Yu Ning had another terrifying nightmare last night.
So much so that when she realized she was alone in the bedroom, she couldn't help but bury her face in her pillow and cry.
She couldn't quite tell the difference between nightmare and reality, because both were quite frightening. But reality was always better than a nightmare… In her dream, she had merged the monster she encountered with Pei Chongqing, and it had devoured her completely; in reality, she was still alive, and her husband was still alive too, hadn't turned into something strange.
Yu Ning felt sad enough to cry for herself and Pei Chongqing in the dream, then angry enough to pound her chest and stomp her feet. With such a mix of emotions, even waking up alone didn't scare her as much anymore.
Because of the nightmare, she had slept sweating profusely, her whole body smelling rank. After sitting by the bedside for a short while, Yu Ning went to the bathroom to shower. When she came out feeling refreshed, she inadvertently caught sight of a shadow under the crack of the bedroom door. Her heart stirred, and she figured it must be Pei Chongqing bringing her food.
Yu Ning put down her comb and walked forward, waiting for him to open the door, already wanting to rush over and hug him.
But she waited for a long time, and the door remained completely still.
Her spirits were still low, and standing there so dryly, her eyes couldn't help but mist over again.
People are always filled with fear of the unknown. Yu Ning had no idea what the situation at home was right now, or what state her husband and the little dog were in. She knew well that her husband was not good with words and would most likely bear everything alone, and her tears couldn't stop falling.
She didn't suppress her sobs and directly pleaded with her husband through the door panel.
Her words were moving, but they were also her true feelings. Being locked in here for a whole day and night, and having had such an ominous dream—how could she not want to see him?
After a few seconds, a raspy, crackling sound came from outside the door. Yu Ning stopped crying and pricked up her ears to listen, catching a somewhat disjointed sentence.
"I… uh… not good…"
Yu Ning was slightly stunned, not paying close attention to the content. "Did you fix the Translator?"
Pei Chongqing responded with a low grunt.
Yu Ning wiped her tears. "So you're here to bring me food now, but you still won't let me out?"
Pei Chongqing didn't reply. After a moment, she continued to plead: "I want to see you. Open the door, okay?"
Another stretch of dead silence, but Yu Ning heard the faint sound of the lock turning.
She held her breath, said nothing, and stared eagerly at the door handle.
The door didn't move again.
The Translator's crackling sound rang out once more, fragmented, lasting over ten seconds: "You… don't… be scared, of me. I… have… many scars."
Yu Ning listened in confusion, her brows furrowed, her lips drooping. It took her a good while to understand what he meant.
"So you were seriously injured, weren't you?"
The repaired Translator worked intermittently. Pei Chongqing wanted to say "yes," but the Translator didn't make a sound. He gently rolled his sticky throat, letting out a low "heh-heh" growl.
Yu Ning hadn't heard that kind of sound in a long time. Hearing it suddenly, a wave of unfamiliarity and unease surged into her heart. She steadied herself, wiped her tears dismissively, and mumbled: "And you still lied to me saying you were fine."
"You got hurt protecting me—how could I be scared of you? I'd be worried sick. I don't understand why you care about something like that, and why you keep locking me in the bedroom. I want to see you—I really, really want to see you. You have no idea how sad I've been here all alone…"
As she spoke, Yu Ning's tears fell again, her crying even more heart-wrenching than before.
This time, she added a touch of performance to it, betting on whether the person outside the door would soften. But she guessed he wouldn't be able to tell. He was dense like that, his mind always running on a single track.
The latch clicked, the doorknob turned downward, and the door cracked open just a sliver—a smooth, swift motion.
So quick that by the time Yu Ning's crying left her breathless, she realized the door had been opened without a sound.
Staring at the swaying door panel, her emotions came to an abrupt halt as she hurried to pull it open and see who was there. But as she gripped the handle and gave it a gentle tug, she caught a faint, lingering stench of decay.
The odor hit her face, churning her stomach—the same smell she'd noticed before. Yu Ning froze mid-motion, a flicker of confusion washing over her. It seemed the source of that elusive stench now had a direction…
The house must not have been cleaned thoroughly. It was so foul that they wouldn't let her out.
Yu Ning found her answer, but when the door swung fully open and she saw the person behind it, her entire body went rigid on the spot.
Her husband stood right there, watching her. His eyes were still the same eyes, but his face had been sliced horizontally into three sections. One line ran across his forehead at a slant, another traced along his lips—the winding sutures twisted and grotesque, like two centipedes clinging there, sending a chill of terror through her.
Yu Ning had imagined Pei Chongqing would be badly hurt, but she never expected his face to end up like this.
She halted at the side of the door, a complex glint flickering in her eyes, and with that overpowering, unbearable stench, she didn't know how to draw closer.
Pei Chongqing was sensitive to her micro-expressions and could see her hesitation. His heart sank, and he instinctively averted his gaze, lowering his head to let his silver hair fall and shield his face.
Seeing him like that, Yu Ning snapped back to her senses, realizing she was being two-faced. She held her breath and immediately strode forward to embrace him.
She held him gently, afraid of pulling at his wounds. She could see the scars on his arms too—there were probably plenty across his chest as well.
At her embrace, Pei Chongqing's body tensed for a moment, his silver-white eyes rolling downward to refocus on the woman in his arms, a hint of surprise flickering through them.
