The Darker the Night, The Brighter the Stars

Everything should have remained as it is for her if only she hadn't encountered that man.

The simple yet happy life with a few hardships she had been enjoying was interrupted when she stumbled upon a half-dead man who was one step away from meeting with King Yama.

From the clothes alone, Zhao Yan can easily tell that this strange man was someone who was from a wealthy family.

Zhao Yan was aware that the brocade he was wearing would cost a few thousand taels alone. The blood-red jade bracelet on his wrist was also rare and she has only seen it once. Her grandfather, Li Hua, had something similar.

Her grandfather cherished it so much that Zhao Yan wasn't even allowed to touch it. Even until his disappearance, Zhao Yan was unable to get a feel of the blood-red jade bracelet.

Coincidentally, this half-dead man was also wearing it. The man was bleeding on his stomach and from the blue veins appearing on his neck, he was poisoned.

Zhao Yan could save him... although there was no guarantee that he would remain alive since he was already so weak.

And Zhao Yan felt skeptical. This half-dead man was someone from a prominent family. No matter how good-looking he was, Zhao Yan felt that she would invite unnecessary trouble if she saves him.

And there really was no guarantee he would remain alive even if she helped him.

Zhao Yan looked over the half-dead man once before turning around, about to leave.

To her surprise, she was forced to stop. Zhao Yan's eyes slowly moved towards the bottom of her dress and saw a pale hand clutching on it.

She followed the origins of the hand and was frozen when she saw the half-dead man with his eyes opened, staring coldly at her.

It only lasted for a few seconds before his hand fell down and his eyes closed, presumably because he no longer has the strength.

She stared at his handsome yet pale face, wondering if she had seen it wrong.

Zhao Yan looked at her hands before she took his pulse and calculated.

He was still alive but barely...

She could leave him and never look back but somehow, his cold gaze kept appearing on her mind.

Since he used his last strength to plead for her help in his own way then Zhao Yan has no choice but to help him. She wasn't heartless.

Although she was really worried about the consequences of her actions, Zhao Yan gritted her teeth and brought the man to her house with help from one of her male servants.

Zhao Yan made sure to cover the man's face with a towel to hide his appearance.

She was worried that the ones who had hurt this man would come to her home. Zhao Yan informed the servant to keep this incident a secret.

She also ordered to get rid of the bloodstains and dragging marks.

She even made sure to plant fake evidence in the opposite direction of her house.

Of course, it was Zhao Yan's trusted servants who had done this while she busied away in trying to save the half-dead man from King Yama's clutches.

Zhao Yan could still remember that man's cold gaze. She had spent one-month taking care of him. Even when he finally woke up, he was cold towards her and only said a few words.

Zhao Yan was terrified of him but she had already exerted effort in saving his life and taking care of him. Even though she didn't know his name or identity, Zhao Yan remained patient and took care of him.

She personally cooked his meals, redressed his wounds, and fed him his medicine.

Zhao Yan can count the number of times he had spoken to her in her hands.

He had never spoken to her properly, never asked her name, and never told her why he was injured and poisoned in the first place.

Zhao Yan knows self-preservation so she didn't ask him nor did she insist on knowing his background.

It was better not to know anything.

When the day comes that he has finally healed, Zhao Yan would unashamedly kick him out and ask him to never show his face in front of her ever again.

Atleast that was what she was planning on doing.

After one month of taking care of him, the man finally asked for Zhao Yan's name.

"Name." He said in a cold tone. His phoenix eyes were narrowed coldly at her and his aura alone made her nervous.

Zhao Yan couldn't answer at all.

He was imposing and had the gait of a leader. There was something about him that made people want to bow their heads and follow his instructions without question.

Zhao Yan has a guess. Since she had redressed his wounds so many times and wiped his body down, Zhao Yan was able to see how well-toned he was.

It wasn't the body of a normal person. It was a body of martial artists or atleast someone similar. He had tempered and trained his body to its peak. It was also the reason why Zhao Yan was able to save him.

His life force was strong and even while half-dead, he clung to life and never gave up.

Though she had trouble convincing this man to drink the few days when he was awake, she managed to convince him still. She understood his skepticism because he had recently just escaped death.

"I have spared every effort to save you. Since I have accepted this responsibility, I have to make sure that you recover 100%. Then when you are better, you can leave my house and never come back." Zhao Yan unashamedly told him while feeding him soup one time.

The icy stare he gave her made her uncomfortable but she steeled her heart and stubbornly forced him to eat.

"I only ask that you cooperate because the sooner you get better; the sooner you can leave." Then I can go back to my peaceful life.

The man finally cooperated. He also shamelessly informed her that he dislikes the soup she had been feeding him.

Zhao Yan patiently endured and once again told him the many benefits of eating vegetables and fruits as well as nourishing his body.

His food preference was irrelevant at the moment.

Though she said that, Zhao Yan obediently made something else to feed him.

▪▪▪