A is in StarCraft, just disembarked from the Zerg Prince spaceship.

*************

......

After that, all I got when I called Gao Tian was a shutdown message.

Gao Tian sighed, took the communicator down, and looked at the black screen in front of him.

His expression was reflected on the screen: a vibrant young man with a face full of energy, but his eyes held only a deep sense of powerlessness.

It's not that I didn't hear it, it's not that I'm too busy, it's just that I don't want to answer.

I just shut it down after playing too much.

If Lu Jianan really doesn't want to answer their calls, then he won't call.

Gao Tian leaned against the cold wall, looking at the bright sunshine outside the window, feeling a tightness in his chest.

He recalled Lu Jianan's terrified behavior that night, and her complete disappearance these past few days.

It seems they really can't accept it.

Forced relationships are never sweet, and some hurdles may truly be insurmountable.

If he really can't accept Bi Shen Ge, then so be it. He doesn't want to become someone who forces Lu Jianan.

He felt that his older brother was the best match for Lu Jianan, but Lu Jianan herself might not think so.

Feelings can't be forced.

He's done his best. If Lu Jianan really doesn't want to, then let's just forget about it.

......

Lu Jianan spent the whole day doing experiments and was scolded by her teacher.

Under the cold, incandescent light, time seemed to be held back by a viscous culture medium.

Lu Jianan didn't know how she got through the day.

The project was too difficult. It had been a long time since these top experts and their elite teams had felt so helpless and stagnant.

Everyone was in a bad mood.

The microscope's eyepiece left a deep red mark on my eye socket. My eyes, which had been staring at dynamic energy flow data for too long, were dry and sore, and I could only see double.

The teacher was also in a bad mood, especially since Lu Jianan had made a mistake today and offended him; the scolding had been constant.

"Data set 37! Abnormal energy dissipation rate! Are you blind? Why aren't you looking at the data?!"

"What is this fluctuation curve? It's full of mistakes! Lu Jianan! Do you not want to study anymore?!"

"Redo it! Redo it all! If you don't produce a decent analysis report today, you'll be sleeping next to the centrifuge!"

Lu Jianan was busy, turning the wheel around like he was tightening screws.

Like a wound-up machine, I was constantly recording, modifying, being scolded, and starting over between the lab bench, instruments, and computers.

The pale blue light from the culture tank illuminated his face, and all he could see were slides, data, slides, data, slides, data, making him dizzy.

When Lu Jianan finally got off work, her mind was completely blank. Her hands and feet were stiff and unsteady, like a robot with a faulty chip.

Instinctively, I took off the sterile gown, changed clothes, and walked out of the laboratory.

He didn't even know how he got back.

It felt like a mountain was pressing down on my shoulders. My back, legs, arms, and neck ached. I felt like a soulless shell as I drifted back to my dorm.

The dormitory manager at the research institute was used to this kind of situation and watched him go upstairs.

The dormitory was very quiet, with only the white noise of the central air conditioning running. The temperature was also kept very comfortable at a constant 26°C.

The door closed behind me.

Lu Jianan stood at the door, not wanting to move at all.

The gray and white fabric sofa in the living room became the only salvation at this moment.

No wonder the sofa in the living room of the research institute dormitory is so close to the door; that's why.

Lu Jianan didn't even have the strength to turn on the light. After taking two steps, she collapsed straight onto the sofa in the dim light.

The moment my body touched the soft mat, all my strength was completely drained.

He didn't have time to think about anything, or even to adjust to a comfortable position. He just tilted his head, half of his face buried in the gap of the sofa back, maintaining an extremely awkward posture, and instantly lost consciousness.

Coma-like sleep.

He was still tightly gripping his terminal in his hand.

A thought, amidst his mentor's roars, the hum of the instruments, and the overwhelming, all-consuming fatigue, remained like a nail driven into his mind.

His older brother might call him.

But he forgot to turn the terminal back from silent.

Furthermore, he didn't notice that the screen of the terminal he was holding was already a deathly black.

Throughout the day, Gao Tian's persistent calls had silenced his phone, but each time the screen lit up, it silently drained the already limited battery power of his terminal.

His device isn't charged every day, and the battery level isn't very high to begin with.

At some point, as the screen silently lit up in his pocket, the faint current that kept the device alive finally ran out.

The screen flickered one last time, like the last silent flash of a star before it dims.

then.

It went out silently.

The computer shut down in complete silence.

The dormitory was deathly silent, except for the sound of the air conditioner blowing and Lu Jianan lying on the sofa in an uncomfortable half-curled position, emitting soft snoring.

He was like a snail retreating into its shell, falling into a deep sleep in the fortress built of weariness.

