Yun Ya suddenly covered her ears with both hands and said without a word, "Stop it for me." The music stopped abruptly, followed by a raucous cackle that in the pitch-dark night, inexplicably sent shivers down one’s spine. "Nyx, Nyx, Nyx..." like summoning a soul, the calls were incessant. "Allen, cut it out, or I’m calling Poppy..." Yun Ya spoke in fluent, unaccented English. "Please don’t..." The person finally let out a normal voice, a magnetic, young man’s voice. "Alright, alright, you win, I just find the music from Country Hua so enchanting, I can’t stop listening, and I even start humming it unconsciously. It’s unbelievable..." "Disappear quickly if there’s nothing else; I want to sleep." Yun Ya buried her head in her pillow. "Hehe, Nyx, aren’t you gonna praise me a bit? The software I made for you is fun, right? It definitely scared the hell out of them. If you need anything else, just let me know..." "Allen, don’t put such disgusting stuff on my phone, keep it to enjoy by yourself." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI-Fire.ɴet "How about it? Isn’t it thrilling? These are seeds I got by hacking into numerous nerds’ computers, truly collector’s editions, uniform 3Ps..." "Shut up," Yun Ya couldn’t help but shout, "Just shut up and get out of my phone or I believe Poppy would be very eager to play ’uniform seduction’ with you..." With a "whoosh," her phone went silent immediately. Yun Ya had met Allen when she was studying in the United States; she attended medical school while Allen was at the School of Computer Engineering. The two should have had nothing in common, but they almost got into a fight over a seat in the library, which marked the start of their friendship, making Allen the first friend she made in the United States. Yun Ya didn’t know much about Allen’s family but, from her observations, his circumstances seemed quite comfortable. Allen was outgoing and a master hacker, nearly unbeatable in the computer world. He often lamented how lonely it was to be invincible... and he was also a genius at inventing software, always coming up with odd creations and was consistently a high-profile figure at school. However, Allen also had many of the bad habits of rich young masters, such as being a playboy with messy romantic relationships. Yun Ya knew he had dated three girlfriends at the same time and had also attended multiple swinger parties. The thought alone made Yun Ya lose her appetite for days. She had scorned Allen as a complete scumbag. Allen said that Eastern women like her were too prudish and no fun. If it weren’t for the fact that Allen’s English was genuinely good, Yun Ya would not dare to be friends with him. Later on, though, she came to terms with it, deciding that she cared about Allen as a person, and his private life was none of her concern. Allen boasted about passing through a garden of flowers without a single leaf sticking to him. However, he met his downfall with a woman named Poppy. She was a famous Hollywood sex symbol. They met at a party and had a passionate night. Since then, Poppy had decided that Allen was her regular lover. Allen was initially quite willing, as Poppy was famous, sexy, and beautiful — a catch for any man. But Poppy’s desire was too strong... Their relationship went from friends with benefits to boyfriend and girlfriend, suffering through breakups and reconciliations, and had long since been fragile... Poppy, because of Allen, was also close to Yun Ya, and they considered each other confidantes. Poppy was intelligent and manipulative, always knowing what she wanted, dominating the relationship. Now, the mere mention of Poppy’s name was enough to make Allen’s head hurt... Yun Ya felt that these foreigners were naturally uninhibited, with no concept of chastity, let alone staying faithful to their partners. She had seen Allen declaring his love to Poppy one moment and hooking up with a freshman girl the next. While Poppy was willing to die for Allen, Yun Ya often saw her involved in scandals with various heirs... In their eyes, what exactly is love? If the body can’t be faithful, it’s nothing short of defiling the sacred name of love. Caught in this landslide, Yun Ya also gradually saw things clearly. In this materialistic world, seeking a pure love was as hard as reaching the heavens. Buried in her pillow, Yun Ya’s thoughts were a jumbled mess because of Allen. If one day she fell in love with someone, then she would want that person to be hers completely, from head to toe, body and soul, even down to each strand of hair. Otherwise, she’d rather destroy it all.