6:30 pm

Jun Zixuan glanced at the time before looking towards the kitchen. She has been washing the dishes for more than one hour already.

He glanced at the headlines regarding worsening weather conditions before switching off the T.V.

He glanced towards the kitchen, thinking whether he should go to check on her or not.

He turned around walked towards the staircase but he paused in his tracks…

In the end, he made his way towards the kitchen.

“You….” He stood rooted to the spot as he looked at the scene that greeted him.

Yu Mei was lying on the floor, motionless. 

She was holding her phone in her left hand while her right hand was covered in soap lather.

He squatted beside her before holding her arm, “Hey, what happened to you?” He shook her a little but there was no response except for her heavy breathing.

Her face was slightly red.

Frowning, he put his hand on her forehead and he could feel his hand burning under her body temperature.

Without wasting another second, he pulled her closer before carrying her in a princess carry.

As he ascended the staircase, he walked towards her room but there a pin required for the door to open.

“I’m not carrying you again…Fatty,” He murmured before walking towards his room.

“Uhh…No…Don’t..” The woman’s hoarse voice sounded beside his ear as he put her on his bed.

“You’re awake…” He paused as he glanced at her face.

The woman was talking unconsciously.

He tried to call his doctor but the call didn’t go through.

Looking at the weather conditions, no hospitals would be available at this time.

He brought a wet towel from the bathroom before sitting beside her. He wiped her face and neck with it.

Her mouth parted slightly as she tried to speak something…

“Do you need something?” He patted her cheek.

“Ji…” As the woman spoke some gibberish, he lowered his trying to listen to what was she trying to say, “Ji-Jian Yu, where are you…?”    

He pursed his lips and threw the towel to the floor. A leopard will change its spot but this woman won’t.

He must be crazy to be concerned about her.

He stood up from the bed but just as he took a step, she grabbed his fingers, lightly tugging them.

He turned around to look at her. Her face was stained with tears as she sobbed silently. Not even a single noise escaped her lips but her breathing was uneven.

“Do you want to die?” He flicked her forehead before sitting beside her.

But the woman tightened her grip around his hand as she cried loudly while mumbling some incoherent words.

Is she having a nightmare? He patted her head, “You…It’s fine… Stop crying,” His tone was a little awkward as he tried to coax her.

As he kept patting her head, she slowly stopped crying but still, tears spilled from the corner of her eyes.

Her mouth was moving as she mumbled something and he lowered his head again…”It…It is so tough.. I don’t want to be here….” She muttered while constantly shaking her head, “Jun Zixuan, y-you bully…you’re a devil…”

He stilled before looking at the woman’s face with narrowed eyes.

When he sent her the marriage offer through his people and even after their marriage, he never once talked to her.

And he made sure that she never got to know about his name or identity. But it seems like he did not mishear it last time. She knew his name…

His gaze landed on the phone that she was tightly gripping in her hand.

….

“Ahhh….” She groaned as she opened her eyes, feeling a splitting headache.

The surroundings were so dark that she could not see anything around her. She raised her hand but it was not visible to her. 

When she died for the first time, she had found herself standing in the same kind of dark place.

“No…No…It’s impossible…right..this can’t be…” There was a tremble in her voice as she clenched her fists. Right. She remembered she was with him…Where was he…? “Zixuan….Zixuan…where are you?” Tears stung her eyes as she desperately reached out her hand to look out for me.

She felt so exhausted, her head was fuzzy but she did not stop shouting even until her voice became hoarse.

“What are you shouting for?” Jun Zixuan entered the room with a candle stand in his hand.

She stiffened. Slowly sitting up on the bed, she tried to blink away her tears, she glanced at him, wanting to take a good look at the man.

Setting the candle stand on the coffee table near the couch, he walked towards the bed, “Are you alright? Did you…”

Not giving him a chance to finish, she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly burrowing her face in his body. Stifled sobs escaped from her mouth as she continued hugging as if her life depended on it, “Zi-Zixuan..I thought…” 

An unreadable expression in his eyes as he raised his hand to pat her head. “It’s fine. I am here…” he coaxed.

After a few minutes, she finally calmed down and the realization dawned on her. She was hugging him. She was hugging Jun Zixuan.

She sniffed. Her grip on his slowly loosened as she distanced herself from him.

She glanced at the ceiling and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “I… I am sorry. I didn’t mean to do that…” Her hoarse voice sounded a bit awkward.

When she woke up, she was muddleheaded for whatever reasons. And finding herself in the dark room, the first thought that came to her mind was that she was dead. 

The thought of it scared her. Before she was reborn in this body, she remembered wandering around in that dark place. Even taking a step was difficult there…

But finding Jun Zixuan standing in front of her brought relief to her heart. 

The same man whom she didn’t want to see suddenly made her feel so safe and protected. She could barely contain her emotions when she pounced but right now, she only felt one thing.

Awkward.

A hell lot of awkwardness.

Just imagine yourself pouncing on the same person with whom you are fighting all day long… Yu Mei sighed. What did she do to deserve such a messy life?