Chapter 63

“A-He.” A cool, clear female voice sounded from behind Yan He, the sound carrying a layer of mist as if one couldn’t quite discern the emotions contained within it.

Yan He’s brows furrowed tightly. The words Wu Yu had just said were still echoing in her mind, and hearing Lu Youqing’s voice made her heart suddenly tremble. This feeling made her feel as if she had returned to the moment she first saw Lu Youqing after the car accident. The sensation of being stared at intently from behind left her somewhat stunned, unable to stop cold sweat from breaking out.

Wu Yu had completely shut her mouth, her eyes looking deeply behind Yan He. She didn’t know when Lu Youqing had walked over or whether she had heard their conversation just now. If she already knew, would Yan He still be able to leave later? Moreover, speaking like this right in front of Lu Youqing made it hard for Wu Yu to open her mouth; she bit her teeth and chose to swallow back the rest of her unfinished words.

Yan He wanted to turn around, yet she didn’t realize her body felt so heavy, as if frozen in place by the bitter winter wind. Only after a long moment did she manage to turn her body around with difficulty.

Lu Youqing was standing a dozen meters away. The venue lights were like a dimly lit opening to a closing ceremony, leaving only a faint layer of light lit behind her. Her back was to the light; her exquisite gown and soft, hair strands moving gently in the wind were so beautiful they almost seemed to glow, yet it was truly impossible to see her expression clearly.

“Come here.” The woman simply stood without moving, not even uttering a single extra word. Like a dignified queen issuing a command, her tone carried an indisputable attitude. What Yan He couldn’t see was that the hand hanging at her side was clenched into a fist so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

Yan He could finally hear the emotions in her words—trembling, gentle, yet suppressing a few degrees of anger, like being angry that her favorite secret treasure had been seen by someone else. It actually made Yan He feel a creeping chill rise beneath her feet.

Yan He’s mind felt like mush. Listening to Lu Youqing’s words, her body instinctively wanted to lift her feet and walk over, but she was hurriedly grabbed by a reacting Wu Yu.

“Don’t go! She’s a lunatic—if you go, bailiantales.comyou won’t be able to get out. Hurry and leave with me!”

She was the person who understood Yan He best. She knew that if Yan He listened and went over now, leaving later would no longer be that simple. Thus, no matter what, she had to stop her.

Yan He looked at her blankly, then looked at Lu Youqing up ahead. Two people with two completely different sets of words clashed in her mind, her heart feeling torn apart into two halves—one half telling her not to go, while the other urged her to hurry over.

“A-He.” Seeing that Yan He’s wrist had been grabbed, Lu Youqing’s gaze fell darkly onto their joined hands. She neither refuted nor affirmed, simply urging Yan He to come over faster.

Lu Youqing’s gaze seemed almost tangible; landing on her wrist, it scared Wu Yu into subconsciously letting go of her grip on Yan He.

Yan He’s heart trembled. In her ears came Lu Youqing’s tender, lingering voice: “It’s very cold outside. Let’s hurry home.” Word by word, it dismantled the uneasiness and doubts in her heart.

She pursed her lips, trying her best to ignore the deep panic in her heart, and said to Wu Yu beside her: “I’m sorry, I have to head back first. Let’s catch up another day.” With that, she lifted her feet and walked over toward Lu Youqing.

Wu Yu called out twice, her face dark as she looked at Lu Youqing opposite her: “Lu Youqing, what did you do to Yan He? Is her amnesia your doing?”

By then, Yan He had already reached Lu Youqing’s side. She reached out to take the down jacket from Lu Youqing’s hands, very skillfully draping it over Lu Youqing’s shoulders. Lu Youqing looked at her, a gentle smile floating onto the corners of her mouth. Then, she looked at Wu Yu, her eyes carrying an unmistakable displeasure.

“A-He is my fiancée. I would not hurt her. On the other hand, Miss Wu—appearing out of [Read on BaiLianTales]nowhere and trying to take away my fiancée, did you get my permission?”

Wu Yu was choked up, about to hurl angry curses on the spot, but was suddenly blocked in the throat by Lu Youqing’s next sentence: “Miss Wu, President Li is waiting for you.”

Wu Yu froze, swallowing hard: “I already told her. She knows I’m here.”

“Is that so? But the time you agreed upon seems to have passed.” Lu Youqing gave a faint smile, her arm wrapping around the arm of the stunned Yan He beside her in an exceedingly intimate gesture.

“Let’s go. It’s really cold outside—the heating pad you gave me has already gone cold.” Her tone carried a bit of complaint, but she very gently pulled up the zipper of Yan He’s jacket.

Yan He shivered, snapping back to reality from her bewildered state: “I’ll warm another one for you when we get back.”

“Okay, I knew A-He is the best,” Lu Youqing replied with a smile, turning around with Yan He to leave.

Seeing that they were about to walk away, Wu Yu hurriedly raised her feet to call out to Yan He. But right at that moment, Lu Youqing glanced back at her once before withdrawing her gaze to continue chatting with Yan He.

It was merely that faint glance devoid of any emotion, yet it made Wu Yu feel chilled to the core. She could barely support herself, stepping backward until her body hit the hard wall, slowly collapsing down with her whole body going limp.

She naturally understood the meaning of Lu Youqing’s unauthorized copyglance: she couldn’t even break free from Li Wenqiu’s control herself, so what gave her the confidence to take Yan He away?

