The Softening Gaze of Frost

“You… are you alright?”

Life, with its myriad hardships and pains, is a truth universally acknowledged.

After Mu Yaochen’s departure, Frost settled a short distance away from Luo Yao, observing him in silence, while Luo Yao, seemingly unburdened, occupied himself by scrolling through videos on his phone.

Though Frost remained close to Luo Yao, she deliberately avoided taking Mu Yaochen’s vacated chair.

“Hmm, I’m fine,” Luo Yao replied, a flicker of surprise in his eyes at Frost’s concern for his injuries.

It had never occurred to him that Frost would exhibit such solicitude.

****

Frost appeared eager to initiate a conversation, yet words eluded her.

Her gaze fixed on the bandages encircling Luo Yao’s hand, Frost’s heart ached with a mixture of sympathy and irritation.

“Oh, right, the renovations,” Frost finally recalled, after a prolonged silence, a task Luo Yao had entrusted to her. “They began today and are projected to be completed by next week.”

“Hmm, thank you, that’s a lot of trouble,” Luo Yao responded plainly, yet Frost found herself wishing he would continue speaking to her. It wasn’t merely a wish; it was a profound yearning.

“Does it hurt?” After a moment of contemplation, Frost lifted her gaze, posing the question to Luo Yao once more.

“It was excruciating right after the fall; the rest is a blur,” he confessed, glancing down at his arm, now encased in bandages and plaster. A nagging worry surfaced: would this impede his ability to sell milk tea in the future?

To truly extricate himself from Mu Yaochen’s grasp, he knew he had to repay the ransom she demanded.

Amassing such a substantial sum in a short span, solely through selling milk tea, was an utterly unattainable feat.

It certainly wasn’t possible now. By the time he could genuinely afford to repay, Mu Yaochen would have undoubtedly consumed him entirely. Thus, when the moment was right, he would have to appeal to Su Mengqi for assistance.

Yet, he remained under Mu Yaochen’s constant surveillance, leaving him no opportunity to reach out to her—or, for that matter, to anyone beyond these walls.

Moreover, after all this time, had his parents and sister truly forgotten him, or was there something else at play…?

Leaning back against the headboard, Luo Yao suddenly recalled that, given Mu Yaochen’s formidable abilities, a thorough investigation into all his personal affairs would be a trivial matter.

It would be even simpler to bribe his own parents.

Luo Yao harbored a strong suspicion that his parents had, in fact, sold him—a conclusion that explained their prolonged silence and lack of effort in tracing his whereabouts.

After all, they were currently in dire need of money.

Luo Yao held no expectations for his parents; after all, for ordinary individuals, repaying such an astronomical sum of money was an impossible feat.

Yet, Luo Yao yearned for someone to genuinely care for him, for humans were, by nature, social beings.

Furthermore, his mother exhibited a subtle preference for daughters, reminiscent of his father in his previous life.

She had always doted on him slightly more, while somewhat neglecting his sister.

Now, however, the dynamic had completely reversed.

Despite his newfound knowledge, Luo Yao understood he still had to maintain an air of ignorance.

As Luo Yao spoke, a faint, almost imperceptible unease flickered within Frost’s eyes.

“Oh, right, is there anything you desire now?” Frost probed, clearly struggling to maintain a conversation, a talent she evidently lacked.

Upon hearing Frost’s words, Luo Yao offered only a faint smile, his gaze then drifting to the sky beyond the window.

Are not all humans, in essence, birds confined to gilded cages?

Though dwelling within the world, they remain shackled by its inherent rules, merely indulging in a form of self-hypnosis.

“Would you like to go for a stroll?” Frost asked, a rare spark of insight lighting her expression as she watched Luo Yao gaze out the window.

“Yes, I’d like to go for a stroll,” Luo Yao affirmed, a sudden astonishment stirring within him at Frost’s suggestion.

Frost typically exuded an air of aloofness towards everyone, so Luo Yao was taken aback to discover her true nature: a person outwardly cold but inwardly warm. He had always assumed she treated everyone with the same distant demeanor.

