Returning to the Mid-Levels villa, Yu Keqing retreated into the bathroom as if she were fleeing for her life.
The rushing sound of water roared, drowning out everything else.
Lin Sheng stood outside the door, her fingertips pressed against the icy doorknob. Her heart felt as though it were being viciously squeezed by an invisible hand, aching so intensely that even her breathing grew tight. She could clearly hear her own heartbeat, heavy and rapid, thumping one strike after another, as if it were about to burst through her chest.
The sound of water inside the bathroom persisted, acting like an invisible barrier that completely separated her and Yu Keqing into two different worlds.
Lin Sheng didn’t dare to knock, nor did she dare to make a sound. She was terrified that the moment she opened her mouth, the trembling and lingering fear in her voice would be exposed entirely.
Scenes from the private booth at the Cloud Top Bar kept flashing through her mind. If she hadn’t gone out to look for Yu Keqing, if she had been even one step later, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Just the thought of that possibility made her want to kill He Wan. Smashing He Wan’s head and ruining both of her hands felt nowhere near enough to vent her rage, she felt she should have chopped He Wan into pieces.
Inside the bathroom, Yu Keqing sat slid down against the cold tiles, her back resting against them as warm water poured down from above. Yet, it couldn’t dispel the biting cold deep inside her body.
She wrapped her arms tightly around her knees, burying her face deep into her elbows. Her suppressed sobs blended with the sound of the water, muffled to the point where they were barely audible.
The hand that had suddenly reached out in the bar booth, the nauseating stench of alcohol, He Wan’s malice-filled face, and the sheer terror of being forced to drink… these memories felt like countless needles densely piercing into her nerves. It left her shivering uncontrollably. She let the water wash over her body, desperately trying to rinse away the memory, only to find that some terrors had already seeped into her marrow, impossible to wash clean.
Her fingernails dug into her palms, leaving behind several crescent-shaped bloody marks. She lifted her head, water dripping down the tips of her hair.
The string inside Yu Keqing that had been stretched taut for far too long finally snapped. Supporting herself against the wall, she slowly stood up.
In the next second, she suddenly raised her hand and violently swept it across the sink counter.
Crystal bottles, fresh flowers, aromatherapy jars, skincare products, perfumes… everything she could reach was ruthlessly smashed to the ground.
Bang! Crash!!
The sound of shattering exploded across the luxurious bathroom as those expensive luxury goods shattered right before her eyes.
Living for over thirty years, whether in this world or her original one, she had never thrown a tantrum. She had always been someone who endured and yielded. No matter how much injustice she faced, she would shrink into a corner and process it all by herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to fight back, she was afraid. She lacked the confidence and backing to burn bridges with anyone. She feared loss, and she truly used to believe that as long as she endured and gave in, she could protect the few precious things she possessed.
But now, the grievances, terrors, and absolute despair from being repeatedly hurt that had been bottled up for countless days and nights erupted frantically from her heart alongside that shattering crash.
She grabbed the essential oil bottle next to the bathtub and hurled it fiercely at the mirror above the sink. The glass instantly fractured into a web, and sharp shards came rain-showering down.
She was like a trapped beast that had been caged for far too long, finally tearing away all its shackles at this moment, using the most primitive method to vent every single emotion accumulated deep in her soul.
Every swipe of her hand, every smash, felt like a farewell to her past cowardly self, and a rebellion against this world that had left her covered in wounds.
“Ah!”
For the very first time, she let out a cry that was so sharp, yet so broken.
The water from her hair mingled with the tears washing down her face. Her eyes were completely bloodshot, and her fists clenched so tightly they creaked. It wasn’t out of fear, but an uncontrollable release of rage pushed to its absolute limit.
“Why does everyone bully me?!” She grabbed the showerhead and slammed it viciously against the floor, the metal casing producing a piercing, clattering screech.
As gentle and submissive as she had been before, that was how furious and broken she was now. As much as she had endured in the past, that was how completely she collapsed today.
The bathroom was a total disaster, the air thick with the mixed scent of aromatherapy oils and shattered glass. Yet Yu Keqing, as if driven mad, repeated her destructive actions over and over until there was absolutely nothing left on the counter to sweep down. Only then did she prop herself against the counter, bending over to gasp for breath in large, heavy gulps.
The bathroom door had been locked from the inside by Yu Keqing. Lin Sheng was worried to death outside, pounding frantically on the door as she shouted, “Keke! Open the door!”
“What happened? Did you fall? Open up!”
“Open the door, do you hear me?!”
“Don’t scare me, open the door, don’t do anything reckless!”
“Yu Keqing!”
