Chapter 155

Xiahou Yu looked at Yingyue, and a deep disappointment washed over him. Then, his voice low, he asked, “Yingyue, do you know why Arthur started racing again? Do you know why he crashed?”

As he spoke, a faint red tinge crept into his eyes. “Because of you. Because you abandoned him. Even after regaining all your memories, you still abandoned him. He said that ever since he met you, you were the only thing he’d ever truly treasured in his life. If even you no longer cared whether he lived or died, what reason did he have to care?”

The more Xiahou Yu said, the more agitated he became. At last, he stopped, struggling to regain control of himself. Then he looked at Yingyue’s calm face and continued, his voice quiet again. “He said he’d been poisoned by you for life. Since you don’t want to cure him, then let it be. This way… perhaps this is for the best.”

With that, Xiahou Yu turned and left without looking back.

After he was gone, a single drop of bright red fell onto the grass beside Yingyue.

In the dead of night, a soft footfall echoed through the empty hospital corridor, lending the darkness an eerie quality. No one noticed the sound. The footsteps drew closer and closer, then stopped outside a patient’s room. A slight figure stood at the door but did not enter at once, as though unsure whether to go in.

After a while, a sigh escaped—so faint it was almost inaudible, full of helplessness. A slender hand finally closed around the doorknob and turned it gently. As the wooden door swung open, the small figure slipped inside and quietly came to a stop beside the bed.

A patch of shadow fell across the patient. His golden hair, once bright as sunlight, now looked dull and lifeless. His fair cheeks, usually touched with a rosy hue, had turned a sickly white. His rose-colored lips were now bloodless, and a transparent oxygen mask covered half his face. Though he looked utterly worn, nothing could conceal his breathtaking beauty.

“Arthur, you win,” said a clear female voice, tinged with exhaustion, in the stillness of the room.

The visitor was Yingyue.

She slowly sat down beside Arthur’s bed, then gently stroked his pale face with her right hand. Her touch seemed at once cold and tender. Her voice was soft as she said, “From the moment I first saw you—from the moment I looked into those sky-blue eyes—I knew that for the rest of my life, I would be entangled with you. We would be bound to each other for all our days.”

Yingyue gazed at Arthur’s sleeping face, her eyes gentle yet strangely vacant. She smiled faintly. “Heh. Only now do I realize that from the very beginning, our meeting seemed to be about tormenting each other. And the more we hurt each other, the more tightly we clung on, unwilling to let go. All it did was leave us more deeply wounded, in more pain. And yet, caught in this tangle, our love grew deeper too.” She tilted her head and looked at him, bewilderment in her eyes. “Tell me, why is that?”

No one answered her question. The only reply was the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Perhaps that was enough to remind Yingyue that she was not talking to herself—that someone was there, listening to what was in her heart.

“Arthur, you know. You’ve always known. Even if I say now that I never want to see you again, you know that in the end, you still have a place in my heart. You know that when I said we were over, your heart was breaking—and mine was no less at ease. I was hurting right along with you! You know perfectly well that after everything that’s happened, it’s impossible for us to go back to the way things were. And yet you still did this. To force me to choose. To make me come back to you. To make me understand my own heart—you were willing to lie quietly here and gamble with your life, just so I would come see you, so I would look at you in this ‘pitiful’ state and feel sorry for you?”

Yingyue’s gaze was no longer calm. A hint of madness crept into it. “Ha, ha, ha! Get up! Isn’t this what you wanted? For me to come see you? For me to change my mind? For me to return to your side?”

As she spoke, her eyes grew moist. Her voice rang out, hollow and clear. “What is this supposed to be? You’re lying here like a mummy. Do you expect me to come back to you and spend the rest of my life as a widow?”

A flash of violet crossed Yingyue’s eyes as she looked at Arthur’s sleeping face. “Dream on. If—if you don’t wake up, I won’t stay by your side. I’ll forget you. I’ll marry someone who loves me, and we’ll live happily together. You’ll no longer have any place in my life.”

She paused, raised a hand, and wiped away the glistening tear at the corner of her eye. “Have you made up your mind? Are you going to keep sleeping?”

After that, Yingyue said nothing more. She simply gazed at Arthur for a while, then turned and left.

At the moment she turned away, Arthur’s fingers twitched faintly, and a glistening tear slipped from the corner of his tightly shut eye.

