Roses in Flames

Night deepened.

Ignoring Xiao Lin's attempts to stop her, Ye Yuntang forcibly held him as she fell asleep.

Smelling his familiar yet unfamiliar scent, and thinking of the poison in his body beginning to take effect, and knowing he only had a month to live, her heart ached.

She forced back the stinging sensation in her nose, refusing to let herself shed another tear.

No matter the outcome, she will stay with him until the end.

She had to be strong and stop crying in front of him.

Perhaps she was too tired lately, because she fell asleep shortly after snuggling in his arms.

The man she was holding was not sleepy at all.

In the dim light of the wall lamp, he looked at the woman in his arms.

Perhaps when he wakes up tomorrow morning, he will be plunged into darkness again.

Only at times like this did he dare to look at her so unabashedly.

His eyes were dark and deep, as if he wanted to etch her image into the very marrow of his bones.

The next day.

Ye Yuntang woke up very early.

She opened her eyes and instinctively looked at the man beside her.

His cheeks were thinner, and the lines appeared even more sharp.

She felt as if something was blocking her chest, a bittersweet feeling.

She reached out her finger, wanting to touch his face, but he opened his eyes, and their eyes met.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "My older brother is coming over later, let's go out for dinner together."

Ye Yuntang stretched out her hand and waved it in front of his eyes. "Can you see me now?"

He shook his head. "No."

Ye Yuntang helped him get out of bed. "I'll take you to the bathroom to wash up."

After the two finished washing up, Ye Yuntang went downstairs to make breakfast for them.

Not long after breakfast, Xiao Yi arrived with the doctor.

The doctor examined Xiao Lin and said, "His condition is not optimistic."

Xiao Yi's expression was grave.

"Big brother, have you made the appointment with the person I asked you to?" Xiao Lin asked.

Xiao Yi glanced at Ye Yuntang with a complicated expression, then lowered his voice and asked, "Are you really going to do that?"

"right."

He knew Ye Yuntang's personality too well; once she knew the truth, she definitely wouldn't be able to accept the cruel reality that he was about to leave this world.

She will suffer for the rest of her life, forever living in the shadow of losing him.

Only by letting her forget will she be able to let go and start a new life.

Xiao Yi sighed heavily, his mood growing even heavier.

Xiao Yi drove Xiao Lin and Ye Yuntang to a private restaurant.

Ye Yuntang asked curiously, "Who are you taking me to see?"

Xiao Lin pursed his thin lips. "A friend."

Ye Yuntang nodded thoughtfully.

Upon entering the private room, Ye Yuntang saw a man in his thirties wearing gold-rimmed glasses sitting inside.

The man stood up and greeted the group.

Halfway through the meal, Xiao Lin stood up and said, "Big brother, help me to the restroom."

Xiao Yi nodded.

After the two brothers left, only Ye Yuntang and the man with glasses remained in the private room.

The man was very polite. When he saw that Ye Yuntang had finished drinking the water in her cup, he got up and poured her some more.

"Thank you." Ye Yuntang looked at the man and nodded to him.

The man had taken off his glasses at some point. Without the lenses to cover them, his eyes were dark and deep, like an ancient pool with no bottom.

The man's eyes had a strange penetrating power; the moment Ye Yuntang met his gaze, it felt as if she were being sucked in.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy, and her mind was buzzing.

"Relax, everything will be alright..."

The man's deep and gentle voice seemed to travel through layers of clouds and reach her ears.

She was finding it hard to resist the drowsiness, and her consciousness became blurred like a receding tide.

Ye Yuntang vaguely felt a powerful and invisible force trying to sink her consciousness into chaos.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

She vehemently resisted the pull of this force; her taut nerves snapped abruptly under her intense resistance.

She suddenly opened her eyes, her confused consciousness returning to clarity.

The drowsiness quickly faded, and when she came to her senses, cold sweat had seeped from her forehead and back.

She stared intently at the man in front of her, no longer meeting his gaze. Her fingertips dug into her palms, her voice hoarse and trembling with lingering fear, "You're a psychologist, a hypnotist, right?"

She took a few heavy breaths.

Now I understand why Xiao Lin brought her to meet his friends.

He actually planned to make her forget him!

asshole!

How could he decide her life and consciousness?

The psychologist was shocked to see Ye Yuntang suddenly regain her senses.

He is a top hypnotist in the industry, and he has never failed a case.

He hadn't expected the woman in front of him to have such a strong will.

