He kept a few centimeters’ distance, his eyes tenderly adoring as he looked at her, lifting his hand to gently brush away the hair on her forehead as he softly asked.
His voice was somewhat hoarse, and Qin Mu felt an ache in her heart when she heard it.
"Because I was afraid you’d get hurt."
"But you’ve let yourself get hurt!"
He suddenly laughed, and as he spoke, it sounded like he was scolding her, but his eyes were the first to moisten.
Qin Mu had never seen him and couldn’t help but raise her hand to cradle his face, "Mu Yichen, don’t be !"
Mu Yichen didn’t say anything, just lowered his gaze and gently pressed his forehead against her burning one.
It was as if he feared she’d see his sorrowful expression, as if he wanted to maintain a certain image in her heart.
Qin Mu’s breath grew hotter, but...
When she felt her eyelashes dampen, heavy...
Those tears seemed to silently fall onto her heart, becoming an indelible cinnabar mole.
Unable to open her eyes, she simply drooped her lashes, gently cradling his face, feeling his presence.
The days seemed calm and unrippled—
Yet were full of turmoil!
His hand caught hers on his face, his thumb caressing the back of her hand back and forth.
Time seemed to halt in that moment, and in the silence, it was as if they’d quietly shared their heavy longing for each other.
For a long time, neither spoke another word, just quietly nestled together.
Even without kissing, they just felt each other’s breaths entwining around one another, and after a while, he finally moved slightly away from her, "Sleep now!"
Qin Mu reluctantly let go of his hand, and looking at him, already composed, she struggled to remain calm.
She closed her eyes obediently and went to sleep.
Mu Yichen later sat on the edge of the bed, but his hand never let go of hers.
Looking at her haggard face, he held her hand and then gently kissed her fingers, one by one.
In his pitch-black eyes, he finally poured out all his longing, staring straight at her, unable to avert his gaze.
Over the past month, they had tried to suppress that impulsive feeling with separation, and now, he wished everything could return to the morning before everything had changed.
When she woke up the next day, he was already gone; most of the bed was empty. She lay quietly on her side, looking at his pillow, then quietly brought it into her embrace, clutching it tightly, her face gently pressed against it.
It still held the scent of his shampoo, and her eyes moistened once more. Before she could break into tears, she took deep, difficult breaths, covering her face with the pillow, hiding all the tears.
As if it wasn’t right to cry.
Two people caught in a scheme should be thinking of revenge, not shedding tears.
But she couldn’t hold back, especially when she thought of him crying last night; her heart hurt even more.
Someone was knocking on the door from outside, the sound not very heavy but enough to remind her.
"Young Madam, it’s time for breakfast!"
The maid called out to her softly from outside the door.
She wanted to speak but ended up pressing her face into the pillow forcefully, smearing all her tears on it, until the heat of any emerging tears were pushed back. Only after she had calmed her breathing and suppressed the turmoil in her heart, did she manage to reply, "I know!"
The maid stood outside the door, feeling that her voice sounded strange, as if she had been crying.
Not knowing what had happened recently, and therefore not knowing what advice to give, the maid quickly went downstairs.
Qin Mu quickly went to the bathroom to wash her face and only after getting herself together did she open the door and step out.
Everyone was already having breakfast in the dining room. She went over and greeted them, "Good morning Grandpa! Good morning Dad! Morning Mom! Sorry I overslept!"
"It’s normal for a pregnant woman to sleep in, come sit and have your breakfast!"
Qin Mu nodded and went to pull out a chair to sit down, but as the maid served her porridge, she couldn’t help but look at the seat beside her, "Where’s Yichen?"
"The young master had something to attend to early in the morning and he asked us to make sure you got up for breakfast."
The maid said while setting down the porridge.
Qin Mu didn’t ask any further questions, just wondering where he might have gone so early in the morning.
"I want to talk to you about something. Recently, someone recommended a kindergarten that’s quite good, asking if we should send Huanhuan there for the nursery class."
Feng Fanghua didn’t really want to discuss this with Qin Mu, but Mu Zihao had told her to take Huanhuan’s opinion into account, forcing her to bring it up to Qin Mu.
"Xiaomei mentioned this to me yesterday, but I have no plans to send Huanhuan to kindergarten right now."