The rain started pouring down following the sound of thunder.

Thunder and rain raged, and strong winds lashed against the windows.

It emitted a terrifying "whooshing" sound.

Xu Chengzhi and Lin Yang each sat on one side of the bed, still wearing their wedding dresses and suits.

"Ahem, I'm going to take a shower first." Lin Yang cleared her throat awkwardly and pointed to the bathroom behind her.

"Hmm." Xu Chengzhi responded in a muffled voice, his head buried in the shadows, his expression unreadable, but his body was trembling slightly.

Lin Yang bent down and rummaged through the closet, looking for her pajamas.

A deafening clap of thunder echoed outside the French windows.

In a flash, a dark shadow streaked past, too fast to see clearly.

Then a pair of hands wrapped around Lin Yang's waist.

I could clearly feel the person hugging me from behind trembling.

The shaking was so severe that Lin Yang's body was also trembling.

"Don't be afraid." Lin Yang placed the hand that was looking for clothes over the hands that were wrapped around her waist and patted them gently to comfort her.

Lin Yang looked out the window; the rain showed no signs of letting up.

She realized she wouldn't be able to take a shower tonight.

Let me first reassure the person behind me that they're asleep.

"Yangyang." The person behind her called out to her.

“I’m here,” she replied.

"Will you always be here?" Under the stormy night that Xu Chengzhi feared, he felt a huge hole in his heart, which needed a constant sense of security to fill.

That sense of security came entirely from Lin Yang.

"I will, I will." Lin Yang gently stroked Xu Chengzhi's ring finger, which was adorned with a ring, to soothe his anxious heart.

Verbal promises can only patch up that huge hole a little bit.

What Xu Chengzhi wanted was concrete action.

"What...what are you doing?" Lin Yang felt a wet sensation on her neck.

She instinctively reached out to push him.

"Don't push me away, okay? Yangyang." Xu Chengzhi stopped his unrestrained actions and rested his chin on Lin Yang's collarbone.

For some reason, Lin Yang seemed to be bewitched. Sensing that Xu Chengzhi was still trembling with fear, she stopped pushing him.

"Boom—Boom—" Two large bolts of lightning struck in quick succession.

Lin Yang and Xu Chengzhi were no longer standing; they had somehow moved to the couch.

Xu Chengzhi's body was still trembling, but he found something to distract himself.

A wonderful thing.

"I haven't showered." Lin Yang was still struggling with her mental defenses when she spoke up, interrupting Xu Chengzhi's hand as he reached for the zipper on her back.

"It's okay, I don't mind that you're dirty." Xu Chengzhi said nonchalantly, adding, "Anyway, you'll have to wash later."

As the zipper was pulled down, Lin Yang nervously grabbed his hand again, "I...I've started my period."

"Yangyang, I know you're lying to me." Xu Chengzhi chuckled softly, pulling his hand away from hers and continuing.

Lin Yang's body stiffened with tension, her eyes shifting between resistance and dazedness.

Xu Chengzhi noticed this and paused his actions. "Yangyang, if you don't want to, just say 'I love you,' and I won't force you."

Without hesitation, she answered, "I love you!"

Xu Chengzhi chuckled triumphantly, then leaned close to Lin Yang's ear and whispered, "I love you too."

...

Eventually, things spiraled out of control, from darkness to dawn, from thunder and lightning to the clearing of the clouds and the appearance of the sun.

It never stopped.

During this time, Xu Chengzhi's body did not tremble even once.

Lin Yang endured the pain and asked him, "Are you faking it?"

"Boom—" The thunder outside the window was louder than usual.

He still had a smile on his lips, and his body was visibly steady. "With you here, I'm not afraid of anything."

Oh shit!

She really got tricked!

Pretending to be weak and scared is just waiting for her to jump into the trap, isn't it?

Was that time in the cave also a fake?

He was never afraid?

What about that dream?

Is it fake too?

A barrage of questions exploded in her mind, and she drifted off into a daze.

Xu Chengzhi, dissatisfied, quickened his pace, going from shallow to deep, and buried his head in Lin Yang's ear, trying to bring her back to her senses.

"Yangyang, concentrate."