Before the psychologist could say anything, Ye Yuntang grabbed her bag and stood up from her chair.

She didn't want to stay in the private room for another second, so she rushed out quickly.

She found Xiao Lin at the bathroom door.

Xiao Yi stood not far away and saw Ye Yuntang come out, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Ye Yuntang rushed to Xiao Lin in a few strides, picked up her bag, and slammed it hard against his arm.

"Xiao Lin, you big bastard, you actually hired someone to hypnotize me!"

Xiao Yi saw this but did not stop it; he silently walked away.

Xiao Lin stood still, letting Ye Yuntang's bag hit him repeatedly.

He couldn't see her now, but he could imagine that her eyes must be bloodshot.

After hitting him a few times, Ye Yuntang saw his pale and silent appearance and couldn't bear to hit him anymore.

She clutched her bag tightly, her chest heaving, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Xiao Lin, I will never forget you, not in my entire life!" Her voice trembled uncontrollably, filled with both pain and anger at his actions. "Do you really want me to forget you that badly? If you don't want to see me again, I'll leave right now and die right here!"

After saying that, she turned around abruptly, intending to leave.

But the next second, the man reached out from behind and pulled her forcefully.

Afraid she might do something foolish, he pulled her close to his chest, saying, "I'm sorry, please don't do anything stupid!"

Ye Yuntang was extremely agitated. She tried to pry his hands off, shouting, "Let go of me! Didn't you tell me to forget you? If I die, I'll forget you!"

He reached out and touched her mouth, forcefully covering it. "Don't talk nonsense!"

He didn't dare let go of her, so he simply stepped forward and pulled her into his arms from behind.

Her slender back pressed against his rapidly heaving chest, and she could clearly feel his uncontrollable trembling.

He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his voice hoarse and filled with an unprecedented panic and guilt, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"I don't want you to forget me. I'm just afraid that you'll be trapped in the past, that you'll never be able to move on, and that you'll suffer every night."

"I can't bear to see you in pain, I just... want you to live a good life."

He held her tightly, afraid that if he let go, she would disappear completely.

Ye Yuntang closed her eyes, her heart filled with grievance, helplessness, and bitterness.

She turned to look at him, her fingertips tracing his furrowed brows. "Don't do this again. Even if... even if you only have a month to live, let me be with you. Let's try to leave no regrets, okay?"

Xiao Lin nodded solemnly, "Okay."

……

For the next period of time, Ye Yuntang stayed by Xiao Lin's side.

Grandpa Xiao and Xiao Yi used all their connections, visiting top doctors and laboratories both domestically and internationally.

They would come to him for help if there was even the slightest hope of recovery.

But the result was a huge disappointment.

Without a specially made antidote, even a god couldn't save Xiao Lin.

The skin on Xiao Lin's back began to fester, and the duration of his blindness increased.

He didn't want his family to go through all that trouble for him anymore, so he said calmly, "Brother, don't bother looking for someone to save me anymore, it's no use."

He gently stroked Ye Yuntang's hand, his empty eyes showing no fear of death, but rather a sense of relief.

"Yuntang, we've never gone on a vacation together before. Where do you want to go? I'll go with you."

In the final days of his life, all he wanted was to spend more time with her.

Ye Yuntang's heart clenched, and her nose stung with tears. She gripped his hand tightly and said, "Wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."

"Let's go to an island." A faint smile appeared on his thin, cold face. "Let's go somewhere with sunshine, beaches, and the sea."

After finalizing the itinerary, Xiao Yi arranged for a private jet to depart.

Xiao Yi was worried about Xiao Lin, so he personally led a medical team to go with him.

Xiao Yi gave Xiao Lin and Ye Yuntang plenty of space to be alone, booking them a vacation villa, while he and his medical team stayed elsewhere, never acting as a third wheel.

Xiao Lin knew that Ye Yuntang liked fireworks, so he had Xiao Yi prepare a box of fireworks and place it on the beach.

Ye Yuntang took Xiao Lin's hand and led him to the beach.

The two sat down on the recliners, and Xiao Lin gently patted Ye Yuntang's hand, "You can go set off fireworks."

Ye Yuntang nodded and lit the fireworks.

Looking at the dazzling colors filling the sky, I couldn't feel happy at all.

Among the fireworks that Xiao Lin asked Xiao Yi to prepare were sparklers.

Ye Yuntang couldn't help but think of that New Year's Eve when she and he waved sparklers and made heart shapes with their hands.

