19 – Want a hug?
When Xu Ni entered the bathroom inside Fu Guidu’s office, her entire head felt like it was burning. Looking at herself in the mirror, the dark eyeliner had smeared from the corner of her eye all the way to her temple. Even the villainous female characters in TV dramas wouldn’t dare use such a wild look. Yet she had just faced Fu Guidu with this face, “threatening” him to be with her.
Great.
Xu Ni leaned against the sink and laughed.
If she were Fu Guidu himself, she would have thrown him out the window.
This was the consequence of accidentally messing up her makeup in the taxi and forgetting to fix it.
Once again, she had embarrassed herself in front of him.
He probably had some kind of jinx on her, definitely.
Since her makeup was already so disastrous, she would look better with it removed than keeping it like this, at least it wouldn’t seem too deliberate.
Xu Ni simply grabbed a makeup removal wipe, cleaned off all the cosmetics on her face, applied only a lip balm, and went out. This time, she appeared quite composed.
Fu Guidu happened to look up from behind his desk.
The woman no longer had that aggressive, domineering aura. Her face was bare, with delicate, slender eyebrows that were dark and thick, a small, straight nose, eyes slightly upturned—a mix of innocence and allure—and eyelashes so deep they looked like eyeliner. Her lips were fuller and more rosy. With makeup, she could be stunningly captivating, but unexpectedly, without it, she looked so pure and clean.
Like an exquisitely beautiful oil painting of a girl, flawless in her beauty.
Fu Guidu paused for two seconds.
During Xu Ni’s cleanup, he had already finished writing the surgical details report. After closing his computer, he stood up: “I’m heading off work.”
Xu Ni wilted like a limp eggplant, “Oh.”
What face did she have left?
Fu Guidu raised an eyebrow.
He grabbed his coat and walked out.
Xu Ni trailed behind, crestfallen.
In the corridor, their footsteps intermingled. At this hour, the lights were already off, leaving everything pitch-black, with only shadows moving about.
And also…
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
Fu Guidu stopped walking.
Xu Ni moved past him from behind and continued forward, still dejected.
In the dark corridor, sighing repeatedly created quite a horror movie atmosphere.
Xu Ni didn’t care what he thought. She pressed the elevator button herself, stepped inside, and wisely refrained from stirring up trouble again. Today, she needed to exit this role. Whoever wanted to play the innocent, pure little flower could do so—Xu Ni herself was thoroughly embarrassed.
Arriving at the underground parking garage.
Xu Ni thought about calling another taxi.
Just as she pulled out her phone, she felt a chill down her spine, as if someone was watching her every move—an inexplicable sense of fear.
Xu Ni froze.
She turned to look around.
The lights in the parking garage were dim. At this time, few people came to drive, making it both empty and quiet. Any sound made seemed particularly eerie.
Xu Ni sensed… someone.
Someone was hiding.
As a director, her mind was familiar with many realistic possibilities: drunken vagrants, knife-wielding assailants, criminals randomly targeting women, and so on.
Xu Ni pursed her lips.
Instinctively, she looked for Fu Guidu.
He had gone downstairs to get his car.
She hadn’t paid attention and had followed him down to the underground garage. Now, she wasn’t sure if he had already driven away.
Xu Ni sensed the direction of the danger and walked in the opposite direction.
Her steps grew faster and faster.
The signal in the underground garage was poor. She tried calling the security office of Jing Sheng Hospital on her phone but couldn’t get through.
Footsteps followed behind her.
Xu Ni gritted her teeth and suddenly started running.
During her school days, her physical fitness test scores had always been high.
This kind of explosive sprinting wasn’t particularly difficult for her. The person behind her was clearly thrown off rhythm by her sudden move. Xu Ni seized the opening and desperately ran toward the exit of the parking lot, running until her heart rate skyrocketed and her lungs burned with pain.
Finally, she reached the sloping exit leading outside.
In her haste, she didn’t watch her step and tripped over a speed bump.
She fell forward with the momentum.
Her legs stung with a fiery pain.
The footsteps behind her suddenly halted, then vanished.
Xu Ni looked toward the darkness in confusion.
There was no movement over there anymore.
She frowned. Why did they run away?
By the time she realized what was happening, a shadow fell over her from behind, accompanied by a chilly autumn breeze. An arm grabbed hers with almost brute force, pulling Xu Ni to her feet. A second later, she was pulled into a tight embrace.
She looked up at him, still shaken.
The man stood in the twilight between day and night, his face cast in shadow. An intimidating aura flowed through the air around him, a menacing and even sinister presence. Xu Ni found it hard to imagine that such a demeanor could come from Fu Guidu.
He was usually too aloof and unflappable.
Now, suddenly revealing this fanged side of himself, her heart pounded wildly in response.
Was it attraction?
No.
It was fear.
Fu Guidu lowered his gaze, his eyes trailing from her calf down to her fair instep. The skin was scraped raw, and on someone as pampered and delicate as her, it looked particularly shocking.
Xu Ni tried to adjust her skirt, which was fluttering in the wind and barely covering her backside. “Hero saving the damsel is fine and all, but my butt’s catching a draft. Maybe we could first—”
Fu Guidu didn’t speak.
He picked her up, turned around, and walked toward the car parked at the intersection.
Xu Ni was placed in the passenger seat. She opened her mouth to speak.
Fu Guidu buckled her seatbelt, his voice cold and sharp. “Wait.”
Xu Ni closed her mouth.
The car door shut, and she watched as he walked toward the emergency entrance.
A few minutes later, he returned with some items.
As the man walked through the night, she couldn’t help but feel that he carried a sense of solidity, as if he could tear through the rules of this world.
Fu Guidu got into the car and handed her the things he’d brought.
Xu Ni glanced at them—some emergency wound treatment supplies and tools, quite comprehensive.
“Thank you…” Xu Ni felt inexplicably intimidated by him.
“Hmm.”
Fu Guidu started the car, and as he turned the steering wheel, he glanced at the rearview mirror, his eyes sharp and penetrating.
“Was someone chasing you?”
Xu Ni opened a cotton swab packet, frowning at her scraped leg. “But I didn’t see anyone. They ran pretty fast. Probably just a random crime.”
Thank goodness she was in good shape.
Fu Guidu didn’t respond. After a moment, he asked, “Still the same hotel?”
Xu Ni hesitated, scratching her head. “Yeah.”
It didn’t take long to reach the hotel. The distance wasn’t too far, and traffic was light at this hour.
Xu Ni attempted to apply the medicine, but the first touch sent a sharp pain through her, and she didn’t dare continue. Silently, she packed up the supplies and pretended nothing was wrong as she got out of the car.
But she didn’t expect Fu Guidu to follow her out.
She blinked. “Goodbye.”
Fu Guidu leaned in. “Need a hug?”
Xu Ni’s breath hitched. The man asked calmly, the distance between them mere inches. She was caught off guard, but her eyes lit up, and a smile tugged at her lips. Playing coy, she asked, “What? Speak up.”
Fu Guidu took one look at her scheming eyes.
He shoved a hand into his pocket and walked ahead.
Xu Ni pouted. “Aren’t you leaving?”
He didn’t turn around, his silhouette was truly striking, his tone indifferent: “You won’t invite me for a cup of tea?”