A mischievous little cookie crumb still clung to the corner of Roxy's mouth.
The soft, almost orange-gold evening sunlight streamed through the half-open window, gently falling across the ends of her hair.
It outlined her long, aqua-blue hair in a strange, dreamlike shade somewhere between turquoise and sky blue.
Roxy's smile was clean and pure, without a trace of anything else, filled with a heart-stopping, utterly irresistible sweetness and innocent charm.
Cui Ciyou's breathing seemed to stop without warning at that moment.
It was as though someone had pressed pause on the entire world.
Every sound, every play of light and shadow blurred and faded in an instant, becoming a meaningless backdrop.
All that remained in Cui Ciyou's vision was Roxy's adorable face, so close to his own, wearing that sweet, innocent smile.
Like a mark etched deep into his soul, it burned itself onto Cui Ciyou's retinas with perfect clarity.
So... so cute...
The thought struck Cui Ciyou's brain like lightning splitting the night sky.
His mind went blank in an instant, leaving him with nothing but an indescribable rush of panic and helplessness.
Cui Ciyou instinctively began to raise his hand.
He wanted to brush the cookie crumb from the corner of Roxy's mouth, to gently stroke the silky ends of her hair that gleamed so strangely in the sunlight.
But just as Cui Ciyou's fingers began to rise...
He abruptly came to his senses and drew in a deep breath of cool air.
His raised hand froze. His fingers tightened into a hard fist, then slowly loosened again.
"Ahem... ahem..."
Cui Ciyou tried to hide his absurd, almost uncontrollable impulse to reach out and touch Roxy behind two painfully unnatural coughs.
At that moment, Cui Ciyou's brain seemed to crash beyond his control.
His normally clear command