Emma had asked for "time apart."
To Fox Lian, it felt like slow execution. He was used to control, used to being pursued. He had never imagined being pushed away—so cleanly, so firmly—with a reason he couldn't understand, let alone accept: "a difference in beliefs."
Excuses. All of it—just excuses.
He clung to the idea that Emma was simply tired of him. Maybe it was the merman prince. Maybe someone else. He refused to believe he could lose her to something so vague, so intangible.
Pride kept him from begging. Obsession kept him from letting go.
And so, the students of All-Race Academy witnessed a version of Fox Lian they'd never seen before.
Still breathtakingly beautiful, but now cloaked in a cold, unapproachable aura. His fox ears, once lively and expressive, now lay flat in constant vigilance. His silver tail, once lazily swaying and adored by many, now hung stiff or lashed irritably—radiating hostility.
He stopped wearing his signature fluffy accessories, as if severing ties with the "rejected" past. He doubled down on his "power-over-all" philosophy—his sparring matches grew brutal, and anyone who tried to approach him (regardless of gender) was met with icy dismissal.
He was like a wounded beast, bristling with spikes, masking pain with coldness and dominance.
Emma saw it all—and it hurt.
She moved back to the divine clan's private quarters, trying to give them space. But Fox Lian's visibly thinner figure, the pain and stubbornness in his violet eyes… pierced her like needles. She knew she'd hurt him. But she couldn't betray her principles. A relationship built on misunderstanding and shaky foundations would only lead to deeper suffering.
Gu Liang and Cang Ming tried to mediate.
"Fox Lian," Gu Liang said seriously for once, "Emma's not that kind of person. When she says 'ideological conflict,' she might really mean it…"
"I know her better than you," Fox Lian snapped, eyes dark. "Or… I thought I did." His lips twisted into a bitter smile.
Cang Ming approached Emma, awkward but sincere. "Lord Fox Lian… he's just stuck in his own head. Maybe give him time."
Emma shook her head, voice tinged with sorrow. "Time won't fix what's broken. Not unless he's willing to truly understand—rather than insisting I'm making excuses."
She tried to talk again. After a rune literature class, she stopped him in the hallway.
"Fox Lian, can we—"
"No." He didn't even look at her. His voice was ice. His tail swept the ground in rejection, kicking up dust. "Not unless you take back those ridiculous 'beliefs' and admit they were just an excuse to leave."
Emma stared at his tense profile, at the wall he'd built between them. Her words caught in her throat. A wave of exhaustion washed over her.
"You see?" she whispered, voice heavy with disappointment. "You only live in your own version of reality."
She turned and walked away. This time, her heart felt colder than ever.
Fox Lian stood frozen, listening to her footsteps fade. His chest felt like it was being crushed. He slammed his fist into the nearby pillar. Cracks spidered across the jade surface.
Why? Why wouldn't she just admit it? Why did she have to use something he couldn't grasp, couldn't control, to torment him?
He just… didn't want to lose her.
Was everything he prided himself on—his beauty, his power, the fluff she once adored—so worthless in the face of her so-called "beliefs"?