Chapter 18: The Burning Prophecy

5 a.m.

The world was enveloped in complete silence, with only a few scattered insect calls outside the window.

Xu Yuan suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. There was no scream, no cold sweat—only a slow, heavy suffocation, as if immersed in ice water.

Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, each beat dull yet sharp with countless tiny pains.

Fire!

The vivid, haunting dream burned itself into her mind like an unerasable brand, scorching with unbearable heat.

The library, third floor, by the window.

The notebook filled with his painstakingly crafted code ignited from one corner, then was greedily and mercilessly devoured inch by inch by orange flames, finally turning into a wisp of black, curled ash.

At last, she understood.

All her previous dreams—the reefs, the karaoke bars, the childhood traumas—were merely a prelude.

They were like the gathering storm clouds before a disaster. This fire was the final, devastating lightning bolt that would shatter him completely.

An unprecedented, bone-deep terror seized her heart like a cold hand.

She could wait no longer.

She had to do something!

Xu Yuan leapt out of bed in a rush, knocking over the cup by the bedside with a sharp clink that pierced the silent night.

“Mmm… Xu Yuan, what are you raving about now?” came Zhou Lili’s indistinct murmur from the upper bunk.

But Xu Yuan paid no mind. By the faint glow of her phone screen, she hastily threw on clothes, grabbed her backpack, and dashed out of the dormitory like a fugitive.

The night wind was icy, blowing against her pale, fear-stricken face.

As she ran, her mind raced chaotically.

What should she do?

How could she act?

Should she rush to him and say, “I dreamed the library would catch fire—don’t go there”?

No, that wouldn’t do.

He would see her as a crazy woman, desperate and obsessive, willing to do anything to entangle him. The fragile new “deal” they had barely established would collapse instantly.

But if she did nothing…

Could she just stand by and watch the boy she had struggled so hard to pull from the mire walk toward the foretold, all-consuming end?

No! Absolutely not!

Her footsteps came to an abrupt halt at the entrance to the boys’ dormitory.

She couldn’t confront him—not like this.

She needed a reason—an airtight, logical excuse that would make him willingly stay away from danger.

Her mind sped like never before.

The “Wind Qi” tech challenge!

Yes! The competition!

It was the only lifeline she could grasp.

---

The next morning at 7:30 a.m., Xu Yuan, sporting two large dark circles under her eyes, broke her usual habit and did not go to the cafeteria. Instead, she appeared at the entrance of the Computer Science building.

In her hands were two steaming packed breakfasts. One was hers—two plain steamed buns; the other, bought ruthlessly with her hard-earned wages from the school’s most upscale western restaurant—a whole wheat sandwich costing thirty-eight yuan and a cup of hot milk.

She stood there like a silent sentinel, waiting for the person she both feared and had to see.

Passing students cast curious, probing glances.

“Isn’t that Xu Yuan from the Journalism Department? What’s she doing here?”

“Waiting for her boyfriend, obviously. But is he even from our department?”

“No idea… but she’s been hanging around Jiang Yi a lot lately. Could it be…”

The whispers pricked Xu Yuan’s back like countless fine needles, but she no longer cared.

At nearly eight o’clock, the familiar figure appeared in the morning light.

Jiang Yi wore his usual simple black hoodie, carrying a laptop bag, his expression indifferent as he approached. When he saw Xu Yuan blocking the doorway and the breakfast obviously meant for him, for the first time, a rare flicker of surprise crossed his usually unreadable eyes.

He instinctively stopped, furrowing his brows deeply.

“What are you doing here?” His voice was hoarse, characteristic of early morning, with a faint trace of caution.

“Waiting for you.” Xu Yuan met his scrutinizing gaze with the brightest, most flawless smile she had rehearsed all night. “Good morning, my… partner.”

She enunciated “partner” softly and tenderly, with an intentional intimacy that unsettled him.

Jiang Yi’s frown deepened.

“Got something to say?” His tone was cold, devoid of warmth.

“Of course.” Xu Yuan thrust the sandwich and milk into his arms without waiting for him to react. “Here’s your breakfast.”

Jiang Yi recoiled as if burned, instinctively wanting to push it away.

