She hung her head like a child who had done something wrong, her disheveled hair covering half her face. Her breathing was faint, but she couldn't hide its slight tremor.
"Take it off."
Yuan Su's voice was low, carrying an authority that left no room for refusal.
Pu Yu instinctively covered the mask on her face, her voice muffled. "There's no need. It really is a cold. You'll catch it."
"Pu Yu."
Yuan Su had run out of patience.
He gave her no further chance to refuse. One hand easily caught her slender wrist and pinned it against the concrete pillar behind her, while the other reached straight behind her ear.
His fingertips were warm, but his movements were forceful.
"Don't-"
Pu Yu only managed a brief, startled cry.
He hooked the mask's strap and gave it a gentle tug, slipping it off her ear.
The swollen, reddened half of her face was exposed to the air.
Everything around them fell silent.
Yuan Su's gaze fixed on her left cheek.
The swelling looked especially stark in the flickering light, with five distinct finger marks stretching from her cheekbone to the corner of her mouth.
His pupils abruptly contracted.
The fingers holding her chin tightened unconsciously, forcing her face upward.
Pu Yu had no choice but to meet his eyes.
Those eyes, always calm and even a little cold, now churned with barely contained fury, as though he was struggling to hold something back.
"Who hit you?"
The short question carried a chilling edge.
Pu Yu shrank back, trying to turn her face away. "It's nothing. I accidentally bumped into a door."
"Accidentally?"
Yuan Su gave a cold laugh. The pad of his finger brushed lightly along the edge of the swelling, but even that gentle touch made Pu Yu gasp