Lin Sheng twisted the doorknob with all her might but couldn’t get it open. Damn it, I shouldn’t have installed a door of such high quality in the first place!
After finally managing to pick the lock open, she rushed inside…
The bathroom was in complete disarray, a total mess. Yu Keqing stood right in the middle of the broken glass. The flowing water diluted the fresh blood, looking like blooming roses opening up across the floor.
Lin Sheng’s pupils constricted instantly, her voice trembling, “Keke…”
Yu Keqing slowly raised her head, looking at Lin Sheng with eyes that were entirely bloodshot.
She was drenched from head to toe, her clothes clinging tightly to her frame, looking incredibly thin, frail, and shattered. Just as she seemed on the verge of collapsing, she suddenly grabbed an aromatherapy box from the ground and hurled it right at Lin Sheng.
Lin Sheng instinctively turned her head to dodge. The box flew past and smashed against the wall behind her with a loud clatter. Unable to withstand a secondary impact, the wooden box split completely apart.
Lin Sheng’s gaze swept past the box. She brushed aside the obstructive debris on the floor and stepped right in front of Yu Keqing. Raising her hand, she gently brushed over Yu Keqing’s reddened eyes, offering no criticism for her aggressive venting. She only felt a sharp pang of heartache seeing that Yu Keqing had hurt herself.
“You’re bleeding. Let me take you out to clean up the wounds.”
Yu Keqing slapped her hand away, glaring at her, “Don’t touch me!”
Lin Sheng’s expression didn’t change. She simply stared at her and said, “You can smash whatever you want and vent however you like, but you cannot hurt yourself.”
These words made Yu Keqing break down even further. Clenching her fists, she growled in a low voice, “Lin Sheng, can you stop putting on an act! Is this fun for you?!”
“What am I acting out?” Lin Sheng’s dark pupils narrowed, looking as though they were brewing an unknown storm.
Yu Keqing let out a mocking laugh, “There’s no one else here. Who exactly are you putting this show on for?”
“You think all of this is just an act?” Lin Sheng pinched her chin, trembling with pure rage.
To win Yu Keqing back, she had humbled herself, using every soft and hard tactic in her book. This was the first time she had ever wanted to hold onto someone so desperately, yet it was being dismissed as nothing but an act. She was infuriated, yet she still couldn’t bear to do anything to harm Yu Keqing. She had tolerated things to this extent, and yet Yu Keqing couldn’t feel it at all, even claiming she was faking it!
Yu Keqing’s eyes flashed with a look of utter, mocking indifference, dragging Lin Sheng’s pride to the floor and stomping all over it.
“Pretending to care, pretending to be heartbroken, acting as though you’re so reluctant to let me go… Lin Sheng, I don’t care to know what your ultimate goal is behind all of this, but let me tell you, I don’t buy into your tricks anymore. In reality, you don’t care about me at all. You just can’t stand the fact that I’m no longer completely submissive to you. You can’t stand my unannounced departure, and you can’t stand me breaking free from your control. Everything you are doing right now is simply because… you can’t accept the fact that I truly don’t want you anymore.”
I don’t love you anymore, and I don’t want you either.
These few words caused Lin Sheng, who was thoroughly used to being placed on a pedestal by everyone, to freeze entirely on the spot, her chest aching in sharp waves.
Her forceful expression finally showed a crack, but she had always been proud. Even when stabbed right in her sore spot, she refused to bow her head.
She let out a low chuckle, “Yu Keqing, who do you think you are to deserve me putting on an act in front of you?”
While her words were mercilessly harsh, panic was churning deep within her eyes. She stared dead at Yu Keqing, trying to reclaim her dignity through sheer arrogance and unreasonableness.
She said slowly, “It’s not that I can’t let you go. I simply don’t allow you to just walk away whenever you say so. You don’t have the right to throw me away. You’ve thrown your tantrum, you’ve vented your temper, and you’ve smashed your things. It’s about time you sober up.”
With reddened eyes, she used hurtful words to mask her truest emotions. Her mouth was as hard as stone, but her heart was in deeper panic than anyone else’s. She was terrified, utterly terrified, that Yu Keqing truly didn’t want her anymore.
Her chin was pinched painfully hard, but Yu Keqing’s smile only grew more mocking. “I don’t love you anymore. I don’t need your permission for that.”
This sentence instantly shattered Lin Sheng’s forced composure into dust. She barked in a low, harsh voice, “Shut up! I don’t allow you to say that!”
She suddenly lowered her head and forcefully blocked Yu Keqing’s lips, ensuring that this mouth could no longer utter words she absolutely detested hearing.
