"Why!"
Ning Yi was filled with unwillingness and confusion, her eyes full of resentment as she looked at the young man. "Why!"
Su Man could do it!
Su Man could receive this man's affection.
Why couldn't she?
How was she inferior to Su Man?
She had stripped off all her clothes, yet it didn't stir a single ounce of emotion in the young man. Instead, she was humiliated. If she hadn't dodged quickly, it wouldn't have just been a single finger severed by the lightning.
He was a devil.
A devil disguised in human skin!
Ning Yi wanted to curse and demand answers, but before she could speak, the young man's command echoed down the vast corridor again, "Take her away."
The two guards nodded respectfully. "Yes!"
Without hesitation, they restrained Ning Yi again, disregarding the wound on her hand, preparing to drag her away.
"No! No! Wait!"
Ning Yi struggled continuously, unwilling to be taken away like this. She wanted answers—why was Zhong Jin treating her so cruelly? But before she could even ask, the guards had nearly dragged her out of his sight.
In that final moment, Ning Yi struggled desperately to resist, ready to question him. But before she could speak, she locked eyes with the young man's sharp gaze.
In those beautiful eyes, there was thick mockery.
Silently, she seemed to understand his answer.
Su Man was his treasured gem.
Who was she, this fool, to dare compare herself to the person he cherished?
A fool with no self-awareness.
It was always destined that he wouldn't look at her.
Because he loved Su Man so deeply, nothing else mattered to him beyond her.
From beginning to end, Ning Yi had only been humiliating herself, arrogantly provoking Su Man, acting like a ridiculous clown.
Ning Yi's body went limp, allowing the guards to drag her away without resistance. This time, she didn't even fight back, disappearing completely from the hallway.
He was truly cruel.
Su Man couldn't help but think.
Even though Ning Yi's severed finger lay there, blood-soaked at his feet, it didn't seem to bother him. He felt no guilt, not even the slightest concern, as if it hadn't crossed his mind at all.
His danger was just the same as the first time she'd met him—unchanged.
A wolf might tuck its tail and act like a docile dog, but its nature as a wolf could never change.
Was it really safe for her to stay by his side?
She wasn't particularly clever. What if one day she angered him? Would he treat her the same way he had treated Ning Yi?
Su Man didn't dare think further.
She should leave…
If she continued hiding here and spying, she'd be discovered, and that wouldn't be good.
However, as if sensing something, the moment Su Man stood up, the young man turned around, locking eyes with her.
For a moment, Su Man truly thought she was done for.
She opened her mouth to speak, but in the next second, the young man strode towards her, each step calm and measured. Before she knew it, he was standing in front of her.
He stared at her, his voice low, "What are you doing hiding here?"
"I… I just woke up…"
The young man said, "That's no reason to leave the bed, it's winter."
Even though the floor was covered with warm white carpets, the cold air still seeped through, and the girl had come down barefoot. If he hadn't made sure to put socks on her earlier, she'd be standing there with bare feet by now.
As carefree as ever.
Zhong Jin sighed softly, "Manman, you're pregnant."
She should take better care of herself. Many health issues stemmed from neglect during pregnancy.
"I—"
Before Su Man could respond, his hands were already at her waist. She blinked, not fully comprehending what he was doing. In the next second, she was lifted into his arms.
They were so close that Su Man could hear his heartbeat, each steady "thump" resonating clearly in her ears.
Along with that came his scent, the fresh aroma of pine needles, cold and crisp, wrapping itself around her.
Her body seemed to recognize that scent, as if she had smelled it many times before.
Before Su Man could regain her senses, Zhong Jin laid her back down on the bed. The next moment, his long, strong fingers touched her delicate feet, moving so quickly that Su Man couldn't react in time. He cupped her soles as if holding them in his palm.
Su Man's toes couldn't help but curl.
"I'm going to change your socks," the young man said.
She had been standing on the ground for too long. No matter how warm the socks were, they couldn't fully block out the cold air. She had a naturally frail constitution, and during winter, her hands and feet often got cold, making her prone to fever and illness.
Before the words fully left his lips, Zhong Jin had already stood up.
The bed now felt emptier with just Su Man lying there. His voice still lingered in her ears. She instinctively touched her ear, feeling a faint tingling sensation, her gaze drifting to his tall figure in the closet. He didn't seem to notice her reaction.
From Su Man's angle, she could only see his back.
