She was too hysterical to pay attention to the details, but she did understand when Mo Qingchen dismissed the people around them, saying that he didn't need help.

  "We will talk about it in a bit, okay?" he told her. "Let's go in and sit down. Please." His tone was nothing short of begging. He was anxious. He didn't understand what was happening.

  After she cut the call, he had thought about following her for a few minutes and then headed out. He couldn't help himself. His phone pinged when he was making his way out of the building.

  When he saw it, he froze. His pace was brisk as he crossed the street and tried to look for her in the crowd. She wasn't hard to spot.

  She was close to a sprint and he could see her shoulders shaking.

  He shook the thought out of his head and focused on her.

  "Do you want some water?" Mo Qingchen asked.

  "No."

  "Do you want anything?"

  "I'm cold," she said.

  "Okay, I'll get you some towels to warm you up."

  Qian Meng aimlessly looked at the clock. "It's time for class, right?" she asked.

  "There is no need to take the class today. Let's sit for a bit before going home, okay?" He was so cautious in talking to her.

  Indeed, she ended up sitting there for fifteen minutes before he held her hand tightly and walked her to the car. When they reached home, it was dark.

  Qian Meng sucked in a deep breath.

  "No one is in there. I had the security team check each and every corner of the grounds," Mo Qingchen assured.

  She was sitting on the bed when she started crying again.

  "Please… you're breaking my heart," he whispered. It only made her cry harder.

  Mo Qingchen guided her to their bathroom to clean up. She stood in the shower with him and sobbed, only vaguely aware as he washed her body. He had her rinse the blood in her mouth and then inspected the area to discover that she had two chipped teeth.

  Qian Meng really didn't care.

  "I think it adds to your charm," Mo Qingchen tried to joke, but Qian Meng didn't seem to hear it.

  He stood and held her in the shower until the hot water ran out. Around the same time, her tears finally started to settle. She wanted to keep sobbing but she felt like she couldn't produce any more tears.

  She had used them all, and the muscles of her stomach ached from the violent sobbing.

  Mo Qingchen wrapped her in a fluffy towel and made her sit down in front of the mirror. He slowly combed her hair for her. He took her to bed and she had to tell him that it was okay twice before he was willing to leave her long enough to go get the ice for her mouth to prevent swelling.

  He didn't turn off the light in the bedroom. Instead, he scooted between it and Qian Meng to lessen the harsh light. He lay closer to her, holding the ice pack against her mouth for her as she nestled against him for warmth and safety.

  They didn't speak for a long time, both knowing that the other was awake. Mo Qingchen would shift the ice pack a little every few minutes. With his free hand, he stroked her skin and ran his fingers through her hair.

  It was sweet, but she was too numb to care about it.

  "Mo Qingchen?" she called after what felt like an eternity.

  "Yeah?"

  "Thank you for coming."

  He stopped breathing for a second. "Of course, I came. I was making my way to you before you sent me the message," he told her.

  Qian Meng suddenly felt horrible that it had upset Mo Qingchen to see her so hysterical. But how else was she supposed to react? Mo Qingchen had found her right on time and probably not seen the man who had been following her.

  "You didn't see the man?" she asked.

  "I didn't. But I will find out," he swore.

  "Thanks," she mumbled.

  "I'll go change the icepack," he told her.

  Qian Meng watched as he left the room and then pulled his pillow over to her. She was left with a bit of an empty feeling at being alone. She would have been unhappy with anything that happened that night. But there was an ache in her chest that she would carry with her.

  Her life wouldn't be the same after that night.

  Part of her was angry. Why did she think she would be safe when Mo Qingchen was so worried? And then there was heartbreak. What would happen if she died? She couldn't help but wonder that she had given up her precious time with the people she loved.

  Time that she had to spend with them.

  Would Mo Qingchen want that? Maybe he wouldn't. She couldn't come to ask him. Maybe he would leave. Even if he left, she wouldn't be able to pardon herself for losing all that time.

  Suddenly, her face was wet with tears again.

  Mo Qingchen was gone longer than she expected. She thought he would probably just go to the fridge and come back, but it was nearly half an hour later when he came back, with two mugs in his hands.

  "I brought you some tea with lemon and spices," he said as he closed the door behind him with his foot.

  She tried to give him a smile. "Thank you."

  The combination of the ice and the wetness of tears on her face had her shivering. Some warm tea did sound nice.

  "Why did… your heart break upon seeing me cry?" she asked dumbly.

  He looked surprised. He had to think about it for a moment. "I promised that you wouldn't be in danger and you were. You thought you wouldn't make it. And you were prepared for it to happen. That made my heart hurt," he said softly.