It hurt. But it wasn't hit by flesh, it was bone, okay. The pain from that one just now almost brought tears to her eyes.
Xu Xiuhe's hand moved over it, massaging it some more: Do you know, the effect of force is mutual?
The lights in the lobby were not on. The light from the stairwell shone down the hallway and through to them, allowing them to see each other clearly. They were face to face, extremely close. Shen Yin looked up at him while Xu Xiuhe looked down at her. Most importantly, Shen Yin was still in Xu Xiuhe's embrace.
The faint shadows were projected onto the white wall beside them. The two shadows seemed to be locked in a tight embrace. The taller shadow bowed his head, his hand caressing the forehead of the other shadow. At first glance, they looked like a sweet pair of lovers, hugging and kissing.
Shen Yin inadvertently saw the shadow on the wall. If she were to look at the light now, she would definitely find her entire face flushed red, because she felt her cheeks were burning hot now, accompanied by the thumping of her heartbeat. Shen Yin swallowed nervously and struggled free of Xu Xiuhe's embrace in embarrassment.
"Ahem, it was me turning around and didn't see you when I came out." Shen Yin said, trying to conceal her awkwardness.
"It's my fault, I should have turned on the light." Xu Xiuhe flipped on the hallway light switch.
Shen Yin's first reaction was to cover her face. It was still so hot. What to do? Should she go downstairs and get an ice pack?
"Yeah, I'm going downstairs to the kitchen for some water." Shen Yin told a white lie. She had a high-end water dispenser in her bedroom, so there was no need for her to go downstairs for water.
"Let me go with you." Xu Xiuhe said and headed downstairs without waiting for Shen Yin's consent.
Shen Yin had no choice but to follow behind, still covering her face with her hand. She looked extremely well-behaved. Suddenly, Xu Xiuhe stopped in his tracks. Shen Yin was still preoccupied with her own thoughts and didn't react in time. She bumped into Xu Xiuhe again.
Only this time, Xu Xiuhe didn't feel anything, but it was disastrous for Shen Yin. She really wanted to curse at Xu Xiuhe. He was walking just fine, why did he have to stop?
"Why did you stop again?" Shen Yin felt very wronged.
"I was checking if you were following." Xu Xiuhe looked somewhat bewildered.
This time Shen Yin bumped her nose. It must be because of her tall and prominent nose bridge that also had drawbacks. She covered her nose and glared at Xu Xiuhe.
Xu Xiuhe strode up a step and scooped Shen Yin up in his arms. Shen Yin panicked and struggled, trying to get down. However, although Shen Yin was very skilled in martial arts, she was no match for the difference in strength between men and women. Moreover, Xu Xiuhe had her locked tightly in his embrace now. If she insisted on getting down, Xu Xiuhe would definitely get injured.
"Don't move around, it'll hurt more if you fall." Xu Xiuhe stared at Shen Yin's nose, feeling guilty.
"Stop looking."
"It's fine, your nose isn't bleeding."
Xu Xiuhe carried Shen Yin to the sofa and set her down. "Sit still." Xu Xiuhe got up and went into the kitchen. He poured a glass of water and brought it to Shen Yin.
Shen Yin covered her nose with one hand and her forehead with the other. She looked at Xu Xiuhe innocently. Xu Xiuhe really couldn't stand that look.
"Does it still hurt?" Xu Xiuhe sat down, one hand holding Shen Yin's shoulder while the other held the glass of water to her mouth to get her to drink.
Shen Yin wasn't thirsty at all. She didn't intend to really go downstairs. She just had insomnia and was afraid of disturbing Zhizhi, so she wanted to come out for a walk. Who knew she would have such bad luck, injuring one spot wasn't enough, she had to injure two places.
Shen Yin shook her head.
"Don't want anymore? Have a little more." Xu Xiuhe looked at Shen Yin expectantly.
Shen Yin pretended to drink a couple more sips. Xu Xiuhe could tell Shen Yin wasn't thirsty at all, so he finally couldn't resist asking, "Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever again?" He put the glass down and touched Shen Yin's forehead.
"Your forehead isn't hot."
Please, Shen Yin was really anxious now. Her flushed face wasn't because she was uncomfortable, it was psychological. "Got red from the bumps." Shen Yin didn't even believe her own excuse.
But Xu Xiuhe actually believed it. "I'm sorry."
He rarely apologized to others. The words 'I'm sorry' hadn't been uttered for a long time.
Seeing that he was quite sincere, Shen Yin didn't dwell on it too much.
"I actually just had insomnia." Shen Yin spoke up.
Xu Xiuhe looked intently at Shen Yin, waiting for her to continue. Why did she have insomnia? But Shen Yin didn't say anything else. She just sat there quietly.
"Why did you have insomnia?" Xu Xiuhe finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"I don't know why these bizarre things keep happening to me."
Xu Xiuhe thought Shen Yin was talking about her prophetic dreams. But actually, Shen Yin knew she wanted to express more than just the dreams. Even more bizarre was that after she came here, she thought her original world was ancient times, namely the Song dynasty. Until recently, after looking through various materials, she realized the Song dynasty was not Great Prosperity. These two were of the same time period and had extremely similar lifestyles and customs. But there were no records of Great Prosperity in today's history. It was clearly the same time period, so why was there no mention of it? And most crucially, the Tang and Five Dynasties came before the Song dynasty.
Shen Yin had previously thought she had just crossed through time. But now it seemed it wasn't that simple. Perhaps it was a parallel world?
"Sometimes things happen that we can't figure out or explain scientifically. But since it happened, it means this matter has come upon you. Everything and everyone in this world, all sorts of relationships, are intricately intertwined and ever-changing. We can't possibly understand everything clearly, so don't think too much about it. In the end, didn't the bizarre things you encountered help you? You avoided a car accident and other mishaps. There was no harm, and perhaps it's your superpower." This was the longest Xu Xiuhe had spoken as he tried to reassure Shen Yin.
Although what Xu Xiuhe said seemed different from what Shen Yin was thinking, she suddenly felt he made a lot of sense. She had no idea why she came here, but after coming here, she did continue living, made friends, received a mother's love, and became skilled in many abilities. Her dreams were also helping her. Xu Xiuhe wasn't unkind to her either. So why was she feeling anxious and unable to sleep? Take one step at a time. Next, she had to cheer up and work hard to protect her loved ones and friends.
"I feel Shu Yi's accident may have been orchestrated by Gu Mengmeng." Shen Yin opened up. There were some things that Xu Xiuhe knowing could make handling easier.
"Gu Mengmeng?" Xu Xiuhe asked back.
"She's a small-time celebrity, not as famous as Shu Yi, and has a bad temper." Shen Yin told Xu Xiuhe everything she knew about Gu Mengmeng.
Xu Xiuhe took note of this name and urged, "I'll handle it. Don't take any rash actions. Knowing martial arts doesn't mean you should show off your strength. Be careful when going out. Let me know right away if you have any nightmares again."
Xu Xiuhe nagged on and on. When he lowered his head, he saw Shen Yin was leaning on his shoulder, fast asleep. Was she so at ease with him?
Xu Xiuhe picked Shen Yin up. The woman in his arms was so slender yet seemed to possess some mysterious power that drew him in.
