"Yu'er!!!!!!!"
Tang Li Mei woke up with a start. Her body was still trembling from the aftereffects of the nightmare as she looked around the cold, dark room. She could hear her heart pounding wildly, as if it would jump out of her chest any minute. Her lungs constricted from the lack of oxygen as she struggled to breathe.
Her already pale skin looked as white as a sheet, and with tears smeared on her cheeks and hair stuck to her forehead, she was a complete mess. Her eyes blurred while tears streamed down her face, and she quickly wiped them with trembling hands.
'My Yu'er....they.....they killed him!!!!!'
Clutching the blanket tightly, she squeezed her eyes closed when more tears fell. Her lilac satin nightdress was completely soaked in sweat. Opening her bloodshot eyes, she stared at her hands that once held the bronze chest, and her lips quivered. Her heart ached when she remembered the cruel way her child was taken away from her.
'Yu'er, my Yu'er was gone!!!'
Tears continued to seep down her cheeks, and eventually, she broke out into a sob. All she asked was for a peaceful life with her husband and child, so how did she end up losing it all in the end??? Muffling her sobs, she pulled aside the blanket and quietly walked out of her room.
....
Reaching out for a glass of water on the nightstand, Han Zhixin sighed when he found it empty.
Stepping out of the room, his legs paused in front of a certain door. Staring at it for some time, he hesitated. He felt the urge to see her; the way they parted last night pained his heart to no end.
He was never a person who believed in otherworldly things such as love, but he didn't know why his heartbeat fastened so crazily when he saw her for the first time. And the moment she fell into his arms, he knew that's where she always belonged, so instead of running away from this feeling, he embraced it.
Normally, what any sane person would do at a time like this would be to get to know each other and then work their way towards the next step, but in his case, it was quite the opposite. His feelings for her were quite spontaneous and strong; sometimes it even surprised him at how quickly his feelings for her grew in such a short span of time.
He knew there was something between them—something that pulled him toward her. It was not just mere physical attraction; it was something more, and he knew even she felt it but was in denial. He understood that, as a single mother, her priority would always be her child, and her rejecting his proposal already clarified that.
His initial plan was to move on and never bother her again, but the moment he saw her at the hospital the other day, all his previous plans went down the drain. That's when he realized he couldn't just give up on her when he hadn't even tried; his feelings for her were really strong, and it didn't help with the fact that he couldn't concentrate on work or have a peaceful night's sleep. So here he was standing in front of her door, but his woman was mad at him. Clenching his fists, he turned around and walked away.
Pouring himself a glass of water, he looked outside the window when he heard thunder. He could hear the pitter-patter of the rain and the howling of the wind.
'I hope the little one is sleeping peacefully in this kind of weather.'
Opening the door to the room, he walked towards the small bed to find the little boy sleeping peacefully. His eyes twinkled, and a small smile graced his lips when he found the little bun's blanket crumpled into the corner and his small legs dangling out of the bed. He had to admit that the boy looked adorable, just like her.
Carefully picking up the little one, he placed him in the middle of the bed and covered him with his blanket. Placing his palm on the little bun's forehead, he checked his temperature and felt relieved to find his body temperature returned to normal. He stroked his soft hair and placed a small kiss on his forehead before leaving the room.
.....
When he finally got into bed, sleep didn't come easily. Twisting and turning, he tried to sleep, but to no avail.
'Sigh!!!'
Opening the sliding door to the balcony, he was about to walk out to get some fresh air but stopped in his tracks when his body came into contact with the cold wind that carried droplets of rain.
'Fuck!!! What was I thinking???? It was such a bad idea to come out!!'
As he was about to close the sliding door, his hands stiffened when his gaze fell on a blurred figure of a woman standing in the middle of the garden. Han Zhixin's eyes narrowed at the drenched figure. Since it was pouring heavily, he couldn't see her face. Squinting his eyes, he walked forward and finally caught a glimpse.
'What the hell???'
His eyes widened while a shiver ran down his spine. His face paled when he saw Tang Li Mei standing there completely soaked, with her clothes sticking to her body like a second skin. Something about this scene seemed very familiar to him and made his heart burn in agony. His hands trembled, he couldn't utter a word, and he felt as if someone was choking him. Finally coming out of his reverie, he hurriedly ran out of his room.
'What was she doing???'
....
Tang Li Mei stood in the middle of her garden, clenching her clothes tightly as her body was wracked with sobs. She tried so much to keep herself together all these years, even though it wasn't easy for her. Waking up in this new world with a new identity, it was rather difficult for her to fit in, yet she tried.
She dearly missed her previous family—her parents, brothers, and especially her child and him. Her heart ached for them. She was the reason for their misery; she was the reason her brother Yi had to suffer in pain for so many years.
That night she was very excited to finally see the face that had been hidden behind the mask for two years, and that very night became the root cause of the events that took place in the future. Because instead of Qin Yi, it was Qin Feng whom she found at that place.
She didn't know why, but seeing him there just rang alarm bells in her head, and she should have followed her instincts that told her to walk away from him. Instead, she blindly believed all his lies and brought pain to all the people around her.
Why didn't she clarify her doubts?? There were several occasions when she felt the person beside her to be unfamiliar, so why didn't she question him??? Why did she let that bastard treat them like pawns in his game and ruin so many lives???
Tang Li Mei was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps nearing her until she felt a warm hand gripping her wrist.
"Xiao Mei!!! What the hell do you think you are doing??" Han Zhixin scolded her. He had a grave look on his face, and as the spot between his brows darkened and his eyes narrowed, he was completely pissed at her right now.
"Have you lost your mind??? Do you want to fall sick so badly??? You-...."
Just as he was about to give her a piece of his mind, she turned around, and his body froze. His eyes widened when he took note of the condition she was in; her once healthy skin looked pale as a corpse, and her bloodshot eyes looked bleak and hollow as if her body were just an empty vassal with no soul in it. It made his hair stand on end to see her so lifeless.
'Is this my Xiao Mei??'
The woman he fell in love with was cold and fierce but had a gentle heart. However, the person in front of him looked lifeless, as if she had lost all her will to live.
When Tang Li Mei heard his voice, her body stiffened, and slowly turning around, she found him completely drenched in the rain.
'He came for her. This man... Even though she pushed him away at every chance she got, he still came for her. No matter where she was, he always found her when she was at her wits end.'
"Han Zhixin..." she whispered as her lips quivered. Her once lifeless eyes gleamed back to life at his arrival, and she didn't waste a single second to leap into his arms and immediately break out into a loud sob.
Han Zhixin's body jerked from the impact, but he quickly stabilized himself and held her in his embrace. Her skin felt ice cold under his palms, and she was shivering from being out in the rain for so long. He didn't know how long she had been here, nor did he have any clue as to why or what the reason was. All he knew was that she needed him right now, and he was not going to disappoint her by being unreasonable at a time like this. His hands on her waist tightened as he pulled her further into his embrace and softly nuzzled her neck.
Although both of them were soaking wet standing in the rain, it didn't bother either of them. Her sobs pained his heart to no end while he softly rubbed her back to calm her down. Tang Li Mei clenched his sweater tightly as she let out all her pain and cried in his arms.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong??" Han Zhixin asked in an almost hushed tone. His voice carried the pain he felt for her, and his heart ached to see her broken like this. He didn't know who or what bothered her, but one thing he knew was that he would do anything to stop those tears and get his Xiao Mei back.
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