Yin Man rolled over and felt that the space beside her was empty.
She abruptly woke from her dream, and sure enough, there was no one beside her. Liu Siyin was nowhere to be found.
She lifted the blanket and was about to get out of bed. Even with all her strength, her legs only moved slightly, and she still could not get down from the bed. This was too inconvenient. She could not even go look for Liu Siyin.
Liu Siyin could not see now, where could she go.
She reached for her phone and was about to call the bodyguards. Before she even made the call, she saw the door open. Liu Siyin groped along the wall and the cabinet, moving little by little to the bedside. Then she felt along the side of the bed, searching for a place where she could lie down. Yin Man grabbed her hand in one motion and pulled her onto the bed. “Where did you go?”
Liu Siyin was startled. She hurriedly tried to hide the thing in her hand, but Yin Man got there first and saw it. She spread open Liu Siyin’s palm and took out the pill bottle. “Sleeping pills, where did you get these?”
“I, I couldn’t really sleep, so I asked Doctor Jiang for them.” It just felt like it was not that simple.
Doctor Jiang?
Which Doctor Jiang? It could not be Jiang Yan. Would Jiang Yan be so kind as to give Liu Siyin medicine, and how had she even gone looking for Jiang Yan when she could not see?
Jiang Yan and the original owner had a deep grudge, so how could Liu Siyin be so careless?
Yin Man felt uneasy and stuffed the pill bottle into the cabinet. “If you can’t sleep, tell me. Medicine is three parts poison, you are not allowed to take it.”
Liu Siyin obediently answered, “Oh,” and sat there with her hands folded, so well-behaved and quiet. She was as obedient and gentle as a porcelain doll.
Yin Man pulled her down to lie back. “How about I tell you a bedtime story?”
Liu Siyin suspected that she had heard wrong. Her soft voice rang by Yin Man’s ear. “Sister Man, you can tell stories too?”
Her tone was full of surprise and delight.
“Mm, isn’t that pretty simple?” She used to often tell stories to the dolls she bought for her. She had also collected a lot of very hidden little stories, and had even picked up a little skill from it.
“Really?” Liu Siyin’s lips parted and closed, but Yin Man’s gaze dropped to her fair neck. If she were just a little closer, she would have touched that tender neck. Yin Man’s eyes darkened, the corner of her brow lifting slightly. “Do you want to listen?”
Yin Man suddenly hooked her hand into Liu Siyin’s waist and, with a sharp pull, pressed her tightly against herself.
Her waist was really thin, soft and slender enough to be held in one hand.
If she had a rope, she could probably twist it right around her.
And she smelled so good.
Liu Siyin’s breathing caught. Even if she reacted slowly, even if she could not see, she still realized that their current posture was too intimate. But she did not resist, and did not reject Yin Man’s closeness. Apart from being a little afraid, she even wanted her to be a little closer.
“Sister Man,” Liu Siyin breathed softly, “I want to hear it.”
Too fragrant, Liu Siyin really smelled so good, like the scent of flowers.
Yin Man’s senses were invaded by her soft, fragrant scent. She let go of Liu Siyin and pulled back a little. Only then did she begin, holding her hand. “Once there was a little mountain, and in the mountain there was a little fox.”
In her palm was her warm hand, by her ear was her gentle voice.
Liu Siyin suddenly thought of many years ago. When she was very little, when her mother still had not gone blind, if she could not sleep, her mother would also tell her stories. She would gently hold her in her arms and use a soft, delicate voice to comfort her to sleep.
Everyone was telling her that Yin Man was a bad person. She even knew very well that Yin Man was not good, but at this moment she actually felt that there was no one better than Yin Man. She wanted to rely on her. Just holding hands was no longer enough to satisfy her need for this dependence. She could not help but touch Yin Man’s waist and tuck her whole body into her arms.
The softness of her waist interrupted Yin Man’s story. Yin Man’s body stiffened, and the scent and warmth reddened her cheeks. Fortunately, Liu Siyin could not see.
Yin Man pretended to be calm and patted Liu Siyin’s back. She asked her, “Are you still afraid of the dark?”
“I am, but if Sister Man is by my side, I’m not afraid.” Yin Man gave Liu Siyin a meaningful glance. “Liu Siyin, when you get out of the hospital, come home with me and live there, okay?”
Liu Siyin asked uncertainly, “Can I not go back to Liu residence?”
In her words, Yin Man heard a note of joy. She had thought Liu Siyin would feel awkward about living with her before they were married, but she did not expect Liu Siyin to want to escape Liu residence even more than she had imagined. For her, Liu residence probably did not count as a home either.
Yin Man’s brows slightly furrowed, and a trace of pity rose in her eyes. Looking at Liu Siyin in her arms, she said, “If you don’t want to, you can never go back for the rest of your life.”
Liu Siyin slightly pulled herself out of her arms. “Really?”
By the moonlight, she could see that beautiful face of Liu Siyin’s, full of expectation.
“Really.” Liu Siyin’s brows and eyes were soaked through by the moonlight’s gentleness. She tucked herself back into Yin Man’s arms and softly said, “Sister Man, they all say you are not good, but I think you are very good.”
If only she could always be good to her.
It was like a dream. Yin Man, who had once disliked her in every possible way, would one day become the beam of light that illuminated her.
“Thank you, Sister Man.” She shrank in Yin Man’s arms. Perhaps because she was nervous and shy, that row of fan-like eyelashes trembled slightly, fluttering like butterfly wings. Yin Man’s heart stirred, and she reached out to touch her long eyelashes. “Your eyelashes are so long.”
