Yuanyuan was talking about Pei Jin.
The thought of another man touching Yuanyuan’s body, applying medicine to her skin, made Shen Li want to chop off Pei Jin’s hands.
The veins at his temples throbbed violently.
Forcing himself to calm down, he managed a strained smile.
“That’s good, then.”
He opened the bedside drawer, took out a bottle of painkillers, poured several into his palm, and swallowed them dry.
The pain in his leg eased.
But how was he supposed to ease the pain in his heart?
This agony that had seeped into his bones was only the beginning.
In the days to come, Yuanyuan would abandon him countless times to see Pei Jin.
She was truly cruel to him.
Like an act of self-punishment, Shen Li went into the bathroom and forced himself to vomit the pills back up.
It seemed that only intense physical pain could suppress the pain inside his heart.
Bracing both hands against the sides of the bathtub, he submerged himself completely in cold water.
As he experienced the sensation of slowly approaching suffocation, his mind filled with memories of Yuanyuan from every stage of her life.
If everything ended here…
Wouldn’t the pain finally stop?
Once the thought formed, he acted on it.
The man’s hands slowly slipped from the edges of the tub.
Water flooded his nose, mouth, and chest cavity.
He felt no fear.
Instead, he experienced a sense of relief unlike anything before.
Downstairs, Ning Zhiyuan happened to run into the housekeeper who had just arrived.
Shen Li had already given instructions beforehand, and the housekeeper was helping organize the luggage.
When Ning Zhiyuan saw the woman carrying things upstairs, she asked her to move the boxes into Shen Li’s room.
The housekeeper immediately shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Miss Ning. Without Mr. Shen’s permission, I don’t dare make decisions on my own.”
No matter how much Ning Zhiyuan argued, the woman stubbornly refused to budge.
Fuming with frustration, Ning Zhiyuan headed back upstairs to reason with Shen Li directly.
The lights in the master bedroom were on.
Yet there was no sign of him on the sofa or the bed.
With his injured leg, he couldn’t have gone far.
Her gaze landed on the illuminated bathroom.
Without thinking, she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.
“Shen Li, this housekeeper is simply too…”
Splash!
Hearing the familiar voice, the person in the bathtub suddenly surged upright.
Water splashed everywhere as he emerged, drenching Ning Zhiyuan’s dress.
Their eyes met.
Ning Zhiyuan froze, staring at Shen Li’s bare upper body.
His skin was already naturally pale, but after soaking in cold water for so long, it looked almost bloodless.
His handsome features appeared startlingly sharp.
His dark eyes were locked onto her without blinking.
The gaze was direct.
Aggressive.
Predatory.
Like a hunter staring at prey.
The look felt strangely familiar to Ning Zhiyuan.
After the vase incident, when Shen Li had deliberately distanced himself from her, she had repeatedly demanded to know why he was treating her so coldly.
He had looked at her exactly like this.
Leaning closer, she braced her hands against the edge of the bathtub.
Her gaze drifted from his jade-like collarbones to his face.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Shen Li felt an overwhelming sense of unreality.
His head was heavy and foggy.
He could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion.
Hadn’t Yuanyuan gone to see Pei Jin?
She wasn’t supposed to come back.
And yet…
The person standing before him looked exactly like Yuanyuan.
Her doe-like eyes glistened with moisture.
Her full red lips parted and closed softly, as delicate as ripe cherries.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
So after death…
You could meet the person you wanted to see most.
What a beautiful world that would be.
Ning Zhiyuan puffed up her cheeks in annoyance.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
If this was only an illusion…
Then perhaps he no longer needed to restrain himself.
Perhaps he could do whatever he wanted.
Shen Li gazed at her with obsession in his eyes.
His slender hand rose to cup her face.
His thumb pressed against her soft lips.
Gently rubbing them back and forth.
The sudden action startled Ning Zhiyuan, causing her lips to part slightly.
His finger brushed against her teeth.
Before she realized it, she lightly bit the tip of his finger.
Startled herself, she immediately released him and tried to retreat.
But his hand pressed against the back of her head, holding her in place.
Closing his eyes, Shen Li leaned toward her with almost reverent devotion.
Their lips stopped only a finger’s width apart.
Their breaths mingled.
Even in an illusion…
Was Yuanyuan still avoiding him?
The strength in the hand behind her head gradually weakened.
