Chapter 34: I Really Like Your Eyes

 Chapter 34: I Really Like Your Eyes

Just taking a bath.

Alright.

Nan Huang glanced at his cast and remembered the doctor's advice, so she said, "There's a bathtub in there, you can fill it yourself, be careful not to wet the cast."

It seemed like only now that Lord Rong remembered this. He looked at his cast and then at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked.

"I'm thinking..." he began, but Nan Huang interrupted him, "I'll have someone bring clothes for you."

After throwing on a robe, Nan Huang left the room. Lord Rong saw her leave and, after a moment, put on the robe and then saw her sitting on the bed, playing with her phone.

He was about to sit down on the bed when she gave him a cold look. He shrugged and remembered that he had promised not to disturb her. So, he looked at her for a while and then left the room.

It was a cold night, and Lord Rong walked around the garden wearing slippers. Yang Bo followed him, yawning.

"Lord Rong, I'm going back now."

"Wait."

Yang Bo stopped. He had worked overtime for quite a long time today.

Lord Rong turned slightly and looked towards Nan Huang's room. "I want to sleep in that room. Can you arrange it?"

Yang Bo was stunned. He didn't know what he had just heard, or maybe he had misheard.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!" Yang Bo coughed repeatedly.

"Never mind."

Lord Rong looked troubled. "You can go off duty."

"Uh..." Yang Bo hadn't even said anything yet.

Time passed slowly. After 1 a.m., Lord Rong finally fell asleep in his bed.

The young boy clutched his neck, trying to endure the beating. He had to protect his neck at all costs.

He didn't know if his pleas and suffering had been heard, but the punches and kicks gradually stopped.

Perhaps the bullies had grown tired. He hoped they would get bored soon so he could end this brutal beating.

Slowly, the physical blows ceased.

However, the boy remained vigilant, maintaining his defensive stance, protecting his neck and head.

Suddenly, he heard light footsteps approaching.

He tensed up, not daring to breathe. The clear, melodious voice spoke, "Hey, why are they beating you?"

The voice was so pleasant, like the sound of flowing water, that the boy thought he might be hearing things.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Why are they beating you?" A small hand poked him.

The beautiful voice drew closer, and the boy timidly raised his head.

He saw a girl squatting beside him, wearing a black dress. Her skin was a beautiful milky white, almost translucent.

Her eyes were large and bright, more beautiful than the stars at night. Her long eyelashes framed her eyes perfectly, and her curved eyebrows were delicate and charming.

Her petite cherry lips lightly bit a lollipop.

She was so cute.

The boy had seen that lollipop before, but he couldn't afford it.

"Don't be scared. I scared them away," the girl said as she squatted down and saw him gazing at her lips. She reached behind her and pulled out a lollipop. "Do you want one?"

The boy hesitated but couldn't resist the temptation. He took the lollipop and carefully unwrapped it before placing it in his mouth.

It was sweet, incredibly sweet. Amidst the bitterness of his fate, this tiny sweetness was truly remarkable, like a dream.

"What's your name?" she asked.

The boy shrank back and shook his head.

"Where do you come from?" she asked.

No, he couldn't. He couldn't let her know where he came from.

He shrank even further and shook his head.

"You don't have a name, and you don't know where you're from?" she inquired.

The girl extended her hand towards him. Her hand was so small and clean, just like her.

"I'm Nan Huang, the young lady of the Nan family," she introduced herself.

The Nan family... the young lady...

"Will you come with me? If you listen only to me, I'll make sure you have enough to eat and wear. I'll give you candies. No one will hurt you anymore, only I can."

The girl tilted her head and smiled. "I'll give you a name, okay? I'll call you Feng. If you keep listening to only me, I'll give you my last name. How about becoming Nan Feng?"

The boy's eyes filled with astonishment. She appeared to be around ten years old, so small, so clean, so cute, and so beautiful.

"By the way, you might not know this, but many people in the Nan family say I'm crazy..." The girl laughed, her eyes curved in a smile. "Will you dislike me?"

The boy shook his head vigorously.

How could those bad people say such things about her? She was good, she was beautiful, she was nice.

"Do you want to stay with me? As long as you obey me and only listen to me, I'll treat you well, very well. I'll cherish and pamper you, give you candies to eat. In the future, no one can hurt you except me."

The girl continued with a mischievous smile, "I'll give you a name. I'm called Nan Huang, so you can be Nan Feng. If you continue to listen only to me, I'll give you my last name. How does Nan Feng sound?"

At that moment, he felt like he was dreaming. Her smile, warmer and brighter than sunlight, was like a sharp contrast to the darkness in his life.

...

Inside his nightmare, Lord Rong shivered from the cold, trembling violently. He was so cold that his breath turned into frost as he exhaled.

He put on several layers of clothes, locked the door, and walked through the cold and lonely corridors of the villa. He eventually reached Nan Huang's room.

He hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open.

Quietly, he walked to the edge of her bed and cautiously observed her.

Nan Huang...

You've gone too far.

I can recognize you even if you've changed your appearance.

I've grown up, but can't you recognize me anymore?

Have you really forgotten me? Do you really not want me?

It's so cold...

He hesitated for a moment and then gently reached under her blanket. He took her small hand in his icy-cold hand, being careful not to wake her.

When he held her hand, the coldness that had plagued him seemed to melt away from his body, starting from where his hand touched hers.

He and she were the only ones who could sleep without feeling cold.

But neither he nor she knew why.

(End of this chapter)