“In that case, I understand.”
Yue Li reached out and brushed the strands of hair that had fallen across Xing Lian’s cheek behind her ear.
‘Understand? What did she understand?’ Xing Lian was utterly confused.
This bizarre conversation didn’t leave a trace in Xing Lian’s heart.
The days passed one by one, utterly ordinary and uneventful.
But soon, this peace was shattered.
Ever since being abducted by Yue Li, Yue Li had stuck to her side.
Even when she occasionally had to leave, it would never be for more than half a day.
But today was different.
She made breakfast for her in the morning, then left behind quite a bit of food, and then was gone for the entire day.
Xing Lian was very surprised by this.
‘Where did she go?’
Eating the pre-packaged food, Xing Lian found it hard to swallow.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
Probably around dusk, almost nightfall, when Yue Li finally hurried back.
“Where did you go?”
Xing Lian was sitting on a chair in the room.
Hearing the familiar footsteps, she couldn’t help but ask curiously.
Yue Li walked over to her, wrapped her arms around her waist to pick her up, sat down on the chair herself, and nuzzled her cheek against Xing Lian’s face.
“I went out to handle some business. You don’t need to worry about it.”
‘So she doesn’t want to say?’
Xing Lian’s eyes flickered.
Although she was extremely curious, since Yue Li had said that, she had to suppress her curiosity no matter how strong it was.
A lively night passed, and when the next day arrived, Yue Li was actually gone for another entire day.
This made it impossible for Xing Lian not to be concerned.
‘What on earth is she doing outside? Why won’t she tell me?’
Biting her fair, delicate finger, Xing Lian couldn’t stop her mind from wandering.
For the next half a month, Yue Li left early and returned late every day, and the time kept getting later and later.
She would generally leave in the morning and return at night, sometimes even dragging on until eleven or twelve at night.
After several months of living together, Xing Lian had long grown accustomed to being glued to Yue Li.
This sudden separation felt quite uncomfortable.
During the day, there was no one to talk to, and no one to take her out shopping.
She was about to go stir-crazy.
Over the next ten-plus days, Xing Lian tried asking a few more times, but Yue Li was always mysterious about it, which made Xing Lian feel very annoyed.
However, while feeling annoyed, she also felt a bit of resentment towards herself.
‘Before, I hated her and wished to stay far away from her. Now, just because we spend less time together, I’m actually complaining.’
“Really being overly sentimental.”
Xing Lian gave a self-deprecating smile.
But thinking about it carefully, she couldn’t completely blame herself.
She was blind.
Her forms of entertainment were few.
In her previous life, she could listen to the radio, but coming to this world, her only means of entertainment was gone.
Passing the time relied entirely on chatting with people.
Now that Yue Li wasn’t here, she could only sit in the room in a daze.
Of course, her mind would wander.
“She should be back soon, right.”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Xing Lian tightened her grip on the thin quilt covering her.
She wasn’t sure of the exact time, but she could roughly guess it was around eleven at night.
At this time, she should be back soon.
Sure enough.
She didn’t have to wait long before the sound of footsteps sounded again.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I bought you some roasted chicken.”
Yue Li entered the room, saw Xing Lian sitting blankly on the bed, and walked over to her side with a smile.
Xing Lian’s nose twitched as she caught the enticing aroma.
Her stomach growled twice.
Although she had already eaten dinner, how could pre-packaged food compare to freshly cooked food?
She nodded in agreement.
Yue Li opened the paper wrapping, took out a steaming hot roasted chicken, tore off a drumstick, and handed it to Xing Lian.
Xing Lian took small bites, eating one drumstick after another until she finally felt full.
“Drink some water.”
Yue Li poured Xing Lian a cup of tea.
She took it, drank it, wiped her mouth, and patted her stomach.
Yue Li set the cup and paper wrapping aside, picked up a towel to wipe Xing Lian’s hands, had her lie back on the bed, and covered her with the quilt.
After feeding Xing Lian, Yue Li ate the remaining roasted chicken herself, then took a bath and went to bed.
Xing Lian, held in Yue Li’s arms, felt she had already grown accustomed to it.
‘Yue Li is back. After eating and drinking, she should bully me now.’
She thought to herself, but something unexpected happened.
Yue Li kissed her cheek, stroked her waist, hugged her a little tighter, and then closed her eyes to sleep.
‘Isn’t this a bit off!?’
Xing Lian was dumbfounded.
For the past month, she had tormented her every night.
Why was she letting her off today?
Xing Lian opened her mouth, wanting to ask, but in the end, she didn’t voice the question.
That kind of thing was too shameful.
If she asked, it would be bad if she was misunderstood as being unsatisfied.
Although that kind of thing was pleasurable, doing it every day was too much for her body.
If she wasn’t going to bully her, then fine.
She could get a good night’s sleep too.
Thinking this to herself, Xing Lian closed her eyes.
However, that night, she suffered from insomnia, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Because she was thinking about things until very late last night, when Xing Lian woke up the next day, there were faint dark circles under her eyes.
Yue Li saw them and asked with concern.
Xing Lian brushed it off casually.
She thought Yue Li would press further, but Yue Li actually didn’t say anything more.
After breakfast, she left even earlier than usual.
This made Xing Lian increasingly annoyed.
‘She wasn’t like this before. It seems like she cares less and less about me.’
‘You don’t cherish what you have after you get it.’
Was that phrase going to come true for her?
Xing Lian grew worried.
After spending several months with Yue Li, she had gradually developed feelings for her, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
But compared to this discomfort, another matter was more important.
‘She’s coming back later and later. Could it be that she’s grown tired of me?’
If Yue Li grew tired of her, given her physical condition, how could she survive in this world?
The more Xing Lian thought about it, the more upset she became, unable to stop herself from sighing.
And so, time passed slowly, another few days went by.
Just as Xing Lian was about to lose her patience and ask what exactly she was doing, Yue Li actually took the initiative to confess on her own.
“I’ve been very busy lately, which led to neglecting you. I’m really sorry.”
That day, after Yue Li returned and they had dinner, she held Xing Lian and whispered.
“No need to apologize. I don’t mind.”
Xing Lian said this, but what she truly thought, only she herself knew.
Yue Li wasn’t fooled.
She gently tapped Xing Lian’s little nose.
“Really, you don’t mind? Then why have you been looking so gloomy these past few days?”
‘Looking gloomy? Was it that obvious?’
Xing Lian blinked, her cheeks flushing slightly.
“Alright, let’s not talk about that. I’ve been very busy lately. Do you know what I’ve been busy with?”
‘What you’re busy with, how would I know?’
Xing Lian shook her head.
“I’ve been busy saving up money to buy you something.”
Yue Li didn’t keep her in suspense.
She took out a gemstone necklace from her bosom.
A fine silver chain, link after link, with a crystal-clear ruby hanging in the center.
The gemstone’s color was rich and saturated, emitting a flowing fluorescence under the light.
Hazy mist seemed to slowly drift within the gem, making it look exceptionally beautiful.
Hearing this, Xing Lian was a bit stunned.
‘Saving up money to buy something? Why don’t I quite understand?’