Waking up, it was dim around me, and I felt a suffocating tightness in my chest. My body felt weak and powerless.

"Jerry, you're awake..." Zhiye had been by my side all along and hadn't left?

"... "I turned my body without saying a word.

"It's night now."

"So what if it's night?" I replied irritably.

"Are you hungry?" Zhiye asked with a smile, not at all angry.

"... Not hungry!" I replied annoyed, but my traitorous stomach growled.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," she said.

"So what?" I said defiantly, though feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Do you want to eat?" Zhiye brought over a steaming bowl of noodles, causing my mouth to water involuntarily.

"Ah..." She picked up a strand with her chopsticks as if to feed me.

Just as I couldn't resist the temptation of the food and opened my mouth, she suddenly stopped, the noodles hovering near my lips.

"If you want to eat, sign this marriage registration form and promise to leave here with me," she said, placing the bowl down and bringing out a registration form and a pen from the table, handing them to me.

I looked at it and replied, "I won't sign."

"If you don't sign, you won't eat. If you sign, you'll have food," she said.

"Well then, I'd rather not eat," I said.

"Why?" she asked.

"I can't be with someone I don't like. Zhiye, you must understand that," I explained, feeling a bit exasperated.

"You don't like me, but I love you so much," Zhiye said, seemingly indifferent.

"Why... would you like someone as ordinary as me?" I asked.

"Why? Jerry, do you know about the cross mark on your back?" Zhiye suddenly asked.

"The mark?" I was taken aback.

"Yes, that's a symbol of love. It shows that Jerry has vowed to be loyal to me and will never betray me," she explained.

"I didn't know..." I said.

"I carved it myself for you. I felt a bit sorry for you enduring the pain, so I carved a cross on my chest as well, to show my unwavering commitment," Zhiye said without any hesitation as she took off her blouse, revealing her bra and exposing her upper body.

I squinted my eyes, but opened them a little to see clearly. There was indeed a cross mark carved in the center of her chest.

"This is the mark of love," Zhiye pointed at the cross mark.

"What a joke, I have no memory of it," I protested.

"You forgot, Jerry?"

"Who would remember such boring things? Wake up," I said, trying to reason with her.

"Is that so? Boring things," Zhiye murmured, then pulled out a small knife from a drawer. "It's okay, Jerry. It's okay if you forgot. The mark of love can be carved again. You won't betray me."

Zhiye tore open my clothes and stabbed my abdomen, not too deep, but it still caused pain and the sight of red liquid emerging.

"What are you trying to do?! Stop!" I shouted, but it was useless. Zhiye continued to carve with the concentration of a sculptor.

The intense pain made my legs and arms sway uncontrollably, but there was no relief, only increasing agony. I had to endure until Zhiye finished carving the so-called cross. The flowing blood made me feel weak as well.

I felt dizzy and nauseous.

"Now, Jerry will fulfill our love pledge once again, never to be separated," Zhiye said, still lying on top of me, connecting our respective marks tightly.

I had no strength left to struggle. The pain dominated my body. Zhiye had truly gone mad.