Chapter 19

The sky was gloomy, with dark clouds rolling in the fierce wind. On the edge of a cliff, a white-haired man with red eyes slowly tore up a crimson contract paper. With a wave of his hand, the paper fragments danced and floated away in the wind.

Blood tears flowed from his red eyes, and his purple-black lips parted slightly, whispering, “You betrayed me, I won’t let you go…”

He turned his head to look at the person who had caused him such heartache, his thin lips curving into an eerie smile: “I curse you for all eternity, to love but never attain.”

…

Zhang Meng frowned and opened her eyes.

It was a strange dream. Those desperate red eyes from the dream still lingered in her mind, making her feel uncomfortable. Since crossing over, she hadn’t had any horrifying dreams, so having this dream now felt very odd. The dream was incredibly vivid; she could even clearly remember the gold-embroidered hem pattern on the man’s black robe sleeves.

Dawn was breaking, with dew drops clinging to the fresh grass and flowers. A clear spring flowed gently not far away.

Zhang Meng sat up, the wound on her back still throbbing painfully, pulling her consciousness back from the lingering dream. She stiffly and slowly stood up.

Xu Lu Cha was still sleeping deeply, his jet-black hair falling over his jade-like face, creating a captivating contrast like a ink-wash painting. His red attire added a touch of allure to his appearance.

Not wanting to wake him, Zhang Meng went alone to pick some wild fruits. Not long after she left, Xu Lu Cha woke up.

He opened his eyes and looked at the spot where Zhang Meng had been resting. Seeing it empty, his mind buzzed, and his face suddenly turned pale.

She had abandoned him.

With a pale face, he limped forward, supporting himself against the cave wall. Even when he fell, he struggled to crawl out of the cave.

Outside the cave, golden sunlight filtered through the thin mist, slanting down quietly. A cool morning breeze carried the fresh scent of flowers and grass. Xu Lu Cha sat leaning against the cave entrance, his beautiful eyes scanning every visible area, but he couldn’t see her figure anywhere.

She really had abandoned him!!

How could she abandon him!

Xu Lu Cha struggled to his feet and limped quickly towards the outside. He had never felt such panic before, not even when being chased by those people, or when bitten by a snake and on the verge of death from poison.

Had she realized that saving him was meaningless and left him behind? Had the foolish woman finally become smart? Giving hope and then destroying it with her own hands. She was indeed the best at pushing people into despair. The laughable thing was, he had truly believed in her.

Xu Lu Cha bit his lower lip hard, his beautiful eyes turbulent with emotion. She had entangled with him but refused to take responsibility. Even if he died and became a ghost, he would not let her go. Absolutely not.

“Young Master Xu? Why are you up?”

A soft, pleasant voice suddenly sounded from not far away, like a ray of sunlight dispersing the darkness in Xu Lu Cha’s heart. Xu Lu Cha was stunned for a good while before turning to look at that person.

Author’s Note: To read more novels about the male lead, this black-hearted lotus, please visit: Meiwu Novel Website (MEIWUXS.COM)

The person had casually tied up her smooth black hair, looking lazy and charming. Her gentle and beautiful face wore a warm smile as she raised a few clusters of purple-red fruits in her hand: “Since you’re up, have some fruit. I’ll help you find a way out later.”

Xu Lu Cha’s heart seemed to be scalded. He turned his face away, avoiding her bright gaze.

She hadn’t left.

“Young Master Xu?” Seeing Xu Lu Cha not responding, Zhang Meng called out to him again.

…

Zhang Meng felt that Xu Lu Cha had become somewhat strange. Usually, he was most adept at social interactions. He was skilled at pretending, smooth-talking, and as long as he wanted to, he could converse with almost anyone without any awkward silences. Zhang Meng had seen him chat animatedly with people as wealthy as Qian Mu, as poor as Chen Cheng, and as talented as Zhong Huo. But now, facing her, he had been silent for an entire day.

Since he woke up, he had only said one thing to her: “You’re not dead.” After that, he kept falling into a dazed, silent state, which Zhang Meng found very incredible.

During the days when Zhang Meng was recuperating, she had heard gossip from people in the government office. They said that Xu Lu Cha had been betrothed by Xu family’s master father to a widowed woman in her fifties from the neighboring town. Apparently, that woman was a distant relative of Chen Yue. Although Xu Hong wasn’t too pleased, she didn’t object. Given Xu Lu Cha’s personality, Zhang Meng figured he definitely wouldn’t submit meekly, and his appearance yesterday, lying injured on the mountain in red clothes, made her guess he had run away from the marriage.

Thinking of this, Zhang Meng thought that perhaps the process of escaping the marriage had left him traumatized, which was why he was so silent.

Xu Lu Cha sat leaning at the cave entrance, quietly nibbling on the wild fruits in small bites, occasionally looking up at Zhang Meng. Seeing that she was still there, he would lower his head expressionlessly and continue eating.

