"I want to go find—"
As the words fell, Pei Chongqing's plating motion paused for a breath, but quickly returned to normal, smoothly plating the bacon and eggs.
Yu Ning stood by the dining table. Seeing that he didn't respond, she thought the exhaust fan was too loud, so she stepped two paces closer.
She opened her mouth, about to ask, when Pei Chongqing set the plate down on the table and pushed open one of the wooden chairs, saying tersely, "Eat."
He turned around, revealing his face, and cast a deep, dark gaze at her. Yu Ning was once again startled by the fierce, jagged scars across it. But she didn't make a sound—she simply closed her mouth and suppressed the tremor in her heart.
Usually, with his handsome, flawless face, even when Pei Chongqing smiled stiffly and distantly, or stared at her without blinking, Yu Ning never felt anything in particular. But with those two scars, the moment he cast even a single glance her way, she couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.
She felt guilty, and she was also afraid that he might be depressed over his disfigurement, which was why she'd mustered the courage to kiss him. Besides, his bone structure was good, and his features weren't damaged—up close, with her eyes closed, she couldn't see the scars. It was just that when their lips brushed, she inevitably touched those raised, cracked ridges.
Yu Ning couldn't completely ignore his scars; she could only adapt as best she could and tend to his feelings.
Everything in the house was fine—not as badly damaged as she'd imagined. She instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, believing that Pei Chongqing must have protected Yu Wan very well too.
But she could see the dog toys and sleeping mat scattered on the floor, yet there was no sign of Yu Wan anywhere. Her heart couldn't help but panic, and she wanted to ask him for some reassurance.
Yu Ning steadied herself, obediently sat down on the chair Pei Chongqing had pulled out, picked up the milk, and took a sip before trying again: "Chongqing, I want to know where Yu Wan is. Did you lock him up somewhere?"
The exhaust fan had already been turned off; only the faucet was still dripping, drop by drop. It was so quiet that Yu Ning could hear her own breathing. There was no reason Pei Chongqing couldn't hear her question.
But he just stood sideways behind her, silent, offering not a single word.
Yu Ning tilted her head slightly to look at him. She saw him standing against the light, his face calm and pale, and her heart lifted again and again beneath her chest.
He was looking at her.
He had definitely heard what she said.
But why… why didn't he answer?
Yu Ning's hand gripping the glass tightened slightly, and her voice softened. "Chongqing?"
Pei Chongqing gripped the back of the chair and said slowly, "It… is… gone."
"If you… want." He gently tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing what he thought was a gentle smile. "I'll find… you… another one."
That black dog had been nothing more than a shell, shattered to pieces by the Poison Vine. Even if he'd collected the remains early, he had no strength left to stitch it back together. Besides, Yu Wan was just a wisp of a small Split Soul Spirit—for it to hold up a rotting Skin-shell the way he did was nothing short of a fantasy.
He couldn't spare any extra spiritual power to keep it propping up that Skin-shell, and he didn't think it was as useful as before as a dog, so without much deliberation, he'd simply buried it in the empty grave plot left by the undertaker.
A dog that had accompanied Yu Ning for only two or three weeks wouldn't carry too much emotional weight, and it shouldn't be allowed to continue on.
Pei Chongqing had read books written by humans and knew that a dog's lifespan was only about ten years. As long as enough time passed and a new dog came along, Yu Ning wouldn't be so sad anymore.
"Gone?"
Yu Ning's heart pounded with alarm. She immediately rose from the table, tears welling in her eyes. "You can't do this!"
She faced him in disbelief, her voice rising. "When did it go missing? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you go look for it?"
Pei Chongqing lowered his head, silently enduring her torrent of accusations.
Yu Ning knew he didn't have deep feelings for Yu Wan, and she knew how much he had done to clean up the messes she left behind. But seeing him so indifferent to Yu Wan—even going so far as to say "we can find another one"—she was truly furious and heartbroken.
Yu Ning couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into tears. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, she stepped back, instinctively pulling away.
