Negotiations failed

A butterfly rested quietly on a flower, startled by the noise into spreading its wings and fluttering away. A bird that had just returned to its branch was frightened into circling overhead to investigate.

Chi Ye's expression stiffened, his lips parting slightly before he demanded sharply,

"Why? Shen Zhiyi."

His question rang so hollow in the mountains, the sound reaching Shen Zhiyi as though it were hammering against her heart, blow after blow.

Why? Shen Zhiyi did not know why Chi Ye was asking her that, either. She had made her refusal clear from the very beginning.

She did not want to get caught up in another undeserved disaster. This was a world inside a book, and she was merely an insignificant cannon-fodder character who might die at any moment.

The protagonists' stories were full of excitement, while her world was dull and lightless.

Chi Ye was a protagonist too, even if he was a villain. Even if he existed only as a foil to the male lead, he had an innately brilliant mind and a family background far beyond reach.

"Chi Ye, I'm sorry, but I won't agree to work with you."

Perhaps not today, but possibly tomorrow, or on some perfectly ordinary day, she would disappear from this world.

Shen Zhiyi wanted to die. This was not some sudden thought; she waited for death every day.

Living was exhausting. Every minute, every second was exhausting. She could not feel even a trace of life. The sounds around her were hollow and silent, and even looking at the sun made her fear that one day its light would suddenly illuminate her.

She was even more afraid that merely having that light fall on her would make her want more.

It would expose everything wretched and ugly about her. She was only a rat hiding in the shadows, scrambling along as she watched and stared at other people's bright, glamorous lives.

She had tried hard to live, too, but it was truly too exhausting, so exhausting that one day even breathing became difficult.

She did not understand the meaning of life. If she had been born only to suffer, she thought, death might well be a good choice.

Chi Ye was truly angry. Why had he been fawning over her like a clown, trying so hard to understand her, while she remained indifferent? Was he really that ridiculous in her eyes?

"Shen Zhiyi, you have no heart! You leave whenever you please, without considering anyone else's feelings. You trample all the kindness people show you underfoot like trash, without a second glance.

"I thought we were friends. I thought that after more than two weeks, we at least knew each other. Today I was even happy that you hadn't refused to let me take you out for breakfast.

"I was even stupid enough to think we could take the same flight back tomorrow, that you might at least give it some thought before answering me.

"And what happened? Shen Zhiyi, you turned me down without the slightest burden. You wouldn't even bother going through the motions.

"It's really laughable. I've been a joke for the past two weeks. All my fawning, all the things I did for you-have you been secretly laughing at me all this time?

"Oh, right, have you been calling me an idiot in your head all along? Does having someone revolve around you make you feel smug and happy, huh?

"Shen Zhiyi, that heart of yours is made of stone. It can't grow even the slightest feeling. And that face of yours, too, like everyone owes you money. Just my rotten luck. I'm fucking done.

"You're not the only person who can make a tea table. Doesn't the old man like them? I'll fucking go back and find eight or ten people. If I ever beg you again, Shen Zhiyi, I'm a fucking dog!"

He stared hard at her, his eyes filled with anger, his voice low and husky, his fists clenched and his muscles taut.

Before, he might still have joked and changed the subject to brush this aside, but at this moment, he once again clearly recognized Shen Zhiyi's resolve.

It had been almost a month since he first met Shen Zhiyi, and he could count the things she had said on his ten fingers.

He had never seen Shen Zhiyi smile. Not once.

Her expression, all her changes, were no different from when they first met. That meant Shen Zhiyi truly did not care about any of the things he had done.

A restless, tangled sense of defeat rose in his heart, but now he was mostly angry. He had never put so much effort into something for nothing.

He closed his eyes, keeping his fists clenched. When he opened them again, all the emotion in them had been suppressed and hidden away.

His eyes were filled with distance and indifference. Looking at Shen Zhiyi, he curled his lips slightly and said,

"Sorry for bothering you all these days. Miss Shen, may we never meet again."

Shen Zhiyi gripped the side of her trouser leg, pinching the flesh of her thigh, a faint ache spreading through her heart. Her eyes were dull as she watched Chi Ye turn and walk out of her sight, step by step.

Shen Zhiyi watched Chi Ye's retreating figure grow more distant. Her heart felt as though someone were jabbing it with an awl, again and again, until it tightened with pain.

Yet the more it hurt, the calmer her face became. He won't come back, she thought. Like everyone else, his back was turned to her, and there would never be a day when he turned around.

The woods were thick with vegetation, towering trees shrouding the place and blocking out the light. She stepped along the muddy path beneath her feet, walking in the opposite direction without hesitation. This way, she would never turn back, either.

When Shen Zhiyi emerged from the woods again, Boss Yao came hurrying over.

Her assistant had told her that Chi Ye had left ahead of them, and that after coming down the mountain, he had bought a plane ticket and left directly. Boss Yao studied Shen Zhiyi's expression carefully but could make nothing out.

She seemed to have been like this on the first day, too. She never smiled and hardly spoke. She simply immersed herself in her work. When Chi Ye was around, she had seemed a little more alive.

Now she was back to how she had been when she first arrived. Boss Yao sighed. Although she did not know what had happened between them, she had been the one to invite Shen Zhiyi here, so she had to take good care of her.

"Then, Miss Shen, shall we have dinner together tonight?"

Shen Zhiyi shook her head, then said to Boss Yao,

"Thank you for your kindness. I've booked a flight for tonight. Thank you for your hospitality these past few days."

"Oh!" Boss Yao exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't-isn't that a little soon? Won't you stay and enjoy yourself for a couple of days, Miss Shen? The surroundings here are quite nice. I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't had time to entertain you both. I was thinking of treating you to dinner tonight."

Shen Zhiyi said, "There's really no need. Thank you for everything, Boss Yao. I have other work scheduled. I'm sorry."

Hearing her refusal, Boss Yao could not keep trying to persuade her. Besides, she had already given the reason that she had other work scheduled; insisting further would be impolite.

Still, she quite liked Shen Zhiyi. She might be a woman of few words, but her skills were absolutely top-notch.

"Then I'll treat you to a meal another time, Miss Shen. I'll have my assistant drive you to the airport. Have a safe trip."

After talking with Boss Yao for a while, Shen Zhiyi returned to the guesthouse to collect her belongings. When she got back, she saw that someone was already cleaning the room Chi Ye had stayed in.

The owner greeted her when she saw her return, then went back to talking to the cleaner.

"Hey, boss, what should we do with this allergy medicine? Throw it out?"

The owner took it, had a look, and said casually,

"Keep it. There's still an unopened box. That young Chi, honestly-he kept staying here even though he had allergies every day. I thought there was something wrong with our rooms.

"It wasn't until I asked that I found out his skin was allergic to these quilts and the bugs. He applied medicine every day but just wouldn't move to a hotel in the city."

The owner and the cleaner continued talking about other things. When they finished cleaning, they carried out a small suitcase. It belonged to Chi Ye.

He had not packed. He had asked the owner to pack his things and mail them back to him. He had left the mountain and gone straight to the airport.