After leaving the study, Zuo Shihuan wandered aimlessly, stopping and starting along the way. He kept walking until he found himself in the sunlit garden, the bright glare stinging his dazed eyes.
He looked around at the flowerbeds, then sat down on a nearby stone bench.
But once he sat, he realized—he had nothing to do. For the first time, he had neither work nor goals, and suddenly, his whole being felt restless, unable to adapt to idleness.
Even with such rare and beautiful flowers around him, he felt nothing inside.
The work-tightened nerves in his body kept pushing him—pick up the communicator, plan the next task, think about what to do next…
Forget it. Stop thinking.
He leaned back against the stone bench, letting the communicator slip from his hand. The warm sunlight brushed his face, feeling strangely unreal.
As if such leisure wasn’t meant for him.
He’d never had time to stop. Even when he was exhausted, he coped by setting new goals, working himself numb, forgetting fatigue, forgetting everything.
It worked too well—he’d grown accustomed to this self-punishing escape.
Now, he couldn’t even remember how normal people spent their free time. Maybe they went out? Maybe they met friends?
He thought for a moment. Did he even have any friends?
…Probably not.
If he had to name someone he could still contact, it would only be his fiancée. She was probably his only “friend.”
Zuo Shihuan hesitated, squinting up at the sun, then dialed a number on his communicator.
After a few rings, a bright, pleasant female voice answered.
Yu Lizhu laughed lightly. “Hello? Zuo Shihuan? What a rare guest—it’s been ages! I heard you’ve been busy lately. I wanted to ask you out, but figured I’d wait until you were free.”
Zuo Shihuan’s lips curved faintly. “I’m not that busy now. I was thinking of looking for my fiancée. Would Miss Yu Lizhu be kind enough to grant me the honor?”
Yu Lizhu burst out laughing on the other end, wiping away tears of amusement before saying, “Of course I’ll grant you the honor. It’s my privilege to see such a handsome Alpha. You can come to Olina Noble Ladies’ Academy—I still have a few morning classes left.”
Zuo Shihuan asked in confusion, “That kind of school is for Omegas and Betas—can an Alpha like me even go?”
Yu Lizhu’s eyes curved with a playful smile. “Normally, no. But you’re my fiancé in name, after all. As long as you use pheromone suppressants, you can come in. I bet the moment you show up, you’ll have half the Omega students swooning over you.”
Zuo Shihuan: “…”
Hearing that, he rubbed his brow and decided against it. He’d rather wander around alone than step into a school full of troublesome Omegas.
Yu Lizhu huffed twice in mock annoyance but quickly accepted it. “Fine. I just wanted to show you the garden of Olina Noble Ladies’ Academy. It has the most beautiful and diverse plant species of any university in the Federation. That’s why I chose to study landscape design there in the first place.”
Zuo Shihuan gave a helpless smile. “I’ll visit it another time.”
Yu Lizhu sighed, “Guess we’ll have to. If not during the day, then come find me tonight. I have to attend a charity auction—it’ll be boring to go alone. Come with me! If there’s anything you like, I’ll buy it for you!”
Her words carried the kind of bold extravagance that only she could pull off.
Thumping her chest confidently, Yu Lizhu added with a grin, “Don’t worry, I got a generous betrothal gift from your family. I could buy out the whole auction if I wanted—no need to be polite with me!”
At that point, Zuo Shihuan’s expression finally softened with a trace of amusement. It would be rude to refuse now.
“Then I’ll thank my generous fiancée in advance.”
Yu Lizhu chuckled sweetly. “I should be the one thanking you. If it weren’t for your help, I never would’ve caught that coward Ji Shenwen.”
Zuo Shihuan asked casually, “How are you two getting along lately?”
Yu Lizhu replied, “We still call and message every day, but he’s not on the Federation’s main planet right now, and the signal’s awful. Sometimes I can’t even reach him—it’s a bit upsetting…”
Zuo Shihuan frowned. “He’s off the main planet? Where did he go?”
Yu Lizhu sighed, resting her chin on her hand. “He just… left the main planet. I don’t know where to. Ten days ago, we were supposed to watch fireworks together, but he suddenly had something urgent and left. If he didn’t still text me every day, I’d have thought he went missing.”
Zuo Shihuan said softly, “Maybe he really had something important to do. He’ll probably be back soon.”
Yu Lizhu sighed again. “I hope so, but I can’t help worrying since he hasn’t given me a clear update. And that weird, annoying colleague of his went with him too.”
“You should remember him—the Beta from that bar in the lower city district. His name was Gu Heng, I think?”
Zuo Shihuan froze, his pupils going blank for an instant.
Gone?
He hadn’t expected to hear anything about Gu Heng again—and now, the first news he got was that Gu Heng had left the main planet.
Left completely… and won’t be coming back?
His head lowered, eyes dim and clouded, no light seeping through. His lips turned pale, his fists clenched so tight his arms trembled. The sunlight around him suddenly felt hollow and cold.
Though the day was bright and full of sun, he felt utterly alone—so cold it made him shake.
He didn’t know how long he stayed silent.
On the other end, Yu Lizhu’s puzzled voice called out, “Hello? Hello? Zuo Shihuan, are you still there? Why can’t I hear you?”
Zuo Shihuan blinked, pulling himself together slightly. His eyes stayed bitter as he curved his lips in a semblance of a smile. “I’m fine. Just got lost in thought for a moment. I’ll come to that charity auction tonight.”
“Alright, I’ll send you the address later.”
Yu Lizhu paused, then asked with concern, “Zuo Shihuan, are you sure you’re okay? You sound… off.”
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Sometimes, Yu Lizhu’s intuition was unsettlingly sharp—she could sense even the smallest crack in his composure.
But he wouldn’t tell her the real reason. He didn’t want anyone to know. He didn’t want anyone’s pity.
It was all supposed to be over.
He just hadn’t expected ending it to feel this exhausting.
Looking up toward the far-off sun, eyes reddened by the light, Zuo Shihuan said softly, “I’m fine. Maybe just a little tired.”
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