Falling Dreams of Fang Hua ✔

Chapter 48 (Part 2)

I'd never seen anyone with an expression like that. For a moment I was alarmed, clutching my chest as I gently sucked in a breath. All I wanted to do was to leave him quickly, the farther the better...but the yearning gaze in his eyes was like a curse before my gaze. Though the distance between us was large, I could still faintly discern his words as they drifted towards my ears.

[ I can't get back the life from those first days. I've already missed my opportunity. Why is it that even now, I'm never given a chance? ]

I stared blankly before raising my hands to cover my ears. What was the matter, was I so hungry that I was hearing things now? Flabbergasted, I looked at him. He was clearly a long way off, and his lips hadn't even moved, but his voice had clearly sounded next to my ears, heartbroken and depressing...

The grief in my heart was followed by a numbness in my limbs that filled the air. The scene before me seemed to shift, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, another wave of dizziness hit me. My body couldn't hold out and my legs gave way before me. I fell to the ground, hand trying to reach for something but finding nothing to hold onto. Haziness filled my vision as I saw his panicked yet helpless expression.

Very good, even a cold and cheerless person like him had moments of unrest within his heart, very good...

As it turned out, the feeling of hunger could cause a person to faint. Before my eyes, everything grew dark.

—

A fragrant aroma greeted me as I regained consciousness. It was already evening in the skies as I lay on the bed feeling nothing but hunger. My whole body was curled up, lightly sniffing the aromatic bedcovers. Already at my limits, I lifted up the fabric and started chewing.

The door to the room suddenly opened as Fang Hua helplessly appeared by my side, holding a bowl as he looked at me. His face carried an exhausted melancholy that had pervaded his mind and body. Looking as cold as snow, he crouched by my side as if begging, a hand extending a spoon my way.

I blanked out, a corner of the covers still in my mouth.

He seemed stunned as well, but didn't laugh, only quietly tugged the object out of my mouth. A hand smoothed out the fabric, still damp with my saliva, the fingers slim and pretty. But nothing could smooth out the worried cramping of his brows...

"Foolish, how could you be afraid of eating the things I've made? Are you worried I added things inside? How could I poison you?" He picked up the spoon again and got a bit of rice. Seeing I had no response, he grew troubled. Head lowered, he gently blew across the spoon, complexion paler but still wearing a smile. "Be good...eat a little."

I stared blankly at him.

"If you won't eat, I can make other things," he said in disappointment. But I grabbed him in response, hand knocking against the bowl of rice. It smelled delicious...

Atop the white rice grains lay an entire fish, its body covered in a dense and creamy sauce. The meat and blood had been cooked until tender and soft, and small bits of scallion were scattered on top.

There was clearly tasty meat here, so why did he first scoop a spoonful of rice? Also, what kind of person ate fish with a spoon? My heart had softened long before, but I still wanted to nitpick. I gave a slow push, one hand rubbing the knee of his robes as I glanced at his bowl with a soft reply. "The dishes from the imperial palace are much tastier."

"I'm sorry..."

I hmphed through my nose, unwillingly seizing the bowl from his hands before wolfing the contents down.

He smiled.

Embarrassed, I picked out a fish bone. Seeing no chopsticks in sight, I pinched a piece with my fingers and looked at him. "I can't eat this much, do you want some?"