After the sudden, disappointing click of the cafe landline, Naea slowly lowered her phone. She stared at the screen for a long moment, but instead of sinking deeper into panic, a sudden, quiet warmth settled over her heart. Her inner voice, built on years of unbroken connection, whispered to her with absolute certainty—'It's okay. Akira will come home . No matter how angry she is, she won't stay away .' Clinging tightly to that comforting intuition, Naea took a deep breath, composed her shaken expression, and forcefully immersed herself back into her daily household chores and routine, waiting patiently for the evening to arrive.
Miles away, sitting at the very same spot, Akira forced her bleeding emotions into lockdown. She turned her eyes back to the manuscript on her desk, letting the lives of her characters blur out the harsh reality of the empty cafe.
As her eyes tracked the pages, she read about the beautiful, blossoming bond between Fen and Professor Ruoxi. The two had officially entered into a relationship, choosing to keep their burning love a closely guarded secret from the rest of the campus world. In that hidden, quiet sanctuary of their secret love, they were profoundly happy, finding solace in each other's presence away from societal judgments.
But as Akira flipped to the next chapter, the fictional plot took a sudden, sharp turn that mirrored her own tragic destiny.
Due to an urgent, unavoidable professional commitment, Ruoxi was unexpectedly required to travel out of the city for a few days. The sudden departure forced a temporary separation between the two lovers, leaving Fen completely isolated and alone within the vast, echoing boundaries of the city.
Akira's fingers froze against the edge of the tablet. The bitter irony was almost unbearable. Even in the fictional world she was using as an escape, a heavy separation was taking root. In less than forty-eight hours, she too would be boarding a flight to Tokyo, leaving Naea completely alone in a city where a toxic parasite was waiting to strike. The lines between the ink on the pages and the blood in her veins had never felt more terrifyingly blurred.
The final bell of the examination hall marked the end of Zheng's high school papers, but inside her twisting mind, it signaled the beginning of her real game. Without wasting a single second to change out of her school uniform, she headed straight to Naea's house.
The moment Naea opened the door and saw her, she instantly understood that the girl had come directly from the exam center. Before Naea could even offer a word of welcome, Zheng burst out with a bright, victorious expression. "Miss Naea! My exam went exceptionally well... and it's all because of you!"
A soft, genuine smile brushed against Naea's lips. Feeling a temporary wave of relief for her student, she replied, "That is wonderful news, Zheng. And now, you are finally free."
Hearing those words, Zheng promptly unslung her heavy school bag and set it aside on the floor. Little Naria was sound asleep in the adjoining room, leaving the living room enveloped in absolute quiet. Zheng took a calculated step closer, her eyes locking onto Naea with an intense, unblinking focus.
"Miss Naea... do you remember your promise?" Zheng whispered, her voice laced with a dangerous anticipation. "You told me that once I gave my exams properly, you would listen to whatever I had to say."
Naea offered a calm, unsuspecting nod. "Yes, I remember."
"Can I... can I please have a hug?" Zheng asked, lowering her gaze to feign the innocent, vulnerable mask of a grateful student.
Believing it to be nothing more than a harmless, good gesture of celebration, Naea didn't think twice. She extended her arms and nodded. "Of course."
Zheng instantly stepped into her space and wrapped her arms tightly around Naea's frame. The moment their bodies met, an intoxicating rush hit Zheng's senses. The lingering, beautiful scent radiating from Naea's skin completely overwhelmed her. She tightened her grip, holding on for far longer than a normal embrace warranted.
When they finally began to part, Zheng purposefully didn't step back. They remained standing breathlessly close—literally inches apart.
Before Naea could even process the sudden violation of her personal space, Zheng's gaze dropped to her lips, and she began to lean her face forward, tilting her head to capture a kiss.