The fireworks still light up the sky, but he can no longer even sit up straight. His dark, deep eyes can no longer reflect the magnificent beauty of the fireworks.

After putting down the sparkler, Ye Yuntang ran back to the man's side.

Just as she was about to say something, she noticed that the man had his eyes closed, his long eyelashes drooping, and he was completely still.

"Ah Lin?"

She called his name, but he didn't respond.

The panic in Ye Yuntang's heart swept over her like a tidal wave.

She was so frightened that her hands and feet turned ice-cold. She crouched down and said in a trembling voice, "Ah Lin, don't scare me..."

He remained motionless, lying there quietly, his thin face almost transparently white.

Ye Yuntang reached out and tremblingly brought her hand to the man's nose.

One second, two seconds... the man's faint but warm breath brushed against his fingertips.

Her heart, which had been in her throat, finally calmed down a little.

Lately, he's been sleeping for longer and longer periods, and each time he falls into a deep sleep, it terrifies her.

She knew that day would come sooner or later.

But she still refused to accept it.

The thought that he would really leave this world tormented her.

Ye Yuntang took a thin blanket out of her bag and gently covered the man with it.

She sat down on another recliner, staring at his sleeping profile for a long time.

Just as Ye Yuntang's neck was starting to ache and she was about to rub it, a sharp and panicked cry suddenly came from the beach, "Help! Help! Please help save my sister!"

Ye Yuntang stood up from the deck chair, as if someone had been swept into the sea by the waves.

Ye Yuntang's heart tightened, and she instinctively ran towards the sea.

But someone was faster than her. That person jumped into the sea and swam towards the person who had fallen into the water like an arrow.

About twenty minutes later, the man rescued the girl who had fallen into the water.

The man wore a half-silver mask, revealing only his thin jaw and tightly pursed lips.

His clothes were disheveled, the hem of which was torn by the rocks, and a crescent-shaped birthmark was visible on his right lower back.

The moment Ye Yuntang saw the birthmark, her pupils contracted sharply.

It felt like my heart was being squeezed by an invisible giant hand, and even my breathing stopped.

The rescued girl's sister wanted to thank the man after seeing that her daughter was alright, but the man didn't say anything and turned away.

When Ye Yuntang saw the man leave, she instinctively chased after him.

But the man walked quickly and soon disappeared from her sight.

Ye Yuntang stood frozen in place, her gaze fixed on the direction the man had left, her palms soaked with sweat.

Xiao Huan was worried about Xiao Lin, so she also came to the island.

When Xiao Huan found Ye Yuntang, she noticed that Ye Yuntang was staring at a certain spot, his face was pale, his long eyelashes were trembling, and he looked as if he had suffered a huge shock and his soul had been taken away.

"Second sister-in-law, second sister-in-law?"

Ye Yuntang snapped out of her daze and looked at Xiao Huan. "Huanhuan, you stay here and look after your second brother. I need to go back to the hotel to get my phone."

Xiao Huan watched Ye Yuntang's departing figure, her brows furrowing tightly.

Did Second Sister-in-law see something?

Otherwise, why would she look like she'd lost most of her soul?

……

Xiao Huan noticed that in the past few days, Ye Yuntang, who used to stay by Xiao Lin's side every step of the way, had started to act strangely.

She leaves early and returns late every day, and seems somewhat absent-minded.

Xiao Huan was filled with doubt and unease.

She made some inquiries and learned that a girl had fallen into the water a couple of nights ago and was rescued by a man.

After seeing that man, Ye Yuntang became completely distracted.

"Second brother, have you noticed that your wife has been acting strangely lately? I asked around, and she's been seeing another man. Do you think she might have fallen for someone else?"

Although Xiao Huan didn't think Ye Yuntang was that kind of person, her second sister-in-law's recent behavior was really abnormal.

Xiao Lin could naturally notice the changes in Ye Yuntang over the past two days, but he didn't think she had changed her mind.

All I can say is that the man she found must be very important to her.

"No," Xiao Lin said firmly.

Xiao Huan frowned. "I'm just worried that my second sister-in-law might run into bad people. Look how late she is today and she still hasn't come back..."

Xiao Lin: "Call her."

Xiao Huan nodded and quickly dialed Ye Yuntang's number.

"The computer is off."

Xiao Lin jumped up from the sofa.

"Tell my elder brother to send someone to find Yuntang."

……

An hour later, after learning of Ye Yuntang's whereabouts, Xiao Lin and the others rushed over.

When they pushed open a door and saw what was inside, everyone was dumbfounded.