A Kiss for My Sworn Enemy - Chapter 1

I was dying.

My sworn enemy, Yun Yanzhi, stood beside me. He looked rather pleased about it.

He had his arms folded and his face arranged into a solemn expression, as if to grant me a final measure of respect. Unfortunately, the corners of his mouth kept creeping upward.

“Any last wishes?” he asked kindly. “You can tell me. After all, there’s only the two of us here. You won’t get a chance to tell anyone else. I’ll be merciful and hear you out.”

Unbelievable. I was about to die, and he still had to get one last dig in.

Pain spread through every part of me. I could barely gather my thoughts. Holding on to what little awareness I had left, I crooked a finger at him.

He hesitated, then bent down and brought his ear close to my mouth.

Quite close, actually.

My vision was beginning to blur.

It occurred to me that I had few regrets in this life. My only complaint was that it had been too short. I hadn’t had time to love someone properly, or see all the wonders of the world.

With the last of my strength, I turned his face toward mine and pressed a gentle kiss to those thin lips.

I’d meant to do it harder. Ideally, I’d have split his lip. Sadly, I no longer had the strength.

After that, there was nothing left in me. Like a puppet whose frame had collapsed, I slumped to the ground.

He froze.

Dimly, I could see his eyes slowly reddening.

What was this? I’d only kissed him. Surely he wasn’t going to cry? Surely not. Since when was his poor little heart so fragile?

“Lin Jingqiu, you bastard!”

He sounded three parts heartbroken and seven parts furious. Even his voice was shaking. Clearly, I’d made him very angry.

“What do you mean by this? What is this supposed to be?” He seized my collar, his eyes blazing. “What kind of fucking last wish is that?”

But I could no longer open my eyes. His voice mingled with my scattered, senseless thoughts, filtering into my head—or into some hollow space.

Until, at last, I heard nothing.

I was alive.

Well, damn. I was alive.

I would probably have been delighted if Yun Yanzhi hadn’t been sitting beside my bed.

His eyes were bloodshot. Stubble covered his chin, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

What had happened to him?

As I studied him, he studied me.

He didn’t seem to have quite caught up yet.

“Lin… Jingqiu?”

His voice was hoarse, disbelieving. “You’re awake?”

“Mm.” I nodded. My own voice was a rasp, and my wounds still ached faintly.

Yun Yanzhi seemed to come to his senses then. He sprang up and called out twice. A young woman in white entered, her face brightening when she saw me.

“Awake at last! Your husband has been so worried about you.”

I fell silent.

I knew this woman. She was the miracle physician famed throughout the martial world.

Good grief. Yun Yanzhi had even brought her here?

She took my pulse again, then nodded to Yun Yanzhi. “Now that the patient is awake, things should be fine. With proper rest and care, recovery should take no more than a few months.”

I fell silent again.

Knowing Yun Yanzhi, I probably wouldn’t survive those few months if I explained why I’d kissed him.

Months? He’d think three seconds was too generous.

Once the physician left, he sat beside my bed again.

“Talk.”

One short word. I practically jumped out of my skin.

Oh, help. He was here to demand an explanation.

“T-talk about what?”

I decided to play dumb.

Yun Yanzhi clicked his tongue impatiently. “You know perfectly well!”

“W-who are you?” I looked at him with innocent confusion.

This time, he was the one who jolted.

He lifted his head and stared at me in disbelief. “You don’t know who I am?”

I nodded meekly. “Mm-hm.”

“You don’t know who I am?” he repeated, unwilling to accept it.

I nodded so hard my head might have come off. “Mm-hm.”

“You really don’t know who I am?”

“Um… Husband?”

Yun Yanzhi looked as though he’d seen a ghost.

I explained patiently. “Didn’t that pretty lady just say you were my husband? You saved me. You must love me very much, Husband.”

My sworn enemy went ashen. His eyes were full of disbelief. Even his lips were trembling.