Chapter 69

The warm embrace was the perfect antidote, wrapping itself around Jiang Chao’s freshly shattered heart. It wasn’t a fierce, stinging kind of painkiller; instead, it worked like spring rain, sinking in silently, without a trace.

The heater in the room kept humming. Even the heartbeat in her ear thudded loudly, beat by beat, but it was steady, healthy, and reassuring, soothing Jiang Chao’s frayed nerves in ways she herself hardly noticed.

Her cheek shifted slightly, brushing against the soft fabric. Jiang Chao rested her head on Sheng Huaixi’s shoulder, her fingertips unconsciously tugging at the cloth beneath her hand.

The fitted material drew tight, then slipped loose with a soft sigh.

The give and stretch of the fabric were uneven; when it snapped against Sheng Huaixi’s lower back, Jiang Chao’s lips tightened on instinct, and her eyes darted up furtively.

She couldn’t see the expression on Sheng Huaixi’s face.

But the hand that kept gently patting her back hadn’t changed at all, still soothing her with unhurried, steady strokes, calm and even.

Sheng Huaixi was focused entirely on comforting her; she wouldn’t mind.

With that thought, Jiang Chao resumed her earlier rhythm, idly worrying at the fabric over Sheng Huaixi’s waist as she slowly said, “When I came back, I heard something... about you......”

Her voice was thick from crying, carrying a muffled, nasal sound. Halfway through, Jiang Chao pressed her lips together and paused, turning to cough a few times before continuing.

Her nose was still stuffed, and Jiang Chao gave up on clearing her throat, letting her words drift out as if they were filled with helium, light and floating.

Hearing this, Sheng Huaixi’s hand on her back slid down along her spine as she blinked and asked softly, “Mm. Was that why you were so distracted you bumped into the door just now?”

The palm resting on her lower back was especially gentle, stroking slowly over and over. Sheng Huaixi narrowed her eyes, pleasure rippling quietly through her.

The person in her arms felt just right to hold; all the sharpness in her had been softened by tears. Cradled in her embrace, Jiang Chao was like a harmless, obedient marshmallow.

Every so often, Sheng Huaixi would tip her gaze down; when her lashes lifted, the pale pink skin in view looked even more like sweet softness dusted with strawberry cream.

The neck she could smell so clearly seemed even more vivid. Sheng Huaixi stared at the faint movement beneath that thin skin, at the blood flowing just under it, as if it might push the pale flesh upward and stretch it taut.

It was hard not to want to leave her own mark there.

Her throat bobbed once. Sheng Huaixi slowly looked away, grinding her chin deliberately against Jiang Chao’s shoulder as she repeated, “You were upset because of me?”

After a long silence, Jiang Chao gave a low mm. The answer was squeezed out of her throat, while her fingers still clutched at the fabric at Sheng Huaixi’s waist and her face remained buried at the other woman’s shoulder.

She only got that far before stopping. She didn’t want to say the rest. Her nose stung, and tears kept slipping out uncontrollably, leaving her cheeks damp.

“I heard them mention your name. At first I thought I’d heard wrong and was about to come back, but then I heard it a second time, and then......”

“I heard them talking about what happened to you six years ago.”

The moment the words fell, the smile in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes abruptly froze. In the instant surprise flashed there, the hand patting Jiang Chao’s back pressed down in sudden panic.

The space between their bodies shrank even further; they clung together so tightly it was as if Sheng Huaixi feared Jiang Chao might run.

The pressure at Jiang Chao’s lower back increased. She inhaled sharply and tried to look at Sheng Huaixi’s expression, but her body was pulled back even more firmly.

The heartbeat she had been listening to had suddenly gone chaotic, pounding messily against her ear.

Her lips parted. Before Jiang Chao could say anything, the arm around her waist moved again; her chin was tipped up and pressed back against Sheng Huaixi’s shoulder. She blinked in surprise and let out another small sound.

“Sheng Huaixi...?”

