The first person to sense that something was amiss was Yao Zhou.

He was very close to Shen Nan, and when he turned to look at Shao Bei, his gaze unintentionally glanced at Shen Nan's hand.

He placed his left hand on his thigh, shaking slightly.

Just like the previous night when they were walking back to the dormitory along a dark path, Shen Nan tightly gripped his sleeve, trembling.

Yao Zhou was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, why is Shen Nan currently so annoyed with Shao Bei? It made his hands tremble with anger.

In an instant, he saw Shen Nan's eyes fixated on the red rose in Shao Bei's hand. His pupils dilated slightly, not with anger or fury, but with something else—

Afraid.

Damn it, when did Shen Nan become so afraid of everything?

If you are afraid of the dark, that's fine, but what's wrong with being afraid of roses?

In his frustrated state, Shao Bei didn't notice the subtle change in Shen Nan. He handed her a rose and said, "This is for you. I'll go get some food for you right away."

Shen Nan didn't respond, his gaze melancholic as he looked at him.

A vivid crimson rose occupied his entire field of vision, instantly transporting him back to the past.

Still in that windowless basement, he was imprisoned inside without knowing day from night, with nothing to tell the passage of time. He didn't know when he had been put in there. At first, he spent his days in a daze, constantly drifting in and out of sleep, barely awake for a moment. But then his condition improved significantly, and he started to resist, attempting to escape.

However, Shao Bei used brutal measures to trap him in the basement. During that period, he could only see Shao Bei and hear his voice. The more he detested something, the more it would be brought before him. Therefore, he began to ignore it, allowing Shao Bei to recklessly wander in front of him.

However, on that day, a stranger appeared.

She is a beautiful woman, wearing a waist-fitted white chiffon dress, with an intricate hairstyle, rosy lips, a delicate blush on her face. Standing next to Shao Bei in high heels, she is still clinging to him like a little bird. Leaning on Shao Bei's shoulder, she tilts her head slightly, and her hair brushes against his cheek. With a startled expression on her face, she squeezes against Shao Bei's body.

"Ah, who is he? So frightening."

The woman's sweet voice echoed in the basement, as Shen Nan leaned against the wall and squinted his eyes, gazing at the talented and beautiful person in front of him.

Shao Beichong smiled gently at the woman and said, "They're not important, just thought I'd let you know."

The woman seemed to not understand and made a bewildered sound.

Shaobei's gaze flickered past Shen Nan's body. The light in the basement was not bright, but rather had a dimness that evoked a sense of age. Within this dimness, Shen Nan's originally pale and frail complexion inexplicably took on a hint of warmth. Shaobei was momentarily stunned, feeling as if Shen Nan was smiling in a dreamlike manner.

Shao Bei's gaze was still fixed on the woman. He held her slender waist in his grasp and smiled, saying, "You are the future mistress of this place, so you should know everything here."

The woman was momentarily stunned, then ecstatic. She covered her mouth, almost on the verge of tears of joy. "North... North Shao..."

Shaobei is still wearing that gentle and tender demeanor. It's as if he performs magic, pulling out a bouquet of roses from behind him. He half-kneels in front of the woman and extends the roses before her eyes.

"You..."

Through the cracks in the petals, he caught a glimpse of Shen Nan's expression.

"Willing..."

Indifferent, apathetic, as if having seen nothing at all.

"Will you marry me?"

In the blink of an eye after the words were spoken, the woman immediately took the rose. Tears streamed down her face, and a joyful expression filled her beautiful face. She squatted in front of Shao Bei, and the two of them embraced each other with the rose between them.

The memory of that day is fragmented. Shen Nan doesn't remember when Shaobei and the woman left. All he knows is that afterwards, he desperately tried to find something to warm his freezing body. He was so cold, as if he had been thrown into an icy pond in the depths of winter.

But there was nothing in the basement. He was wide awake, trembling all over, unable to explain why. Then, he knocked his head heavily against the wall.

The blood on his forehead snaked down his nose bridge and dripped from his lips.

In the well-insulated basement, no one noticed his movements. He repeatedly slammed against the wall, as if warm blood oozed out, alleviating the chill that engulfed him.

That day, he fainted amidst a sea of blood. One month later, he ended his life in the same bloody scene.