She was distracted by the eyelashes, and Liu Siyin swallowed back more of her emotional words. She also wanted to say something to praise Yin Man, but she could not see Yin Man. She did not remember how long Yin Man’s eyelashes were, nor did she remember how fair her skin was. She only remembered the gentle, pitying eyes she had looked into before going blind.
Liu Siyin’s hand on Yin Man’s grew tighter and tighter. Being so close, they could hear each other’s heartbeats clearly. Yin Man could clearly hear her accelerating heartbeat. Although they had lain together for so long, this was the first time Liu Siyin had been almost entirely nestled in her arms. Such intimacy made Yin Man’s face burn and her heart race.
Fortunately, Liu Siyin could not see.
She was still secretly relieved when she heard Liu Siyin say, “Sister Man, your heartbeat is so fast.”
Fine if you heard it, but could you not say it out loud!
Liu Siyin did not know what she was thinking. She slowly leaned down, her ear close to Yin Man’s chest. “Really fast.”
Yin Man’s heartbeat grew even more intense, as if it might jump out from her chest at any moment. Yin Man moved Liu Siyin’s head little by little back up, cupped that snow-white little face in her palm, and rubbed it lightly. “Are you a hooligan?”
Who would be this blatant about taking advantage of someone? She was almost pressed against her chest, and her clothes were not thick either.
That pretty little face instantly turned deathly pale, and the body wrapped in the blanket actually began to tremble uncontrollably. “I’m sorry.”
No, had she scared Liu Siyin?
She forgot that Liu Siyin could not see. Tone was the only way she could tell Yin Man’s emotions, and nine times out of ten she probably really thought she was unhappy.
The pressure of Yin Man’s fingertips eased, turning into a gentle caress. “I’m not angry.”
She was embarrassed.
Yin Man did not know how to explain her overly sensitive state of mind to Liu Siyin. The original owner had a lot of experience with women, but she was not her. At her age, Liu Siyin was still the first woman who had ever been this close to her.
Yin Man could not explain it, so she simply changed the subject. “Liu Siyin, is your aunt very bad to you?”
Liu Siyin seemed to have remembered many bad things, and her face grew even paler, but she still shook her head. “Not that bad. As long as I’m obedient, Aunt will take me to see Mom.”
“Didn’t your mom die?” Yin Man found it strange. Outside, wasn’t it said that Liu Siyin’s mother had died and there was no one to raise her, so Liu residence took her back?
Thinking for a moment, Liu Siyin still sounded a little nostalgic. “No, Mom just doesn’t live with me anymore.”
So her mother was alive. Looking at Liu Siyin, she could see that Liu Siyin still loved her mother very much. This was probably also one of Liu Mei’s methods for making Liu Siyin obedient.
Yin Man rubbed Liu Siyin’s hair. “If you’re not obedient later, you can still see Mom. I’ll take you there.”
Liu Siyin opened her mouth, looking as if she had been moved again. Yin Man did not see it, she was getting sleepy. “I’ll confiscate the medicine for you. If you can’t sleep later, tell me, and I’ll still tell you stories.”
“Sister Man, you’re really good.”
She was the only light in her dark world. She knew Yin Man was a bad person, but she was too good to her. Even if it was an act, even if it was fake, she still wanted to cling to it greedily.
More than that, why would Yin Man lie to her? If she wanted something from her, as long as she wanted it, she would give it. Even if she did not give it, Liu Mei would force her to give it. She was more inclined to believe that Yin Man really wanted to care for her. Even if it was only a momentary whim, even if it would not last long, she still hoped that the dream before her would last a little longer.
Being protected by Yin Man felt very safe.
When she lay beside her, even the darkness no longer seemed like layers of cold ice, but like the embrace of warm sunlight. Her fear of the dark would also lessen. The sleeping pills had been confiscated, but it did not matter. As long as Yin Man kept treating her so well, she would be very willing, very willing to live.
As long as Yin Man liked something about her, as long as the affection could last a little longer.
The two of them were close enough to touch. The breathing that belonged to her was gentle and sweet, and it actually made her unable to control her thoughts. She only wanted to kiss her. Liu Siyin touched Yin Man’s face, searching for her lips.
Yin Man had originally been sleepy, but the little hand on her face disturbed her. She looked at Liu Siyin’s increasingly close face.
Her heart was beating hard, but she did not dodge. Liu Siyin kissed her.
Very soft, very gentle, very tender, very light.
Even a dragonfly skimming the water made Yin Man’s whole body burn. She muttered, “Liu Siyin, how can you take advantage of me without my consent.”
“Sorry, s-sorry.” She seemed to have been startled again. How should she explain it? Being angry and being embarrassed were not the same thing.
Yin Man touched her lips, still savoring that instant of sweetness. This was her first kiss, and it belonged to Liu Siyin.
Liu Siyin was apologizing in a low voice. Yin Man pulled her waist into her arms at once, soothing her unease. “I don’t mean I’m blaming you. I mean I was—”
She still could not think of how to explain it, so the words at her lips only became a repeated, “Sleep, sleep.”
The author has something to say:
[Extra little skit]
Liu Siyin: Today Sister Man told me a story to coax me to sleep.
Jiang Yan: Yin Man can tell stories? Did the sun rise in the west today?
Yin Youxia: I bet it must be a horror story.
Mei Xuying: I’ll bet five yuan it must be a bloody love story.
Liu Siyin, blushing: It was a story about a little fox, very sweet and very warm.
Mei Xuying: I don’t believe it unless you bring out evidence.
Yin Youxia: Exactly, next time she tells one, record it.
Jiang Yan: I want to hear it too.
Liu Siyin, expressionless: The stories my wife tells can only be heard by me.