Sheng Huaixi’s hand tightened involuntarily. Fine veins rose on the back of her hand in thin blue ridges; beneath her tight breathing, her pupils darkened, and the storm churning within them slowly gathered.

“What.”

Her voice was soft, carrying a faint note of alarm.

Jiang Chao patted Sheng Huaixi’s lower back, soothing her with several light strokes in a row.

Blinking, with tears still clinging to her lashes and shimmering in the shifting light, Jiang Chao’s eyes were red-rimmed and flushed.

“I mean, I just heard people talking about what happened to you six years ago. Because I heard your name, I stayed to listen......”

Her voice after crying was thin and soft. Jiang Chao spoke gently, slowly, but every word came out clearly.

Their gazes were turned away from each other. Jiang Chao blinked quickly, suppressing the flickering emotions in her eyes.

She did not mention that the reason she had originally paid attention was because she had seen Li Yun.

By normal standards, Jiang Chao should not know Li Yun right now.

The pressure around her lower back tightened even more. Jiang Chao frowned and swallowed a muffled groan; the body under her hand had gone completely rigid.

After a moment, Sheng Huaixi’s voice grew hoarse as she asked softly, “You... heard what?”

Her words were light, but they sounded to Jiang Chao like a breeze; one gust and they would scatter into the air.

Jiang Chao’s hand slowed as she patted her back. Thinking for a long moment, she finally said, “Xu Jingwen.”

The body under her palm stiffened completely.

“Who...” Sheng Huaixi’s voice turned cold. It was the kind of cold that felt like spring itself was about to end, so cold it cracked at Jiang Chao’s heart.

The warm air from the heater was still flowing steadily around them. The room was so warm that the skin pressed together by their embrace had already turned red.

But Jiang Chao was certain that this chill in Sheng Huaixi’s voice couldn’t be dispelled.

The moment those three words fell, the heartbeat in Jiang Chao’s ear became more chaotic than ever, loud and clattering, drumming in a disorderly mess against her chest.

Sheng Huaixi was flustered. Sheng Huaixi was afraid. Sheng Huaixi was terrified......

Jiang Chao could clearly feel all of it.

From their tightly pressed embrace; from Sheng Huaixi’s panicked, disordered heartbeat; from the skin beneath her hand that had already begun to tremble uncontrollably—

Jiang Chao took in this moment with her whole body, feeling every ripple of Sheng Huaixi’s emotions.

This was the first time Sheng Huaixi had shown her this side of herself.

Jiang Chao lifted both arms and wrapped them around Sheng Huaixi’s waist, holding her tighter. Her gaze was steady and warm; her hand, warmed by Sheng Huaixi’s body heat, stroked her gently.

“You know I’ve always wanted to know what happened to you six years ago. I even went looking for Bai Xiangshu specifically because of it before, but I never got any clear answers.”

Her voice shifted, and moisture shimmered in Jiang Chao’s eyes as she let out a quiet sigh.

“Now I’ve accidentally learned something, but I still don’t feel like the fog’s lifted at all.”

Sheng Huaixi’s arm locked tighter. “What do you mean?”

Her wariness was exactly what Jiang Chao had expected. Jiang Chao shifted her body, wanting to find a more comfortable way to soothe her, but the moment she moved, Sheng Huaixi held her even more tightly.

With that small movement, their embrace had already become inseparable.

Moisture glimmered helplessly in Jiang Chao’s eyes. She lowered her gaze, pity flashing across it, and continued speaking in this slightly awkward position.

“I know what Xu Jingwen and the others did to you, and I also know what happened to you after that. That’s enough for me, I......”

“Will you abandon me?”

Sheng Huaixi’s words cut off Jiang Chao’s explanation, stopping all the emotions that were about to follow.

Below Jiang Chao’s neck, a pair of pitch-black eyes slowly peered out from over her shoulder, dark as ink.

Sheng Huaixi repeated herself.

“Jiang Chao, will you abandon me like that?”

Wait......

Jiang Chao’s brows knit tightly. Had she and Sheng Huaixi misunderstood each other again?