Yuan gripped the steering wheel tightly. The car cut through the snow covered road, the headlights illuminating nothing but endless white ahead.
Sylas is my target, he thought.
I'm the one who's going to kill him. I hate it when someone else lays a hand on what's mine.
The thought filled him with a sharp, unsettling anger.
The gun he had seen earlier. The hidden shooter.
Anything that slipped outside the plan irritated him.
With a controlled but sudden movement, Yuan pulled the car over.
The place was completely isolated.
Too isolated.
A dark forest stretched beyond the roadside, trees standing silently beneath the snow. The wind whispered through bare branches.
The engine shut off.
Silence fell.
Sylas glanced around.
"So…" he said, frowning slightly.
"What's going on? Why are we here?"
Yuan didn't even unbuckle his seatbelt. He leaned back against the seat, eyes fixed on the windshield.
His voice was cold. Precise.
"If I hadn't grabbed you and pulled you back earlier," he said,
"you'd either be on life support right now or already dead."
He paused, then added as if it were trivial
"I'm not sure which one would be worse."
Sylas's eyes widened slightly.
"Huh?"
"So… you were ready to sacrifice yourself for me?"
Yuan sighed inwardly.
This guy is seriously messed up he thought.
He has no idea I'm the one who's going to kill him, and he's still making dramatic assumptions.
Yuan turned his head just a little.
"You could say that," he replied flatly.
That only seemed to surprise Sylas more.
He stayed quiet for a moment. Then, in a voice still arrogant but oddly softer, he spoke:
"…Thanks."
As he said it, he looked out the window. Darkness, forest, silence.
Instinctively, he turned on the interior light.
Yuan noticed.
"Don't you have anywhere else to go besides your house?" he asked suddenly.
Sylas looked at him.
"Why?"
This time Yuan fully turned toward him, his gaze sharp.
"Because you're in danger. If you go straight back to your villa, someone might finish the job there."
Sylas hesitated for just a second.
Then a smug smile appeared on his lips.
"No," he said calmly.
"I don't."
It was a lie.
He said it deliberately, just to see Yuan's reaction.
And it worked.
Yuan's brows furrowed.
"What do you mean you don't?!" he snapped.
"In a situation like this-"
He stopped himself.
Sylas's grin widened.
"Well, well," he said teasingly.
"You suddenly seem very concerned."
Yuan clenched his teeth.
He's playing with my nerves.
"I'm serious," he said, barely holding his anger in check.
"Someone just tried to kill you."
Sylas shrugged.
"My life's always been like this," he replied casually.
"Nothing new."
Yuan slammed his hand against the steering wheel.
"This isn't a game."
Sylas leaned closer, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Then why are you so angry?"
"Or…"
"Are you worried about me?"
Yuan shot him a lethal glare.
"Shut the fuck up," he said.
"The less you talk, the higher your chances of staying alive."
Sylas didn't laugh, but the corner of his lips curved upward.
"You're an interesting guy, Yuzi," he said slowly.
"Very interesting."
Yuan turned his face away.
Yeah, he thought.
You're my target. And you're smiling as you walk straight toward your own end.
The wind moved through the forest.
And the snow kept falling, silently