“I thought you were rushing to see your ex; he’s out of danger.” Not knowing what to say, I turned to look at him blankly… He was sitting up, leaning against the headboard, legs spread, and, still not bothering to cover up the bloodstains from me! Has he no shame? Do you know what “crossing the bridge and pulling up the planks” means? I frowned, looking at him with disdain, “That thing of yours, it’s really ugly~” With a whoosh, I dashed into the bathroom and locked the door. Thinking of his colorful face, I happily took a bath, but… “How… how did you get in?” I stuttered… Idiot, it’s his house, why wouldn’t he have a key? I was sitting in the bathtub, and he stood before me, that thing inching closer as I kept backing away… What kind of scene is this…
“You think it’s… ugly?”
“No! It’s beautiful and lively, it could definitely do commercials!” I splashed water on it to cool it down, “Look, it even sparkles~” Was I out of my mind, what kind of adjective am I using…
With a puff, I looked up, he was laughing with his eyes squinting, hands against the wall, I was stunned, at that moment, he didn’t have his usual deep demeanor, he looked like an innocent child. He sat down, took a deep breath, “Liu Yixia, you’re really funny~” I glanced at him, turned around to continue bathing, I hate when people call me by my full name! They always make fun of it, what’s with a twist here and there, come on~ Bah! The more I think about it, the angrier I get, all of them are uncultured!
“This name suits you, the green of summer, full of vitality…”
“He used to say the same thing.”
“You were born in summer, right?”
“Leave a trace of summer, a shadow of the wind…”
“I’ll spend all my remaining days with you, you’re responsible for turning them into days of summer.”
The gentle tone, the soft voice, like a tape stuck in a loop, uncontrollably repeating…
“You’re crying, what are you thinking about?” Qi Yufeng turned me around, his finger gently wiping my face. “Can I… stay here?”
“I have to go out for a few days to handle some matters, I won’t be staying here.”
“I want to stay and take care of Kexuan…”
…Dead silence… I looked up to see a storm brewing, “You can stay, and after I’m done, you can go back to him!” (Fierce)
This man’s pride comes at a premium! After three hours of torment, he still couldn’t let it go. I was like a broken toy tossed onto the bed, but that wasn’t enough, he pinched my cheeks, gritting his teeth, “I’ve warned you, when you’re with me, you can’t think of him! And you love ignoring my words!”
In essence, what he really cared about was me stepping on his pride, but it was me who was misunderstood! His tiny bit of embarrassment cost me my physical health!
“Are you done yet?”
“No!”
“Will you ever be done?”
You think this is some eternal legend?
“Never!” He snapped at me…
I summoned all my strength to raise my fist, but it collapsed as soon as it touched his skin, I was almost exhausted… And what was he made of, some high-tech material?
“Are you ‘Energizer’ or ‘Duracell’?”
“What?”
“I’m just ‘555’…”
“555”?
“I’m dying…”
“…”
“Oh.”
Oh, oh your head!
“I’ll try to be gentle,” he chuckled lowly, but continued, and I blacked out.
In my last moment of consciousness, I firmly remembered something he said, “Why can’t I bring myself to be harsh with you?”
WKAO! You’ve been harsh for three hours, and you’re still being harsh, how can you say that! I rolled my eyes and passed out… When I woke up, I was the only one in the room. My bruises had been treated, but the medicine smelled terrible. I sniffed it, then decided to take another shower. My clothes seemed to have been taken away for washing, so I wandered out of the room in an oversized bathrobe, feeling sore and looking for food. In the hall, a man in dark sunglasses was waiting for me.
“Miss, Mr. Li instructed me to take care of you. You need to follow my orders during this time. If you don’t comply, I have the right to refuse any of your requests.”
“That harsh? Robots really are heartless. So, what do I do now?” I asked while eating the food on the table, trying to ignore the lines of frustration on his face hidden behind the sunglasses.
“…Just finish the lunch on the table.”
“Is there a time limit?” I started to wolf down the food. There was no choice; my stomach had suffered the most from the abuse.
“…No, you don’t need to eat so fast… Hey, I said there’s no time limit!”
“Oh, I’m done,” I said with cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk.
“…First, clean your mouth, then I’ll take you to the car…” I jumped up and dashed towards the door, “Ke Xun, I’m coming, wait for me!” My eyes stung as if tears were about to fall. It seemed I still couldn’t let you go.
The man in sunglasses shook his head helplessly and ran after me, “Miss, you haven’t cleaned properly, there’s a grain of rice on your nose, and a piece of ginger in the corner of your eye.”
…
I stood dumbly in front of the bed, the scanner’s rhythmic beeping was sharp and painful to all my senses. The person on the bed was asleep, silent, with an oxygen mask covering most of his face. His hands were full of terrifying needle marks, and the veins stood out where the IV was inserted, looking even more greenish under the pale skin. I didn’t dare to lift the thin blanket, not wanting to see any other wounds.
He said you’ve passed the critical period, and that was enough. You don’t know, but I hate gunshot wounds the most. Bullets, barrels, triggers, and the sounds they make together drive me mad…
For the entire afternoon, I stood there. The man in sunglasses said that except for breathing, he saw no other movement from me, thinking I might have gone into shock. Actually, his breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible, so I kept watching, afraid he might die.
Dinner was calm, and under these circumstances, I seemed unusually elegant, my long-buried manners painting over my entire being, sealing off all emotional outlets.
“Miss, what’s wrong with you?”
“Can I sleep in the car?”
“No… Why are you answering with something unrelated?”
“Is that so? Sorry, I’ll go to my room.”
After bathing and lying in bed, the man in sunglasses called a doctor to check on me. There was nothing wrong, I just had no expression. I was quite familiar with this version of myself, having lived like this for over a decade.
The next morning, or rather at 4 AM, I found a visitor who had arrived before me in the car — Han Wei. We looked at each other in surprise; I was wearing his boss’s bathrobe, and he had actually taken off his sunglasses, though his face was now softer.
After the initial surprise, we fell silent, each lost in our thoughts, watching the person on the bed. The man in sunglasses, having been frightened by me the previous night, granted almost all my requests. At 6 AM, he brought breakfast, unexpectedly, two servings.
Han Wei and I, now with his sunglasses back on, ate breakfast on the grass outside the car, continuing our silence. I sensed that Han Wei had something to say but was cool enough to keep quiet. We waited like this until the sun grew fierce, and I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I didn’t expect you’d come.”
“Nor did I expect you to still be here,” he said in a warm tone, the first time I heard him speak. “Thank you for visiting Ke Xun.” He looked at me, perhaps smiling slightly, because his face twitched awkwardly before he looked away.
“I’ve only admired five people in my life, and three of them are from the Li family.” I remembered Ke Xun mentioning his two brothers were dead. What were the three brothers fighting to the death for?
Han Wei was surprised at my ignorance but refused to tell me the inside story, saying, “Li Ke Xun doesn’t want you to know for his own reasons,” before he left.
