"No one will know they're yours"
Xun Yuan was wearing high heels. When the elevator stopped and its doors opened, Zuo Tingyue led her out with his arm around her. Her footing was unsteady, and she nearly twisted her ankle.
Zuo Tingyue simply picked her up and strode toward the hotel room.
The instant her body left the ground, Xun Yuan instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, afraid she would fall. Her high heels dropped onto the hallway carpet with a dull thud.
That sound seemed to land not on the floor, but on Xun Yuan's heart.
"My shoes fell off," she said, her face buried against his chest.
"Then let them. It's not as if you have to walk," Zuo Tingyue said coolly.
Xun Yuan said helplessly, "No."
"Someone will see them."
"No one will know they're yours."
Xun Yuan protested, "That's still not okay."
Zuo Tingyue ignored her. He carried her into the suite and straight to the bed, setting her down before lowering his broad, solid body over her, enclosing her within his territory. The scent of sandalwood on him carried an air of invasion.
A critical hit from that gorgeous face.
Xun Yuan nearly forgot about her shoes, but no, that wouldn't do.
She pressed her hands against Zuo Tingyue's shoulders, refusal in her eyes.
"My shoes," she emphasized.
Zuo Tingyue paused, looking down into her eyes. Their gazes met.
Xun Yuan's eyes were luminous and determined. Clearly, she wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted.
Zuo Tingyue's eyes were deep, concealing feelings within. It was impossible to tell whether it was affection or desire.
The seconds ticked by as they remained at an impasse, neither willing to give ground.
"Xun Yuan," he suddenly called her name.
His voice was low and magnetic. The air was so still that it struck her ears with particular force.
Xun Yuan held her breath, watching him without blinking.
"You really know how to torment a man."
Zuo Tingyue's deep voice sounded beside her ear.
With that, he braced one hand on the bed, rolled off, and left the room to retrieve Xun Yuan's fallen heels.
Xun Yuan lay on her back on the bed. At the sound of the door opening, her long lashes trembled, like the light sweep of a feather-only whoever felt the tickle would know.
Zuo Tingyue soon returned. Xun Yuan looked over, and the instant their gazes met again, she sat up as though his eyes had burned her.
She gathered the stray strands of hair beside her ear and suddenly said, "I'm going to shower."
With that, she headed for the bathroom. As she passed Zuo Tingyue, he caught her wrist.
Zuo Tingyue's thin lips moved, curving into a smile, his voice unchanged. "Together."
Xun Yuan abruptly looked up at him. The next second-
Zuo Tingyue moved his hand from her wrist to the small of her back, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing her against him. At the same time, his lips met hers in a long, heated plundering of tangled breaths.
At first, Xun Yuan was the passive one. Later, unwilling to be outdone, she fought back, attempting to seize the initiative.
Both attacked and defended, neither sparing any effort.
A sudden clatter rang out. Like a switch, the sound made Xun Yuan falter for a moment before she belatedly realized that his buttons had been torn off.
Just how intense had it been?
Freed from the restraint of its buttons, the white shirt on Zuo Tingyue's body was like a beast released from its cage, its ferocity laid bare.
The bathroom was only a few steps away. Zuo Tingyue half-carried her, advancing and assailing her all the way, determined to cover her in his scent.
In the bathroom, water cascaded down over their heads. Xun Yuan's clothes were half off, her water-soaked qipao clinging to her body. Her black hair lay wet against her fair, delicate skin, a wonder beyond words.
Zuo Tingyue's dark eyes shone as he watched her sway in the water, those beautiful eyes of hers misted over, shimmering with allure.
The instant her qipao fell to the floor, Xun Yuan raised her slender fingers and brushed off the shirt hanging precariously from his body.
In an instant, his upper body was completely bare, revealing firm, smoothly defined muscles, vigorous and sexy. Water fell from above his head, tracing his bobbing Adam's apple and collarbones before following the grooves of his muscles...
