So all those times you said you wanted to do it in the car before were just talk, and you actually can’t perform, is that right?

Even the most calculating people in the world, once they encounter their weakness, are left with nothing but helplessness.

Sheng Sui was such a weakness to Zhou Shiyu, reaching straight from bone to heart, untouchable and painful when disturbed.

Courage doesn’t come from nowhere. Deep down, Sheng Sui must know these things and understand that Zhou Shiyu could never do anything about her, which gave her the confidence to use herself as leverage and easily manipulate him.

In this relationship, Zhou Shiyu was the only one who could never extricate himself. No matter how much he schemed and guided, as long as Sheng Sui showed even the slightest retreat or distance, the outcome was destined to be his surrender.

“……”

Sheng Sui vaguely understood some of what the man meant in his words. After thinking for a few seconds, she rested her head against Zhou Shiyu’s crown, softly asking: “Just now… were you really scared?”

“Tetanus can cause muscle spasms, and in severe cases can even lead to death.”

Zhou Shiyu’s voice was low and hoarse. After speaking, he opened his mouth again, biting down on Sheng Sui’s collarbone until she drew in a sharp breath, then stopped and asked back: “What do you think?”

“I understand now.”

Hearing this, Sheng Sui murmured softly and moved sideways to escape Zhou Shiyu’s confining embrace.

Seeing the man frown and slowly straighten up, she raised her hands, draping both arms over Zhou Shiyu’s broad shoulders, standing on tiptoe to quickly plant a kiss on the man’s thin lips.

“What about this,” Sheng Sui’s bright, watery eyes looked over unblinkingly, her clear eyes filled entirely with Zhou Shiyu’s reflection, her pink lips bearing the marks from the man’s domineering moment, her eyes curved in a smile,

“Will this make you feel better?”

“……”

Caught off guard by his lover’s offering of a kiss, Zhou Shiyu was stunned for a moment, then in the next second pulled Sheng Sui close to him, his palm pressed against her waist.

The man dangerously narrowed his dark eyes, curling his lips to ask back: “A slap followed by a sweet date?”

“That’s a method for training and suppressing people,” Sheng Sui shook her head in denial, “That wasn’t my intention.”

Feeling the man’s restless hands caressing her lower back, Sheng Sui ignored this for now and looked at him steadily: “Zhou Shiyu, I don’t want to fight with you.”

“But I’ve discovered that even people who love each other deeply will inevitably have conflicts when living together.”

Under the thin fabric, the man’s large hand moved upward, sliding like a snake over her skin; Sheng Sui threaded her fingers through the man’s hair, sighing aloud: “Since it can’t be avoided, I wondered if there might be a way to minimize the damage.”

“Mm.”

With no one around and the nearest campsite at some distance, Zhou Shiyu responded absent-mindedly, his distinctly jointed hand gripping Sheng Sui’s narrow waist.

The man’s palm applied slight pressure, coaxing a reaction from her, his tone measured: “So your method is to deliberately make me worry about you.”

Regarding her injured right hand, Sheng Sui knew she was in the wrong, but no matter how you looked at it, Zhou Shiyu had concealed things from her first.

“……No.”

Being caught at her weak point, she lowered her head and bent forward, her breathing becoming more rapid, her words coming out intermittently: “I just wanted to tell you that when I fight with you, it’s not because I want to make you angry, it’s because I care about you very much.”

Hearing this, the man’s movements paused.

Sheng Sui’s legs felt somewhat weak. Getting no response and thinking he hadn’t heard, she leaned against Zhou Shiyu and softly called his name:

“Zhou Shiyu.”

“Mm.”

“Fighting isn’t to make you sad or to leave you, it’s so we can get along more comfortably with each other.”

“……”

Seeing Zhou Shiyu remain silent for a long time, the image of stubborn old bulls floated through Sheng Sui’s mind again, and she knew the man wasn’t happy right now.

So she simply wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her soft cheek against the man’s neck like a cat, obediently submitting:

“Zhou Shiyu, my hand hurts, I can barely stand anymore.”

“……”

Zhou Shiyu indeed had no way to deal with her. As soon as she finished speaking, he heard the car door open. Sheng Sui was lifted into the spacious back seat and gently set down.

