Chapter 74: Missing You
"You don't loathe me, you even…"
Song Hemei resignedly closed her eyes.
She was still buried in Yu Yeqing's embrace, uncertain of what he might be thinking, but she had already prepared herself to be pushed away by him.
Yet she had never seen him truly enraged. She couldn't quite imagine how someone so cold and distant as he would look when truly furious. Would he raise a hand to strike her?
Surely not. Since their reunion, he had been quite gentle with her.
And so she waited. She waited until, at last, the grip on her wrist loosened. Then, his powerful arms settled onto her back, pulling her whole body into an embrace.
Held by him, Song Hemei involuntarily arched her back and lifted her head. Her hands reached around to return the embrace on his firm back, feeling him slightly hunch down to press close to her neck, as if he were inhaling her scent.
"How did you know I was Anning?" he asked in a muffled voice. "I have been missing you, too."
His hoarse voice, mixed with his scorching breath, fell upon her ear. Song Hemei's heart thumped wildly, and she instinctively clutched his robe tighter.
Yu Yeqing held her closer and closer, his voice low as he promised, "I won't let anything happen to you."
Even if she was using these words to manipulate him, truth or falsehood, he could ignore it all.
He might as well simply take it as truth. Living in this world, there was no need to be clear-headed about everything. The slender waist in his embrace was real, at the very least. And the arms returning his embrace were real, too.
Even if this was manipulation, she was still manipulating him. She wasn't using anyone else. In the end, the way she treated him was different from how she treated others.
With a final shred of rationality, Yu Yeqing warned her, giving her one last chance to back out. "I will take everything you said as absolute truth. Have you considered the consequences?"
Song Hemei's throat felt dry. In her daze, she couldn't even tell if the heat she felt was from the temperature or from embarrassment. But she was certain her cheeks were warm.
"What consequences?" she asked softly. She could even hear a hint of nervousness and anticipation in her own voice.
He didn't speak. Instead, he took a deep breath, as if drawing her scent into his very lungs, wanting it to travel through his entire being.
The sense of possession in his action was particularly obvious, creating an illusion that there was no escape. It felt dangerous, like a lamb entering the tiger's den.
But his next words were: "You should return to the Song residence now."
Song Hemei felt a sinking sensation, as if she had just stepped into a void. "Ah?"
At a time like this, was this the kind of thing he should be saying—telling her to leave?
She couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. "Are you messing with me again?"
Yu Yeqing didn't loosen his embrace by even a fraction. Pressing his cheek against hers, he said, "I have never messed with you. It's just that I still have matters to attend to, and you should also go back and rest."
Song Hemei bit her lip, uncertain. Was this his response to her confession?
He nuzzled against her neck and cheek, then corrected himself: "I should be the one missing you more."
His voice held both complaint and a sigh. It wasn't just these past few days. For the past three years, he had missed her every single day. Could she possibly miss him as deeply as he missed her, down to the very marrow of his bones?
Song Hemei swallowed. She felt her ears burning from his words.
When she was young, she had heard many sweet words from Shao Wen'ang. Some were straightforward and cheesy, others were filled with classical allusions. But none of them seemed to carry as much weight as Yu Yeqing's simple statement.
Perhaps it was the advantage of his usual reticence. It made this single, heartfelt confession seem so rare and powerful, hitting her heart and making it race faster and faster.
She bit her dry lip. "Do you truly understand what I mean?"
"I believe I do."
Yu Yeqing replied in a low, solemn voice. "You don't loathe me. On the contrary, I can make your heart flustered."
Song Hemei's eyelashes trembled violently. Although the meaning was the same, hearing it from him made it sound as if she had little self-control.
"And you? What do you mean?" she asked, her voice very soft. She felt she was being a bit coy.
Yu Yeqing paused, then leaned close to her ear. "I haven't been improper. Neither have I… been tempting you."
The word "tempting" seemed like something that had never existed in his life before, making it feel strangely awkward for him to even utter it.
This was exactly the reckless accusation Song Hemei had thrown out. If they continued this discussion, they would end up debating whether it was his lack of restraint or her lack of willpower.
She patted him lightly on the back. "That's not what I'm talking about."
Remembering he had things to do, Song Hemei hesitated for a moment. "I'm going back now. But when will you come find me? I need to have a detailed talk with you."
She felt her emotions were churning violently, but she knew some decisions shouldn't be made while in the heat of the moment.
