Fresh air, sweet, glorious, fresh air.
I inhaled deeply, then held my breath. Eyes closed I wanted to enjoy this moment of freedom, shutting the whole world off.
"Miss Wei, are you Miss Wei Zhiyue?" A nasal voice called out, destroying my brief moment of peace.
"Yes?" I opened my eyes to see a stout middle-aged man in a cheap suit panting as he jogged over to me.
"Hi, I'm Mr. Bai with entertainment daily," he flashed some plastic so quickly I barely saw anything but his non-flattering picture. "Is it true you've had surgery and can no longer sing? How do you plan to survive in this industry going forward?"
I groaned in annoyance, glancing over my shoulder for a sign of Su Meng. She'd been my jailbreak buddy but had disappeared a moment ago to take a very angry phone call from her boss.
"Miss Wei, can I take you not replying as your confirmation that you've damaged your voice?" I wanted to refute, but he continued uncaring for my response, "who was that man caught on camera with you? Did your surgery have anything to do with him?"
What man? What photograph? My media had been very limited these past two months, under Dr. Li's orders. I was still supposed to be on house arrest, avoiding the public eye. That was the deal I'd painstakingly made to escape those four walls.
Something inside of me snapped. Avoiding eye contact, I planned to walk away before I reacted poorly.
Su Meng had lectured me repeatedly these past few weeks on how I should act in a situation just like this. Maintain my image. Wei Zhiyue was a well-known celebrity, a lady, a quiet and well-behaved little idol that everybody saw as their little sister. Fuck.
His greedy hand clutched onto my arm aggressively, unable to let his scoop go.
I was unable to comprehend the words he spouted. It sounded like an annoying fly buzzing over shit. Only I wasn't shit, or rubbish, or anything deserving of this treatment. I really did not want to be a celebrity, people sucked.
The sound of a car braking heavily nearby made both our heads turn to see a sleek black car illegally park on the pavement beside us. A very angry-looking Fu Jianyu climbed out of the driver's seat.
"Jianyu," I called out instinctively as a baby cub would flee to its mother bear, I pulled out of the grotty journalist's grip and forcibly threw myself into Jianyu's arms, whether he liked it or not.
"Jianyu, please help me?" I tried my best to pull the most innocent-looking face I could muster to sway his cold demeanour. "Please?" I tilted my head, blinking coyly. Internally, I prayed all the facial actions I'd practiced in the mirror, with System's chiding, played off.
Jianyu turned to face the reporter, who'd taken a quick snap of us on his phone, then quickly turned to leave. He raised his right hand, signaling something to thin air, then paid full attention to me.
When I tried to take a peek at the reporter, Jianyu surprisingly used his other hand to tilt my head to look at him. Startled I found my cheeks feeling flushed.
This was not what I had envisioned when I asked him for help.
"Th-thank you," I mumbled quickly, before glancing around hoping to find Su Meng to come to save me from the intimidating pressure he was suddenly emitting.
"No need to wait for her," he pulled me along towards the car, "since I'm here now I'll take you home."
Jianyu, the very same Jianyu who had spent two months visiting me in absolute silence finally spoke. Not just a word, but a whole sentence in such a beautiful low baritone voice my ears felt impreganated.
Too stupified to comprehend the actual words he was saying I merely nodded my head as I was led into the car. It was only when the car pulled back onto the road I comprehended what I had just agreed to.
Nervous, I sat still, tugging at the seatbelt. Outside looked normal to me, but at the same time felt so exciting. It was one thing to see on the TV and another in real life. Even if through the tinted glass.
Just sitting in the car, feeling the engine underneath me as he wove through the cars. I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my stomach.
Before I knew it, we approached a tall fenced-in apartment building. After a security check, he parked in an underground parking lot.
In the elevator Jianyu pressed the top floor button, making me bite my lip. Just how expensive was this place? Should I downgrade now I had zero intentions of continuing Zhiyue's elusive career?
On the other side of the elevator, Jianyu leaned against the wall, avoiding my curious glances. It felt stifling being in such a tiny space with him.
At the door, Jianyu fumbled in his pockets for the keys, then opened the door to walk straight ahead to a closet. There he kicked off his shoes as if he'd done it a hundred times before. For a moment my heart raced.
Were we at my house or his?
Seeing me frozen on the spot, he walked back wearing a pair of black slippers and carrying a pair of fluffy pink. Like a knight to a lady, he knelt on the ground, uncaring to dirty his expensive-looking suit.
My mind was racing as my stomach somersaulted when he did the small action of taking off my shoes and replacing them with comfortable slippers.
"What's with the flood of oxytocin Host?" System teased. I hid my flushed face from a curious Jianyu, who was returning to me after putting away my shoes and hanging up my coat.
"Shut up," I quipped internally. It had been so silent lately I almost forget its existence.
"What's wrong?" Jianyu asked, his low baritone voice shooting right through me.
"Is, is this my house?" I asked, giving the monochromatic hallway another glance over.