She lay half-reclined in the back row, her back against the opposite car door, watching Zhou Shiyu bend down to enter. His dark shadow fell, enveloping Sheng Sui completely.

The man sat beside her, placing Sheng Sui’s legs across his lap. Without a word, he took her injured right hand and looked down at the faint red seeping through, carefully unwrapping the layers of gauze.

The large scraped area on her palm, combined with the medicine haphazardly applied by her left hand, created a spreading red visual effect that was indeed startling.

After confirming the wound had been disinfected, Zhou Shiyu leaned forward and opened the square storage compartment between the front driver’s seats, producing another miniature emergency kit like magic, and began rebandaging Sheng Sui’s hand.

The man’s technique was skilled. After a while, Sheng Sui heard Zhou Shiyu’s steady, calm voice: “Does it still hurt?”

“No,” Sheng Sui sat up straight and shook her head, curious about why he also kept a first aid kit in his car, casually saying,

“You keep a first aid kit in your car too.”

“Once during a bipolar depression episode, I slit my wrists in the car and was discovered by Secretary Chen,” Zhou Shiyu hummed in acknowledgment, his voice calm as still water,

“Ever since then, he’s made sure there’s a first aid kit here.”

“……”

Seeing Sheng Sui momentarily speechless, Zhou Shiyu looked up at her, his voice gentle and flat: “I don’t know if this is the kind of honesty you wanted.”

Wrist-slitting, suicide, overdosing and stomach pumping… various shocking pathological terms filled his past twenty-nine years of life.

If he were to be completely unreservedly honest, these would also flood their future daily conversations.

Sheng Sui’s silent speechlessness was within his expectations.

Before experiencing it firsthand, the verbal guarantees of opening and closing one’s lips, the vocal cords producing the five words “I can bear it,” were always simple enough.

What Zhou Shiyu had initially hoped for was just that after learning the truth, she wouldn’t need to do anything, wouldn’t probe deeply, and would just continue to stay by his side.

Not bringing up the topic again, he set down Sheng Sui’s bandaged right hand and went to massage her calves that she’d said felt weak, asking:

“Why did your legs suddenly feel weak? Because you caught cold last night?”

“……It was because you bit me just now that made my legs weak.”

Sheng Sui wasn’t good at saying suggestive things, her cheeks flushing with faint red.

She stared at the small medicine kit set aside for a long time, then suddenly spoke: “So this box, besides carrying memories of your wrist-slitting, has now also saved me.”

Feeling Zhou Shiyu’s movements stop, Sheng Sui continued: “If it can share some of your bad memories, then my injury today is also a good thing—”

Before she could finish the latter half of her sentence, her chin was suddenly gripped by slender, strong fingers.

Dark shadows fell heavily as Zhou Shiyu bit her lower lip again, his fingertips lifting her jaw, his tone clearly displeased: “Sheng Sui.”

The man even rarely called her full name, his dark eyes unfathomably deep: “Are you determined to make me angry and go crazy for you to see?”

Zhou Shiyu had never been willing to speak a harsh word to Sheng Sui, except in bed. Usually he wished he could protect her in the palm of his hand, even frowning for a long time when he saw her accidentally bleed during an injection.

But from being forced to be honest last night to now actually celebrating getting injured, Zhou Shiyu felt that even his unaffected brain was about to be driven mad by Sheng Sui.

He turned over and pressed her down directly in the back seat, looking down at Sheng Sui whose emotions bloomed like flowers, her clear pupils clearly reflecting his current angry appearance.

Yet he saw no trace of the expected fear or disgust, still bright and dazzling as before.

In the quiet, enclosed space with intertwining breaths, Sheng Sui softly called his name: “Zhou Shiyu.”

“I might not be thinking clearly from getting up early,” the woman’s warm, soft hand reached up, gently stroking his cheek, “but seeing you like this now, I’m actually a bit happy.”

Happy?

Zhou Shiyu’s brow furrowed slightly, a rare flash of surprise in his eyes.

“I always wondered before how you never seemed to have any negative emotions.”

Her thumb patiently smoothed his furrowed brow as Zhou Shiyu was embraced around the neck by Sheng Sui again, warm softness and light fragrance entering his nostrils: “See, even when I bully you and you get angry at me, nothing will happen in the end.”

