Hui Yin had barely peeled her eyelids open when she saw a pair of round eyes hovering two inches above her, making a person feel very surprised.
"Ah!"
In complete reflex, she swung up her hand and hit the face that nearly gave her a heart attack.
The man she hit was pushed off the bed and into the ground, where he covered his cheek with his left hand. The red imprint of her palm was visible, and the eyes that stared at her were filled with grievances.
This wasn't what caught Hui Yin's eyes though. The man she slapped was wearing tight-fitting sweats, revealing his sculpture-like body. It was obvious at first glance that they were several sizes too small for him. The cloth clung to his skin, highlighting his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and...uh...Hui Yin's gaze went down and abruptly looked away.
She quickly recognized that those were her clothes! That kind of bright pink color that was very offending to the eyes...what else could it be but the sweats outfit she managed to buy with a sixty-percent discount in the supermarket?
Seeing that, Hui Yin understood what moment in the past did she go back to.
Ignoring his wounded look, she jumped out of the bed and grabbed a coat hanging from her closet. Putting it on, she opened the door.
She needed to quickly go to the police station and report a missing person!
"Where are you going?"
Lu Shen scrambled from the floor in a panic and grabbed onto her arm. "You said you wouldn't leave me!"
Hui Yin looked at the lost little boy look in his eyes and said, "I need to report you as a missing person to the police."
At her words, he looked absolutely terrified. He shook his head hard.
"No police! I don't want the police!"
Hui Yin didn't budge. Judging by his clothes, she had only picked him up from the streets a few hours ago. Due to his insistence in her past life, she didn't pursue the matter and didn't report this incident to the police. Now that she knew his identity, the police wouldn't certainly hurt him!
"Of course we need to report you to the police. If I don't, wouldn't I get sued in the civil court for harboring a runaway?"
He shook his head again.
"No police!" he insisted.
Under the shaft of sunlight coming from the open door, Lu Shen looked truly pitiful. He was taller than her, but his back was hunched as if he was trying to make himself look small. There were bruises and unhealed cuts all over his face.
"The police won't hurt you, I promise. They're very good people."
Hui Yin turned slightly impatient. This was the initial moment when her life started intersecting with his. If she cuts off their relationship to each other at this point, she had a chance to be free. Not to mention, she still needed to find the culprit!
Yue Lao said that only at the time of the accident will the culprit appear. As Lu Shen's soul was her anchor, she went back to the time when they were already living together. Who knows how many days had already passed after his accident? She didn't have any time to waste.
Hui Yin stepped out of the door and Lu Shen scuttled after her. She pushed him back into the dingy apartment.
"No, you stay here! Your clothes..." Hui Yin's eyes involuntary targeted his crotch again and her cheeks flushed, "...are too inappropriate!"
Lu Shen pulled on her clothes. "I want to come, I don't want to be alone!"
Ptui!
Hui Yin nearly puked out blood. If she hadn't experienced this in her previous life, she would have never believed that this person was the same man she knew from the present time. The difference before and after he got his memories was too big!
Hui Yin wigged out from his hold and said sternly, "You can't come!"
As he opened his mouth to protest again, she held up a hand and barked, "That's final!"
Tears leaked out of his eyes, making Hui Yin freeze from stupefaction.
He was...crying?
He was actually crying!
What kind of alternate universe was this?
"Don't...leave...me..."
His shoulders shook, his eyes rimmed with red. He tugged at her clothes again, but Hui Yin was too shocked to pull his hands away. Why did she feel like a mother who had to leave her child in pre-school?
Even if she didn't want to, her heart melted a bit. Hui Yin wiped his tears with her thumb and said, "You're a grown man! You shouldn't easily cry like this."
"But you said you were going to leave me..."
"I'll come back after a while! Be a good boy and guard the house for me, okay?"
"Don't want...I want to come with you..."
Hui Yin sighed in helplessness. Her trying to coax Lu Shen...if that tyrant in the present time knew, he would have certainly silenced her for eternity. [1]
"No, you can't. Aren't you tired? You should sleep for a while. When you wake up, I'll be here!"
When you wake up, you'll be taken in by the Lus and I'll be free. Hui Yin tried to mask her thoughts and flashed him a gentle smile.
"No! I want to come with you!"
Hui Yin scowled and Lu Shen shrank back a bit. It was a funny scene. She barely reached his chest, but he was the one acting afraid of her. Did he really think she could hurt him? Hui Yin was aware he knew several advanced fighting skills. If the two of them fought, the one in danger would certainly be her.
"Fine!" she growled. She marched back into the house and he tentatively followed. Flinging her closet doors open, she picked an oversized black shirt that had been accidentally bleached off so there were now patches of white all over the chest area. "Change your shirt into that!"
Lu Shen meekly obeyed. He started stripping in front of her without the confidence and the familiar teasing look in his eyes. Realizing that the door was still open, Hui Yin closed it.
The shirt barely covered the unmentionable, but it would have to do. It wasn't her fault that her sweatpants were too tight on him.
Hui Yin nodded in approval and went out, Lu Shen sticking like a baby chick next to her.
Although the village their producer had chosen to go for the filming of the movie was secluded, the people living there enjoyed working and interacting with each other. There were men carrying baskets full of vegetables over their backs on the road, kids ringing their bicycle bells, and women chatting merrily in a nearby diner as the smell of noodles wafted over to them.
Lu Shen had been in this village for a while, but he was hiding behind a pair of dumpsters that were located at one of the most remote corners of the village. Naturally, no one knew his existence. If Hui Yin hadn't followed the stray cats, he would have probably died there.
As Hui Yin had just recently 'adopted' him, Lu Shen didn't get a chance to eat. When they passed by the diner on their way to the police station, Lu Shen's stomach grumbled.
He rubbed his tummy. "I'm hungry..."
"No."
He took that badly. "But I'm hungry..."
"We can eat lunch after I finish writing the missing person report at the police station."
Hui Yin was aware of the eyes that followed them. This man was indeed too much trouble! She should have brought a cap to hide his face before they left the apartment. Can he not stand out for once and give her a moment of peace?
Hui Yin was about to continue walking past the diner when her own stomach grumbled. Lu Shen might be more hungry than her, but she hadn't eaten lunch too.
"You're also hungry," Lu Shen wisely pointed out.
"Be quiet."
"Don't be angry." His eyes turned watery again. "I don't like you being angry at me."
Hui Yin tried not to look at his eyes, so she wouldn't be tempted. They say tears are a woman's greatest weapon, but why is this happening to her in reverse?
"I'm not angry at you. Come on, let's go to the police station..."
Both of their stomachs grumbled again. They were even louder than before, as if they were in agreement to Lu Shen's words.
Hui Yin sighed in defeat.
"Okay, let's eat first."
Maybe after they ate their lunch, she would have more energy to drag his juvenile ass to the police station.
__
A/N:
[1] In other words, he would kill her.