C18 Chapter 18

She wanted to build her own power base in this world with her own hands—so she could finally make peace with the resentment she’d carried from her last life.

This time, she was going to be happy. She was going to be free. Only then could she say goodbye to who she used to be.

Gu Yanjue had made up his mind not to leave, and with Yang Zimu’s arm injured, there wasn’t much she could do about it.

“Fine. Stay here.” She pulled an emergency first-aid kit from under the bed and went into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, gauze was wrapped around Yang Zimu’s arm, and the bleeding had finally stopped.

Gu Yanjue quickly shifted aside to let her sit. He gently lifted her arm, his eyes full of hurt for her, his nose twitching as if he might cry. “Zimu... you’re a girl. How can you let yourself get hurt like this?”

“It’s just a scratch. If I’m not even in pain, why are you acting like you are?” Yang Zimu let out a quiet laugh, though her nose stung and her chest felt tight.

She’d probably have to go through this kind of thing again. But once she brought City A under her control, there would be fewer injuries like this.

The hardship now was the price of standing at the top later—weathering whatever came, doing as she pleased, completely free.

Gu Yanjue studied her face closely. She really didn’t look like she was hurting at all—her cheeks were still rosy, her complexion normal.

“Then, Zimu... I won’t bother you tonight, okay? I... I’ll go back and sleep?” He stood up reluctantly and left, looking back over his shoulder again and again.

Once the door closed, Yang Zimu walked over, locked it, then took pajamas from the closet and went to shower.

There was still an ugly scar across her back from an injury a while ago—already scabbed over.

In the middle of the night, Gu Yanjue sat up in bed. He thought it over and over, weighing it for a long time, then suddenly grabbed his pillow and went to Yang Zimu’s room. Like he’d done it a hundred times, he opened the locked door, crept inside, and quietly climbed onto the bed.

Yang Zimu drifted awake and nearly jumped out of her skin at the person in her bed.

He lay on the bed, propped up on one elbow, staring at Yang Zimu. When he saw she was awake, he flashed a wide grin. “Relax, Zimu. I showered today—really clean. I even smell good.”

“Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t bother me?” Yang Zimu was half-asleep, long since immune to his midnight pop-ins.

Like she cared whether he smelled good or bad.

He scooted a little closer, looking smug. “Yeah, and I’m not bothering you. I’m helping you—I’m killing mosquitoes.”

As he spoke, he slapped at the air. “There was one just now.”

“Childish.” Yang Zimu rolled her eyes, turned over, and buried her face as she tried to go back to sleep.

By now, she’d gotten used to Gu Yanjue showing up. As long as he didn’t do anything out of line, she’d let him be.

To her, he was basically a clueless idiot. And when it came to someone like that, Yang Zimu felt pretty safe.

“Out of line?” Gu Yanjue licked his lips and closed in, pinning her against the wall. He hooked a finger under her chin. “Want me to get even more out of line?”

Like he actually had a point.

Yang Zimu’s chest tightened—nervous, scared. His breath felt too much like that person’s, but… she was the one who’d been hurt.

“You really don’t get what you’ve been doing!” She lifted her head and met his eyes. “Ever since you moved into the apartment, I’m the one who keeps getting hurt. No matter what I do, you stick your nose in. Something that should take a few minutes turns into me wasting an entire day because of you!”

“And now? Sneaking into my bed in the middle of the night is one thing, but you’re getting handsy, too. So what—if I hit you, I’m the one who’s wrong? I’m the one who’s ‘out of line’?”

When she finished, Yang Zimu dropped her gaze and pressed her lips together. Tears fell like beads from a snapped string, splashing onto the back of her hand.