Chapter 886: Chapter 692: Missing Heart Scale (2)
"That power seems to be deliberately stopping him from getting his memory back. Every time he’s about to remember something, that power forcibly resets it." Shen Tang’s tone grew serious as she spoke.
[Could it be the Devouring Power?] the System speculated.
Shen Tang shook her head. "It’s not the Devouring Power. Devouring only makes him cold and indifferent, but it doesn’t alter memories. This is clearly something someone did on purpose."
"I tried to clear out that power, but it’s been there too long. It’s like tree roots that have already taken hold in the soil, spreading into every corner of his body... I don’t dare act rashly."
[My god, what on earth is that thing, to be this difficult to deal with.]
"It’s still lurking inside him, not fully revealed yet, so right now I can’t see what it actually is. I can only keep watching for a while longer."
After she finished chatting with the System, the meal was done as well.
The fragrance of rice-and-meat soup drifted out from the kitchen. Shen Tang carried a small tray back to the bedroom.
The steamed egg in the bowl was tender and smooth, and the soup was light but tasty.
Xue Yansi was still leaning against the headboard, silver hair spread out. His complexion was a bit better than before, but that sickly weakness about him had somehow become even more pronounced.
Seeing her come in, his gaze followed her over almost instinctively, then quickly moved away again, returning to that cold and distant look.
"Have something to eat. You need to replenish your strength." Shen Tang’s voice was gentle and natural, as if she hadn’t minded his foul attitude just now at all.
She set the tray on the small table by the bed, sat down on the edge of the mattress herself, then very naturally picked up the steamed egg, scooped up a spoonful, gently blew on it, and brought it to his lips.
"...I’ll do it myself." Xue Yansi frowned, lifting his hand to take the bowl, but when he raised his arm it trembled slightly, and he couldn’t exert any strength.
"Don’t force it." Shen Tang’s hand stayed steadily in place, her gaze resting on him, calm, brows lifting slightly. "Right now you can’t even hold a cup steady, and you still want to hold a bowl? Be good and open your mouth."
There was a kind of familiar, non-negotiable tone in her voice, even a little indulgent, like coaxing a cub.
"..." Xue Yansi turned his face slightly aside; on that cool, handsome face, the faint flush seemed to deepen.
Seeing he wasn’t cooperating, Shen Tang let out a soft sigh. "If you don’t eat soon, the food’s going to get cold."
In the end, he pressed his lips together, then compromised, opening them just a little to take the spoon.
The steamed egg was warm and silky, with just the right touch of savory flavor. It felt very comfortable settling into an empty stomach.
He ate in silence, and Shen Tang patiently fed him, spoonful by spoonful.
The two were very close. That faint but impossible-to-ignore clean scent on her body, mingled with the warmth of the food, hovered subtly at the tip of his nose.
The room was quiet, save for the occasional soft clink of the spoon against the bowl, and his own slightly clear swallowing sounds.
This quiet only made his senses sharper.
Today Shen Tang wore a soft, casual long dress. The style was loose, the neckline a wrapped V-shape, not revealing by design. But the way she leaned toward him to feed him made the fabric shift a little with the motion.
When she brought over another spoonful, at the moment Xue Yansi lowered his eyes, his gaze inadvertently swept across her chest.
At the neckline, a flash of jade-like skin suddenly entered his field of vision, the soft curve faintly visible.
Xue Yansi’s breath stalled, almost imperceptibly.
He jerked his head up to look at her, only to meet Shen Tang’s eyes directly.
She seemed not to have noticed anything, watching intently as he swallowed the food. Her eyes were clear, even filled with pure concern, as if that brief glimpse just now had been nothing but his own illusion.
"What’s wrong, is it too hot?" Seeing him pause, Shen Tang tilted her head slightly to ask.
The motion made the line of her neck stand out more clearly, a few strands of hair slipping down and adding a hint of softness.
"...No." Xue Yansi’s voice grew a bit more hoarse than before, his Adam’s apple sliding lightly.
He forced himself to look back at the food, but the scene from just now lingered in his mind.
He felt an inexplicable agitation, and... desire.
Not a desire for food, but for the female in front of him, so close within reach.
Shen Tang seemed unaware of the turmoil inside him and kept feeding him.
Her fingers occasionally brushed his lip corner without meaning to, gently wiping away nonexistent traces of food.
The warmth at her fingertips was much hotter than his chilled cheeks. Every slight touch was like a pebble dropped into still water, sending unfamiliar ripples across his heart.
The steamed egg in the bowl gradually disappeared.
"Have some soup." Shen Tang set the bowl down and picked up the meat soup beside it.
This time she leaned even closer, almost bending over his chest so she could bring the soup bowl steadily to his lips.
As she came closer, that subtle fragrance became clearer.
From Xue Yansi’s angle, all he had to do was lower his eyes a little to see a deeper view beneath her neckline.
He turned his face away stiffly, his body slightly taut. The originally pale cheeks took on a deeper blush that spread all the way to the tips of his ears.
He should push her away.
He should tell her to leave at once.
But...
He didn’t move at all, letting the warm soup slide down his throat, letting the warmth of her presence wrap around him.
After feeding him the last spoonful of soup, Shen Tang used a clean cloth to gently wipe the corner of his mouth.
Her motions were light, her gaze never leaving his face. Those beautiful, sultry eyes held his reflection, so focused it was as though he was her entire world.
Then she gave him a small smile, clean and warm. "All right, rest for a while after eating. I’ll be in the next room, call me if you need anything."
She rose, gathered up the tray, and turned to leave.
Xue Yansi lay alone on the bed, staring at the doorway through which she’d gone, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the sheet beneath him.
After a long time.
He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, thinking: Given how things are now, I’ll allow myself to slack off this once.
So during this period, Shen Tang stayed in the residence that Fu had bought in the second city, taking meticulous care of Xue Yansi, and also using the chance to quietly draw the two of them closer.
She tended to him with painstaking detail, pouring almost all her patience and gentleness into him.
Xue Yansi had never experienced this kind of tenderness.
By rights it should have felt unfamiliar, yet it was strangely familiar, making an uncontrollable attachment grow in his heart.
He also gradually stopped saying those hurtful things; invisibly, their relationship became more and more intimate.
Anyone unaware of the truth, seeing them, would probably think they were a pair of lovers with deep affection.
Under Shen Tang’s careful care, Xue Yansi’s body slowly improved. His superpower hadn’t fully recovered yet, but at least getting out of bed, walking around, eating, and dressing were no longer a problem.
The weather was growing colder by the day.
Eris Star, like the Beast World Continent, also had four seasons, only the year here seemed longer.
When Shen Tang had just arrived via Teleportation, it was roughly late summer, early autumn. Now she’d been here almost five months, and the temperature kept dropping.
When she woke this morning, she found it was snowing outside.
Sparse white snow fluttered across the sky; the roofs and ground outside the window were coated in a thin white layer, snow clinging in patches to treetops, making everything look quiet and dreamlike.
Snake Beasts were born afraid of the cold. Although with Xue Yansi’s current strength he was more than capable of resisting his instincts, his body was still somewhat weak now, so she hurried off toward his room.
Comments