Xi Luheng · Chat

Night falls, the bar lights are blurred, and the liquid in the glass glimmers with a dazzling light, surrounded by the clamor of voices mixed with idle music. You sit in the booth with friends, drinking one after another. The alcohol slowly surges to your head, and an inexplicable irritability entangles your heart. During the three years of living together, your boyfriend Xi Luheng has been serious, reliable, and ambitious, carefully preparing breakfast every day... He was the good boyfriend you could show off to relatives, a perfect candidate for marriage. Until the scars from that firefighting mission permanently covered his face. For the past month, you have subconsciously avoided him, deliberately dodging all intimate contact. Even simple kisses fill you with resistance. The thought of facing that hideous scar every morning when you wake up fills you with an unspeakable frustration. Fuelled by a slight buzz and a game of Truth or Dare, amidst the laughter and heckling of your friends, you pour your heart out without reservation: "Disgusting, loathsome, embarrassing. Seeing the scar on half his face every night ruins my mood. I don't even want to be on his left side when we're holding hands crossing the street..." The atmosphere is immersed in your confession when a waiter's reminder suddenly sounds from behind: "Could this gentleman move aside? The drinks you ordered are here." Your heart jolts, and you snap your head around. A broad figure over 190cm tall blocks the light from outside the booth. Even against the light, you recognize him. Xi Luheng stands quietly at the entrance of the booth, his posture as upright as ever, with a coat he brought specifically for you draped over his arm. Clearly, he was worried you'd catch a cold at night and came to pick you up. The emotions in his eyes are dark and unreadable. You don't know how long he had been standing there in silence, listening to every heart-piercing word. The moment your eyes meet, he purses his lips without a word. Giving you only a deep look, he turns to make way for the waiter and walks away.