The air was thick.
Heavy with intimacy.
Shen Muyan slowly regained her senses, her slender fingertips pressing weakly against the man’s chest as she let out a soft, spoiled whimper.
“…I’m tired.”
“Be good, Mumu.” The man held her wrist, his lips brushing tenderly against her delicate earlobe as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Just one last time.”
“No…”
“Good girl.” His calloused fingers gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes before he lovingly kissed her flushed lips. “Be good, Mumu. We won’t go out tomorrow.”
Her soft, broken sobs became the sweetest melody in the room.
When Shen Muyan woke up, the bedroom was quiet.
She stared blankly at the ceiling before slowly raising her hand, examining it carefully.
She remembered…
She had died.
She had died in Shang Qi’s arms, never living long enough for the Shang family’s medical team to reach her, never receiving the medicine that could have saved her. She died after three months of relentless rain.
Even in her fading consciousness, she had heard Shang Qi begging her—begging her not to fall asleep, begging her to hold on just a little longer.
But she simply couldn’t.
As she watched the wounds he’d suffered because of her, she had found a bittersweet sense of relief.
Maybe dying wasn’t so bad.
At least she wouldn’t keep dragging him down.
He had friends. He had responsibilities. Without her, he would no longer be shackled.
And yet…
She couldn’t stop worrying.
Would he remember to eat?
Would he take care of himself?
With the last of her strength, she had made him promise…
…to live well.
Shen Muyan never knew that when she died, she had taken Shang Qi’s emotions with her.
He no longer smiled.
He could no longer feel sadness.
Nor compassion.
Everyone knew she was the person Shang Qi treasured above all else.
The world had never been kind to him, yet it had given him the greatest gift it could—
Shen Muyan.
But Shen Muyan had always been frail.
She fell ill often, and more than once, she had come dangerously close to death.
Shang Qi had always thought life was unfair.
Someone as wonderful as Mumu…
Why couldn’t she have a healthy body?
“What’s wrong?”
Pulled back to reality, Shen Muyan met Shang Qi’s deep, captivating eyes.
He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
Sharp, sculpted features.
Profound, mesmerizing eyes.
Dressed in an elegant black suit that made him appear aloof and untouchable.
Yet whenever he looked at her…
His eyes overflowed with love.
Memories resurfaced.
Night after night, he had stayed beside her bedside, terrified she wouldn’t wake up.
He hadn’t dared leave her side…
Yet he had no choice but to search for medicine.
Not once had she stopped regretting it.
If she hadn’t insisted on going to Mount Qinglan to watch the sunset…
They wouldn’t have been trapped by the endless rain.
Even a single box of fever medicine wouldn’t have become something so precious.
Shang Qi lifted her into his arms and kissed her forehead.
“What happened? Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head and buried her face against his shoulder.
“I think… I died.”
His arms stiffened almost imperceptibly before he gently patted her back.
“Be good, Mumu.”
“It’s only a nightmare.”
He had already lost her once.
This time…
No matter what, he would make sure she lived a healthy, happy life.
Still leaning against him, Shen Muyan asked softly,
“What date is it today?”
“The fifth.”
Her face instantly turned pale.
She remembered.
The torrential rain had begun on the twelfth.
That meant…
There were only seven days left.
“Qi…”
“Don’t be afraid, Mumu.”
He kissed her forehead once more.
“This time… nothing will happen.”
“Trust me.”
Something about the way he spoke made Shen Muyan realize…
He knew far more than she did.
Gripping his shirt tightly, her voice trembled.
“So… I really came back to life?”
“More accurately…” Shang Qi carefully watched her expression before continuing, “we’ve returned to the past.”
“Don’t be afraid.”
“Treat it as though it were just a dream.”
“Then… why did we come back?”
Instead of answering, Shang Qi opened the bedside drawer and slipped a jade bracelet onto her wrist.
“Mumu…”
“We’re going to be okay.”
He was saying it to her.
And also to himself.
Everything would be alright.
Even if the heavens collapsed and the earth shattered…
They would survive together.
And if death truly was unavoidable…
Then they would die together.
He never wanted to experience another life without her.
Nestled in his embrace, Shen Muyan slowly digested everything she’d heard.
So…
This was reincarnation, just like in the novels.
Then what should they do now?
Stockpile supplies before the endless rain arrived?
Suddenly, she looked up.
“…You didn’t keep your promise, did you?”
She had died before being reborn.
If she had returned…
Then didn’t that mean Shang Qi had also…
The thought made her heart ache.
She had never truly realized it before.
But during those days trapped on Mount Qinglan…
She finally understood just how much of a burden she had been to him.
“I kept every promise I made to you,” Shang Qi replied, gently pressing a kiss against her lips before coaxing softly,
“Mumu…”
“Will you learn how to use a gun with me?”
“So… something happened after that?”
She knew that months of nonstop rain wasn’t normal.
But no matter how unusual it was, she couldn’t imagine it becoming so catastrophic that even Shang Qi—someone who always seemed capable of handling anything—would feel powerless.
Throughout history, extreme weather wasn’t unheard of.
“Yes.”
This time, he chose not to hide anything.
“From the moment the rain began…”
“The world changed.”
First came the extreme weather.
Then widespread food shortages.
After that, a bizarre virus erupted.
The peace humanity had taken pride in didn’t even survive half a year.
Arguments.
Looting.
Murder.
People turned against one another.
The chaos and filth surpassed anything recorded in history.
Without advanced technology to maintain civilization and comfort…
Humanity’s most primitive instincts emerged.
Kindness was no match for the malice born from the desperate instinct to survive.
By the time Shang Qi finished, Shen Muyan’s face had turned even paler.
She had never imagined such a future.
Back in college, her roommates used to joke every day about wishing the apocalypse would come.
But when faced with the possibility of it actually happening…
Who would truly welcome it?
After living such peaceful, comfortable lives…
Knowing that hell on earth awaited them…
Even if she wanted to survive…
She would only become Shang Qi’s burden.
Sometimes…
Wouldn’t it be easier to simply die?
At least then, her final memory would remain beautiful, untouched by endless suffering.
In only a few moments, she had already weighed the pros and cons.
“How about…” she whispered timidly, “I just don’t become your burden—”
“Shen Muyan.”
Shang Qi lifted her chin and bit down firmly on her lips.
“I finally begged fate to give you back to me…”
“And now you’re talking about killing yourself?”
“But Qi… sooner or later I’ll still—”
He didn’t let her finish.
He pulled back the blanket and pinned her onto the bed.
Only after she tearfully promised never to say such things again did he finally let her go.
Night quietly settled over the room.
Wrapped snugly beneath the soft blanket, Shen Muyan slept peacefully.
Her eyes were closed, her long lashes still damp.
Her rosy lips were slightly swollen.
Faint crimson kiss marks peeked out from beneath the blanket along her slender shoulders.
Her delicate body rested completely in the man’s embrace.
Neither of them wore a stitch of clothing as they lay pressed tightly against one another.
Holding Shen Muyan against his chest with one arm, Shang Qi used his free hand to send a message to his assistant.
Seven days.
For ordinary people, it wasn’t nearly enough time.
But for him…
It was more than enough to prepare everything they would need.
“…Qi…”
Shen Muyan murmured in her sleep.
“Be good, Mumu.”
He gently stroked her hair.
“Tomorrow…”
“I’ll take you to watch the sunset.”