Cursing was useless, and crying was useless too. Yu Ning steadied herself, wiped away her tears, and said, "I'm going to find it. Right now!"
At her words, Pei Chongqing's expression darkened. He reached out and firmly gripped the woman who was turning to leave. Yu Ning was locked in place, unable to move. For the first time, her shoulders were subjected to this kind of brute force from her husband, and the pain made her teeth chatter.
Mist fell from her lashes, and as she suddenly saw the man's scar-crossed face clearly, she couldn't help but tremble, her heart rate spiking.
Before her gaze could linger too long, Pei Chongqing abruptly lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. Yu Ning clenched her fists to push him away, but the moment her hands touched his chest, her consciousness began to slip away. She couldn't help but close her eyes, the strength draining from her body as she swayed and fell into the man's arms.
Pei Chongqing supported her waist to keep her from sinking further, then bent down and lifted her horizontally, carrying her up to the bedroom.
He laid her on the bed and tucked in the blankets. Gazing down at her serene face, he brushed his thumb across her lips, then leaned in to kiss and nibble at them again.
Pei Chongqing hadn't been very willing to erase her memories.
But if she was going to remember that dog, remember it until she grew despondent—even willing to rush out the door to chase after it—then he had no choice but to erase the memory and be done with it.
He didn't understand. She had clearly been attacked by monsters multiple times and was afraid to even step outside. She knew how much danger and how many predators lurked out there. Why would she willingly go out to search for a dog she hadn't even known for that long?
Pei Chongqing couldn't understand, and he didn't want to. Just the fact that she would risk her life like that filled him with a deep, simmering frustration.
He didn't blame her. In fact, he felt a measure of pity and relief that her survival instincts were so dull.
Now, when she came into contact with him—even without wearing the heart carved from his body—her emotions remained stable, with no signs of contamination.
Even when faced with his torn flesh, his face mangled and ruined beyond recognition, she didn't notice anything wrong… She even continued to be close to him as always.
Pei Chongqing still couldn't fully comprehend what human "love" was, but he understood one principle—humans cannot be intimate with those they don't love, and cannot shed tears for those they don't love.
Yu Ning kissed him, embraced him, and cried for him. The result was obvious.
A flicker of joy rose in Pei Chongqing's heart, and he was no longer troubled by her search for the dog. He erased every memory of that dog, one by one.
With her memories erased, Yu Ning needed a brief period of dormancy to recover. During this time, Pei Chongqing stayed by her side, continuing to repair his own body.
Yu Ning woke at seven in the evening.
Her head was foggy from sleep, and her body felt heavy with exhaustion. She was about to turn over and go back to sleep when she saw the scar-covered face of the man by her bedside. Her eyes flew open, and she was instantly much more alert.
Pei Chongqing curved his lips into a smile at her, using the Translator to ask in halting words whether she felt any discomfort anywhere.
Yu Ning didn't know when she had fallen asleep, nor how long he had been sitting there, or when he had come in. Her mind was a complete mess. She pressed a hand to her hollow stomach and answered instinctively, "I'm a little hungry."
Pei Chongqing's smile remained. "I'll go make, food."
Yu Ning felt the sentence was oddly familiar. She didn't think much of it, but worried about his cooking skills. "Have you gotten the hang of cooking yet?"
The three meals delivered yesterday were nutritionally balanced, but they were only just barely palatable.
Yu Ning didn't really want Pei Chongqing to waste ingredients, though it was inevitable for a beginner. But resources were scarce here and required constant scavenging outside, and he was also seriously injured—there was absolutely no need to waste any of it.
Before he could respond, Yu Ning went on by herself, "I'll do it myself. And you probably haven't eaten either."
She got out of bed, and likely because she'd slept so long, her steps were still a bit unsteady. Pei Chongqing noticed her swaying and immediately reached out to steady her by the shoulder.
Through the thin shirt, Yu Ning could feel the scars wrapped around his body, and her heart couldn't help but churn with mixed emotions.
After the meal, Yu Ning hesitated, her gaze drifting over him several times, before finally making the request to check his scars.
