Then Mu Qi lay down beside Yun Shu Nian, quietly watching her profile.
Until Yun Shu Nian unconsciously turned away from Mu Qi, Mu Qi, fighting sleepiness, hugged Yun Shu Nian's waist and pressed close to her back.
Bone to bone, flesh to flesh. Hearts connected, but dreams diverged.
Suddenly, Yun Shu Nian turned around, wrapping her arms around Mu Qi from behind, pressing her entire body as close to Mu Qi as possible.
In this deep night, birds and beasts rested in the dense forest, natural and harmonious.
...
As the sky gradually brightened, the phone in Yun Shu Nian's pocket suddenly vibrated, startling her awake.
Smelling the familiar scent, seeing the familiar handsome face, Yun Shu Nian felt a slight ease in her heart, remembering the dream from last night.
In her dream, Yun Shu Nian seemed to have hugged a fiery sun, radiating light and heat.
Despite its brilliance, the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, just perfectly warm.
In her dream, Yun Shu Nian had only one thought: she absolutely could not lose him.
Yun Shu Nian took a few more breaths, unfastened the chain, re-tied it to the leg of the bed, and then picked up her phone and got up.
"What is it?"
"President, the Business Department has completed the bidding proposal. Please review it."
Silence hung in the air.
"Is there anything else?"
"Ah, oh, no, President." Assistant Li on the other end of the line trembled as he hung up.
Strange, why did he feel that their President had been too gentle these past two days? The usual icy aura was completely gone now.
And how could he have been the one to hang up first? Assistant Li felt utterly bewildered.
Hearing the busy signal from the phone, Yun Shu Nian opened the corporate messenger and, after a short while, began tapping away on her phone screen.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind. Yun Shu Nian instinctively turned off her phone and looked back.
"Mu Qi, good morning." Recalling the medicine she had intended for Mu Qi last night, which had ended up going down her own throat, Yun Shu Nian felt embarrassed.
"Good morning." Mu Qi dared not look directly at Yun Shu Nian, fearing she might not be well.
Yun Shu Nian's gaze naturally fell, landing on the chain in Mu Qi's hand, and her heart skipped a beat.
However, before she could move closer, she snatched the chain from Mu Qi's hand. The next second, the chain was in Yun Shu Nian's grasp.
Yun Shu Nian was surprised when he looked up, seeing Mu Qi's persistent gaze.
But Yun Shu Nian felt that the word "persistent" was inaccurate; it seemed too much like an extreme fixation, or perhaps a myriad of emotions were intertwined within those deep phoenix eyes.
Yun Shu Nian was momentarily lost in that vast ocean, unaware of the violent turmoil that had begun to brew within it.
Only when Mu Qi lowered the hand holding the chain and his eyebrows drooped, suppressing the pain that felt like his flesh was being torn apart, did Yun Shu Nian regain her senses.
No longer able to see Mu Qi's eyes, Yun Shu Nian remembered the immediate priority. She then grabbed the chain from Mu Qi and re-wrapped it around her wrist.
As she was wrapping it, Yun Shu Nian's movements slowed.
This chain was ultimately useless; it could neither lock Mu Qi down nor capture his heart.
Sensing Yun Shu Nian's actions, the immense waves in Mu Qi's eyes subsided slightly, yet they still churned with great force.
He felt no peace, nor any particular joy.
He was indifferent to the world, but when facing Yun Shu Nian, Mu Qi walked on thin ice, with every slight change causing him to tremble.
Moreover, he had hurt her so deeply.
Mu Qi couldn't help but wonder if the person he loved most didn't deeply love him but rather loathed him.
Was his baby just trying to give him the sweetest candy, only to follow it with the most bitter poison?
Was she trying to ensure he saw her constantly, only to find an opportunity to disappear completely later?
Suddenly, Mu Qi was startled as Yun Shu Nian stood on her tiptoes and cupped his face.
"Mu Qi, you love me, don't you? But why can't I ever understand you?" Her naturally gentle crescent eyes now appeared full of weakness and vulnerability in Mu Qi's eyes, like a delicate doll he had broken.
Yun Shu Nian was suddenly pulled into Mu Qi's embrace. The sudden intensity made her vision blur for a moment, and then her neck was soaked with moisture.
"Baby, I'm sorry. That night... everything that happened that night was my fault. Punish me... punish me however you want, but please don't... don't leave."
Yun Shu Nian's vision gradually cleared, but she was stunned by Mu Qi's choked sobs.
"Baby, I truly... truly made a mistake. I won't... I won't touch you ever again, alright? Please don't leave."
What was going on? How could it have reached this point?
"Mu Qi, Mu Qi?"
"Mu Qi, what's wrong? Can we talk it through properly?" Yun Shu Nian's hands rested on Mu Qi's ribs, attempting to push him away, but Mu Qi clung to her as if glued, unmoving.
Yun Shu Nian had never seen Mu Qi so heartbroken. Unsure of what to do, she could only pat his back.
After an unknown length of time, Mu Qi finally pulled away from Yun Shu Nian.
Yun Shu Nian looked at the tear tracks on his red-rimmed eyes, tears falling one by one like pearls, and her heart trembled.
She wondered if Mu Qi would be even more... when he was in bed like this.
God, what was she thinking! Yun Shu Nian gave herself a mental slap.
Then, she stood on her tiptoes and wiped away Mu Qi's tears.
"Mu Qi, what's wrong? You still have me!" Yun Shu Nian's expression turned serious, as if trying to conceal the fleeting "wicked" thought.
"I know everything now." Mu Qi's emotions stabilized. He lowered his head and tightly grasped Yun Shu Nian's hand.
Hearing this, Yun Shu Nian's pupils contracted sharply.
"You know everything?!" Yun Shu Nian used her free hand to grip her other wrist.
Her thumb rubbed against the medicinal powder hidden beneath her sleeve.
"Mu Qi, let me help you forget, alright?" The coldness in Yun Shu Nian's eyes suddenly receded, leaving only innocence and deep affection.
"I'm sorry." Mu Qi's recently stopped tears began to fall again, one after another.
He was never one to cry easily, so his tears at this moment showed just how remorseful and pained he was.
"Sorry?" So, he was refusing.
Yun Shu Nian's expression changed instantly. Her fingers darted into her sleeve, but just as Yun Shu Nian was about to bring out the medicinal powder, Mu Qi suddenly knelt down.