Gu Susu stared at Su Kangxi's profile picture, unable to recall who he was. She shook her head and said, "Forget it. I don't really remember this person. I don't know what to talk about with him."
Yang Sijie closed his phone and comforted her, "It's okay. You've made quite a few friends now. Even if you don't remember past people and events, you're living happily."
Gu Susu closed her eyes contentedly and leaned against his shoulder. "Sijie, honestly, having just you is enough for me. Why are you so good to me? What is it about me that makes you treat me this way..."
Yang Sijie smiled, picked up the red scarf from the sofa, and said regretfully, "That's because you're also very good to me. Do you remember the red scarf you knitted for me yourself? Unfortunately, I lost it."
Susu wrapped the scarf around both their necks. A faint impression surfaced from the depths of her memory, a vague recollection of knitting a scarf with red yarn. She smiled and said, "These two identical red scarves you bought are also very beautiful. This one is custom-made by a big brand; it's better than what I knit."
Yang Sijie lowered his head and kissed her lips. "But I think the one you knitted yourself is even better."
"But I've forgotten how to knit," Susu said, pulling the scarf that entwined them tighter. She also kissed his cheek.
"Then forget it. You can knit it later when you remember," Yang Sijie asked her softly, "Susu, do you feel happy being with me now?"
"Of course, I'm happy," Gu Susu said, then turned back to the television. She picked up her ice cream and chided him, "It's all your fault. You interrupted my TV show. I don't even know what exciting plot I've missed."
Yang Sijie snatched a bite of her ice cream and said playfully and unreasonably, "No TV. Look at me!"
"What's so good about you to look at?" Gu Susu said, biting her ice cream spoon, trying to push him away. However, due to the scarf wrapped around them, she couldn't. She was about to untie the scarf from her neck.
But Yang Sijie wouldn't allow it. "Keep it on like this; it's warm."
Susu protested, "Warm? It's so hot, I'm sweating on my head."
Yang Sijie gently wiped the sweat from her face, gazing at her affectionately.
Gu Susu felt uncomfortable under his gaze and looked at him angrily. The firelight from the fireplace illuminated his handsome face, making her feel dazed.
Some scattered, fragmented images appeared in her mind: someone holding an umbrella for her in the pouring rain, and it was Yang Sijie. Then there was fire, not a warm glow, but a terrifying blaze burning on his back...
"Sijie, I, I see fire on your back..." Suddenly, her head throbbed violently. The ice cream cup in her hand dropped to the floor, splashing the melting ice cream everywhere.
"Susu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Yang Sijie asked anxiously, afraid she might suddenly remember everything.
Gu Susu pressed a hand to her head and bent down to pick up the fallen cup. "I'm fine, just a slight headache."
Yang Sijie untied the scarf and held her back. "Don't clean it up. I'll do it later. If you're not feeling well, go back to the room."
Both her hands were pressed to her temples. She said, "It's okay. I get like this sometimes. I'll be fine in a while. I still want to continue watching my drama..."
Before she could finish, Yang Sijie turned off the television, picked her up, and said dotingly, "Be good. You can watch your drama anytime, but your health is more important."
She let out a helpless "oh." She always felt that this man was good in every way, except that he was sometimes too worried about her, treating her like a child.
He placed her on the soft, large bed, covered her with a blanket, and sat by the bedside, looking at her with concern.
Gu Susu smiled at him, reached out, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "My head doesn't hurt anymore. Have you missed me during these days we haven't seen each other?"
"Of course, I miss you," Yang Sijie said, tidying her slightly curly long hair. He cupped her face and kissed her forehead.
She immediately pouted, "You want to say goodnight to me again and go to the next room? You're not staying with me?"
"Be good, get some rest. You have class tomorrow, don't you?"
Gu Susu, however, tightly grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, their faces almost touching. She gave him a sweet kiss.
Her hint was clear enough. Yang Sijie gazed at her, his voice becoming hoarse. "Susu, do you know how captivating you are right now?"
Gu Susu's cheeks flushed crimson, and she said shyly, "Sijie, let's try again. You can do it. In the fragmented memories that occasionally surface, you possessed me, completely and utterly possessed me..."
Yang Sijie knew exactly who she was referring to as the one who had possessed her completely. Enraged by jealousy, he didn't want her to continue speaking and lunged at her with a kiss.
Outside the bedroom's floor-to-ceiling window, it began to snow again, falling silently under the dazzling neon night sky.
In the darkness, he breathed deeply, exhausted. As expected, it still didn't work.
He gently bit her ear, calling her name with urgency and frustration, "Susu, Susu..." He also wanted to possess her completely, even if just once, but he couldn't.
He rolled away with a sigh. "I'm sorry. You should sleep by yourself first."
Gu Susu tried to reach for his hand, to comfort him, but didn't know what to say. She couldn't understand why he had such a hidden ailment.
"It's okay. These things aren't important. I don't mind, and you shouldn't either..."
Yang Sijie dodged her hand, stood up, and said, "I'm all sweaty. I'm going to take a shower. You sleep early."
Gu Susu lay alone in bed, gazing at the swirling snowflakes outside the window, knowing that Yang Sijie would not return to this room.
For some reason, her heart felt empty. Yang Sijie always felt completely different from the man in her dreams whenever they were together.
In her dreams, she couldn't see the man's face, but his kisses were always domineering and deep. In the fragments of her memory, they had shared intimate moments, and he had no problems in that regard.
But in reality, Yang Sijie had a physical deficiency and couldn't truly possess her. What was going on?
No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't remember who the man in her dreams was. Was it Sijie, someone else, or just a hallucination from a dream?
...
After showering, Yang Sijie returned to the living room and cleaned up the completely melted ice cream from the floor.
He went to the study, not daring to open Susu's door again.
He hadn't expected this. He had succeeded in erasing all her memories, and she had him in her heart, but he was powerless to truly share himself with her.
He was still unhappy, hating himself, and even more so, hating those who had caused him to be this way.
He only wished he could love the woman he loved like a true man!
He had no interest in looking at the laptop on the desk and picked up his phone to dial a number.
"Dr. John, good evening. This is Frank."
"Mr. Frank, what can I do for you?"
"What kind of medication did you prescribe for my girlfriend last time? Can she continue taking it? She's been having occasional headaches lately. Are there any side effects?"