Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: I Want You to Forgive Me and Not Be Angry With Me

The more Shen Yue thought about it, the more frightened she became. Furious and unable to break free, she bit down hard on Huang Ziyue’s arm.

But not only did the man hold her hands so tightly that she couldn’t even retrieve a silver needle, he also let her bite him without making a sound.

Shen Yue bit until her own teeth ached, but he still didn’t let go.

He even stared at her intently as she bit him.

It was like punching a wad of cotton.

Her eyes turned red with anger.

”You bastard! What are you trying to do?”

Her voice cracked with unshed tears.

She had suffered more than enough today. She had finally escaped and seen her daughter.

But in the end, she had been abducted by this man.

Her precious daughter hadn’t even gotten a proper look at her.

Huang Ziyue stopped in his tracks, looking at Shen Yue in his arms. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Her small face was a mixture of defiance and grievance, and the way she fought back her tears made his heart clench.

His gaze shifted.

He pursed his lips and tried to make his tone sound less cold.

”You’re injured. I want to treat you.”

Hearing this, Shen Yue forced back the tears welling up in her eyes.

But one traitorous tear still managed to slide down from the corner of her eye.

Huang Ziyue stared intently at her misty eyes and the reddened tip of her nose, his voice growing a little hoarse.

The sight of her like this made his heart involuntarily speed up.

Shen Yue said angrily,

”Don’t bother. I don’t need your help. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

His gaze darkened for a moment, but he said nothing.

”Did you hear me? Put me down,” Shen Yue said.

”I need to get back to Qibao.”

But Huang Ziyue remained motionless.

He stared at her without blinking.

His wicked, icy eyes seemed to be fixed on her face.

Being stared at from such a close distance, even someone as mentally tough as Shen Yue found it hard to bear.

Her face burned.

And so, Huang Ziyue just held Shen Yue in his arms—not moving, not speaking, not walking.

He just kept staring at her, as if frozen in place.

Only the sound of his heartbeat and his breathing let her know he was alive; otherwise, she might have thought he had suddenly gone into hibernation.

Time ticked by. Almost half an hour had passed.

He just stood there like that, seemingly untired.

This was pure torture for Shen Yue. The long, agonizing process was unbearable.

She felt as if she were being bullied by his intensely aggressive gaze.

She closed her eyes, then opened them, then closed them again. This was more agonizing than any physical punishment.

Finally, as her body began to grow stiff in his arms, she snapped.

”Have you had your fill of looking?”

”How much longer are you going to stare?”

”I know I’m good-looking, but you can’t just stare at me like this!”

”I already said I don’t need treatment! I’m fine! I’m strong enough to kill a bull with my bare hands!”

’This is torture!’

’What on earth does this man want?’

’Who holds someone in their arms and just stares at them without moving?’

”Don’t you think this makes things incredibly awkward for us?”

”Man, I’m cringing so hard my toes are about to carve out a three-bedroom apartment!”

”Don’t your eyeballs hurt?”

”Just spare me! If I’ve committed a crime, can’t you just give me a quick death?”

Shen Yue was at the end of her rope!

She had lost all control over her expression.

’This man was even more terrifying than the silent treatment.’

’She couldn’t help but wonder, will Sanbao have this same dead personality when he grows up?’

Just as she was left speechless, her eyes glazed over, utterly defeated by this man!

”I am sorry.”

Three words, cold and stiff, yet laced with an apology.

Shen Yue: ”??”

’She must be hearing things.’

’This man was capable of saying those three words, ”I am sorry”?’

Huang Ziyue saw the shocked expression she gave him.

On his perennially placid face, the muscles tensed as if he were struggling immensely.

He swallowed hard, again and again.

Finally, he forced out a few more words.

”My name is Huang Ziyue.”

Shen Yue stared at him, stunned.

’Was he... introducing himself to her?’

”For taking Sanbao, I sincerely apologize.”

Shen Yue looked at him, momentarily rendered speechless.

His face was still devoid of expression, as cold as frost.

But the bulging veins on his neck and his rigid Adam’s apple revealed his inner turmoil and extreme discomfort.

The tempest raging in Huang Ziyue’s heart was far more turbulent than his expression suggested.

Because he was doing something he never in his life thought he would do.

Apologizing to a woman, showing weakness, bowing his head.

And so desperately hoping to earn her forgiveness and change her opinion of him.

He tightened his grip on Shen Yue, waiting for her to react, to speak.

The agitated, frustrated air around Shen Yue dissipated, replaced by calm.

’This man, as cold as an iceberg, had held her motionless for so long just to say those three things to her?’

She opened her mouth, and after a long moment, said:

”Oh.”

A single word.

’An eye for an eye.’

Huang Ziyue was taken aback.

He couldn’t quite grasp Shen Yue’s attitude or what she meant by it.

In truth, Shen Yue really didn’t know how to respond.

Originally, she felt there was nothing to say to this Flood Dragon. It would be best if they never saw each other again—if he didn’t bother her, didn’t appear before her, and most importantly, didn’t try to snatch Sanbao from her.

But now, he had so forcefully carried her away, wanting to treat her wounds and even apologizing. And most importantly, the moment she saw him after emerging from the Gate of Life and Death, she realized that the loud crash she had heard from the underground hall had been caused by this Flood Dragon.

It was he who had shattered the mountain cliff and broken through the ice from the outside.

If it weren’t for him, she might not have found her way out so easily.

Huang Ziyue’s handsome face was a little stiff. After a moment of thought, he asked coldly,

”’Oh’? What does that mean?”

Shen Yue snapped out of her thoughts and raised an eyebrow.

”’Oh’ means ’oh.’ It means I heard you. It doesn’t mean anything else.”

’Did he really need her to explain that?’

”I want to know what you’re thinking,” Huang Ziyue said. ”I don’t want to hear ’oh.’”

Shen Yue was taken aback.

”My thoughts? What thoughts could I have? What thoughts do you want me to have?”

’Was he expecting her to give a speech about his apology or something?’

’She’d heard him, she understood, she’d acknowledged his attitude. That should be enough.’

But Huang Ziyue was a domineering sort. He didn’t beat around the bush and stated his demand directly:

”I want you to forgive me and stop being angry with me.”

Shen Yue’s eyes widened.

’She found it hard to believe. He could say whatever he wanted, and she would listen.’

’But whether she forgave him or changed her opinion of him was her business, wasn’t it?’

’Was he actually trying to force her to forgive him?’

”Are you demanding this of me?”

’Who said you have to forgive someone just because they apologized?’

’Fine.’

’Since he wanted to hear it, she would spell it out for him.’

”First, I’m grateful that you helped rescue me when I was trapped deep underground.”

”At the same time, I don’t have a good impression of you. Your behavior when you stole my child was despicable. But, seeing as you’ve sincerely apologized—and I’m a straightforward person—I can choose to believe it wasn’t a malicious act. I won’t hit you or curse you out anymore.”

”But, we are still just strangers, and we won’t have any interactions in the future. As for Sanbao, I will raise him well by myself, so you can rest assured.”

’In other words: get lost!’

As Huang Ziyue listened to her, the air around him suddenly dropped in temperature, and his eyes grew colder and colder.

It was as if he were encased in a layer of frost.

But Shen Yue didn’t seem to notice at all.

”So, hurry up and put me down. I need to get back to my child.”