Alarm bells instantly exploded inside Naea's mind. Recognizing the dark, boundary-crossing intent, a surge of absolute adrenaline kicked in. With a sudden, forceful movement, Naea firmly shoved Zheng backward by her shoulders, breaking the contact entirely. "Zheng!" she snapped, her voice ringing with deep, defensive authority.
Stumbling back, Zheng stared at her, the mask of the innocent student completely melting away to reveal the raw, burning obsession underneath. Looking directly into Naea's shocked eyes, she confessed without a shred of shame. "I like you, Naea. I really, truly like you! You are so beautiful, so pretty, and you handle every single situation with such grace. I am so damn fucking in love with you!"
Naea stood completely frozen, a sickening wave of horror washing over her. The boundaries had been completely defiled. Forcing her voice to remain cold and unyielding, she pointed toward the door. "Zheng. Pick up your bag and go home. Your exams are over, so go focus on your future preparations. Just leave."
The blunt rejection sparked a sudden, dangerous flare of anger inside the 19-year-old. Refusing to back down, Zheng lunged forward again, her fingers gripping Naea's shoulders with an uncomfortably tight, bruising force. "Naea, don't say that!" she screamed, her eyes wild. "I only ever came to this house for you! I truly love you! If you are worried about Akira standing in our way, then don't be! I will remove her from between us permanently! After that, you, Naria, and I will live together. I will love you infinitely more than Akira ever could! I'll take better care of you! I will make you so incredibly happy!"
Hearing the chilling, psychopathic threat to eliminate Akira, the final veil of blindness was violently ripped away from Naea's eyes.
With a burst of frantic, defensive strength, Naea violently twisted her body, breaking free from Zheng's tight grip. She stepped back, her face pale with absolute disgust and towering rage. "But I love only Akira ! She is my only happiness, Zheng! And now... now I finally understand exactly why Akira beat you up last night !"
Naea's voice trembled violently as tears of profound guilt and realization flooded her eyes. "Because of your venomous lies, I hurt her so deeply... I treated her warnings like a petty, jealous story! And look at the sickening reality standing right in front of me! Zheng, get out of my sight right now before I call Aunt Zhi and expose what a person you are. Just get lost!"
Seeing the absolute hatred and disgust burning in Naea's eyes, a stream of hot tears finally spilled down Zheng's cheeks. The rejection cut through her arrogance, leaving her bleeding. She looked at Naea, her voice cracking with pathetic desperation. "What... what on earth does Akira even have in her that you refuse to leave her?!"
Naea looked back at her, her voice dropping into a solid, unshakeable register of pure devotion. "She taught me how to live. She stood by my side as an unbreakable shield, even when I pushed her away, even when I screamed at her, even when I spewed venomous, poisoned words at her face! She never abandoned me. She didn't even abandon me last night... it was I who was the blind fool to believe you and your deceptive friend!"
Naea pointed blindly toward the exit, her breathing heavy. "I have absolutely nothing left to debate with you, Zheng. Just leave."
Defeated, humiliated, and crying bitterly, Zheng realized the illusions she had built had turned to ash. Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, she snatched her school bag from the floor and bolted out of the front door, slamming it shut behind her.
The moment the door clicked locked, the heavy silence of the house crashed down on Naea like a physical weight.
Her legs completely gave out. Naea collapsed onto her knees right there on the hard ground. Burying her face into both of her trembling palms, she broke out into a violent, breathless weep. The agonizing truth was suffocating her. Akira had been right all along. Akira had been bleeding in the shadows to protect this house from a parasite, while Naea had punished her with exile. And now, as she stared at her silent phone, the terrifying reality hit her—Akira was gone, pushed so far away into the cold darkness that she might never come back.
Forcing her trembling body to stand, Naea wiped the hot tears from her face and gathered whatever broken strength she had left. She picked up her phone and dialed Akira's number yet again, her heart screaming for a single chance to clear the tragic misunderstanding.
But just as expected, the line kept ringing into the void. Akira stood frozen in the empty cafe, staring at the flashing screen, brutally locking her emotions away as she refused to pick up the call, entirely unaware that the truth had already been exposed.
