Failing to bid her desired item, Wan Tong left the auction early. Lu Yun, also disinterested, followed her out.
On the way, seeing Wan Tong looking dejected, Lu Yun suddenly asked, “Did you see Yu Sheng?”
Wan Tong turned her gaze to him and silently acknowledged it.
Lu Yun pursed his lips and sighed softly, “You’re really naughty, aren’t you…”
Wan Tong kicked him and then turned her head to look out the car window.
Lu Yun stared at her profile for a long time before speaking, “Don’t you want to know about you and Yu Sheng when you were younger? I’ll tell you.”
Wan Tong quickly shifted her gaze back to his face but muttered reservedly, “…I was just a little curious.”
She was afraid Lu Yun was deliberately teasing her.
“Hmph.” How could Lu Yun not see through her thoughts? He felt a bit angry and a bit amused. Finally, he spoke sullenly, “When you were eight, you got sick. My blood didn’t cure you; it was Yu Sheng’s blood that worked.”
“Where was the lab? Why don’t I remember it?”
“The lab…” Lu Yun’s gaze darkened, “It was Zhang Qian’s lab. Didn’t Yu Sheng investigate it recently? It was very clean. Zhang Qian only ever caught Yu Sheng, nothing else.”
Zhang Qian was Lu Yun’s uncle, but Lu Yun always referred to him by his full name.
Wan Tong was puzzled. This didn’t match the plot. There should be a lab behind Lu Yun. Could it be that it hasn’t started yet?
“Aren’t you really afraid of Yu Sheng’s revenge? Even if he’s let it go, would those mermaids behind him spare you? You drank a lot of his blood and got him locked up for days, almost turning him into a lab rat.” Lu Yun’s voice was calm as he spoke, observing Wan Tong’s expression.
Wan Tong pursed her lips, “Even if I’m scared, there’s nothing I can do. I’ve already drunk it.”
“The mermaid clan, to protect a secret, will stop at nothing. They might be plotting how to kill you silently.” Lu Yun said maliciously, raising his lips and beckoning with his finger, “Come to Brother, Brother will protect you.”
Seeing him being unserious again, Wan Tong silently turned her head away.
Lu Yun clicked his tongue and quieted down.
When Lu Yun got out of the car, he sighed, “Tongtong, I still like being with you, it’s peaceful.”
His identity was exposed, and although Yu Sheng didn’t do anything to him, some mermaids would still follow their nature and want to kill him.
Wan Tong had a special relationship with Yu Sheng. By staying with her, those mermaids didn’t dare to touch him.
Even so, he found it extremely bothersome. It would be much quieter if all the mermaids were killed.
The cold wind was howling, beating against the window, and it seemed to be raining. In Wan Tong’s room, a desk lamp was left on. She was curled up in her warm bed, holding a conch and examining it.
She had found it in her bedside cabinet. It was a gift from Yu Sheng.
But now that she looked at it carefully, it was just an ordinary conch, impossible to blow.
She put the conch to her mouth and blew hard, but there was no reaction at all.
“Yu Sheng, you big liar…”
She knew, Yu Sheng must’ve been just teasing her.
She felt a bit annoyed, threw the conch behind her, hugged the quilt, and closed her eyes.
The conch rolled a few times on the carpet beside the bed before coming to a quiet stop.
She didn’t know how long it had been, but Wan Tong felt as if she was completely enveloped by a gaze, and she opened her eyes groggily.
In her blurry vision, a figure was half-kneeling by the bed, his familiar handsome face looking like it was covered with a layer of gauze, appearing as handsome as a deity.
She thought she was dreaming and reached out to touch him, feeling his cool, delicate skin.
She gradually came to her senses and quickly withdrew her hand.
Yu Sheng was playing with a small conch in his hand, lifting his eyes to look at her, the blue in his pupils more prominent than usual, like a drop of ink falling into a lake and gradually diluting.
