Chapter 9

At dusk, the hospital’s bustle gradually quieted down.

Duan Yan gripped the back of my head and ruthlessly pressed his lips against mine.

The scent of citrus filled my mouth.

The lingering glow of the setting sun reflected in my pupils, illuminating my panic.

But they didn’t seem to care.

Xu Yan embraced me from behind at his leisure, his fingers gently stroking the back of my neck. “What are you afraid of? Haven’t you experienced this before?”

My thoughts became a chaotic mess. I couldn’t understand how things had turned out like this.

Xu Yan gently pinched my reddened ear. “I intended to let you rest for a while, but you’re just too eye-catching.”

“What does it have to do with you if other people like me?”

Duan Yan rubbed my swollen lips and smiled. “Look at that. She doesn’t seem to know what she did wrong.”

He took me from Xu Yan’s arms as I had gone limp like a pile of mush, his arm supporting my waist. “Where’s the lounge?”

Xu Yan crossed his arms and said softly, “The small side door on the right.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Enjoy the main course, of course.”

Xu Yan stayed outside.

I was dragged into a dim lounge. The air was filled with a faint scent of galbanum. Xu Yan’s ID card sat on the bedside table; this was his private space.

Duan Yan threw me onto the bed.

I scrambled forward a few steps, only to be grabbed by the ankle and dragged back by Duan Yan.

“Where are you running?”

I was sweating profusely from anxiety. “No… I… I’m not feeling well-”

“Stop pretending,” Duan Yan let out a shallow laugh. “I performed your physical exam myself. Don’t you think I know?”

In my panic, I kicked Duan Yan somewhere sensitive. He let out a muffled groan and seized me. “Xianxian, even if you cripple me, I still won’t let you go.”

A suggestive atmosphere slowly spread through the air.

Duan Yan trapped me in a small space and gently kissed my forehead.

The disparity in strength was too great. To him, my resistance was nothing more than a tickle.

So those really hadn’t been dreams. Bailu was his junior, and she was his inside agent.

As the familiar sensations returned, I couldn’t help but tremble, despair blooming in my heart-

Suddenly, the sound of nurses talking came from outside the door.

I snapped my head up. “He- mmmph!”

Duan Yan reached out just in time, pulling me into the darkness. “You little brat, who do you want to save you?”

“Oh, Professor Xu, is someone inside?”

“Yes, a kitten I just started raising.”

“Wow, we love cats! Can we see it?”

Xu Yan smiled and declined. “Sorry, she’s too small to see people yet. I’m afraid she’ll get sick.”

I had broken into a sweat from my violent struggling, and finally, I lay powerless on the bed like a dead fish.

Heaven is out to get me…

Suddenly, the glass door was pushed open.

A beam of light hit the closed blinds. Xu Yan stood at the door, his tone gentle. “It’s probably not going to work today. Let’s change locations.”

Duan Yan hissed. “Xu Yan, are you reliable or not?”

He propped himself up with his arms and sat up, only to find Xu Yan leaning against the door, staring at me wantonly.

Duan Yan casually grabbed the quilt to wrap around me and pulled out a few tissues to wipe the sweat off my face.

This series of actions earned a light chuckle from Xu Yan. “It’s not like I haven’t seen her before. Can you really hide her?”

I cleared my throat, swallowing back the raspiness. “Can I… can I go now?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, both of them stared at me with half-smiles, as if I had asked an incredibly stupid question.

A few minutes later, I was sandwiched between the two of them, walking past the nurses with a flushed face.

“Oh? Professor, does this lady need help?”

A hand hidden under the trench coat moved slightly, and my whole body tensed up. I shook my head violently. “No… no need, thank you-”

Duan Yan smiled. “That was close to being discovered. Xianxian, you wouldn’t want to be humiliated in public, would you?”