Click the links or go to the menu to go to the shop.
When Lu Yixin poked her head out of the room, the living room had fallen into silence.
Fang Yongnian didn’t speak, and her mother didn’t speak either.
“Um…” After washing up, half of her face was swollen, her elbow was scraped, and her knees were skinned. She stood there in a cotton dress, timidly.
Fang Yongnian and Liu Miqing both looked at her at the same time, both frowning.
“I just wanted to confirm something…” She ran barefoot into the living room and squatted down in front of Fang Yongnian.
From the moment she came out, Fang Yongnian had been staring at her. When she approached, he directly reached out and brushed her hair aside to take a look.
“They even slapped you?” His voice was so cold it made people shiver.
Next to Lu Yixin’s ear, hidden under her long hair, was a clear five-finger mark.
“Do these people even have any sense of law left?” Liu Miqing rushed over immediately.
Before taking a bath, Lu Yixin had been too dirty. And while washing, her mother kept interrupting her, so she hadn’t noticed the mark at all.
“I don’t remember.” Lu Yixin answered perfunctorily. She avoided her mother’s hand that was trying to examine her face more closely, all her attention focused on Fang Yongnian’s legs.
She clearly remembered that when he went to the police station, he was wearing gray sweatpants.
Why was he wearing his usual suit trousers now?
“Is your receiving socket tilted?” she frowned.
She saw bloodstains on his pants. At first, she thought it was from the bottom of her own feet. But after bathing just now, she had checked them—only the skin had been scraped off a bit, and there was a faint red mark on her socks, nowhere near the extent she saw.
“Your hands are cold too.” She held Fang Yongnian’s hand.
His palms were usually warm, but now his fingers were icy, his palms had no warmth at all, even a bit damp.
“Are you having phantom limb pain?” Her brows furrowed even tighter.
“Take care of yourself first.” Fang Yongnian didn’t even dare to look at Liu Miqing’s expression. “I brought the medicine box. Disinfect your wounds and go to sleep.”
He stood up, feeling this place was no longer safe to stay in.
If he stayed, he would want to kiss her.
The whole night, he had been wanting to check where exactly she was hurt, whether she was scared, whether she dared to sleep alone.
But since her parents were here, he kept enduring.
Yet this girl, even under these circumstances, still noticed that his receiving socket was off, that he had changed out of the blood-stained sweatpants, that something about his body wasn’t right.
What she took out in the corridor that night was indeed her heart.
“I heard everything you said just now.” Lu Yixin still held his hand. “Yu Hanfeng’s pretty stingy, this house’s soundproofing isn’t good.”
It was her usual habit to derail the topic, but this time, Fang Yongnian realized she was just nervous.
“I actually never understood why you all keep thinking Fang Yongnian could’ve done better?” She looked at her mother, her eyes red.
Liu Miqing’s eyes were red too.
“He went through so many things, and he still chooses to be kind to those close to him. He still keeps the peace on the surface. He even works with my dad on pharmaceuticals. Why do you still think it’s not enough?”
This question might have been something she had wondered about for a long time, and when she finally asked it, her voice came out one after another, trembling.
Liu Miqing opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.
“I know, if he were just Fang Yongnian, you would already think he’s good enough.”
She still remembered every word her mother had ever said to praise Fang Yongnian—she remembered every single one of them.
“But because he’s with me, your expectations became higher.”
“But Mom, when you’re like this, I feel really sad.”
“I know the things you say are for my own good, because you think I haven’t experienced the things someone my age should experience, that it’s a pity.”
“But being with him, I am experiencing everything someone my age should experience.”
“Ever since I’ve been with him, I’ve been happy every single day.”
“The one under pressure has always been him. I don’t want the people closest to me to put more pressure on him too.”
“So many people already bully him. Why must you as well?” Her tears were on the verge of falling, but she bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry.
She had originally wanted to stay quietly in her room.
She knew Fang Yongnian would handle things well. When she heard him say that he had never refused her, she had secretly laughed for a long time.
He finally admitted it.
That stubborn, reserved man.
But then her mother said he was lifeless and weighed down by age.
After her mother said that, Fang Yongnian hadn’t spoken another word.
Then, alone in her room, her heart began to twist and ache bit by bit.
She started to understand the grievance Fang Yongnian had mentioned—that childish, defiant tone when he said he wanted success and recognition.
Fang Yongnian’s emotions, his joys and sorrows, were exactly the same as anyone else’s. Yet because of his exceptional talent and early fame, because he was forced to suffer misfortune, everyone decided he had changed.
Why couldn’t he change?
He didn’t rage against the heavens or curse the world. He didn’t wallow in self-pity. He had lost a leg, yet he never became a burden to anyone.
So why couldn’t he change?
The more she thought about it alone in her room, the angrier and more aggrieved she became—until she couldn’t help herself and opened the door.
She had planned to wait until her parents were asleep before sneaking over to Fang Yongnian’s place to check if something was wrong with his prosthetic limb, but now, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Anyway, my dad hasn’t come back yet.” She rubbed her eyes, stubbornly refusing to cry. “I’m going with Fang Yongnian to check on his leg. He bled a lot earlier, even changed his pants.”
“If you want to scold or hit me, wait until I get back. I’ll apologize then!” She said angrily, tugging Fang Yongnian toward the door. Halfway there, she turned back.
Liu Miqing was still standing in the same spot, motionless.
“Mom…” Her eyes were red. “The way I am now, it’s only because I’ve been spoiled by you and Dad.”
So please, don’t be sad anymore.
I want to protect Fang Yongnian.
