The rest of her sentence caught in her throat.

Fang Yi watched her for a moment before speaking again, his voice still very low. "Shishi, please don't leave me at a time like this. Could you?"

He looked so aggrieved and distraught, like a child.

"Talk to me, won't you?" There was a hint of pleading in his eyes.

Her heart softened. "What should I talk about?"

"Anything at all..." he said.

Over the past year, he had reached out to her every single day, sharing every little detail of his life. Right now, it was the same; in her eyes, Fang Yi was not the CEO of "Yi Media," a company on the verge of going public, but rather a wounded, vulnerable man.

After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you go back home?"

"I don't want to be alone in that empty house," he said.

"What about Fangfang and Yuanyuan?" she asked.

"They're with the nanny," he replied. "I just went to see them."

Shortly after, Fang Yi took a shower. They lay together on the cream-colored European-style bed. Under the dim, hazy light, Jiang Shishi looked breathtakingly beautiful. It was a beauty that was both gentle and comforting—like a painting.

She nestled in his arms, her eyes lowered, her voice as soft as a dream. "Fang Yi, I never thought I’d end up with you like this..."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I never imagined being with you like this," she said. "When I found out you weren't single, I never planned to get close to you."

Fang Yi was silent for a while before saying, "It's my fault. I just couldn't let you go."

Jiang Shishi looked up at him. His face was even more captivating in the dim light. As a liberal arts student, she was particular about her choice of words; in her dictionary, not every handsome man deserved to be called "strikingly handsome," but Fang Yi’s looks truly earned the title.

In that moment, she even thought to herself: I am nothing but an ordinary person, powerless to resist the temptation of his charm.

...

"I will trust in the police, but I cannot rely on them alone," Fang Yi said, his gaze drifting elsewhere. "I will find a way to track down the killer. I will make sure he meets a miserable end."

His voice was not loud, but his tone was resolute. Just hearing him say it made it seem as if she could see him exacting justice himself.

After a pause, Jiang Shishi asked, "Fang Yi, do you regret going to Paris with me?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he shook his head. "Even if we hadn't gone to Paris, the incident might not have been avoided."

Hearing this, the weight that had been pressing on her heart finally lifted. Yet, a moment later, her spirit sank again. Logically, he was right, but the fact remained that Lin Xiaoyang’s tragedy had occurred while she and Fang Yi were away in Paris. A guilty conscience could never truly be assuaged by logic alone.

They lay there in each other's arms in silence, seeking comfort and warmth in the stillness.

Jiang Shishi’s gaze rested on the window. Through the hazy moonlight, she could see the top of the tallest pomelo tree; from this angle, it looked like a dark cloud, swaying slightly whenever the wind blew.

Unbidden, memories of their first meeting flashed through her mind. In the beginning, Fang Yi had made his interest clear, and they shared so many common topics that it felt as if they had known each other in a past life. It was a strange, marvelous feeling—like finding a soulmate. But when she learned of his circumstances, she had wanted to avoid any entanglement and had told him as much.

Her reason at the time was: "I don't want to go on like this; I'm afraid I’ll become too dependent on you."

Fang Yi had replied without hesitation: "If you're worried about becoming overly dependent, it means you already are. Why not just let it be?"

That night, she hadn't slept a wink, but she had made up her mind to sever all ties. For the next three days, she didn't reach out, and neither did he. Though she was in pain, she thought that was the end of it and that the feeling would soon pass.

During those agonizing days, she asked herself countless times: *Am I in love with him?*

*How could I be? We barely know each other.*

*But if I’m not in love, why does it hurt so much?*

Eventually, she stopped trying to answer those questions. Love and separation were not mutually exclusive; she could endure the pain.

...

However, just as she had resigned herself to a final farewell, Fang Yi found her again. He seemed distressed, and after much deliberation, suggested they remain friends. After a long silence, she agreed. After all, she didn't want to lose such a nearly perfect male friend. Besides, Fang Yi was worldly and could offer advice that helped her avoid unnecessary pitfalls. Who would turn down a like-minded mentor and friend on life's journey?

As they continued to interact, they shared not just problems, but the details of their lives. Fang Yi, in particular, seemed to have an irrepressible need to express and share; he would tell her everything, whether good or bad, the moment it happened.

He had a habit: no matter how busy he was, at sunset, he would take a photo through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office. The glow of the setting sun echoing against the iconic landmarks of Guangnan City blended a sense of majestic power with gentle serenity.

If it were a cloudy day, he would take a photo too. The overcast sky always cast a misty, dreamlike veil. Looking at those grand buildings through the haze gave them a mysterious, indescribable beauty.

As time passed, whether it was sunny or rainy, those images became all too familiar to Jiang Shishi. Yet, every time she saw them, they still felt fresh.

She even wondered: was he like this with everyone, or was it only for her?