I don’t allow you to say you don’t love me anymore. I don’t allow you to say you don’t want me.
None of it is allowed!
Lin Sheng’s kiss was both heavy and frantic, carrying chaotic breathing and an unplaceable sense of panic. Her tongue ruthlessly forced open Yu Keqing’s teeth. As their lips and teeth clashed, Yu Keqing felt nothing but overriding pain and suffocation. She pressed both hands against Lin Sheng’s shoulders and chest, pushing back with all her might.
Yet Lin Sheng held the back of her head in a death grip, pressing her firmly into her embrace as if trying to break her apart and melt her directly into her own flesh and blood.
The fright she had received back at the Cloud Top Bar hadn’t faded yet. Mixed with her current fear and fury, Yu Keqing bit down hard on Lin Sheng’s lip.
The pain made Lin Sheng furrow her brows, and she finally let go of Yu Keqing, her lips smeared with bright red.
Yu Keqing pushed her away and stood there, panting heavily. Her eyes were completely bloodshot, and her lips still bore a glaring stain of scarlet transferred from Lin Sheng, the metallic taste of blood lingering inside her mouth.
She glared back with furious eyes, using this absolute resistance to reject any of Lin Sheng’s intimacy.
Lin Sheng raised her hand to wipe away the blood from her lips. Looking at the bright red on her fingertips, she slowly curled her lips into a smile, appearing to have calmed down. She even evaluated, “You really have grown up. You even know how to bite people now.”
When they first met, Yu Keqing was still in college. She was more than four years older than Yu Keqing, and even after they got married, her impression of Yu Keqing hadn’t changed much.
Yu Keqing turned her face away, her fists remaining clenched tight.
Lin Sheng looked down at her feet. “Are you going to walk out yourself, or should I carry you?”
She didn’t give Yu Keqing any time to make a choice either. The moment she finished asking, she bent down, picked her up in a bridal carry, and turned around to leave the bathroom.
Yu Keqing’s feet had been cut by the shattered glass. There were rather severe wounds on her toes and soles, and there might still be shards left inside them. Lin Sheng called the family doctor over to tend to them.
Having already changed her clothes, Yu Keqing sat by the edge of the bed. Her exposed arms bore red marks and bruises, traces that deeply stung Lin Sheng’s eyes. Lin Sheng walked over to the balcony, lit a cigarette, and leaned against the railing as she watched Yu Keqing.
Following this massive outburst, Yu Keqing completely refused to have any form of communication with Lin Sheng, avoiding even a single glance of eye contact.
She didn’t cry, didn’t make a scene, didn’t look, and didn’t speak. When it was time to go to work at Wen Man’s place, she went to work. After work, she went to the school to pick up Xiaobao. No matter whether Lin Sheng was angry or trying to placate her, she ignored her entirely, treating Lin Sheng like thin air.
This kind of life persisted for over half a month. It lasted until this very day, when Wen Man, who was out of town inspecting stores, sent her a WeChat message saying she couldn’t make it back today. Jiang Shuang wasn’t in A City during this period either, and their nanny happened to be on leave. With absolutely no one at home, Wen Man could only trouble her to pick up Xiaoning along the way when she picked up Xiaobao, letting Xiaoning stay over at the Mid-Levels villa for the night.
She agreed and went to the school gates to pick up the two kids.
As soon as Wen Ning got into the car, she complained, “My mom is really something. I’m already in middle school, it’s not like I’m a little kid. I can totally take care of myself, okay? But my mom just worries, thinking that if I’m left alone at home, I’ll end up setting the house on fire.”
Yu Keqing offered a gentle smile and said, “She’s just worried that you’ll be scared being home alone.”
“Definitely not! Auntie Yu, you don’t know, but I really did set our house on fire before,” Wen Ning poked her head forward from the back seat and said. “But it was my other mom’s house, and I didn’t do it on purpose, okay? Back then, I was living with my mom, and she was always super busy. She was either teaching classes, holding one meeting after another, or having a bunch of older sisters coming over to ask her questions. She didn’t have time to look after me. I was hungry, so I ran to the kitchen to cook something myself. I didn’t know how to cook at all, so I got all flustered, and somehow the pot caught fire. It kept growing bigger and bigger, and it almost burned down the whole kitchen! Ever since then, my mom and mama never feel safe leaving me home alone. But I was only seven or eight back then, and I’m thirteen now!”
Once Wen Ning started talking, she went on like a rapid-fire machine gun without pausing, truly living up to being Wen Man’s daughter, as the two shared the exact same personality.
Xiaobao pulled her back into her seat. “Alright, sit properly and stop talking so much.”
“Oh.”