To drown out the agonizing vibration of her phone, Akira forced her eyes back down onto the manuscript, desperate to lose herself in the final pages of the chapter. But she had no idea that the fiction in her hands was about to take a plunge into absolute horror.
In the book, Fen had walked over to Ruoxi's house, hoping to check if her beloved had returned from her out-of-town trip. Instead of Ruoxi, the door was opened by her younger brother—a boy Ruoxi cherished deeply, but who was nothing less than a monster cloaked in human skin.
Finding Fen entirely alone in the vacant house, his dark impulses overrode his sanity. Moving with predatory force, he trapped Fen inside and brutally assaulted her. Fen fought back with every ounce of strength in her body, screaming and striking out, but he was physically overpowering. He mercilessly violated her, shattering her spirit and fracturing her internally until her body couldn't take the trauma anymore, and she lost consciousness.
Panic seized the brother the moment he looked down at Fen's lifeless form. Terrified of the consequences, he roughly dragged her unconscious body into his car, drove out to a completely desolate, isolated area, and discarded her there in her torn, ruined clothes before fleeing the scene.
Later that very night, Ruoxi finally returned to the city, her heart light and eager to see her partner. She immediately tried calling Fen, but the line was completely unreachable. Growing anxious, she drove straight to Fen's apartment, only to find the place locked and dark. Panic began to claw at Ruoxi's chest; she had no idea what was happening or where to look.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed with an incoming call from an unknown number. Ruoxi snatched it instantly, pressing it to her ear. "Hello?"
The only response was a fragile, broken sob—but Ruoxi recognized that weeping voice within a fraction of a second. It was Fen.
"Fen Tao?!" Ruoxi gasped, her voice instantly laced with deep terror. "Where are you? I've been calling you non-stop! Where have you been?!"
"Ruoxi..." Fen cried out from the other end, her voice small, raspy, and trembling with excruciating agony. "It hurts... everything hurts so much. Please... please just come and take me away from here..."
Ruoxi's entire world short-circuited. "Fen, baby, listen to me!" she begged, her voice cracking as tears blurred her vision. "Where are you? Please, find the courage to tell me your location!"
Gathering every remaining shred of her fading consciousness, Fen weakly stammered out the landmarks of the isolated spot where she had been abandoned. The moment the address left Fen's lips, Ruoxi didn't waste another second—she slammed her foot on the accelerator, racing blindly into the dark night to rescue her shattered love.
Slamming her foot on the accelerator, Ruoxi drove through the dark city like a madwoman until her headlights cut through the isolation, spotting Fen's shattered figure. Her heart dropped into a bottomless pit. Stripping off her heavy coat, Ruoxi immediately wrapped it around Fen's trembling, ruined form, gently lifting her into the passenger seat before racing back toward Fen's apartment—the one place that had once been their sanctuary.
Throughout the drive, Fen remained completely, hauntingly silent. For Ruoxi, this quietness was an agonizing torture; the vibrant Fen who could never sit beside her without talking was now fading into an empty shell.
Reaching the apartment, Ruoxi carefully carried Fen into the bedroom, laying her softly against the mattress. Wanting to soothe her, Ruoxi brought a glass of water and stepped toward the bed. But the moment she reached out, Fen violently flinched backward, her eyes wild with terror as she desperately shook her head. "Don't... don't touch me, Ruoxi! Please!"
Ruoxi froze. The sudden rejection pierced her chest, and with a sickening realization, tears began to stream continuously down her face. Dropping the glass, she completely bypassed the warning and pulled Fen into a fierce, desperate, and unyielding hug.
The contact broke Fen's remaining restraint. She collapsed into Ruoxi's shoulder, weeping violently, her words fractured by breathless sobs. "Ruoxi, please back away! Your body doesn't deserve to touch something like me! Please, Ruoxi... I was raped. Why can't you understand?! I'm ruined!"
