# Chapter 52
"Which city did you have in mind?"
I said nothing. I wasn't stupid enough to fall for that.
He smiled—that gentle smile. Suddenly, I felt that the Shangguan of this moment was so much like Yang Yun. Kindness laced with treachery, nonchalance tinged with cunning, completely different from the man who used to be like a firecracker. Was I imagining things? Or had his past self been an act? Or... did he have a split personality?
"A-Yi, you know, our company has branches in many cities."
I hummed dismissively. So what? I could just run somewhere without a branch.
"And the Shangguan family has offices all across the country."
I hummed again. I could go abroad! Africa, the Middle East—those places would be easy enough!
"And even if there weren't, I could open one."
I rolled my eyes. Your family's money is your business, but the world is vast. There must be places your influence can't reach.
"With how advanced the internet is now, I could manage the company even from the moon. So, no matter where you go, I'll follow. This time I won't wait for you—I'll follow you, cling to you. In short, as long as I'm not dead, I'm going to spend this entire life tangled up with you!"
"You—you—" I jumped to my feet, pointing at him, words failing me.
Shangguan smiled—gently, serenely, freely, with all the charm one could ask for. If his photo were posted on Starfire, female players would surely multiply. But in my eyes, that smile was no different from a shark's tears.
A wave of dizziness washed over me. The vision before me was clear: me, running from city to city, but before I could even settle down, there would be Shangguan. If I kept running, my meager savings would drain quickly. And if I tried to put down roots somewhere, the moment I found a job he'd appear as my superior or something. With his wealth, buying whatever place I rented would be effortless. So the person I was trying to escape would instantly become my landlord and boss—no different from now!
He cupped my face tenderly and murmured softly, "I mean what I say, A-Yi. You can try if you want. Let's see which of us gets tired first, which of us breaks first."
Me. Without trying, I already knew it would be me. Honestly, just thinking about it was terrifying.
"This isn't fair! You can't do this!" My protest was weak and powerless.
"Then what would you have me do? Since you don't want to live like this anymore, of course we have to change things up." His tone was understanding, his expression saying he would never make things difficult for me.
I wanted to cry. I even felt I never should have fled Yang Yun's den of wolves. At least with him, I had something to look forward to.
"You can't escape me, A-Yi. Even if it means dying, you will die with me."
"Why? You're so accomplished—plenty of people would love you. I'm not attractive, I'm useless, I'm lazy, I can't do anything. You could find someone else. Boys, girls—there are so many wonderful, beautiful options..." I struggled to protest, like a drowning person clutching at anything within reach.
"But none of them are you, A-Yi." He held me, held me tightly, but his voice was soft as a whisper. "I fell in love with you—not chose you. I can't swap you out for someone else."
I stood there, not even having the strength to struggle anymore.
Thus ended my month and three days of running. In those thirty-four days, though I'd lived like a mouse in constant fear, I never managed to escape the Shangguan family's grasp. I felt deeply that I must have done something terrible to the Shangguan family in a past life. I was ashamed of my own weakness—but what could I do? What could I possibly do? There was only one path ahead. Unless I could become more powerful than Shangguan, nothing would ever change.
When I returned to Honglin once more, I felt as though everything had changed yet nothing had. More than that, I felt a sense of resignation. Afterward, my life returned to how it was before. Days passed. A month later, I began to think this life wasn't so bad after all.
I didn't know if I had fallen in love with Shangguan. But I clearly would never fall in love with anyone else...