His brow furrowed instantly. What on earth was Su Ran doing here?

Still, it was convenient that she had delivered herself right to his doorstep.

Keeping his head down, he quietly fired off a text message to Fu Chengyu.

Su Ran felt thoroughly degraded. The moment she had walked toward his office, she could feel the genuine warmth radiating from him. But the second he raised his eyes and saw her, that warmth evaporated into a wall of endless, biting frost.

Clenching her fists tightly, she mustered every drop of courage she had and took two bold steps forward.

“Break up with Su Niao!” Su Ran demanded, stating her exact reason for coming without missing a beat.

Feng Bai looked at her as if she had completely lost her mind. “Are you insane? Or are you still dreaming?”

He loved Su Niao more than life itself, and this woman had the audacity to barge in here and demand he end things? What right did she think she had to stand in front of him and talk to him like this?

“Get the hell out,” he barked, his voice dropping to a dangerous chill.

Su Ran held her ground, her expression hardening into stubborn resolve.

“I know you love Su Niao, Feng Bai, but if you don’t want her finding out who you really are, you’d better listen to me and break up with her! Otherwise, I’ll tell her what kind of monster you truly are!”

Su Ran was blackmailing him, right here, in his own office.

The utter absurdity of it made Feng Bai laugh out loud.

He stood up slowly, making no effort to mask the suffocating aura of icy fury that surged out, flooding the entire room. The sheer weight of his presence made Su Ran feel utterly microscopic.

She took a instinctual step back, knowing full well Feng Bai wouldn’t let her off easy. Yet his volatile reaction only proved one thing: she had struck a massive nerve!

If she hadn’t hit his weakest point, Feng Bai wouldn’t be showing such a stark, terrifying contrast to his usual self.

Trembling from head to toe, she clung desperately to her resolve. “You aren’t the perfect prince you pretend to be, Feng Bai! You’re dark, calculating, and ruthless, and you don’t dare let Su Niao see the real you! Shelter by her family, she’s naive and innocent. Guess what happens to her love for you if she finds out what a monster you are? Do you think she’ll stay?”

Her voice cracked as she spat out her final ultimatum: “So break up with her, Feng Bai! Or I swear I’ll tell Su Niao you’re a devil in disguise!”

Despite the tremors running through her body, Su Ran stared Feng Bai down, refusing to break eye contact.

She had made up her mind. If she couldn’t have Feng Bai, then Su Niao wouldn’t have him either. What she couldn’t get her hands on, Su Niao sure as hell wouldn’t get to keep!

Feng Bai stared at her, and suddenly, a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.

“Threatening me? You’re the first person to ever try that, and you’ll be the last.”

His voice was eerie, smooth as silk. “You say Niao Niao is naive and sheltered, but you’re the true idiot here. Knowing full well I’m not a good person, you still had the stupidity to barge in here and threaten me? Tell me, Su Ran… do you know who keeps secrets best?”

With casual indifference, Feng Bai reached over and picked up a sleek fruit knife resting on his desk. The razor-sharp blade glinted under the lights, ice-cold and unyielding.

Su Ran froze, her eyes widening in horror as she stumbled backward. “You’re… you’re crazy!”

Dead people keep secrets best. Was he actually going to murder her right here?! In the blink of an eye, the icy tension in the office transformed into pure, suffocating malice.

Su Ran didn’t doubt for a fraction of a second that Feng Bai would slash her throat. Driven by sheer survival instinct, she spun around and sprinted frantically toward the exit.

Just as her hand reached out, the office door swung open.

Su Niao stood on the threshold, a bright smile gracing her face. But the second her eyes took in the scene inside, her smile froze. Without dropping a beat, she stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind her.

Desperate for a lifeline, Su Ran lunged forward and grabbed Su Niao’s arms with both hands, shaking her violently.

“Niao Niao, he wants to kill me! Feng Bai is trying to murder me! He’s not a good guy, he’s really not! Even back at the house, he was threatening me! Look at him! Look! He’s holding a knife! He actually wants to kill me!”

Su Niao stood completely unbothered, calmly peeling Su Ran’s trembling hands off her arms. She didn’t look at Su Ran once; her eyes were locked squarely on Feng Bai.

Feng Bai had never expected Su Niao to catch him in a moment like this. Though the lethal aura around him evaporated instantly, being caught red-handed by the girl he loved left him feeling deeply exposed and panicked. Even the handle of the knife in his palm felt scorching hot.

“Niao Niao… I…” he began, desperate to explain, yet not knowing where to start.

Ever since returning from his past life, he had tried so hard to suppress the darkness inside him. In front of her, he had strived to remain that gentle, pristine boy who looked like the distant moon. But only he knew what a cruel monster lurked beneath that polished veneer…

Even with a second chance at life, he was no longer the innocent youth he used to be. He could never go back to who he was.

Stepping forward, Su Niao gently took the fruit knife from his hand. She turned around to face Su Ran, closing the distance between them step by slow step.

Looking at Su Niao’s icy, unreadable expression, Su Ran felt a sudden wave of prickling dread wash over her scalp. Terror flooded her eyes.

Su Niao twirled the knife between her fingers, a wickedly dark smile spreading across her lips. A dark, dangerous glint flared in her eyes. “Su Ran, I don’t think I ever told you I was a good person either.”

Su Ran: “…”

“AAAAAAAAHHH!”

A blood-curdling shriek tore from Su Ran’s throat as she scrambled backward, threw the door open, and fled down the hallway like a woman possessed.

Watching her retreat, Su Niao set the knife down on the desk with a dramatic sigh. “She’s way too easy to scare. I didn’t even do anything yet and she ran off like that.”

She turned around and wrapped her arms snugly around Feng Bai’s waist, burying her face against his chest. “No matter what Su Ran said, I don’t believe a single word of it.”

Feng Bai rested his hands on her hips, pulling her close as he whispered against her hair, “What if… what if everything she said was true?”

Su Niao burst into a soft, melodic laugh. “So what if it is? Like I said, I’m no angel myself.”

She tilted her head up, looking into his troubled eyes. “Feng Bai, can I ask you a question?”

“Mhm.”

“If I ever became a bad person… would you still love me?”

“No matter what you become, I will always love you,” Feng Bai murmured, leaning down to press a tender kiss against her forehead.

Su Niao beamed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. “Same here. No matter who you turn out to be, I will always love you.”

Honestly, Su Niao had considered asking Feng Bai if he was reborn just like her.

But in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were together right now.

The tragedy of their past life was a nightmare neither of them ever needed to relive or speak of again. Now that the nightmare was over and they were awake in the present, they were going to be happy together. So why dwell on the darkness of yesterday?

Some secrets were better off forgotten, buried forever, never to be unedited again.

She held Feng Bai tight, savoring the comforting warmth of his body. Feng Bai tightened his hold in return, holding her as if afraid she might vanish into thin air if he let go.

“Niao Niao… as soon as you graduate, let’s get married.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing, mmm…”

The rest of Su Niao’s sentence was swallowed whole by Feng Bai’s breathless, passionate kiss, pulling her deep into an ocean of endless devotion.