“Then I’ll need to inform Miss beforehand,” Frost said, a hint of delight in her expression as she retrieved her phone to message Mu Yaochen. She secretly feared that Luo Yao might develop a psychological aversion to either her or Mu Yaochen because of their circumstances, but so far, he remained himself.

“Alright,” Luo Yao nodded, surmising that Mu Yaochen would likely grant any request he made at this point.

It was a pattern he had recently discerned: as long as he refrained from crossing her unspoken boundaries.

For instance, seeking out Su Mengqi was strictly off-limits, as Su Mengqi was, in Mu Yaochen’s estimation, akin to a dragon’s inverse scale (TL Note: A sensitive spot that, when touched, provokes immediate and violent fury).

Or perhaps, Luo Yao himself was Mu Yaochen’s singular inverse scale.

Before long, Mu Yaochen assented to Luo Yao being pushed by Frost in a wheelchair for a stroll within the hospital grounds.

The conditions, however, stipulated that the outing could not be prolonged, and Frost’s presence was mandatory.

“Only within the hospital?” Luo Yao murmured, a hint of disappointment coloring his voice upon reading Mu Yaochen’s stipulations.

He sensed that Frost might be amenable to a little ‘strategy.’

He could discern Frost’s burgeoning affection for him, but what good would it do? Should she truly fall for him, her endeavors would ultimately prove as fruitless as drawing water with a bamboo basket (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to work in vain, or a wasted effort).

No matter Frost’s capabilities, she could never hope to contend with Mu Yaochen.

“Frost, I want to venture outside,” Luo Yao declared, as Frost pushed his wheelchair through the hospital’s picturesque grounds.

The hospital, operating under the Blue Bird conglomerate, boasted impeccably complete infrastructure; even its adjoining park was of a caliber befitting a tourist attraction.

Yet, this was still a hospital, and ultimately, it remained firmly under Mu Yaochen’s dominion.

Luo Yao’s true objective was to subtly incite Frost to defy Mu Yaochen’s directives.

“No, Miss explicitly stated we must remain within the hospital premises,” Frost firmly refused, for in her understanding, Mu Yaochen had strictly forbidden Luo Yao from venturing beyond the hospital gates.

“Just this once, please! She won’t know if we slip out,” Luo Yao cajoled, observing Frost’s stern expression. Though she appeared as unyielding as solid ice, he perceived a fragility that would shatter at a mere touch.

“Absolutely not. This is out of the question, or both of us will face punishment,” Frost retorted, her gaze unwavering. Even if Luo Yao was attempting to charm her, she knew she couldn’t yield—at least not yet.

“Then… then alright,” Luo Yao conceded, lowering his head slightly, a picture of profound disappointment, as Frost’s resolute refusal left him no recourse.

Witnessing Luo Yao’s crestfallen expression, Frost felt a pang of dejection.

“Well… it’s not entirely out of the question,” Frost mused, her gaze lingering on the silently dejected Luo Yao. She reasoned that a brief stroll just outside the hospital grounds might go unnoticed by Mu Yaochen.

“Truly?” Luo Yao exclaimed, a spark of renewed spirit igniting in his eyes at Frost’s concession.

“Only for a short while,” Frost stated firmly to Luo Yao. “I’ll take you for one loop, and then we must return.” She remained oblivious to how effortlessly, and how much, she now found herself speaking to him.

Observing Luo Yao’s face light up with joy, Frost instinctively felt an urge to playfully pinch his nose.

Just as… Mu Yaochen sometimes did.

Frost’s hand hovered in the air, her fingers poised before Luo Yao’s nose, yet she seemed to hesitate, unable to complete the gesture.

‘No, I cannot do this,’ she thought, a silent struggle in her mind.

Instead, the suspended hand lifted slightly higher, settling gently upon Luo Yao’s head.

“Your hair… your hair is a bit disheveled… disheveled,” Frost stammered, her voice laced with a subtle tremor. It was evident to Luo Yao that she had intended to pinch his nose, only to halt herself for an unspoken reason. He also noticed a faint tremble in her arm.

“Hmm, thank you,” Luo Yao murmured, allowing Frost to gently smooth his hair. In that moment, he felt a confirmation of his earlier suspicion.

Frost truly harbored a certain fondness for him.

****