Nothing was more terrifying than sudden silence.
Yuan Wei’s hand froze in midair. He glanced at Su Youtian, his eyes shifting sideways with an inexplicable hint of guilt.
【Didn’t see that coming, did you! jpg】
“Get lost!”
Su Youtian snatched the double eyelid tape from Yuan Wei’s hand and threw it onto the floor.
“Don’t mind these little things, and you can see that my eyes do not look any different anyway.”
Yuan Wei was just about to speak when Su Youtian held up a hand.
“Wait, don’t speak yet. Let me finish. The color around my eyes is not a black eye, it is eyeshadow. The red on my cheeks is not because I am hot, it is blush. The color on my lips is not because I only applied half of the lipstick, it is called bitten lip makeup.”
After saying that, she took a deep breath and met Yuan Wei’s eyes.
“Whatever you want to say, just say it.”
【Just how much malice do you have toward straight men!】
Yuan Wei: “……”
He pressed his lips together, only to realize that whatever he wanted to say had already slipped from his mind. Rubbing his brow, he said helplessly, “It’s late. You should go home.”
Su Youtian looked hurt.
“You are just going to let me go home alone like this?”
Yuan Wei struggled to sit up. He pulled his coat down from the back of the sofa and draped it over himself.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
Su Youtian quickly pressed him back down.
“No need, no need. I can go by myself.”
After saying that, she turned around and called for Tuotuo.
“Tuotuo, time to go home!”
Tuotuo was tearing at Yuan Wei’s clothes in the corner. Hearing Su Youtian call it, it lifted its short neck and looked over here.
Yuan Wei asked, “How did you bring it over here?”
Su Youtian said, “I thought it was pitiful being left at the resort, so I took it with me. By the way, is Old Man Wang’s job okay?”
Yuan Wei shook his head. Under the light, his stern brows and eyes had a strangely reassuring quality. His calm attitude told Su Youtian that this was no big deal.
Yuan Wei said, “I already found him a new job, with better treatment than at the resort. If you do not like this dog, you can leave it with me.”
Su Youtian hurriedly stroked Tuotuo’s head.
“Of course I like it, it’s so well-behaved.”
Tuotuo whined and burrowed into her arms.
Yuan Wei leaned one arm on the sofa armrest, his expression somewhat tired. His eyelashes cast a row of dark shadows across his face, and his voice was low and gentle.
“It is rare to see someone who likes a mutt. You do not mind that it is not especially impressive looking, that it is not as valuable as other dogs, and that it has no real potential to appreciate in value?”
As he finished speaking, he raised his eyes. His pale-colored gaze looked like cold ice covered in mist, shooting toward her with an unreadable emotion.
Su Youtian’s whole body stiffened. She covered Tuotuo’s ears and said aggrievedly:
“How can you say that? Aren’t you ashamed of saying this in front of a minor?”
Tuotuo: “Awo?”
Yuan Wei: “……”
【……】
Su Youtian: “Awo?”
Yuan Wei pinched the bridge of his nose and struggled to stand.
“Forget it. I’ll take you home.”
Su Youtian quickly said, “No need, no need. Didn’t I just say it, even walking is difficult for you.”
After saying that, she tried to press Yuan Wei back down, but her paw was suddenly pinned by Yuan Wei’s hand.
“I said I’ll walk you home.”
His palm was hot and strong. Su Youtian could feel the thin layer of calluses against the back of her hand, brushing lightly over her skin.
When their eyes met, all the words she wanted to insist on suddenly got stuck in her throat.
She understood better than anyone just how stubborn Yuan Wei was.
From the moment she wrote him avenging that cat, from the moment she wrote him hurting people without hesitation to protect Sheng Xia, from the moment she wrote him using every means necessary to seize the family fortune.
He had always been this stubborn, yet still carried traces of his original immaturity.
Su Youtian pressed her lips together, then smiled. “Fine then. Since you insist so much, I’ll reluctantly agree.”
Yuan Wei ignored her. He already seemed used to her saying one thing and meaning another. After getting dressed, he gently pushed her shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
Su Youtian walked in front while Tuotuo dozed in her arms, nodding off sleepily.
When they reached the doorway, her footsteps suddenly stopped. Looking at the photographs on the wall, she widened her eyes in surprise.
“Th-that isn’t…”
Yuan Wei walked over. “Our photos.”
Su Youtian stared at the youthful couple in the picture and genuinely felt confused.
In the photo, Yuan Wei’s features were not yet as sharp and defined. He had both hands in his pockets, looking smugly at the camera. Beside him, the long-haired girl narrowed her eyes with a smile and kissed his cheek, her arms wrapped intimately around his neck. Under the sunlight, the two of them practically glowed.
【Anything you want to say?】
“Yuan Wei really got a lot darker over the years…”
【……Be serious.】
“They really were in love once.”
Then why did Sheng Xia abandon Yuan Wei?
She had always thought the female supporting character in the novel was just a disposable symbol, a tool used to push the male and female leads together. As for her past with Yuan Wei, she had only briefly mentioned that they dated in high school.
She never wrote how they met, nor how they fell in love.
