CITM - 28

As they approached the narrow apartment building, Ye Yun’s steps slowed noticeably. That night had been dark and deserted, with no one around to witness their return. But now, in broad daylight, it was the bustling hour when people were returning home to cook dinner. She dreaded the thought of being seen entering the building hand-in-hand with Bai Wenfu, knowing full well the weight of the stares she would face.

The closer they got to the building, the more anxious Ye Yun became. Her mind churned like a stormy sea as she pulled desperately on Bai Wenfu’s grip, refusing to take another step. Yet her frail frame was no match for his strength; with the slightest exertion, he yanked her forward, causing her to collide harshly against his arm. His fingers tightened around hers, threatening to crush the delicate bones beneath. No matter how hard she struggled, escape seemed futile.

He loomed over her like an impenetrable net, offering no chance of retreat. Fear surged within Ye Yun—she had never seen Bai Wenfu truly angry, at least not directed at her. In his presence, she felt painfully fragile. Even the smallest hint of his untamed nature sent shivers down her spine. Memories flooded back of her father’s violent outbursts during her childhood, when he would lash out physically, leaving both her mother and herself bruised. The fear gripping her now rivaled those moments from her past.

By the time they reached the entrance of the building, Ye Yun’s forehead glistened with cold sweat. Her throat felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe. Her head hung low, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. Around her, the sounds of bicycles gliding by, oil sizzling in pans, doors opening and closing, conversations mingling with laughter and children crying—all blended into a cacophony that overwhelmed her senses. Never before had she found the building so unbearably noisy, as if every resident had gathered in the courtyard, stairwells, and corridors. These chaotic noises amplified in her ears, only to vanish abruptly, plunging her into an eerie silence.

The strength drained from her body, leaving her too terrified to lift her head even slightly. Countless pairs of eyes seemed to pierce through her, dissecting her very soul. Overwhelmed, she quickened her pace, driven by a single desperate urge: to flee.

Yet Bai Wenfu strode confidently ahead, meeting each curious glance with piercing intensity. He exuded the aura of a fierce predator asserting dominance, radiating an icy authority that dared anyone to question him. Anyone foolish enough to challenge him at this moment risked provoking his wrath.

Once inside the apartment, Bai Wenfu released Ye Yun. Her legs gave way beneath her, and she stumbled into her room, dropping the jars of pumpkin paste onto the bed before collapsing weakly onto its edge.

Tong Mingfang sensed something amiss and approached cautiously. “What… what’s going on?”

Bai Wenfu’s eyes simmered with frosty anger. “If you’ve nothing better to do, go back to your room. Don’t bother knocking.”

With that, he flung open Ye Yun’s door. Startled, she reflexively rose to her feet. Closing the door behind them, Bai Wenfu advanced further into the cramped space, tension crackling in the air.

Ye Yun retreated instinctively until her back pressed firmly against the wall. Meanwhile, Bai Wenfu settled onto her bed, loosening the buttons of his collar—one, two, then stopping at the third. His sharp gaze lifted, locking onto her trembling form. Ye Yun shuddered violently, her body pinned against the wall.

A smirk tugged at the corners of Bai Wenfu’s lips, accentuating the jagged scar above his brow. His chiseled features, naturally cold and imposing, cast a daunting shadow across her wide, frightened eyes.

“Come here.”

Those two words struck Ye Yun like a death sentence. Her face paled, her entire being reduced to a quivering mess, as though she might collapse into a puddle at any moment.

“Why are you shaking? Aren’t you supposed to be unafraid of me?”

Ye Yun clutched her arms tightly around herself, her voice barely audible. “I’m not afraid of you… I’m afraid of you when you’re angry.”

A cruel curve twisted Bai Wenfu’s lips. “So you know I can get angry?”

“Come here,” he repeated, his tone sharper this time—a final warning.

Tears welled in Ye Yun’s eyes as she hesitantly shuffled toward him. Fear paralyzed her, memories of childhood beatings haunting her still. She recalled the sight of her mother’s battered flesh, and the dread consumed her anew.

When she finally stood before him, tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. Bai Wenfu raised his gaze, his expression severe, pinning her with an unyielding stare. The atmosphere froze solid, with every second stretching agonizingly long. Suddenly, Bai Wenfu raised his arm, prompting Ye Yun to flinch and cover her head defensively.

But the anticipated blow never came. Instead, she felt a firm grip encircle her waist, pulling her down onto his lap. The sudden proximity made her heart race. With deliberate calm, he lowered her arms, grasping her trembling hands tightly. His breath fanned warmly against her ear. “Did you think I’d hit you?”

Ye Yun’s pupils dilated, shock fracturing her composure.

Without warning, Bai Wenfu lifted her bodily and tossed her onto the bed. Like a ragdoll, she landed awkwardly, her body bouncing lightly before settling atop the pillow.

“You deserve it,” he growled.

Raising his hand, he delivered a sharp smack to her rear end.

Buried face-first into the pillow, Ye Yun didn’t feel pain but instead twitched involuntarily, a strange ripple coursing through her chest. The weight of his muscular frame descended upon her, his rough touch eerily reminiscent of dreams she’d tried to suppress.

Her scalp tingled, her heart melting under his relentless pressure. His arms wrapped possessively around her, his voice low and gravelly. “Why do you keep seeing him?”

