"Mu Qi, your hand is injured, don't fidget so much. At worst... at worst, I'll just climb up myself."
Yun Shulian, sitting on Mu Qi's lap, looked up at him with a sweet smile, but her eyes held no mirth.
"Mm," Mu Qi responded, raising his hand to pick up a pile of shrimp and peel them for Yun Shulian.
Mu Qi fed her bite by bite, and Yun Shulian ate mouthful by mouthful.
A moment later, Mu Qi stopped. Yun Shulian, with her mouth open, waiting for the next bite, watched in disbelief as the pork rib she thought was meant for her went into Mu Qi's mouth. She stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Mu Qi, why did you stop feeding me?"
"Nian Nian, you're full," Mu Qi said, placing his hand on Yun Shulian's stomach with a serious expression.
"Really?" Yun Shulian didn't believe him and felt her stomach. Only then did she realize she was indeed full.
"Oh, so that's how it is."
After coming to this conclusion, Yun Shulian stayed obediently on Mu Qi's lap, lost in thought.
To say she was lost in thought was inaccurate. She was still contemplating how to tell Mu Qi that Ling Xue was already dead, killed by her.
Yun Shulian wanted to completely sever Mu Qi's lingering thoughts of Ling Xue. But Mu Qi had finally found some peace, and Yun Shulian didn't want to provoke him further.
Yun Shulian spent the entire day in such a state of conflict.
Throughout the day, Zhang Sao kept analyzing the complex love-hate relationship between Yun Shulian and Mu Qi.
As night fell, under Yun Shulian's various coaxing tactics, Mu Qi refused to close his eyes.
Finally, out of options, Yun Shulian resorted to the familiar handcuffs, binding herself and Mu Qi together.
Mu Qi, holding the key Yun Shulian had given him, finally closed his eyes with satisfaction.
While Mu Qi found peace, Yun Shulian, still caught in her internal struggle, couldn't sleep at all.
She wanted to speak, but she was afraid.
It wasn't until beads of sweat appeared on Mu Qi's forehead again, and he began to utter the two words Yun Shulian dreaded the most.
Yun Shulian's face grew somber. She bit down on Mu Qi's neck repeatedly until he finally woke up.
"Mu Qi, Ling Xue is dead. I killed her."
The moment Mu Qi's eyes opened, Yun Shulian blurted out the words she had repeated countless times in her heart.
Mu Qi pulled Yun Shulian into his embrace, remaining silent.
"Mu Qi, did you hear what I said?"
"I said I killed her." Yun Shulian furrowed her brows, confused by Mu Qi's reaction.
"Nian Nian."
"Nian Nian didn't leave."
Mu Qi simply repeated these two sentences. No matter how many times Yun Shulian told him about Ling Xue's "demise," Mu Qi remained stubbornly unresponsive.
After an unknown period, both of them fell silent.
After another unknown amount of time, Yun Shulian spoke again: "Mu Qi, Ling Xue is dead. I killed her."
When Yun Shulian uttered these words this time, the initial cruelty and coldness were gone, replaced by a sense of resignation.
"Mm, Nian Nian, are you scared? Do you need me to have Shan Gong handle it?"
Yun Shulian paused, pursed her lips, and her eyes flickered before she continued, "No need, she's already been turned to ashes."
"Mm, Nian Nian did very well," Mu Qi said, stroking Yun Shulian's head. Yun Shulian felt no discernible emotion from him. (Soudan Novel Network)
"Mu Qi, do you not believe me?" Yun Shulian frowned. Mu Qi's indifference felt like hitting a pillow.
Mu Qi:?
Mu Qi: "Of course, I believe you."
Yun Shulian bit her lip, dissatisfied with Mu Qi's response.
"Ling Xue is dead. Aren't you sad?"
Mu Qi looked at Yun Shulian with confusion, "Should I be sad?"
Yun Shulian bit her lip harder. "Mu Qi, do you know you talk in your sleep every night?"
As Yun Shulian finished speaking, Mu Qi finally reacted.
The hand on Yun Shulian's waist tightened instantly. Mu Qi rested his chin on the top of Yun Shulian's fluffy hair, his entire body tensing up, which made Yun Shulian uncomfortable. However, she was too preoccupied to mind the physical discomfort.
"Mu Qi, you say 'divorce' every night."
After Yun Shulian's words, Mu Qi's tension intensified.
Only upon hearing Yun Shulian's next sentence did he slightly relax.
"You tell me, besides Ling Xue, who else would it be for?"
"No one. Nian Nian isn't anyone else. It's you who says 'divorce'."
Yun Shulian pondered for a moment before asking with uncertainty, "Are you saying you dream that I'm divorcing you?"
"Mm," Mu Qi's voice was soft, his demeanor resistant. Clearly, he didn't want to discuss those nightmares with Yun Shulian.
Yun Shulian asked incredulously, "How could you have such a dream?"
It was unrealistic, utterly impossible.
Mu Qi: "Nian Nian, do you love me?"
Before Yun Shulian could fully process her thoughts, Mu Qi's question caught her off guard.
"I love you."
The nightmares that had been unsettling Mu Qi were finally voiced, and once they began, they didn't stop. "Then, Nian Nian, will you fall in love with someone else?"
"No," Yun Shulian, still groggy, replied with her usual sincerity.
"Will Nian Nian love me forever?" Mu Qi asked, one question after another, constantly seeking reassurance of Yun Shulian's love for him.
"Yes."
Receiving Yun Shulian's affirmation, Mu Qi relaxed briefly, nuzzling his chin against her fluffy forehead.
Time passed slowly. Mu Qi fell asleep again, but Yun Shulian's eyes remained open, her mind replaying the events, trying to pinpoint what was wrong.
Was everything really as Mu Qi claimed?
Was the dagger Mu Qi plunged into her heart because of Ling Xue truly just a too-realistic dream?
Yun Shulian posed these questions to herself, but quickly dismissed the self-interrogation.
No, it wasn't a dream.
Yun Shulian turned her head to look at Mu Qi's sleeping face.
But then why was Mu Qi's dependence on her equally real?
Unable to figure it out, Yun Shulian stopped thinking.
After all, Mu Qi was by her side now.
With that thought, Yun Shulian snuggled closer to Mu Qi, resting her chin in the crook of his neck, and closed her eyes.
The moon slowly descended, and the sun gradually rose. This night passed.
The next morning, Zhang Sao was preparing Yun Shulian's favorite orange juice when the doorbell suddenly rang.