62_It was Disgusting
"Are you okay?" Li Yao was out from her daze as soon as she heard his voice. Mu Lihai was driving beside her but his eyes were on her instead of the road. She faced the front and saw that the traffic light was red.
"I'm okay.. why?" she asked back, puzzled from his expression that was seen a bit worried.
"I didn't ask this earlier but.. did my parents say anything? They didn't mistreat you, right?" Li Yao smiled upon hearing his question.
"They were kind to me and they understood our circumstances. You should know your parents more than anyone else, right?" Li Yao said as she smiled again.
But the smile somehow looked forced. Mu Lihai wanted to say something but he kept it in instead. He knew that his parents were reasonable people. They wouldn't treat Li Yao differently just because of the thing she told them in the study. So, was it about something else? He had no idea.
When they arrived at her apartment complex, Li Yao requested for him to follow her to her unit. She didn't want him to go back home just yet. Mu Lihai was surprised because he was the one who usually invited himself in. But now she was asking for him?
When they got inside, Li Yao even requested something out of ordinary. She wanted to cuddle with him anywhere they went. She didn't let go of him even if she had to take a shower before bed. As a result, they showered together.
"I don't know you have this side of you." Mu Lihai's sweet voice was heard from behind the curtain. He was looking for a body wash product to apply on his skin.
Li Yao was currently inside the bathtub- concealing her naked body from being seen. She was so into her own thoughts that she didn't realize what she was doing. Her mind was so muddled up from the conversation with his parents. Li Yao wanted to tell him yet she didn't know how to open the subject. She even made a promise to his parents to keep it a secret.
As she was once again lost in her thoughts, Li Yao didn't notice a hand coming her way and scooping her up from the tub. She squealed like a kid when she saw herself being lifted in the air.
"Stop getting distracted and look at me." a dangerous low voice came out from his mouth. He looked mad.
"Wait, I'm sorry- uwaah!" Li Yao was put down and pinned behind a wall in a matter of seconds before she could finish her sentence. Now he was in between her body and the wall.
Li Yao was so distracted that she didn't realize she was taking a shower together with Mu Lihai, both stark naked. This was totally different from the time when they helped wash each other before.
Li Yao was so surprised that she turned her head to the side to avoid looking at him and his body. He smirked seeing her acting shy.
"Why are you embarrassed? It's not like you haven't seen- ouch!" Li Yao bit his arm off before he could say the next typical words those male leads from romance novel would say.
"Don't tease me!" she tried to wriggle her way out from his absolute arms-lock but he wouldn't give her the chance.
"Tell me Li Yao, what got you so unsettled?" Mu Lihai whispered to her ear in which made her body stiffen like a rock. His tantalizing sweet voice was so remarkable she couldn't get away from it!
"I.. no.." Li Yao didn't want to betray his parents' trust so she wouldn't say anything. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the words from pouring out.
Mu Lihai narrowed his eyes at her unwillingness to say anything. He then retracted his hands and took a step back with a pose of both his hands in the air, like he surrendered.
"Fine, I won't force you. Make sure you get yourself cleaned before going to bed, alright? I'll be right outside." he turned his back on Li Yao and began to walk away. The bathroom wasn't big so it was easier for him to immediately walk out within seconds.
There, Li Yao was left alone with her back on the wall. Her one hand was on her chest, she suddenly felt cold when the presence of his body left her behind.
When Li Yao finished her shower, she went out in her usual bathrobe. The bedroom was empty without the presence of her boyfriend. He might be in the living room or in the kitchen.
Li Yao took a seat in front of her vanity table. She saw her face in the mirror and it was a reflection of a troubled face. Maybe this was what Mu Lihai saw since they left Mu estate.
Li Yao sighed deeply. She couldn't help but be disappointed with herself. She was determined to be a better woman for Mu Lihai yet here she was- being worried and making him worry.
After drying her hair, she forced herself to smile. In the mirror, she saw her fake reflection. A single tear escaped from her eye. Li Yao instantly wiped it away clumsily. She didn't want him to see her tear-stained face.
Li Yao took some deep breath to soothe the turmoil in her heart. And it worked after a few tries. When she smiled again, her face wasn't that fake.
She remembered her conversation with his parents all too well. Mu Lihai's suffering was beyond imagination. She couldn't describe it even if she wanted to. They told her everything in detail. How he was screaming for help in the middle of the night, how he developed scary nightmares while sleeping, and how he forced himself to smile for six years despite his internal struggle.
Li Yao felt sorry and her heart ached for him.
She tried to force a smile just now and it was painful. She wondered how he was able to do it for six years. And to think that it was all artificially injected inside him, she became furious. It was disgusting- the fake memories, false information and selfish alteration. How could someone be so disgusting? They played with his mind like he was nothing.
How could he endure it if he discovered this someday? What would he do if ever that time arrived? Li Yao couldn't stop thinking about it.
And there was the issue with her mother. She didn't know how her mother was involved in all this. Could it be just like Mu Lihai's situation where her mother was also there in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or could it be something else entirely? Why chose her mother to be the 'victim'? And why chose Mu Lihai to be the 'perpetrator'?