Breaking Free: Love & Rebellion at Blackthorn Academy.-Chapter 62: TWO HEARTBEATS.

After a long and complicated talk with Zinchen Liu, Hua Rong finally returned to the quiet room. The door clicked shut behind her, and the moment she turned, Xu Lingwei was already standing there, as if he'd been waiting.

His hand reached out—not roughly, but with urgency—and caught her by the neck, pulling her toward him in one swift motion. Her eyes widened, but before she could speak, his mouth was on hers.

Warm. Breathless. Possessive.

His lips moved against hers with hunger, and his tongue slid past her lips. She gasped softly, hands instinctively flying up to his shoulders for support. One hand slipped to the back of his neck, the other clutching his sleeve.

His fingers wove into her hair, tilting her head, deepening the kiss. Her legs trembled slightly. She felt his breath mix with hers, the way his lips chased hers with a kind of frantic tenderness.

She tried to breathe, but he wasn't stopping.

Her heart raced, her mind spinning, until finally, she managed to push him back with a soft gasp. Their lips broke apart, and she stepped back slightly, breathing hard, her cheeks flushed.

"W-What was that?" she asked, her voice shaking not with fear, but the leftover heat between them.

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Xu Lingwei looked at her, not with anger, but with a strange, vulnerable intensity. "What were you doing with him for that long?" he asked, his voice low—not accusing, but aching.

She hesitated, looking away—not because she was guilty of something unforgivable, but because she knew she'd kept things from him. Important things. Things he deserved to know.

"We were... discussing something," she murmured.

He raised a brow slightly. "And what is it?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she reached for his hand and gently pulled him toward the bed. He let her. She made him sit down, then stood in front of him, heart still racing, hands trembling slightly.

"Let me explain," she said softly, meeting his eyes. "I should've told you earlier... but I didn't know how."

He looked up at her quietly, the fire from earlier dimmed to something softer. "Then tell me now," he said, his voice gentler than she expected

She spoke, her voice calm but laced with tension.

"So, to put it simply... there were cameras set up in the academy," she said, watching his expression closely. "Hidden ones. For spying on us."

His eyes sharpened with attention, but he let her continue.

"The first one was found by Zinchen Liu. He didn't tell Headmaster Jian right away—he wanted to investigate it himself first."

Xu Lingwei's brows drew together slightly, but he stayed quiet.

"Do you remember that day we went outside?" she asked. "The day you and Wuhao Li came running after us?"

He nodded slowly.

"I was with Zinchen," she explained. "We were looking for the people who might've been behind the spying. We didn't find much... but we did see two people hiding. Watching us."

Her hands curled into fists at her sides.

"We couldn't see their faces, but it at least confirmed one thing—someone really is watching us."

Xu Lingwei's lips parted, but he stayed silent for a moment, processing.

"After that, Zinchen went to Headmaster Jian and told him everything. And... the Headmaster told him to work with me to find the rest of the cameras."

She stepped back a little, letting him take it in.

"Today," she added quietly, "we found the thirteenth one."

Xu Lingwei blinked, his mouth slightly open. "Thirteenth?" he repeated.

She nodded, and he exhaled sharply.

"Oh... so that's why you two were checking all the CCTV footage earlier," he said.

A soft nod from her confirmed it.

"We've been trying to figure out why someone would go this far. Who's behind it... and what they're hoping to get from spying on students in this academy?"

He looked up at her, something unreadable in his gaze. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She hesitated.

"I should've," she admitted. "But it didn't feel like the right time. And... I didn't want to pull you into something dangerous until we knew more."

Xu Lingwei leaned back, resting his hands on the edge of the bed. His jaw was tense, but not out of anger—just concern.

"You're already pulled in," he murmured, looking at her. "And now I am too."

Without another word, Xu Lingwei reached for her, pulling her gently but firmly by the waist. She stumbled a step forward, her hands instinctively landing on his shoulders to steady herself.

His face pressed softly against her chest, as if he were trying to hide from something—her gaze, his own thoughts, the ache he didn't know how to voice.

"Stay away from him," he murmured, the words muffled against her.

She blinked, startled by the sudden shift in him. "Why?" she asked, her fingers curling slightly into the fabric of his shirt.

"Because..." his voice was strained, almost vulnerable, "he likes you. And I don't want him to take advantage of you... like that day."

There was a silence.

She gently placed her hands on both his shoulders, nudging him to look up at her. "He doesn't like me," she said simply, calmly.

Xu Lingwei lifted his head, eyes searching hers. "How can you say that?"

"He only did that—to get under your skin. That's all it was," she said, her tone light but not careless. "And besides..." her lips curved into the faintest smile, "why would someone like me?"

Her voice was soft, but the weight behind her words lingered in the air.

His expression faltered, and then shifted—slowly, earnestly.

"I do," he said, barely above a whisper.

He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closed.

"I do," he repeated, softer this time, but with more meaning than any shouted confession could carry.

Hua Rong's breath caught. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, then opened again as she tilted her face ever so slightly. Their lips met in a feather-light kiss—just a touch, not quite a kiss, but something even more tender.

"I know," she whispered, her voice brushing against his lips.

And in that quiet space between two heartbeats, the distance they had kept for so long finally dissolved.