Lu Chen still hadn't fully recovered from the shock of what he'd just witnessed. When he saw a stream of cloudy white fluid seeping from between He Suyan's thighs, soaking the once-pristine bed sheets beneath her snow-white hips, a surge of heat rushed through his body. If not for his years of self-discipline and the glaring scars on He Suyan's upper body reminding him of her pain, he might have lost control and pressed her beneath him.
He Suyan's soft sobs suddenly brought Lu Chen back to his senses. He glanced at her before quickly turning away, stammering, "Sister Suyan... I—I'm sorry." Without waiting for a response, he fled the room, shutting the door behind him.
The sound of the door closing only made He Suyan cry louder. Her pale, naked body lay exposed on the bed, the emptiness that followed her release, combined with the shame she felt, sending her spiraling into despair.
She began to recall the scent of perfume on Lu Chen's clothes earlier in the day. Her face was disfigured, her body marred, and now he'd seen her in such a compromising position, 'Will he think I am a lewd woman?
The more she thought about it, the more her fragile heart sank into hopelessness. She had remained pure all these years, despite being in the entertainment industry—a miracle in itself.
She hadn't even held hands with a man before, let alone kissed one. She still kept her first kiss, something practically unheard of in the entertainment world. But how could anyone, especially someone like Lu Chen, know this? After seeing her actions earlier, even if he didn't say anything, he'd surely think she was a promiscuous and wanton woman.
Lu Chen had become He Suyan's only pillar of support in her life, and now, with that support crumbling, thoughts of ending it all started creeping back into her mind.
A deep sense of resignation settled over He Suyan. There is no greater sorrow than a heart that has given up. Her life, already marked by the loss of her beauty, had become meaningless. And now, the last reason she had to keep going was gone.
Sitting up slowly, her eyes vacant, He Suyan wiped away the sticky moisture from between her legs with a towel. She ran a trembling hand over the spot that Lu Chen had seen, her pale face blushing slightly at the thought.
She changed into the white nightgown Lu Chen had bought for her and swapped out the soiled bedsheets for fresh ones. With a small blade in hand, she lay down on the bed. As she dragged the blade across her wrist, a sharp pain shot through her, and crimson blood began to flow, soaking the sheets beneath her.
[Author: I don't promote, glorify any action of this kind, it is highly condemnable.]
As her vision blurred and her consciousness began to fade, she thought she heard Lu Chen calling her name. A faint smile crept across her lips as she thought to herself, 'Chen, if there's a next life, I wish I could be your wife.'
Lu Chen had splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, finally managing to clear his head. Though the image of He Suyan's delicate skin and graceful figure still lingered in his mind, the effect had lessened considerably.
With a bitter smile, he sat on the sofa, staring out the window as the first light of dawn crept across the sky. In the early spring, dawn arrived late, and even at six in the morning, the sky remained overcast.
Lu Chen wasn't sure how he would face He Suyan later. Deciding it was best to avoid her for now, he resolved to head to school early. With a whole day to cool off, their next encounter might not be as awkward.
With a plan in mind, Lu Chen stood up, dressed, and prepared to leave. Just as he was about to step out the door, he remembered the pills he'd promised to give to Liu Jie. He reached into his pocket, but it was empty.
Puzzled for a moment, he recalled setting the jade bottle of pills on the windowsill in the bathroom before washing his face the previous night.
He hurried back to the bathroom and found the jade bottle sitting there, just as he'd left it. However, to his surprise, one of the pills was missing.
Lu Chen was no ordinary person. Although the difference in weight from a single missing pill was negligible to most, his acute senses immediately picked up on the absence.
'Where's another pill?'
He frowned. The pills had been left here, untouched by him. That meant He Suyan was the only one who could have taken it.
'But what would He Suyan need with a Spring Desire Elixir?'
Suddenly, Lu Chen slapped his forehead as realization dawned on him. He finally understood why the normally composed and reserved He Suyan had acted so out of character. The scene he'd witnessed earlier had been the result of the elixir's effects. No wonder her gaze had been filled with both shame and surprise—He Suyan had been fully conscious of what was happening to her. Everything that had transpired was because of the Spring Desire Elixir.
Now that it all made sense, Lu Chen glanced nervously at He Suyan's still-quiet room. He walked over to her door, hesitated, then raised his hand to knock, hoping to explain everything to ease her mind.
Even though he didn't fully understand a woman's heart, he knew that being caught in such a compromising situation must have left He Suyan deeply embarrassed.
He knocked on the door but was met with silence. "Sister Suyan, may I come in?" he called out.
Still, there was no answer. A sense of unease crept into Lu Chen's heart. He pressed harder on the door, forcing it open—and was immediately greeted by a sea of crimson.
Blood. Blood was everywhere. He Suyan lay there, her perfect, half-exposed face now deathly pale. Seeing her motionless body, Lu Chen finally understood why the phrase "drained of color" existed.
He froze for a moment but quickly snapped back to reality. Upon noticing that He Suyan's wrist was still bleeding, he rushed to her side and applied pressure to several key acupoints on her body to temporarily stop the flow of blood.
The bleeding finally slowed, but the sight of so much blood and He Suyan's ashen complexion filled Lu Chen with dread. He knew she needed a blood transfusion—without it, she might die from shock due to blood loss.
He wrapped He Suyan's thin, pajama-clad body in one of his own coats, kicked open the door, and carried her out in a blur of motion.
At dawn, the streets were still mostly empty. Lu Chen's luck held as a taxi appeared just as he exited the complex. He jumped in, telling the driver to head straight for the hospital.
In the cab, Lu Chen held tightly to He Suyan's increasingly cold hand, calling her name while slowly channeling his internal energy into her body, preventing her organs from shutting down due to blood loss.