His face was very pale.

His eyes were tightly shut, as if he wasn’t even breathing.

Was he really in such pain?

Yet despite the pain, he still didn’t push her away; he still held her.

Nangong Ruyue’s nose felt a bit sour.

She quickly got up, and almost as she moved, Xiao Zexin moved swiftly as well.

They distanced themselves from each other simultaneously, Xiao Zexin turned his head away from her, and his breathing finally became much smoother.

In love yet unable to be close...

Who could understand this kind of suffering?

"You... go out, I want to rest..." Xiao Zexin said with difficulty, gasping for breath.

Even though he still rejected her, Nangong Ruyue still felt happy.

At least he allowed her to touch him.

"Okay, I’ll go out, have a good rest."

She didn’t stay but left decisively.

She didn’t know how serious his condition had become.

But she knew that she had to proceed gradually, and she wouldn’t relax in the slightest.

After she left, Xiao Zexin lay weakly on the bed, completely exhausted.

It took a lot of courage and self-control for him to resist pushing her away.

The process was painful, but the result, he was satisfied with.

Xiao Zexin looked out the window, revealing a faint smile.

That embrace, he liked it a lot...

...

That day, Nangong Ruyue didn’t appear in front of him again.

Xiao Zexin really wanted to see her, yet was afraid to see her.

But he heard from the servants that she had settled in here.

He didn’t oppose it, nor did he say anything.

With plenty of servants and bodyguards here, it was more convenient to take care of her.

Moreover, he lived upstairs and she lived downstairs, there was still some distance between them.

As long as he didn’t see her all the time, there was no problem with her staying here.

But then again, living under the same roof now wasn’t much different from when he hadn’t left.

Since she found him and he couldn’t leave, living here was better than moving back.

But for some reason, he didn’t want to leave here temporarily.

Nangong Ruyue didn’t want to leave here either.

It’s just the two of them here, and it’s very quiet. Neither of them wanted to travel, both thinking of staying for a while.

Jian Yufei and the others didn’t disturb them either.

Nangong Ruyue settled down and would see Xiao Zexin once every day.

Every time, she would hug him and ask him to hug her too.

Xiao Zexin’s body was still so stiff, his arms still weighed a ton.

The gentle embrace was still painful—

However, he could breathe.

Even though his breathing was faint, it was a big improvement.

Nangong Ruyue firmly believed that with time, he would be able to embrace her comfortably and not resist her approach.

Perhaps it would take a long time to cure him completely.

But she didn’t mind.

No matter how long it took, she had patience.

In this life, the thing she lacked the least was patience.

Xiao Zexin seemed to see hope too, feeling much better, and occasionally, he could even get a good sleep.

Under Nangong Ruyue’s persistent efforts, everything was moving in a positive direction.

**********

Before they knew it, a few days passed.

Gong Jiahua came to find Nangong Ruyue again.

He came this time to take her for a prenatal check-up.

Xiao Zexin’s leg was injured, so he couldn’t go, naturally.

Even if he wasn’t injured, he wouldn’t be able to accompany her.

When Nangong Ruyue came to see Xiao Zexin, she told Yufei and the others not to disturb them.

So she hadn’t thought of having them make a long trip here just to accompany her for a check-up.