The Past Is The Past

He Yi looked up to check on the wall clock, it was already ten o'clock at night. There must be an emergency for Yi Liangze to call her at such late timing!

She answered the call and her first gut feeling was, "Is Bao Bao missing again?"

There was a moment of silence before Yi Liangze's deep and magnetic voice was heard, "Bao Bao is fine. I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" He Yi heaved a sigh of relief when she heard that Bao Bao was fine. She then became curious, what question would make Yi Liangze call her at such timing?

He seemed to be hesitant as to how to start. He pondered for a while before asking, "Is Wan Wan your biological daughter?

He Yi almost dropped her phone as she realized the seriousness of the question. Her breathing became rushed and her voice became strained, "Of course! Is there a problem?"

Perhaps Old Lady Yi and Fang Yaqin told Yi Liangze the incident that day or maybe there was some other incident that she was not aware of.

There was another silence. Right when He Yi was becoming impatient and wanted to ask him further, he asked, "Did you attend the Night on the Cruise event six years ago?"

There was certainty in his question!

"…" He Yi's body tensed up and she could not move as if she was struck by lightning.

She lost her virginity after getting drugged on the event on a cruise six years ago and she became pregnant with Wan Wan without knowing who her father was. That was her untouchable wound, the stain that she would never want to remember for her whole life.

She thought that her incident was buried with the passing of time and she would never have to mention it again. Yet, Yi Liangze brought it up and caught her by surprise hence she panicked and became infuriated.

She hung up the call and slammed it onto a table, her fists clenched hard as she tried hard to calm her raging emotions.

Wei Jiameng did not know what happened and she had never seen He Yi lose control like that. "Who was that? What happened? Did something happen to Wan Wan?"

She vaguely heard the person on the other end of the call mentioning Wan Wan so that was her guess.

However, He Yi seemed not to hear her, she was deeply immersed in her traumatic past and she could not extricate herself from her memory. 'How did Yi Liangze find out?' She felt shame as if she was stripped naked and dragged onto a stage for display.

She bit her lips to suppress her emotions so that she would not shed a tear. She took a while before she could force a blurred sentence from her throat, "I'm fine, just a little tired. You should rest, the factory needs you tomorrow!"

Wei Jiameng became overwhelmed when she thought about her tasks at the factory the next day and she could no longer bring herself to be concerned about He Yi. She stood and muttered, "Alright, I'm going to rest. Don't overthink and don't stress yourself out." Then, she asked again out of concern, "Is Wan Wan alright?"

Warmth flowed into He Yi's heart. She held her tears and looked up to force a smile to Wei Jiameng. "She's fine. Go!"

He Yi could no longer maintain her fake smile after Wei Jiameng left. She became perplexed and fell into a complete loss.

She had a feeling that Yi Liangze would call her again. As for the reason, she could not even bring herself to think about it.

Her phone rang again after almost 20 minutes just as expected. She knew that she had to face him eventually so she mustered up her courage and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Can you come outside? I'm at the gate." His sentences were simple.

*

The night sky looked like water as the warm breeze blew. It was full of the joys of spring.

Yi Liangze's car was parked right beside a blooming Valentines' Plum. He was not wearing a jacket, his hair was tousled and he seemed to be tipsy. However, his dark eyes remained deep and icy when he looked up.

He Yi shuddered for some reason. The night was cold despite it was springtime.

The two looked at each other without saying a word. He walked toward her unhurriedly after some time.

There was an unexplained tension from his towering figure under the flickering lights, she was almost suffocating from her nerves. Perhaps she was too nervous and had illusions, she thought of the dark room, the beast-like man, and his feverish breath from six years ago as Yi Liangze walked toward her.

He Yi's irises shrunk, indicating her fear and anxiety. She staggered one step back subconsciously before his strong, feverish hand grabbed her fair wrist.

He Yi exclaimed and struggled instinctively, "Let go!"

She quaked from the heat from his strong arm. She felt like she was trapped under a beast's claws and unable to escape, exactly like how she felt six years ago.

"Don't move!" Yi Liangze pulled her to his side. Instead of violating her, he stared at her carefully under the lights from the streets and his car. His eyes were deep and distant as if he was trying to recall a distant detail.

"What are you doing?" He Yi's body was shaking even more than her voice. He kept reminding her of the man who owned her on the cruise six years ago for some reason. The similar heat, force, arrogance with aggression and possessiveness… She started shaking her head non-stop, her thoughts were too absurd!

'Who is Yi Liangze? He would be surrounded by pretty girls around him and would he use such a low tactic to get a woman? It can't be him! This is an illusion!'

Her wrist within Yi Liangze's grip was unbelievably slim as if it would be broken if he exerted more force. Her shaking became even more violent as if she was a terrified animal. Connecting the present scene with the scene six years ago, his grip became tighter subconsciously.

"Ah!" He Yi exclaimed in pain as her tears fell.

Only realizing that he was hurting her, he let go of her wrist and grabbed her hand instead.

He Yi retracted her wrist and fell into a big, warm, embrace before she could comfort her painful wrist.

The shock was an extreme one and He Yi almost jumped like a cat on guard. She hit him as she tried to free herself, "Let go! Let me go!"

It was terrifying! She wondered why Yi Liangze was so similar to the savage man who took her six years ago! She felt like she would suffocate any moment in his arms.

"Don't move!" Yi Liangze pressed her onto his chest hard as he relived the countless scenes in his dreams to recall the surreal soft figure and attractive scent. 'It is her!'

He could never forget her body!

He Yi felt like she was electrocuted when he sucked on her earlobes, the strange ticklish sensation made her weak and she lost her strength to struggle.

Yi Liangze stopped and exhaled. She remained in his arms and his hot breath blew on her ears, it felt near and distant at the same time.

She heard him asking, "Do you know Wang Han?"