Incurable Chapter 16 Part 2

Chapter 16 (2/2)

After that, he turned off the room lights, went back to the desk, switched on the desk lamp, and sat down again beneath its small pool of light to continue reading the document he had not finished.

The alcohol in her body deepened.

The outline of the man at the desk blurred more and more in her sight, while her mind became strangely clearer.

A coward found courage in drink.

She had found the courage.

She had even attempted seduction.

And the man had refused her.

Beneath the circle of lamplight, Liu Qianxiu sat in calm concentration, his cool temperament unchanged. His beautiful, long fingers moved steadily over the mouse, his gaze intent.

One lonely lamp.

One book.

One immortal.

Immortals did not have human desire.

He might one day feel something for a mortal heart—but maybe not now, and maybe not for her.

As the heat drained out of her, Mu Wan began to feel cold instead.

She curled in on herself a little.

At once, Liu Qianxiu noticed.

He lifted his head and looked over.

On the bed, the woman’s eyes were closed. Beneath the fall of dark hair, her small face had gone pale. Her lips, still vividly red, were pressed together. Under the blanket, her body had curled into itself in a small, tight shape.

Liu Qianxiu stood and crossed the room to switch off the central air.

The cold gradually vanished.

A warmer wind came through the open balcony doors, carrying the damp breath of the coming rain. The sky had darkened all afternoon. It seemed it was finally going to fall.

Disheartened, Mu Wan burrowed deeper into the blanket.

Her thoughts went empty.

And just like that, she truly fell asleep.

Her breathing deepened little by little in the quiet room, mingling with the wind outside that stirred the branches.

Liu Qianxiu’s gaze left the computer screen and settled on the woman on the bed.

She was sleeping, but not peacefully. One hand gripped the blanket outside the covers, her brow faintly furrowed.

He watched her for a while.

The wind outside grew stronger, carrying now the wet scent of rain. He came back to himself and looked toward the balcony.

He rose from the chair, his movements small enough not to disturb the stillness of the room in the slightest, and went out to the balcony.

Fine rain had begun to come in with the wind.

It was raining.

He closed the glass doors and returned to the room. He glanced once at the woman on the bed. She showed no sign of waking.

Then Liu Qianxiu withdrew his gaze and left the room.

When Mu Wan woke, it was six in the morning.

The headache from the hangover woke with her, souring her mood the moment she opened her eyes. Her face scrunched up. She made a small, annoyed sound and rolled over.

She was used to sleeping in a single bed. When she turned in bed, one leg usually brushed the edge.

Today, it did not.

Mu Wan opened her eyes.

It was as if she were not entirely sober yet, because the memories from last night were already replaying themselves in her mind. One flash after another—and then she sat bolt upright.

It was raining outside. The light was dim and gray, not even strong enough to get through the curtains. The room was empty. There was only a small lamp, a laptop that had already been shut down, and no sign of Liu Qianxiu.

In an instant, Mu Wan’s imagination filled in the rest of what must have happened after she fell asleep.

She had failed in her attempted seduction. Then, having stolen his bed on top of it, Taoist Liu had opened another room to avoid impropriety.

Mu Wan had been rejected.

Her mood became as miserable as the weather outside.

She had been drunk last night, but she was fully sober now. Even so, she did not let herself sink into misery for very long. She took out her phone and sent Liu Qianxiu a message. The meaning of it was simple enough: she had gotten drunk last night, thank you for letting her stay, and she was sorry for causing him such trouble.

After sending it, Mu Wan did not linger and went back to her own room.

Gao Mei was already gone, having left only a breakfast voucher on the table.

Work started at seven that morning. It was already after six, so there was not much time to eat. Mu Wan went downstairs to the restaurant, ate something quick, and asked one of the servers for a cup of soy milk to take away.

The soy milk came in a paper cup with a sealed lid.

Mu Wan had the straw in her mouth as she walked into the elevator.

It descended quickly and reached the lobby soon enough. The moment she stepped out, she saw the crowd at the entrance.