Her elder brother's matter wasn't resolved yet, and she and the Song family were both caught up in it. She didn't think the affection Yu Yeqing showed was any kind of stalling tactic. He had no reason for that. Furthermore, he had never distanced himself from her from the very beginning, which made her even more certain that he, too, had feelings for her.
Since they both felt the same way, once this crisis was over, they would have to talk seriously about their future. After all, when two people are together, there's always much to say, both important and trivial.
Yu Yeqing didn't avoid her question. He pondered for a moment. "We need to wait until this matter is resolved. I hope you won't be impatient."
Song Hemei's eyelid twitched. Impatient for what? As if she were afraid of being jilted.
"I'm not impatient."
She took a deep breath, quietly composing herself, then raised her hand and patted him again. "Let me go. Don't you have things to be busy with?"
She actually wanted to tell him that it was really not good to confess your feelings to a girl and then immediately tell her to leave.
But then she thought, why should she do this? Why teach him how to win over other girls?
Feeling quite magnanimous, Song Hemei relaxed her body. But he still didn't let go, holding her as tightly as if he wanted to embed her into his arms.
"Didn't you tell me to go back? How can I leave if you won't let me go?"
The arms around her tightened once more before slowly loosening.
Song Hemei's feet touched the ground again, and she only then realized she had been on her tiptoes the whole time he was holding her, so captivated by him that she hadn't even noticed.
Separated from him, she inexplicably felt too embarrassed to look at him directly. She blinked several times before she mustered the courage to look at him with feigned composure, only to meet his gaze, which was even more direct and scorching than before… and then she saw the fresh teeth marks on his neck.
It seemed she had indeed been impulsive. There was no need to bite him just for the sake of talking.
Now look what she had done. She had truly walked right into her own trap.
Song Hemei swallowed, awkwardly tidying the disheveled hair at her temples. Trying to cover it up, she asked, "Aren't you going to change your clothes?"
"Why?"
To cover up the mark, naturally.
But thinking about it, in the height of summer, what kind of clothes could cover a mark that high up on the neck? When she bit him, she had aimed for a spot that would be easily discovered.
She gave a light cough. "Never mind. Changing or not changing won't make much difference."
Yu Yeqing noticed her slightly evasive gaze. The pain on his neck registered belatedly. He raised his fingers to touch the spot, the pads of his fingers feeling the unevenness of the bite.
"Even without this, I wouldn't forget you."
His long lashes shaded his dark, unfathomable eyes.
Even if he tried to deliberately forget, he could not. Why would he need other methods to remember?
Hearing her own words repeated back to her, Song Hemei couldn't help but feel a little bashful. She forced a calm demeanor. "Who told me I'm such a kind-hearted person? I'll trust you this once."
She glanced toward the door. "Then… I'll go back to the Song residence now."
Yu Yeqing nodded. "Forgive me, this is urgent, so I cannot escort you personally."
Song Hemei waved her hand, not minding. The heat in her cheeks and ears was stubbornly persistent. She just wanted to get out of this room and let the wind cool her down. "No need to trouble yourself. I know the way."
Yu Yeqing's gaze remained fixed on her, watching her push the door open and leave. His eyes followed the gentle sway of her hairpin as she walked, down to the hem of her swinging skirt, until she had completely disappeared from his sight. Only then did his gaze gradually turn cold.
He didn't stay long in the room but instead made his way back to the prison.
Song Yunyao was still sitting on that wooden plank bed. In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of the tall figure outside the bars and instinctively stood up.
Yu Yeqing's cold gaze settled on him. Meeting his eyes, Song Yunyao couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
He wanted to step back, but feared he wouldn't be able to gauge the situation from Yu Yeqing's expression. He wanted to step forward, but was daunted by the sheer intimidation. So he just stood there, staring at this man who had once struggled to survive under his authority.
Yu Yeqing spoke, his voice as cold as the deep ice of a frigid lake. "Since I have been ordered to investigate this case, do you truly think I don't know who is pulling the strings behind all this?"
He spat out two words from his thin lips: "You fool."
Song Yunyao's pupils trembled. He forced himself to be calm. "You've only been an official for a few years. What foundation do you have? Thinking you can wade into these muddy waters? You're the fool."
Yu Yeqing let out a cold laugh. "That is none of your concern. Do you think I've kept you alive until now for nothing?"
He took a step forward, looking down at him. "You are a man deserving of death, yet you drag your family down with you. You cling to your delusions even under the shadow of a nine-family extermination."
"I am giving you one last chance to live. Life or death, the choice is yours."
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