Hearing the crushing truth, Ruoxi only tightened her embrace, kissing the top of Fen's head as her own tears soaked into Fen's hair. "Please, Ruoxi, get away from me... I feel so disgusting right now," Fen begged, her voice shrinking.
Finally, Ruoxi gently pulled back just a fraction. Framing Fen's pale, tear-stained face with both of her hands, she pressed a soft, lingering kiss against her forehead. Her voice dropped into a dark, razor-sharp whisper. "Fen... who was that monster?"
Fen gasped, a fresh wave of violent sobs wracking her chest as she uttered the hardest words of her life. "Your... your younger brother. No... he is a monster, Ruoxi."
The world seemed to stop spinning. Ruoxi's eyes widened, the betrayal and horror threatening to hollow her out from within. But looking at the broken girl in her arms, her maternal and protective instincts overrode every biological tie. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she looked into Fen's eyes. "Fen Tao... tell me. What do you want? What should be done to him?"
"He deserves life imprisonment," Fen cried out bitterly. "He doesn't deserve to live a normal life out in the sun!"
Ruoxi looked back at her, her expression hardening into a terrifyingly absolute, cold resolve. "No, Fen. Monsters don't deserve life. They deserve death."
Fen's breath hitched, her crying turning into a stunned silence. She had never imagined, even in her wildest dreams, that Ruoxi would be willing to sentence her most cherished, beloved younger brother to death without a single second of hesitation, just to avenge her.
Before Fen could speak, Ruoxi leaned down and captured her lips in a soft, profoundly apologetic kiss. "I am really sorry, Fen Tao ..." she whispered against her lips.
Gently lifting Fen's fragile body into her arms, Ruoxi carried her into the bathroom. She lowered her tenderly into the warm waters of the bathtub. Standing over her, Ruoxi began to wash her with an unparalleled, aching tenderness. With every stroke of her hands and every splash of water, she wasn't just cleaning her—she was actively washing away the ghost of that monster's touch, rewriting Fen's skin with her own love. Both of them wept silently in the steam, their tears merging with the water.
Once the painful cleansing was complete, Ruoxi carried a clean, shivering Fen back into the bedroom, gently drying her skin with a soft towel. Seeing this boundless, unconditional care and devotion, something shifted inside Fen. Reaching up, she pulled Ruoxi down by her collar, pressing her lips against her mouth.
The sudden contact triggered an emotional outbreak inside Ruoxi. The restraint she had held onto all night finally ruptured. She pinned Fen down, capturing her mouth in a fiercely passionate, deep, and desperate kiss.
But halfway through the heat, Fen gently pushed against her chest, breaking the contact as her eyes filled with fresh moisture. "Ruoxi... my body doesn't deserve your love anymore. It's dirty."
Ruoxi didn't let her finish. Setting the towel aside, she locked her gaze with Fen's teary eyes , her voice ringing with absolute, empowering clarity. "Fen Tao. Your body never be dirty still now it always belongs to you. It is entirely your right to decide who gets to see it, who gets to hold it, and who deserves to touch it. No one can strip that autonomy away from you."
Staring up into those fierce, unyielding eyes, the dark clouds of shame inside Fen's mind completely evaporated. A soft, breathless smile touched her lips. "My body... only ever wants your touch, Ruoxi. Only your love."
That confession was the ultimate permission.
Ruoxi leaned down, consuming Fen's lips with a desperate, all-consuming passion. She wanted to reclaim every single millimeter of Fen's skin, wanting to leave her own marks of love and possession to permanently drown out the trauma. Their movements turned intensely intimate, the friction and heat between them rising to a fever pitch. But for the first time, this high-level intimacy brought no fear—it brought Fen an overwhelming sense of profound relief, safety, and ultimate pleasure.
And there, wrapped in the protective warmth of an absolute, unbreakable bond, Chapter 50 came to an end.