Occasionally, it will whimper, wiggle, and talk in its sleep.

Why hasn't your older brother called him yet?

Give him a way out.

My older brother will definitely call him.

......

***********

......

State Guesthouse.

The suite on the top floor of the mountaintop villa is beautiful under the night sky.

The moonlight outside the window was still bright, and the verdant mountains swayed in the wind under the moonlight, beautiful.

Bishen sat alone in an armchair by the window.

Only a floor lamp was lit in the room, casting a deep shadow on his sharply defined profile.

He was holding his personal computer in his hand.

He will be setting off back to Liernia tomorrow.

The eye of the storm is about to rise in Liernia.

The road ahead is fraught with peril, and the return date is uncertain.

He was not afraid.

They have countless starships and an iron-blooded legion; they will never lose.

Also, he is the head of the Mantis family.

Whoever becomes the Queen of the Zerg will not offend the Mantis clan. The Mantis clan is the Zerg's absolute strongest fighting force; who, as Queen, would be willing to exterminate the entire Mantis clan?

He's destined to be pampered wherever he goes.

But he feels a tightness in his chest right now.

As domineering as he is, he is used to controlling everything and being looked up to.

That hasty kiss was the only thing he could do.

This triggered a massive wave of terror and a flight to safety.

These past few days... it must have been seven days, and Lu Jianan hasn't sent a single message.

This was a silent rejection, cold and utter.

He sat there for a long time, his fingers unconsciously stroking the smooth outer shell of the quantum computer.

He's leaving tomorrow.

There's no time to waste with Lu Jianan.

He and his arrogance waged a long, silent war.

His pride, ingrained in him as a powerful figure in the mantis fighting, unwavering even in the face of overwhelming odds, could be temporarily set aside for the sake of Lu Jianan.

He likes Lu Jianan.

He wanted to pursue Lu Jianan.

He was willing to humble himself.

He wanted to try again.

Even if you're going to refuse him, make sure you confirm it with his voice. If it is a refusal, then listen to his voice as a farewell.

He turned on his communicator and opened his contacts. The name lay there quietly.

He stared for a few seconds, then pressed the call button with a solemn air.

The communicator was held to my ear, and a brief connection tone sounded.

He had already figured out what he was going to say to Lu Jianan.

Lu Jianan, I'm leaving. Aren't you coming back? Don't be so temperamental. We're going to fight the Insect King. This is a rare occurrence. Do you want to come and watch the excitement? I'll take you with me.

The next second—

A cold, mechanical, and emotionless female voice clearly entered his eardrums:

Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.

......

Bi Shen chuckled.

The communicator, pressed against his ear, was not put down.

The cold, detached notification tone kept echoing in his ears.

He listened to the notification tone as if he were hearing Lu Jianan's voice.

I long for things to quickly dry up, and for something heavier to slowly wash over my heart.

There weren't many surprises, just a sense of...as expected, calm, and a little bit of regret.

It seemed like there were forces beyond his control everywhere, as if the world was trying to prevent him from being with Lu Jianan.

He wanted to try one last time to salvage the relationship, but Lu Jianan turned off her phone.

He slowly put down the communicator and leaned back in the wide chair.

He didn't try to dial again, but just sat there quietly, staring at a point in the void.

He was waiting.

The room was eerily quiet, with only his barely audible breathing.

Time flowed by slowly, second by second.

The moonlight moved slowly across the carpet.

The deep darkness outside the window was gradually swallowed up by the even deeper night.

He was like a lonely island, slowly being swallowed up by the sea of ​​regret.

Perhaps this is what they call destiny.

He didn't close his eyes that night, sitting there all night.

Until the sky outside the window gradually changed from a deep, dark black to a slightly grayish-white.

Until the first rays of dawn climbed up the windowpane, casting long, pale golden shadows on the floor.

Bishen remained seated in that armchair.

His posture remained almost unchanged, like a frozen statue.

Its daybreak.

He was still clutching the communicator.

"Maybe I should try one more time," he thought.

The communication was made.

If I still can't get through, then I'll just give up.

The results are obvious.

The voice on the communicator continued: "Sorry, the user you dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

He felt he understood; perhaps they really weren't a good match.

Perhaps Lu Jianan never had those feelings for him all along, and he was just imagining things.

Without sadness or anger, he simply reached out and gently brushed the edge of the communicator's cold screen with his fingertips.

Lu Jianan.

Only in his life.

It lasted for an extremely short moment.

Then, without lingering, he stood up, calmly and resolutely put the communicator, along with the unspoken words from last night that were silenced by the phone's shutdown tone, into his pocket, never to be mentioned again.