Elena nodded: "It’s fine. Fortunately, there are two of us, so it’s not that terrifying."

She said it wasn't scary to comfort her own nervous heart.

"Have you heard the story about this classroom building?" Liam suddenly asked.

This made Elena’s heart turn cold, and her tightly clenched hands began to sweat.

Following the normal pattern, this story had to be terrifying.

"You’d better not say it; I don't want to hear it," she refused decisively.

But Liam didn't stop; he continued: "I heard there was once a senior student in this building, and she was right on the floor we’re walking on..."

Before Liam could finish, the lights overhead suddenly flickered on.

Elena let out a sharp "Ah!" and immediately hugged Liam’s neck, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

The distance between them became zero in an instant, and Liam’s mouth curled into a slight smile.

Realizing she had lost her composure, Elena let go.

But the moment she did, Liam grabbed her, and she fell back into his embrace.

Chapter 23: Better to Part

Elena froze, her heart accelerating.

Liam’s magnetic, charming voice sounded in her ear: "Elena, don't let go again. I’m afraid I won't be able to find you."

In this moment, Elena’s heart felt empty, and a warm current slowly spread through her chest.

She strained her voice and slowly uttered one word: "Okay."

Liam’s body stiffened. He looked down, unable to believe it, his expression agitated: "Did you just speak?"

Elena cleared her raspy throat and slowly uttered a syllable: "Yes."

Although it was only one word, it made Liam incredibly excited. He scooped Elena up by her waist and spun her around in the air.

Seeing the smile on Liam’s face, Elena laughed, her eyes growing warm.

The next day.

Elena woke up and sat in front of the mirror, talking to her reflection. Though her voice was still quite raspy, basic communication was no longer an issue.

Just as she opened the door to share this good news with her mother, she found Liam standing in the living room.

And the scene was extremely bizarre.

"Really, no need for help. Just sit down, Elena will be up soon," Elena’s mother said, refusing to let go of the mop.

Liam, on the other hand, was standing to the side, holding a broom: "Auntie, I’ll sweep it very clean. Don't worry."

Elena’s mother held the mop, looking helpless: "Young man, I know about you and my Elena, but since you’ve broken up, you should both move on with your lives."

Liam’s expression stiffened as he hurriedly explained: "We didn't break up, Auntie. I was the one who was wrong before; I’m here now to make up for my past mistakes."

Just as Elena’s mother was about to say something else, the doorbell rang.

Liam immediately dropped the broom and walked to the front: "Auntie, I’ll get the door; you sit and rest."

With that, Liam ran to open the door, but the moment it opened, he saw that the person outside was Julian.

Liam immediately reached to close the door, but Julian spoke up first: "Auntie Shi! Are you there? I’m here to see you!"

Immediately after, Elena’s mother came out of the room to answer: "It’s little Julian! Why are you here? Come on in."

Elena’s mother warmly welcomed Julian into the house, leaving Liam standing at the door with a look of extreme gloom.

Elena sat on the sofa in the living room, watching her mother welcome Julian. The two of them were laughing and chatting, forming a sharp contrast with Liam, who had just walked in behind them.

Just as she stood up to comfort Liam, Julian suddenly appeared and blocked her path.

His eyes brightened as he stared directly at Elena: "Elena, why didn't you greet me first?"

Elena gave a polite smile and nodded.

She then walked straight past Julian and went directly to Liam, calling out: "Liam."

Liam’s gloom vanished instantly, his eyes shining brightly: "What did you call me? Can you say it again?"

Elena repeated his name over and over, never tiring of it: "Liam, Liam..."

Liam reached out and pulled Elena tightly into his embrace. Their hearts were beating at the same frequency, growing closer and closer in an invisible way.

Julian stood to the side, a flash of pain in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up.

"Auntie Shi, let me help you." Having said that, Julian hurried out of the living room.

Because Liam and Julian kept fighting over the chores in Elena’s mother’s hands, she finally called them both to her.

"There’s a small vegetable garden in our backyard; would you two mind going to weed it?"

As soon as she gave the order, Liam and Julian each grabbed different gardening tools and headed out the door in opposite directions toward the garden.

Seeing them go, Elena’s mother finally had time to take Elena’s hand, sit on the sofa, and ask: "Which one of the two do you prefer? Mom wants to help you screen them."

Elena’s face flushed slightly, and she pursed her lips, looking down without answering.

But in her heart, she had already decided on the name. She loved Liam; from beginning to end, he was the only one she had ever loved.

Seeing that Elena didn't answer, her mother assumed Elena felt the same way she did. Thinking that her daughter might eventually marry Julian, she felt a sense of relief.

"I’ll handle this from now on. Whatever you want, Mom wants, too."

Elena was slightly taken aback, but she didn't say anything more.

Chapter 24: The Demilitarized Zone

Vegetable Garden.

As soon as they arrived at the vegetable garden, Julian grabbed a wooden stick and drew a line right through the middle of the field.

Liam frowned, looking confused: "What does this mean?"

Julian threw the stick aside and pointed at the line with his finger, explaining: "This is our demilitarized zone. How about we mind our own business and keep our distance?"

Liam was about to agree, but the memory of how smug Julian had looked when he walked through the door flashed in his mind, and suddenly, he didn't want to agree anymore.

Without hesitation, he stomped on the line, erasing it completely.

Feeling better once the line was gone, Liam picked up a sickle and buried himself in the work of weeding.

Julian was so irritated his teeth ached. He picked up a small shovel and began digging, intentionally flicking dirt onto Liam.

As far as he knew, Liam had a phobia of germs, and a quite severe one at that.

Sure enough, a moment later, Liam’s icy voice came from behind him.

"Julian, don't push your luck."

Julian curled his lip nonchalantly: "Can't take it already? Your temper is a bit short. I’m afraid if Elena marries you, she’ll end up a victim of domestic violence."

Liam threw the sickle onto the ground and stood up, walking right up to Julian. He looked down at him, eyes cold.

"Julian, no matter what you are planning, I will tell you one thing: Elena is not someone you can covet."

Julian sneered and slowly stood up, meeting Liam’s gaze head-on: "This phrase again? My answer to you remains the same: I’ll be waiting for you two to break up."

The moment their eyes met, sparks flew, two incompatible currents of air colliding.

It was only when Elena’s voice appeared that their standoff was halted.

"Are you two planning to have a fistfight here?"

Liam and Julian turned around immediately, returned to their posts, and buried themselves in weeding.

Elena stood in the middle, "supervising."

As Julian shoveled, he grumbled: "This is truly inhumane. Doing manual labor and not even a drop of water to drink."

"Big brother, you haven't even shoveled for two minutes yet? Didn't you just promise my mother you’d help?" Elena looked at the complaining Julian with amusement.

Liam immediately delivered a cold, cutting remark from behind: "If you don't want to do it, don't look for excuses."

Julian immediately shut his mouth and began forcefully shoveling the weeds in frustration.

A large vegetable garden would normally take at least an entire day to weed, but they finished by four o'clock in the afternoon.

On the way back to the Elena residence, Liam and Julian continued to glare at each other with animosity.

So much so that Elena, standing in the middle, felt trapped in an awkward position.

She cleared her throat, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

"You two don't have any deep-seated hatred, there's really no need to keep the atmosphere so oppressive."

Julian scoffed: "Who would dare harbor hatred against President Liam? I’d probably be beaten up in the middle of the night."

Liam frowned slightly, his tone indifferent: "I’m not as idle as you."

"Right, right, President Liam is a very busy man. I just wonder why a busy man would run over to weed with me," Julian said with intentional sarcasm.