SES Chapter 211 Part 2

That left things awkward for Yan Hongsha. If she tagged along, she’d feel like a third wheel; if she didn’t, she’d be all alone.

Luo Ren saw through her dilemma and smiled. “You can go shopping with Mu Dai. I’ve been driving nonstop the past couple of days—I need to rest and recharge.”

Yan Hongsha couldn’t hide her delight and broke into a grin.

And just like that, everyone scattered. Mu Dai linked arms with Yan Hongsha, chatting like any pair of close girlfriends, whispering and giggling as they left the elevator. When they reached the lobby, Mu Dai reached into her pocket and realized she’d forgotten her phone.

She asked Yan Hongsha to wait and dashed back upstairs.

She swiped her card, grabbed her phone—and as she was leaving, she heard Luo Ren ask, “Who came back?”

“Me,” Mu Dai replied. “I forgot my phone.”

The bathroom door was ajar, water running. Through the crack, she could see him standing at the sink. She pushed the door open and said, “Get some good rest—”

The words caught in her throat.

Luo Ren was bare-chested, probably because he’d been soaked in the mountains. He was bent over, splashing water on his face. Droplets ran messily down his bronze-colored back.

There were fresh knife wounds on his back. The shallower ones were scattered, but the deepest ran diagonally from his left shoulder, tearing across his entire back.

Mu Dai stared at them, her nose suddenly stinging.

Luo Ren straightened, grabbed a towel, and halfway through drying his face sensed something wrong. He looked at her eyes in the mirror and laughed softly.
“What—does it hurt to look at?”

Mu Dai didn’t know why, but she nodded.

Luo Ren set the towel down and turned to her. “Come here.”

Mu Dai closed the door and walked over. He smiled at her, slid his hand down her back to beneath her hips, then hooked one arm around her and lifted her onto the sink with a single motion.

He leaned in toward her.

Mu Dai leaned back uneasily. The sink beneath her was cold and wet with splashed water. Behind her was the mirror, faithfully reflecting everything in the room—everything she herself couldn’t see.

Luo Ren took her hand and pressed it to his abs, then slowly guided it upward, stopping at his left shoulder.

His muscles were firm—hard in a way you couldn’t tell when he was clothed, utterly different from her softness.

He said, “Little girl, I’ve suffered quite a bit at your hands.”

His gaze dropped to his shoulder. “Right here. The first time we met, you slammed into me hard.”

That was true.

Back then, he’d pretended to be buying fruit and even borrowed paper and pen from the vendor to write his number for her.
“Miss, if you’re looking for an excuse to get to know me, my name is Luo Ren. You can call me anytime…”

Mu Dai laughed softly. “Honestly, it hurt me too when I ran into you.”

Luo Ren lowered his head and gently bit her lip—not hard, just a sharp, stinging nip, like a delicate punishment. Then he took her hand again and slid it downward to his ribs.

“And here. That fight in the grove—you rammed your elbow into me. You nearly broke something.”

Mu Dai couldn’t help laughing. “You put a knife to my neck.”

She even demonstrated, indignant.

Luo Ren leaned close and lightly blew on the spot she’d indicated, a ticklish, teasing breath.

“I couldn’t bear to cut even a bit of your skin. Do you know how many days this bruise lasted? I couldn’t even sleep on that side. Every time I rolled over at night, the pain jolted me awake—and I’d think of you.”

Mu Dai felt embarrassed.

Using elbows was something Mei Hua Jiu Niang had taught her.
“Mu Dai, your fists are just flowery punches. You hit someone and it’s like scratching an itch, but you’ll tear your own skin. Use your joints—elbows, knees. Those are real weapons. You’ll break bones.”

At the time, she truly had wanted to break his bones.

She mumbled, “If I’d known we’d end up… on the same side, I wouldn’t have hit that hard. What did you think about me back then? Did you curse me?”

Luo Ren leaned in close to her lips, close enough that he didn’t quite touch.
“I thought I’d better hope this girl never falls into my hands. Otherwise, I’d spend my whole life getting revenge.”

