"The mystic realm is very dangerous. I originally didn't want to bring you in, but you refused to be apart from me."
"Ranran, I am Cangshu Bai, your husband, and the father of the child in your womb."
"Usually, your favorite thing is to call me Jinzhi."
"You were affected by the mystic realm's bewitching incense. It doesn't matter if you have forgotten the past; I am still your Jinzhi, and you are still my Ranran."
"Ranran, I am here. Don't be afraid."
In the cold, damp cave, only the young man's embrace was warm.
Nestled in his arms, Mu Ran's nose was filled with his familiar scent. She should have felt exceptionally secure, yet an inexplicable sense of unease welled up in her heart.
"Jinzhi?" She looked up, testing the name on her lips.
The young man lowered his eyes, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. "Yes, it's me."
His hand gently stroked her cheek, familiarly dropping a light kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Ranran, it's okay if you can't remember me right now. We still have lots and lots of time to create even more memories."
His voice was pleasant to the ear, and his gaze was incredibly gentle. Both seemed to hide a heart-fluttering charm, making her inexplicably feel a kind of instinctive trust.
She closed her eyes, leaning comfortably against his chest, and began to enjoy the pleasant scent on him.
Han Yu was locked within the young man's sea of consciousness; no matter how anxious it was, it couldn't break out. It looked to the side.
In the sea of consciousness, which should have been pure in spiritual energy and aura, wisps of black mist now permeated the space. It was as if sludge was slowly seeping in, and it wouldn't be long before it completely assimilated this place.
Cangshu Bai said that Mu Ran had lost part of her memories and needed a good rest. Thus, he was in no hurry to find what he wanted. Instead, he sat with Mu Ran above the mountain stream, watching the moonlight and the flowing water.
The wind, carrying the chill of the night dew, brushed past the stray hairs at Mu Ran's temples. She leaned against Cangshu Bai's side, her gaze as blank as if it had been washed clean by the moonlight. She only vaguely remembered that the person before her meant safety, but she couldn't recall where this sense of safety came from.
Cangshu Bai intertwined his fingers with hers and asked softly, "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere else?"
Mu Ran shook her head. "I just feel like I've forgotten some things. It feels a bit strange."
"Don't waste your mental energy. Whatever you want to know, I will tell you."
Hearing this, Mu Ran smiled. As she looked up, a glimmer of light sparkled in her eyes. "Then I want to know, when did you start liking me?"
Cangshu Bai was quiet for a moment before saying, "The first time I laid eyes on you."
Mu Ran asked joyfully, "Was it love at first sight?"
He chuckled softly. "It couldn't quite be called love, but the first time I saw you, I couldn't help but care about you."
Mu Ran hugged his arm, pressing on curiously, "Why did you care about me?"
Cangshu Bai was naturally suspicious; he would subconsciously put his guard up against anyone who approached him.
Naturally, he was the same with Mu Ran.
But Mu Ran was different from all those other people.
Exactly what was different, he couldn't quite articulate.
It was just that once his guard was lowered, another kind of emotion surged forth.
That emotion came as something unfamiliar, yet exceptionally passionate. It was only a long time later that he realized this emotion could be described as 'love.'
Therefore, when this feeling became clear, it also destined him to be unable to let go.
Cangshu Bai gazed at Mu Ran's face, seeing his own reflection in her beautiful eyes. After a long while, he said, "Because I need you."
In the eyes of many outsiders, Mu Ran was probably just a weakling who could only rely on him and cling to him to survive.
But in reality, Cangshu Bai was the one who needed to rely on her to survive.
Mu Ran reached out, her fingertips gently caressing the space between his brows, and said softly, "Jinzhi, during the times I didn't know you, just how much suffering did you endure?"
Cangshu Bai held her hand and pressed his forehead against hers, murmuring in a low voice, "None of that matters anymore. I am very happy now. Ranran, you won't leave me, right?"
He seemed to exceptionally need her promise, tirelessly seeking a positive answer from her over and over again, as if only then could he find peace of mind.
Mu Ran could see it; he severely lacked a sense of security.
She sighed and said helplessly, "Jinzhi, you need to have more confidence in yourself. You are so wonderful; why would I leave you?"
Cangshu Bai's grip on her hand suddenly tightened.
No, he wasn't wonderful at all.
He merely stared stubbornly into her eyes and asked just as stubbornly, "Ranran, answer me. You won't leave me, will you?"
Mu Ran nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. I won't leave you."
Cangshu Bai's slightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. He pulled her back into his embrace and nuzzled the top of her head.
Mu Ran took his hand and placed it over her lower abdomen, saying half-jokingly, "I'm still carrying our child. How could I possibly leave you and let our child grow up without a father?"
Cangshu Bai could feel the faint flow of life energy beneath his palm. Now, feeling it more carefully, he actually realized that the flow of this little life's energy was so incredibly similar to his own.
This was his bloodline. It was the bloodline belonging to him and Mu Ran.
Just thinking of this, Cangshu Bai couldn't suppress the tremor in his heart.
It was a scalding yet tender emotion he had never experienced before. It surfaced from his heart and spread all the way through his blood, until even his fingertips were faintly burning.
His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice hoarse. "I'm sorry, Ranran. I don't know how to be a good husband, nor do I know how to be a good father. But I will learn. Maybe... maybe I won't learn very well, and maybe I will need more time. Please don't be disappointed in me, okay?"
Mu Ran had a vague illusion that he had already prepared himself for the day she might choose to leave.
She gazed at him for a long time, blinked, and finally her eyes curved into crescents as she laughed briskly. "It's my first time being a mother too, Jinzhi. We should learn how to be parents together, instead of you taking all the pressure onto yourself."
Mu Ran held his hand against the side of her face. She affectionately rubbed against his palm, able to feel the rough calluses on what should have been a young man's youthful, vibrant hand.
Those were the marks he had earned from struggling all alone through storms of blood and gore.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her eyes brimmed with an unmelting smile.
"Jinzhi, we are husband and wife."
"Being spouses doesn't mean one person unilaterally protecting the other, or owing the other, and it certainly isn't about one person clumsily learning to please the other."
She pressed his hand tighter against her, speaking word by word, gentle yet firm. "Husband and wife means supporting each other."
"You don't have to learn how to be a perfect husband, nor do you need to fear failing as a father. You just need to stand by my side, and that is enough."
"You and I are one entity; there is no division between us."
Cangshu Bai only felt his eye sockets suddenly grow hot. In the depths of his usually cold and placid eyes, an uncontrollable, scalding moisture actually began to surge.
