Lin Muci lay on the bed, the wind howling outside.
Hearing the strong wind, Lin Muci lay in bed, but nestled cozily in the covers, chatting with the little system.
"He seems quite miserable."
Even the little system couldn't help but complain.
"Luo Yu, no, it's Ling Qianhe. How could Ling Qianhe not be miserable? His memory is sealed again, and he loves you to death. Now he thinks he really abused you into mental instability. He's so regretful he's about to die."
"Tsk tsk, as a bystander, I feel it's quite miserable."
Hearing the little system say this, Lin Muci said slowly.
"This isn't even the worst he'll get. When he discovers he was completely mistaken—that I was also the one who saved his life back then—I don't even know how much he'll break down."
"Thinking about it makes me so excited."
The little system gasped.
The host actually felt excited! Thinking about it, the host was a bit perverse now, but to be honest, the system felt excited too.
After all the trouble it took to see him in purgatory, how could it not be thorough? It had to torture him completely.
So the little system chuckled, also feeling pleased.
It said,
"Actually, this world is almost over. When you've had enough fun, we'll end this world."
"It's just that you're having quite a good time... When you go back, I really don't know how you're going to face Ling Qianhe. He's not this easily fooled Luo Yu—Host, this Qianhe brother has his memories!"
"Also, I forgot to tell you, Host, as your memory recovers, he over there will also be able to... cough, feel it."
"So... Host, good luck to yourself."
Lin Muci had been happily thinking about secretly tormenting the Qianhe in the small world without anyone knowing. She never expected the little system to deliver such a devastating blow.
Lin Muci's eyes widened suddenly.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
The little system quickly became guilty.
"Well... you didn't ask, did you? If you had asked earlier, would I have not said anything?"
It even blamed Lin Muci. Lin Muci took a sharp breath; she felt a bit overwhelmed. Thinking about facing Qianhe with his memories restored after leaving this world, she could imagine that guy would probably...
Torment her fiercely.
She felt a moment of melancholy, then made up her mind.
Seize the day.
No matter what, she would torment Luo Yu to her heart's content in this childhood phase. As for being spanked by Ling Qianhe after leaving—well, no matter how embarrassing or how much Qianhe brother tormented her, that would be after she left!
With her decision made, Lin Muci happily went back to sleep.
...
But while Lin Muci could sleep soundly, Luo Yu seemed to have fallen into a world of utter misery from which he could not escape. He sat on the sofa downstairs, with no lights on.
Memories of his time with Xia Ciluo continuously flooded his mind, tormenting his heart.
He recalled the way she looked with tears soaking the blindfold over her eyes, the way she looked at him with tear-filled, blurry eyes, her hoarse voice calling him, her begging for mercy, her wronged expression when she said she wasn't lying.
Every time he recalled it, it felt like a sharp stab to his heart.
Heartbreak.
He lowered his head, his expression unspeakably complex.
He lowered his head, his mind filled with her. When the phone rang, he didn't even have the interest to answer it, but after hesitating for a while, he finally picked up.
Then, a voice from his subordinate came through the phone.
"Boss, how should we handle Xia Yingying?"
"Boss, you previously told us to treat her kindly..."
"She seems to really want to see you."
Luo Yu frowned.
Xia Yingying had saved him before; she was his savior. Although she was the daughter of the Xia family and should have been a target of his revenge, her merits and demerits canceled each other out. He didn't want to deal with this girl now.
In his heart, the most important person.
Was Xia Ciluo.
So he said coldly.
"I don't want to see her."
The person on the other end nodded, hesitated, and then said again.
"By the way, Boss, we searched the place you mentioned—it's strange, Xia Yingying said she doesn't recognize that place..."
"Boss, she said she did get lost during a summer camp when she was young, but she didn't go to that abandoned warehouse."
"Boss, we asked the nearby villagers, and they did mention that a very exquisite and beautiful little girl stayed at a resort nearby with bodyguards for a while. That little girl..."
"Is the eldest daughter of the Xia family, Xia Ciluo. She didn't want to go to school and insisted on playing... Then something like an accident happened, and she fell seriously ill. Her parents never allowed her to go out carelessly again..."
"Boss, are you listening?"
The phone was thrown to the ground again with a deep thud.
And this time, the phone was directly smashed until it turned off. Luo Yu sat on the cold sofa, his fingers trembling slowly, his whole body unable to recover.
It wasn't Xia Yingying...
She had never been to the abandoned warehouse; instead, it was the eldest daughter of the Xia family, Xia Ciluo, who had been there... And after returning, she fell seriously ill.
He remembered how he was seriously injured on a mission and hid in that abandoned warehouse. His consciousness was unclear, and he had almost harmed that young girl. That young girl bandaged his wounds and went to the pharmacy to buy medicine. Otherwise, he might have died from a wound infection.
But...
How could it be Xia Ciluo? His eyes had been injured back then, causing his vision to temporarily deteriorate severely, almost to blindness.
He hadn't expected it.
It turned out to be Xia Ciluo—
He took a deep breath, urgently stood up, wanting to go upstairs and clarify things. But as soon as he looked up and saw the dark room upstairs, his whole body suddenly calmed down in an instant, his body turning ice cold.
No... she was afraid of him now.
And it was so late; she must have fallen asleep.
He couldn't wake her.
He just wanted to watch over her like this, letting her sleep soundly for a whole night.
...
The next morning, when Lin Muci woke up and finished washing, Ling Qianhe brought her a bowl of warm porridge.
She remained silent. Instead of getting angry, she just lowered her head and obediently ate the porridge. Ling Qianhe watched Lin Muci finish the porridge obediently, his gaze filled with infinite tenderness. Then he reached out, took back the empty bowl, and asked her softly.