“Don’t!” Xu Yuan immediately held his hand, her smile unchanging but her words like honey laced with poison. “Jiang University’s prodigy, you haven’t forgotten our ‘new deal’ from yesterday, have you?”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice so only they could hear, enunciating each word: “I’ve invested everything I have—my life and fortune—into you. So from today on, your body, your mind, your time… all belong to me.”

“I must ensure my ‘investment’ is in top condition to win back those thirty thousand yuan for me.” She pointed to the breakfast in his arms, grinning like a cat caught stealing fish. “So, eating on time is step one.”

Jiang Yi stared at her, those dark, deep eyes swirling with turbulent emotions.

In her overly bright eyes, he saw the same unyielding pride and madness he had witnessed in the computer lab yesterday.

He wanted to refuse, to throw the charity breakfast to the ground.

But looking at her pale, sleep-deprived face forcing a smile for him, at her bloodshot yet still striking eyes…

He found he couldn’t utter a word of refusal.

“There’s more,” Xu Yuan didn’t give him a chance to speak, immediately revealing her true intention. “About the competition—I have a new idea. The library is too noisy, not suitable for a top-tier team that requires absolute concentration. So, I applied for an independent project room on campus. From today, we’ll work there.”

She pulled out a printed application form from her backpack and waved it before him.

“I’ve already found the place. It’s absolutely quiet, with a dedicated gigabit fiber network—completely secure.” She looked at him, her smile flawless. “How’s that for a product planner’s professionalism?”

Jiang Yi remained silent.

He looked at her, at the impeccably prepared application form in her hand, and at the still-warm sandwich in his arms.

For the first time, his genius mind felt a flicker of confusion.

He couldn’t understand her.

---

He completely, utterly failed to understand this girl before him.

At times she resembled a frightened rabbit, humbled to the dust; other times, a cat with claws unsheathed, proud and dominant, allowing no one to trespass.

What exactly did she want?

“Why so quiet?” Xu Yuan’s smile grew brighter despite the tightening in her chest. “Jiang University’s prodigy, are you… afraid?”

“Afraid that being stuck in the same confined space with me, a ‘troublemaker,’ might lead to… uncontrollable consequences?”

Her words were a naked, unapologetic provocation.

Jiang Yi’s dark eyes suddenly narrowed.

Looking at her impish smile so close, at her eyes burning with cold flames, the string in his heart named “pride,” long suppressed, finally snapped with a sharp crack.

“Fine.”

He forced the word from his throat.

One word that meant compromise—and that once again, he was being dragged into a whirlpool he could not control, a dangerous abyss.

Xu Yuan’s heart finally settled at the sound of that word.

Yet she showed no joy.

She took a step back, putting space between them, her smile turning polite and distant.

“Good.” She turned and walked a few steps forward, then glanced back and winked. “Oh, I forgot to tell you.”

“There’s only one key to the project room.”

“It’s with me.”

Without looking back at his suddenly pale face, she turned and vanished around the corner of the teaching building, stepping into the morning light like a proud butterfly victorious in battle.

Jiang Yi stood alone, clutching the still-warm sandwich and a heart thrown into chaotic turmoil by her.

He looked down at the breakfast, then up in the direction she disappeared, and for the first time, a wry, disheveled smile—one even he hadn’t noticed before—touched his usually frostbound face.

Meanwhile, once she confirmed he could no longer see her, Xu Yuan’s carefully maintained, flawless smile shattered completely.

Leaning against the cold wall, she slid down to the ground, her heart pounding so fiercely it seemed to leap from her throat.

She had won.

In a near self-destructive way, she had won this game once more.

But why…

Were her tears flooding more fiercely than ever before?

Covering her face, struggling to calm her nearly broken emotions, a gentle voice with a hint of uncertainty suddenly came from above.

“Xu Yuan…?”

Xu Yuan stiffened and jerked her head up.

Before her stood a boy in a white shirt, his demeanor gentle and refined, holding a copy of Journalism Interviewing and Writing.

He was the campus heartthrob of the Journalism Department, last year’s national scholarship winner—Wen Ran.

He looked at her tear-streaked, swollen eyes with undisguised surprise and concern.

“Are you… alright?”