In the dim lamplight, Shen Er lay quietly beside me, his eyes once again wrapped in white silk.
It was already early summer, and the weather was growing warm, but he rarely took the blindfold off around me anymore.
It was his shell, his defense, and more importantly, his primary source of security in the dark.
These days, he didn't dare mention the syllable Yuan around me at all. He had even reverted to carefully calling me "Wife."
A thorn had grown deep in my heart during our cold war—but he had also somehow managed to plant a flower there. He left me in a constant state of aching contradiction: swinging wildly between resentment and overwhelming pity.
I suddenly reached out, grabbed his hand resting on the quilt, and bit down hard on his knuckles.
Shen Er's brow furrowed slightly in pain. His thin lips parted, catching the lamplight with a tempting, damp sheen.
My heart seemed to lift straight into my throat. Holding my breath in the quiet room, I leaned down toward his mouth.
"Yuan... wife..." Before Shen Er could finish the awkward correction, I lowered my head and gently covered his lips with mine.
There was a faint, bitter-sweet taste of herbal medicine on his tongue.
What am I doing? Oh no!
My cheeks burned. I jerked back, fully intending to escape to the other side of the bed.
But Shen Er's arm banded suddenly around my waist, pulling me back down to steal another shallow, lingering kiss. "You kissed me," he murmured against my mouth. "That means you're not angry anymore, right?"
I glared down at his silk blindfold. "No, I'm definitely still angry."
Shen Er quickly patted my back, coaxing me softly like a fretful child. "I only like you. I swear it."
I sighed internally, not entirely believing him, but I made a quiet sound of agreement anyway.
"How exactly did your mother die?" I asked randomly. The thought had just surfaced—Shen Er's mother's death anniversary was approaching in a matter of days.
"She died to save me." Shen Er reached up and slowly removed the white silk. His eyes, clear as autumn water, blinked up into the dim room. "If my mother hadn't saved me that year, I wouldn't just be blind today. I would be dead."
I immediately reached out to cover his eyes, which were obviously unaccustomed to the sudden light. His long eyelashes brushed ticklishly against my palm, making my heart tremble with every fragile flutter. "Why?" I asked quietly.
Shen Er was silent for a long moment before he began to tell me the story.
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