Chapter 40: Whimper

By the time Luo Yun walked out of her room, the sun had already moved to the other side of the sky.

She had probably woken up a while ago.

There was no sleepy look on her face, her hair was neat, and she had casually tied it into a high ponytail.

The tracksuit she wore was also perfectly tidy.

Overall, she seemed less gloomy and had more of the vitality proper for her age.

But in He Rou’s eyes, no matter how she changed, Luo Yun was still Luo Yun—her… Master.

“How are the preparations?”

Luo Yun walked over and looked down at He Rou, who was sitting on the floor surrounded by a hiking backpack and various tools.

He Rou shivered and quickly pushed herself off the floor to stand up, but probably because she had been sitting too long, the numbness in her legs and the sharp pain in her knees made her movements a beat too slow.

“M-Master, I’ve packed flashlights, lighters, a first-aid kit… and some compressed biscuits and water.”

He Rou lowered her head, her voice still a bit hoarse.

“Huh? Where did you learn to bring these things? Is the apocalypse coming?”

Luo Yun walked over to the pile of bags.

She kicked the bulging backpack with the toe of her shoe, producing a dull thud, thud.

Then, her gaze fell on He Rou’s face.

He Rou’s eyes were still red, and there were still tear streaks on her cheeks that hadn’t been wiped dry.

“What, already reluctant to leave this place before we’ve even set out?”

Luo Yun reached out, using her index finger to lift He Rou’s chin, forcing her to look up and meet her eyes.

“N-No, it’s not that. I just don’t know why, but I kept crying…”

He Rou told the truth; after all, the cost of lying was truly painful.

“Oh, if there’s something wrong with your mind, I’ll kill you…”

Luo Yun’s tone carried a mix of threat and mockery.

But it still scared He Rou.

Her already uncontrollable tears flowed again.

“Stop crying!”

Luo Yun wiped He Rou’s eyes roughly with both thumbs.

It hurt, but that scolding actually worked quite well.

It was as if…

He Rou’s body had become a robot with human thoughts, capable of executing any command directly, bypassing the brain.

“I’m sorry…”

“Enough, stop putting on an act here.”

Luo Yun withdrew her hand, her voice turning cold.

Seeing someone wailing as if their whole family had died the moment she stepped out cast a shadow over her originally good mood.

“Throw away all this junk.”

Luo Yun pointed at the pile of flashlights and compressed biscuits, her tone full of disdain.

“We’re going on a vacation, not playing caveman. These things are useless except for taking up space.”

He Rou opened her mouth, but the words “What if we get lost?” hadn’t even reached her throat before she swallowed them back down.

If Luo Yun said this was junk, then it was junk.

“Yes… I understand.”

She reached out her trembling hands again and took out, one by one, the things she had just struggled so hard to pack.

“Go to my room and bring down a large box.”

Luo Yun, now seated on the sofa, closed her eyes and commanded He Rou.

“Yes…”

He Rou picked up the items she had prepared for so long and, as she headed upstairs, tossed them into a storage room she passed by.

“Inside are the clothes you’ll wear tomorrow, and some of my things. Don’t drop it.”

“Yes…”

He Rou walked upstairs, and behind her, Luo Yun complained.

“This city… the air is always so terrible.”

He Rou limped up the stairs.

After getting the box Luo Yun mentioned, she lifted it without a second thought.

The box was very heavy; the seals had some brand names printed on them that she didn’t recognize.

When going down the stairs, the leg that had just healed became the biggest obstacle.

The box happened to hit the spot where her leg needed to bend to walk.

With every step down, a dull, heavy pain throbbed there.

He Rou lowered her head, her vision only seeing the small area of the stair in front of her feet.

She counted the steps—one, two—each step terrifying, afraid she might fall.

Finally, she made it to the living room and gently placed the box on the floor.

In that instant, her arms trembled violently from exhaustion.

Luo Yun was still sitting on the sofa, her long legs crossed.

Even though she wore track pants, her figure was undeniable—a plain plastic bag, if it held gold inside, its value would rise with the gold.

But a plastic bag is just a plastic bag; ordinary track pants worn by someone else would just be ordinary.

She held her phone and didn’t even lift an eyelid at the sound.

“Open it.”

“Yes…”

He Rou knelt on the floor, using her relatively intact hand to pry at the seals.

The tape was stuck tight; she struggled hard, even using her teeth, before finally getting the box open.

The contents were revealed.

There was no thick down jacket as she had imagined, nor any professional hiking boots.

On top was a light purple tracksuit, with very thin, elastic-looking fabric—that was Luo Yun’s.

Next to it was a white tracksuit of the same style.

The fabric felt smooth and slippery, even a bit cold to the touch.

He Rou stroked it, her fingertips sliding over the thin fibers, raising tiny goosebumps.

Although this material looked high-class, in this early winter season, it was as thin as a cicada’s wing, showing no sign of warmth at all.

“These clothes… aren’t they a bit unsuitable for this season…”

He Rou voiced her doubt.

“We’re going south.”

“Oh…”

Luo Yun finally deigned to put down her phone and sat up straight on the sofa.

Looking at He Rou, who was kneeling on the floor in a daze, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

“Take it out and hold it up.”

“Yes…”

He Rou responded, lifting the white top with both hands.

The clothes were very light, with no weight at all when shaken in the air.

The white fabric contrasted with her bloodless face, making her look even smaller and thinner.

“It fits well.”

After that evaluation, Luo Yun left her and went to the gym to work out.

He Rou held the clothes.

Her mind wandered back to yesterday’s events.

Luo Yun… surely wouldn’t make her “disgrace herself” with clothes there, right…

The conversation ended.

The huge villa fell silent again.

He Rou looked through the box again.

Besides the two tracksuits, there were also some of Luo Yun’s personal items, a few pairs of unopened cashmere socks, an expensive skincare set…

There was still a lot of work to do tonight.

As someone who had worked in this villa for three years, whether or not she would still be here tomorrow, in any case, she needed to do her work properly.

—

That afternoon was very quiet.

Nothing happened.

He Rou felt a bit unnatural.

But, at least the day passed safely.

The night also passed peacefully; Luo Yun didn’t come to toy with her.

In such moments, He Rou felt as if she had returned to the days before Luo Yun came here.