This encounter was dry tinder meeting a raging blaze, a plunge into deep water and scorching fire.
At the end, all that could be heard was one hoarse sentence from the man:
"Don't bother getting out of bed tomorrow."
The next day, Xun Yuan woke late. Before she was fully awake, she heard people speaking quietly in the room.
"Fever. Excessive exertion."
"Prescribe something."
"You really are inhuman."
"..."
Xun Yuan's eyelids were heavy, and she couldn't open them despite trying. When the needle pierced her skin, that small pain spurred her to make up her mind, and she finally opened her eyes.
She saw two men standing beside the bed. She knew Zuo Tingyue; the other wore a white coat and was a doctor.
"You're awake?"
The doctor seemed quite lively and asked when he saw Xun Yuan open her eyes.
"Mm," Xun Yuan answered hoarsely.
Only then did she realize her throat hurt a little. She looked at the man's name badge: Wen Zhou.
"You have a fever. You young people really need to take care of your bodies."
His tone was that of an old man, and Xun Yuan could tell he was doing it on purpose.
Someone who could be this relaxed and at ease around Zuo Tingyue must know him, and might even qualify as a friend.
Xun Yuan pressed her lips into a smile, her tone teasing too. "Sure, I'll definitely be careful."
"Next time, I'll ask you to prescribe something."
Her lips were a little red, while her face was pale. The two colors intertwined on her features into a different kind of beauty.
Wen Zhou was at a loss for words. Such a gorgeous young woman-how was she so good with words too?
"If you're done, get out."
Zuo Tingyue's voice was cool and indifferent.
Wen Zhou complained, "Burning the bridge after crossing the river, are you? I've only just put the needle in."
Zuo Tingyue remained indifferent, not even lifting his eyelids.
Wen Zhou: "..."
After Wen Zhou left, Xun Yuan chided him. "Why did you chase him out?"
Zuo Tingyue looked at Xun Yuan and answered with a question. "Don't you feel unwell?"
Xun Yuan answered honestly, "I do."
It actually wasn't too bad. Her throat hurt a little, and her head felt a bit dizzy.
"Yet you still have the energy to concern yourself with other people."
His tone was cool, with a pointed inflection.
Xun Yuan pressed her lips together and called his name. "Zuo Tingyue."
Her voice wasn't the least bit gentle, its cool clarity mixed with the hoarseness of illness.
After calling him, she said nothing else, lying in bed with her eyes on Zuo Tingyue.
Zuo Tingyue stood where he was, looking at her. After a while, he walked over to her.
Zuo Tingyue tilted his head and leaned close to Xun Yuan's ear, the tip of his nose barely brushing her skin. "Xunxun," he murmured.
Xun Yuan didn't move.
"What are you sulking about?"
"Xunxun."
He called to her, coaxing softly.
Xun Yuan was haughty, not nearly so easy to coax. "Not enough."
"Does it hurt?" His voice was quite low.
Xun Yuan frowned, puzzled by his abrupt question.
"Does it hurt?" he repeated.
Xun Yuan paused, a flush quietly spreading over her ears. Indeed, she understood. Then she pressed her hands against Zuo Tingyue's shoulders, trying to push him away.
Zuo Tingyue caught her wrist, gently stroking its slenderness with the pad of his finger.
"I'm hungry," Xun Yuan suddenly said.
She hadn't eaten anything since waking up, and her empty stomach felt uncomfortable.
"What do you want to eat?"
Xun Yuan thought for a moment. "Food from that place we ate at in the middle of the night last time."
"They don't deliver," he said concisely.
Xun Yuan wasn't discouraged. She posed a rhetorical question, every word and inflection needling the man's competitive streak. "The illustrious Mr. Zuo of Harbor City can't even manage this little thing?"
Zuo Tingyue squeezed her wrist, his low voice carrying a smile. "Cut that out. Wait here."
She was even resorting to goading him just for something to eat. She really had come a long way.