First, then, love.

He had his legs spread apart, with a cello case between them.

On the marble windowsill next to it, there was an open red metal toolbox.

Pliers, screwdrivers, hammers—all scattered haphazardly in a pile.

He Zheng was holding a pair of needle-nose pliers, which were tightly gripping a metal clasp on the side of the violin case that had been severely deformed from being dropped.

His brows were furrowed into a tight knot, and his jawline was taut.

"This piece of junk, what kind of inferior alloy is this? It's as brittle as a biscuit."

He muttered a curse under his breath.

With a sudden burst of force from his wrist, the veins on his arm bulged out instantly, like coiled green snakes.

With a "crack" sound.

He managed to straighten the deformed metal buckle a little.

The God of War squatted beside him, tilting his head, watching his master struggle with a broken box.

The princess became even more unrestrained, jumping directly onto the lid of the violin case and reaching out her claws to pry at the reflective screwdriver.

"Get lost, don't cause me any trouble."

He Zheng used the back of his hand to push the cat away.

Shu Yao leaned against the sliding door frame, quietly watching him.

The heart that had been hanging in mid-air finally settled back into its belly at this moment.

What are you doing here?

She spoke, her voice still hoarse, but it was more lively than before.

He Zheng paused, then abruptly turned his head.

I spotted the woman leaning against the door immediately.

Wearing his black T-shirt, which was loose and baggy, she looked even more petite, with her two fair and straight legs clearly exposed.

The worst part was that she was barefoot.

He Zheng's face instantly darkened.

The pliers in his hand were thrown into the toolbox with a "snap," making a crisp sound.

"Who told you to get out of bed?"

He stood up and strode over, bringing with him the chill of the balcony air.

"Aren't you going to put on your shoes? Are you trying to chop your feet off?"

His tone was fierce, and his temper flared up instantly.

Shu Yao shrank back and retorted confidently.

"I can't find slippers, and the floor heating is on, so it's not cold."

"Not cold my ass."

He Zheng walked up to her, and without saying a word, bent down and picked her up in his arms.

The movements were swift and decisive.

Shu Yao gasped in surprise and instinctively wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, but her hands were injured, so she could only loosely wrap her forearms around his broad back.

The man's body was burning hot, and his muscles were hard.

He carried her to the black leather sofa in the living room and tucked her between several cushions.

Then he turned to the shoe cabinet and found a pair of hideous black wool socks.

He walked back, knelt on one knee by the sofa, grabbed her ankle, and forced the socks onto her, pulling them all the way up to her calves.

"If you run around barefoot again, I'll tie you to the bed with a rope."

He threatened with a dark expression.

Shu Yao pouted, her toes twitching inside her ugly socks, and didn't dare to argue further.

She turned her head and looked at the half-open violin case on the balcony.

"Are you fixing it?"

"Hmm," He Zheng stood up and grabbed a piece of kitchen paper to wipe the machine oil off his hands haphazardly.

"It fell too hard, the lock is deformed, and the cover won't close properly. I'll straighten it first. This afternoon, Lao Li knows a musical instrument repairman, so I'll ask him to come over and take a look at the strings."

Shu Yao glanced at the box.

There is a deep scratch on the side of the box.

My emotions, which had calmed down, were suddenly jolted back to normal as if someone had flipped a hidden switch.

The suffocating scene from last night keeps flooding back into my mind.

Snowstorm, shadowy figures, tearing.

The bloody hole she bit on the back of that pervert's hand, and the force with which he dragged her into the bread cart like a dead dog.

Shu Yao's face visibly paled.

His pupils contracted slightly, and his breathing became rapid.

She bit her lower lip tightly, and blood seeped from the already cracked corner of her mouth again. She gripped the leather back of the sofa with both hands.

The air suddenly became deathly still.

He Zheng paused, his hand holding the kitchen paper.

Damn.

He should have just thrown that broken box outside to get it fixed.

This thing is now a living trauma trigger for her; every scratch reminds her of what she went through last night.

We can't let her remain trapped in that fear; we have to break the spell.

He Zheng casually tossed away the kitchen paper.

He strode over to the sofa, sat down on the coffee table next to her, and blocked her view of the balcony.

"What are you looking at? It's just a broken box. If you can't fix it, I'll buy you a diamond-encrusted one."

He raised his voice a few decibels, with a touch of deliberate rudeness, trying to pull her thoughts back.

Shu Yao ignored him.

His eyes remained vacant, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes were already filled with tears.

He Zheng frowned.

He hates roundabout ways and doesn't know any professional psychological counseling techniques.

All he knew was that he had to find something else to distract her.

He suddenly remembered something.

He reached into the pocket of the gray sweatpants and rummaged around for a bit.

The sound of fabric rubbing together.

After a while.

He took something out of his pocket.

A dark blue velvet box, square in shape.

After being in my pocket for a whole day and night, the corners of the velvet box were deformed from being pressed, and the surface was covered with a little dust, making it look a bit wrinkled.

He Zheng looked at the poorly presented box in his hand, his lips twitched, and he felt a little annoyed.

He had originally planned to sit in the front row last night, wearing that cramped suit, and wait for her performance to end.

On New Year's Eve, amidst a flurry of snowflakes and under the lights, I personally placed this item on her wrist.

In the end, it was all ruined by that damned beast.

The box is now in this dilapidated state.

But I can't worry about that now, as long as I can stop her from thinking about what happened last night.

He Zheng didn't lay any groundwork or offer any romantic opening remarks.

They awkwardly shoved the crumpled velvet box into Shu Yao's bandaged hand.

"Give."

His tone was dry, even a bit stiff, as if trying to hide his embarrassment.

Shu Yao was stunned.

Suddenly, I had a hard, solid object in my hand.

She lowered her head, her gaze shifting from the emptiness of fear to the deep blue box.

"What?" she asked in a hoarse voice, her eyes somewhat blank.

"Open it yourself and see. You can't even open a box with your hand injured?"

He Zheng looked away from her, his profile tense, a suspicious dark red tinging his ears.

Shu Yao sniffed.

The movements were clumsy as it pried open the gap in the box.

"Clatter."

The lid pops open.

It was lined with black sponge pads.

A platinum bracelet lay quietly.

The chain was very thin, but it shimmered with a cold luster in the light.

It is adorned with several perfectly cut sapphires in the center, their deep color resembling stars.

Understated, luxurious, and aloof.

It perfectly matches her discerning aesthetic.

Shu Yao stared blankly at the bracelet.

The wind, snow, and fear in my mind were abruptly severed by this shimmering chain in that instant.

"You bought it?"

"Nonsense, did the God of War go to the mall and bring it back?"