With a hint of ruefulness, he added, “Who knew you’d be like a startled little deer in the woods—charging straight in.”

He loosened his hold slightly and asked, “Want to leave? If you want to go, there’s still time.”

Mu Dai’s eyes flicked around, then she said, “Leave.”

She braced her hands on the sink, about to slide down—only to feel her waist tighten as Luo Ren pulled her back.

“Too late,” he said.

He bent down and kissed her hard, more like biting. Mu Dai panicked, her hands slipping on the foamy water. Once her hand nearly slid into the basin. She grabbed blindly and caught the faucet instead—turning it full blast with a loud rush.

Cold water sprayed everywhere, splashing her face and neck. Even as the mist thickened, the air seemed to grow dry…

Yan Hongsha’s voice sounded outside.
“Luo Ren, are you showering? Did Mu Dai come back? She said she was getting her phone.”

That was truly being caught off guard. Mu Dai’s heart nearly stopped.

Luo Ren lifted his head and winked at her, as if amused by her panic.

“She came up, grabbed her phone, and went back down. She’s probably looking for you,” he said calmly—while subtly turning down the faucet.

Yan Hongsha sounded puzzled. “I didn’t see her. That Mu Dai… I’ll call her.”

Call her… her phone?

Mu Dai’s gaze dropped to the phone beside her. Her scalp prickled. She grabbed it in a panic—and seeing water in the sink, her first instinct was actually to throw it in.

Luo Ren intercepted it. As the phone passed into his hand, Mu Dai saw the screen light up.

An incoming call.

Too late to power it off.

It was over.

So embarrassing. Mu Dai shut her eyes in despair.

The ringtone never sounded. Instead, there was a soft plop—something falling into water.

She looked instinctively. The phone was still in Luo Ren’s hand, but the backing plate was pinched between his fingers. Below that, the battery cover floated in the sink, bobbing gently like a little boat.

The door opened, and Yan Hongsha muttered to herself as she walked away.

Mu Dai finally exhaled, going limp against the sink. Luo Ren lifted her down, snapped the backing plate back on, fished out the cover, wiped it against his pants, and reattached it.

He handed the phone back to her.
“Go return yourself to Hongsha. Don’t neglect the birthday girl—she’s past her prime.”

Mu Dai took the phone, still a bit dazed, patted her chest, and headed for the door. Luo Ren called after her, “Aren’t you going to check through the peephole first? What if Hongsha’s right outside?”

Good point. Mu Dai felt especially foolish today.

After confirming it was safe and opening the door, Luo Ren suddenly called out again. “Hey.”

Mu Dai turned back.

“No need to thank me. I can field-strip a gun in nine seconds—one-handed.”

That night, everyone came back buzzing with stories. Mu Dai and Yan Hongsha had basically eaten their way through the streets. Cao Yanhua and Wan San bought nothing and complained to Luo Ren.

—Small place. Nothing good. Anything we bought would’ve been unworthy of our Hongsha…

Then it was washing up and resting. Tomorrow, they still had Longevity Stone to visit.

While washing up, Mu Dai felt cursed—every time the faucet ran strongly, her face flushed and her heart raced. In bed, she tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

At the very end of the night, she dreamed.

She knew it was a dream, because it began exactly like that other night—the hotel room filling with fog. Within the mist were seven long, slender, eerie shadows, whispering urgently to one another.

—Hide it, hide it.
—She won’t think of it.

Why wouldn’t I think of it? Where was it hidden? On whose body? Someone familiar?

Suddenly furious, Mu Dai clenched her teeth and charged straight into the thick fog.

The shadows scattered and fled, as if terrified that their secret had been exposed.

Stumbling forward, she suddenly saw a figure appear ahead.

A man—tall, straight-backed. That outline—she could trace it even with her eyes closed.

Mu Dai’s heart tightened. She stopped abruptly.

Slowly, she stepped backward.

Please don’t let it be you.
It can’t be you.