She was familiar with every room on the second level: the bedroom, the study room, and the two empty rooms. She pulled open the curtains, and the piercing sunlight leaped into the room. Although the sunlight was bright, the room gave people a sense of gloominess.
It was mainly black in theme.
The black drapes, mosquito net, bedsheets, pillow—much of the furniture in the room, including the carpet, was black. She could tell from a look that these items were already dated and seemed quite old. The carpet, especially, smelled old.
She knelt down and felt the gentle carpet. She liked it, and a smile broke across her face.
This carpet should have been bought from a black auction site in India, and she really liked it. Although he did not really like it, he allowed her to lay the carpet in their room. She recalled how they bought the carpet back home then, how he hugged her, and how he did her so hard on the carpet once it was laid.
Those images of her and him she did not know rolled in her mind.
She flung her head and tried not to think about these embarrassing images. The bedroom, bed, and window sides, however, bore the shadows of their happier days that they could never remove. She, in her throes of pleasure, was barely recognizable and alluring to the present her.
Mo Shitian…
Su Ruyu struggled to say his name and felt her heart become tumultuous, aching sharply.
She suddenly walked out of the bedroom and leaned against the wall. Her chest heaved and her heart thumped violently as though something was about to break it. Her head sharply ached as she urgently tried to remember everything to no avail. This somewhat incomplete memory lingered in her mind. She was lost and adrift in her pain.
She loved Mo Shitian!
This courtyard, without doubt, had her shadows, smiles, and traces of their life together all across it. The memories were so fresh that what happened over twenty years ago was still as vivid as though it was only yesterday.
She would be deceiving herself if she said she did not love him. She could not convince herself at all.
As she calmed her thumping and shocked heart, she slowly opened her eyes and went to the balcony to sit on the rattan chair. The sun gently shone on her, and the memories of before gradually returned to her.
It seemed as though this house bore the marks of her happiness, her youth, and her love.
She deeply loved him.
Since she deeply loved him, why did it all fade when they were separated for over twenty years without a single word? Who let who down? What exactly happened in these twenty years? She could no longer remember anything but the happiness and love during those days.
As the wind blew, the scent of tea flowers lingered around her nose. The wind chimes sounded with a crisp sound. There was a calmness that was hard to describe.
There was a sudden sound from the adjacent room, and she was shocked. She was certain there was nobody in the room. She was keen enough to certainly pick up on them otherwise.
Su Ruyu stood up and slowly walked to the door of the study room.
She pushed open the door and entered.
She was aghast!
The study room was exactly as she had remembered it, with the long sofas opposite the study table where she would keep him company when he was busy. When she was bored, she would move up a sofa set to nap on or read. She took a special love to researching viruses, cells, etc. The specialized books were on the glass table next to the sofa.
And they were from a long time ago.
What left her aghast was how artworks of her… lined the wall.
Artwork of her smiling, acting all cold, sleeping, amongst the tea leaves, or practicing fencing when she was a teenager. The teenage girl in the picture had an intricate look, which largely showed her cold side. There were a few other paintings that portrayed her turning around to smile beautifully, and others portrayed her as a petite teenager in high spirits. Every drawing fully captured her charm, and she, despite smiling, did not lose her charm.
These artworks consisted of oil paintings, sketches, etc. which were different from one another. The teenager in her was brought out regardless of the form in which she was portrayed.
It was as though her teenage years were frozen in time.
Su Ruyu felt her heart thump. There was only one person who did all these artworks. She knew without thinking that it was Mo Shitian who did these artworks. She could imagine how he portrayed her while hating her expressions.
Given his character, he would definitely begrudge her and hate her and yet miss her as he faced these lifeless drawings day by day.
A lonely silhouette amidst a room full of artworks…
She knew that Mo Shitian loved her and that they were a couple who loved each other deeply. Anybody who saw all these artworks and still did not understand his heart was a fool…
She gritted her teeth as she looked at these artworks with a solemn heart. Her heart suddenly ached to the point she felt suffocated and terrible.
Wolf lied to her!
He claimed that they were a couple and how she was still so distant toward him. There were several times she almost believed him.
The pain in her heart became even more unbearable. Su Ruyu clenched her fists and landed a punch on the wall. Blood trickled from the back of her hands…
Those vows of the past mattered no more.
They went their separate ways. Did he miss her day and night to the point of insomnia for the past twenty-over years? Or, did he hate her to the point he wished he could strangle her? She knew nothing, and she had forgotten about him.
She could not recall the slightest thing, and she would get an occasional headache from remembering those images of her hating him. She was so heartbroken to the point she once imagined herself perishing with him in the most tragic manner possible.
She hated this stunning man but never knew that she loved him this deeply. She had once smiled this beautifully, and this stunning man once appeared in her life.
Mo Shitian!
‘Where are you?’ She looked for him urgently, hoping to clarify what exactly happened back then, why they would break up so irrecoverably, and also why she hated him.
And yet loved him so deeply she felt a symphony of love and hate for him.
Her eyes slightly reddened as unbearable sadness surged up her heart. It really hurt!
Searing tears fell and splashed on the back of her hand. She was completely immersed in her own world and in her emotions to the point she was oblivious to her surroundings. She did not notice a figure at the door that looked at her silhouette in shock. The figure, in that moment, lost his breath and clenched his fists tightly.
As she suddenly heard a deep breath from behind her, Su Ruyu felt her back stiffen and slowly turned around…
