Yu He closed her eyes tightly, feeling the man on her body move away. Her uneasy hands immediately reached out to grasp him.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not leaving, I'm right here."
Qin Beiting felt her body tense, her breathing quicken and become uneven. A pang of pain shot through his heart. He even wanted to reach out and turn on the lights, but thinking of how Yu He had reacted to her nyctophobia last time, he held back.
The young girl's fear of the dark was too severe. She had to learn to overcome her fear of darkness.
He could leave the house lights on all night, but he couldn't make the world without darkness.
What if the next time her nyctophobia acted up, he wasn't by her side? Her body's instinctive stress response could wear her out.
"It's not too dark in the room now. When you're ready, you can slowly open your eyes and see."
He lay on his side, letting Yu He rest her head on his arm, and slowly moved his fingers from her eyes.
Yu He took several deep breaths, mustered her courage, and then slowly opened her eyes.
Through her fingers, she saw the ceiling projecting a galaxy of stars, beautiful!
When she lived in the mountains, she was afraid of the dark and wouldn't go out once it got dark, preferring to read and study indoors.
After moving to the city, she got a little better. The city had lights everywhere, but if it wasn't necessary, she still preferred to stay in her room.
She had never imagined that the dark night sky could bring her anything other than fear.
But at this moment, she was stunned by the projection of the star-studded universe before her.
Fear and surprise mingled, and her small heart pounded heavily.
Qin Beiting felt the tickle of her eyelashes brushing against his fingers and asked softly,
"The universe is very dark, but there are many galaxies that emit light. It's very beautiful, isn't it? Do you want to see more?"
Yu He nodded slightly, and the hand covering her eyes was slowly withdrawn.
The surrounding darkness encroached, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her clothes.
"Relax, don't be afraid." Qin Beiting unclasped her tightly clenched hands, intertwined his fingers with hers, and their ten fingers locked together.
At the same time, he remotely changed the projection on the ceiling. "Look, this is the Milky Way..."
Yu He listened to the man's gentle, magnetic voice explaining, felt the warmth from his hand, and the familiar scent of the man, her inner panic subsided a bit.
She tried her best to ignore the darkness around her and focused only on the image projected on the ceiling.
Slowly, her tense body relaxed.
Qin Beiting noticed the change in her body and looked at the person so close to him.
Her beautiful profile, the starry sky reflected in her eyes, she was so lovely.
"There's a meteor shower tomorrow night. Shall we go camping by the lake and watch the meteors lying on the grass?" he asked softly.
Yu He shifted her gaze and looked at Qin Beiting. The dimness around her made her dizzy.
She took a moment to recover, and with the faint light from the ceiling projection, she adjusted to the dimness and replied, "Okay."
"Shall we turn off the projection now and try again?" Qin Beiting pressed his advantage.
Yu He's breath hitched. Qin Beiting sensed her tension and patiently reassured and encouraged her,
"You can adapt to the dimness now, you've made great progress. Shall we try to adapt to complete darkness for a short while?"
Yu He nervously swallowed, tightened her grip on his hand, and kept cheering herself on. He had Ting Ge, she shouldn't be afraid.
"Okay, just for a little while." She nodded.
"Alright. Don't be afraid. If it doesn't work, we'll turn on the lights." Qin Beiting coaxed her. After she was mentally prepared, he turned off the projection.
The surroundings instantly plunged into darkness. Yu He stiffened, and the fear buried deep in her subconscious surged forth...
Several blurry images flashed in her mind:
A blood-stained knife tip, the distorted faces of the dead, a sinister boy holding a knife, a dark, cramped room...
Qin Beiting noticed her hard-won calm breathing becoming erratic and whispered, "Baby? Baby, are you okay?"
There was no response.
Qin Beiting sensed something was wrong and immediately covered her eyes with his hand and turned on the lights.
He saw her pale face, rapid breathing, and her forehead covered in a fine sweat. After she adjusted to the light, he removed his hand. Her eyes were even dazed.
She looked haggard and pitiful, making him feel a pang of heartache.
"It's okay, don't be afraid." Qin Beiting wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with a tissue and soothed her gently.
Yu He took a while to recover, and her eyes gradually focused. Seeing the man so close, she reached out and hugged his neck, burying her face in his neck, almost collapsing on him, drawing strength from his presence.
His presence had a magical power that gave her a sense of solid security, slowly calming her inner unease.
Just like before, when she was sad, she would always lie on him like this and fall asleep after crying.
Qin Beiting held her, gently stroking her back, his eyes filled with mixed emotions. He felt a sense of guilt.
They had just started trying, and he shouldn't have been so eager.
The person who had ruined the young girl back then, he hoped he never met them, otherwise, he would make them wish they were dead!
The next day.
After a night's sleep, Yu He had recovered from last night's emotions.
She vaguely recalled a few blurry images in her mind from last night. Before, she never remembered what happened after her nyctophobia kicked in.
And there was something strange. Her grandmother said her fear of the dark was due to being kidnapped by traffickers, but those blurry images didn't seem like they were from traffickers. There seemed to be a little boy too.
She tried hard to recall, but couldn't remember anything, so she gave up.
After breakfast, as the five of them were preparing to set off again, Shen Yao came out of his room.
He saw Yu He and immediately cursed,
"You really are heartless. I waited for you all night, and you didn't even come to see me! Aren't you afraid I'll die here!"
After cursing, he sneezed.
Thanks to the cold shower last night, he really had caught a cold.
"Here, breakfast and medicine." Qiao Wei immediately stepped in front of him, holding a bottle of mineral water, a steamed bun, and cold medicine, and stuffed them into him.
"We're about to leave. If you're feeling unwell, you can stay here and rest? When you're better, just go back to the capital?"
Shen Yao immediately glared at him, "Are you tired of living?!"
He had asked him to chase Qin Beiting away last night, and now he was trying to kick him out!
It must have been Qin Beiting's trickery!
He looked at Qin Beiting again, who had already gotten into the car with Yu He!
If he was driven away so easily, he wouldn't be Shen Yao.
So, he walked to the car in a huff, wanting to sit with Yu He, only to find that the only seats left for him were the driver's seat and the passenger seat.
Shen Yao: "..."
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the six of them arrived at the shore of Qinghai Lake, chose a campsite for the night, set up the tents, and played by the lake.
Shen Yao felt that today was even more frustrating than yesterday. As soon as he got close to Yu He, Qiao Wei would block him.
Once or twice was fine, but after so many times, he began to suspect that Qiao Wei had either been bought off by Qin Beiting or liked him!
To confirm this, he pulled Qiao Wei aside and slipped him a bank card.
"How much did Qin Beiting give you? I'll double it!"
Qiao Wei did not take it and said earnestly, "I'm not selling."
Shen Yao: Damn it!