To mark her, blend into her bones and blood, tear into her marrow-deep, total, eternal, lifelong.
Unhealthy, eerie thoughts.
Shen Han could control these impulses, but she wasn’t sure if she could keep suppressing them forever. She worried they were part of her.
More worried that Su Mi wouldn’t accept that side—or that it’d hurt her.
So Shen Han only dared murmur them during intimate moments, in a haze of feigned passion, hinting at her inner truths.
Su Mi trusted her too much, taking it as pure affection, not dwelling on it.
But…
Shen Han’s lashes fluttered. The fingers circling her wrist tightened slowly, like savoring or suppressing, an urge akin to cutting off her own blood flow.
The room was silent.
After a while, Shen Han heard her own voice. “Are you hiding something from me?”
Doctors didn’t need to be fully honest with patients.
But.
Shen Han lifted her gaze slowly and said, “Do I have missing memories?”
“…”
Li Zhao bit her tongue, cursing silently in her mind.
Damn.
She hadn’t said a thing, and Shen Han figured it out alone?
She rubbed her forehead, took a breath, and said, “Don’t overthink it.”
Shen Han hummed, waiting quietly for her to speak.
“I…” Li Zhao struggled to say, “Everything I did was for your own good. It was the absolute best option under the circumstances back then.”
Otherwise, Shen Han would’ve been ruined.
Shen Han said, “I trust your ethics and character.”
“You’re too kind,” Li Zhao forced a smile. “Shen Han, I’m serious. This is Pandora’s Box.”
“The treatment I recommend is to reinforce the psychological block. My mental power is much stronger now than back then. I can bury those things you can’t hold back, lock them dead in the box. You’ll stay the Shen Han you are now—rational, perfect, invincible.”
Li Zhao paused.
“The Shen Han the person you like knows right now.”
She lifted her eyes and stared straight into Shen Han’s, saying, “The past cannot be chased. If some things only bring more pain, then I think there’s no need to pursue them further. Moreover, you can’t be sure what will happen after opening the box… I’m nagging, but it’s for your own good. I hope you’re well.”
Shen Han pursed her lips. “…I know.”
She averted her gaze and quietly looked at the table lamp on the coffee table.
It was very tempting—to reshape a flawless, excellent version of herself without those unbearable memories. There would be no risk of being abandoned or feared by her lover.
However.
Shen Han turned her gaze back and said steadily and firmly, “But I think that when I’m loving someone, I want to be the honest, complete me.”
Li Zhao fell silent for a moment. “…Fine.”
She let out a heavy breath. “Fine, I’ll try, but this can’t be rushed. Your mental power is already unstable to begin with, and recovering memories has to be done bit by bit. It takes time, got it?”
Shen Han curved her lips and said sincerely, “Mm, thank you.”
“Thanks my ass. Sooner or later, during the next hypnosis, I’ll make you transfer half of Shen Corporation’s shares to me!”
Li Zhao spat harsh words as she stood up. She glanced at the primly seated Shen Han before her, a surge of emotions with nowhere to vent, then turned and kicked the sofa hatefully.
Useless thing!
.
Su Mi vaguely noticed that Shen Han had been busier lately.
After finishing her exams, she had originally wanted to invite Shen Han on a short trip to the neighboring city to find a suitable opportunity for some romance.
But she learned that Shen Han couldn’t get away on the weekend—a core industry under the group was preparing for a transformation, with several meetings scheduled.
Su Mi had no choice. She grumbled as she wheedled a bunch of rewards from Shen Han before returning to her own courtship plans.
Over dinner with Xu Nanqiao after school, she heard Xu Nanqiao say that Xu Rou had fallen ill after going home that day. She refused to go to the hospital and was now bedridden, her old ailment apparently flaring up.
In her clear moments, Xu Rou had strictly checked Xu Nanqiao’s light brain. Su Mi’s contact information was one of the few that Xu Nanqiao had managed to keep.
Su Mi thought of Xu Rou’s extreme behavior in the original plot and felt a lingering fear. She sighed along with her.
Another issue was that Xu Nanqiao naturally couldn’t continue the part-time job of reading to Shen Han anymore, which cut off a major source of income.
Su Mi tried suggesting they stick to the original method of transfers. Xu Nanqiao could record herself reading and play it for Shen Han while bringing it over.
Xu Nanqiao replied helplessly, “My mom checks my account transactions every day now. She asks about every single one. I can’t hide it.”
Su Mi: “…”
She took a difficult sip of her milk tea. This was so tough.
She asked, “Then what are you going to do? Take on more tutoring? I remember you wanted to save up to take your mom to…”
Xu Nanqiao said, “Li Zhao introduced me to a new part-time job—as a waitress at a high-end quiet bar near the school. The schedule is flexible, the hourly pay is pretty good, and I’m planning to go for an interview this weekend.”
Su Mi: ? What? Did this place sound more reliable than reading to Shen Han?
Puzzled, she asked, “Will your mom agree to that?”
