Sang Fan saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed medication. He no longer suffered from insomnia, but his dreams became increasingly chaotic, like a torn piece of paper haphazardly pieced together, causing him splitting headaches every time he woke up.
This was utterly ineffective, offering no relief beyond the explosive pain in his head.
Upon waking, Sang Fan even felt the urge to kill.
Coupled with his coach noticing his diminished state over the past few days, he was suggested to take a few days off. Sang Fan had no choice but to agree.
He couldn't resign himself to it. This was his first competition since recovering, and being substituted out like this, he couldn't just pretend it didn't matter.
He returned home and shut himself in the gym. It wasn't until the sandbag was torn that he finally calmed down.
His shirt had long been discarded. On his bronzed, sculpted abs, glistening sweat emitted a faint shimmer under the lights.
After smoking several cigarettes, Sang Fan went to the bathroom for a refreshing shower.
It was getting late. Sang Fan picked up his phone, preparing to go out for a meal.
Kyoto's night was a spectacle of neon lights, a dazzling and vibrant urban landscape.
The neon signs were blinding, the lights hazy.
Cars flowed incessantly along the roads, a dancing golden river.
The red light indicated a stop.
Sang Fan looked down at his phone, and a casual glance upwards felt like destiny; everything seemed so coincidental.
Across the road stood a familiar, slender figure.
He didn't know why, but at the bustling traffic light intersection, he noticed only that single figure, as if overlapping with the bizarre dreams he'd been having, the images becoming clearer and clearer.
Almost instinctively, he took a few steps forward, his movements urgent, until someone beside him stopped him.
"Are you trying to die? The light is still red!"
Sang Fan's chest heaved violently. His mind briefly short-circuited, countless storms and waves crashing against his heart.
His breathing momentarily ceased.
In the blink of an eye, the traffic surged. The next second, that slender figure vanished like a soap bubble. The opposite side of the road was empty, as if no one had ever been there.
A sudden sense of dread and unease washed over him. He turned to search everywhere, the only sounds his own rapid breathing and the frantic pounding of his heart.
Amidst the ebb and flow of people, that figure was long gone.
He gasped in pain, his mind a blank canvas of deafening noise.
In that moment, he didn't even know where to go, like a lost child.
—
The nanny had the night off, so Shen Yue went out to eat. Her family was very strict about her diet, mostly consisting of nutritional meals, which Shen Yue was almost sick of.
Now that the nanny was on leave, Shen Yue had secretly slipped out for a meal. She didn't dare to indulge too much and opted for relatively bland food.
While waiting for the traffic light, she was drawn to someone buying candied hawthorn. Her mouth had been bland from eating so healthily, and she craved something sweet.
The sugar coating on the candied hawthorn was sweet, while the hawthorn inside was sour. The sweet and sour taste stimulated her taste buds, and Shen Yue liked it very much.
She felt quite clever for sneaking out to eat without anyone noticing.
However, she was soon punished.
She developed a fever in the middle of the night. The villa's servants noticed something was wrong, and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
The fever wasn't very severe, but her heart ached a little. After taking medication, she felt much better. Jiang Bainian rushed over, still in his slippers, his expression tense, devoid of his usual gentle demeanor.
Shen Yue smiled playfully, "It's nothing, just a minor ailment."
Jiang Bainian didn't seem to relax upon hearing this. He was afraid, afraid that Shen Yue would suddenly collapse just like she did half a year ago, without any warning. This prospect filled him with dread every day.
After the doctor's examination, he sighed and gave her a bottle of glucose. Jiang Bainian stood by, listening intently, almost taking notes, as the doctor carefully instructed Shen Yue.
After the doctor finished speaking, he gestured to Jiang Bainian, and they both stepped outside.
Shen Yue felt dizzy and lay on the hospital bed, lost in thought.
When Jiang Bainian returned, his expression had calmed considerably. It was still three or four in the morning, and dark circles shadowed his eyes. Shen Yue felt concerned, "You should go back and rest. I'm fine here."
Jiang Bainian couldn't be at ease. "Yueyue, you might think I'm being unreasonable, but I truly hope you'll let me know if you go out in the future. You can't take care of yourself, and I'm genuinely scared."
A grown man admitting his fear to Shen Yue, she couldn't remain unmoved and simply nodded.
It seemed her outing hadn't been hidden from anyone.
Hospital stays were always tedious. Shen Yue spent her days reading; her eyes would ache from too much phone use.
The sun came out, and Shen Yue unconsciously put down her book. She wanted to bask in the sunlight.
There weren't many people in the hospital, and the lawn was sparsely populated.
A gentle breeze swept across the green grass, releasing the fragrance of fresh cut grass.
Shen Yue took a deep breath, closed her eyes facing the sun, and let her entire body relax.
At this moment, she felt like a sparrow soaring in the blue sky, chirping freely.
She savored the scenery.
A gaze, too intense and scorching, like a blazing flame, adhered to her.
Even if Shen Yue wanted to ignore it, she couldn't.
She slightly turned her head, looking in confusion.
The sunlight was bright and dazzling, the grass a vibrant green. On a withered branch, unknown pink flowers bloomed. A man stood amidst the dappled shade of the trees.
He was tall, with excellent proportions. Just standing there casually, his nearly 1.9-meter height exuded an unconscious sense of pressure.
His features were sharp, like a blade. He wore a white t-shirt. His brow bones were steep and pronounced, his eye sockets deep, and his eyes shadowed, suggesting poor sleep quality.
Stubble was evident on his chin. His eyes were bloodshot, making his once handsome face look exceptionally frightening.
When Shen Yue looked over, his eyes didn't shift; they remained fixed on her.
That expression… was peculiar.
He looked fierce and menacing, yet Shen Yue felt an uncanny sense that this man might cry at any moment.
Moreover, that gaze made Shen Yue wonder if they knew each other.
The maiden's dark hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders. She wore a blue and white striped hospital gown, her skin as white and lustrous as jade, like soft white jade, yet with a sickly pallor.
The sunlight was truly dazzling, but it couldn't mask the girl's beautiful and delicate features. Her dark lashes fluttered with her movements.
She looked at him with eyes full of unfamiliar confusion, as transparent and fragile as wind that couldn't be held.
Sang Fan suddenly felt a fine pain pulling at his heart. His heart rate spiked, and his entire chest ached from the violent beating.