Outside the dormitory building, the night wind carried a chill.
Bai Siyuan held her tightly, as though afraid she might vanish before his eyes.
But in the next second, as if remembering something, he reined himself in and loosened his arms slightly.
“Are you hurt, A Nuan?” His voice was hoarse.
Jiang Nuan looked up.
Moonlight illuminated his pale profile. There were bloodstains on his clothes, and his collar was slightly disheveled, as though he had just forced his way out of the grasp of some terrible creature.
Yet he hadn’t checked his own injuries first.
His gaze swept over Jiang Nuan’s face and the side of her neck, then dropped to her wrist, finally stopping on the abrasion across the back of her hand.
She had scraped it while escaping the dormitory building. The wound wasn’t deep, and only a little blood had seeped out.
Bai Siyuan frowned at once. “Come with me.”
Jiang Nuan had countless questions. She wanted to ask where he had gone these past few days and why he had entered this restricted zone. She wanted to know why abnormal energy had appeared at this school, and why it had spiraled out of control and formed an A-rank restricted zone.
But more than anything, she wanted to ask about that one thing.
Why had he sealed her memories?
Bai Siyuan had already taken hold of her wrist, leading her toward the other end of the dormitory complex.
*
It was called an office, but the layout was more like a teachers’ lounge.
There was a sofa, a desk, and a warm floor lamp. The room was clean and orderly.
Bai Siyuan sat beside her and gently took her hand, turning the back of it over to examine the wound carefully.
The warm light illuminated his profile, while his long lashes cast a small shadow beneath his eyes.
Blood still stained the cuffs of his clothes. His collar hung slightly open, revealing his pale collarbone.
But he seemed completely unaware of his own disheveled appearance. All his attention was focused on the tiny abrasion on the back of her hand.
Bai Siyuan scooped up a little ointment. His fingers rested along the edge of the wound as he slowly spread it over the skin.
Jiang Nuan didn’t move. She simply watched him smooth the ointment over the injury bit by bit.
This feeling of being cared for by him… was far too familiar.
Neither of them spoke. The only sounds in the room were their breathing and the faint rustle of his fingers applying the ointment.
Bai Siyuan placed a strip of gauze over the wound. His fingers remained around her wrist for several seconds before he finally let go.
“There. All done.”
Jiang Nuan looked at the gauze on the back of her hand.
She had so many things she wanted to ask him, yet now that the moment had come, she didn’t know where to begin.
“Brother.”
“Do you still remember Zheng Chengxin?”
Bai Siyuan’s hand, which had been putting away the ointment, went rigid. He set the bottle, its cap freshly tightened, on the table, then turned to look at her.
“You mean the second son of the Zheng family? Why are you suddenly asking about him, A Nuan?”
He acted so naturally that it almost seemed as if she had merely come across the name somewhere and casually brought it up.
Jiang Nuan met his gaze for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
“Brother, is there really nothing you want to tell me?”
Bai Siyuan sat back down beside Jiang Nuan. His lips moved as though he had something to say, but in the end, he only let out a sigh.
“A Nuan, you’re testing me. You want to know whether I’ll take the initiative to tell you anything.”
Jiang Nuan waited.
She waited for him to explain—for him to mention Zheng Chengxin, to mention the sealed memories.
But Bai Siyuan merely sat quietly beside her, gently checking whether the gauze on the back of her hand was secure and whether there were any other injuries he had missed.
He said nothing.
The small flame of anger smoldering in Jiang Nuan’s chest suddenly flared up.
She yanked her hand back.
“You have nothing to explain?”
“About my memories? About what happened not long after we parted in the refugee district, after I moved into the Bai family home?”
Bai Siyuan looked away. “So you’ve remembered. How much do you remember?”
At first, she had only wanted to test him. She wanted to see whether the mention of Zheng Chengxin would make him slip, and to use her questions to draw out more information.
But Bai Siyuan hadn’t said a single word. Instead, he had turned the question back on her.
“You answer me first.”
“A Nuan.”
“Bai Siyuan.”
Her voice turned cold, and she even changed the way she addressed him.
“You’re the one responsible for my incomplete memories. You have no right to ask questions first.”
Bai Siyuan didn’t answer immediately. He only looked at her, as though gauging how much of her memory had returned.
“If there’s something you want to know, ask me directly.”
“If I ask, will you answer?”
After a moment of silence, Bai Siyuan said, “I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Then tell me why you tampered with my memories.” Jiang Nuan asked without hesitation.
“There were many reasons… but the most important one was that those memories would have dragged you into danger.” Bai Siyuan’s gaze remained fixed on her.
The anger she had just managed to suppress flared up again.
How was that any different from saying nothing?
Most likely, if she kept questioning him, all she would get were answers like this.
“Forget it.” She rose abruptly and turned toward the door. “I entered the restricted zone this time to rescue you.”
Her hand settled on the doorknob. She didn’t look back.
“Now that I’ve found you, you refuse to tell me anything. Then stay here. I’ll go find Qinian and Qi Sui. Once we locate them, we’ll come back and take you out.”
Bai Siyuan called after her.
“A Nuan.”
Jiang Nuan ignored him and twisted the doorknob hard.
The door didn’t open.
She frowned and tried again.
It still didn’t budge.
Jiang Nuan turned around.
Bai Siyuan slowly rose to his feet, but didn’t approach her right away. He only looked at her from several steps away.
“Don’t go outside. It isn’t safe.”
“Is it safe in here?” Jiang Nuan shot back. “Why should I feel safe staying beside someone who refuses to tell me the truth?”
Bai Siyuan’s face finally paled.
But Jiang Nuan didn’t stop.
She had been holding it in for too long.
Since the White Whale.
Since he had pretended they were reuniting after a long separation.
Since he had gradually begun arranging every part of her life for her.
And now—
She had recovered part of her memory, yet he still refused to reveal anything. He had even locked her inside this room.
“Brother.” Jiang Nuan stared at him. “Are you trying to keep me locked in here?”
Bai Siyuan stood where he was, his tall, slender figure pale to the point of being bloodless.
The next moment, he walked toward her.
With two long strides, he reached her.
Jiang Nuan instinctively backed away, but she didn’t release the doorknob. It wasn’t until her back struck the cold wall that she realized there was nowhere left to retreat.
Bai Siyuan covered the back of her hand with his.
His palm was slightly cool. His movements were as patient as when he had treated the abrasion moments ago. One finger at a time, he eased her hand away from the doorknob.
Then he didn’t let go. Instead, he folded her hand into his palm.
Standing before her, Bai Siyuan was more than a head taller, his body blocking most of the lamplight.
Jiang Nuan could smell the lingering scent of blood on him. She could also see the emotion suppressed deep in his eyes. It didn’t appear particularly violent, but it was terrifyingly heavy, like an undercurrent tightening again and again beneath a calm surface.
“Qinian, Qi Sui, and all those people from Zero Squad… What gives them the right to stand beside you?”
“Shouldn’t we be the ones who are closest to each other?”
He bent slightly toward her. As he spoke, his breath brushed against her cheek, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.
“A Nuan, you were the one who came looking for me.”
