Yan Huan felt sleepy. Her fingers were still on Lu Yiâs chest, feeling his heartbeat. That was her fort, the impenetrable fort that would keep her safe.
âHuanhuan...â Lu Yi played with her hair.
âHmm?â Yan Huan opened her eyes. She had spoken too much and was now sleepy.
âWho was I to you in your previous life?â Lu Yi pinched a few strands of her hair, curious as to what kind of relationship they had in their previous life.
âI was your cousin-in-law,â replied Yan Huan. The sleepiness must have gotten to her, for she replied honestly without a second thought, but she felt a sharp pain in her scalp right as the words left her lips. Her mind was crystal clear again from the shock.
She quickly sat up, shoulders drooping. She just made a shocking revelation. Everything she said before this was acceptable to Lu Yi, but not this.
This was something Lu Yi would never accept.
âYou married Lu Qin in your previous life?â Lu Yi sat up as well, clamping Yan Huanâs shoulders with his hands. He was a step away from shifting those hands up to her neck.
Yan Huan stared at him for a long time, then nodded.
âYes, Lu Qin married me, and kept it a secret marriage till the end of my life.â
âYou are so stupid,â Lu Yi felt like strangling her. âHow can you marry someone like Lu Qin? Heâs a goddamn vampire, and heâll kick you aside once he sucked you dry.â
He wasnât a good man, and he couldnât possibly be good to Yan Huan.
âI was pretty stupid.â
Yan Huan suddenly reached out and pounced into Lu Yiâs chest. âI was a complete fool in my previous life, hubby. I never knew I got Best Actress of The Year because someone helped me from the shadows. Vain as I was, I always thought I simply had good luck, but all that âluckâ was actually the doings of that one person.â
âYet I failed him in the end.â
Lu Yi hugged her tightly.
âWas that person, me?â he asked.
âYes,â Yan Huan rubbed her face against his chest. âIt was.â
Lu Yi laughed bitterly. It was him. It was. Turns out he had fallen for her in both lives. She had left a ripple in the peaceful lake within his heart since their first encounter.
In their previous life, they missed the opportunity of being together. Is that why sheâs back to set things straight?
But there was something he needed to know.
âHow did you get reincarnated? Did Lu Qin do something to you?â
Yan Huan pursed her lips gently. During times like this, silence was often the best answer.
Itâs not that she didnât want to reply, but because she didnât know how. She couldnât say it. She didnât have the courage to. The pain from her past was bone-deep.
Alright, Lu Yi understood. She didnât want to say more. Then so be it. Heâll wait for the day when sheâs ready.
She dropped her head and played with her fingers, her long lashes quivering like a frail butterfly encased in ice, ready to shatter at the slightest movement.
Her hand suddenly grasped at Lu Yiâs clothes, color fading from her joints as pain seeped in. Lu Yi thought she was ready to say, but her words came out as musings.
âI died when I was 28.â
Lu Yi felt something stabbing at his heart. He found it hard to even breath.
âLu Qin bled me dry.â
Lu Yi felt as though a gash appeared on the corner of his eyes, mixing his tears with blood.
âItâs alright, itâs alright now,â he patted her back gently. âItâs all in the dream. Itâs all over now.â
Yes, her past was a mere dream. That life, that world, they were all in the past. Ceased to exist.
However, Lu Yi will never forget what Yan Huan said. She died at 28, bled dry by Lu Qin. She was the best thing that had happened to Lu Yi. Without her, Lu Yiâs life would have been dry and dull. He would have married a woman like Fang Zhu and be bound to a loveless marriage.
For someone to hurt a kind, beautiful, forbearing, and stubborn woman like her, for someone to hurt the woman he couldnât dote on in two lives, it was unforgivable to him.
Utterly unforgivable.
The sky outside grew somber as another day passed. They felt safe in the silent room, as though they would be like this until the end of the world.
Lu Yi opened the door and walked out in big strides.
He ran into a person who was approaching.
âBrother.â
Lu Qinâs eyes twinkled at seeing Lu Yi, as though he had been waiting for him.
Lu Yi stopped in his tracks and looked down at Lu Qin. He was half a head taller and always stood straight. If Lu Qin was a slice of âfresh young meatâ, he would have been a âjerkyâ.
âBrother, I need your help,â smiled Lu Qin. A spark of malice flitted across his eyes. Did he think Lu Yi would miss it? Lu Yi had been a prosecutor for years, and no one had the balls to play tricks before him. In the past, he had let many things slide because he simply didnât care. They were both from the Lu Family, so he tolerated him as long as he didnât go overboard.
He had helped him as long as it was within his ability. Lu Qin had benefited a lot from him in the past few years.
Lu Qin took Lu Yiâs approval as consent. It had always been like this anyway. As long as he asked for it, Lu Yi would see to it happening. He wasnât worried about it.
âBrother, I heard that you have good connections with Jiu Feng. Can you tell them to give me more screen time? The drama Iâm starring in next isnât giving me much screen time.â
This had niggled at his mind. His screen time was pathetic despite being the male lead, and the camera was always focused on Su Muran. It canât possibly be that the audience all preferred to look at a woman all the time, right?
âOf course,â said Lu Yi. A flash of delight flashed across Lu Qinâs eyes, and he left on high spirits.
Lu Yi watched him go off with a cold smile.
Of course...not. Heâll never help him again. He would have killed him if he hadnât been going easy on him.
He turned around and strode off.
âIâm home, Mom,â he said as he opened the door and walked in. Ye Shuyun was watching television with Little Bean on her lap, and Lu Jin was browsing the newspapers by the side. With nearly half a year of holidays, a recent promotion, and having earned himself a good name, Lu Jin was feeling pretty smug.