Back then, she was sent into the Black Desert by Jiang Shuyin, suffering the betrayal of her own biological sister.
Before she could recover from that blow, she was forcibly tormented by Lu Yan.
She was enveloped by a bone-chilling hatred.
But now that she had figured out the whole story, that hatred dissipated, and she regained her reason.
She was able to analyze things rationally and objectively.
After she came looking for him, Lu Yan was not only unmoved, but he blindly provoked her to drive her away. He must be hiding something from her.
"Lu Yan, besides the bullet wounds on your abdomen and arm, are you hurt anywhere else?"
Thinking of something, she glanced at his lower abdomen. "Are you incapable now?"
During those years in the Black Desert, she could feel his needs.
He was an arrogant and insatiable man.
Seeing Jiang Shuyin's suspicious gaze, Lu Yan's chiseled handsome face instantly darkened like the bottom of a pot.
"If you won't leave, then I will!"
With that, he actually tried to prop himself up to stand.
The wound on his abdomen had just scabbed over and hadn't healed properly. Standing up would only worsen his injuries.
Jiang Shuyin was truly defeated by him.
"Fine, I'll go, alright?"
Lu Yan glanced at the darkening sky outside, his voice low and hoarse. "Go to the fishing village and find Ah Cai. Stay at her house for the night."
Jiang Shuyin stood up and walked outside.
Even when she reached the door, the man didn't utter a word to make her stay.
Her heart felt as bitter as if she had swallowed coptis root, inexplicably uncomfortable.
After stepping out of the house, Jiang Shuyin did not go looking for Ah Cai.
She sat on the beach, wrapping her arms around her knees, staring blankly into the dark night sky.
Actually, after reading Lu Yan's diary, apart from shock, she also felt a trace of emotion she didn't dare to delve into.
Perhaps, a long time ago, she had already developed a different kind of feeling for him.
Jiang Shuyin sat on the beach for a long time until a hint of chill crept in.
She got up and returned to the dilapidated house.
When things are abnormal, something must be wrong.
For Lu Yan to be in such a rush to drive her away, he must be hiding something important from her.
When Jiang Shuyin reached the door of the house, she heard the man's somewhat heavy breathing.
She peeked inside.
The man's tall body was curled up on the door plank, shivering all over.
Seeing that something was wrong with him, Jiang Shuyin strode into the room.
"Lu Yan, what's wrong?"
His eyes were tightly shut, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, and his lips were pursed so tightly they turned white.
Just as her fingers were about to touch his body, he coldly rebuked, "Get lost! Get out of here!"
Jiang Shuyin's body stiffened fiercely.
She heard an unprecedented fury in his tone.
But seeing him like this, how could she possibly leave?
Jiang Shuyin poured a glass of water and tried to feed it to him, but before it even reached his lips, he waved his hand and knocked it over.
The water splashed all over Jiang Shuyin.
At the same time, the man who had his eyes tightly closed opened them.
His deep, eagle-like eyes were tainted with a terrifying scarlet hue. Besides the bloodshot veins, they were filled with a cold ruthlessness that Jiang Shuyin had never seen before.
Seeing his gaze, Jiang Shuyin's expression changed drastically.
"Lu Yan, you..."
"Get out, leave immediately!" he roared hoarsely, like a wild beast that had suffered a massive injury.
In that instant, Jiang Shuyin finally understood why he was so determined to drive her away that afternoon!
So it turned out...
Jiang Shuyin's heart constricted painfully.
He truly had silently endured and shouldered far too much.
The clothes on Lu Yan's body were completely soaked with sweat.
The wounds on his arm and abdomen had torn open again, and Jiang Shuyin could smell the rust-like scent of blood.
Lu Yan didn't spare Jiang Shuyin another glance. In his agony, he slammed his forehead against the wall.
Bang, bang, bang.
The sound was shocking to hear.
