"When I was little, I thought he was good-looking, so I fell for him. He flirted with me and never turned me down, so I just kept falling harder. But..." Xia Shule paused halfway through. "But we didn't part on good terms, either. We're enemies now."
Hearing the word "enemies," Yan Zhiyi's lips curved upward. It wasn't as though he didn't know Xia Shule and Jiang Gechen had long been at odds, but hearing Xia Shule say it in front of his friends felt different.
Lai Jiangtian didn't think much of it. He simply assumed the two had fallen out, unaware of the complications involved or Jiang Gechen's mental state. "So what? Who hasn't fallen for the wrong person when they were young?"
Then he gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, putting on a melancholy, poetic air.
Nobody paid him any attention. When he turned back, he discovered that everyone had already walked some distance away.
Lai Jiangtian: ...
At the Yan Residence, Xiang Lin stole a glance to the left, then to the right. Then he fiddled with his fingers, inwardly grumbling that the decorations in front of him were worth hundreds of millions.
He had even made a special trip home to drop off the bouquet. After all, wealth was best kept out of sight.
Ruan Jiaojiao was so nervous that her palms were sweating a little, but she still didn't forget to tease him, as though doing so could ease her nerves. "Stop sneaking around like a thief."
"Who's acting like a thief?" Xiang Lin said. "I'm carefully surveying my surroundings."
"I've never been here before," Ruan Jiaojiao said. "This house feels just as stern as President Yan. It's scary."
"Tch, what's there to be scared of?" Xiang Lin said. "He's Lele's husband, not some stranger."
"Are you sure that's what you think?" Ruan Jiaojiao grabbed Xiang Lin's sweaty hand, exposing his bluff.
Xiang Lin shook her hand off and was about to stubbornly deny it when a large group came through the entrance. Leading them was his new friend Lai Jiangtian, and Xiang Lin immediately felt much more relaxed.
"Brother Jiangtian!"
"Little brother Lin!"
He didn't recognize the crowd that came in behind him, so he only dared to talk to Lai Jiangtian, whom he knew.
Ruan Jiaojiao strode past the two men who acted as though they regretted not meeting sooner and went over to Xia Shule.
Even when she genuinely complimented someone, her words sounded sarcastic. Fortunately, Xia Shule had long since grown used to it. "Well, well, Xia Shule, you look so handsome today~"
"Hey~ Of course I dressed up for my own wedding!" Xia Shule rubbed his chin, basking in his own good looks.
Your big sister Jiaojiao doesn't compliment people often. If she praises you, just count yourself lucky.
Ruan Jiaojiao glanced at Le Fu, then sheepishly pulled Xia Shule away. Only when they reached a quiet corner did she ask what was on her mind.
"You little brat, I saw Jiang Gechen today. What's going on with you? Still can't get over him?"
Xia Shule's face was all innocence. "No. He's already been invited, so whatever. Anyone who comes has to bring a wedding gift anyway."
Seeing that he really didn't seem to like Jiang Gechen anymore, Ruan Jiaojiao relaxed. Like Xia Shule before, she knew nothing of the history between the Jiang Family and the Yan Family, so she reassured herself that perhaps Le Fu had business dealings with the Jiang Family.
Xia Shule patted her hand. "Don't worry. I'm not who I used to be. Go find Xiang Lin. I'm heading upstairs to take a bath."
With that, Xia Shule headed upstairs. Yan Zhiyi's gaze followed him until he went into the room and closed the door, and only then did Yan Zhiyi look away.
Aunt Liu was filling the tub for Xia Shule in the bathroom. Seeing him come in, she quickly wiped her hands and prepared to leave. "Young Master Xia, your bath is ready. The water's just the right temperature. The master prepared a lychee-scented bath bomb for you."
Xia Shule stood in the doorway, watching the gentle ripples spreading across the water in the tub. Suddenly, a wave of panic rose without warning, and his head felt as though it would split apart.
It was as though his entire being were being unraveled, strand by strand, and even his soul had been torn out of place.
His hands began trembling beneath his sleeves as images of his final moments flashed through his mind. Jiang Gechen had held his head down, forcing it into the water again and again. Pleading for help, shouting, apologizing-none of it had worked.
Until, in the end, he had been pushed into the water, struggling in despair.
The suffocation hurt so much. It was agony...
Xia Shule took deep breaths to steady his emotions, but no matter what he did, he couldn't suppress the panic.
Seeing his deathly pale face, Aunt Liu grew worried. "Young Master Xia? Young Master Xia, are you all right?!"
"Hm?" Xia Shule came back to himself, a bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face.
"I'm fine. Thank you, Aunt Liu. You can go now."
Aunt Liu nodded. "All right, as long as you're okay. Call me if you need anything!"
"Okay."
Once Aunt Liu was completely out of sight, Xia Shule quickly opened the drain and emptied every last drop of water from the tub.
Only when the rippling water was gone did Xia Shule feel alive again. The sensation of suffocation disappeared, too.
He had known about this problem from the very first day of his rebirth.
That day, after being drugged, he had already filled the tub with cold water, yet looking at the water inside had actually terrified him.
Left with no other choice, he could only smash the mirror and use pain to keep himself lucid.
Yan Zhiyi had thought Xia Shule had hurt himself only after failing to cool down in the water, and he hadn't had time to look closely. Otherwise, he would have noticed that Xia Shule's suit had been dry.
There was no other way, Xia Shule repeated helplessly to himself. There really was no other way.
Everything had happened too fast. He had only just gone through life and death before returning to the day that had changed his life.
He hadn't even been given time to process it before being drugged all over again.
Xia Shule knew this might be what they called post-traumatic stress disorder. He would keep it buried in his heart until one day it faded on its own.
He took off his clothes and went over to the shower beside the tub to wash.
Even in the shower, he couldn't stay under the water for too long. After washing for a little while, he had to step out and gulp down air.
An hour and a half later, Xia Shule finally finished.
Downstairs, Yan Zhiyi didn't find it strange. Since he had prepared a bath bomb, he assumed Xia Shule had taken so long because he was soaking in the tub.
Xia Shule went downstairs and quietly said to Yan Zhiyi, "Can I go upstairs and sleep for a bit? I'm so tired. Will you come wake me when it's time? I'm leaving all my friends in your hands."
Yan Zhiyi wondered if the little fellow had gotten up too early that morning. He had been running around all day, too, so it was only natural for him to be tired.
He ruffled Xia Shule's soft hair. "Go on. Get some rest. I'll wake you in a bit."
"Okay..." Xia Shule had no energy left to say anything else. His exhaustion was mental, not physical.
His emotions had been through too much just now. He needed to quiet his mind.
Freshly showered and dressed in new pajamas, he lay beneath the newly changed bedding, its comforting embrace enveloping his entire body.
It lulled the tense Xia Shule to sleep before he knew it, but he didn't sleep well.
He kept seeing the scene from that day: Jiang Gechen's twisted face. From beneath the water, the ripples on the surface made Jiang Gechen's face look even more terrifying...