Xu Nanqiao chuckled. “She does. You know how much she trusts Doctor Li. Doctor Li said it’s owned by her friend, so Mom didn’t even ask many questions before agreeing. She even told me to thank her…”
Su Mi: “…”
Li Zhao’s personal charm with Xu Rou actually surpassed Shen Han’s?
Unbelievable!
She asked Xu Nanqiao the name of the quiet bar.
Eternal Day Bar.
It didn’t sound like a good bar at all…
Su Mi’s mind jolted.
Wait—this seemed to be the exact quiet bar where Xu Nanqiao had worked during university in the original plot, right?
Su Mi racked her brain for the plot details and felt an inexplicable twinge.
It really was.
Some clichéd events happened there, mostly stirred up by the male lead. A bunch of inexplicable rich second-gen types would bully the male and female leads who were working together at the quiet bar. The heroine would save the hero, the hero would save the heroine, and after all the back-and-forth saving, their relationship would grow even more solid.
Su Mi had almost forgotten about the male lead.
For one thing, Su Mi stayed home a lot and didn’t like socializing. For another… the male lead’s presence really did feel much weaker.
The male lead, Gu Yansheng, was supposed to have low-key enrolled at Prime City University according to the original plot.
Their last meeting had been at that dessert-making contest, where Gu Yansheng had come over to chat them up.
The meeting before that was when Gu Yansheng had swooped in and stolen her hero-save-the-beauty moment with Xu Nanqiao.
Su Mi recalled it all, feeling as if it were a lifetime ago.
Back then, she had been frantically messing around with tasks.
Now… she was the antagonist’s girlfriend!
It had been so long since she’d seen the male lead that Su Mi wasn’t sure if these events would still play out.
After mulling it over, she still felt a bit worried. When she got home, she mentioned it to Shen Han and said she wanted to experience it herself too.
Shen Han was peeling a peach for her. Upon hearing this, her hand paused, and the sharp knife nearly sliced her finger.
It scared Su Mi so much she almost jumped up.
Su Mi snatched the fruit knife and peach from Shen Han’s hand, shoved her aside, and started peeling it herself while nagging, “You’ve been so busy these past few days that you’re all dazed. How are you always so absent-minded?”
Shen Han obediently sat beside Su Mi and rested her chin on Su Mi’s shoulder. As she spoke, her breath tickled Su Mi’s cheek.
Shen Han’s breath was like fragrant orchids as she slowly asked, “You really want to go?”
Su Mi huffed and tried her best to ignore someone’s beauty trap.
She cut off a piece of peach and precisely stuffed it into Shen Han’s mouth. “I don’t know if the bar Li Zhao recommended is reliable or not. Nanqiao’s always been a good student and has never been to places like that. I’m worried she’ll get bullied. I also want to experience that kind of life.”
Shen Han chewed the peach piece and lowered her eyes. “I don’t see you worrying about me…”
Su Mi looked at her, feigning shock. “Whose knife did I just grab? Am I worried about the peach getting cut or something?”
Shen Han pointed at herself. Her pretty, aloof brows and eyes were now blatantly earnest. “I work so hard every day, but you’ve never worried about me getting bullied at the company.”
At those words, Su Mi had just bitten into a piece of peach and nearly spat it out.
She wiped her mouth and steadied her emotions. “You… I… Who would dare? Is Secretary Zhuang the one bullying you at the company?”
The two stared at each other for a moment. Su Mi gazed into Shen Han’s translucent blue eyes like cut glass, and her heart softened.
Fine. Shen Han just liked getting jealous and clingy. It wasn’t like she wanted the stars from the sky.
If there ever came a day when Shen Han acted coquettish toward her…
Su Mi would pluck the stars from the sky for her!
She held the peach up to Shen Han. “I’ll go to the interview with Xu Nanqiao Sunday morning. If President Shen—who didn’t eat her dinner properly—finishes this peach, then I can consider spending the rest of Sunday visiting and consoling her at the company.”
Shen Han narrowed her eyes and softly asked, “Does it come with delivery service?”
Su Mi: “That’s too much! Take it back!”
The next moment, Shen Han lowered her head and bit into the peach.
Her movements were quick. As she bit down, her eyes stayed fixed on Su Mi, as if she wanted to…
Bite Su Mi’s neck instead.
Like some beast with pure wildness yet unwavering loyalty to its target.
For some reason, the action made Su Mi’s face heat up and her heart race. She pulled her hand back, leaned away, and fanned herself.
“It’s… it’s pretty hot.”
Shen Han raised a brow, sat up straight unhurriedly, and bit into a crisp piece of peach.
It made a clear, crisp sound, and the juice moistened her thin lips, fresh and glistening.
Su Mi coughed lightly, unable to tear her gaze away.
She simply leaned in, grabbed Shen Han’s wrist, and boldly—face burning—licked the glistening juice from Shen Han’s lips with the tip of her tongue.
Sweet and slick.
Once her impulse faded, Su Mi wanted to pull back and end the light kiss.
But her waist was suddenly gripped firmly, without any room for refusal.
Amid the fresh, sweet peach juice, her lips replaced the peach. Shen Han ate them up, bit by bit, deeply and meticulously.
