After finishing the evening meal, Bai Xu Yinsheng held Zhao Yicheng’s hand as they prepared to take a walk in the park.
Hei Xu Yinsheng followed behind them alone, looking quite resentful.
The sun was setting behind the western mountains, and the afterglow of the sunset gradually faded. The bushes on both sides of the path were a lush, dripping green. A gentle breeze blew past, carrying the fresh scent of soil and leaves.
The park in the Tianhua Residential District was bustling with people. Many had come out for a walk after their meal, while others were simply there to enjoy the evening breeze.
“Whoa! Isn’t that Sister Xu? Who’s that man in front of her?”
“He’s the new guy from not too long ago, the resident of Villa Seventeen. I saw him once before at a gathering at Sister Xu’s villa.”
“So it’s him. Then who is that white-haired girl next to him? She looks a lot like Sister Xu.”
“Maybe she’s Sister Xu’s sister. But Sister Xu looks like she’s carrying a lot of resentment while following them.”
“Well, she’s already taken. And they’re sisters, too. Heaven is truly unfair!”
“So what if she’s taken? As long as the hoe is swung well, there isn’t a wall corner that can’t be dug out.”
People came and went in the crowded park, but every pair of eyes couldn’t help but steal glances at the young man and woman ahead.
The man was nearly 30 with a high bridge to his nose and spirited, dark eyes; he was quite handsome. The woman looked to be in her early 20s, with white hair reaching down to her waist. She appeared innocent, cute, and endearingly soft.
Hearing the praise from the many passersby, Bai Xu Yinsheng glanced back at the lonely figure behind them, a trace of triumph flickering in her eyes.
“A’Zhao, let’s snuggle.” She leaned her head against the man’s shoulder, her tone coquettish, her eyes shimmering with the light of love.
*Thud!*
For some reason, Bai Xu Yinsheng suddenly stumbled and lunged forward. If Zhao Yicheng hadn’t caught her, she would have nearly fallen face-first onto the ground.
She turned her head and saw the culprit retracting her foot with a blank expression. Her tone was flat. “Aren’t you ashamed with so many people watching? I’m embarrassed for you.”
“You!!” Just as Bai Xu Yinsheng was about to explode in anger, Zhao Yicheng stopped her. He halted his steps, turned around, and took Hei Xu Yinsheng’s right hand.
“Sorry, I was being unfair. One for the left hand, one for the right. You are both my beloved Little Yin.”
“Like hell I’m your beloved Little Yin,” Hei Xu Yinsheng scoffed.
“And I don’t want you holding my hand!” she snapped, trying to break free.
But how could she be a match for Zhao Yicheng? After several fruitless attempts at struggling, she gave up her resistance and could only let him have his way.
A smile touched Zhao Yicheng’s tired face. He forced himself to perk up, holding one Little Yin in his left hand and the other in his right as they strolled through the park.
As it grew late, the afterglow of the sunset vanished completely, and darkness gradually enveloped the earth.
In the park, a night breeze blew steadily. The dim lights shone upon the green trees and wooden benches.
In the center of the park was an artificial lake with water so clear the fish could be seen swimming. In the middle of the lake stood a 3-meter-tall fake mountain covered in moss. From a distance, it looked like a large piece of green Jade.
The three of them sat shoulder to shoulder on a wooden bench. Zhao Yicheng’s right arm lightly rested around Bai Xu Yinsheng’s fragrant shoulder, while his left hand stroked Hei Xu Yinsheng’s black, silky hair.
Hei Xu Yinsheng didn’t pay any mind to the man’s wandering hand. Or more accurately, compared to his hand, she cared more about the information coming out of Zhao Yicheng’s mouth.
Just a moment ago, Xiao Bai—whether her brain was addled by love or she just had a sudden lapse in judgment—had asked about a forbidden topic that none of the three had ever mentioned.
After Zhao Yicheng’s limbs had been broken during that heavy rain, how did he find help? How did he survive?
Previously, the two of them had a tacit understanding regarding this question. You don’t ask, and I don’t tell. This kept things peaceful for everyone and avoided bringing up unpleasantness.
Furthermore, Xu Yinsheng had already heard the answer once from the Young Boy Yanqing. However, the current Xiao Bai seemed to want to hear about the experience directly from the man himself.
After a brief moment of silence, Zhao Yicheng began to speak.
He recounted everything from being picked up as a literal corpse by the White-robed Man in the heavy rain, to waking up in the ICU, to his condition stabilizing, and then to his rehabilitation after a period of rest. He spoke of investigating the mastermind behind the scenes, setting traps, and eventually finding out that Xu Yinsheng had returned to the country openly.
He was extremely meticulous, describing every detail to the fullest extent.
It was fine at first, but the more Hei Xu Yinsheng listened, the stranger it felt. Zhao Yicheng’s version wasn’t much different from the one she heard from the Young Boy Yanqing, but he had added a lot of “personal spin” to it.
“I brought it on myself,” “It was all my fault,” “I don’t blame you,” and so on. He repeated these phrases almost every few minutes as if emphasizing that her backstabbing him was perfectly justified, and as if to prove his determination to repent.
“…That’s how it happened. About the things in the past, I’m truly sorry,” Zhao Yicheng finished, lowering his head as if in penance.
Bai Xu Yinsheng spoke up.
“It’s okay. I forgave you a long time ago.”
She spoke with a beaming smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Then, as if thinking of something, her small, fair hands began to fumble around Zhao Yicheng’s lower body, a trace of panic appearing in her beautiful eyes.
“I remember I broke your legs back then… Since you haven’t had an intimate life for over a year, did it cause internal damage? Can you still have children? Or will your lineage end with you?”
Hearing this, Zhao Yicheng, who had been in the middle of his confession, couldn’t help but chuckle. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he tapped the head of the cute, dazed girl in front of him with his finger.
Although he knew Xiao Bai only liked him because she was under the Love Curse, the feeling of being cared for by the person he loved truly warmed his heart.
He teased half-jokingly, “If there really is a problem, Xiao Bai will have to take responsibility for the rest of my life. You’ll have to be my nanny and my virtuous wife. Otherwise, I’ll have to be a bachelor for the rest of my life and die alone.”
“You deserve it!”
A cold snort suddenly sounded in his ear. He looked over to see Hei Xu Yinsheng with her arms crossed, glaring at him with a face full of disdain and contempt.
“A person like you deserves it even if you die. You actually have the nerve to trick her into taking care of you. Hehehe, let me tell you, the Love Curse will be lifted in a few days. When that time comes…” Xiao Hei let out a few cold laughs, the implication being self-explanatory.
“A’Zhao, don’t listen to her. She’s just jealous of me.” Bai Xu Yinsheng hugged Zhao Yicheng’s arm.
“I am a member of the Pure Love Faction; I will only love you for the rest of my life. As for the Love Curse, I know how it works. It can’t create something out of nothing. My love for you is based on our 20 years of friendship. It’s not the distorted perception of Forced Love that Xiao Hei claims it is.”
“Besides, you took care of me for 20 years. It’s only natural for me to be your girlfriend as a way to repay you.”
Hearing this, Hei Xu Yinsheng’s blood pressure surged. She desperately wanted to pin Xiao Bai to the ground and beat her, pointing at her nose and screaming: ‘You are half of me, can’t you stop being such a Love Brain?!’
“Regardless of whether Xiao Bai is truly blinded by love or not, I will absolutely never forgive you!!!”
After saying that, Hei Xu Yinsheng didn’t wait for Zhao Yicheng’s reaction. She yanked her hand away and, with a dark expression, stomped off toward the villa.