Reporters. Staff. Bodyguards in black.

A whole ring of people had formed around someone at the center, surrounding her the way stars ringed a moon.

It was a woman with short hair.

She wore a black top and a pale brown silk skirt that revealed a glimpse of waist. Her figure was graceful. Her eyes tilted up slightly at the ends, and beneath her right eye was a small beauty mark.

Standing at the center of that crowd, she looked utterly accustomed to being watched and admired. Her lips were touched with a quiet red. Their curve was polite and elegant.

Mu Wan withdrew her gaze and passed by the crowd.

At the edge of her vision, a woman’s figure flashed past—too striking to ignore. Mu Qing lifted her eyes briefly and, in that instant, saw the profile of the woman drinking soy milk as she walked.

Her gaze was set straight ahead.

Her expression remained calm.

She did not even look at her.

In the splendid hotel lobby, the two of them crossed past each other like parallel lines that only seemed to meet but never truly did.

They had not intersected before.

They would not intersect in the future.

“Miss Mu~.”

Before Mu Wan could even leave the lobby, a familiar voice called out to her.

She bit lightly on the straw and turned. Once she realized it was only Xiao Tan alone, she let go of the straw and smiled.

“President Xiao.”

Xiao Tan was thirty-seven, though he did not look it. He had that particular blend of elegance and gentleness that belonged to successful men, making him seem barely past thirty at all.

“Call me Dr. Xiao,” Xiao Tan said with a smile. He glanced at the soy milk in her hand and added with amusement, “Didn’t have time for breakfast?”

Mu Wan was just about to answer after swallowing a sip through the straw when Xiao Tan added, “Ah, right. You slept in Qianxiu’s room last night.”

Mu Wan nearly choked on the soy milk.

She coughed once, small and sharp, and looked up at the smile lingering near Xiao Tan’s eyes. Her face flushed red from the coughing. Letting the straw go, she said, “I drank too much last night. Dr. Liu only looked after me for a bit.”

Xiao Tan watched her quietly.

His gaze was mild and warm. He was a very easy person to be around. When he listened, he never interrupted, and his expression made it seem as though he fully believed every word she said.

Once Mu Wan had finished, Xiao Tan smiled and said, “I know. Qianxiu didn’t sleep in that room. I happened to see him booking another one. Qianxiu is a gentleman.”

With those words, it was as though he had taken Mu Wan by the hand and led her right out of the dead end where she had trapped herself.

“The hospital car’s here. Qianxiu’s still waiting for me at the hospital, so I’d better go.”

After that, Xiao Tan said goodbye and stepped out through the revolving doors. Outside, an assistant handed him a stack of documents. Xiao Tan took them with the same refined ease he carried everywhere.

Mu Wan watched his back as he left and, from the angle Xiao Tan had just given her, finally understood what had really happened last night.

Liu Qianxiu leaving had not necessarily meant rejection.

It was simply that she had been drunk, not fully conscious, and he was too much of a gentleman to take advantage of her.

Her lips curved slowly around the straw.

Wencheng was under the rain again. The drops were not large, but so fine and dense that, after only a few minutes, a person could be soaked through.

The production schedule did not have to follow the script in strict order. Since it was raining today, the scene they were shooting for Mu Wan was her final death scene.

She wore a pale gray cotton dress, white stockings, and black leather shoes—an unmistakable Republican-era look. The dress was loose, but her belly was padded out. In the scene, she was pregnant and about to be murdered.

The rain grew finer and finer, until the whole hospital seemed wrapped in a dark cloud.

The location was by the curved lake. The area had been cleared. There was no one there but the sound of rain striking the water.

Mu Wan clutched at her stomach. It was impossible to tell whether the wetness on her face was rain or tears. Burning drops slipped down her cheeks as she ran in panic, a sack of documents clutched in her arms. Her black square-toed shoes splashed through muddy puddles.

The moment she reached the lake, the path ahead of her was blocked.

