Every time she called his name or scolded him, it carried no intimidation at all.
Instead, that soft, gentle voice only made Duan Zhuo feel…
Fatal.
“I’m worried about you, Baby,” Duan Zhuo said seriously as he took out an instruction sheet. “It clearly says here—don’t apply it crookedly, try to go further in—”
Before he could finish reading, the obedient little girl from just now suddenly got off the bed. Gripping a tube of medicine in her hand, she ran out of his sight barefoot.
She went into the bathroom.
If he wouldn’t leave, then she would—she’d stay as far away from him as possible.
However, the results were less than ideal.
Duan Zhuo had been right. She had never used a tampon before and couldn’t find the right place.
She fumbled around for more than ten minutes.
Only then did An Li come out of the bathroom.
Her face was so red it looked like it could drip blood.
Duan Zhuo could roughly guess how things had gone and asked with concern, “Finished applying it?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t believe you. Let me see.”
She pushed him away, pressing her palm against his chest to stop him from coming closer.
If Duan Zhuo really wanted to look, let alone one hand—even using both hands and feet wouldn’t be enough to stop him. But he quite enjoyed the faint strength she used against him. That small, soft hand resting on his chest felt boneless, as if it could touch his heart through the air.
His unruly nature was instantly subdued.
“Alright, I won’t look.” He lowered his head. “But you haven’t applied medicine to your knee yet. This time, can I help you?”
“I’ll do it myself.”
Just as An Li turned around, the hood of her pajama top was hooked by his long fingers. He caught the small white pom-pom at the back, pulling it—and her—back at the same time.
With a light tug, An Li stumbled backward and fell into his arms.
Duan Zhuo caught her effortlessly with one arm, then carried her to the bedside. Taking the ointment from her hand, he smiled faintly as he threatened, “Right now, I only plan to apply it to your knee. But if you move around, I can’t guarantee where it’ll end up.”
Sometimes he was easy to talk to. But when he wasn’t, there were only two options: comply willingly or be forced to comply.
Without giving An Li any chance to refuse, Duan Zhuo had already knelt on one knee.
His black trousers pressed casually against the floor.
It looked like a proposal posture.
If he had been holding a ring, paired with that flawless, handsome face, such a proposal stance would have made ninety percent of girls lose their minds.
Yet deep down, he was nothing but a beast.
An Li didn’t dare move, only hoping time would pass faster so the medicine would be applied quickly.
Holding a cotton swab in one hand, Duan Zhuo bent her knee slightly with the other and examined it carefully. “Did I cause this injury, or did you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you hurt it from kneeling, or did you fall?”
Judging from it, it didn’t seem like it came from kneeling.
She had been extremely drunk at the time—she couldn’t even stay on her knees, soft like a puddle of mud, at most lying down.
Lying down wouldn’t injure her knees.
Most likely, she had tried desperately to grab him, failed, and fell off the bed, hitting the floor.
An Li muttered, “So what if I fell? It’s still your fault for scaring me.”
“That’s my fault?”
“It is your fault.”
“Alright then. In that case, compensate me by adding my WeChat.”
He said it so seriously that it almost sounded reasonable. An Li was about to take out her phone to accept this “compensation,” when she suddenly realized something—
Wait.
This dog.
He was setting a trap.
“Why should I add your WeChat?” An Li immediately pulled back. “I’m not interested.”
“Adding me won’t cost you anything.”
“You already have so many people on your WeChat. You don’t need me.”
“See? When you argue with me, you don’t stutter at all.” Duan Zhuo picked up another cotton swab. “You should stay with me every day. I can provide emotional support, meet your physical needs, and even help cure your stutter.”
Like a salesman, he seized every opportunity to promote himself.
For other girls, he wouldn’t even need to try—they’d flock to him on their own. But An Li acted as if she hadn’t heard anything.
She couldn’t be bothered with him, not even sparing him a glance.
That feeling…
Was strangely satisfying to the young master.
He liked it when someone ignored him like this.
It felt good.
Duan Zhuo held the cotton swab and evenly applied the ointment to her knee.
On her pale, soft skin were shocking patches of bruised purple.
It looked rather painful.
He applied another layer of ointment.
“Hey, why are you taking so long…” An Li drew her leg back slightly. “It tickles.”
Ignoring her, he said, “It works better if it’s applied evenly. And you need to apply some around the knee too.”
“No.” She tried to retreat.
But he held her ankle, coaxing softly, “Be good. Straighten your leg.”
“Duan Zhuo, don’t do this… it feels uncomfortable.”
“It’ll be done soon. Just bear with it.”
Outside the door—
Duan Xingning, who was passing by, was drawn by the unusual sounds.
Why was Duan Zhuo’s voice coming from An Li’s room?
And their conversation sounded even more questionable.
Could it be that something was happening inside?
A bad feeling rose in Duan Xingning’s chest. He knocked twice. “An Li? Are you in there?”
The noise inside was too loud—she probably didn’t hear him. There was no response.
Instead, the sounds of complaint and soft protests grew even more intense.
Duan Xingning’s fingers tightened on the doorknob, turning pale. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice as he could no longer suppress himself. He twisted the door open and walked in, his gaze heavy and urgent as it swept across the room.
The sudden movement stirred the air. The two people by the bed both froze and turned toward the door at the same time.
Duan Xingning’s emotions were taut, his chest heaving with restrained anger. Veins stood out on the back of his hand as his voice turned cold and stern. “What are you doing?”
From his angle, Duan Zhuo was kneeling on the floor, while An Li sat on the edge of the bed, her face flushed, her toes lightly touching the ground.
That posture looked either like she was putting on shoes—or doing something else.
Duan Zhuo casually tossed the used cotton swab into the trash. After standing up, he was even taller than his older brother. He still wore that careless, indifferent attitude, as if he couldn’t be bothered with the world. “Big brother, what are you doing here?”
The question caught Duan Xingning off guard for a moment.
Even if they had really been doing something just now, as the older brother, he had no right to barge in like that…
Not to mention—they hadn’t actually done anything.
The room carried a strong smell of ointment.
Duan Xingning looked at An Li. “What’s going on?”
An Li was already too nervous to speak.
“I took her to the hospital today to check her knee. She left her medicine in my car, so I brought it to her,” Duan Zhuo paused slightly. “But you—coming into a girl’s room at night without knocking—what right do you have?”
He was sharp.
Turning the situation around instantly.
Duan Xingning didn’t fall into the trap of defending himself. “If you were just delivering medicine, then why were you kneeling in front of her just now?”
“She was afraid of the pain and didn’t dare apply it herself, so I helped her. Is that a problem?”
Duan Xingning had watched An Li grow up. He knew her timid personality—she didn’t like troubling others. There was no way she would let Duan Zhuo help her apply medicine.
He asked her directly, “Is that true, An Li?”
Of course it wasn’t.
An Li immediately shook her head. “No.”
Duan Zhuo narrowed his eyes dangerously, his tone shifting slightly. “No?”
Just those two simple words were enough to intimidate her.
If she dared to deny it again, it wouldn’t just be about applying medicine anymore.
There were far more explosive things he could reveal.
An Li had no choice but to change her answer timidly. “Y-yes… it is.”
Duan Xingning sensed the threat in the air. “Don’t be nervous. If Duan Zhuo is bullying you, tell me. I’ll stand up for you.”
“N-no, he’s not.” An Li lowered her head. “He… he’s a good person.”
After saying that, she touched her nose, as if checking whether it had grown longer.