"Ah..."
Yú Hé was startled and let out a scream.
Then, she grabbed the hand that had reached out and yanked hard, pulling the person over and driving her knee up.
Qin Beiting hadn't expected her to suddenly become so strong. He quickly blocked her knee with his other hand, but was still caught off guard by an over-the-shoulder throw.
He grunted, "Baby, it's me..."
Yú Hé seemed not to hear him. She scrambled up and kicked at Qin Beiting.
Qin Beiting had good night vision. He rolled on the ground to avoid her. Just as he stood up, Yú Hé charged at him again.
After a few exchanges, Qin Beiting found it novel. Did the little girl know martial arts?
But as the fight continued, he noticed something was wrong. Although Yú Hé's moves lacked technique, each strike was aimed at a vital point. Even if she fell, she didn't seem to feel pain, getting up and attacking again, as if her body's instinctive survival mechanism had kicked in.
Qin Beiting's brows furrowed. He dodged her attacks, found an opening, and quickly subdued her. Holding her tightly, he realized she was ice cold and trembling.
"Yú Hé?" he called her again.
She didn't respond, struggling even harder.
Qin Beiting suddenly remembered she was afraid of the dark, and this was far worse than he had imagined.
What had she been through to have such severe aftereffects?
"Baby, don't be scared, it's me." Qin Beiting pressed her head against his chest with his large hand.
Yú Hé couldn't break free. Her head was pressed against a solid chest. She panicked and bit down hard.
Qin Beiting yelped in pain but showed no sign of letting go. He lowered his head and whispered her nickname in her ear.
Suddenly, a gust of sea breeze blew the clouds away, revealing a bright full moon.
"Xiao He Miao..."
At this moment, Ruǎn Tiánxīn ran over with two flashlights.
She suddenly realized Yú Hé was gone and Qin Beiting had also left, leaving uneaten barbecue on the table. She immediately suspected they had argued and rushed out to find them with the flashlights.
Finally finding them, before she could relax, her heart leaped into her throat again.
Both of them were covered in sand. Yú Hé's dress was torn, indicating a physical altercation.
"Xiao He Miao!" Ruǎn Tiánxīn approached, hesitant to touch her. She anxiously shouted at Qin Beiting:
"There are no streetlights here. How could you let her run out alone? Xiao He Miao is afraid of the dark!
"When she was little, she was locked in a dark room and abused by human traffickers. It left her with aftereffects. When in prolonged darkness, she becomes extremely aggressive."
Her voice choked with emotion as she spoke the last sentence.
Qin Beiting's heart lurched. The arms holding Yú Hé tightened unconsciously.
With the light, Yú Hé stopped struggling, and the strength in her bite slowly loosened.
"Uncle..." she murmured, her voice soft and weak, like a little kitten.
Seeing that she had finally regained consciousness, Qin Beiting tenderly stroked the back of her head. "I'm here, don't be afraid."
The familiar voice and scent lessened Yú Hé's fear, but the surrounding darkness still made her body tremble uncontrollably.
"I want to go home," she said weakly.
"Okay, I'll take you home. Can you walk?" Qin Beiting released her and took her hand.
Yú Hé shook her head.
"I'll carry you." Qin Beiting placed her hand on his shoulder and crouched, turning his back to her.
Yú Hé climbed onto his back. Qin Beiting gave a strong pull and lifted her.
Ruǎn Tiánxīn, a mixture of anger and concern, followed behind them, shining her light.
Waves crashed against the shore, and the full moon peeked through the clouds.
Yú Hé tightly clasped Qin Beiting's neck, burying her face in his shoulder, inhaling the familiar faint scent of tobacco.
Upon returning to the villa, they found it without power. Candles flickered in the living room.
Chén Dōng was on the phone in the living room.
"What happened?" Qin Beiting asked.
"The transformer suddenly broke. I'm contacting someone to fix it."
Chén Dōng was surprised to see him return with Yú Hé on his back. Why so soon?
Ruǎn Tiánxīn was about to suggest going back to her place when Qin Beiting, still carrying Yú Hé, turned to leave, calling out:
"No need. Prepare to go back."
Chén Dōng finally noticed that Yú Hé was not right. The usually cold and otherworldly fairy was now softly nestled on Qin Beiting's back.
He didn't dare to think further. He quickly grabbed the little pig, extinguished the candles, and went to get the car.
-
On the plane, as Qin Beiting laid Yú Hé down in the bedroom, he saw her pale little face and vacant eyes. She was clearly quite frightened.
He asked a flight attendant for a first-aid kit and cleaned and bandaged the abrasions on her palms and knees.
"Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?" Qin Beiting gently asked, wiping the sand from her face with a wet wipe.
Yú Hé shook her head mechanically.
Seeing her like this, Qin Beiting found it somewhat cute, but mostly heartbreaking.
"Then get some sleep. When you wake up, we'll be home."
Yú Hé obediently lay down. As Qin Beiting covered her with the air-conditioning blanket and prepared to get her a glass of water, his hand was held back.
"Don't go..." The girl's peach-blossom eyes were teary, and her dark pupils gazed at him.
She looked so fragile, helpless, and pitiable.
The softest part of Qin Beiting's heart was touched. "I'm not going."
——
The next day, Yú Hé woke up hungry.
As she opened her eyes, she saw the man's sexy Adam's apple, his bony collarbone, and a bloody bite mark beneath it. The wound had not been treated and was slightly red, swollen, and bruised, with dried blood.
The man was still asleep, one arm around her waist, the other under her head. Their position was intimate.
Yú Hé's mind went blank.
Did she bite him?
What had she done last night?!
Yú Hé quickly confirmed they were still clothed and breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, she began to recall last night's events intermittently. In her blurry memory, she had run out and was carried back by Qin Beiting because she was afraid of the dark...
A complex mix of annoyance and shyness washed over her.
Yú Hé tiptoed off the bed and realized they were still on the plane. The plane had landed, and the window shades were closed, so she couldn't tell what time it was.
Just as she was about to leave, a husky, magnetic voice of a man who had just woken up came from behind her.
"Baby, running off after sleeping?"
Yú Hé: "..."
"Forget what happened last night!" she turned back and warned him with a cold, high-and-mighty expression.
With that, she turned and walked out.
Qin Beiting: "..."
He suddenly thought that the fragile, helpless little girl was indeed more endearing.
Yú Hé went out, washed up, and asked a flight attendant for some food. After filling her stomach, she suddenly remembered the bite mark on Qin Beiting's collarbone.
She couldn't recall biting him, but it felt like she had, and she felt ashamed.
She asked the flight attendant for a first-aid kit and returned to the room.
Qin Beiting emerged from the bathroom, wearing a loose black bathrobe, his hair damp.
Yú Hé's eyes immediately fell on the bite mark on his collarbone. The bloodstain had been washed away, leaving only bruising and the imprint, indicating a rather deep bite.