Shi Mo hadn't expected a message like that from Fu Yunshen.
It wasn't romantic. It wasn't even wordy.
It was just two lines.
"Don't wait for me. I won't be back tonight.""Take care of Zhou Zhi."
Short. Distant. Cold.
It felt like a door quietly closing.
Zhou Zhi, of course, noticed immediately.
"Did you two fight?" he asked, peering over her shoulder as she reread the message for the third time.
"No," she replied, locking her phone.
"Then why does he sound like a soldier leaving for war?"
Shi Mo didn't answer.
Because she didn't know.
Fu Yunshen had been acting differently since the math exam.
More distant. More guarded.
And now he was suddenly staying somewhere else?
She could've asked him. She could've pressed.
But she didn't.
Because for the first time, she wasn't sure where they stood.
Dinner that evening was unusually quiet.
Zhou Zhi, sitting across from her in the cafeteria, stabbed moodily at his rice. "I miss the grumpy version of Fu Yunshen."
"He's still grumpy," Shi Mo muttered.
"Yeah, but now he's mysteriously grumpy," Zhou Zhi said. "Like he's brooding on a rooftop somewhere writing sad poetry."
Shi Mo almost smiled.
Almost.
Back in the dorm, she sat at her desk, pretending to do homework.
But her eyes kept flicking to the empty bed across from hers.
Untouched.
Silent.
It was stupid to miss someone after a single day.
Wasn't it?
The Gu inside her pulsed faintly.
"You're emotionally invested," it hissed. "That's dangerous."
She clenched her jaw. "You don't get to lecture me about danger."
Later that night, her phone buzzed again.
Another message.
Fu Yunshen:"Don't forget to eat."
That was it.
No explanation. No emoji. No warmth.
Shi Mo stared at the screen, then typed and deleted four different replies.
Eventually, she sent just one word.
"Okay."
She didn't know if it was enough.
She didn't know if it was too much.
The system buzzed softly in her ear:
[Mission Alert: Emotional Mistrust Detected][Brotherhood Value -15 (Target Withdrawal – Temporary Setback)][Current Total: 985 / 1,000,000]
Shi Mo hissed under her breath.
So this is what a step backward felt like.
Cold.
Quiet.
Unexplained.
She lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling, her thoughts racing.
Had she done something wrong?
Had he discovered something?
Or was this just… him?
Walls back up.
Barriers rebuilt.
Shi Mo didn't cry.
But she didn't sleep either.