Yu Ning couldn't hold her breath any longer and started to inhale, finding that the smell wasn't actually so unbearable… She must have gotten used to it. Sensing his gaze, she rubbed against the man's thin clothing and tilted her head up to meet him.
Their eyes locked. Pei Chongqing's gaze wavered, unsure where to settle on her skin, but when Yu Ning zeroed in on his lips, she rose onto her toes and kissed him without a second thought.
The woman's soft lips pressed against his, and Pei Chongqing's already rusted brain ground to a complete halt.
They'd kissed countless times before, yet he felt like a withered tree finally touched by rain, not even knowing where the branches and leaves should sprout.
The drizzling rain nourished the heart that was about to stir. He raised his hand to embrace his wife, wanting to deepen this hard-won kiss—but Yu Ning pulled back from his lips, gently brushing her own with her fingers, and asked with a worried look: "Does it still hurt?"
Pei Chongqing narrowed his eyes and swallowed with a gulp: "…N-no, it doesn't."
"I… want…"
He wanted to kiss her again, but Yu Ning lowered her head and pressed her cheek against his chest, taking a deep breath: "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
His lips landed on the top of her head, a perfectly centered kiss.
Desire unmet, Pei Chongqing very much wanted to lift his wife's chin and try again, but hearing her soft, gentle apology, he still felt exceptionally gratified, even though he didn't think this was his wife's fault.
His heart settled considerably, for this imperfect skin-shell. Those chaotic, clamoring voices were all stripped away from his ears.
Yu Ning came to look at his face again. This time he didn't avoid her gaze, and made up for that missed kiss. He wantonly ravaged the sweetness between her lips and teeth, so much so that the words Yu Ning wanted to say were all blocked back into her mouth, swallowed down into her belly, leaving her only able to emit disjointed murmurs.
The embrace and kiss were fierce and passionate. Yu Ning's skirt was crumpled from being kneaded, and the thin shoulder straps were about to slip down to her arms. He pressed forward step by step, and Yu Ning had no choice but to retreat backward into the bedroom.
When she bumped into the edge of the sofa, she stumbled and fell back into it. Before she could even catch her breath, the tall man before her knelt forward again, sucking at her jawline.
For some reason, Yu Ning seemed to hear the sound of a ribbon being pulled taut and tearing apart. She had no energy to spare to investigate the source of the sound, but that foul, fishy stench once again wafted around her nose, stirring up the urge to vomit.
She pressed her palm against the man who wanted to go further, trying to escape from beneath him, but with his knees braced on either side of her, she simply couldn't break free.
Unable to suppress the urge, Yu Ning could only turn over and crane her neck, vomiting directly onto the carpet.
She hadn't eaten, so she could only dry-heave until her face was red and hot, bringing up nothing but a little clear saliva.
Seeing this, Pei Chongqing stopped what he was doing, looking at her with a complicated, bewildered gaze, gently stroking her back.
"You… what's… wrong."
He didn't know if he had done something wrong.
Yu Ning lightly wiped the saliva at the corners of her lips, feeling somewhat doubtful about life because of that smell, and it took her a long while to recover.
She found it strange—why was there such a smell? But she didn't dare ask Pei Chongqing, and she was too embarrassed to bring it up, afraid of hurting him, so she could only explain in a small voice: "I… I'm a bit dizzy and feeling unwell."
Pei Chongqing paused for a moment, then reached out to cover her lower abdomen: "Stomach… hungry… is it?"
Yu Ning seized the opportunity to nod, pressing her lips together: "Yes, I haven't eaten at all."
Pei Chongqing slightly curved the corners of his mouth into a smile at her: "I'll… make… you… something."
He had just mastered the subtle curve of a human smile, but because of the hideous suture lines at the corners of his mouth, it appeared both stiff and eerie.
Yu Ning's heart ached for him, pitied him, and felt deep guilt, but seeing the scars on his face, she still couldn't help but shiver, feeling a sense of regret.
Her husband… had been very beautiful before, with skin so fine that not a single pore could be seen. Now, with sutures so thick and numerous, it probably wouldn't heal completely to the point of invisibility. Yu Ning thought she might have to get used to facing this face sooner rather than later.
After all, she was the one who had let the wolf in—what right did she have to feel regret? Besides, his features were still very handsome, his figure was still good, and his stamina was good too.
But with wounds this severe, his skin should be repeatedly ulcerating and itching, leading to inflammation and fever. Yet Pei Chongqing didn't seem to show any signs of that.
Yu Ning planned to observe for a while longer—who knew if he might choose to hide the bad news and only report the good, though he was always a straightforward, single-minded person.
But when he said he'd take charge of cooking, he really did. He fried eggs with proper technique, his skill more refined than yesterday's. Yu Ning was very surprised, having no idea when he'd secretly learned the trick, even though it was just the simplest fried eggs.
She watched for a while, confirming that he wouldn't mess things up, before leaving the kitchen to wander around.
There was no damage in the house, still the same as usual, though Yu Ning dared not approach the bathroom on the first floor anymore.
She turned back from the living room, listening to the sizzling sound of meat frying in oil, yet still felt the house was overly quiet.
Right… it was Yu Wan, she had to ask.
Yu Ning's heart tightened, and she asked in a low voice, "Chongqing, where has our Yu Wan gone?"