Fu Lian's casual remark made Wen Baozhu's hair stand on end instantly.
The scenes in the dream were terrifying enough, let alone such things really happening in reality.
Wen Baozhu was truly frightened, and her eyes were in a daze for a moment.
"So, you're scared now?"
Fu Lian stared at her with a dark and unfathomable look in his eyes. "When you ran away, why didn't you think that I would find a way to punish you?"
He got up from the chair and walked towards the bed.
Stopping beside the bed, the man reached out his big hand and gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand.
Wen Baozhu closed her eyes in a panic and slowly opened them after a long while. Only then did she realize that he was just checking her temperature.
Not slapping or pinching her.
He lowered his eyes, taking in her reaction, and curled his lips. "Thought I'd hit you?"
Wen Baozhu remained silent.
He let out a mocking laugh, as if finding it absurd. "Do you think I would beat you?"
He admitted that he had indeed laid hands on her.
But that was only limited to certain special occasions, and the places were on her buttocks or chest, with just the strength for flirting.
Her responses were always enthusiastic, weren't they?
His gaze was deep. "Don't you like it?"
Wen Baozhu shrank her shoulders and didn't know how to answer. "… I like it."
"If you don't like it, just say so." Fu Lian's eyes were cold. "I don't want to hear lies."
Whether it was in bed or otherwise.
Wen Baozhu swallowed hard, looked at the man, and gently countered with a question. "Do you want me to tell the truth, Mr. Fu?"
The man looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Fine then," Wen Baozhu forced a smile to ease the atmosphere. "Please tell me, Mr. Fu, why don't you allow me to go back and see my grandma?"
"I've said it before. It's because you didn't abide by our agreement."
"But you promised me twice before." Wen Baozhu was persistent.
"That was before you violated the agreement," Fu Lian's gaze was scrutinizing. "Since you've been disobedient, the reward is revoked."
Wen Baozhu lowered her head and smiled.
The man's tone was so cold that Wen Baozhu couldn't help feeling annoyed. Her emotions started to get excited. "But I've already returned to Fucheng. I'm right here now!"
Wen Baozhu began to plead. "Just one look. Let me go back and take one look."
She got up from the bed and reached out to grab the man's sleeve. "If you want to punish me, Mr. Fu, you can do whatever you want after I've seen my grandma."
However, the man took a step back and dodged her directly.
Still expressionless, unmoved by her pleading or showing any sign of softening. "No."
He refused very firmly and coldly said, "You're not in a position to negotiate with me yet."
Wen Baozhu looked up.
The contempt, arrogance, and the completely cold and emotionless look in the man's eyes made her heart skip a beat.
The words of plea were stuck in Wen Baozhu's throat, and she couldn't utter a single syllable.
She pursed her lips and showed a self - mocking smile.
Yes, life and death, and everything in between, were never up to her.
A falcon didn't need to negotiate with a rabbit before killing it.
No meant no.
There was no need for a reason, nor was it necessary to give her one.
In the end, she silently lay back down and curled herself up in the quilt.
She rarely cried.
Her grandma said that strong women rarely shed tears.
But at this moment, the despair and disappointment of missing out made her nose sour.
Tears welled up in an instant.
A faint sob came out from the gap in the tightly wrapped quilt.
At first, it was a soft whimper, and then it turned into loud wailing, clearly reaching the ears of the other person in the room.
However, the other person just remained indifferent and stood by.
As if he couldn't hear at all.
It wasn't until the person in the quilt was completely exhausted from crying. Coupled with the lack of oxygen in the quilt, she soon cried herself to sleep.
When the room finally fell silent, Fu Lian let out a silent sigh in his heart.
He looked at Wen Baozhu, who was lying in the middle of the bed, wrapped like a cocoon. His gaze was deep and solemn.
Worried that she would suffocate herself, he gently lifted the quilt to expose her head.
Her fluffy hair was damp from tears, with several strands sticking to her cheeks. Her fair cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were swollen.
Crying so loudly, if others heard it, they would think she had suffered a great deal of injustice from him.
The man reached out his hand, and his well - defined knuckles brushed the hair away from her face, exposing her forehead and nose.
She was breathing evenly, but her lips were tightly pursed, looking like she was not sleeping soundly.
He had never seen her cry so sadly before.
Everyone always had something they loved deeply, either a person or an item, which was the thing that supported them to live firmly.
Such a thing was defined as "belief".
Obviously, Wen Baozhu's belief was her grandma.
Fu Lian had once reflected on what his belief to live firmly was.
But he couldn't figure it out.
Apart from hatred and revenge, he couldn't think of any reason to support his survival.
Few people or things could stir up waves in his heart, change or influence his thoughts.
Wen Baozhu was an exception.
After confirming that Wen Baozhu was sound asleep, Fu Lian picked up his phone and walked out of the room. Standing in the corridor a bit farther from the room door, he made a call.
Fu Lian: "How's the situation now?"
A Yan: "The old lady's condition... is not very good. The doctor said it will be at most a few days."
Fu Lian's eyes darkened. He looked back at the closed door. "Got it."
If you take a salary, you should do your job properly.
A Yan had been with Fu Lian for many years. He had always been diligent and kept his boundaries. He never defied his boss or talked too much.
Working beside Mr. Fu was originally a good job.
But at this moment, his heart ached so much that he couldn't help blurting out, "Mr. Fu, how about... let Miss Wen go and take a look?"
Just like last time, Fu Lian remained silent for a long time.
It was so long that A Yan thought Fu Lian was angry and quickly changed his words. "Sorry, Mr. Fu. I'm being meddlesome."
He regretted it in his heart, annoyed at his unnecessary sympathy.
However, Fu Lian's voice was deep, and he didn't blame him. "It's okay."
...
In the following days in the hotel, Fu Lian stayed with Wen Baozhu all the time.
Apart from watching her eat and take medicine on time, he was just waiting for the rain to stop.
The original plan was to rest for a day and fly back to Hong Kong the next day. But unfortunately, the weather was not on their side, and there would be heavy rain for several days.
Fucheng was not Hong Kong. It was not an island but a city completely connected to the mainland.
So it couldn't be like Hong Kong, where the rain would stop after a short shower. Basically, once it rained, it would be a torrential downpour.
As for how long it would rain, no one could predict.
The sky had been overcast for several days, with no sign of clearing up.
Due to the bad weather, all the flight routes were closed, and they were forced to stay in Fucheng.
In fact, Wen Baozhu's mental state had been very poor. It wasn't until the fourth day that she showed a slight improvement.
This was reflected in the fact that she finally took the initiative to talk to Fu Lian.
In the previous few days, she was like a puppet on a string. She would answer whatever Fu Lian asked.
But today, she suddenly said, "I want to drink sweet soup."
Fu Lian lifted his eyelids and casually glanced at her face, trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind her words.
Wen Baozhu lowered her head, opened her lips as if talking to herself or to him. "When I was a kid and not feeling well, grandma would always cook sweet soup for me."
She stretched out her finger and gestured the shape of a bowl. "A small bowl with brown sugar water and tapioca balls. They're so chewy..."
The woman on the bed frowned and thought for a long time. Suddenly, she remembered the name. "... I want to drink taro shoot sweet soup."
After saying that, she seemed to think that she was being unreasonable. She bit her lips and stopped talking.
Fu Lian's expression remained unchanged. He probably didn't even listen to her words.
A few seconds later, he stood up from the sofa.
"I'll ask someone to buy it for you."