He was tall and lean, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist—a striking figure. His facial features were sharp, cold even, but right now, with his head slightly lowered, he appeared more gentle.
Yet this man, who seemed gentle now, had just severed a girl's finger.
When he was gentle, he was truly gentle. But toward others, he could be incredibly cruel.
What kind of person was Zhong Jin, really?
"Ning Yi had malicious intentions," his deep voice suddenly broke the silence.
Su Man hadn't fully processed what he said when a shadow fell over her. In the next second, her foot was once again captured by his large hand. She stiffened, feeling the warmth of his hand, her toes curling reflexively again.
Su Man was delicate, and so were her small feet. Held lightly like this, her feet fit perfectly in his hand.
Kneeling down, Zhong Jin placed her feet on his knee, glancing at her anxious expression as he said calmly, "If I didn't handle Ning Yi, she would hurt you. She's already hurt you once; I can't allow it to happen a second time."
As he finished speaking, he gently pinched her curled toes and whispered, "Manman,"
She was always like this, extremely sensitive.
Any touch would make her toes curl reflexively, particularly sensitive.
His large hand slipped off her sock. With the fabric gone, his hand directly touched her fair, delicate skin. He lowered his head, and from Su Man's angle, she could see only his high nose and his downcast eyes.
Zhong Jin was putting her socks on.
It sounded unbelievable, but he was really putting her socks on.
Moonlight spilled through the window, wrapping around them both, even casting a soft glow on the socks he was changing for her.
Although the new socks were already on, he still held her feet on his knee.
Su Man couldn't help but shift, trying to pull her feet back. However, Zhong Jin gripped her ankle, speaking in a low voice, "You're afraid of me again."
Su Man trembled, "I'm not…"
But she was.
She couldn't forget Ning Yi's severed finger.
She never imagined Zhong Jin would treat Ning Yi like that. He truly didn't feel guilty, nor did he care. It was clear that this wasn't the first time he had done something like this.
He seemed… accustomed to it.
Accustomed to living with blood and violence.
A person this dangerous was someone Su Man would never normally approach, but somehow, within her, there was the life created by the two of them—a life that belonged to both of them.
"If I ever make you angry, would you use the same methods you used on Ning Yi against me?"
"No." The young man's face appeared somewhat indifferent, but his indifference leaned more toward calmness. At this moment, however, his gaze was soft, soft to the point of obsession. "As long as you stay by my side obediently, I won't get angry."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man let out a low chuckle, different from any previous laugh, with a hint of self-mockery, as if he were mocking himself. "Even if I do get angry, I'll just come and bring you back."
Just like this time.
But he couldn't bear to punish her.
"Manman, be good," the young man said softly, "Just stay by my side, and we can be together forever. Isn't that good?"
Su Man trembled.
However, the young man said nothing more. This time, he carefully tucked her feet under the blanket, covering them snugly.
There was a brief moment of silence in the room, but to Su Man, it felt as if an eternity had passed.
She really didn't know how to respond. She didn't even know how to face this relationship.
She had lost her memory, completely unable to recall the past. Even though fragments of their intimacy occasionally surfaced in her mind, she couldn't remember why they were together in the first place, or even how they had met.
The young man's love was too intense, like magma from a volcano, continually rising in temperature.
He was undoubtedly the most handsome person she had ever seen, but his love was too fierce, like that same magma, ever-heating.
At times, he felt like the devil, tempting her. She could feel it.
But Zhong Jin was truly dangerous.
And she was too weak.
In this relationship, there was no balance of power.
It would have been better if she knew their love story, but she didn't know anything.
Su Man really didn't know how to respond to him.
She was like a little turtle, sensing the complexity and danger of the outside world, retreating quietly into her shell. Even though she knew it was cowardly, lying inside the shell felt so comfortable, and so safe.
"Could you give me some time?" The little turtle nervously wrung her hands.
"I'm not forcing you," the young man's voice came, gentle and considerate. "You don't need to rush to remember; I can wait for you."
As he finished speaking, the young man bent down, but he didn't lean too close. His long, narrow eyes simply gazed at her, with an expression so deep that Su Man couldn't quite understand it.
At that moment, the young man said softly, "Goodnight."
Su Man was startled. "Goodnight."
She didn't even notice when Zhong Jin left. By the time she came to her senses, his figure had already disappeared from the room, and the door had been gently closed. In the large room, she was the only one left.
