I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Mr. Gu.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to freeze the air around her: "If you really dare to leave..."

"We'll have to think carefully about the auction."

"My father doesn't know that you dared to do such a thing!"

She slightly raised her chin, a dangerous glint flashing in her icy blue pupils.

"stop!"

Gu Yan immediately raised her hands in surrender, a sincere and innocent smile instantly spreading across her face. "Miss Cecilia is joking!"

"What auction? I don't remember anything about it!"

"Taking photos, huh? I love taking photos!"

"It's truly an honor to take a photo with such a beautiful lady as Miss Cecilia!"

"You're being too polite!"

Well, what's the point of talking about it? There was no option for him to leave at all. He really thought he could slip away.

Gu Yan mentally complained, but her body had already stood next to Cecilia's wheelchair, giving her a perfectly gentle smile.

"That's more like it, young man!"

"Be bolder, don't be so shy."

"I can tell you two have a pretty good relationship!"

"Come closer, yes..."

Sir Anthony looked through the camera and nodded with a smile.

Just as Gu Yan stiffly moved a little closer, Sir Anthony was about to press the shutter.

"Wait a moment."

Cecilia's cool voice suddenly rang out.

Sir Anthony stopped what he was doing and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong, Miss?"

"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Cecilia did not answer immediately.

Her icy blue eyes lowered as she looked at her legs, which were covered by a thin blanket, before she slowly raised her eyelids.

The next second, something incredible happened!

Suddenly, the inconspicuous metal parts on the wheelchair's armrests and frame emitted a faint hum and shimmered with a silvery-white luster.

An invisible force lifted Cecilia's body, allowing her to be lifted from the wheelchair at a slow and steady pace!

She actually... stood up!

If you look closely, you can see a faint glimmer of light shining through the hems of her trousers.

She used her magnetic ability to manipulate metal to temporarily construct an extremely precise metal support structure inside and outside her body!

Under her precise control, these tiny metallic particles forcefully simulated the supporting role of bones and muscles, replacing her long-atrophied and powerless legs, and lifting her entire body off the wheelchair!

But this process is obviously extremely painful!

Cecilia's smooth forehead instantly broke out in a fine layer of cold sweat, and her lips lost their color, turning pale.

Her slender body trembled slightly in the air.

It was kept in balance by the invisible magnetic field and the temporary metal support structure inside, as if it would fall apart and collapse at any moment.

Those icy blue eyes burned with an almost obsessive stubbornness and determination.

Even the well-traveled Sir Anthony forgot to take pictures at that moment, his mouth agape in shock.

Gu Yan was completely stunned. He looked at Cecilia's slightly trembling but trying-to-stand back, and at the tense lines of her face due to pain. His heart felt like it had been hit hard by something.

Gu Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Why?

He had spent a long time in a wheelchair in his previous life, and he knew it all too well.

Even though Cecilia used her supernatural abilities to force her damaged legs to support her body, every second she endured excruciating pain that was enough to tear her nerves apart.

This is not standing up; it's torture.

Just to... take a picture standing with him?

At this point, even if he wanted to avoid it, he couldn't pretend he didn't understand.

He should have realized it long ago, but deep down he had been resisting the possibility.

Sometimes when people read novels or watch TV series, they always complain that the male and female protagonists are too stupid.

"Can't you see that?"

But when it actually happens to you, you realize that people often choose to believe the facts they want to believe. This has nothing to do with knowledge or understanding; it's about human instinct.

We subconsciously avoid the answer that leaves us bewildered.

Cecilia Chen, the genius girl from Shanglu City, the Athena in a wheelchair, may... truly harbor feelings for him that go beyond the ordinary.

Gu Yan sighed softly to herself.

To be honest, compared to these female leads who are destined for greatness and might turn into lunatics in the future, he would prefer to find an ordinary girl and live a peaceful and stable life.

Or, you could just not look for anyone at all.

If you only have four years left to live, wouldn't starting a relationship be a recipe for disaster?

Actually... it's not a bad thing to be friends with these female protagonists?

Of course, as a friend in South Africa.

Anyway, their main battlefield in the future is in Daxia, so becoming the heroine's friend in South Africa is definitely not a problem.

We're all in different places, but we all have bright futures. It's good that we don't bother each other.

That's the logic, but seeing Cecilia biting her lower lip, sweating profusely yet stubbornly maintaining her standing posture, Gu Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer.

He subtly moved half a step closer, positioning his shoulder firmly beside Cecilia, providing a silent and supportive presence.

He was 1.79 meters tall, and Cecilia was only slightly shorter than him when she stood up.

The girl seemed to sense his intention, and her body tilted slightly, almost imperceptibly, quietly sharing some of her weight and pain with his not-so-broad but unusually stable shoulders.

Sir Anthony had long forgotten his identity as an actor at that moment.

His true artist nature was fully awakened; his expression became incredibly serious and focused, and his eyes, which had seen all aspects of the world, shone with astonishing brilliance.

"Good...very good! Keep it up!"

His voice was deep and infectious as he quickly adjusted the angle, "Young man, please turn your head slightly. Yes, don't look directly at the camera; leave a little bit for her!"

"Miss, please look in his direction, don't be completely tense, try to relax your brows..."

"Yes! That's it!"

He directed the two to adjust their poses under the dreamy fluorescent vines and starry dome, with a winding, glowing roller coaster track in the background, the composition of the picture as exquisite as a classical oil painting.

The old-fashioned camera in his hand kept making crisp shutter sounds.

Each press seems to unseen magic flow, freezing the subtle and unspoken atmosphere between the boy and girl, their suppressed pain, their silent support, and this dreamlike light and shadow into an eternal image.

"Sit down quickly!"

The photo shoot itself was quick, but for Gu Yan and Cecilia, it felt like an eternity. As the last shot was completed, Gu Yan immediately whispered...

He carefully helped her sit back in her wheelchair.

Cecilia was almost exhausted, and the moment she sat down, the faint light controlling the metal dissipated.

A sliver of color returned to her pale face, but sweat had already soaked the silver hair at her temples.