Chapter 2960: You Are My Fashion Darling 19

Chenshu felt another twitch in her heart at his question, and her whole heart went soft and sore.

"Lie down, rest a while longer; sitting like this makes you feel worse." Chenshu coaxed softly, wanting to help him lie down again.

Jin Chen, however, shook his head, stubbornly leaning against the headboard, his body trembling slightly from pain and weakness, yet his gaze was cold and irritable, rejecting any closeness or comfort.

"I won't lie down."

Chenshu leaned forward, cupping Jin Chen's cheek in her hands, her voice light, almost spoiled and coquettish: "Jin Chen, will you listen to me, okay?"

Jin Chen suddenly didn't know how to respond, hesitating as he lowered his eyelids, hiding the turbulent emotions surging beneath.

Feeling his body soften, Chenshu's heart eased a little; she applied a bit of skill, irresistible yet exceedingly gentle, pressing him back into the soft pillow.

Chenshu's gaze fell on his wrist; there was a bruise on the inner side, dark in color.

A model cannot have wounds on her body, but bruises are fine—they fade in a few days. Yet during those days, that pain lingers dully in the body, a dull ache that occasionally reminds you.

Looking at the bruise, Chenshu felt as if the pain had spread to her own heart, fine and dense, a dull ache that was hard to bear.

He even looked a little upset.

"I won't speak; I just want to hug you, okay? Just for a moment."

"No."

Jin Chen immediately refused, turning away and wrapping himself up even tighter.

Chenshu said nothing more; the room held only the uneven, shallow breaths of the two of them, and the distant, muffled sound of waves outside the window.

A few seconds later, Jin Chen sensed the movement beside him; before he could react, a warm body pressed up from behind, through the thin blanket, lightly embracing him—warm and soft.

Even the earlier kiss had been tinged with probing and gamesmanship.

But this embrace now was excessively warm, like a bonfire suddenly descending on a cold night, making his icy, stiff body involuntarily want to draw near.

Jin Chen stiffened for a few seconds, then suddenly shoved himself over, turning from facing away to facing Chenshu, propping his arm to half-press against her, looking down at her from above.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a hoarse voice, since they were so close his breath almost brushed her face.

Chenshu lay there, letting him press upon her, her light‑gold eyes softly meeting his in the dim light; she lifted a hand to gently touch his sweat‑dampened temples, brushing away the stray hairs, her fingertips tracing the contours of his brows and eyes.

"I believe you, and I also believe Adams from back then."

"I've already had people look into it; they'll find evidence to clear everything up, and soon no one will hurt you with those words again."

Jin Chen's lips moved, as if he wanted to say something; Chenshu, seeming to read his mind, added before he could speak, "I'm doing this not because I'm your patron."

He slightly lifted his face, lightly pressing his cheek against Jin Chen's forearm resting on the bedside, his gaze soft yet sorrowful: "But Jin Chen…"

"When you hurt yourself, even for a moment… were you thinking of me?"

"Has there ever been even a single instant when you thought there's still someone in this world who would feel your pain as their own, who would ache and feel sorry for you?"

Jin Chen instinctively lowered his eyes to look at the bruise on his arm, then quickly looked away, his lips pressing together slightly.

"Yes."

It's a strange feeling, hard to put into words, but in those moments when darkness and pain swallow you, making thought nearly impossible, in the gaps when the unconscious tries to shift attention with another kind of pain, it seemed… a fleeting, vague thought actually passed through.

"I don't want him to see."

"I don't want Chenshu to see these ugly marks on my body, the signs of loss of control and fragility."

"I don't want him to see me like this… so… unpresentable."

Chenshu found the answer in his momentary silence, catching the reply he had never spoken aloud.

He lightly curled the corner of his lips, slightly tilted his head, and kissed Jin Chen's forehead.

Jin Chen's bristling defenses all smoothed away, as if he had finally found an excuse to relax, shedding all his guard and forced composure, burying his face deep in Chenshu's warm neck.

As if all his strength had been drained, Jin Chen rarely revealed the deep‑seated vulnerability and discomfort within him; the clean, fresh scent clinging to Chenshu's skin inexplicably made him feel at ease.

Chenshu's arms tightened around him, lightly patting his back, while her other hand roved behind his ear and along his neck, occasionally dropping soft kisses on his scalp or by his ear.

Jin Chen rubbed his cheek against Chenshu's neck, his breathing gradually becoming long and steady.

Chenshu lowered her eyes, her fingertips moving lightly, pressing on several acupoints on Jin Chen's head.

After a while, he asked softly, "Still feeling bad?"

Jin Chen gave an almost imperceptible nod in the crook of her neck.

Chenshu's heart instantly melted into a pool of water; she held him tighter, lowered her head and gave another light kiss, "Go to sleep."

Jin Chen's arm, which had been around Chenshu's waist, tightened silently, and his consciousness began to drift.

Only after confirming that Jin Chen was truly asleep did Chenshu slowly withdraw her hand, her fingertips barely grazing the edge of the bruise on his wrist, and she let out a sigh almost inaudible.

"How did it get like this?"

Chenshu didn't know how much memory of Adams Jin Chen retained in this little world, nor what emotions it carried, but she knew it must be heavy and painful, and once again the outside world's wind and rain swept in without reason, trying to drag him into the abyss.

Thinking of this, a fine, dense ache rose again in Chenshu's chest.

She couldn't help but think: just watching Jin Chen lose his memory, affected by the little world's plot, already made her heart ache this much; in all those little worlds where he'd lost his memory, how many emotions had he been dragged through, how much helplessness and heartache would there be?