Then the room fell silent once more, as though no one had ever been there.

The next day, in the garden behind Waterlily Manor, Yingyue watered the flowers at her leisure, a peaceful smile on her lips.

Behind a white marble Roman pillar, three heads of white hair were huddled together. A conversation drifted over.

“What do you think has gotten into that girl, Xiaoxiao? Her mood’s been changing like the weather these past few days—bright one moment, gloomy the next. Every time it changes, my heart jumps along with it.”

“Master, I really don’t think the young miss is herself. A few days ago, when she looked so troubled, we could at least guess she was upset about young Mr. Rivers. But then, all of a sudden, she’s in such a good mood. It’s truly baffling,” another voice said.

“Come now, the two of you needn’t fret over nothing. If you’d never been in love, then I could understand you getting worked up. But you were both married for love, back when you were young. Especially you, Xuanjing—you had a passionate romance of your own. Surely you understand how complicated these things can be? When it comes to matters of the heart, the person involved has to find her own way through it. All the worry in the world won’t help!”

“Oh? Lianming, I never knew you had such insight!” Xuanjing teased. “If I hadn’t known you all these years, I’d have taken you for an expert on love. Tell me, did you fall for your wife on your own, or did your family arrange the match?”

“Yes, Lianming, go on and tell us. Honestly, I’ve wondered about it my whole life. Just give us a straight answer!” Shen Shuyi said bluntly, with an air of utmost seriousness. Beside him, Xuanjing tried hard to suppress his laughter, but the flush in his cheeks gave him away.

At that, Gongyang Lianming’s old face turned red. Looking embarrassed, then a little indignant, he said, “Hey, weren’t we talking about Xiaoxiao? How did I become the subject?”

The other two froze, then hurriedly turned to look at the lovely girl watering the flowers. Alas, among the bright blossoms and green leaves, there was no sign of her.

Xuanjing immediately turned to Gongyang Lianming and complained, “It’s all your fault, you old coot! We’ve lost track of her!”

Gongyang Lianming bristled, his beard seeming to twitch. He had none of his usual sage-like composure as he protested angrily, “How can you blame me? You’re the one who changed the subject. You were the one who got distracted and lost sight of her. Why should I take all the blame?”

Xuanjing knew he had a point, so he turned to Shen Shuyi, crouching beside him, and complained, “Shuyi, you’re no better. You saw me talking with Lianming, but you didn’t help keep an eye on the girl. You even joined in teasing him. And now look—we’ve lost her!”

Shen Shuyi felt wronged. The old master always had a way of shifting the blame onto someone else. Honestly! He said nothing, but the fixed stare he gave Xuanjing soon made the latter, who had been so self-righteous a moment ago, lower his head in embarrassment.

“Grandpas, why are you crouching here? Practicing your horse stance?”

A sweet female voice, edged with quiet laughter, sounded beside Xuanjing and the others. The three men beneath the pillar froze in unison. For a moment, not a sound stirred. Yingyue did not rush to speak.

“I suppose they are,” came a teasing male voice from behind her. “After all, now that someone’s here, they can’t do anything too strenuous. But they can’t let themselves grow weak, either. A horse stance is good exercise and doesn’t take too much effort, so the three of them must have agreed to work out together.”

The man walked over to them.

Yingyue turned to him with a smile. “Brother, you’re back.”

“Mm. I’m back.” Shilei smiled and patted the top of her head.

“You brat! Where did you learn your manners? Is that any way to speak to your elders?” Xuanjing sprang to his feet and turned around, once again launching into Shilei like a machine gun. The other two stood as well, coming back to themselves, though neither said a word.

Shilei raised an eyebrow. A glimmer of amusement crossed his violet eyes as he feigned surprise. “Oh? Grandpa, weren’t you exercising just now? Then what were you—”

Xuanjing stole a guilty glance at Yingyue and fell silent.

“Ha, ha, ha!” Shilei burst out laughing. Seeing that his grandfather was about to lose his temper, he immediately took Yingyue by the hand and led her away, ignoring the indignant scolding that rang out behind them.

As they walked farther from the three old men, Yingyue still wore a smile. What adorable grandpas!

But then Shilei spoke, and all trace of laughter left his voice. He was serious now.

“Xiaoxiao, Arthur has woken up.”