Chapter 155: Ye Zhen, Give Me a Hand
New Year's Day.
Ye Fuli sat in a small room with a roaring stove, staring blankly at the snowy scene outside the window.
The room was warm, and she felt calm.
Her eyes were slightly narrowed, like a lazy cat.
Not far from her, Ye Zhen watched the sizzling slices of meat roasting over the stove, occasionally stealing glances at Ye Fuli.
It had been a long time since she'd seen Ye Fuli in such a frenzied state.
Yet now, Ye Zhen would rather witness her madness than endure this calm before the storm.
All words of comfort were futile.
For Ye Fuli now, she wanted only one answer.
Anything other than that answer was meaningless.
Ye Zhen sighed inwardly.
If only this girl weren't so stubborn…
If she hadn't been so stubborn, perhaps the two of them would have long since shared a sweet romance. After all, Ye Fuli possessed a face Ye Zhen never grew tired of looking at, perfectly matching her vision of an older sister.
But now, her heart was in turmoil.
Was it fear that Ye Fuli's death might drag her down too? Or genuine pity for this chosen one whose fate was so fraught with misfortune?
When it comes to Ye Fuli, I suppose I still care about her to some extent, right? As Miss Zhao Mengde said, if there wasn't even a shred of concern, I wouldn't pay attention to her changes or mentally grade her.
Ye Zhen wasn't quite ready to confront her own feelings.
Once, she had paid an excruciating price to escape Ye Fuli's grasp.
Now, if she acknowledged her identity, would she become Ye Fuli's plaything once more?
No, that shouldn't happen…
Ye Fuli wouldn't dare do that again. She knew Ye Zhen would rather die than submit to her.
But what if?
Could she afford to take that gamble?
Ye Zhen turned the skewered meat on the wire grill, her mind endlessly calculating the course of her life.
Not just her own path, but Ye Fuli's as well.
Should she believe that old habits die hard, or that one can turn over a new leaf? This question was a tough one.
Knock knock knock—
The urgent knocking shattered the quiet atmosphere inside the room.
Ye Zhen rose and hurried to the door, opening it.
Zhao Mengde, who had just gone out to buy supplies, chuckled twice and waved the bag containing king crab in his hand.
"Finally got two live ones! Should we grill them tonight or have them as sashimi?"
Before he could finish, she spotted Ye Fuli sitting motionless in the corner of the sofa. Startled, she gasped, "Ye Fuli!"
Ye Fuli lifted her eyes slightly to meet hers. "Hmph."
Zhao Mengde immediately pulled Ye Zhen behind her, glaring warily at Ye Fuli. "Why are you here?"
"No reason. I'm wherever I choose to be."
Ye Fuli had reverted to her former icy tone.
This almost made Ye Zhen believe she had regained her memories.
However, Ye Fuli hadn't regained those painful memories. Her eyes held no trace of emotion—only utter calm.
In common parlance, she seemed utterly devoid of will to live.
Zhao Mengde detected no killing intent emanating from her, so he gradually relaxed his guard. He slowly moved to another sofa near Ye Fuli and sat down.
"There's a fireworks display by the river tonight. Ye Zhen, would you like to go?"
Zhao Mengde casually brought up the topic, attempting to break the awkward silence.
Ye Zhen, who had received the question, turned her face slightly toward Ye Fuli: "Ye Fuli, would you like to go?"
Ye Fuli shook her head.
She felt utterly unmotivated, wanting only to stay here by the fire, enjoying the view.
Ye Zhen quickly added, "You buy the fireworks, and I'll set them off for you. How about it?"
This sentence stirred a faint, beautiful memory in Ye Fuli's mind.
A glimmer of life finally returned to Ye Fuli's dull, lifeless eyes.
She sighed softly, "I'm not interested."
No matter how beautiful the fireworks might be, they held little meaning for her now.
She was merely enduring each day with difficulty, waiting for the three-day period to end, waiting for Ye Zhen's answer.
At that moment, Zhao Mengde picked up a piping hot piece of beef with his chopsticks, caught it with his tongue, and then fanned it vigorously with his hand.
Seeing Ye Fuli's deadpan expression, she couldn't help but slur out a mocking remark: "Ye Fuli, this isn't like you at all! That look in your eyes just now clearly showed you wanted to go, yet you're putting on airs… Are you trying to get Ye Zhen to coax you into agreeing?"
Ye Zhen: "…"
Ye Fuli: "…"
For once, their expressions were perfectly synchronized.
Zhao Mengde froze: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Was that wrong? Hell no—it was dead wrong, utterly and completely wrong!
Who does Zhao Mengde think Ye Fuli is?
Does she need you to placate her?
Would you dare try to placate her?
"Shut up and eat your food," Ye Zhen snapped, her face set in a stern frown.
"How am I supposed to eat with my mouth shut?"
"Then take it outside and eat!"
…
Evening.
Quietly arrived.
The riverside fireworks display was nearly five kilometers away.
Zhao Mengde drove, carrying both of them to their destination.
