Beside his hand lay a thick pile of used scratch paper, covered with derived formulas and symbols. The places visible on the shelf were filled with physics books like "The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time," "The Foundation of General Relativity," and "Quantum Field Theory."

Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a model. Just as she was about to touch it, a cold boyish voice came to her ear: "Don’t move."

Helian Yu quickly withdrew her hand and awkwardly found something to say: "What is this?"

"It’s a space-time curvature demonstration model."

Helian Yu frowned: "Xixi, I remember you used to like drawing. I thought you’d become an artist. At the very least, you would study medicine. When did you become interested in physics?"

"Have you forgotten? You threw away my drawing board." The boy’s voice was cold, with a hint of sarcasm.

Helian Yu looked embarrassed, recalling how Xixi was obsessed with drawing as a child, almost fanatically so. She had done it to save him.

Helian Yu suddenly remembered she had come to see Xixi for a reason, and quickly shifted the topic, tentatively asking: "Xixi, did you see the news? Rong Xianning turned out to be a member of the Gu family. That means Gu Bichen was fake. Apparently, the Gu family’s nanny swapped her own son with that woman Amo’s son years ago. I remember you were pretty close with Gu Bichen, right? How will you still be friends now?"

Liu Runxi’s hand holding the pen did not stop, his messy handwriting covering the scratch paper with profound symbols Helian Yu couldn’t understand.

"We are just normal friends."

The boy’s cold voice carried a chill that made one’s heart grow cold.

Helian Yu suddenly recalled an event. When Xixi was little, he was very solitary. She had purposely moved into an old house to help him interact with peers. The old house was on the same street as the Gu family’s old house. Little Gu Bichen was a likable child who took the initiative to play with Xixi. Over time, Gu Bichen became the only peer who could play with Xixi.

Of course, Helian Yu also had an ulterior motive. She wanted to associate with the Gu family through her son’s friendships.

One year on Gu Bichen’s birthday, Xixi spent half a month personally carving a Shoushan stone seal, but right before leaving, he threw it into the trash and ended up giving Gu Bichen a pen from the bookstore.

Sometimes Helian Yu could not understand Liu Runxi. He was clearly her own son, yet his thoughts were harder to fathom than the Deep Sea.

Perhaps he had seen through her intention for him to befriend Gu Bichen to latch onto the Gu family. Even without saying a word, he continued to befriend Gu Bichen but in reality, Gu Bichen was never truly acknowledged by him, just like that discarded Shoushan stone seal.

Perhaps Gu Bichen’s hypocrisy had revealed a tip of the iceberg long before.

"What about Gu Xianning? I remember you were on Brainstorm together and even got placed in the same group. How’s your relationship?"

Liu Runxi did not look up, his cold voice calm: "You should call him Gu Xianning."

"Yes, yes, Gu Xianning."

"He’s An’an’s friend, so he is mine."

"Xixi, are you foolish? Before, he was from a lower background and posed no threat. But now it’s different. He’s the son of Na Amo and Gu Chengzhao, the heir of the Gu family, and has a formal engagement with Shen You’an. If you don’t fight for it, your future bride will be taken by him."

Liu Runxi paused, lifted his head, and glanced at her.

That deep, serene gaze was like a timeless abyss, chilling Helian Yu’s spine.

"You should leave now."

"Xixi... "

Liu Runxi didn’t give her another look, burying himself in his challenging problems. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

In the blink of an eye, the scratch paper was densely filled with writing, leaving no space to pen down more.

Liu Runxi took a new piece of scratch paper.

Helian Yu had to admit, as Liu Runxi grew older, she grew increasingly afraid of her own son.

She didn’t even know what he was thinking.

Like wind, like fog, impossible to grasp.

This kind of temperament would lead to a cold indifference in any future marriage, no woman could endure it.

But she knew, Shen You’an was the sole exception.

The room door closed softly.

Everything returned to silence, only the rustle of the pen tip on paper.

Through the night, Liu Runxi’s room light remained on.

Daylight arrived, the sun rose, and the nanny came down with a tray from upstairs. Helian Yu frowned at the untouched tray: "He didn’t eat?"

The nanny shook her head.

Today was a Saturday. Helian Yu thought maybe Xixi was sleeping in.

But she knew, Xixi never had a habit of sleeping in.