So, for now, I can only see Fang Yongnian.
But you don’t have to be sad either.
Because if it weren’t for the love and indulgence you’ve given me, I wouldn’t have dared to be so reckless.
I love you.
It’s just that, at this very moment, Fang Yongnian needs me more.
୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧
Maybe it was because she was completely stunned by Lu Yixin’s bandit-like logic, or maybe she hadn’t yet processed what happened—but either way, Liu Miqing truly didn’t stop them.
Lu Yixin, like a valiant little warrior, held Fang Yongnian’s hand, confidently pressed the passcode, opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind them.
Then, like a balloon that had just been popped, she instantly deflated.
“My mom didn’t stop me!” She was terrified.
Fang Yongnian didn’t move.
Honestly, after everything she had just done, anyone else would be completely unsure how to respond.
She had said everything there was to say, what reaction could anyone even have left?
“Do you really have phantom limb pain?” Once she calmed down, she realized Fang Yongnian’s complexion was paler than usual.
He stood motionless in the entryway, still holding her hand as before.
To observe his expression, Lu Yixin nearly leaned her whole body against his.
He released her hand, clasped the back of her head, and without a word, kissed her.
This time, it was a deep kiss.
He had always been extremely gentle with her. Never before had his every movement carried such dominance.
The kind that belonged to a man toward a woman—driven by strength, by desire—entirely and unmistakably adult.
Lu Yixin was trapped between the wall and him, kissed until she was completely at a loss.
He kept shifting and biting at her lips, and when she whimpered in pain, he pressed deeper.
Lu Yixin, who had always only known things in theory, was completely stunned. She gave a muffled cry and stopped resisting.
A little short of breath, lightheaded and unsteady, her hands unconsciously hooked around his neck.
The places where she had been pulled and hit earlier still ached. Fang Yongnian had said someone had slapped her—and now, while kissing, she realized it was true.
When she opened her mouth, the pull at her ear made it hurt.
Aside from the pain, everything else was an overwhelming blur of man and woman.
She could hear Fang Yongnian’s breathing. She could feel his scent. His lips were soft, and there was a faint bitterness in his mouth.
Gradually, she felt the strength leaving her legs. Her whole body leaned against Fang Yongnian’s, her hands unconsciously clenched, and her breathing grew more and more rapid.
Too… adult.
She was drowsy and thoroughly satisfied.
When Fang Yongnian finally finished kissing her and let go, she grumbled displeasingly.
Fang Yongnian’s ear was completely flushed, and he reacted strongly to her little grunt.
He kissed her again, this time biting hard.
“Ow!” Lu Yixin whimpered, reaching out claws to scratch him.
Fang Yongnian released her, buried his head in the hollow of her neck, and laughed silently.
“Can kissing… cure phantom limb pain?” Lu Yixin felt Fang Yongnian’s hand start to warm.
If it could, that would be wonderful!
“No.” Fang Yongnian was still muffled against her neck, “But it can change blood circulation.”
Fortunately he had changed into suit trousers—if he’d been wearing sweatpants, this girl would probably have caught him on the spot.
Still not fully aware, Lu Yixin gave a silly little “oh.”
“Then did your leg really bleed?” She remembered the important matter.
“Mm.” Fang Yongnian did not hide it from her, “After the police station called, I almost hopped here on one leg.”
The fact that he could come wearing the prosthetic was already quite good.
So don’t get hung up on whether his socket was crooked, or whether his thigh bled.
Fang Yongnian’s answer oddly pleased Lu Yixin, she beamed like a silly girl for a long while and no longer wanted to cry.
“My mother only said those things because she wants to protect me.” Her racing mind soon found another worry, “Don’t be mad at her.”
“Your mother wasn’t wrong.” Fang Yongnian straightened slightly, “I am indeed lifeless and downcast.”
He really had no optimistic thoughts; after the car accident, aside from revenge, he lived day to day.
Lu Yixin wanted to wrinkle her nose but couldn’t because her face was swollen.
“You stopped being lifeless after you were with me.” She stood on tiptoe to poke Fang Yongnian’s ear, “When it turns red, you become a normal person.”
She used another odd metaphor, comparing his ear to Pinocchio’s nose.
“Sit over there, I’ll clean your wound.” He seemed pleased by her analogy and patted her head.
He could finally do what he had wanted to do all evening, check her wounds.
“Next time if you dash off like that I’ll seriously hit you.” The worst injury was still the hand; the left palm had a long cut from a stone.
“You think… when my father comes back, will I really get beaten?” Lu Yixin didn’t take Fang Yongnian’s threat seriously at all; after her brave display, she began to panic.
“I’m here.” Fang Yongnian solemnly helped apply hydrogen peroxide to Lu Yixin, and she didn’t cry out; his own brow twitched several times.
“We’re both disabled soldiers now…” Lu Yixin pointed out the obvious, “One goes, one fights; two go, both fight.”
Fang Yongnian sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yixin asked, curious.
“The mood changed too fast, I’m a little numb.” Fang Yongnian answered honestly.
Just a moment ago, he had still been worried that he wouldn’t be able to convince her parents.
The next moment, Lu Yixin, with the stance of a fiery female hero, had dragged him straight out of the room.
“So many things happened today.” The numb Fang Yongnian began to complain.
“Were your shoes not the right size?” he complained again, “That alley wasn’t even that long from one end to the other. How did you manage to lose both your shoes while running?”
“Turn your elbow up a bit, you can’t reach here.”
“…You’re not even twenty yet, how are your muscles so stiff?”