Wu Yu suddenly felt an overwhelming despair. Looking at the two receding figures walking together up ahead, looking so compatible, she couldn’t help trembling as she let out a breath. Under the light, the dense cluster of hickeys concealed by foundation on her neck showed faint traces, extending all the way into the depths of her clothing.

At a certain moment, she actually hoped Yan He’s amnesia would never heal. She was already in the abyss; she didn’t want Yan He to end up like her again.

Not knowing how long she had been crouching, the strength in Wu Yu’s body finally recovered. She braced her body to stand up, preparing to hurry back, only to see a woman standing at the end of the corridor the moment she turned around.

The woman was wearing a tasteful suit, her straight black hair hanging down. On her high nose bridge sat a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, the gold chain hanging from the glasses swaying gently in the wind. Looking refined as if she had just finished a major meeting, she held a black-and-gold cane in her hand, staring fixedly at her.

Wu Yu froze on the spot.

It was over.

The temperature inside the car was indeed much warmer than outside. As the driver started the car, the two left the theatre behind completely.

Yan He looked through the car window toward the theatre, her brows slightly knit.

Lu Youqing noticed her abnormality and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Yan He turned her head to look at her. Seeing that Lu Youqing’s mood was fairly good, she thought for a moment before speaking: “I just felt that Wu Yu’s condition didn’t seem too good. Can she go back on her own?”

Lu Youqing’s face suddenly darkened the moment she mentioned another person’s name. Why bring up someone else when she was right beside her? She shifted her gaze away from Yan He: “It’s fine. Her lover came to pick her up, so she should have returned by now.”

Thus, Yan He didn’t dare speak anymore. Yet, looking at Lu Youqing beside her, her heart couldn’t settle down no matter what.

Even having left Wu Yu behind, the words she said earlier were still echoing in Yan He’s mind—like throwing a stone into a lake, stirring up ripple after ripple. No matter how she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t bring herself to truly stop thinking about this matter. On the contrary, those words were branded into her mind, word for word.

Wu Yu said that half a year ago, she wanted to break up with Lu Youqing. Hadn’t they gotten back together before? Why break up again? If this was true, what on earth was Lu Youqing keeping from her? And the second half of the sentence Wu Yu didn’t finish—what was she trying to say?

Yan He felt her head grow heavy, dizzy and confused. Yet Lu Youqing beside her didn’t show the slightest bit of fear or panic from being exposed; she sat beside her as usual looking out the window, their fingers tightly intertwined.

Yan He felt her fingertips trembling, sensing that Lu Youqing’s palm was much warmer than hers.

“What’s wrong?” Seemingly sensing her abnormality, Lu Youqing looked at her and asked with concern, “Did Wu Yu say something to you? Or did you remember something again?”

Even though Yan He had ten thousand doubts in her heart, hearing Lu Youqing ask her so calmly made her realize she couldn’t open her mouth [Read on BaiLianTales]at all. If what Wu Yu said was true, Lu Youqing shouldn’t look like this; she should be explaining things to her.

Should she believe what Wu Yu said? She didn’t know. Should she believe Lu Youqing? She didn’t know either. Yan He only felt that she was about to be torn to pieces by the panic inside her.

At this moment, Yan He—completely thrown into chaos and bewildered in mind—did not realize one thing: the person sitting with her, her lover, was an actress who had just won Best Actress at the Golden Fountain Awards.

“It’s nothing. She just told me a few things from before.” Yan He squeezed out a smile, wanting to put Lu Youqing at ease, but she was not an actor after all; Lu Youqing saw through her disguise in an instant.

Her trembling hand was gripped tightly, the warmth from their intertwined palms transferring to her heart. Yan He snapped back to her senses, pursing her pale lips as she looked over—it was Lu Youqing’s worried face.

Tonight, she was undoubtedly stunning, the focus and center of everyone’s gaze. But now, after stripping away all the glamour in a side no one could see, when everyone assumed she should be excited over her trophy, she was merely looking at Yan He with concern, caring about her, as if nothing mattered to her besides Yan He.

“She heard what she said to you. Do you believe her?” She held Lu Youqing’s hand, placing it on her own chest. The beating frequency of her heart seemed to transfer into Yan He’s heart through her palm, making her own heart beat wildly without control.

“I don’t know, but I feel you wouldn’t lie to me.” Yan He shook her head. She really didn’t know—didn’t know whether Wu Yu lied to her or whether these things were true. At the same time, she was afraid that if it were true, why Lu Youqing didn’t tell her these things. She instinctively resisted any thoughts or ideas unfavorable to Lu Youqing.

“It’s okay.” Lu Youqing was very satisfied with her words, leaning down with a smile to kiss her lips. Then, she raised her hand to cover Yan He’s eyes, prompting her to close them, embracing Yan He’s shoulders so she could lean into her arms to gather warmth, comforting her as if lulling a child.

“I won’t lie to A-He. Hasn’t A-He always known that? Be good and sleep unauthorized copyfor a bit; we’ll be home soon.”

A rich, clear fragrance fell upon Yan He along with the warmth. She felt as though she had fallen into a place full of blooming flowers, the scent lingering at her nose bringing peace to her heart. She couldn’t help hugging Lu Youqing tightly, burying her head deep in her neck; dissipating along with it was the anxious heart that had been uneasy since earlier.

Yan He seemed to have really fallen asleep, her exhausted spirit quickly growing drowsy, sleeping in the arms of the person she loved most as even her consciousness drifted away with the wind.