Chapter 13 Rose, Snow Light, Mountains (Revised)

After washing up, the two of them returned to bed.

She liked to sleep near the light, while Si Jiahe slept on the side near the door, with the blanket covering his body.

Before going to sleep, Tang Man habitually prepared to set an alarm. As soon as she opened the screen, she found that there were seven or eight missed calls on her phone from the same number as before.

She had forgotten to block it earlier.

The most recent call was just five minutes ago when they were in the bathroom, and they didn’t hear a sound at all.

Si Jiahe leaned over from the side, saw the number of missed calls on the screen, hesitated for a moment, then asked in a pretentious manner, “Man Man, why don’t you call back and ask? It’s so late now, could there be something urgent for him to call?”

Look, how decent his words sounded, how considerate he was.

Tang Man glanced at Si Jiahe.

She never knew that the boy beside her was so polite, and to Du Henian of all people. He was just putting on a show in front of her.

However, what urgent matter could Du Henian have? Nothing more than being unwilling to break up.

But if a marriage can be divorced, what’s so difficult about breaking up?

If they were married, there might be a divorce cooling-off period, and they would need to spend some time before getting divorced, which could take a year or two.

But she had never heard of a breakup taking so long. It was perfectly reasonable for modern people to break up if they were incompatible in a relationship. If one party didn’t want to be together, then they could break up. Otherwise, it would be considered harassment.

So, under Si Jiahe’s gaze, she directly blocked the number, set the alarm, and closed her phone, saying, “Let’s sleep first, it’s already very late.”

However, Si Jiahe didn’t move. Instead, he looked at Tang Man’s actions for a long time, as if he had just realized something, and looked at her.

His voice trembled, “Man Man, you and he broke up?”

Not only was his voice trembling, but his whole body was also shaking slightly. It seemed like he was about to cry again. Tang Man couldn’t help but laugh and say, “You just figured it out?”

She scratched his chin and asked in return, “Am I the kind of person who would mess around with you without breaking up first?”

Si Jiahe’s eyelashes fluttered a few times before he slowly shook his head, appearing exceptionally obedient and soft.

He hugged Tang Man tightly and whispered, “Man Man, you’re not.”

If only he hadn’t said the words of breaking up so easily back then, there wouldn’t have been anything with Du Henian.

Every time he thought of this, his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife, filled with regret and countless emotions.

But it won’t happen this time. He will hold this woman tightly and never let go for a moment.

Tang Man smiled and lay down, but after closing her eyes, her hand touched Si Jiahe’s wrist, feeling around for a moment. Just as the boy was about to escape, her fingertips pressed on the scar there, and she casually asked, “How did you get this injury?”

It looked like it was caused by a sharp object, with several small cuts nearby. She was startled when she saw it before.

It was like seeing cracks on a beautiful white porcelain.

At this moment, she just remembered to ask casually before going to sleep, without much thought.

However, when Tang Man asked, Si Jiahe’s body couldn’t help but stiffen for a moment. When the person in his arms was startled by his movement and felt suspicious, about to raise her head, he hugged her tightly and buried his head in Tang Man’s neck.

He said softly, “I accidentally hurt myself before, cut by glass, and unintentionally left a scar.”

Tang Man heard it but didn’t pay much attention and just made a sound of acknowledgment.

Si Jiahe, however, was a little worried. After a long time, he asked in a low voice, “Man Man, is this very ugly?”

Tang Man didn’t mind. She leaned over and dimmed the floor lamp beside the bedside table a little, then put on her eye mask, ready to sleep. Hearing Si Jiahe’s question, she smiled and said casually.

“What’s so ugly about it? Once you put on clothes, who can see it?”

Although she had slept for an hour during the day, she still felt very sleepy, especially after playing around with Si Jiahe for a long time just now.

Therefore, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

And Si Jiahe, lying on the soft bed beside her, stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

He touched the scar on his hand, thinking that others might not see it, but you, Man Man, can see it. Just like now, this imperfect scar made you ask a question, even though it was just a casual, curious one. But Si Jiahe was still angry because of this slight imperfection on his body.

His fingers picked at the raised scar.

He turned his head to look at the woman sleeping beside him, feeling his heartbeat very slowly in the quiet night, as if it was an illusion.

The dim light from the floor lamp on the bedside table made him sink into the soft bedding, feeling the darkness from the ceiling pressing down layer by layer, about to cover his body.