"Yes," Jianyu frowned with confusion, then his face relaxed, "ah, I also live here."
My eyes went wide with both confusion and fear. Shouldn't this have been told to me before I left the hospital?
Too scared to face this conversation, I scuttled away just as his phone timely rang in his pocket.
Finding a cozy spot on the kitchen balcony swing seat, I nestled into the blanket I'd grabbed off the kitchen sofa. Trying my best to hide and merge with the seat.
Once comfortable and calmed down, I pulled out my phone to text Su Meng that I was home safely, cursing at myself for having forgotten to text inside the car due to my childlike wonder at the outside world. Not because I'd been flustered by the tall, handsome man.
"No not at all," System chuckled.
I know I had promised not to search social media, to avoid anything triggering without someone around me. But I just had to know. Why did some random, strange man think it was appropriate to harass me whilst I was leaving the hospital?
After ten minutes of scrolling, I decided to give up on humanity.
A photo of Jianyu carrying me out of the hotel penthouse suite had found its way online. Though it had been taken down, once something was on the internet it was there forever. Damn screenshots.
Everyone who was anyone had an opinion, fan or not.
Nobody cared that I was a victim of a crime, or that Jianyu was a policeman.
Instead, all they focused on was the gossip, that spread like wildfire. Apparently, Wei Zhiyue had a 'secret lover' who had been showering her with gifts at work so much that the fans had taken notice. Plus a few staff had leaked information.
The more I scrolled the more ridiculous the rumours got. One made me wretch, saying that I had aborted Jianyu's baby. Just who the fuck did these people think they were?
Then again, who was Jianyu? Why had he been so silent with me this entire time, when we were close enough to share a home together?
Especially considering he'd come to find me in a hotel room naked and bloody with a naked man.
All this unknown was eating me up inside. I thought I had it all figured out. Now, this was just another spanner thrown in the works.
Clutching the soft blanket, my thumbs stroked against the thread. I focused on the sounds of the cars passing on the busy road below, the bustle of a thriving city. Taking a deep breath I smelled something sweet coming from the kitchen.
Opening them, I noticed Jianyu standing in the kitchen, his shirt pushed to his elbows and he now wore an adorable apron.
His eyes glanced over his shoulder, meeting mine.
Electricity jolted through me, freezing me on the spot.
"There's that oxytocin again Host," System teased.
My cheeks flushed as I hid under the blanket like a child.
"Shut up, he's not mine, he's Zhiyue's," I spat back, feeling envious and spiteful. None of this life was mine, I was simply borrowing it.
"No, it's your life now, she gave it to you, and trusted you with it, that's how it works for low levels like us, the soul needs to give us permission to use the body Host." System explained.
I bit my lip in contemplation.
"So what am I supposed to do with it? With this body, this life?" My breath hitched in sorrow for Zhiyue, robbed of her life so soon by some crazed stalker.
"Well you already killed the person she should have grievances with, I'd imagine her soul be grateful enough to join us." System thought out loud. "So, why not just live it how you want?"
"But Zhiyue will see it all won't she?" Goosebumps tingled on my forearms at the thought of her watching every single thing I did.
"So?" System sounded confused at my reaction, "I watch it all too."
"Great," I muttered out loud in frustration.
A sharp knock at the glass patio door made my head peek up from the blanket. Jianyu beckoned me inside with his finger, then turned back to finish whatever he was doing.
Nervously, I wandered inside, mostly following my nose to the small round breakfast table where a sweet-smelling congee was. I waited for him to sit down opposite before tucking into the food.
A small moan escaped my mouth at the first taste, if everything else he made tasted this good I could let him cook for me every day of this life. Which brought the question to the forefront of my mind.
"Jianyu," I played with the food with my spoon.
"Hmm?" He hummed pleasantly.
"Who, who exactly are you to Zhiyue, I mean me," I flustered then shoved another spoonful into my mouth, hiding my face.
"Your fiance," he replied, making me choke on the burning sweet goodness he'd served me.
"Is it that shocking?" he asked, his face not betraying an ounce of emotion. Why was it so gentle whenever he spoke to me, but so cold whenever his mouth stopped?
"Y-yes," I stuttered, annoyed that the burn in my throat had now ruined my tastebuds.
Setting the spoon down, I tried to calm the million new questions forming in my mind. It simplified down to a, "why?"
It was his time to be stumped.
"Why?" He chuckled, somewhat nervously, "it was set by our grandparents when we were young."
"Oh…" Grandparents. Wasn't I supposed to be an orphan? Now I supposedly had a family.
"My family?" I asked, leaning forward on the table.
"Yeah, they're alive, but let's not talk about this yet," his voice was stern, "I'll tell you one day, just wait for me okay?"
I frowned, confused at his secrecy. "Do my family not want me?"
"Some," he muttered, briefly emitting a scary aura.
Gulping, I picked up my spoon to bitterly finish the rest of my food in silence. Well they weren't my family anyway.