The hotel.

Mia Grant took a hot bath, emerging slowly after a long soak.

Hearing a noise, Felix Sinclair ended his call, turned off his phone, and looked toward the bathroom.

Mia’s hair wasn’t dry. Felix’s brow furrowed slightly, and he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked, watching him.

"You should dry your hair before you sleep."

As he spoke, the young man had already walked over to her. He hesitated for a moment before taking her hand and leading her back the way she came.

The sound of rushing air filled her ears, but it wasn’t loud.

Mia gazed at the mirror in front of her.

Felix Sinclair still had his coat on. He looked travel-worn, having rushed all the way here, and was now meticulously taking care of her.

His eyes were lowered, his expression serious and focused. He tested the temperature with his hand several times before he began to dry her hair.

"Why did you come all of a sudden? Were you still in Jynsia when I messaged you?"

"Yes," Felix explained. "I received Carla Sinclair’s invitation, but I knew her birthday wasn’t this month, so I just sent my regards and didn’t plan on coming. If I had known..."

His voice trailed off. He pressed his lips together, seemingly frustrated with himself.

Through the mirror, Mia quickly noticed the shift in his mood and said with a smile, "You should be happy that I’m okay. Why the long face?"

His fingers curled for a moment before relaxing, his fingertips once again weaving through her long hair.

He wasn’t good at comforting people, as awkward as a block of wood.

Words of comfort formed on his lips several times, but then he realized that Ian Sinclair had probably already said all those things to her many times.

Soon, he lifted his head, set down the hairdryer, and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.

Mia froze, caught off guard as their eyes met in the mirror.

Then, she saw him lift the corners of his lips slightly, as if to echo what she’d just said, forcing a happy expression.

His smile was as stiff as a robot’s.

"Pfft..."

For some reason, the tension that had gripped her all evening suddenly loosened at that moment.

Mia laughed for a long time. "Don’t smile if you don’t want to. It looks weird."

Felix pressed his lips together again, looking like a child who had done something wrong.

"Sorry."

"I don’t know how to comfort you, but I do know that right now, I shouldn’t make you use your energy to comfort me."

Mia’s eyes trembled, and a familiar sting returned to them.

Perhaps it was because the bullet had come so close to her tonight, but she was feeling overly emotional.

She desperately wanted to have a good cry.

A single word from anyone could make her lose control instantly.

But she didn’t want anyone to see her in such a wretched state.

’I just want to hide.’

’Hide in some deserted corner and be left to my own devices.’

Just like in that drafty, rented garage from long ago.

She had been like a rat living in a dark sewer, venting her emotions wildly in the dead of night when no one was watching.

Lowering her head, Mia struggled to suppress the turbulent emotions stirring within her.

Deep breaths.

’It’s not a big deal, right, Mia?’

’Right...’

’This isn’t the first time you’ve faced death.’

’You’re a seasoned veteran at this point. You should be more composed.’

’I chose this path. It doesn’t matter which way I go, what obstacles I face, whether I have to crawl or run. None of it matters. I just have to keep moving forward.’

’Don’t be so melodramatic.’

Mia kept repeating this mantra to herself.

Suddenly, an arm tightened around her waist.

Before she could look up, the person behind her swept her up into his arms.

She let out an involuntary gasp as he placed her on the bathroom counter.

A second before setting her down, he had grabbed a nearby towel and placed it beneath her.

Their gazes shifted from the mirror to face-to-face, unobstructed. Even the teardrops clinging to her eyelashes were clearly visible.

Mia’s lips were slightly parted as she looked up at him, at a loss for what to do.

"I don’t know what word to use to describe our relationship. But I think we’re probably familiar with each other, since you’ve already seen me at my worst."

"Mia Grant."

Felix called her name, his voice as firm as his gaze.

It carried the searing sincerity of youth.

Mia made a small, involuntary sound.

"I want to say..."

"Maybe you could be a little fairer to me."

"I’m even more of a wreck than you are."

"So, for the sake of the ’dirt’ you have on me, just let it all out and cry. No one will know but me."

"And I won’t watch."

With that, he opened his arms, gave her one last look, and then closed his eyes.

The bathroom fell silent.

It was as if someone had pressed pause.

Felix remained motionless for a long time, truly like the hibernating, powered-down robot she had called him.

The young man’s brow was creased with an indelible worry. He had a high-bridged nose, and below it, thin lips pressed tightly together in concern.

"Felix Sinclair."

The person opposite him suddenly spoke his name.

The young man hummed a low reply but didn’t open his eyes.

"Do you believe in the existence of parallel worlds?"

"I do." Felix’s eyelashes fluttered. "A physicist from Columbia University, in his book The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos, proposed several possible types of parallel worlds. The universe we inhabit is just one of countless others, and at least one of those parallel worlds is very close to us—perhaps only a millimeter away. But we can’t perceive it because it exists in a different spatial dimension from our everyday reality."

"Do you think that’s scientific?"

"A physicist from MIT also stated that this ’multiverse’ model has a solid foundation in physics and can ultimately be tested, predicted, and falsified. He said, ’This is not science fiction. This is real science.’"

"I want to know what *you* think."

The young man was silent for a few seconds before slowly opening his eyes, his dark pupils locking onto her figure.

For a fleeting moment, Mia’s heart trembled under his gaze. It was as if his eyes saw through everything, piercing right through her.

’I suddenly want to look away.’

But he didn’t give her the chance.

The young man’s voice was clear and bright, like a spring in early winter—crisp and clean.

"I believe it exists."

"Humanity won’t be able to prove it anytime soon. It will require deep, long-term discussion and verification."

"I believe it’s just a matter of time."

"And if, in the end, it still can’t be proven, that’s okay too."

"Anything science can’t give us an answer for can be explained by love."

Mia’s eyelashes trembled violently.

She knew better than anyone that Felix Sinclair was a complete and utter academic fanatic.

He was an extreme realist.

Neither romantic nor sentimental.

In his world, the existence of something didn’t automatically make it logical; everything required proof.

Every matter had to be supported by data.

So, for a statement that sounded somewhat obsessively crazy, yet tinged with a strange romance, to come from his mouth was truly unbelievable.

"Will... will we meet?"

"I don’t know."

"Do you want to?"

"If my appearance could make your life happier, then I would want to be by your side."

"If it couldn’t, then I believe that even without me, someone else would love you properly."

"No matter where you are, you will always deserve to be loved without reservation."