Mo Chengyu followed Yang Yuan’s figure as it disappeared around the corner, an inexplicable sense of guilt gripped his heart. Maybe he was overthinking things……

  –


  –


  Sheng Garden, the master bedroom.

  Two individuals were sound asleep on the warm bed.

  They had gone to bed late last night.

  Wisps of light filtered through the curtains and the temperature slowly began to rise.

  Fu Tingyu’s eyes fluttered open, revealing the bare ceiling above. He had dreamed a dream last night. It felt so real that it could have hardly been a dream. In it……

  He paused. In his arms……

  He was still feeling a little sleepy but it soon faded with the dawning reality of who it was in his arms.

  A woman was nestled against his chest, half-asleep. Her ebony hair draped down the side of her neck, caressing her cheeks and the nape of her neck.

  She looked so peaceful and enticing as she rested.

  He was mesmerized and could not peel his eyes off her. He could not believe that the love of his life whom he thought was miles away was in actual fact right there beside him.

  He continued to gaze at her in disbelief, his breath came in start-and-stops as his heart pounded against his chest. He was in heaven. He tenderly stroked her delicate cheeks as if to confirm that she was not a dream.

  He confirmed she was real as he continued to stroke her gently so as not to wake her up.

  Qin Shu’s sleep was disturbed. She felt an irritating sensation against her cheek. Annoyed by it, she turned over and continued to sleep.

  Fu Tingyu looked at Qin Shu in his arms and thought she was like a kitten, soft and cuddly. However much he looked at her, he simply could not get enough.

  He realized that he could not let go – even though he knew that he would not live long.

  He could not bear the thought of any other man holding her in his arms. He was immediately jealous of the prospect.

  She was his wife. In this life, in the next life, and in the life after.

  However, he did not want her to suffer.

  He pulled her closer into his chest and took her breath away.

  Qin Shu woke with a start and tried to wriggle herself free.

  When the man realized that the person in his arms had woken up, he loosened them a little. He lowered his eyes and looked at her. “You have finally decided to return.”


  His voice was a little hoarse but it was extremely pleasant to her ears.

  Fu Tingyu had asked the same question last night, but his tone now was a little different from back then. Qin Shu understood what he was trying to say and could detect the bitter undercurrent of resentment in his tone.

  “I told you, I’ll be back in a few days. I never lied to you.”


  He did not want to ask why she took so long to return since she was already in his arms.

  Fu Tingyu stroked her hair and smelled its sweet fragrance. He could not love her more than he already did.

  “When did you come back? Why didn’t you call to let me know you were coming home?”


  “I took the evening bus back. I originally wanted to give you a surprise but I didn’t expect you to be drunk again.”


  Fu Tingyu had drunk too much with his friend, Mo Chengyu.

  Qin Shu looked at Fu Tingyu lovingly. Asking in a soft voice, she asked, “Are you still angry?”


  Fu Tingyu didn’t answer her. Instead, he diverted, “How long do you plan to stay with me this time?”


  “I’ll return to the capital when you’re feeling better.”


  The effects of Gu Yan’s medicine were still unknown and she wanted to be there for him in case he suffered an adverse reaction.

  She wanted to be around for him. She wanted to keep him happy and positive.

  Fu Tingyu was touched by Qin Shu’s words but he knew that in the end his days were numbered.

  Silence filled the bedroom.

  Fu Tingyu suddenly spoke. “What if you can’t help me?”


  Qin Shu eyed him in surprise. “How long do you plan to stay angry with me? It’ll affect our relationship as a couple.”


  Fu Tingyu stared at her with his lips pursed. Recalling Qin Shu’s reluctance to return with him while they were in the capital, he was struck by the irony of her words. If she had insisted on staying in the capital and not returning to Jiang City with him, would not that have affected their relationship as husband and wife, anyway?

  Taking the initiative to hug him while he mulled over words, Qin Shu mumbled faintly, “That time at the hotel…… You left me. It was the first time you had ever left without me. You left me in a foreign land, in a place so unlike our own home here. Weren’t you afraid that something could have happened to me?”


  Though she spoke in a coquettish warble, it did nothing to hide her dissatisfaction.

  Fu Tingyu’s glacial heart instantly softened.

  “.…… I-I didn’t do it on purpose.”


  “You did do it on purpose. You left me there alone, storming out without so much as a word of goodbye. You did not even pick up the phone w-when I called you.”


  Qin Shu refused to let the matter drop. By the end, her voice had taken on a faint tremble and her last few words came out as a choked mess.

  She ranted for an hour, while he remained silent and expressionless.

  The more he listened, the more he felt uncomfortable.

  Tightening his arms around her slender waist he thought how he could not have left her behind if it weren’t for unforeseen circumstances. Leaving her behind was the last thing he would ever do.

  If it weren’t for the fact that he had been unconscious, he would not have wilfully ignored her calls?

  Nothing in this world was more precious than his Bao’er.

  “Bao’er, it won’t happen again. I promise.”


  Qin Shu looked him in the eyes and asked uncertainly, “You’re not lying to me, are you?”


  Fu Tingyu returned her timid gaze with one that spoke of unwavering determination. “I’m not lying to you.”


  Qin Shu’s limpid eyes curved in crescents, but her words rattled harshly in her chest, “If you leave me again, this will be the last conversation we ever have together.”


  He listened to her intently. Every word sounded like sweet honey to his ears. He liked the tone of playfulness in her voice and the way she would tease him with her words.

  “Alright.” Lowering his head to rest on hers, Fu Tingyu murmured, “Bao’er is getting so affectionate with her words……”


  “I am not being affectionate. I am threatening you.”


  Qin Shu huffed unhappily with her head leaning into the crook of his neck.

  “They are just words of affection, to me at least.”


  Alright.

  Qin Shu did not wish to argue any further. It only mattered that he liked what she said, that was enough for her.

  Tilting upwards, she asked, “Are you still angry?”


  Fu Tingyu pulled away, answering without a trace of hesitation, “No.”


  “Oh.”


  Qin Shu stared at her feet. Just then, her empty stomach rumbled in protest. Perhaps he would not be so angry after eating a meal with her? “You must be hungry. I have heard that a person’s mood will improve after a good meal.”


  Fu Tingyu’s eyes darkened. “Yes, I am hungry. I didn’t get to eat my fill last night.”


  “Then you should go and wash up…… hmm……”
……

  Shi Yan always woke early. Looking at the time, he noted that it was 8:30 in the morning. Usually, the fourth young master would already be awake at this time. Recalling how drunk he was last night, Shi Yan supposed that it was normal for him to sleep in.

  He waited for half an hour before climbing the stairs to the second floor where the master bedroom was located. He knocked on the bedroom door twice.

  After waiting for a while, he reached for the door handle and heard master four’s cold and stern voice.

  Receiving no response, Shi Yan reached for the doorknob and prepared to wake the young master up a little more forcefully. However, he was stopped by a cold and stern voice sounding from within.

  “Get lost……”


  Shi Yan was stunned into silence. What was the fourth young master doing?

  Seeing as the fourth young master did not want to be disturbed, Shi Yan respectfully withdrew.

  Walking down, he could not help but take a second glance in the direction of the master bedroom. What was wrong with the fourth young master?

  “Meow”


  Suddenly, a cat meowed. Shi Yan retracted his gaze and saw President Ba running towards him with a piece of paper in his mouth.

  Shortly after, he saw Ye Luo running in as well.