This must have been their bedroom, as the large walk-in closet held both men's and women's clothes.
He must have originally slept here with her.
Before he left, the young man had left something behind. Su Man's eyes landed on the diamond ring on the nightstand. Unlike the simple design of the wedding ring Zhong Jin had designed, this one was extravagant. The diamond alone was so dazzling that it was hard to look away.
The ring was nestled in a delicate box, waiting for her to take it. Moonlight spilled over the ring, casting a shimmering glow, making the diamond even more brilliantly radiant.
Zhong Jin had said that this was her wedding ring.
He wasn't forcing her to wear it now, but she was the rightful owner of the ring.
This ring was meant to be placed in her hands, for her to keep.
He had said all of this, but there was one thing he hadn't told her.
He couldn't wait for too long.
He wanted to hold her in his arms, wanted to kiss her, and wanted her to stop looking at him with those fearful eyes.
But for now, these were all things he had to endure.
That night, in the dark hallway, only the long shadow of the young man was cast on the ground.
"Young master."
Zhong Jin closed his eyes. "Any news on the psychiatrist?"
"Not yet."
"Send more people to find them."
"Yes!" The guard answered, but then hesitated before continuing. "Young master, there is one more thing…"
Before he could finish, the guard noticed blood seeping from the young man's left hand again. The guard was alarmed. "Young master, you—"
"Shut up."
Blood dripped onto the ground, but Zhong Jin didn't care. His voice was cold. "What else?"
"Sir called."
"Reject him. I'm not available."
"This…" The guard hesitated for a moment but then respectfully nodded. "Yes."
Zhong Jin entered a room and walked straight toward the bath.
It was a natural hot spring, something the people at the base had worked hard to install. However, this hot spring was unusual; it emitted cold air that froze everything inside the room, but the young man stepped into the icy pool without so much as a blink.
The blood that had seeped through the bandages dyed the water a large swath of crimson, like red spider lilies blooming on the surface.
He looked down at his left hand, which was wrapped in bandages, but the blood had already soaked through, and dark energy was swirling from the wound, clashing violently with the cold air from the pool, neither side willing to yield. In the end, the cold air began to overtake the dark energy.
But that was only temporary.
Tomorrow, the bleeding would continue.
"Young master!" In the stillness, the guard suddenly appeared and knelt on one knee. "Sir insists on speaking with you—"
Before the guard could finish, a man's face suddenly appeared on the wall of the cold pool. "I knew you'd be hiding here, you rascal."
It was the face of a middle-aged man, his eyes sharp, bearing some resemblance to Zhong Jin's aura, but the gray in his hair gave away his age.
From the moment the apocalypse erupted, the government had been on the verge of collapse. Now, twenty years into the apocalypse, there was no government left. However, the middle-aged man still wore a black military uniform, adorned with a row of honorary badges, as though it were his faith, something he put on every day, fighting for his beliefs and glory.
Zhong Jin wasn't surprised by the man's sudden appearance. His handsome face remained as cold as ever, showing no sign of surprise. He coldly ordered the guard, "Leave."
The guard responded, "Yes."
The apocalypse had destroyed the thousands of years of order humans had built, erasing all governments and replacing them with bases and mercenary groups.
Though zombies roamed the earth, humanity hadn't been without progress in the last twenty years. Scientists discovered that zombies could communicate through crystal nuclei. By extracting the nuclei from their brains, they had developed a communication device far more advanced than mobile phones. As long as both parties had nuclei of the same level, they could communicate and even see each other's faces.
Now, the middle-aged man could clearly see Zhong Jin's face in the cold pool, as well as the crimson-stained water. He sighed deeply, "Zhong Jin, are you dying?"
Zhong Jin turned his head away, too lazy to respond.
The middle-aged man didn't mind and continued talking to himself, his voice echoing through the cold pool with a hint of melancholy. "I promised your father I would take good care of you. I didn't expect you to die before me, you rascal."
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction at the young man's actions. "Why are you being so stubborn? Since you've found Su Man, let her use her powers to heal you, and then—"
"It's just a mere curse," Zhong Jin interrupted. His face was pale, too pale at this point.
His favoritism and affection for Su Man were no secret—it had been obvious from the very beginning. In fact, no one knew it better than the middle-aged man.
Zhong Jin would never allow Su Man to use her powers, especially since she was pregnant with his child now.
