These images flashed by rapidly. Meng Ruozhao felt a sudden sharp pain in her head.
She instinctively covered her head and staggered back two steps.
These unexpected fragments left her at a loss.
Although she had absolutely no memory of these scenes, they seemed as if they had truly happened.
Pei Jiangmu seemed to sense her uneasiness. He stirred restlessly in his sleep and frowned tightly.
Meng Ruozhao took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself down.
She couldn't wake Pei Jiangmu up. So she took a deep breath and slowly squatted down.
Then she rubbed her temples, attempting to sort out her chaotic thoughts.
What on earth was going on with these images?
Were they dreams or forgotten memories?
Could it be that she had really lived with some man abroad before?
But if so, why had that man never contacted her?
Was he really the married old man that Du Xixi and the others had mentioned?
...
Countless questions welled up in Meng Ruozhao's mind.
She subconsciously looked at Pei Jiangmu again, her eyes filled with more complexity.
Why did she always trigger so many images in her mind because of him?
Could this young man who always seemed so cautious and a bit obsequious have a deeper connection with her?
After a while, Meng Ruozhao's headache gradually subsided.
She stood up again, took a deep look at Pei Jiangmu, and then tiptoed back to the attic.
As soon as she left, Pei Jiangmu opened his eyes.
He had long noticed the slight sound when Meng Ruozhao came downstairs.
He had even precisely caught the tremble of her retracted hand hovering three centimeters above his eyebrows.
It was a pity that in the end, her hand didn't fall.
When the rustling sound from the attic finally stopped, he immediately sat up, took out his phone from under his pillow.
"I need the top - notch neuroscience experts."
"No matter what methods you use, arrange for all the Du family members to have a physical examination."
He quickly typed a few lines on his phone and sent them to Qi Yu, instructing him to make the arrangements as soon as possible.
The dim light from the screen illuminated the suppressed curve of his lips, making him look even more cold and aloof.
The way Meng Ruozhao had suffered from the headache had stabbed at his heart.
The Du family only used her to seek benefits from the Yan family. How could they really care about her health?
After sending the message, he hugged the thin blanket she had covered him with and fell into deep thought.
Just thinking about the complex look in Meng Ruozhao's eyes whenever she looked at him made his heart ache.
He was afraid that Meng Ruozhao would drift away from him. He was even more afraid that she would discover those perhaps not - so - beautiful past events.
After Meng Ruozhao lay down, those fragmented images still raged in her head.
In a daze, she seemed to see herself standing in front of the floor - to - ceiling window, with the man behind her breathing hotly against her earlobe.
She also saw herself tying the man's tie while the man planted a smiling kiss on her forehead.
...
She couldn't tell whether these were memories or fantasies, and she instinctively hated this uncontrollable chaos.
But she couldn't wake up. She could only let these images pour in like tides, submerging her.
Then, the scene suddenly changed. She seemed to be in a grand and luxurious banquet.
The crystal chandelier cast a soft light, and there were elegantly - dressed men and women all around.
The man was wearing a well - tailored suit, looking extremely charming as he led her into the dance floor.
Although she still couldn't see the man's face clearly, she knew that his eyes were always tenderly fixed on her.
However, just as Meng Ruozhao was indulging in this dream - like scene, the picture suddenly distorted.
The banquet hall was thrown into chaos, and people were running around in panic.
The man tightly grabbed Meng Ruozhao's hand and tried to lead her away.
But out of nowhere, a group of black - clothed men emerged and surrounded them.
The man protected Meng Ruozhao behind him and fought with the black - clothed men.
During the fierce fight, the man gradually got injured, and the blood stained the collar of his shirt.
The tie she had tied for him that morning was now dirty.
Meng Ruozhao was extremely anxious. She wanted to help but was powerless.
Suddenly, there was a gunshot. The man who had been blocking in front of her suddenly let out a muffled groan...
Just then, the picture stopped abruptly, and Meng Ruozhao suddenly woke up from the illusion.
She sat up, sweating profusely, with her heart pounding wildly, as if everything that had just happened was real.
The attic was completely silent at this moment. Only the occasional chirping of insects came from outside the window.
The images still lingered in Meng Ruozhao's mind.
She increasingly felt that her past must be complicated.
At the very least, those years abroad were definitely not simple.
She gasped lightly, trying hard to hold on to these fragmented images in her mind.
Unfortunately, as she gradually woke up,
these images became more and more blurred, and then she couldn't remember the specific details.
She tossed and turned for a while and didn't even know when she fell asleep again.
I don't know how long it had passed. The sky began to turn pale in the east.
Pei Jiangmu downstairs hadn't slept all night. As soon as it was dawn, he went out to buy breakfast.
Actually, at three o'clock in the morning, he went upstairs to take a look.
Although he was extremely careful,
the wooden stairs in the attic still made a faint sound under his feet.
He walked as carefully as a ghost stealing a candle flame.
Fortunately, the sound of the rain outside covered up some of the noise.
The door of the attic room was broken, and there was no air - conditioner inside.
So the door was open.
There was a small lamp outside the attic, which just illuminated Meng Ruozhao's silhouette curled up in the blanket.
In the past, he always bought all kinds of spaghetti - strap nightgowns for her.
But now she was only wearing a loose old T - shirt, looking like an abandoned old doll.
He counted his own heartbeats. On the seventh beat, he finally reached the bedside.
From this distance, he could see the shadow of her eyelashes on her cheeks and smell the remaining shampoo scent in her hair.
She had her eyes tightly closed, and her eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, as if still troubled in her dream.
His mumbling last night was false, but her nightmare at this moment was real.
He couldn't help but raise his hand, wanting to smooth out the wrinkles between her eyebrows, but stopped in mid - air.
In the end, he just silently tucked in the corner of the quilt for her.
After leaving the attic, Pei Jiangmu's mind was filled with Meng Ruozhao's painful look. How could he fall asleep?
When Meng Ruozhao woke up again, the sunlight was already shining on her face through the window.
She opened her eyes groggily and for a moment couldn't tell where she was.
As her consciousness gradually returned, the chaotic images from last night began to roll in her mind again.
She impatiently ran her fingers through her hair, got up from the bed, and went downstairs after washing up.
There was still hot breakfast on the table, but Pei Jiangmu was nowhere to be seen.
There was a note under the soy milk.
She picked it up. There was a message written in his strong and elegant handwriting.
"Sister, I have an early class, so I'm leaving first. Thank you for keeping me company. I'll come back early after class."
The signature was his flamboyant scrawl.
Meng Ruozhao stared at the signature for a while.
She always felt that she was quite familiar with the strokes of these three characters.
It was as if someone had once held her hand and taught her to write them stroke by stroke.