At that moment, Ning Zhiyuan finally understood what he had intended to do.
The uncertainty and fear disappeared.
If it was Shen Li…
She was willing.
Taking a deep breath, Ning Zhiyuan gathered her courage and kissed his pale lips.
Her heart nearly leapt from her throat.
In her previous life, Pei Jin had loved someone else.
He had remained devoted to Bai Xiaoxiao alone.
Throughout their relationship, they had done little more than hold hands.
Even hugs had been rare.
A kiss had never happened.
This was the first kiss of both her lifetimes.
So Shen Li’s lips were this soft.
And this…
Hot?
The kiss lasted only a moment before she pulled away.
Shen Li suddenly lost all strength.
His head tilted sideways and fell onto her shoulder.
His burning forehead pressed against her neck.
His eyes were tightly shut.
His breathing was weak.
It felt as though all the blood in Ning Zhiyuan’s body had stopped flowing.
Trembling, she held him tightly and called his name.
Not long afterward, the housekeeper contacted Assistant Qi, who had already gone to bed.
Assistant Qi rushed over with a family doctor, running several red lights along the way.
After helping Shen Li into some clothes, they arranged transportation and sent him to a private hospital.
Before leaving, Assistant Qi maintained a professional smile.
“Miss Ning, please get some rest.”
Still shaken, Ning Zhiyuan asked anxiously,
“Will Shen Li be alright?”
Assistant Qi smiled politely.
The words that came out, however, were anything but polite.
“The boss survived a broken leg after saving you and spent half a year in the hospital. He made it through that, didn’t he? This time it’s only a high fever caused by an infected wound. He won’t die.”
Before tonight, the boss had been doing relatively well.
Now he was burning with fever, and the injury on his leg looked horrifying.
It wasn’t difficult to figure out who had pushed him to this state.
What was the point of acting concerned now?
Assistant Qi felt deeply sorry for his boss.
Despite the obvious sarcasm in his tone, Ning Zhiyuan couldn’t bring herself to get angry.
When it came to Shen Li, guilt weighed heavily on her heart.
Inside the vehicle, the unconscious man looked pale and exhausted.
Thin.
Fragile.
A complicated look flashed across her eyes, as though she were struggling with a decision.
“Miss Ning, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now. He won’t die, but if treatment is delayed much longer, there’s still a chance the boss could fry his brain from the fever. And if he really ends up stupid, he won’t be able to let you toy with him anymore.”
For half a year in the hospital, the young lady had never once visited.
Assistant Qi didn’t believe she would suddenly accompany the boss now.
When Shen Li finally woke up, it was already the following afternoon.
The scent of hospital disinfectant was painfully familiar.
“Mr. Shen, fortunately you were brought here in time. Your condition is no longer serious…”
Before the doctor could finish speaking, Shen Li sat upright.
His eyes immediately swept across the room, searching for something.
Or rather, someone.
After scanning the entire ward, disappointment settled over him.
He leaned back against the headboard.
The light in his eyes faded little by little.
Interrupting the doctor’s endless explanation, he asked,
“When can I be discharged?”
The doctor sighed.
He had never met someone who cared so little for his own body.
“Anytime.”
Shen Li called Assistant Qi and instructed him to handle the discharge paperwork and come pick him up.
Over the phone, Assistant Qi sounded hesitant.
As though he wanted to say something but couldn’t.
Shen Li guessed that Yuanyuan had probably gone to see Pei Jin again, and Assistant Qi was debating whether he should tell him.
He forced himself not to ask.
After ending the call, Shen Li sat quietly while waiting.
His thoughts drifted back to the strange dreamlike images from the night before.
His fingers unconsciously touched his lips.
A thoughtful look crossed his face.
Just before losing consciousness completely, the Yuanyuan from his hallucination seemed to have kissed him.
What had it felt like?
He couldn’t remember.
Probably sweet.
His body was weak.
His throat felt painfully dry and rough.
The moment he coughed, he couldn’t stop.
It felt as though he might cough up his lungs.
At that moment, a figure hurried out of the bathroom.
The bright yellow dress from yesterday had been replaced by an avocado-green one.
Her hair was simply tied behind her head.
She still held yesterday’s ointment in her hand.
The marks on her arms hadn’t faded much.
Quickly, she poured a glass of water and rushed over.
Sitting beside the bed, she looked at him with reddened eyes.