Chapter 96

Shi Mingyue held Yun Zhan's hand down, preventing her from moving, and sat on her hand, bobbing up and down.

Yun Zhan was somewhat taken aback by her actions.

Yun Zhan had just opened her lips, wanting to speak, but before she could exhale, Shi Mingyue's palm covered hers, cold and damp, with a barely perceptible tremor.

"Don't talk... I don't want to hear you talk right now."

Shi Mingyue looked at her coldly, her other hand supporting her ear. She leaned down, her bangs brushing against Yun Zhan's face, her breath rapid and hot, spraying onto his neck, causing a tingling sensation.

As Yun Zhan's gaze moved downwards, his heart suddenly tightened. Shi Mingyue's waist, wrapped in loose fabric, was so thin that it seemed as if it would break at the slightest touch. The little bit of soft flesh that could be felt before had long since disappeared, leaving only bony gnarles.

Her arms, hanging at her sides, were as thin as bamboo poles, and the jade bracelet on her wrist swayed precariously, as if it might slip off at any moment.

It hasn't been long, and she's become so thin...

Yun Zhan felt a sharp pain in her heart. She wanted to stop what she was doing, to reach out and hug her, to tell her the whole story. But as soon as she moved, Shi Mingyue tightened her grip and pressed her down onto the bed.

"Shi Mingyue, I..."

"Don't move!"

The words in her throat were tightly covered by a hand with thin calluses, the force so strong it almost embedded itself into her lips. Under the fingertips, one could clearly feel the trembling of Shi Mingyue's palm, like a withered leaf shivering in the cold wind.

Yun Zhan looked up and met a pair of frighteningly scarlet eyes.

Shi Mingyue's eyes were swollen like peaches soaked in water, with tear stains still hanging at the corners of her eyes. The moment she lowered her head, tears slid down her pale cheeks and landed on Yun Zhan's clothes, leaving a small wet patch.

"You've gone too far... Yun Zhan, you promised you'd stay and marry me, you liar!"

"I can never forgive your deception."

Shi Mingyue's breathing was heavy and rapid, spraying onto Yun Zhan's neck with a slightly uncontrolled heat. Each breath seemed to be squeezed out of his throat, mixed with a long-suppressed sob.

"you……"

Yun Zhan wanted to speak, but his voice was muffled by his lips, leaving only a faint whisper.

A wave of heartache washed over Yun Zhan, and he instinctively reached out to embrace the swaying body. But as soon as his fingertips touched Shi Mingyue's arm, her gaze suddenly changed.

"Don't think that... I'll forgive you just because you're making that face."

She doesn't need Yun Zhan to care about her like this now; she wants Yun Zhan... to be by her side for the rest of his life.

You must not leave her sight.

Shi Mingyue tightened her grip, her nails almost digging into Yun Zhan's lips.

The air was filled with her faint jasmine scent, mixed with a heavy sense of despair.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing...it breaks my heart to see you like this..."

Shi Mingyue's tears were still falling, landing on Yun Zhan's brow bone, but her eyes grew colder and more crazed: "I don't want your heartache... I want you to be unable to leave me."

The words were spoken softly yet harshly, a threat seemingly grinding between her teeth, yet the final syllable trembled slightly, revealing a fear hidden beneath the madness, a fear she herself was unwilling to acknowledge. The fear that this only person she held onto would, once again, drift away as easily as before.

The carved bed curtains swayed in the wind, casting dappled shadows.

Yun Zhan was pressed down on the bed by Shi Mingyue, his back against the cool brocade, but his heart was burning with anxiety.

Yun Zhan turned his head away, avoiding Shi Mingyue's approaching lips, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "Shi Mingyue, stop... your body is too weak, let me treat your body first..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shi Mingyue's fingers gripped his chin tightly, forcibly turning him back.

Shi Mingyue didn't hear a word he said. Her warm breath brushed against Yun Zhan's neck, with an almost obsessive focus.

Her kiss landed with a touch of fierceness, her teeth gently brushing against the delicate skin, leaving a reddish mark, like a flower stubbornly blooming in the snow.

Yun Zhan could feel a tingling and stinging sensation in his neck, and his hand, which he wanted to push away, was firmly pressed down by Shi Mingyue at his side.

"I don't want to hear this."

Shi Mingyue's voice was close to her ear, with a hint of sinister stickiness, like vines entwining a tree trunk: "I don't want you to be distracted at this time... Yun Zhan, I want your eyes to only have me."

The remaining sounds were drowned out by the deep curtains of the bed. The flickering candlelight cast overlapping shadows within the tent until the wick burned out, leaving only silence and lingering, ambiguous warmth in the room.

After an unknown amount of time, Shi Mingyue finally let go of her hand, leaned against the headboard, her chest heaving violently, and the stray hairs on her forehead were wet with sweat, sticking to her pale face.

Yun Zhan was also exhausted and his whole body was weak. The feeling of touching Shi Mingyue's bony shoulder bones still lingered on his fingertips. The pain and helplessness in his heart were intertwined. He could only look at the top of the tent and listen to the two of them breathing heavily, which slowly dissipated in the quiet night.

The sky outside the window was just beginning to brighten, and pale blue light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft halo around the bed.

The morning light at six o'clock still carried a bit of coolness, but Shi Mingyue had already quietly opened her eyes. Yun Zhan beside her was still fast asleep, his eyelashes fluttering and his breathing even.