Without a second thought, Jiang Shuyin stepped forward and hugged the man tightly.
But the next second, she was forcefully pushed away by him.
Jiang Shuyin's arm scraped against the floor, breaking the skin, but she didn't feel a trace of pain. She stepped forward again and hugged the man tightly.
But soon, she was pushed away by him once more.
"Stay away!"
Lu Yan was losing control of himself; his sanity was on the verge of collapsing.
If he went mad, he would kill her.
Watching the man slam his forehead against the wall again, Jiang Shuyin hugged him once more, regardless of the consequences.
"Lu Yan, don't hurt yourself!"
The man looked at her with scarlet eyes, his tense features signaling an impending storm.
Just as he raised his hand to strangle her neck, she suddenly lifted her head and kissed his thin lips.
Her lips carried the slight chill of the night.
Like a stream of icy spring water flowing into Lu Yan's frantic, agonizing heart.
His out-of-control sanity returned a little.
To help him ease the pain in his heart, Jiang Shuyin mimicked how he used to kiss her and deepened the kiss.
The man's body tensed uncontrollably.
The large hand that had intended to choke her slowly dropped down.
Once his emotions eased slightly, Jiang Shuyin tied his hands up as quickly as possible.
Then she stuffed a towel into his mouth to prevent him from biting his own tongue.
Lu Yan lay on the door plank, his chest heaving violently and unsteadily.
Jiang Shuyin squatted beside him, treating the wound on his forehead.
He suffered for nearly two hours before slowly getting better.
Exhausted, he soon fell into a deep sleep.
In the second half of the night, he started to run a fever again.
Jiang Shuyin fed him fever-reducing medicine and stayed by his side sleeplessly all night, applying physical cooling methods.
When the sky grew dimly lit, his fever finally broke.
Exhausted, Jiang Shuyin lay beside him, her heavy eyelids closing.
When Lu Yan woke up, the sky was already bright.
He lowered his gaze to look at the woman lying beside him, a hint of complexity flashing in his deep eyes.
Some scenes from last night intermittently surfaced in his mind.
His worst side had been seen by her after all.
Even after saying such harsh words yesterday, he couldn't drive her away. What exactly did she want?
Almost as soon as Lu Yan woke up, Jiang Shuyin woke up too.
She subconsciously touched Lu Yan's forehead.
Thankfully, the fever hadn't returned.
"I'll go make you something to eat—"
Before Jiang Shuyin could finish her sentence, her wrist was grabbed by Lu Yan.
"The bullet contained a highly toxic poison called Five-Color Flower. It is a poison Third Master Qin uses to deal with traitors. Once poisoned, it flares up periodically, bringing a fate worse than death."
"I am already ruined. Don't waste your energy on me anymore. Once my injuries improve, I will go deal with Third Master Qin, but there is no longer any possibility for us."
Jiang Shuyin's nose tingled with sorrow. She took a deep breath and asked, "Is there no antidote?"
"A deadly poison meant for traitors, what do you think?"
Anyone poisoned by the Five-Color Flower poison would not live past three months.
Lu Yan knew his chances of survival were grim.
But in this life, he had no more regrets.
Returning from the Black Desert, his heart had actually suffered immense trauma. Originally, his superiors were no longer going to assign him missions, but he insisted on going undercover by Third Master Qin's side.
On the surface, Third Master Qin was the boss of an entertainment city, but behind the scenes, he was a heinous smuggler.
Jiang Shuyin tried hard to calm her inner emotions. She lifted her long eyelashes and looked at the man.
"Lu Yan, I just want to ask you one thing."
Lu Yan gave a hoarse murmur of acknowledgment. "Go ahead."
Jiang Shuyin suddenly leaned in, cupping the man's face with both hands, and lowered her head to kiss his pale lips.
Lu Yan's body stiffened violently.
Lingering against the corner of his mouth, Jiang Shuyin asked, "Do you still feel anything for me?"
