"W-What do you want?"
Noticing the aggrieved look on his face, Wen Shi's words were chewed up by her inner turmoil as she bit her tip making her grimace in pain.
Yuheng, seeing how she reacted grimly, only felt devastated and didn't dare open his mouth to repeat himself again. He chose took swallow his indicting thoughts, scared he would be abandoned.
Puzzled, Wen Shi stared at him openly.
"You! Tell me what's in your mind," she demanded.
Err... Why was he looking at her as if she'd committed some grave offense and was about to cry as well?
Without waiting for Yifang's response, Yuheng sighed and turned to her to probe. For him, it was her answer that mattered.
"Shi Shi…"
Even though she was the one who urged him, the sudden despondent call made her heart race and made the confused lass gulp unconsciously.
Argh!
What the hell is wrong with her and this strange persisting nervousness she feels with just him calling her name? If this has something to do with the old Wen Shi, then she'll be damned!
The last thing she wanted was to have a heart demon because of a dead person's lingering attachments!
Wen Shi furrowed her brows when the man sighed as though weighing the words before bringing them up to her.
"Did you two… do something fun while I was away?" asked the man with a tinge of hesitation in his tone.
Shi Yuheng sneered in his heart, wanting to knock some sense in his head after realizing how his words came out sounding so stupid.
Fun would be the last word he'd describe it. Not without him in the picture!
But he knew of her temper too well, how she despised being questioned and put in a tight spot. That's why he was so nervous, asking while trying to make it sound not too upfront and daring.
Shi Yuheng's soft inquiry hung in the air, his posture distressed. This image of a crestfallen young man could easily stir any lady's conscience, tugging at the strings of their tangled hearts.
But apparently, Wen Shi wasn't just any lady. Obviously not a soft or mild one.
"Fun?" Echoed the girl in a shrill voice as she sneered inside. She gave him a chance to speak, and this is what she hears?!
What fun?
She'd been taken advantage of by Shi Yifang, that lecher! The instant she remembered, revenge simmered within Wen Shi's tendrils.
But even then, her flustered face that flushed like a cherry was punctuated like an automatic physiological response, as if caught in the act of infidelity by her own husband.
What husband?
The term felt hollow in her ears and foreign to her tongue.
"This clueless man with no tact was no better than his rogue brother." Wen Shi sharply mumbled to herself. They're just two peas in a pod.
If not then why dredge up the day she ever loathed, thinking of that imbecile Yifang that she couldn't kill—him and the memory she longed to forget?
As a response, Wen Shi bemoaned, her voice strained. She was rather disappointed with his nonsensical question and his expression that bugged her for no reason. She hated feeling bothered by something.
"Nothing is going on. So stop concerning yourself with trivial matters. Mind your own business."
Oblivious to Shi Yuheng's glistening eyes, she responded cruelly, her heart now shielded against his expression.
Trivial? As if!
Revenge would come, but not now.
Not yet!
Standing there undeterred, Wen Shi's existence was woven with threads of untold memories, and pain. Carrying the weight of countless lifetimes.
As she moved through the world like a shadow, while her heart was encased in ice, all sentiments and accumulated experience had inevitably overshadowed whatever inkling she may have of any possible attachment for someone.
Wen Shi rolled her eyes, "It's not like it's going to happen again soon. As if you'll get your turn! Why even care?"
Not just him since it wasn't even confirmed if it was just the two of them. But clearly, no one will!
How can she be intimate with these mere mortals who would only drag her down? When the time comes, she will also vacate this realm and move to another.
One accident is enough. Wen Shi decided to just treat it as a passing wind that she has no recollection of. She hadn't even had time to keep pets before, they all ended up dead or running away out of fear.
How can she keep a man beside her?
And not just one but more! Such a pain.
Wen Shi shrugged and brushed it off. Doesn't matter. I'm not here to make a family. Moon said, as long as they're not dead.
Meanwhile, Shi Yuheng's body went stiff as he secretly read her lips. His eyes widened with shock, shaking with the sheer realization of being unwanted.
"You'll never get a chance..." Her words cut him deeply.
Does that mean she didn't want anything to do with him? What's the use of being her Yang companion if she won't make use of him?
Is she going to throw him away?
Yuheng's insides were set ablaze with deep scorching ache. His body trembled and shook with sheer anxiety. Yet, he couldn't utter a single word to argue back and ask for a reason.
Who was he to her to ask that anyway? He was only someone she picked up on a whim but never made use of.
Wuu~
"Little Yu, don't cry. I said don't cry, waah!"
The little girl told him to not cry yet she was crying harder.
"When I grow up, I promise to be a great yin maiden like my mom. I will protect you and treat you better under my wing. Hic!"
"No one will dare bully you again. I will come back for you and definitely look after you in the future. So, promise you will wait for me, Little Yu!"
While sobbing, the little girl vowed and offered her soft midget hand to caress the fearful, whimpering feline cub.
Whenever Yuheng gazes into the abyss of those distant memories, he still feels the weight of that small, warm hand—reaching out to him like a desperate savior.
That bright smile and childish tone never wavered, always offering him a glimmer of hope. But were they merely illusions and fragments of his desperate wishes?
If not, how much longer must he endure this waiting?
He had always been right here, and yet…
Pressing his lips tightly, Shi Yuheng breathed sharply with the prickling feeling of despair. As if a broken doll, but at least a wooden thing won't feel this hurt.
With his vulnerability laid bare, he couldn't escape the gravity of her indifference or more like insensibility to other people's feelings. Thus, his whispered plea that echoed deep in his shattered heart that she had left in him could only remain in there unnoticed.
In that mere instance, he could feel his strength being sucked out of his body. A tepid smile rose to his frosted lips, tugging the corner of his mouth and leaving a bitter taste in his senses.
Why do you despise me so much, Shi Shi? Why is it always me you dislike? Only me. Do you only let Shi Yifang inside your heart and not me?
Hidden within the folds of his robe, his clenched fist bore the imprint of his anguish. Blood seeped from his palm, numbing the ache in his heart. The scent of suffering clung to him, freezing the air around them.
Wen Shi's response was a silent storm he dared not oppose. His body hurt, but it was a pain he welcomed. As if the numbing pain would lighten the burden on his heart, allowing him to endure the eons of her disregard and unfounded hate.
Yuheng's weak smile desperately masked the raw neglect he felt. He averted his eyes, unwilling to confront the truth.
"I see... Then I will just do what you said," replied the man briefly with a heavy heart.
From the corner, Shi Yifang observed their exchange silently. Yet, his eyes carried a strange emptiness akin to a howling gale before he closed them again. His pair of dark obsidian eyes instantly returned to their once-dazzling brilliance as if nothing had happened.