Chapter 32

Chapter 32

1

Wu Wanyi remained in this catatonic state for a long time.

During this period, he hardly ever left his bed. Apart from the nectar Mi Yunjin fed him, he consumed nothing else.

Yet, he miraculously survived, and the physical pain did not torment him to the point of wishing for death.

Truthfully, Wu Wanyi himself did not know whether he was truly alive or already dead.

He neither ate, drank, nor slept. His consciousness seemed to have detached from his body, leaving his entire being numb, as if he had drifted into an endless void.

Most of the time, he could not even feel his own body, nor did he know whether he was still alive in this world.

At times, he felt as though he was floating on water; at other times, it was as if he was sinking to the bottom of the sea; and sometimes, it seemed like he was endlessly drifting through the boundless Milky Way.

He didn't know how much time had passed, nor whether it was day or night.

He stared numbly and vacantly at the ceiling, the only color in his eyes being a stark, bleached white.

The sound of the door opening broke the silence as Mi Yunjin entered the room and pulled open the curtains.

Bright sunlight flooded in, its warmth palpable even through the window.

Had summer arrived already?

The corpse-like Wu Wanyi slowly moved his eyes but could not turn his stiff neck.

He could not see the window, and the frozen black and white in his eyes remained untouched by the brilliant sunlight outside.

It was only when Mi Yunjin lifted him and placed him on a chair by the window that the bright, dazzling light fell directly on Wu Wanyi’s face, gently enveloping and warming him.

Wu Wanyi’s eyelashes trembled uncontrollably.

A clear tear unconsciously slid down from the corner of his eye.

His fingertips twitched slightly, and his pale face turned almost translucent under the light.

The sunlight was too dazzling.

Mi Yunjin carefully combed through Wu Wanyi’s hair strand by strand. The overly long locks had covered Wu Wanyi’s eyes, falling all the way to the tip of his nose.

The sunlight disappeared again.

A hand gently lifted his chin, and through the strands of hair, his lifeless eyes met Mi Yunjin’s face.

A face more dazzling than sunlight, more beautiful than the sunset.

A faint flicker appeared in Wu Wanyi’s eyes, and his unfocused pupils gradually zeroed in on Mi Yunjin’s face.

As the cut strands of hair fell continuously, Wu Wanyi’s vision grew clearer and clearer.

The moment he saw clearly, Mi Yunjin, bathed in sunlight, instantly became radiant.

Under his gaze, Mi Yunjin’s golden eyes slowly lowered to meet his.

The moment their eyes met, the void-like loneliness turned into a real and solid pull.

An extremely clear line connected Wu Wanyi to the real world, and the end of that line was Mi Yunjin.

A slight stinging sensation brushed past Wu Wanyi’s chin. He did not move, only staring unblinkingly at Mi Yunjin’s face, so close he could almost touch it.

They were so close that they could feel each other’s breath.

Mi Yunjin’s vivid, rosy lips seemed to brush lightly against Wu Wanyi’s in the warm breath between them.

Neither spoke, their breaths intertwining ambiguously through the warming air.

After shaving him, Mi Yunjin took a warm towel and wiped Wu Wanyi’s chin, leaving his face clean and refreshed.

“Do you want to go out and bask in the sun?” Mi Yunjin looked at Wu Wanyi, then turned to gaze at the sunlight outside the window. “The weather is very nice today.”

Wu Wanyi’s eyes followed Mi Yunjin’s, and under the sunlight, Mi Yunjin’s golden eyes shone even brighter.

He did not speak, but he did not refuse either.

Mi Yunjin lifted him up and said softly, “Let’s take a bath and go out to enjoy the sun.”

His calm, measured voice was as clear and pleasant as ever.

Wu Wanyi’s hanging fingertips twitched slightly.

He remembered.

He remembered that Mi Yunjin had been washing him these past few days, that Mi Yunjin came every night to tuck him in, that every morning Mi Yunjin would come to draw the curtains and open the window, and that this kind of conversation had happened countless times.

—

Undressed, Wu Wanyi’s emaciated and withered body was fully exposed in the mirror.

At this moment, Wu Wanyi was a far cry from good-looking. His clearly visible ribs gave off a startlingly sickly impression.

Even his originally pale skin had gradually taken on a deathly bluish-white hue, like decaying dry wood exuding a sense of helpless despair.

Mi Yunjin truly could not cure Wu Wanyi’s illness; he could only alleviate his suffering.

Wu Wanyi stared into the mirror, his lifeless eyes unmoving.

It took a long time for him to recognize that the gaunt figure in the mirror was himself.

His pupils shifted slightly.

But before he could see clearly, his chin was lifted, and hot water poured down over his head.

“Close your eyes.”

He closed his eyes, and the surging emotions were washed away by the onslaught of hot water.

Mi Yunjin’s fingers were long, his skin smooth and delicate, beautiful like a precious piece of jade.

Wu Wanyi felt Mi Yunjin’s hand brush over his wet hair, then slide down his neck, over his thin chest, and finally to his slender waist and abdomen…

He reached out and caught Mi Yunjin’s descending fingertips.

The flowing hot water was intercepted at his lower abdomen, dripping onto the floor along their intertwined hands.

Wu Wanyi opened his eyes and looked at Mi Yunjin’s face through the splashing water droplets.

Mi Yunjin glanced at him but said nothing, only leisurely withdrawing his hand.

Wu Wanyi closed his eyes again and closed his legs.

