Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Gu Mengmeng laughed dryly, “That… you can make more, then ask Auretin to go over and eat too.”

Lea leaned over, slowly getting closer to Gu Mengmeng. Gu Mengmeng tried to move backwards, pushing the limit of arching her spine until she could no longer backup and could only use her arms to push against Lea’s chest, stuttering, “What… what are you doing?”

Sorrow filled Lea’s long, narrow eyes as he spoke gloomily, “Do you want to push me away more, the more I tell you to be more selfish with me?”

Gu Mengmeng remained silent without answering.

Lea used one hand to gently tip Gu Mengmeng’s chin up so that she could not avoid his gaze, then said softly, “You drew a line that you did not let me cross, so I could only stand at the edge, watching you, whom I couldn’t touch no matter how far I stretched out my arms… Greed and desire made me try to break the boundary one time after another, trying to get closer to you, yet you continue to jump even further away every time I cross the line… I don’t want much, I just want to push the boundary a little closer to you, so I can touch you with my fingertips when I use all my might to stretch out my arms, and I would know my place and no longer cross the line… Just a little, let me get to you… a little.”

Gu Mengmeng pressed her lips together, staying silent for a long while before replying, “Or, the scenery could be better behind you. Perhaps… you should try turning around?”

Lea smiled, but his smile was rather pathetic, asking, “Are you… abandoning me?”

Gu Mengmeng did not reply, only frowning.

However, Lea suddenly made an “Ah” sound as if he had just realised something, “Yes, in your heart, I am no longer the “Daddy Lea” of the past. You never allowed me to be your male, so “abandonment” has… always been a luxurious word to me.”

Lea let go, turned around and stood still.

“I’ll go teach the males to stew bamboo shoots, then stay there to eat with them. You don’t have to send Auretin there because of me, although you don’t adore me… but I am still happy that you have one more person that can make you happy by your side.”

With that, Lea slowly walked away without looking back.

Lea’s body heat was still on Gu Mengmeng. As the night wind blew, it was gone without a trace.

Clearly, the winter season was over but… it was still so cold.

Elvis hugged Gu Mengmeng from the back and pecked her forehead, “As long as you call for him once, he will return.”

Gu Mengmeng shook her head, “Maybe… I should give him a way out.”

“Hmm?” Elvis did not understand.

Gu Mengmeng, “Over there, we had a famous quote “If you love, then love deeply. If you don’t, then leave cleanly. Do not flirt, for it hurts others and yourself.””

Elvis stayed silent without a word.

Gu Mengmeng stood behind Lea, watching his back view as he demonstrated how to stew bamboo shoots to the crowd, “Perhaps I should never have let him do what he wanted from the start, giving him any buffering limit. This attitude made him hard to let go, difficult to cut ties and not know what to do.”

Elvis kissed Gu Mengmeng’s hair, “No, you weren’t wrong. If you didn’t feel soft-hearted back then… Lea might not have lived past that winter.”

Gu Mengmeng looked up, not understanding Elvis.

Elvis sighed, recalling, “The snow had sealed the mountains. Without food, even snow foxes cannot stay in the snow for a long time. However, Lea guarded outside our cave for 13 days without food or water, mentally and physically exhausted. I tried to persuade him to leave while you were asleep, but he said… he didn’t want to not hear your voice even as he was dying.”