“A’Sheng?” Wan Tong sat up with the quilt wrapped around her, staring blankly at the man in front of her. “Why are you here?”
“I heard you calling me, so I came,” Yu Sheng said, showing the small conch in his palm.
“I wasn’t calling you.” Wan Tong quickly shook her head in denial. This conch couldn’t make any sound.
“I heard it.”
“…” Wan Tong was at a loss for words, staring at him with innocent wide eyes.
So, the conch really brought her voice to him? Could it be that magical?
What did she say to the conch just now?
Yu Sheng seemed to see something in her eyes. He got up from the side of the bed and moved onto the bed, his slightly hoarse voice sounding low, “You said, ‘Why doesn’t Yu Sheng come to see me…'”
“I didn’t.” Wan Tong continued to deny, blinking her pure black eyes earnestly.
Yu Sheng leaned closer, his hands propped on either side of her, his thin lips moving, “You said, ‘Yu Sheng looks really good today.'”
“I didn’t…”
“You said, ‘Yu Sheng is a big liar.'”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Wan Tong covered her ears with her hands, leaning back to avoid the man who was coming closer.
But Yu Sheng pressed on, his thin lips almost touching the back of her hand, his warm breath lightly brushing over her delicate skin, “Tongtong, you called for me, so I came.”
Wan Tong lost her balance and fell onto the bed, with Yu Sheng following suit and pressing down on her.
His familiar scent surrounded her, and Wan Tong had to admit, she did miss him a little bit.
She reached out and hugged him, burying her face in his neck, her muffled voice coming through, “Are you stupid? I’m not good to you at all, why did you still come to find me…”
Yu Sheng had always trusted his own feelings. He knew her affection for him was genuine, but for some reason, she wanted to keep her distance from him.
He complied with her wish.
Yu Sheng pulled down her hands covering her ears, his eyelashes slightly lowered, the blue-black pupils reflecting a faint light.
Those eyes were too beautiful, bewitching her, making it impossible for her to look away.
She felt as if her consciousness and body were about to separate, and it seemed like she saw another version of herself appear before her eyes—a small, innocent girl.
When she was eight, she indeed went to Zhang Qian’s laboratory, where she drank a strange potion. While the adults were talking, she entered a room and saw a beautiful, enchanting mermaid.
Following the mermaid’s instructions, she turned off the button for the injection, and the glass tank was smashed.
Water and glass shards rushed over her, causing her body to burn with pain. Lying on the ground, even moving a finger hurt.
“It hurts…” she whimpered softly, watching the water beneath her turn red.
She saw a beautiful child walk up to her, and the blue gradient scales on his feet dazzled her eyes.
She heard a pleasant voice, but he was cursing, “Stupid.”
She got a bit angry and struggled to lift her gaze, only to see his figure in a white coat.
“I’m not stupid, I scored a hundred on my test…” she even retorted, though her voice was barely audible.
After this voice, only painful whimpers came out of her mouth.
The child returned to her side, his face cold and his eyes filled with anger, but he still squatted down in front of her.
Through her blurry vision, she saw him cut his own wrist with glass and then offer it to her lips.
The taste of blood quickly filled her mouth…
When she woke up, the adults were gathered around her, noisy and chaotic. She sat there in confusion, refusing to mention the child no matter how much the adults asked.
She ended up in the hospital because there was still a wound on her back that was bleeding.
During her hospital stay, the adults seemed very busy, and several times, that beautiful child came to her room.
He seemed obsessed with something, always gripping her shoulders and making her look into his eyes.
But even when she looked until she almost fell asleep, she didn’t see any reaction from him.
After trying a few times, he seemed to give up. Although she didn’t know what he was doing, she still hugged him to comfort him.
At first, he resisted her embrace, but later he seemed to get used to it. When she hugged him, he would only snort coldly but wouldn’t push her away.
Later on, a strange young doctor came into the room. He also had a pair of beautiful eyes, and he too gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes.
After a nap, she woke up with a part of her memory missing…