Amid the rushing sound of water, he seemed to hear Mi Yunjin’s laughter—

Brief and clear.

Wu Wanyi silently pursed his lips.

At this moment, every place that had been touched began to tingle with a dull, electric numbness.

——

Cleaned up, Wu Wanyi was settled onto the swing in the courtyard.

The afternoon sun was at its brightest.

Feeling the chill on his body being dispelled, the warmth seeping into his pores felt like gentle, warm streams.

Summer had indeed arrived.

Wu Wanyi closed his eyes, feeling a moment of peace in his suppressed, lifeless heart.

Suddenly, his body swayed, and his stiff, numb fingers instinctively broke through the icy stiffness, grabbing the ropes of the swing.

A light laugh came from behind him.

Wu Wanyi’s frantically beating heart gradually calmed, yet it continued to quiver faintly amid the laughter behind him.

His fingers twitched slightly, unsure whether to keep holding the ropes or let go.

But this small incident made him acutely aware of his body’s presence and restored his control over his body.

Thus, the sunlight above felt warmer, the breeze gentler, the grass beneath his feet greener, and the scent of flowers in the air richer.

And behind him, Mi Yunjin’s hands, pushing against his back, spread through his body with a clear and intense electric sensation.

“Lovely weather today, isn’t it?”

Mi Yunjin’s voice remained as soft and pleasant as ever.

Wu Wanyi’s body gradually rose higher. The rushing wind tousled his hair, and the crisp air brushed against his face. He opened his eyes, his trembling eyelashes gazing at the blue sky and white clouds above.

“Yeah, it is,” he said hoarsely.

His body descended in a moment of weightlessness, only to be firmly caught by a pair of hands.

Even without direct contact, Wu Wanyi could feel the warmth of the firm chest behind him.

It was so warm that it sparked an uncontrollable craving within him, tearing through his tattered armor to reveal the bleeding flesh beneath.

The warmer it felt, the more it hurt.

He gripped the ropes tightly. As he soared high again, he closed his eyes. A clear teardrop silently fell from the corner of his eye, turning into a clear bubble mid-air before vanishing without a sound in the sunlight.

Even as he descended, Wu Wanyi did not open his eyes.

His heart, racing wildly from the weightlessness, gradually steadied and calmed upon feeling the hands behind him catch him.

But this sense of calm made Wu Wanyi feel sad.

His hands gripping the ropes turned white from the force. He opened his eyes and asked hoarsely, “What did you want me to help you with before?”

This was a transaction with a purpose.

He knew it.

The hands supporting him from behind stilled.

The fresh air seemed to vanish, replaced by a suffocating pressure.

Wu Wanyi stared blankly and numbly into the void ahead, his eyes out of focus. The flowers, grass, trees, blue sky, and white clouds that had once left a faint ripple in his vision now receded, leaving behind a still, dead silence.

There was no response from behind him for a long time.

Wu Wanyi sat motionless on the swing, his hands on the ropes dropping silently.

As the sunlight in front of him disappeared, he slowly raised his head and saw Mi Yunjin standing before him, watching him.

“Don’t you like sitting on the swing?”

Those eyes remained as calm and serene as ever.

Wu Wanyi’s heart tightened. For some reason, as soon as Mi Yunjin asked this question, it felt as though a hand had seized his heart, making his stiff body instantly tense and tremble.

The words that rose to his throat were trapped behind his tightly pressed lips.

Once again, he was locked in an inner turmoil, suffering endless torment.

“I really like this swing,” Mi Yunjin spoke instead.

Wu Wanyi felt weightless. His mind went blank for a moment, and by the time he realized what was happening, he was already sitting on Mi Yunjin’s lap, while Mi Yunjin sat on the swing.

The swing began to sway, rising higher with each motion. The oncoming wind scattered Wu Wanyi’s thoughts, leaving his mind empty and his eyes filled with confusion.

Mi Yunjin was slightly taller than Wu Wanyi, and Wu Wanyi was too thin. Sitting on Mi Yunjin’s lap, Wu Wanyi seemed to nestle into his embrace.

It was as comforting as a nearly dried-up droplet merging into the ocean.

As the swing rose higher, Wu Wanyi’s feet left the ground.

He slightly pursed his lips, and his hands, hanging at his sides, gradually tightened during the ascent, eventually landing on Mi Yunjin and gripping the edge of his garment.

Mi Yunjin held Wu Wanyi’s waist with one hand and gripped the swing with the other. With each rise, the braid at Mi Yunjin’s side swayed in the wind, revealing the flower on his neck, which shone even more vividly under the sunlight.

Wu Wanyi’s heart, after a belated reaction, began to beat erratically. He felt that Mi Yunjin’s chest, pressed against his back, was even more comforting and inviting closeness than he had imagined.

Everything around him began to shift and change.

It felt as though something was touching his body, seeping into his skin and sending waves of electric shivers through him.

In the breeze brushing against his face, he caught the scent of flowers from Mi Yunjin, enveloping his body like the air itself.

It carried a faint, refreshing sweetness, like the taste that lingered in his mouth each time—invigorating and natural.

But he knew that Mi Yunjin also held the vastness and heaviness of the desert within him, making one inevitably feel drawn to rely on and trust him.

Wu Wanyi took a deep breath and lifted his face to the sky.

His heart felt both emptier and lighter.

The sunlight fell on his face as he asked once again, "What do you want me to help you with?"

A moment later, Mi Yunjin's voice drifted down unhurriedly from above.

"I want to use your body to help me with pollination and sowing."