Li Xiaoyue changed into the restaurant's professional skirt suit and came out of the room.
Her long hair had been carefully combed, and delicate, light makeup concealed the exhaustion from the night before.
The timidity and unease that had clung to her for years seemed to have evaporated completely in the morning light.
She walked up to Chen Lin and naturally reached out to straighten his slightly rumpled collar.
The gesture was intimate, yet carried a hint of shyness unique to a woman newly intimate with a man.
"I'm heading to the restaurant."
Her voice was still gentle, but its uncertain tremor was gone. It was steady and calm.
"Be careful on the way."
Chen Lin gazed at her, his eyes full of tenderness.
Li Xiaoyue nodded lightly and turned around.
She left.
Her back was straight, each step firm and steady, like a sunflower that had finally dared to embrace the sunlight fully.
Chen Lin watched her disappear through the courtyard gate, a jumble of emotions churning inside him.
There was guilt, there was tenderness, and above all, a heavy burden called a man's responsibility.
He returned alone to the empty backyard and sank into the reclining chair beneath the osmanthus tree.
Scenes of his loss of control the night before replayed relentlessly in his mind.
The terrifying feeling of being completely ruled by primal desire, unable even to remember who he was, sent a chill crawling up his spine to the back of his head.
If the person who came in last night hadn't been Xiaoyue...
If I had really hurt her...
He needed greater power.
Power enough to control everything, to withstand any unknown danger, and to ensure he would never lose control like that again.
A thought flashed through his mind, and the Storage Ring glimmered.