In his dream, he stood still, only able to see the retreating figures of women in all directions, powerless to stop them, unable to hold them back. None of those departing figures turned their heads.

He was like an abandoned child, standing blankly at a crossroads, waiting for the next car to hit him.

Tang Man suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. She took off her eye mask and saw Si Jiahe curled up in a corner beside her, breathing heavily, his face covered in sweat, looking frightened.

She realized that Si Jiahe had a nightmare, and the annoyance of being woken up dissipated a little. She sat up from the bed, poured a glass of water from the bedside table, and handed it to him, “Had a nightmare?”

When Tang Man touched him, Si Jiahe’s whole body shrank back. A moment later, he reacted, took the glass of water from her hand, nodded blankly, and took a small sip of water.

However, as soon as the cold liquid entered his throat, a wave of nausea surged up. He had no time to react. He put the glass on the side table and quickly ran to the bathroom, kneeling over the toilet, retching incessantly.

Tang Man was startled by Si Jiahe’s violent movement and sat on the bed in a daze for a long time before she got out of bed, poured another glass of water, and slowly walked to the bathroom. She saw the boy leaning over the toilet, his entire back trembling slightly from the constant dry heaving, like a butterfly shivering in the wind.

She walked over and squatted beside Si Jiahe, saying softly, “Did you eat something bad?”

But in the evening, Si Jiahe didn’t eat much at all. It was mostly her who ate, and she was fine. Could it be that Si Jiahe, a man, had a more delicate stomach than her, who had a stomach condition?

Tang Man couldn’t figure it out. Her eyes fell on Si Jiahe’s thin, bony wrist, and she slowly handed over the glass of water in her hand, “Rinse your mouth first.”

Si Jiahe said a low “thank you” before taking it, but a moment later, he wanted to send Tang Man out.

He didn’t know if it was his psychological effect, but he always felt that there was a strange smell in the bathroom.

His face was pale now, without a hint of color. He couldn’t even accept himself being so disheveled. It looked too bad, too terrible.

He didn’t want Tang Man to see him in such a terrible state.

Tang Man stood beside him for a while before walking out of the room at Si Jiahe’s urging, only saying in a low voice, “If you really feel unwell, I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up.”

She was afraid it might be acute gastroenteritis or some other problem.

Si Jiahe shook his head and said softly, “I just feel nauseous from drinking cold water. It’s not a big problem. Man Man, you go to sleep first. It’s already very late.”

For some purpose, he was willing to show weakness in front of Tang Man, but that was also something he had carefully planned, not appearing before Tang Man in such a way that he himself despised. It was too unpleasant.

The disgusting vomit, the terrible smell in the bathroom, and his pale face like a drug addict…

He didn’t want to present any bad imagery to Tang Man.

He hoped that what he left her with were roses, snow light, mountains, and all the good imagery.

Tang Man returned to the room and waited for a while, leaning against the headboard. She turned up the light and looked at her phone, only to find that it was just past three o’clock, the middle of the night. Outside, the sky was so dark that no human figure could be seen.

She played with her phone for a while, then couldn’t help yawning. She thought that next time, she shouldn’t sleep with others. After all, a place of strong privacy like a residence should strictly forbid the entry of others. Otherwise, it would always make her feel uncomfortable.

At that time, she only thought that Si Jiahe might have had an upset stomach and didn’t think much of it. When he came out of the bathroom, she yawned, and through her tearful eyes, she saw that his complexion had recovered and was no longer as pale and frightening as before. She instantly felt relieved.

“Feeling better?” She put her phone aside and lowered the light a little more after seeing Si Jiahe’s complexion clearly.

Si Jiahe made a sound of agreement. He must have washed his face, as she felt that the boy’s face was too cold, and even his hands were as cold as ice.

He climbed onto the bed and, seeing the sleepiness in Tang Man’s eyes, withdrew his icy hands and said, “Let’s sleep. I’m much better now.”

Tang Man took another careful look at Si Jiahe. Confirming that there was no problem, she put on her eye mask and fell asleep again.

After that, she didn’t wake up again and slept until dawn. When she opened her eyes, it was already eight o’clock.

The space beside her was empty. Si Jiahe had long since gotten out of bed. She touched the spot, and it was cold, indicating that he had been up for a while.

She groggily opened her phone and glanced at it, then got out of bed, put on her slippers, and walked out. She heard movement coming from the kitchen, and a fragrant aroma was wafting in the air.