Zhang Meng had never seen Xu Lu Cha show such dependent behavior before, as if he had made her his lifeline. But she could understand his thinking. After running away from the marriage, he must have suffered a lot, being bitten by a venomous snake, left alone to die in the wilderness with no one to save him. She had saved him and tried her best to take care of him. Even the coldest, most hard-hearted person would develop some attachment to her, right?

This attachment wasn’t necessarily love, but rather a grateful fondness for the person who helped him, along with an insecurity about being abandoned. Just like eleven years ago, when Zhang Meng fell off a cliff while escaping from human traffickers and was badly injured. At that time, Yang Qing appeared and saved her, and for the next few days, she wanted to stick to Yang Qing’s back all the time. She was afraid Yang Qing would abandon her at any moment. At only seven years old and sick all over, she had no labor value and didn’t understand the rules of this strange world. She would have died in this alien world.

So when Xu Lu Cha raised his head to look at her, Zhang Meng smiled at him: “Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t abandon you. Once you’ve eaten enough, I’ll take you to find a way out.”

Xu Lu Cha was slightly taken aback and quickly lowered his head to avoid her gaze. His fair fingers tightened slightly around the half-eaten purple-red fruit. After a good while, he finally spoke with some difficulty: “Don’t you resent me?”

“Hm?” Zhang Meng looked at him puzzled, “Resent you for what? Are you referring to the incident with Sister Long and the others beating me?”

Xu Lu Cha’s hand stiffened, but he still nodded, then added, “And for causing you to get hurt, making you jump off the cliff…”

Zhang Meng smiled and said, “About being beaten by Sister Long and the others, I did resent you a bit. I never understood what I had done to offend you. But for the latter two incidents, I helped you willingly, so there’s no question of resentment.”

Xu Lu Cha stared at Zhang Meng for a while, his beautiful eyes flickering between bright and dark, finally settling into calmness. He didn’t say anything, just lowered his head to eat the fruit. Just when Zhang Meng thought he wouldn’t say anything more, his low voice sounded unhurriedly: “Zhang Meng, you’ve always been provoking me.”

It had always been so.

Never taking his charm seriously, ignoring his flattering words, repeatedly trampling his pride underfoot. How could he not resent her?

And when he was drugged, although she helped him, she also accidentally saw his body. He had always regarded his chastity as extremely important, and he already harbored deep resentment towards her, so how could he calm down to thank her? He only thought she was being a hooligan, and naturally wanted to teach her a lesson.

He had never been a good person. Anyone who made him unhappy, he would definitely retaliate, no matter the cost. He never regretted his actions.

But when he thought the person before him had died, he found that he wasn’t happy about it.

He had never thought he would feel uncomfortable about someone’s departure. Even when that man died from poison, he had only been stunned for a moment, without shedding a single tear.

Zhang Meng looked at Xu Lu Cha, who was lowering his head to eat the fruit, and asked puzzledly, “I provoked you? Really?”

But Xu Lu Cha didn’t answer. He finished eating a fruit, then looked up at Zhang Meng again, but said nothing.

Zhang Meng used a funnel made of leaves to scoop some spring water, then handed it to Xu Lu Cha: “Have some water. We still have a long way to walk later.”

Xu Lu Cha took the leaf funnel, accidentally touching Zhang Meng’s fingers. His hand stiffened, almost spilling the water. Zhang Meng didn’t expect such a big reaction from him and hurriedly supported the bottom of the funnel to keep it level. She smiled and said, “Be careful, don’t wet the wounds on your hands.”

Xu Lu Cha’s fingers were covered in numerous small cuts. When Zhang Meng was bandaging them with strips torn from her clothes, seeing those wounds had given her goosebumps. The fingers are very sensitive, and with his hands injured like this, it must be very painful. But he hadn’t made a sound because of the pain, which made her see him in a new light.

Most men in the matriarchal country were rather delicate. Even Zhang Hao, who was used to hard work and had a fierce temper, would sometimes tear up when he cut his hand. Although the pampered Xu Lu Cha often pretended to be fragile, perhaps he wasn’t actually a weak person.

Xu Lu Cha steadied the leaf funnel and brought it to his pale lips, taking a small sip.

…

Given that Xu Lu Cha’s leg was injured and Zhang Meng’s back was wounded, Zhang Meng still had to support Xu Lu Cha by putting his arm over her shoulder as they walked. Their bodies were pressed close together. Xu Lu Cha was half a head taller than Zhang Meng, and even though he was somewhat thin, he was still very heavy. At first, supporting him as they walked didn’t feel like much, but the longer they walked, the more tired Zhang Meng felt. She even started to feel dizzy and lightheaded due to the pain in her back.

The two of them would rest after every half hour of walking. When Zhang Meng set Xu Lu Cha down, she momentarily lost her balance and almost fell. Then she realized that the wound on her back had reopened.

Enduring the pain, Zhang Meng took the leaf funnel to the stream to scoop water. Soon, she returned with the funnel full of water and handed it to Xu Lu Cha.