Could it be that even after their divorce, Lu Muqian still wouldn’t let her go, insisting on branding her with his name?
At this thought, An Yin’s face was unknowingly streaked with two lines of clear tears.
Lu Muqian, after I left, how on earth did you manage to get through it all?
Sitting on the steps of the tombstone, Lu Muqian began to murmur to himself, “Yinyin…”
“Why… why won’t you come to me in my dreams?”
“Didn’t you tell me that you regretted it, that in the next life you would definitely come find me, that you would love me? Then why… why won’t you even come to my dreams to see me first…?”
“Yinyin, were you lying to me? Please stop teasing me, alright? I beg you… please, come find me soon… Otherwise, I’ll have to go find you instead. Do you still hate me?”
As Lu Muqian spoke, tears slid from the corners of his eyes. He picked up a liquor bottle, tilted his head back, and took a large gulp.
“Yinyin, this lifetime is so long… I miss you so much… What should I do? Is death the only way for me to see you sooner?”
“Yinyin, I’ve never been able to understand… why… why is it that you just couldn’t like me? Why was I the only one you didn’t want?”
“Yinyin… I’m in so much pain. Am I about to see you soon?”
Every word Lu Muqian uttered felt like a knife, mercilessly piercing An Yin’s heart.
At that moment, An Yin desperately wanted to hold him, to tell him to live on, to not do anything foolish.
And yet… Lu Muqian had truly made up his mind. At his feet lay a pile of empty liquor bottles.
Then, he slowly took out a small white bottle from his suit pocket—a bottle filled with sleeping pills. He poured them all out, grabbed a handful, and lifted his gaze to the bright, smiling photo of An Yin on the tombstone. He smiled back.
Then, using the liquor in his hand, he swallowed the sleeping pills.
She cried out, “Lu Muqian, don’t…!”
“Yinyin, this lifetime is too long. I can’t wait for you to come find me anymore. I have no choice but to go to you myself.”
“Yinyin, wait for me. I’m coming to find you. Soon, we’ll be reunited.”
The liquor bottle slipped from the man’s hand. An Yin tried to save him, but no matter how she screamed or reached out, it was useless. She could only watch helplessly as Lu Muqian ended his life for her.
“Lu Muqian, don’t…!”
The next day,
An Yin woke with a start, her pillow soaked with tears. Sitting up in bed, she found the space beside her empty. Where was Lu Muqian?
Remembering the scene from her dream—Lu Muqian swallowing the sleeping pills—she panicked. Where was Lu Muqian?
All An Yin wanted now was to see with her own eyes that Lu Muqian was safe. In her haste, she leaped out of bed without even putting on her shoes and ran out of the room.
As she ran, she called out, “Lu Muqian… Lu Muqian…”
Hearing An Yin’s cries, Lu Muqian, who was in the kitchen, came out carrying the breakfast he had just prepared.
“I’m here.”
The moment An Yin saw Lu Muqian from the staircase, she rushed down without a second thought and threw her arms around his slender yet sturdy waist, burying her face against him.
Lu Muqian stood still, not daring to move, holding the breakfast tray as he let An Yin hold him.
After a long while, An Yin’s muffled voice reached him from just below his chin. “Lu Muqian, why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I’m waiting for you to speak.”
An Yin stepped out of Lu Muqian’s embrace and stood before him, explaining, “I just woke up and couldn’t find you. I got scared, so I came down to look for you.”
Lu Muqian hung his head low, a few strands of hair falling over his forehead, partially obscuring his handsome features.
Suddenly noticing An Yin’s bare feet, he frowned and slipped off his own oversized slippers, placing them before her.
“The floor is cold. Wear shoes.”
“You can wear these for now. I’ll go upstairs to get your slippers.” Then he remembered something—An Yin didn’t like him, nor anything associated with him.
“If you don’t want to wear mine, go sit on the sofa. I’ll bring your shoes down quickly.”
As he spoke, Lu Muqian set down the breakfast and jogged upstairs to fetch her slippers.
An Yin remained standing where she was, glancing at the slippers by her feet and then at Lu Muqian’s retreating figure as he hurried upstairs. Mulling over his words, she simply stayed barefoot.
When Lu Muqian returned with her slippers and saw An Yin still standing barefoot in the same spot, he felt a surge of irritation, though his tone remained gentle and resigned.
“Didn’t I tell you? If you didn’t want to wear mine, you should’ve sat on the sofa. Don’t you know how cold the floor is?”
Besides, spring had already arrived—chill could seep in through one’s feet. Didn’t she realize that?
With a sigh, Lu Muqian knelt down, took her small feet, and slipped them into her slippers.
“I understand. I was just lost in thought and forgot. It won’t happen again.”
“You don’t need to explain to me. I was just asking.” In the past, he’d asked many questions but received no answers. Lu Muqian had grown accustomed to asking without expecting a reply.
“I want to explain to you. From now on, if you have any questions, you can ask me. I’ll explain everything.”
“Mm.” Lu Muqian responded flatly, without much emotion.
“Breakfast is ready. I’m heading to work now.”
He turned and walked toward the door. He hadn’t eaten breakfast yet because An Yin usually didn’t wake up at this hour—she typically slept until past nine. Today, however, she had woken before eight.
Lu Muqian made it a habit to wake up early every day to prepare breakfast for An Yin, always leaving the villa for the company before she came downstairs.
Unexpectedly, today was different. Just as he finished making breakfast, An Yin rushed down. Since she disliked sharing a meal with him, he chose to leave first.
“Wait, have you eaten?” An Yin called after him.
“Not yet.”
“Then stay and eat with me.”
“No, I have a morning meeting at the company. I’ll eat there.”
“Oh, alright.”
It wasn’t that Lu Muqian didn’t want to stay—he was just afraid… He had expected another argument today, even if it was always one-sided from An Yin. Every time, Lu Muqian would stand quietly by, listening to her harsh words.
Sometimes, random objects would even be thrown at him…
Today, she must have had something else on her mind, which was why she didn’t pick a fight.
He figured the only things that could distract her were matters unrelated to him.
Lu Muqian grabbed his suit jacket, went outside, and got into the car. “Let’s go.”
His assistant, Qiao Yi, had been playing on his phone in the car. Seeing his boss come out so early today was unusual.
But judging by Lu Muqian’s grim expression, he guessed the lady of the house must have caused trouble again.
In the end, Qiao Yi didn’t ask anything and simply drove toward Lu Corporation.