Chapter 73

The ripples on the water’s surface were faint and even. Jiang Chao sat quietly at the edge, the thin black strap looped loosely over her shoulder against her pale skin.

Beneath the water, her fingertips pressed restlessly together; her sharp nails traced slowly over her fingertips, again and again.

With her arms wrapped around her knees, Jiang Chao watched Sheng Huaixi through the hazy veil of steam.

Sheng Huaixi’s long hair had been loosely pinned back, leaving that refined, cool, porcelain-white face flushed by the heat of the spring. Her black lashes hung low; she looked completely drenched.

Immersed in the hot water, she should have seemed warm, but Sheng Huaixi kept her head bowed, her whole body giving off a listless air. She was like the rainy season in the southwest: wet, dark, and chilled through with a damp wind that seemed to gnaw at the bones.

The hot water wrapped around her with softness and warmth, yet Jiang Chao still couldn’t feel the coldness on Sheng Huaixi’s face fade.

No. Jiang Chao quietly looked away and revised her earlier thought. What clung to Sheng Huaixi now wasn’t coldness; it was emptiness.

Emptiness born from being so deeply trapped in what had happened six years ago that she had no room left to care about the present.

Her body was here in the water, but her soul had no idea where it had gone.

Six years ago... six years ago... what exactly had happened six years ago to make Sheng Huaixi end up like this?

Jiang Chao had clearly learned about it from Li Yun, and yet, looking at the silence in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes, she only felt more lost.

She knew, and yet it was as if she knew nothing at all. The only thing she knew for certain was that Sheng Huaixi had a severe stress reaction to it.

“Sheng Huaixi,” Jiang Chao called softly.

Her wrist moved through the water, drawing a bright, glimmering line; pale and reflective.

“Mm?”

The person who had been lost in her own world slowly lifted her head. Sheng Huaixi blinked, and for an instant Jiang Chao thought she saw a bead of water slide down Sheng Huaixi’s long lashes and vanish into the pool.

Cupping a handful of clear spring water, Jiang Chao curved her lips into a smile and playfully flicked it toward Sheng Huaixi’s shoulder. The droplets arced through the air, coming together and then scattering apart again.

Water splashed everywhere.

Sheng Huaixi raised a hand and caught a few drops in her palm. Round and luminous, they clung there as her long lashes lifted, meeting the smile that had quietly bloomed on Jiang Chao’s face. The spring water rippled between them, and Jiang Chao smiled with careful tenderness.

“Sheng Huaixi, relax a little.”

Jiang Chao stirred the water, breaking its stillness. Waves rolled one after another toward Sheng Huaixi’s body, disturbing the calm around her.

“You’re not afraid of them now. And...” Jiang Chao turned the words over once on her tongue. Meeting Sheng Huaixi’s gaze, she lowered her voice. “Now you have me.”

Six years ago, Sheng Huaixi had been alone. But now Jiang Chao was with her.

No matter what those people wanted to do to Sheng Huaixi again, Jiang Chao wouldn’t leave. She would stay with her and get through it together.

Whether it was wind and rain or mud and mire, whether she was drenched or knocked down, Jiang Chao would remain by Sheng Huaixi’s side. And if she could, she would hold an umbrella over her and clear away the filthy mud before it could stain her.

If possible, Jiang Chao would protect Sheng Huaixi without hesitation.

Amid the soft sounds of the water being stirred, Sheng Huaixi fixed her eyes on Jiang Chao’s gaze. It shone like crystal, clear and unwaveringly resolute.

That steady, direct look seemed to offer her something like a promise.

The unease in Sheng Huaixi’s heart began to collapse without a sound.

Yes. The person she had waited for, the person she had searched for, was right beside her now. She had succeeded, hadn’t she? Everything before this was already over...

“Yes, you’re here.”

Sheng Huaixi loosened her hand; the few beads of water in her palm slipped away with a splash.

Her pale wrist rose above the water and rested between them. Looking at Jiang Chao, she gave a slight shake, the corners of her eyes filled with a smile as the gathering black clouds quietly dispersed.

“Hold me.”

Jiang Chao blinked. Their two wet palms clasped tightly together, every knuckle slick with water. When their hands locked, the droplets clinging to them seemed to merge into one.

Sheng Huaixi’s brows drew together in dissatisfaction. She separated Jiang Chao’s fingers one by one, aligned the bases of their palms, then threaded their fingers together without the slightest hesitation and held on tight.

“Don’t ever leave me again, Jiang Chao.”

Sheng Huaixi’s gaze was fixed on Jiang Chao’s face. When her voice came out, the suppressed hoarseness carried a stubborn certainty.

It was not a plea, nor a hope; it was a declaration.

Jiang Chao could not leave Sheng Huaixi again.

Six years, and then another six years; Sheng Huaixi didn’t have that many sixes left to spend waiting in numb silence for Jiang Chao to appear whenever she might.

The string pulled tight in her chest had already been stretched to its limit. All it needed was for someone to pluck it hard, and perhaps it would snap completely.

And if that someone was Jiang Chao... Sheng Huaixi thought it might only take the lightest touch.

Sheng Huaixi stared at Jiang Chao, her fingertips brushing over the back of Jiang Chao’s hand again and again. The warm water completely wrapped around their wrists; even the slightest movement could be felt clearly.

“Sheng Huaixi, after we go back this time, I need to make a trip back to England.”

The hand at her wrist suddenly stiffened.

Hearing Jiang Chao’s abrupt words, Sheng Huaixi’s fingers tightened involuntarily, squeezing until it hurt.

“What did you say?”

Sheng Huaixi spoke softly, but the darkness in her eyes spread thick and fast. She slowly sat up, pushing through the water as she moved closer to Jiang Chao.