Watching her sleep, Leng Zirui smiled indulgently, then took out a knife, made a cut on the inside of his arm, and carefully smeared the blood on his body and her clothes.
After finishing everything, he carefully covered her with a thin blanket, went outside the door to attend to his wound, and then collected things like fruit knives, wine glasses, and bottles.
He inspected the surroundings to ensure there was nothing she could hurt herself with in a fit of rage, then cautiously climbed to her side, and gently kissed her forehead.
"Good wife, have a nice sleep. Tomorrow, when you wake up, you’ll have the strength to hit me!"
Wrapping her in his arms, Leng Zirui spoke apologetically.
"I’m sorry, who asked you... to fall in love with a man like me? In the future, I’ll compensate you twice as much, as your husband promises."
In his embrace, Xu Xia was completely unresponsive.
Her face unconsciously rested on his bare chest, where the bullet necklace he had given her glittered against her skin.
...
...
The waves ebbed and flowed, white foamy waves crashing repeatedly against the beach.
Leng Zimo leaned against the rock where Luo Xiaoqian used to sit, his gaze fixed on the third-floor window of the room where Luo Xiaoqian stayed.
He couldn’t see her, only using this way to silently guard her.
Looking at her window, he thought of many things.
Especially remembering when he forgot her.
Luo Xiaoqian once said she never left, never truly walked far away. She said when she secretly went to watch him attend the film festival, she laughed like a child, and Leng Zimo had felt heartache then.
However, that heartache wasn’t empathy.
Not until now, when she forgot him, did he understand what kind of pain it was.
Only able to watch from afar, unable to get close—how torturous it is.
And these days, he had only experienced a few.
But her?
Five whole years, nearly two thousand days and nights, she spent thinking of him.
Just that thought made Leng Zimo so pained he could barely breathe.
Xiao Qian, endure a little longer. I will definitely take you away from here soon, and once we return, I will spend all my remaining time loving you well.
Upstairs, Luo Xiaoqian similarly hadn’t slept.
After pacing a few steps in the room, she walked onto the terrace.
On the terrace, the lights were dim, Luo Ke hadn’t come upstairs yet. His work seemed very busy lately, which greatly relieved Luo Xiaoqian, wishing he could get even busier, busy enough to forget her existence.
The sea breeze blew from the ocean, carrying a faintly cool, salty taste.
Luo Xiaoqian liked this scent very much; having grown up by the sea, the ocean’s scent was like the scent of her hometown, always giving her an inexplicable sense of intimacy, even though now she no longer remembered where she came from or grew up.
Gazing toward the sea and listening to the sound of the waves, Luo Xiaoqian raised her arms, rested them on the terrace railing.
Since she first stepped onto the terrace, Leng Zimo already saw her.
Almost instinctively, he stood up and walked towards the villa, then suddenly stopped.
This was not his place, nor theirs; he couldn’t easily approach her.
Standing on the shore, Leng Zimo watched her from afar.