"Xiao Luo, you saved me, didn't you?"
Lin Muci's spirit lifted.
Here it comes!
The anticipated plot had finally arrived! This was the final fatal blow. She carefully brewed her emotions, lowered her head, her fingertips trembling slightly. It was evident that her entire body was stiff, so stiff that it seemed unnatural.
Her voice was as weak as a mosquito's hum.
"No."
"You don't remember either."
From Luo Yu's perspective, he could see the girl's stubborn and aloof face. He took a deep breath, his expression showing even more pity. Luo Yu sighed and said.
"It was you."
His tone was certain.
"It was you from the beginning."
"So on the first day I went to the Xia family as a bodyguard, you recognized me, didn't you?"
He suddenly understood why he had felt... Xia Ciluo's attitude towards him was so strange from the beginning. He thought it was because this eldest lady was arrogant and domineering, with an unpredictable temperament. Including when she said she wanted him to be her boyfriend, he wondered if this was a way for this eldest lady to humiliate him.
He had been so wrong. He had met her.
He had met her a long, long time ago.
And he had forgotten.
He had forgotten she had saved him.
As expected, Xia Ciluo looked up at him, and tears quickly welled up in her eyes.
"What's the use of me recognizing you? You still don't remember me at all! You don't know who I am, and you don't know how pitiful I was back then."
"Do you think it was easy for me to save you? But I still like you, a kind of liking that makes me want to hide you away secretly."
"But how did you treat me?"
"You imprisoned me, you did so many things to me that made me feel humiliated and ashamed..."
"I hate you!"
"I never want to see you again!"
Luo Yu felt as if his heart was being fried in hot oil. He raised his head and slowly brushed his fingertips across her cheek, but at a slight distance, like a feather brushing past, stirring up lingering feelings.
"I was wrong... All the mistakes, all the wrongdoings, are my fault. It's all my fault. How do you want me to forgive you?"
"Please, don't hate me."
He had never imagined that he could have such a humble posture.
To beg for forgiveness from the young girl in front of him.
But the young girl in front of him could break all his limits. He humbly begged her, only hoping to exchange for a glance back. Even if she smiled at him again, he would consider it a sweet reward.
But the girl gave him a cold blow.
"I want you to never appear before me again."
He faltered, and his breathing became ragged.
"No—"
"I can't do that."
A pained light filled his eyes.
"Please, I'll do anything."
Luo Yu had once made Xia Ciluo his slave, but now he was so humble that he would allow anything she wanted him to do. He just hoped Xia Ciluo would look at him, even a slight glance, would be enough.
He wanted to be her slave.
Just hoping she would cast a glance.
He would be so happy he would wish to die.
But the young girl looked into his eyes, took his hand, and said.
"But I just want to leave you—being with you brings back all those painful memories in my mind."
"I hope you don't show up again."
The man opposite him, the light in his eyes seemed to disappear bit by bit.
On that aloof and peerless face was despair, as if he had lost all the light in his life, and from then on, his life would never see any hope. He gave a bitter smile, the bitterness lingering on the corners of his mouth. He looked down at her and said in a low voice.
"Okay."
He turned around.
As he walked out, his back felt unable to straighten.
Even the little system felt a bit pitiful.
"Host, is he... a bit too pitiful?"
But Lin Muci understood him well.
"I just told Luo Yu not to appear before me—hmph hmph, you still don't understand this man. How could he possibly give up? Just wait, he'll definitely come."
Lin Muci waited for him.
And indeed, after a few days, the little system was a little flustered because Luo Yu truly didn't appear again. Just as the little system was extremely worried that Luo Yu might really never come again.
A gardener appeared at the Xia family villa.
He had a very ordinary face, and it seemed that due to a fire accident, he was disfigured and wore a mask for a long time.
Beneath the mask were uneven skin, very frightening.
Sometimes when Lin Muci went to the garden, the gardener would watch her from afar.
He would also bring her fresh fruits and food, but he never spoke.
She lived very well here, no different from before. She could even go to school. A sum of money that could be called astronomical had been deposited into her account, ensuring her a lifetime of security.
She silently went to school, studied, and everything seemed to return to its original track.
And then—
Three years later.
Xia Ciluo looked at the gardener in the corner, slowly walked over, reached out, grabbed his wrist, and looked up at him.
"How long do you plan to keep hiding?"
The gardener's eyes watched her silently.
The girl opposite him asked with a cold face.
"I told you not to appear before me—do you think this is enough?"
"Do you think by hiding silently by my side like this, you can compensate for the harm you caused me back then?"
Deep bitterness surged in Luo Yu's eyes.
Even like this... staying by her side, only hoping to see her from afar, was that not allowed? What should he do then?
He was already panicked.
Was he going to have even this last bit of humble hope stripped away? And the girl opposite him looked at his humble and panicked eyes, watched him turn to leave silently, and suddenly stopped him.
She looked at him intently, then took off his mask.
Her fingers brushed over the mottled scars on his face. She heard this man murmur in a low voice.
"It's fake... the wounds are fabricated by me. I was afraid you would recognize me."
The girl opposite him smiled.
"I know."
"I know the wounds are fake. If they were real, I would feel heartache. Your face is so handsome; it shouldn't be injured."
Her eyes curved into smiling crescents. She gazed into Luo Yu's eyes, stared at his cheeks, and then, the next moment, she did something that surprised him greatly.
She tiptoed, approached him, and whispered in his ear.
"Didn't you ask me to punish you?"
"Then I'll punish you by making you my slave forever. Can you accept that?"
"Do you agree?"
The man opposite him was struck by immense surprise!
Then he quickly nodded.
His eldest lady—he would never leave her again!