After washing up, Wen Shushu lay in bed, tossing and turning.
The unfamiliar room and its strange scents made it impossible for her to fall asleep.
The relief she had felt after leaving the Wen family’s ancestral residence had long since given way to uneasiness.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she pictured Fu Yan’s stern expression.
Just thinking about him left her restless.
After lying awake for what felt like an eternity, she finally slipped quietly out of bed.
She picked up the guqin resting in the corner and carefully placed it on the table.
She only wanted to play the instrument for a little while, hoping the familiar melodies would soothe her frayed nerves.
She barely applied any pressure.
Her fingertips brushed lightly across the strings, drawing out a melody that was soft, gentle, and lingering.
The notes drifted slowly through the room like wisps of smoke, quiet enough that they could hardly be considered disturbing.
In this strange new environment, the guqin was her only source of comfort.
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom next door, Fu Yan had just finished showering.
The cool water had done little to ease the restless heat simmering beneath his skin.
He leaned against the headboard, his thoughts repeatedly returning to that unforgettable night.
The intimate moments they had shared.
The woman’s dazzlingly fair skin.
The soft warmth of her body beneath his hands.
And those faint, breathless sounds she had made…
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t drive the memories from his mind.
They left his chest tight and his entire body restless.
He even found himself thinking that the next time he encountered that woman, he would make certain to get a proper look at her.
Then he would keep her by his side.
And never let her disappear again.
Just as his thoughts were becoming increasingly heated, a faint melody drifted through the wall.
The delicate notes were soft and lingering, weaving together in an unbroken, gentle rhythm.
Under ordinary circumstances, he might even have found the music pleasant.
But with his mind already consumed by memories of that night and his frustration mounting, the sound only grated on his nerves.
“…”
Fu Yan’s expression darkened immediately.
A dangerous irritation flickered in his eyes.
As though he weren’t already annoyed enough.
The next moment, he threw back the covers and strode out of his room.
Then came a tremendous crash.
Bang!
The door to the secondary bedroom was violently shoved open from the outside.
The force was so great that it seemed he might tear the door from its hinges.
Fu Yan stood in the doorway.
His expression was icy, his imposing presence filling the room with an almost suffocating pressure.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of warmth on his face.
His eyes were cold and hard, brimming with impatience.
“Who gave you permission to play that?”
His voice was harsh and edged with anger.
Wen Shushu’s fingertips froze.
The strings gave one last faint vibration before falling silent.
She stiffened in fright and slowly raised her head.
“I… I was playing very quietly…”
Her voice was small and timid as she attempted to explain.
“It’s noisy.”
Fu Yan’s brows drew tightly together.
His tone was rough and overbearing, leaving no room for discussion.
“From now on, when I’m home, you’re not allowed to play.”
It was a simple command.
There was no explanation.
No consideration for her feelings.
And certainly no opportunity to negotiate.
Wen Shushu stared at him in stunned silence.
Her fingers, still resting against the guqin, curled slightly inward.
Yet she struggled to keep her expression composed.
This was the instrument she had played since childhood.
The one thing that had always brought her comfort.
In this cold, unfamiliar house, it was the only possession that made her feel she still had something of her own.
And now…
Even the freedom to play her guqin had been taken away.
When she left the Wen family’s ancestral residence, she had believed she was finally escaping its endless rules and restrictions.
She had thought that perhaps, at last, she would have a little space to herself.
A small corner of the world where she could breathe freely.
But after arriving here, even quietly playing a single melody had become an impossible luxury.
Fu Yan watched her struggle to hold back her tears.
For some reason, the sight only made him more irritated.
He frowned.
“Didn’t you understand what I said?”
Wen Shushu didn’t answer.
A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
It fell onto the guqin’s strings without a sound.
She couldn’t even play her own instrument anymore.
So this was what her escape had amounted to.
She had merely fled one cage, only to find herself trapped inside another.
A cage that was even harsher.
Even colder.
Fu Yan watched the tear slide down her cheek.
An inexplicable feeling of frustration tightened his chest.
His Adam’s apple moved slightly.
But in the end, he said nothing more.
His expression remained dark as he turned and slammed the door behind him.
Bang!
Once the door closed, Wen Shushu wiped away her tears.
From that night onward, Wen Shushu never touched her guqin again.
Even though Fu Yan spent most of his time away from home, occupied with work, she obediently put the instrument away in the deepest part of her wardrobe.
She spent her days quietly in the secondary bedroom.
Wen Shushu had never been particularly fond of using her phone.
Noisy short videos and endless social media notifications held little interest for her.
Her world had always been simple.
Apart from practicing on the racetrack and spending her days drawing clothing designs, her remaining pleasures were playing the guqin and practicing calligraphy.
Now that she was forbidden from playing music, calligraphy was all she had left.
One evening, Fu Yan returned home unusually early.
The door to the secondary bedroom hadn’t been fully closed, leaving a narrow gap.
As he passed, his footsteps slowed.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he reached out and pushed the door open.
Inside, Wen Shushu sat at her desk.
Her back was perfectly straight, her eyes lowered as she quietly practiced calligraphy.
Her long hair had been gathered neatly and secured with a hairpin.
On the sheet of delicate xuan paper before her was a line of elegant, beautifully formed characters.
The heart holds mountains and seas; the eyes hold stars.
Fu Yan glanced at the words.
A mocking smile immediately tugged at his lips.
Wen Shushu was startled by the sudden sound of his entrance.
Her hand trembled.
A large drop of black ink splashed onto the paper, ruining the entire line she had so carefully written.
She looked up.
When she recognized the man standing before her, her expression tightened.
Fu Yan casually leaned against the edge of her desk.
His entire demeanor was wild and unrestrained.
And as usual, the first words out of his mouth were anything but pleasant.
“You shut yourself in here all day writing this pretentious nonsense…”
He gave a derisive laugh.
“You really are a strange little thing. All quiet and reserved on the outside, but full of hidden feelings.”
Wen Shushu’s face instantly turned crimson.
Humiliation burned through her like fire.
“I was only practicing calligraphy to calm myself…”
“Calm yourself?”
Fu Yan bent down, bringing his face closer to hers.
“Don’t you think you’re already quiet enough?”
His lips curved in disdain.
“You really are incredibly boring.”
Wen Shushu stiffened.
His words left her chest feeling painfully tight.
She wanted to defend herself.
She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
That she was merely writing a few words in the privacy of her own room.
But the words wouldn’t come.
She couldn’t bring herself to argue.
Fu Yan noticed that she looked as though she might cry again.
At last, he abandoned his mocking tone and straightened.
“Go on.”
Then he turned and left.
The door closed heavily behind him.
Once again, the room fell into deathly silence.
Wen Shushu remained seated at her desk, staring at the ruined sheet of paper.
Even writing a few words in her own room was enough to earn his ridicule and humiliation.
She finally understood.
This villa would never be her refuge.
It would never be the safe haven she had hoped to find.