Bai Bo’s lips were pale, his handsome face covered in blood, his breaths shallow as he called out, persistently and with obsession.
"Shen Yue…"
Yet the only response was the sound of receding footsteps.
—
Shen Yue knew that Wei Jingzhou was filled with guilt and regret. Although he acted no differently than usual, he couldn't bring himself to meet Shen Yue’s eyes.
Because he knew he had failed to protect her.
Wei Jingzhou used to be incredibly busy, so much so that he barely had time to return home. But recently, he had been staying at home constantly.
He stayed by Shen Yue’s side, silently accompanying her. At first, Shen Yue pretended to be severely traumatized, refusing to speak for days and barely eating. Seeing Wei Jingzhou’s brow furrowing deeper and deeper, at just over twenty years old, faint lines began to appear between his brows.
He always said Shen Yue was too thin, and during every meal, he would use both gentle persuasion and firm insistence to coax her into eating a few more bites.
Shen Yue would comply, forcing down a few more mouthfuls, only to vomit it all up immediately after swallowing. Terrified, Wei Jingzhou no longer dared to force her to eat. Instead, he arranged for a private doctor to administer glucose infusions.
Every night when they slept, he would hold her tightly like an octopus, as if she would vanish if he loosened his grip even slightly, wishing he could crush her bones and merge into one with her.
This situation persisted for over a month before Shen Yue's mental state gradually improved. The gloom in her heart seemed to fade and lighten with the passage of time.
She had been staying in the villa for a month. This villa belonged to Wei Jingzhou. Shen Yue had quietly observed it and found it to be quite remote, with almost no signs of human habitation. The winter sun was warm that day, melting the snow, bathing everything in a warm glow.
Shen Yue was still dressed warmly, a fluffy white scarf concealing half of her delicate, pale face.
She had not gone out for a long time, and today she decided to go for a walk.
However, the villa's main gate was tightly shut. Shen Yue stared blankly, unsure what to do.
Behind her, a series of hurried footsteps approached. Shen Yue turned to look, and it was Wei Jingzhou rushing towards her.
Wei Jingzhou had been in his study dealing with work. He habitually pulled up the surveillance feed to see what the young girl was doing. To his surprise, she wasn’t in the bedroom at all. He finally spotted her at the main entrance and immediately rushed down.
Shen Yue watched quietly as the man quickly walked to her side. He took her slightly cold hand and gently caressed her face. The roughness of his fingertips made her instinctively flinch away.
His deep voice was soft as water, "Why did you suddenly come here? Let’s go inside, it’s windy outside."
The wind outside was not strong at all, and the sun was exceptionally bright.
Shen Yue knew, of course, that this was just the man's way of speaking falsehoods with his eyes open.
She did not obediently follow the man inside. Instead, she glanced at the gate, "I want to go out."
Wei Jingzhou’s smile remained unchanged, but he refused decisively, "Yueyue, be good. It's dangerous outside. I'll take you out to play tomorrow, okay?"
Shen Yue looked at him quietly for two seconds, said nothing, but still went inside.
Even if she didn’t go in willingly, she would be forced to. Since that was the case, she might as well walk in herself.
However, the next day, Wei Jingzhou had an urgent meeting and thus could not keep his promise.
He was busy all day, only finishing late at night. He quietly went to the bathroom to wash up, then silently climbed into bed. He held the girl contentedly, a faint fragrance lingering under his nose. He couldn't resist kissing her fair, soft nape.
As he was about to kiss further down, he was suddenly pushed away. The force was not great, but it startled Wei Jingzhou into stillness.
He turned on the bedside lamp, its warm glow illuminating a small area.
The girl, whom he thought was fast asleep, was now awake, silently watching him.
Wei Jingzhou stroked the girl's soft hair, his deep voice tinged with moonlight-like gentleness, "Why are you still awake so late?"
The girl’s long, butterfly-like eyelashes fluttered gently. Her pale pink lips pursed slightly, her face as pale as snow bathed in a warm glow.
Her voice was soft and light, barely audible unless one was close.
"Did you forget something?"
Wei Jingzhou blinked, and then he remembered his promise to take her out to play yesterday. But he had been too busy and forgotten, truly unable to find the time.
Looking into the girl's clear, limpid eyes, Wei Jingzhou suddenly felt a mischievous impulse. He feigned deep thought, as if struggling to recall.
"Ah? Did I forget something? I don't remember. Yueyue, can you tell me?"
The girl lowered her eyelashes, obscuring the emotions in her eyes. Her picturesque eyebrows seemed to convey a deep sense of disappointment.
Wei Jingzhou enjoyed seeing all the emotions that appeared on the girl's face because of him. He found them incredibly endearing, making him want to hold her tighter and kiss her more.
The man craned his long neck forward, kissing the corner of her lips. Just as he was lost in passion and about to deepen the kiss, he was pushed away again.
In Wei Jingzhou's eyes, this small amount of force was like a kitten’s scratch, but he still retreated slightly. The hot, ambiguous breath he exhaled seemed to raise the temperature in the bedroom.
Shen Yue uncomfortably turned her face away, her beautiful, elegant profile showing a hint of fragility, like an exquisite porcelain doll.
"I'm going out today."
Wei Jingzhou affectionately pinched the girl's soft cheek, coaxing, "It's very late now. We can talk about anything after we wake up."
Without waiting for Shen Yue to reply, Wei Jingzhou switched off the bedside lamp, and the bedroom plunged back into darkness.
The girl seemed a little unhappy. She turned her back to the man, shifting her position to move further away from him.
But after moving less than an arm’s length, she was pulled back, her entire body enveloped by the man. Her back pressed against his hot, solid chest, and she felt the reassuring thumping of his heart.
The man’s low voice, sexy and raspy, came from beside her ear.
"Be good now, go to sleep early."
Shen Yue struggled subtly a couple of times, but the man only held her tighter, so she reluctantly gave up.
The clear weather lasted only a few days before it started raining again.
Raindrops pattered against the windowpane with a rhythmic clatter.
Shen Yue had already made up her mind. She was going out today, regardless of the rain.
She searched the villa but couldn't find an umbrella, and the main gate remained shut, requiring a key to open.
Shen Yue was not foolish. She had realized a long time ago that Wei Jingzhou did not want her to go out, always fobbing her off with various excuses.
Perhaps the incident at the hotel that day had truly rattled Wei Jingzhou, leaving him with a profound sense of insecurity. As soon as Shen Yue left his sight, he would fall into a state of anxiety and agitation.