“You have such a good memory, how do you keep forgetting we already have a home,” Sheng Sui lifted her head slightly, her thin lips stopping beside Zhou Shiyu’s ear, intimate as lovers whispering closely,

“I can’t bear to abandon you and leave.”

“……”

She said she wouldn’t leave.

Those brief six words instantly soothed his agitated emotions. Zhou Shiyu finally held her and lay on his side as well, his back facing outward, letting Sheng Sui sleep well in his embrace on the inner side.

“What happened today, don’t let it happen again.”

Zhou Shiyu pulled the blanket from the passenger seat, wrapping it entirely around Sheng Sui. After holding her tight, he had her put her feet between his legs to warm them, resting his head on her soft hair: “Keep me company while I sleep.”

He hadn’t closed his eyes all last night, constantly worried she’d catch cold in the nighttime chill. His messages had gone unanswered several times, and he’d stayed awake until morning when he heard her coughing and immediately changed clothes to go out.

His previously most obedient lover had now transformed, thinking for two seconds upon hearing this before speaking cautiously: “Okay, but only if you don’t hide things from me either.”

“I know.”

After a long while, Zhou Shiyu’s helpless yet indulgent long sigh rang out in the car.

The man closed his eyes, placing a kiss on Sheng Sui’s forehead, ultimately unable to resist murmuring in a low voice: “……Little heartless one.”

The minor episode was successfully turned over, and the six people could continue happily enjoying the mountain forest peach blossoms the next day.

It was rare for working people to get out for sightseeing, and since there weren’t many people here, the three girls saw the peach blossoms blooming magnificently all over the mountains and weren’t in a hurry to reach the summit, stopping every few steps to take group photos and selfies.

Even Sheng Sui, who rarely took selfies and was usually responsible for taking photos during outings, couldn’t resist Xiao Ming and Su Yingying’s enthusiasm and took over a dozen photos in succession.

For a time, the mountains were filled with the girls’ light, pleasant laughter, mingling with the birdsongs and flower fragrance, lingering for a long time.

All the men present except Qiu Si had girlfriends, walking unhurriedly in front, turning back every three steps.

“……At this pace,” Qiu Si, who was single-mindedly focused on reaching the summit, looked at the mountaintop that seemed so close yet so far, worrying, “will we be able to reach the top before dark?”

“Brother, tell me if there’s a possibility.”

Xu Zhuo sympathetically patted Qiu Si’s shoulder, actually mocking: “Old Zhou and I came here to accompany our girlfriends. Probably only you, this single dog, care about whether we can climb up.”

Hearing this, Zhou Shiyu raised an eyebrow, nodding seriously in agreement, hitting the nail on the head: “Insightful.”

“You two just keep showing off,” Qiu Si angrily grabbed Xu Zhuo by the neck, not forgetting to complain about Zhou Shiyu’s ingratitude, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have told you last night that Teacher Sheng was outside!”

“……Those guys are really noisy.”

Xiao Ming usually recorded vlogs to post online, but had to stop filming several times due to the noisy fighting sounds, her words full of disdain: “I don’t know what the two beauties were thinking to actually want to date.”

Sheng Sui smiled without speaking, while the more lively Su Yingying laughed and said: “Why don’t you try it yourself and find out?”

“Me? No way,” Xiao Ming tossed her hair confidently, “I can live very well on my own, I don’t want to taste the bitterness of love.”

After speaking, she deliberately looked at Sheng Sui, meaningfully: “Look, yesterday she had a fight with her husband and tossed and turned all night without sleeping well, not even caring about herself.”

Sheng Sui knew her friend was concerned about her, curving her eyebrows softly: “I had a fight with him yesterday, but everything’s fine now.”

“Someone with such a gentle personality as you can actually fight?” Not only Xiao Ming, but even Su Yingying was curious, “What terrible thing did Zhou Shiyu do?”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Sheng Sui naturally wouldn’t mention Zhou Shiyu’s illness, pondering her word choice thoughtfully. Remembering someone’s morning accusation, her smile deepened, “If I had to say,”

“Probably I wanted to unilaterally bully him and didn’t succeed, so after fighting, I finally achieved my goal.”

