Revenge Sevenfold

At the crack of dawn, Lu Shen painfully got up from the bed only to see that he was completely alone inside the cottage. His heart sinking, he hurriedly searched for Hui Yin.

He found her crouching nearby, facing a dead log. Her hair was loose, and it fell like a jet-black curtain over her back, rippling with her every movement. He didn't realize how long it was until she took out the hairpin that was always keeping it into a neat bun.

Surrounded by vibrant green moss and lush trees, she seemed more like an ethereal fairy who lived in the forest. An itchy feeling rose in Lu Shen's heart.

When he approached, he saw that she was actually using her hairpin to poke a wild mushroom growing on the dead log. Her expression was somber.

He patted her head and crouched beside her.

"Why are you sad?" He tilted his head and gave her an inquiring look.

Hui Yin was startled. She didn't even notice that she wasn't alone. When she realized that it was only him, she returned back on poking the poor mushroom.

Lu Shen didn't break the silence as he waited for Hui Yin's reply. The birds were twittering loudly. A fresh but slightly damp breeze with a hint of minty smell wafted over to them, creating a tranquil scene.

"Your parents..." Hui Yin's voice was soft. It somehow didn't break the tranquility, but only enhanced it. "I don't know your parents' number."

She had tried calling them yesterday for nearly fifty times, but no one answered. Hui Yin should have expected it. The phone number she knew was the one Lu Shen gave her shortly after their engagement. If either of them had changed their numbers before, then her unanswered calls had an obvious answer: their phone numbers were different in the past.

Contrary to her expectation, this news didn't seem to have any effect on Lu Shen.

"Their numbers were changed?" he asked carelessly.

"Mmm."

He patted her head again. "It's alright. We'll find a solution together."

Before he even finished saying his sentence, a flash of bright light made him blink. Hui Yin took back her phone and started typing.

"I already have a solution," she said smugly. "Who said I didn't? I don't need help from a crybaby."

Lu Shen pursed his lips and gave her an upset look. "I'm not a crybaby."

Hui Yin's lips twitched but didn't argue. She didn't want him to cry again.

Lu Shen moved closer to Hui Yin and nudged her shoulder. "What are you going to do with my picture?"

"I'm going to post it. I'll put in the name of the village too. I'm sure your parents will see it and come here."

The reason she was looking somber earlier was because Hui Yin had a guilty conscience. She knew that it wasn't only the Lus who will be able to see the picture. His enemy will see it too. She was basically treating Lu Shen as 'bait' to hook the culprit and catch him. Although Hui Yin didn't want to do such an unscrupulous method and just depend on the Lus to solve their problem, distant water couldn't quench an immediate thirst [1]. This was their only alternative.

"Are you going to treat me as bait?"

At first, Hui Yin thought she misheard. But when she saw that the question indeed came from the man beside her, she was speechless. When she spread the scandal before, Lu Shen had identified Luo Lan before the tea has time to cool down. Now she was merely thinking about using him, and he already guessed?

Scary, too scary.

Since she couldn't pretend, she decided to be honest.

"How did you know?"

Lu Shen pointed at the picture. "You took my picture and made my injured shoulder visible on purpose. You even made it seem as if my arm was wounded too. This will do two things. First, it will make my parents come faster, if they care for me; and second, it'll lure whoever it was that planned my car accident and bribed the police."

He looked at her. "Someone is targeting me."

It wasn't a question, but Hui Yin nodded.

"Are you trying to lull him into relaxing his guard?"

Hui Yin nodded again.

"If he's coming here, then you should stay away from me."

But his words didn't match his actions. His body moved even closer to her, until she was almost inside his arms. Hui Yin stood up and moved away.

"I can't. I have to know who he is too."

He silently looked at her. His eyes were wide, his irises two pools of obsidian. His hair was all over the place, without the immaculateness Hui Yin had come to expect from him.

This different side of Lu Shen made Hui Yin give in to a sudden impulse.

"Lu Shen, do you think you can really, with all of your heart, truly love someone?" she asked. "Tell me the honestly."

Hui Yin asked this because she was curious. Curious as to why he could treat Nian Zhen so callously, the girl he was supposed to love. Could it be that she was mistaken? That she wasn't the only one Lu Shen treated as a toy, but Nian Zhen too? Maybe this man's heart was colder than she thought.

"Of course." But when she continued to look at him suspiciously, he furrowed his eyebrows and at last sighed, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't care about other people." He seemed surprised at his own admission. "I don't know what my personality was before I lost my memories, but I find it bothersome to talk to them. I don't care if my parents come or not. I'm not curious about them. I wish I killed all those police officers who hurt me."

Hui Yin stifled her shudder. She had expected it, but for her to hear him say it with total honesty...she couldn't help but feel cold.

"So you don't think you can fall in love with someone?"

"I'm not saying that." He paused, and drew the characters '不舍' [2] on the ground. To Hui Yin, the characters appeared like a person seeking shelter. "Why are you asking me this?"

"It's fine if you don't answer."

Hui Yin was only curious. She also wanted to divert his attention, in case he continued with all that 'stay away from me' nonsense. How could she let go of this rare chance to catch the culprit?

Besides, the man was injured. What else could he do?

Lu Shen also stood up. He felt that the question she asked him wasn't so simple, but since Hui Yin didn't seem interested in pursuing the subject, he didn't think much of it either.

Together, they went back to the cottage.

[1] Chinese idiom that means the aid is too slow and too far to be of any help.

[2] bùshè: reluctant to part with; unwilling to let go of

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