Chapter 15: The Orange-Yellow Bellyband

“I will close the windows and doors before leaving, so you need not worry.”

See, a gentleman like him would never personally undress a woman.

Liu Fuying couldn’t do that either—it would seem too deliberate.

She had finally dispelled his suspicions about her identity; she couldn’t let him doubt her ulterior motives now.

“Then… I’ll trouble Marquis Pei.”

Pei Zhouwu brought over the rack for hanging towels, instructing Liu Fuying to hang her clothes on it to dry by the fire later. He then closed the windows and, after stepping out, firmly shut the door as well.

Though the lamplight in the room was dim, the shadows it cast were exceptionally clear.

Liu Fuying rose unsteadily and stood before the rack. She then raised her hands to remove her clothing, and even the trace of her collar slipping from her shoulders was distinctly visible.

When it reached her waist, Pei Zhouwu averted his gaze.

He turned his back, only then noticing that his own robe had come undone again because it wasn’t properly fastened.

He glanced back, his eyes drifting toward the Deep Pool.

What could have happened to her, that she came up the mountain so late at night?

And why did she suddenly faint?

Just as he was about to fasten his robe, a sudden crash echoed from inside the room—the sound of the rack toppling over.

He whipped around. The figure that had been standing just moments ago had vanished, likely having collapsed along with the rack due to dizziness.

Then it occurred to him: a brazier was placed right beside that rack.

What if…

Without another thought, he turned and rushed straight back.

Pushing the door open, he indeed found the rack, the brazier, and her all toppled on the floor. The brazier, knocked over by the rack, lay on its side, with most of the charcoal spilling onto the ground. The glowing embers were perilously close to her arm.

Yet, Pei Zhouwu froze in panic, his body stiffening as he turned his back once more.

For Liu Fuying’s upper body was clad only in an orange-yellow bellyband.

Her side-lying posture exposed her entire smooth, bare back.

What he had glimpsed through the shadows earlier was already a grave disrespect to her. To look upon the scene before him now, even for another moment, would be a violation of her dignity as a woman.

Pei Zhouwu couldn’t conceal the panic in his eyes. An unfamiliar sense of dread made his heart race wildly.

Even when he was shackled and imprisoned half a year ago, he had never felt such turmoil.

“Miss Su…”

Just as he was about to apologize, he suddenly heard sobbing from behind.

Pei Zhouwu frowned deeply, assuming she was crying because he had seen her body.

“Miss Su, I did not intend to, truly…”

Before he could finish, Liu Fuying’s choked sobs interrupted him. Her thick, tearful voice made his brows furrow even tighter.

“I truly have nowhere else to go.”

Pei Zhouwu’s eyelashes trembled. Instinctively, he wanted to turn around to confirm her words, but mindful of her state of undress, he was careful even with his peripheral vision.

“I have nowhere to go.”

Liu Fuying repeated it, her voice trembling, amplifying the sorrow to its utmost.

“I’m sorry.” As she spoke, she began apologizing again. “I shouldn’t have troubled you. I’m sorry, I…”

Her voice grew weaker toward the end.

As if she were about to faint once more.

Until her voice faded completely, and no more words could be heard.

Pei Zhouwu took a deep breath, his tightly closed eyes creased with tension.

Finally, he sighed heavily and turned around.

It wasn’t as if he harbored any improper thoughts toward her. He might as well face this with composure.

The charcoal fire beside her had already reddened her skin through the air, a round patch that matched the redness of her tear-stained nose, looking utterly pitiful.

He approached, crouched down, and reached out his hand.

Her skin, soaked through by the wet clothes, felt cool to the touch, yet so delicate that he dared not linger too long.

After lifting her up, he gently laid her flat on the bed.

He averted his gaze, turning away to tidy the things on the floor—righting the stand, picking up the wet clothes to hang them, sweeping away the charcoal embers and rearranging the brazier—then silently began drying her clothes.

Liu Fuying stared fixedly at his back.

Everything that had just happened was, of course, an act she had put on.

But she had performed so convincingly that her eyes were still red and glistening with tears, a look of tender vulnerability.

She reached out and lightly grasped the hem of Pei Zhouwu’s robe.

He paused, his movements halting, thinking she had something to say and patiently waiting for her to speak.

Yet after a long while, she simply continued to tug gently at the corner of his robe.

The atmosphere was quiet, yet subtle threads of emotion slowly began to weave through the air.

Pei Zhouwu dared not move too abruptly, afraid she lacked the strength—if he exerted even a little too much force, she might lose her grip. Whether he feared she couldn’t hold on or feared his own heartstrings snapping, it was as if her hand were tugging at the very strings of his heart, drawing out a surge of tenderness within him.

After a long while, the hand behind him seemed to finally lose its strength.

The moment it fell, Pei Zhouwu’s eyelids twitched, as though the heartstrings connecting them had indeed snapped.

He glanced sideways and said softly, “Miss Su, you should rest well.”

But Liu Fuying weakly uttered the words “Don’t go,” her voice trembling with fear.

“I’m afraid that when I wake up, I’ll find this was all a dream—that Xiangshan and the Deep Pool were illusions, the bamboo hut was an illusion, and you… were an illusion too.”

“…” Pei Zhouwu’s brow remained furrowed, never relaxing.

“I don’t know when it started, but you became the only salvation in my nightmares. Just thinking of you makes me feel like I can still endure these days, and I feel a little less afraid.”

“You’ve saved me in so many ways, not just my life.”

“But I’ve wronged you. Every time I come to you claiming it’s to repay you, it’s really just an excuse to escape reality for myself. I’ve turned your place into a refuge. I’m sorry.”

Pei Zhouwu couldn’t bear to listen further. For some reason, hearing her speak made his heart ache with a dull, bitter pain.

He turned his head slightly and caught sight of a single tear falling from the corner of her eye.

He had seen women cry before, but never had he felt such an urge to wipe away their tears as he did now.

Perhaps it was because her circumstances resonated too deeply with his own?

“Miss Yueying, the words ‘take care’ you once urged upon me, I now return to you. As you said, preserving oneself is what matters most. I don’t know what exactly has happened to you, nor will I force you to speak of it. I only hope you remember to take care of yourself.”

“Take care?”

Liu Fuying’s tears fell faster now, her sobs growing harder to suppress.

Perhaps not wanting him to see her disheveled state, she turned over to face the wall.

Pei Zhouwu’s eyelids twitched again, and he swiftly glanced back.

Despite his haste, he still caught a glimpse of her bare back.

After crying for a short while, Liu Fuying sniffled and said, “Actually, it’s nothing. I just haven’t eaten much these past couple of days, so I fainted from exhaustion. It’s not a big deal.”

Pei Zhouwu flipped the damp clothes from top to bottom, not responding.

How could it be nothing?

The issue wasn’t whether she had fainted from exhaustion, but why she hadn’t eaten for days.

“When I came, I set a trap in the woods. If we catch a hare or something tomorrow, let’s roast it together.”

She suddenly changed the subject, making Pei Zhouwu uneasy.

“Tomorrow? Don’t you need to return to the Prince’s Mansion?”