Before she could respond, Bai Wenfu flipped her over, forcing her to face him. Her eyes shimmered with tears, her nose reddened, and her delicate features brimmed with委屈 (grievance). Unaware of the allure she exuded, her vulnerability stirred something primal within him.

Bai Wenfu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he leaned down, capturing her lower lip between his teeth in a punishing bite. “Speak.”

His gaze was unfathomable, like dense fog swallowing everything in its path. As his lips devoured hers, the heat of his kiss grew increasingly aggressive. Ye Yun was left incapable of forming coherent words.

Her muffled voice escaped through clenched teeth. “H-he… His aunt is from my village. I asked him to deliver letters to my family.”

His tongue traced the outline of her lower lip, tender yet predatory, like a wild beast gently licking a wound.

Fear and desire clashed violently within her, colliding dangerously close to the brink.

“What kind of letters?” he demanded, his question cutting straight to the heart of the matter, like a needle piercing her soul.

Her gaze faltered. “Just… homesick. Asking about how things are at home.”

“Only homesick?” His voice dripped with skepticism. “Then why sneak around behind everyone’s backs?”

Her heart quivered. He was too perceptive, his penetrating gaze seemingly capable of uncovering every secret. She knew she couldn’t hide anything from him—but she didn’t want to tell him. She couldn’t bear to admit that she had sent two desperate pleas for help, only to be rejected outright by her family.

Seeing her reluctance, Bai Wenfu’s lips curled into a chilling smile. Ye Yun shuddered involuntarily.

Straightening up, his towering shadow continued to pin her in place. His voice carried a casual indifference laced with icy menace. “Fine, don’t tell me if you won’t. But I have ways of making that man talk. Unless, of course, you want this situation to become… unpleasant.”

Ye Yun clutched the bedsheets tightly, her voice trembling as tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. “I… I wrote asking my family to take me back…”

So she had hidden it from him, from Tong Mingfang, from everyone. She had secretly kept in contact with Ma Jianliang because deep down, she wanted to leave—to escape this place, to escape him.

A chilling frost engulfed Bai Wenfu’s eyes, his entire demeanor shrouded in a thick haze of menace. His brows drew together sharply as he loomed over her, his gaze both commanding and inscrutable.

Ye Yun turned her head away, tears pooling in her eyes. She had confessed the truth—but not all of it.

She didn’t want Bai Wenfu to know that her family had abandoned her completely. If possible, she wanted no one to learn of this humiliation. It was the last shred of dignity she clung to in his presence.

“When did this happen?”

After a long pause, his voice emerged rough and hoarse.

Ye Yun’s mind raced, tangled with conflicting emotions. She answered honestly, following his lead. “After the start of spring.”

Bai Wenfu’s eyes darkened, veins of red creeping into their depths. He lowered his lashes, his chiseled features tinged with an uncharacteristic weariness.

After all their time together, he had assumed—perhaps foolishly—that she would choose to stay for him. Yet here she was, admitting that she still harbored thoughts of leaving. Even after he had brought her back from the train station, even after their relationship had deepened, her resolve to leave remained unchanged.

Bai Wenfu reached for his collar, undoing the third button, then the fourth...

Ye Yun noticed his movements, snapping out of her daze to watch him intently. As his shirt fell open, revealing his bare torso, her eyes widened in shock, unable to conceal her astonishment.

His muscular frame bore countless scars—jagged knife wounds etched across his abdomen, twisting grotesquely with each movement.

The blood in Ye Yun’s veins seemed to freeze. She forgot how to breathe, paralyzed by the sight before her.

Casting aside his shirt, Bai Wenfu leaned forward, his fingers sinking into her hair as he pulled her toward him.

“Scared? You won’t feel fear for much longer.”

He switched off the light, any remaining restraint consumed by the fiery realization that she had considered leaving him.

Ye Yun was thrust back into the fractured remnants of a recurring dream. The sound of a zipper slicing through the silence, her body lifted, arms tightening around her.

He inflicted pain—not on her skin, but deeper, searing into her very bones.

For a fleeting moment, Bai Wenfu hesitated. But that hesitation vanished almost instantly, his rationality crumbling the moment he claimed her completely.

The innocent, fluttering emptiness Wen Bin once awakened within Ye Yun was now utterly conquered by Bai Wenfu. A surge of sensation shot through her, overwhelming every nerve.

Dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness, she found no respite; he refused to let her escape. His untamed, feral side unleashed fully, fierce and relentless. The bed creaked ominously beneath them, as if trembling under the weight of an earthquake or collapsing mountains. The noise terrified Ye Yun, fearing not only Tong Mingfang but perhaps the entire building could hear. Endless shame dragged her deeper into the abyss, lost in forbidden entanglement.

Tears streaming down her face, she pleaded brokenly for him to stop. “The bed… the bed…”

He lifted her, pinning her against the windowsill. Moonlight danced across their entwined figures, curtains swaying gently, endlessly…

In the chaos, her fingers brushed against the raised ridges of his scars—trophies wrested from death itself, marks of his rebirth.

As he had promised, her fear faded. Those scars transformed into waves of scorching heat, claiming her, conquering her.

His burning lips pressed against her ear, tender yet intoxicating, pulling at the strings of her heart. His voice low and hypnotic: “Don’t go. Don’t ever leave me…”

In the darkness, tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, reflecting a hazy glow. What she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud was this: she no longer had a home to return to.