Powers were extremely unfriendly to pregnant women. During pregnancy, a woman's abilities would gradually disappear. No matter how strong a female ability user was before pregnancy, her powers would fade during this period. Because of this, many female ability users remained single, and over the twenty years of the apocalypse, the number of newborns had steadily decreased.
Even those lucky enough to retain their powers throughout pregnancy couldn't use them recklessly. When a woman nurtured new life inside her, her body changed, and so did her powers. Often, abilities didn't vanish entirely or get taken away; rather, they required an extended recovery period.
Once used, the next time danger struck, the powers might not be there anymore.
Zhong Jin would never allow Su Man to risk using her abilities on him.
But…
"Zhong Jin, Wei Luo's curse isn't something to take lightly."
The middle-aged man's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a grave expression. "You know better than anyone how many powerful ability users Wei Luo has killed with this psychic curse."
"Only Su Man's powers can save you. Wei Luo counted on you refusing to tell her, which is why he placed the psychic curse on you."
Zhong Jin's expression remained unchanged.
The young man was well aware of this.
He lowered his gaze to his left hand, the bandages wrapped around it had already been soaked by the water, some unraveling and falling away, revealing the true appearance of his hand.
It was, without a doubt, as exquisite as a work of art.
Fair, slender, with prominent knuckles. But unlike his right hand, Zhong Jin's left hand bore a tattoo.
A black tattoo that extended from the back of his hand all the way up to his shoulder.
It had been drawn by Su Man's own hands.
It was profoundly meaningful.
He still remembered how the little girl had drawn it, fighting back tears until her nose turned bright red.
His heart ached just watching her, and unable to bear it, he bent down and kissed her eyelids.
Su Man hadn't cried after that, but her cheeks and ears flushed a deep red, like a ripe strawberry, radiating sweetness. She looked so adorable.
That had been their first kiss.
It was also the day he confessed his feelings to Su Man.
The little girl blushed and accepted.
And then, they had been together ever since.
Wei Luo knew all of this.
He knew it too well, which was why he had placed the curse there.
Zhong Jin's eyes burned with fury.
"Sigh." The middle-aged man sighed heavily. "It's all my fault! I'm to blame. If I had known things would turn out like this, I never would have taken in Wei Luo and his sister."
"I just thought you two were so lonely, and Su Man needed a little girl her age to play with. When Wei Luo and his sister came along, it seemed perfect, so I took them in. Who would've thought that Wei Luo would do something like this!"
The middle-aged man rambled on, but the young man had no interest in listening any longer. "Godfather, what did you come here for?"
His godfather answered with complete sincerity, "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you were dead yet. Now that I see you're still alive, I can rest easy."
"…"
Zhong Jin had no desire to continue the conversation and ended the call without another word, his expression blank.
The cold pool returned to its usual stillness, icy mist climbing up the young man's shoulders. Water droplets dripped slowly down his arm, sliding off the intricate black tattoo.
Every line of the tattoo had been drawn by her.
But she had forgotten all of those memories.
She had forgotten him, too.
Now, whenever she looked at him, all he saw in her eyes was fear.
The night grew darker, the moon obscured by thick clouds. Yet Zhong Jin remained submerged in the freezing pool, motionless. It was unclear how much time had passed before he finally rose from the water.
His subordinates were waiting outside, offering him a bathrobe and towel.
Zhong Jin didn't rush to take them. Instead, he listened to the report they delivered. "Young Master, Wei Luo has woken up. He says he wants to see you."
The young man sneered, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He took the bathrobe, slipping it over his wet body. Water dripped from his collarbone, trailing down his chest, over his defined abs, and lower, sliding along the grooves of his V-line, disappearing into the shadows below.
"Is she asleep?"
"Yes, Young Master. Miss Su is asleep."
That was good.
As long as she was by his side, it was good.
But when had that stopped being enough for him?
It must have started the day they got together.
From that day on, all he wanted was for her eyes to see only him.
Humans were greedy.
He was no exception.
He wanted to possess everything about her—her gaze, her heart.
Zhong Jin recalled the fear in her eyes when she looked at him now.
Slowly, he began to turn the wedding ring on his finger.
Since Su Man didn't like the man he had become, he would become someone she did like.
If she didn't like bad men, then he would be a good man.
He would pretend to be a good man.
As long as it made her happy.