C14 The Dream of Sharing the Same Bed

"Should I be grateful that you didn't beat him to death? I suppose there are plenty of people willing to take the fall for you," Ruan Ruan said with biting sarcasm.

Growing up without a father, they were often bullied. Each time her brother tearfully questioned why they were fatherless, Ruan Ruan never responded with words—instead, she would fiercely defend them, leaving their tormentors bruised and battered.

As she matured, Ruan Ruan sheathed her sharp edges, aiming to treat everyone with kindness. But now, Yuh Jinnian had reawakened the thorns deep within her heart.

She wouldn't be content until Yuh Jinnian was left bleeding from her barbs.

"Ruan Ruan, this isn't you," Yuh Jinnian implored. He had always seen her as a gentle soul, rarely given to anger. It was unfathomable to him that she could be so caustic.

Ruan Ruan let out a cold laugh. If she wasn't this way, then what was she? That tender girl? No, that was a facade. She had retracted her thorns to avoid wounding her dearest friend and beloved. But what had she received in return? Betrayal—their collective betrayal.

"So, what am I in the eyes of Young Master Yuh? What should I be? The kind of person who walks in on you and my best friend undressed and entwined, yet chooses forgiveness?" Ruan Ruan was merciless with her words. She might not win a physical fight, but she refused to be outdone in a verbal one.

"Ruan Ruan, my love for you has always been true, yet my union with Shi Xuerong was arranged by our families. We can still be together; you are the true wife in my heart." In Yuh Jinnian's view, his marriage to Shi Xuerong was nothing more than a transaction. Once married, Shi Xuerong would be the Yuh family's young mistress, but Ruan Ruan would be his and his alone.

Ruan Ruan refused to listen to him. How could he be so brazenly shameless? With a wife at home, he still sought an affair. Her own father had abandoned them for a mistress. She could never become someone's secret lover, destroying another's marriage.

"Don't try to dress it up as something noble. Yuh Jinnian, you make me sick." Ruan Ruan hung up the phone with disgust.

Outside the room, Ruan Xizhi savored the noodles Dan Hengmo had made. He had never tasted noodles so delicious before. If Hengmo was his sister's boyfriend, he could drop by for a free meal anytime.

"What's your relationship with my sister?" Ruan Xizhi inquired, eyeing Dan Hengmo. He was far more handsome than Yuh Jinnian, though he seemed to carry a somber air.

"Exactly what you're thinking," Dan Hengmo replied.

"When did you and my sister start seeing each other? She didn't mention anything to me," Ruan Xizhi pressed.

"Half a month ago," Dan Hengmo responded. He had met Ruan Ruan half a month prior, but at that time, she was unaware of him.

Half a month ago? Then that meant his sister and Yuh Jinnian must have split up already. Had he gone too far by beating up Jinnian today?

Upon reflection, Ruan Xizhi considered that Jinnian was planning to marry Ruan Ruan's best friend. His sister loved him deeply; she wouldn't have initiated the breakup. It had to be that jerk Jinnian who ended things, likely because he cheated. Ruan Xizhi was convinced his sister was the wronged party and felt justified in his actions.

"You better treat my sister well, or I'll go to any lengths to take you down," Ruan Xizhi warned. His sister had always been his protector, but now it was his turn to look out for her.

Dan Hengmo regarded the young man before him. Standing at around 5'10", Ruan Xizhi would be at a disadvantage in a fight against him. Even with all his might, he couldn't harm Hengmo, but Hengmo nodded in agreement anyway. He intended to treat Ruan Ruan well, no one needed to tell him that.

"My sister is a great person, at least that's what I believe," Ruan Xizhi said, his mouth full of noodles.

Dan Hengmo's lips curled into a smile, his thoughts on Ruan Ruan bringing him joy. It was as if a ray of light had pierced through his dark world.

Ruan Ruan stepped out of her room to find Ruan Xizhi already fast asleep on the sofa, having finished his noodles. She gently draped a blanket over him, contemplating whether to check into a hotel for the night. Her home was small, and the two men had taken up all the available sleeping space.

Dan Hengmo noticed Ruan Ruan's hesitation and swept her into his arms, carrying her back into the room. He found a sense of peace holding Ruan Ruan as they slept, despite her restless tossing and turning through the night.

"What are you doing? I agreed to let you stay at my place, but I never agreed to this," Ruan Ruan protested, defensively placing her hands over her chest.

Dan Hengmo chuckled. He had never entertained the thought of taking advantage of Ruan Ruan. If he had any such intentions, he would have acted on them when he bathed her, not waited until now.

He pinned Ruan Ruan beneath him, gazing into her eyes. They were a deep brown—ordinary to anyone else, but to him, she was irreplaceable. Fear now filled those eyes, and despite his upbringing, which dictated he be cold and unfeeling, Dan Hengmo found he couldn't bring himself to scare her. For the first time, he felt a reluctance to part with someone he had always viewed as inconsequential.

"Sleep," Dan Hengmo commanded, his eyes a shade darker than the night sky outside, a complexity within them that Ruan Ruan couldn't decipher. She had never seen such intensely black eyes.

Dan Hengmo preferred to sleep with Ruan Ruan in his arms, and she lay still, not daring to move. Just because he hadn't done anything yet didn't mean he wouldn't if she provoked him. His moods were unpredictable, and no one could guess what he might feel next.

Throughout the night, Ruan Ruan was plagued by nightmares. In one, she saw Yuh Jinnian and Shi Xuerong exchanging wedding rings. In another, Dan Hengmo had murdered her entire family and was coming for her next. The police dismissed him as a mere lunatic and set him free.

Ruan Ruan was crying, insisting she didn't want this, but nothing unfolded as she had imagined it would.

Yet, eventually, a pair of tender hands softly comforted her, assuring her there was nothing to fear with him by her side. His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze in February, as soft as drifting catkins.

Dan Hengmo watched the smile spread across Ruan Ruan's face, unaware that a smile had also crept onto his own.

"When will you learn to sleep peacefully? You're either crying or kicking." Dan Hengmo affectionately tousled Ruan Ruan's hair, leaving her long locks in disarray.

Approaching the window, Dan Hengmo pulled out his phone and called Qin Yu, instructing him to clamp down on the Haoshi Group, ensuring that City A would be rid of them for good.

He was determined to have Shi Xuerong crying and kneeling before Ruan Ruan. From now on, he would be her protector, fiercely defending her. Anyone who dared to utter a harsh word to his woman would face a punishment worse than death.

And then there was Yuh Jinnian, a man with some cunning in the business world. Although the eldest son of the Yuh family, he wasn't the sole heir. Yuh Jinnian would be dealt with personally.

After ending the call, he turned back to see Ruan Ruan sleeping like a child, clutching his pillow, appearing so vulnerable.

Before he met Ruan Ruan, he had never believed in destiny. But now, he was a believer. Just uttering the name Ruan Ruan made one instinctively feel at ease.