She rose slowly, her movements as light as a feather, as if afraid of disturbing this dream.

"They're really back..."

"It's fairly trustworthy."

Shi Mingyue rubbed her temples, grabbed a large white shirt from the bedside, and slowly put it on.

The fabric hung loosely on her body, the neckline slipped down, revealing her beautifully shaped collarbone. On that fair skin, there were hickeys of varying depths, red marks intertwined with white skin, like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow, making her already slender neck appear even longer.

Shi Mingyue raised her hand to straighten her collar. When her fingertips traced the mark on her collarbone, she paused, her eyes darkened, and then she regained her composure.

As she turned around, Shi Mingyue's gaze fell on Yun Zhan's sleeping face.

His eyes were unfathomable, filled with greed, resentment, and a hint of barely perceptible fear, like a stone sunk in the deep sea, its true shape obscured.

Shi Mingyue stood by the bed and watched quietly for a long time until the birdsong outside the window came, then she slowly withdrew her gaze.

With her bare feet on the cold floor, Shi Mingyue walked to the bedside, bent down and picked up the chain from the floor.

The sound of metal clashing was exceptionally clear in the quiet room. She tightened her fingers, making sure that gap would no longer allow Yun Zhan to break free easily.

"The chains are all new, you can't break free... I'm sorry, don't blame me."

After doing all this, she straightened up and walked step by step toward the door.

The moment she opened the door, the morning light flooded in, casting a long shadow of her.

She didn't leave immediately, but turned back to look at Yun Zhan on the bed one last time. Then she raised her hand, and with a "click," the door lock closed, completely locking the tranquility of the room and the sleeping man within this small space.

Shi Mingyue pushed open the door, and the morning breeze brushed through her hair, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees.

The gloom that used to linger between her brows had mostly dissipated, and her steps were lighter than usual. Every step she took on the wooden floor of the corridor exuded a subtle sense of relaxation.

This was the only time in a long time that she slept so soundly, without even any disturbing fragments of dreams.

She raised her hand to straighten her slightly disheveled shirt collar. Just as she reached the stairwell, she saw Wen Yuan carrying a basin of water coming from around the corner.

When Wen Yuan saw her come out, she quickly stopped and said, "Miss, you're awake."

Shi Mingyue nodded slightly, her tone gentler than usual: "Go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare some light breakfast and bring it to my room."

She paused, glancing unconsciously towards the room, and added, "Remember to prepare an extra copy. I'll be going back to my room after I've met Father and Mother."

Wen Yuan was stunned. Wasn't Yun Zhan still unconscious? In the past, Miss usually ate alone and rarely asked the kitchen to prepare an extra portion.

Could it be that Yun Zhan has woken up?

Wen Yuan didn't dare ask any more questions, in case she didn't wake up... she was afraid of upsetting Shi Mingyue.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Shi Mingyue hummed in agreement, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the main hall.

The sunlight fell on her, bathing her slender figure in a warm glow. But no one noticed that her fingers, hanging by her side, curled up slightly, and deep in her eyes, a trace of unyielding obsession remained.

A gust of wind swept in as the wooden door was pushed open. Yun Zhan had just opened his eyes from his daze, his eyelashes still heavy with sleep. Hearing the sound, he instinctively looked up.

Shi Mingyue walked in, her shirt collar still loose, the hickeys on her neck faintly visible in the morning light, but her face no longer held the obsession of the previous night, only a calm coldness remained.

Yun Zhan's throat moved, her voice still hoarse from just waking up, carrying a hint of helpless timidity: "I'm sorry... I..." She wanted to talk about losing control last night, to say that she shouldn't have left her, but the words were blocked by Shi Mingyue's silence.

Shi Mingyue didn't even lift her eyelids. She walked straight to the bedside and put down the food plate. The porridge in the white porcelain bowl was still steaming, and the misty steam blurred her profile.

"Have a meal."

She uttered only two words, her tone devoid of any warmth, as if Yun Zhan's apology was merely a trivial breeze.

Yun Zhan clutched the bedsheet beneath her, her fingertips turning white. She wanted to say something more, but then she saw Shi Mingyue looking down at her, her eyes calm and still, like a frozen lake: "Just stay here obediently."

She paused, her fingertips tracing the edge of the plate, her voice still indifferent, "I can give you everything you want: money, clothes, jewelry, food... I'll take care of you."

"As for freedom...and other..."

Shi Mingyue raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Yun Zhan's wrists bound by chains, her tone leaving no room for negotiation: "Forget about it."

"Shi Mingyue... listen to me."

"I don't want to hear...at least not now...don't let me hear anything that makes me soften my heart."

As soon as she finished speaking, she bent down and picked up the chain by the bed. The metal buckle clicked open, and the cold touch faded from Yun Zhan's wrist.

Before Yun Zhan could react, Shi Mingyue had already straightened up, turned around and walked towards the door without stopping for a moment, leaving only a light sentence: "Leave it at the door when you're done eating, someone will come to collect it."

The wooden door closed again, leaving Yun Zhan alone sitting on the edge of the bed. The porridge in front of her was still steaming, but she felt cold all over. The lingering chill of the chains on her wrists felt like an invisible shackle, trapping her firmly in this small space.