Every time the prince opens his eyes, he sees

Lu Yaoyao looked at Xie Qingchen with empty and numb eyes, her face no longer filled with anger. "Xie Qingchen, have you ever experienced the feeling of a broken heart? I no longer think of running away, yet you still want me to laugh. Do you think I can laugh now?"

"Of course I've experienced that, and I've experienced the heartbreaking pain of loss. I know even more clearly that we can't go back to the way we were before. Since we can't go back, then just pretend to love me."

"Give me a smile." He made this rude request like a madman and in a paranoid manner.

"You are sick. If you are sick, you should go to the doctor, not me."

Lu Yaoyao struggled to resist him, using both her hands and feet. Xie Qingchen received several slaps on the face, which turned red, but he seemed to feel no pain.

"I am ill, and only you can make me better. Yaoyao, you are my medicine. So stay by my side obediently, and the people around you won't be hurt because of you."

Lu Yaoyao listened to Xie Qingchen's paranoid words, and a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. There was no warmth in that smile, and it seemed more like a helpless compromise with fate.

She tried to make her expression look softer to meet Xie Qingchen's almost twisted expectations, but the pain in her heart surged like a tide and was difficult to calm down.

"Okay, I'll smile." She said softly, with an imperceptible tremor in her voice, and then a hollow and beautiful smile bloomed on her face. The smile seemed like a carefully crafted work of art, beautiful but lacking soul.

Xie Qingchen stared at this smile, and instead of feeling happy, he looked extremely angry, and there was also an indescribable sadness.

He realized that he was gradually distancing himself from the woman he loved and pushing her away from him.

She tried hard to meet his demands, but it didn't come from her heart.

"That's enough, stop laughing."

Her smile made his heart hurt so much that it felt like it was about to break.

Lu Yaoyao was shaken by his shoulders, like a fragile kite.

"Xie Qingchen, what do you want me to do in exchange for letting you go, and letting yourself go?" Her voice was as thin as a thread, as if she had exhausted all her strength and emotions.

Xie Qingchen's gaze was fixed on her, his dark eyes filled with confusion and pain.

He spoke slowly, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "Let you go? Unless I die, you will never leave my sight. As for letting myself go... I no longer know what letting go means. I only know that I cannot live without you."

Lu Yaoyao closed her eyes and tears quietly rolled down her cheeks. She stopped arguing because there was no need to argue anymore.

Xie Qingchen has fallen into his own obsession and will never give up until his death.

In the following days, Lu Yaoyao was like a bird imprisoned in a golden cage. Although she had enough food and clothing, she had lost her freedom and happiness.

She did not go on a hunger strike again, but even if the door was open, she was unwilling to go out. She had no interest in dressing up, and she looked as pale as a daffodil on the verge of withering.

Anyone can see the loneliness and despair in her heart.

Xie Qingchen never visited her again and drank heavily every day.

These days, even the parrots in the East Palace have been unusually quiet, the servants' steps have become increasingly ghostly and silent, and the entire East Palace is filled with a dead and cold atmosphere.

Xie Qingchen loved Lu Yaoyao more. After she completely realized that he didn't care about her life or death, she had revealed to her through the servants that he was drinking to the point of vomiting blood, but she had no reaction.

He felt extremely uncomfortable, but he couldn't bear to touch even a hair on Lu Yaoyao.

That night, he couldn't bear the longing in his heart, so he went to Lu Yaoyao's room under the influence of alcohol.

His steps were a little unsteady and he looked drunk, but only he knew that he was sober.

"What are you doing here?" Lu Yaoyao looked at Xie Qingchen who was approaching step by step, and her fingers clenched the table in panic.

"Yaoyao, I miss you so much."

The gushing smell of alcohol blew onto Lu Yaoyao's face, and she instantly realized that he had been drinking, so was he pretending to be crazy?

"Don't come over here." Lu Yaoyao avoided his touch, "I know you're not drunk."

"I am drunk." As he said this, he pressed down and kissed Lu Yaoyao.

Lu Yaoyao didn't expect him to be so rogue.

She struggled hard, pushing his chest with her hands, but Xie Qingchen was so strong that she couldn't move at all.

His kiss was domineering and passionate, with a strong smell of alcohol, which made Lu Yaoyao feel suffocated.

"Xie Qingchen, wake up! Doing this will only make me hate you more!" Lu Yaoyao shouted in despair, tears glistening in her eyes.

However, Xie Qingchen seemed unable to hear her cries, and his kiss became more and more intense, as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

Lu Yaoyao's heart sank little by little, and she felt that her will was being swallowed up by this endless darkness.

At this moment, Xie Qingchen suddenly stopped. He looked at Lu Yaoyao deeply, and a trace of pain and struggle flashed in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Yaoyao, I... I can't control myself." He murmured to himself, his voice low and hoarse.

Lu Yaoyao took the opportunity to break free from his restraints. She retreated to the corner of the bed, hugged herself with her arms, her eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

"Xie Qingchen, if you continue like this we will all go crazy!" she said in a trembling voice.

Xie Qingchen closed his eyes in pain, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.

"I know, but I really can't forget you. Yaoyao, you used to love me so much, why are you so cold and merciless to me now? I beg you, can you please look at me?" There was a hint of pleading in his voice.

Lu Yaoyao looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

She had indeed loved him in the past, and perhaps still did, but what was the point? They could never be together. If they continued to be entangled, they would only drag each other into the abyss.

"Xie Qingchen, stop being so obsessed. I'm not the person I used to be, and you're no longer the person I loved. We can't go back to the past, so let each other go and be well." She said softly, with a hint of determination in her voice.

Xie Qingchen's body shook violently when he heard this.

He slowly opened his eyes, and there was a stubborn darkness and a cold light in them that swallowed everything.

"No, Yaoyao, we can start over. You said I've changed and am no longer the same person I used to be, but I can restore our identities to what they were before."

"It's impossible, Xie Qingchen. Time cannot be reversed. You are already the crown prince. It is impossible for you to become the humble prince in the cold palace who was bullied by everyone."

"If I say yes, then it's okay. Yaoyao, just wait for me." He left this sentence and turned to leave.

Lu Yaoyao looked at his departing back and tears fell again.