“……”

Xiao Ming and Su Yingying both looked up in unison, glancing at Xu Zhuo and Qiu Si wrestling together, then at Zhou Shiyu who stayed out of it while recording videos for blackmail material, then back at the purely innocent, smiling Sheng Sui, unable to help shivering.

Indeed, you can’t judge a person by their appearance. Sheng Sui was actually quite scheming.

The group climbed the mountain at a leisurely pace, then dawdled around the summit for quite a while before heading back. By the time they returned to the creek campsite, it was already evening.

Mountain roads were inevitably rough and difficult, making night driving even more dangerous. After brief discussion and confirming that food, water, and essentials were sufficient, the six decided to stay another night and leave after breakfast the next morning.

Having had barbecue last night, the three men borrowed fishing gear from nearby residents to catch fish in the lake for a change of taste, while the girls set up a small stove and used the small iron pot they’d brought along with remaining vegetables to stir-fry several dishes quite presentably.

After eating and drinking their fill, the real nightlife began.

Last night everyone had gathered together for fun, but tonight just after dinner, Xu Zhuo and Su Yingying disappeared into their tent and never came out again.

Sheng Sui was also dragged away by Xiao Ming, taking quite a few photos by the creek, in the forest, and in the tent under the bright moonlight, until it was time for her injection and she could finally escape, immediately leaving the tent.

She was concerned about Zhou Shiyu taking his medicine in the evening.

Last night her messages went unanswered, so today the man waited early not far from the tent, looking down at his phone under the light.

Hearing footsteps, Zhou Shiyu looked up and seeing it was Sheng Sui, he walked over, asking in a low voice: “Did you take your injection?”

“Not yet, let’s go to the car,” Sheng Sui nodded toward the distant parking area, pausing for a few seconds before asking, “Did you bring your medicine?”

“……”

Seeing the man who had fallen silent slow his pace, Sheng Sui simply stopped, turning back to speak softly: “How about we do it together from now on? Every day when I take my injection, you take your medicine.”

Seeing the atmosphere tense up again, Sheng Sui actively approached Zhou Shiyu, reaching up to lightly tug at the man’s sleeve: “This time I won’t bully you. If you agree to this one thing, I’ll also agree to one condition of yours—consider it an equal exchange, okay?”

Zhou Shiyu looked down, quietly gazing at the bright moon generously spilling its light on Sheng Sui’s face, as if draping her in a layer of pale silver veil.

Undoubtedly, she was his most beautiful bride.

But Zhou Shiyu suddenly couldn’t figure out just how far Sheng Sui intended to go, how she planned to charge straight through his already lightless interior and carve out a path.

Empathizing with mental illness would only bring more pain.

He hoped Sheng Sui would know when to retreat.

After a long while, Zhou Shiyu heard his own suppressed low voice, calmly stating an excessive demand: “If we take medicine together once, you do it with me three times; if we continue for a whole week, there’s an extra reward once.”

“If you can do that, I’ll agree.”

Words that sounded like a sexual transaction inevitably carried some humiliating overtones.

Zhou Shiyu knew his words were hurtful, and just as he was frowning to retract them, he heard Sheng Sui across from him agree without hesitation.

“Okay.”

The woman’s eyes showed no trace of anger, instead looking somewhat puzzled: “Are you sure that’s really all it takes?”

“……”

Zhou Shiyu vaguely realized things were starting to spiral out of his control, falling silent again for several seconds.

His dark eyes behind the lenses flickered as he cautiously replied: “We’ll talk about it tomorrow when we get home.”

“Why wait until tomorrow when we get home?”

Before he could turn to leave, Sheng Sui grabbed his sleeve again, and he saw her pointing toward the car in the distance.

“What you just asked for could be resolved right there in the car, couldn’t it?”

The person who usually blushed when saying sweet words was now quite decisive in action; while Zhou Shiyu’s rapidly working brain crashed for a few seconds, he saw Sheng Sui suddenly tilt her head, her pure eyes without any impurities looking straight into his,

“So all those times you said you wanted to do it in the car before were just talk, and you actually can’t perform, is that right?”