Qi Yan stood at the doorway, covered in blood, his gaze dark and unreadable.
Xi Yao froze.
She had just woken up, her mind still foggy, when she met those chilling eyes.
"You... you're hurt?"
Qi Yan didn't answer. He only took a step forward.
Xi Yao instinctively shrank back into the corner of the bed, her voice trembling. "D-don't do anything reckless. I didn't say anything."
But Qi Yan merely walked to the bedside, staring down at her with a heavy voice. "Didn't you say you hated me?"
"...I did." She nodded reflexively. "B-but that was when you weren't being crazy—"
Qi Yan bent down slowly, his entire presence looming over her, his breath carrying the metallic tang of blood.
"Then let me show you what crazy looks like."
"..."
Before she could react, he yanked her into his arms.
"Try running now." His voice was a low, rough whisper against her ear. "If you dare escape again, I'll kiss you even when you're crying."
"You're insane." She gritted her teeth, pushing against him. "You're covered in blood, and you're still hugging people?!"
"Afraid I'll hurt you?" Qi Yan let out something like a laugh, but his eyes were cold and ruthless. "I wouldn't dare. But if you truly want to leave... I won't stop you."
"You... what?" She stiffened.
"I said, go." He released her and stood. "Leave now, before I change my mind."
Xi Yao didn't move.
He let out a cold laugh and turned away, walking toward the door.
His figure was weary, his steps unsteady, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Xi Yao sat on the bed, watching his retreating back, a strange emotion rising in her chest.
Could she really leave?
Did she even want to?
His footsteps were nearly at the door.
"Where are you going?" The words burst out before she could stop herself.
Qi Yan paused but didn't turn around.
"Aren't you the one who wanted me to leave?"
"If you want to go, fine, but explain yourself first." Her voice sharpened with urgency. "You're hurt like this—where could you even go?"
"Where I'm going... you wouldn't want to know."
His voice was quiet, and he took another step forward.
Xi Yao clenched her teeth and lunged off the bed, grabbing his arm.
"Will you stop being so difficult?! Can't you just lie down and rest?!"
Qi Yan turned to look at her, his eyes carrying a hint of exhaustion—and something else. Satisfaction?
"Since when do you care?"
"Of course I care!" she snapped. "If you really die, I'll be stuck in this house alone, and I'm scared of ghosts!"
Qi Yan's lips curved slightly. "I thought you were scared of me."
"Don't push your luck." She rolled her eyes and dragged him back forcefully. "Sit down. Let me clean off the blood."
Qi Yan let himself be pulled, offering no resistance.
He sat, his breathing uneven, leaning back against the chair. His lips were pale, as if he were clinging to the last of his strength.
"Where did you even go?" She dampened a cloth and began wiping the blood from his hands, her touch light. "How did you get hurt like this?"
"I went to find some people."
"People? I thought you didn't know anyone else."
"Whether I know them or not doesn't matter." He watched her movements, his tone indifferent. "What matters is that they said things they shouldn't have."
"So you went and fought them?"
"Mn."
"Psycho."
"You've said that many times."
Xi Yao fell silent, her hands slowing.
He didn't flinch, didn't complain of pain, just let her clean his wounds as if savoring the moment.
"You... you were fine this morning." Her voice dropped to a murmur. "How did you go crazy again so fast?"
Qi Yan tilted his head, his gaze fixed intently on her.
"Because you said you hated me."
"..."
"I don't want to hear that a second time."
His voice was calm, but beneath it simmered something darker—obsession, barely restrained.
"You can fear me. You can curse at me. But you can't hate me."
"With a control complex like yours, shouldn't you see a doctor?"
"You're my doctor."
Xi Yao's hands stilled.
He seemed to finally allow himself a faint smile, reaching out to grasp her wrist. "Stay by my side, and I won't lose control."
"You said that the day before yesterday, and the very next day you pinned me to the ground to 'reason' with me."
Qi Yan leaned in, his face drawing closer. "Then have I 'reasoned' with you properly this time?"
"I don't care about your reasoning." She shoved his face away. "Just promise me—less violence. If you can talk it out, don't use your hands."
Qi Yan nodded slightly, his tone serious. "I'll try."
"Or what? Another three-day madness spree?"
"Unless you say you hate me again."
"Fine, I won't say it, okay?"
Only then did Qi Yan seem satisfied, leaning back into the chair. "Good."
He closed his eyes, his breathing steadying, as if he were truly exhausted.
Xi Yao watched him, hesitating before whispering:
"The blood on you... it's not yours, is it?"
Qi Yan's voice was soft, drowsy. "No."
"Then whose is it?"
His eyes remained closed, his words barely audible, like a dream.
"It doesn't matter. They insulted you."
Xi Yao's chest tightened.
Suddenly, she understood what he had done.
He hadn't lost control.
He had gone out to *avenge* her.
"Are you out of your mind?"
Qi Yan smiled faintly. "Whether I'm out of my mind or not isn't for you to decide. What matters is whether you're mine."
Xi Yao stared at him, realizing with a start that he wasn't joking in the slightest.
This man—his madness ran bone-deep.
And yet... he was also learning, bit by bit, to restrain himself.
Like today. He had lost control, yet he still remembered to return, afraid of coming back too late.
She studied his sleeping face, her emotions a tangled mess.
She watched him like that the entire night.
---
At dawn the next day, Qi Yan woke.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found her sitting at the foot of the bed, hugging her knees and staring at him.
"Were you watching me all night?"
"No." She answered too quickly. "I was just sitting here spacing out."
Qi Yan sat up, moving to stand before her, looking down with an unreadable gaze.
"Then while spacing out... did you think of me?"
Xi Yao played dumb. "Who are you again?"
Qi Yan laughed, his eyes darkening.
"Then today, I'll make sure you remember me."
He leaned down, tilting her chin up with his fingers, his voice a low murmur:
"Didn't you say I'm only gentle for a second before going mad for three days?"
"Today... I'll be gentle for more than a second."
"If you try to run, we'll see if you can even stand afterward."