On the way.
Zhao Mengde snorted several times, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "See? I was right. Ye Fuli, you're just being dramatic. You clearly want to come, so why are you pretending you're not interested?"
Ye Fuli stared at her expressionlessly. "I just don't feel comfortable with you and Ye Zhen going out alone late at night."
That was indeed the case.
Unfortunately, this explanation failed to convince anyone in the car.
Zhao Mengde snorted again. "I've said it ten times already—I'm straight! My feelings toward Ye Zhen are like a mom's toward her good girl. Got it?"
"Whatever. I'm already out the door."
Ye Fuli was dressed rather warmly today, wearing a loose-fitting black down jacket over her clothes.
The hood was trimmed with thick, dense fox fur, which nearly concealed her entire face when pulled up.
Ye Fuli kept the hood up, peering through the fox fur's gaps at Ye Zhen sitting beside her.
As for Ye Zhen, she sat expressionless, cracking sunflower seeds.
The car was filled with the constant "crunch, crunch" sound.
They soon arrived at their destination.
After getting out of the car, Ye Zhen pulled out a handful of loose change from her pocket and bought a large bundle of firecrackers.
She shoved the sparklers into Ye Fuli's hands.
Ye Fuli stared at her blankly.
At that moment, Ye Zhen spotted fireworks at another stall. She emptied her own pockets and then reached into Zhao Mengde's pocket, buying several large bundles of fireworks along with an extravagant, cannonball-sized one.
"The vendor said this one shoots blue sparks," Ye Zhen remarked deliberately. "I think if some people have to die, they should at least see blue fireworks before they go."
Ye Fuli pressed her lips together, saying nothing.
Truthfully, she didn't really want to die.
If possible, she hoped Ye Zhen would pull her back, give her a reason to keep living—not watch her drown in illusory beauty.
The loss of her memories…
Ye Fuli simply couldn't accept it.
"If I find my lover within these three days, I'll cherish this life—even if it's just for her sake."
Hearing these words, Ye Zhen felt a pang in her heart.
She dared not turn to look at Ye Fuli's expression, afraid to meet her eyes filled with overwhelming affection.
"Even if it's just watching her from afar every day, it would fill me with hope for the future." Ye Fuli seemed to be making some kind of promise: "Truthfully, that's all I ever wanted."
Amidst the crackling of fireworks, Ye Fuli spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, enunciating each word deliberately: "Before I learn how to love her, I will never hurt her again in the name of love."
Ye Zhen before her swayed slightly.
Ye Fuli didn't press further.
She knew Ye Zhen had heard her words.
That was enough.
Ye Zhen needed some space to move forward or back.
"Come on, come on! I found an open spot over there. Let's go set off fireworks."
Zhao Mengde came trotting over, helped pick up the large bundle of firecrackers from the ground, and then trotted ahead to lead the way.
It took three or four trips back and forth to carry all the fireworks over.
Ye Zhen walked slowly behind Ye Fuli, maintaining a distance neither too close nor too far.
She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
The closer the three-day deadline drew, the more frantic she grew.
This time, it wasn't just Ye Fuli's gamble—it was hers too.
The fireworks in the sky reflected upon the pitch-black water, blooming like flowers beneath the surface.
Along both banks of the river, laughter and cheerful voices filled the air.
The chilly wind blew in gusts, yet it did little to dampen the festive spirit of the crowd.
Ye Zhen and Ye Fuli sat side by side on the riverbank, yet even at such close proximity, they shared no words.
Beneath the vast blue shower of fireworks, Ye Fuli slowly turned her head to gaze at Ye Zhen's profile.
Ye Zhen rubbed her cold fingers, gradually lowering her head.
As if doing so could help her avoid Ye Fuli's gaze.
But avoidance rarely solved problems.
Ye Zhen took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "In this world, there are many other things to do besides falling in love, aren't there?"
Ye Fuli smiled but said nothing.
What else in this world could torment her, Ye Fuli, so deeply?
Ye Zhen looked at her and asked earnestly, "If you could regain your memories, would you stop trying to kill yourself?"
The question caught Ye Fuli off guard.
A long silence followed.
Ye Fuli finally answered.
"Ye Zhen, don't imagine me to be so strong. If the memories I've lost were something I could bear to live with, I would have regained them long ago."
Ye Zhen's heart trembled.
Yes.
If those memories were something she could accept, she wouldn't have lost them in the first place!
Using that herb from the system would likely only hasten Ye Fuli's demise.
"But if she came back to me—even just as a friend by my side—I wouldn't fear anything."
Ye Fuli suddenly reached out and clasped Ye Zhen's icy little hand tightly.
Before Ye Zhen could feel frightened, she quickly let go.
The sensation of their fingers touching lingered.
Ye Zhen's face flushed crimson.
"Sorry, I put on too much hand cream and transferred some to you just now." Ye Fuli pulled out a tube of hand cream she'd been holding onto for a while and waved it in front of Ye Zhen. "You can spread it out yourself."