A Cloud of Sweetness and Mounting Tensions

Soon enough, Frost returned from outside, her hand now holding a slightly pink cloud of cotton candy.

“Where did you buy this?” Luo Yao asked, taking the cotton candy from Frost’s hand, noting its delicate pink shade.

“Nearby,” Frost replied, a gentle smile gracing her lips as she looked at Luo Yao. Though she hadn’t managed to take him out today, the sight of him eating something she knew he liked filled her with profound contentment.

That small, insignificant corner of her heart was instantly filled by the scene before her, and the lingering displeasure brought on by Mu Yaochen vanished without a trace.

“Do you like it?” Frost murmured, watching Luo Yao take a delicate bite of the fluffy treat. She remained seated on a nearby chair, quietly admiring him from a slight distance.

Luo Yao, however, found himself lost in thought, his gaze fixed on the cotton candy Frost had presented him.

Despite his lack of appetite, he still took a gentle bite, compelled by something he couldn’t quite place.

“Mmm, it’s delicious,” Luo Yao declared, unable to withstand Frost’s hopeful gaze. He took another hearty bite, then instantly offered a reassuring smile.

“That’s good,” Frost responded, her face softening with even deeper contentment upon hearing Luo Yao’s evaluation.

‘If only time could pause at this very moment,’ she mused.

‘The entire hospital room, with just Luo Yao and me.’

‘No one to disturb us, no one to even know we exist.’

Luo Yao was like a beacon of light, his presence dispelling the gloom and melancholy that resided deep within Frost’s heart. Simultaneously, he had imbued her with a renewed purpose in life.

Sensing Frost’s increasingly obsessive gaze, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was developing in an unsettling direction.

While he couldn’t be entirely certain yet, if this burgeoning obsession truly took root, Luo Yao knew he would have to nip it in the bud before it could fully blossom.

‘Isn’t it too peaceful now?’ he wondered.

Gazes out at the sky through the window, Luo Yao reflected. His previous act of self-sacrifice had indeed softened Mu Yaochen, but he knew her nature. Mu Yaochen was, after all, Mu Yaochen; he believed this woman would never genuinely change.

‘It’s far too calm right now,’ he concluded.

An unnatural calm.

Still, the initiative ultimately wasn’t in his hands. Luo Yao knew he could only wait for Mu Yaochen’s next move, then make his own judgment to ensure his safety and well-being.

Luo Yao gazed at the cotton candy in his hand and let out a soft sigh.

Though Luo Yao’s shift in expression was subtle, easily missed by others, Frost, who had been observing him intently, caught every nuance of his facial change.

What Luo Yao considered an insignificant shift in his demeanor, however, inflicted a profound blow upon Frost’s heart.

The hint of disappointment on Luo Yao’s face immediately made Frost wonder if she had somehow erred in his presence.

‘Such an expression shouldn’t appear on Luo Yao’s face when he’s with me,’ she thought. ‘Wasn’t he happy to be with me?’

‘What could have gone wrong?’

‘Could there be something wrong with the color of the cotton candy?’

‘Why would he make such a face?’

The feeling was akin to eagerly anticipating something with all your heart, only to be met with the crushing reality of failure.

‘Why, why,’ she silently pleaded.

Frost simply couldn’t bear to see Luo Yao display such disappointment, particularly when it concerned something she had given him.

‘Could the cotton candy truly be so awful?’

‘Was his earlier show of happiness merely a deception, or was this expression truly caused by some other matter?’

Frost harbored extreme self-doubt, a trait that underscored how humble, even self-effacing, her love might be.

Simultaneously, Frost plunged into a mire of deep self-reproach, sinking deeper and deeper as if caught in quicksand, until she felt utterly suffocated.

The somewhat subdued Luo Yao remained oblivious to Frost’s internal struggles. Her outward demeanor was perpetually unchanging; even when her heart wrestled with turmoil, her expression remained one of cold indifference.

Naturally, Luo Yao couldn’t possibly discern Frost’s inner shifts. He was, after all, just an ordinary person; it would be truly astonishing if he could read the hearts of others.

“Are you unhappy?” Frost finally asked, her patience wearing thin.

Her heart yearned for the truth. Composing her somewhat frantic emotions, she asked Luo Yao. Although Frost was generally capable of regulating her feelings, Luo Yao sensed that this current version of Frost was even colder than usual, like a block of solid ice.

This intense coldness stemmed from how deeply Frost cared for Luo Yao, and even more so for his thoughts and his spirit.

“No,” Luo Yao replied, a hint of surprise in his voice. “It’s just that being cooped up in this room is incredibly boring.” He had, indeed, just been contemplating matters concerning Mu Yaochen.

The fact that Frost could detect even a slight frown made Luo Yao admire her keen observational skills. Simultaneously, it served as a stark reminder to be extra cautious when interacting with her in the future.

Yet, confronted with Frost’s direct question, Luo Yao couldn’t reveal his true thoughts. He merely fabricated a seemingly plausible excuse, hoping to brush her off.

“Oh, alright then,” Frost murmured. Luo Yao’s reply clearly wasn’t the answer she had hoped for.

‘It clearly had nothing to do with me,’ she thought, ‘but why do I still feel this sense of loss?’

In truth, Frost’s heart yearned for Luo Yao to criticize any shortcomings in her usual behavior.

Deep within her heart, she wished to reveal her most perfect self to Luo Yao, to let him see the flawless her.

Frost knew there were many areas where she still fell short. Or perhaps, she simply yearned for more conversation with Luo Yao.

As time slowly passed, Luo Yao continued to eat the cotton candy in his hand, his head bowed. The fluffy pink and white cloud gradually dwindled until only a bare bamboo stick remained. The cotton candy Luo Yao devoured seemed to mirror Frost’s very heart, consumed with each bite.

Roughly two or three hours passed, and the sun now hung directly overhead in the sky.

Frost understood why Luo Yao remained confined to the hospital, unable to leave its walls.

She was also keenly aware of Mu Yaochen’s attitude towards him.

Moreover, she understood the true color of her own feelings for Luo Yao.

It was this particular emotion that Frost was most sensitive to.

Such an emotion, she knew, should not have taken root within her.

Yet, it had blossomed regardless.

Her suppressed emotions were like a dam, battered by floodwaters and teetering precariously. Should they burst forth, this powerful sentiment would unilaterally seize control of Frost’s very being.

Frost knew this unwanted emotion needed to be suppressed, yet she found herself utterly incapable of doing so.

‘It’s all because of Mu Yaochen.’

Frost’s resentment towards Mu Yaochen flared once more, yet she remained utterly powerless against her.

She could only clench her fists, though it was well-known that the power Frost wielded in her fists was not to be underestimated.

And even as Frost remained consumed by her burning resentment towards Mu Yaochen, Mu Yaochen herself was frantically rushing towards the hospital.

She intended to take Luo Yao away, immediately.

****