Suddenly, a slender and icy finger clamped around the infant's neck and gradually tightened. The baby's face turned an ever-deeper shade of purple, and faint sobs escaped from its throat.
Just as the infant was about to take its last breath, the woman suddenly loosened her grip. Hugging the baby, she burst into heart - rending sobs...
Pei Yu jolted awake with a start. He coughed frantically for a while, looking utterly disheveled. He was soaked in cold sweat as if completely drained. Turning his head, he saw the desolate moonlight. He was the only one in the vast room.
Since he recovered from a serious illness at fifteen, Pei Yu had dreamt of this scene more than once.
No matter how hard he tried, he could never make out the face of the woman in his dream.
Recalling the overly real sense of suffocation in the dream, Pei Yu still found it hard to catch his breath. After stepping out of the room, he noticed that the light in Shen Cuiyu's room was still on.
As if in a trance, Pei Yu walked towards that glimmer of light. It seemed that the closer he got to the pale - yellow candlelight, the more he could dispel the bone - chilling cold around him...
Unexpectedly, the room was empty.
Pei Yu extinguished the lamp and was about to leave when he bumped into Shen Cuiyu, who was just returning...
Shen Cuiyu didn't notice the weariness on Pei Yu's face. She was so sleepy that her eyelids were heavy. She just gave a perfunctory nod and didn't ask any further questions.
She originally thought that Pei Yu would leave on his own before she could say anything, but she forgot that this man always did as he pleased and had no sense of propriety.
Instead of leaving, Pei Yu suddenly took a step closer. His refreshing aura approached silently, bringing a touch of the night's coolness.
Sensing the faint fragrance of osmanthus, Pei Yu lowered his eyes and sized up Shen Cuiyu's blushing cheeks. He asked calmly,
"Have you been drinking?"
Shen Cuiyu instinctively took a step back. Her back hit the slightly cool wall, leaving her with nowhere to retreat. She could only reply vaguely, "Just a little... just a little drink."
Pei Yu stared at her silently for a moment. In the candlelight, Shen Cuiyu's eyes sparkled and her lips were rosy. She didn't look like someone who had just a little drink.
He didn't say a word and was about to step back when he saw Shen Cuiyu suddenly tilt her head up and stare directly at his face.
"Why are you so close to me?" Shen Cuiyu asked slowly. Her tone after getting drunk was much more straightforward than usual.
A habitual, slightly mocking arc curled up at the corner of Pei Yu's mouth. He was just about to tease her with "Just taking a look at what a drunkard looks like" when he saw a flicker of obvious suspicion on her face.
"You..." She squinted slightly and then questioned him as if facing a great enemy, "You're not starting to like me, are you?"
Pei Yu: ...
He was rarely stunned for two seconds.
Before he could answer, Shen Cuiyu seemed to think of something, and her expression became extremely strange:
"No, you'd better not like me..."
Pei Yu was so angry that he laughed. He instinctively wanted to retort, "Why would I..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Yu's eyebrows twitched. He suddenly realized something was wrong.
Why what?
Was the second half of the sentence "Why would I like you" or "Why can't I like you?"
Pei Yu hesitated for a moment. Looking down, he saw Shen Cuiyu squinting her eyes, looking like she was saying "Don't let me catch you out" ...
Pei Yu was silent for a while. He suddenly thought he was ridiculous for chatting with a drunkard for so long.
Taking one last look at Shen Cuiyu, Pei Yu turned around and was about to leave.
Before leaving, he wanted to blow out the lamp in the room, but Shen Cuiyu suddenly mumbled behind him. Her voice was soft and slurred with sleepiness:
"Don't blow it out..."
Pei Yu paused and looked sideways.
He saw Shen Cuiyu looking at him. Her glass - like eyes were not as clear as usual, covered with a layer of hazy moisture, reflecting the flickering candlelight.
She was silent for a long time before she spoke softly. Her speech was extremely slow due to the alcohol:
"... I'm afraid of the dark."
The boundless darkness always made Shen Cuiyu think of that pitch - black cave and recall the despair and unease before she nearly died.
After her father, Shen Zanghai, learned that she was afraid of the dark, he spent a fortune to buy this ever - burning lamp. The wick was refined by a secret method and could burn forever.
Perhaps the alcohol had lowered her guard a little. There was a hint of unconscious grievance in Shen Cuiyu's words.
Pei Yu was stunned upon hearing this. He really didn't expect that Shen Cuiyu, who remained calm in the face of fierce evil spirits and even dared to confront them head - on, would be afraid of such ordinary darkness.
Somewhere in his heart seemed to be gently hit, causing a strange and subtle ripple.
Pei Yu averted his gaze. He just felt that this feeling was sudden and strange, and he quickly suppressed it.
Shen Cuiyu had slumped back onto the couch again. She closed her eyes, and her breathing became even and long. It seemed that the soft words just now were just a dream. She was so quiet that there was not a single sound.
Pei Yu stared at her serene sleeping face for a moment. He had seen all kinds of people lose their composure after getting drunk, but it was really rare to see someone like her who didn't make a fuss and just fell asleep right away...
It was rather hassle - free.
Pei Yu withdrew his gaze, picked up the lampshade, carefully covered the ever - burning lamp again, and then turned to leave.
But at this moment, the person who should have been sound asleep behind him suddenly sat up straight.
Pei Yu stopped in his tracks: ?
Shen Cuiyu still had her eyes closed, but as if sleepwalking, she started fumbling around to remove the hairpin from her head.
Her movements were clumsy and forceful. The hairpin caught a few strands of her black hair, and the more anxious she got, the harder it was to take it off.
She frowned impatiently, her little face scrunched up in a ball, determined to get the hairpin off.
Pei Yu really couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Why are you taking it off?"
"It's uncomfortable." She complained vaguely, her voice a bit soft.
Pei Yu was silent for a moment and finally stepped forward resignedly. His fingers deftly avoided the tangled hair and took the hairpin off for her, placing it aside.
Just as he was about to leave, Shen Cuiyu suddenly grabbed his sleeve and said slowly,
"I'm so thirsty."
"Oh, are you getting addicted to ordering me around?" Pei Yu said with a half - smile, his tone slightly cold, "Pour it yourself."
"Okay, sure."
Shen Cuiyu answered quickly. She staggered out of the bed, accurately bypassed the table, and headed straight for the Xiliang River at the door.
Pei Yu's eyelids twitched. He grabbed Shen Cuiyu's arm and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Drinking water." She answered matter - of - factly and tried to struggle out of his grasp.
"..."
Pei Yu took a deep breath, pressed the woman back to sit on the edge of the couch, and said with a very unpleasant look on his face, "Sit still."
He turned around, poured a cup of warm water, and handed it to Shen Cuiyu.
Shen Cuiyu drank it obediently and sincerely sighed, "Hehe, you're quite kind."
A vein on Pei Yu's forehead twitched. He resisted the urge to shake the woman awake and sneered through gritted teeth, "I'm just afraid you'll fall into the river and drown."
Shen Cuiyu held the empty teacup and didn't say a word. It seemed that she had finally calmed down.
Just then, a disciple who had just finished practicing swordsmanship passed by Zhuyun Courtyard humming a tuneless ditty. Pei Yu was distracted for a moment. When he looked back, Shen Cuiyu was already at the window. She propped up the window lattice and shouted outside,
"Stop!"
The disciple was startled.
Shen Cuiyu stared blankly and said, "You hummed it quite nicely. Can you hum it one more time?"
Pei Yu's face turned extremely dark. He pulled the woman back and quickly slammed the window shut, cutting off all outside sounds.