The roar of the Ducati’s engine was a defiant scream against the sterile silence of the research center. I clung to Lu Shaodong’s waist, my fingers digging into the cool leather of his jacket. Behind us, the shouts of his father’s bodyguards faded into the distance, swallowed by the wind.

For the first time in seventeen years, I wasn't the "Perfect Scholar" or the "Obedient Daughter." I was a blur of midnight blue velvet and adrenaline, streaking through the city of Nanshi.

Lu didn't take me back to the school or to my cramped apartment. He drove until the skyscrapers became a neon forest and the air smelled of salt and fried dough. We stopped at the edge of the old city pier, where an abandoned ferris wheel stood like a skeletal giant against the ink-black sky.

"Why are we here?" I asked, my voice trembling as I climbed off the bike. My hair was a mess, and my heart was still trying to outrun the Ducati.

"Because," Lu said, pulling off his helmet to reveal eyes that sparked with a wild, infectious energy. "Life isn't just about calculating the trajectory of a projectile, Ling Yin. Sometimes, you have to be the projectile."

He grabbed a pair of bolt cutters from his bike’s storage and walked toward the rusted gate of the amusement park. With one sharp snap, the lock fell.

"Lu Shaodong! This is breaking and entering!"

"It's called an 'unauthorized field trip,'" he countered, winking at me. He led me through the overgrown paths until we reached the control booth of the old ferris wheel. He messed with some wires—showing a practical knowledge of electricity that would have made Mr. Zhang proud—and suddenly, the machine groaned to life.

Amber lights flickered along the wheel’s rim, dim and nostalgic. We hopped into a carriage just as it began its slow, creaking ascent.

As we rose above the city, the chaos of the night felt a million miles away. The lights of Nanshi spread out below us like a sea of fallen stars.

"My father is going to kill me for this," Lu said suddenly, his voice quiet as he leaned his head against the cold metal bars. "The MIT interview was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin. He wants me to be a corporate puppet, a genius in a suit who makes him more millions."

"You could actually go, you know," I said softly, looking at his profile in the amber light. "You're brilliant enough to succeed anywhere."

"Success is a trap if it isn't yours," he looked at me, his gaze intense. "I'd rather fail on my own terms than 'win' on his. What about you, Owl? Are you going to let that man at your house decide when you’re allowed to breathe?"

I looked down at my hands. "I've been waiting for a scholarship to set me free. I thought if I stayed quiet and got the grades, I could just... disappear."

"Don't disappear," Lu whispered, sliding across the bench until our shoulders touched. "Fight. Be loud. Be the person who made my father speechless tonight."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, old-fashioned candy—a simple blueberry drop. He pressed it into my hand.

"When I was a kid and things got too loud in the 'palace,' I’d hide in the pantry and eat these. They’re the only thing that tasted like... home. Not the house I lived in, but the place I wanted to be."

I unwrapped the candy and popped it into my mouth. It was sweet, slightly tart, and inexplicably comforting.

"Where is that place, Lu?" I asked.

"Right here," he said, his eyes fixed on mine. "High above the noise, with someone who doesn't want anything from me except the truth."

The carriage reached the very top of the wheel and stopped. In the stillness of the night, Lu reached out and tilted my chin up. This time, there was no arrogance, no teasing smirk. There was only a raw, aching sincerity.

He kissed me, and it tasted like blueberry and rebellion.

But as we descended, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, the screen glowing like a threat in the dark.

[12 Missed Calls: Mother] [1 New Message: If you aren't home in twenty minutes, I’m calling the police. Your uncle has already kicked us out of the apartment because of your 'stunt' at the lab.]

The sweet taste of the candy turned to ash in my mouth. My rebellion had a price, and it wasn't just me who was paying for it.

"What is it?" Lu asked, sensing the shift in my energy.

"The world found us," I whispered, the cold reality of my life crashing back down. "And it’s tearing everything apart."