As they walked along the narrow stairway leading to the surface, darkness surrounded them like death.
Their footsteps were soft, so soft that Xu Yuan could clearly hear the woman beside him breathing in ragged gasps.
She clutched his wrist.
Both hands were wrapped around it, gripping tightly, as though she feared that this one tangible thing might suddenly vanish.
Xu Yuan silently continued up the stairs.
The bewitching charm had vanished from Su Jinxuan's brows and eyes. All that remained was a trace of helplessness that tugged at the heart.
"In such a quiet place, have you been sleeping well these past few days, Miss Su?"
The man's gentle, jade-like voice suddenly rang out in the silent stairwell.
This time,
he didn't call her Jinxuan.
After a couple of seconds of silence,
her voice came, trembling slightly:
"Xu-Xu Changtian, you—you're a devil. If you have the guts, just kill me."
She no longer called him Third Young Master, either.
There was no point in pretending intimacy with indirect words.
She was afraid of him,
she loathed him,
and she wanted to kill the devilish man beside her.
Xu Yuan didn't get angry. He chuckled softly.
"If I'm a devil, then why are you clinging to me so tightly, Miss Su?"
"..." Su Jinxuan fell silent, but she didn't let go.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan gave a casual tug and pulled his wrist free from her tightly clasped hands.
"Ah!"
The tangible presence in her grasp vanished. Su Jinxuan let out a panicked cry, then began desperately groping around for him.
Xu Yuan controlled his footsteps and silently backed away. With Source Qi in his eyes, he watched the woman feel her way through the dark passage.
Was her reaction exaggerated?
Not at all.
When he'd tried this at an