But looking at this photo now, their relationship had truly existed. It was not something that could be summed up in just a few sentences.
And yet, even such sweet and innocent love still lost to Sheng Xia’s ambition for fame and wealth?
In the novel, Sheng Xia had been influenced by her mother into becoming a girl obsessed with status and money. But in this world, was that really the whole truth?
And Yuan Wei, although he looked smug in the photo, his eyes were filled with light. He looked happy, at least happier than he was now.
Su Youtian had always believed that relationship meant nothing to Yuan Wei, just an insignificant pebble on the road of his life, a stepping stone that slightly helped him during his rise to power.
But today, she saw that photo hanging in such an obvious place, beside the photo of his mother.
That meant he cared about it very much, didn’t it…?
Warm breath approached from behind, brushing against her neck. Yuan Wei’s voice was calm, yet it struck her heart like a heavy hammer.
“Do you still remember this photo?”
Su Youtian opened her mouth, not knowing how to answer.
How could she remember? She was not actually Sheng Xia.
Yuan Wei did not seem to care about her response. He appeared lost in memory, his gaze distant.
Su Youtian was curious about their past too. She wanted to know under what circumstances this photo had been taken.
She thought Yuan Wei would tell her the “history” behind the picture.
Instead, he said, “Forget it. Let’s go.”
Forget it?
Forget it?!
I already took my pants off and now you’re telling me forget it?!
Su Youtian puffed up her cheeks angrily. “I dumped you. Aren’t you really angry at all?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt the atmosphere behind her change. Yuan Wei suddenly turned her around. One hand slammed against the wall as he slowly leaned down toward her.
【Kabedon[1]a Japanese term referring to the act of slamming a hand against a wall next to someone, pinning them in a corner jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2344960_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2344960_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });?】
Kabedon?!
Aaaah!!!
Yuan Wei just kabedon’d her!
“System, I just got kabedon’d! I actually got kabedon’d! Do you have a screenshot function? Hurry up and save this moment for me!”
【Your focus is never where it should be!】
Yuan Wei’s breath brushed faintly across her face, like someone teasingly tugging at her heartstrings. Su Youtian unconsciously held her breath.
“Y-you… what are you doing?”
Yuan Wei lowered his brows. Backlit by the light, he looked especially cold and stern.
“I hope you understand this. No one has ever dumped me.”
Huh? What did that mean?
Did her words wound his pride?
No one had ever dumped him… so he simply refused to admit he had been dumped. Fine, she could treat that as male pride for now.
Yuan Wei pressed his thin lips tightly together, even the little curve of his lip bead she always noticed slowly flattening out.
Su Youtian knew his mood must be terrible.
So she immediately started trembling like a sieve again.
“I-if you’re angry, you can do whatever you want, just… don’t hit anyone.”
Whatever he wanted?
Yuan Wei smiled, his breath gradually tangling around her face.
“Do you know why I told you to leave?”
“Eh?”
She looked completely confused.
【It’s already super obvious!】
The smile on Yuan Wei’s face faded, replaced with helplessness.
“I already knew long ago that talking to you with words is useless. It’s easier to just do it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly leaned down hard.
Aaaah!!!
Tuotuo had been sleeping soundly. Suddenly getting squashed, the dog yelped in shock and instinctively bit down.
Yuan Wei stared silently at the bite wound on his hand.
Su Youtian: “……You got bitten, hehe.”
【Is that really the important part?!】
In the middle of the night, the two of them ended up at the hospital getting rabies shots. Su Youtian sat on a chair with Tuotuo in her arms. Realizing it had caused trouble, the little dog whimpered uneasily.
Su Youtian stared at the floor, lightly knocking her feet together, her face filled with guilt.
Yuan Wei had his wound bandaged again. After getting the injection, he caught sight of Su Youtian’s small cowlick, and something flickered in his eyes. Su Youtian looked up at him, and he blinked once, his expression returning to calm.
“Let’s go.”
Su Youtian muttered, “Why do you always say ‘let’s go, let’s go’?”
She stepped closer. “What did the doctor say?”
Yuan Wei looked at the small wound on his hand. “It’s nothing.”
The puppy’s bite force wasn’t strong. It had only broken the skin on his hand. After washing it with soapy water, there probably wouldn’t be any serious problem.
Holding Tuotuo in her arms, Su Youtian said, “It didn’t do it on purpose. If you’re angry, take it out on me, don’t hit it.”
Tuotuo poked its head out from her arms and whimpered once at Yuan Wei.
Yuan Wei rubbed the dog’s head and asked Su Youtian, “Am I really that bad?”
“Huh?”
Yuan Wei walked ahead, his steps still slightly unsteady. “I won’t hit you, and I won’t hit it either.”
Su Youtian lowered her head. It was just that his revenge against Sheng Xia in the future had been far too ruthless. She was genuinely afraid that one careless move might offend Yuan Wei.
Seeing her remain silent, disappointment flashed across Yuan Wei’s face. He pressed his lips together and turned to leave.
Su Youtian panicked and was just about to chase after him when the system’s voice rang in her ear:
【Ding! Host, your break time is over. Hurry and complete today’s task!】
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