Mu Wan stumbled backward and fell hard to the ground.

She was drenched through. Muddy water soaked the hem of her dress. She held the documents out to the person in front of her, pleading as she backed away, one arm protectively wrapped around her stomach.

But the moment the other person took the file, the killing intent in their face rose.

Two arms wrapped around her from behind.

Terror flooded Mu Wan’s eyes.

She clutched her stomach desperately, struggling, begging, crying for help, pleading for mercy. All of it lived in her face.

One of her shoes kicked free.

Then came the splash.

Her body fell into the water.

She thrashed there, the horror of drowning written clear across her features, until at last the struggle failed and her body slowly sank beneath the surface.

The scene had to be shot from several angles.

Standing by the window, Liu Qianxiu pieced the separate shots together in his mind. Her acting was good. Most of it passed in one take. When she was hauled back out of the lake, dripping wet, she stood behind the camera while the director said something to her. It sounded like praise. She smiled a little in answer.

She liked acting.

That much, Liu Qianxiu could see.

Someone handed her a towel. She wiped herself off a little, then held an umbrella and headed toward the inpatient building, where the crew had set up changing rooms.

The rain kept falling, carrying the heat away from the air.

Mu Wan was soaked through. Wrapped in the towel against the wind, she shivered a little as the rain slapped against the umbrella above her. Then she hurried into the inpatient building.

There were no proper shower facilities. After toweling herself dry, she changed back into her own clothes. The rainy weather had left even those feeling slightly damp and cold, but they were still much better than the sodden costume. Her body slowly began to warm again.

She coughed softly once, rubbing her hair dry, and stepped out of the changing room.

The moment she entered the corridor, she looked up—

and saw Liu Qianxiu standing there by the door.

Something flickered in her eyes.

Then she smiled.

“Liu Qianxiu~”

Because of the slight nasal tone left by crying, her voice sounded even softer than usual.

That scene had demanded a great deal of tears. Not only were her eyes still red, but the tip of her nose also carried a faint redness. Her delicate skin held a fine flush. She rubbed lightly at her nose with her hand.

She had texted Liu Qianxiu that morning, and he had only replied: You’re welcome.

She had intended to contact him after filming.

She had not expected to run into him here—

Or perhaps it was not a coincidence at all.

The thought came to her, and Mu Wan looked up at him again.

Liu Qianxiu was already looking down at her.

Her body shifted slightly.

She smiled, the red at the corners of her eyes softening as they curved down.

“I cried too hard just now,” she said. “I cried the baby away.”

In the scene, her character had been pregnant.

What Liu Qianxiu thought of instead was that night in the car, the woman in the passenger seat arching her waist slightly, the small, rounded shape of her belly under the seatbelt. She had told him then that it was all the territory he had conquered.

His gaze settled briefly on her now-flat stomach.

Then his lips moved, and he held something out to her.

A glass cup.

The lid was already screwed on. The glass reflected the corridor lights, and in the pale brown liquid inside, two tiny bubbles floated slowly to the surface.

“If the baby’s gone, another one can always be made,” Liu Qianxiu said. “Don’t catch cold.”

Her heart gave a hard leap.

The smile in Mu Wan’s eyes deepened.

The air was still damp and chilly. Her clothes were still thin. But warmth began to spread through her body anyway. Her heart pounded faster, and her blood seemed to run quicker with it, warming her from her toes all the way to her hair.

She reached out and took the cup.

It was still hot.

Freshly mixed banlangen.

The warmth of the glass settled into her palm. Mu Wan lowered her eyes and cradled it, her pale fingers scratching lightly against the side. Then, in a small voice, she muttered,

“That would still require you to be willing to make one with me...”

She said it so softly that she herself could barely hear it.

She thought he had not heard it either.

And yet, just after she finished, the low sound of his voice came from beside her.

He was taller than she was, but the sound landed as though it were right at her ear, catching her heart with one sharp, gentle bite.

“Mm?”

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