In the past, every time he came back, Yu Ning would basically do a check-up—it was the most normal thing in the world, and he had always been receptive to it. But unexpectedly, this time Pei Chongqing refused, and refused quite firmly.
He insisted that he merely had a lot of scars and that there was nothing serious. They wouldn't get inflamed or cause any pain, so she needn't worry.
Yu Ning knew he had a strong constitution, but being refused still stung a little. "I'm just taking a look for you. What's wrong with that?"
Pei Chongqing stared at her for a long while, long enough to send a chill down her spine, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile. "Yu Ning, not afraid…?"
Like a music box that hadn't been wound in a long time, Yu Ning froze for a moment, then twisted the hem of her skirt against her knees and said in a low voice, "What's there to be afraid of?"
Actually, she was afraid. Just meeting his gaze made her breathing unconsciously quicken.
Yu Ning thought that after looking at her husband's scarred face for so long, she would get used to it. But for some reason, she felt that aside from the scars, there was something subtly and eerily off about everything else.
Had she become overly sensitive?
Yu Ning really wanted to stop those messy thoughts of hers, but the more she tried to suppress them, the more they kept sprouting back up.
"Alright."
Pei Chongqing suddenly agreed, the smile at the corners of his lips deepening.
Yu Ning blinked, her unfocused gaze re-centering, and stared fixedly at his slightly cracked lips, her heart giving a sudden thump.
After clearing away the dishes and washing them clean in the sink, Yu Ning planned to go with Pei Chongqing to the bathroom on the first floor. But as she turned and walked into the living room, she didn't see any usable bathroom at all.
Yu Ning remembered there being a bathroom here—a full unit with shower and toilet. And wouldn't a normal first-floor living room always come with a bathroom?
She was just about to ask Pei Chongqing when she turned her head and found that the man who should have been in the kitchen was now standing silently behind her, without her knowing when he'd arrived.
She was startled, instinctively pressing a hand to her chest and stepping aside, genuinely unable to understand how he could walk without making a sound, or have such a complete lack of presence…
Pei Chongqing's eyes burned like torches, and his throat gave a soft rumble. "Yu Ning, what's, wrong?"
"Nothing." Yu Ning shook her head. "I thought there was a restroom here—how strange… Let's go upstairs first."
Pei Chongqing made no comment, following her lead up the stairs.
In the master bedroom's bathroom, Pei Chongqing stood before the mirror, his back to her, unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time, letting it fall away.
Like a clear map of mountain ranges laid out before her, Yu Ning drew in a sharp breath, goosebumps rising across her skin at the crisscrossing scars.
Some resembled thick, raised flesh-worms without feet; others looked like symmetrical, segmented centipedes—spanning from his collarbone across his chest, then wrapping from his lean waist around to his back. They were densely packed, overwhelming to take in, and the acid in her stomach churned violently.
Beneath the man's downcast gaze, Yu Ning suppressed the urge to vomit, gently touching the scars with her hand, asking if they still hurt.
The answer was almost self-evident.
He let out a hum of laughter at her touch.
The laugh wasn't clear or bright—it carried a viscous, sticky quality instead.
Yu Ning's mind buzzed as if swarmed by flying insects, disturbing her ability to think.
She swallowed her saliva, turned sideways, and inched her way behind the man. Avoiding the direct line of sight and the refracted gaze in the mirror, her emotions gradually steadied.
Looking at the scars on his back—identical in pattern, with obvious stitching and bandaging—a doubt surfaced in Yu Ning's mind: how had her husband managed to seal the wounds on his own back?
Even with the best constitution, no one could heal to this degree by the third day after stitching… and moreover, the degree of healing at each spot seemed different.
Yu Ning lowered her head and saw the wound on his lower back still seeping blood. She froze for a moment, then immediately took out needle, thread, and bandages from the medical kit.
Just as she was about to tell him that the wound had split open, she looked up—and that piece of flesh suddenly peeled away, hanging precariously by a thread.
Her mind went completely blank, the words she wanted to say caught in her throat.
And her husband… seemed to feel nothing at all.