Chaрtеr 12: Shеng Shurаn… Сlose Your Еуes
Feеling emotiоnаl wаs оnе thing, but аs an оldеr sistеr, she оncе again сhоse tо—
Understаnd, but рrеtend nоt tо.
“Hеlр? Неlр with whаt? Аre уou thirstу? Drink sоme water…”
Chi Нen intеrruptеd hеr: “Shеng Shurаn, why arе you still using this ехсusе?”
His dаrk eуes fixеd оn hеr, thе сornеrs of his lips curling uрwаrd. Ignоring hеr еvasive gazе, hе firmlу grasрed hеr hand and brоught it сlоsе to his lowеr аbdomen…
Рressed it…
Shеng Shurаn уаnked hеr hаnd back abruptly, and Chi Нen grittеd his tееth with а shаrp “hiss.”
Shеng Shuran lookеd down аnd reаlized hеr hand had merely pressed against a bruise on his abdomen.
“Help me apply some medicine. It hurts so much I can’t stand it.” Chi Hen finally spat out the words clearly.
These words felt like a bucket of cold water poured over Sheng Shuran’s head, washing away all her tangled, inappropriate thoughts.
Only then did she clearly see the bruises scattered across Chi Hen’s body.
“That bastard Fan Chao actually hit you this hard?”
“Bastard” was already considered quite harsh language for Sheng Shuran, showing just how angry she was.
“Is this considered hard?” Chi Hen mused thoughtfully.
Sheng Shuran thought he was alluding to Fu Zhenchuan.
When Fu Zhenchuan hit Chi Hen, he used sticks, whips, chairs, and glass—every time leaving him bruised and bleeding. Compared to those injuries, this indeed could be called “hard.”
But Fu Zhenchuan was the uncle who raised her, and also Chi Hen’s father. She didn’t dare harbor any resentment toward him.
But Fan Chao—who did he think he was? How dare he?!
“Why didn’t you fight back?” Sheng Shuran felt an inexplicable surge of anger, frowning as she poked at his wounds.
Chi Hen basked in Sheng Shuran’s concern, his usual gloominess lifting slightly, his mood brightening a bit:
“I fought back later, so he didn’t dare hit me again.”
Was it really “didn’t dare”? More like “couldn’t”—he was nearly beaten to death.
“Hmph! When he returns to the orchestra tomorrow, I’ll definitely give him another scolding.”
But there probably wouldn’t be such an opportunity.
How could someone like that be allowed to appear near Sheng Shuran again?
But Chi Hen didn’t say anything, only reminding Sheng Shuran to apply medicine for him.
Sheng Shuran first treated the bruises on Chi Hen’s body, applying ointment and sticking bandages piece by piece.
There were too many injuries—patches here and there, densely packed like mending clothes.
Seeing her own “masterpiece,” Sheng Shuran couldn’t help but lower her head and smile.
That smile, in Chi Hen’s eyes, felt like a feather gently tickling his heart.
His palm pressed against her waist, pulling her slightly closer to him. His voice was cool, but the breath he exhaled was warm:
“My face hurts too.”
“Does it hurt? Where?” Sheng Shuran, concerned about his injuries, remained completely unaware that she was already being subtly drawn into his embrace.
“My chin hurts.”
Chi Hen lifted his head, stretching his neck, his Adam’s apple prominent, making space for Sheng Shuran to nestle into his arms. From below, she looked up at him, wiping and disinfecting the wound on his chin.
“Anywhere else?”
“The corner of my mouth.”
Sheng Shuran’s gaze naturally fell on his lips—soft and rosy—causing her hand to tremble slightly. The disinfectant cotton pressed a bit too firmly against his wound.
“Hiss…” Seizing the opportunity, Chi Hen exerted a little force, pulling Sheng Shuran even closer into his embrace, this time pressing her directly against his chest.
Just then, the tip of her nose brushed against his lips…
As if Chi Hen had kissed the tip of Sheng Shuran’s nose.
A sudden wave of heat surged through Sheng Shuran, and she pushed Chi Hen away as if electrocuted.Before she could even blush, a sharp pain shot through her scalp.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Sheng Shuran panicked, freezing her head in place.
It turned out that strands of her hair had gotten tangled in the adhesive bandage on Chi Hen’s chest. The sticky patch held them tightly, forming a messy clump.
Chi Hen pulled her back into his embrace. “Come closer, don’t move.”
He lowered his head, his gaze focused as he carefully untangled her hair strand by strand.
Sheng Shuran had no choice but to press against Chi Hen, listening to the strong rhythm of his heartbeat and breathing in his clean, fresh scent after his shower.
Her own heartbeat grew erratic.
“Sheng Shuran…”
Sheng Shuran saw Chi Hen’s Adam’s apple bob, and as his breath brushed against her ear, a tingling sensation spread through her body.
“Hmm?” she murmured softly, her voice unintentionally tender and lingering.
“I can’t untangle it. Let’s just cut it.”
Sheng Shuran: “…”
With a single snip of the scissors, Sheng Shuran regained freedom for her head.
But a few strands of her hair remained stuck to the adhesive bandage on Chi Hen’s chest.
Sheng Shuran wanted to help him remove them.
Chi Hen, however, said, “It’s fine. I’ll just throw it away when I change the bandage.”
“Oh, okay.” Sheng Shuran didn’t think much of it.
The washing machine was still drying the clothes, and Sheng Shuran calculated the time.
“By the time the clothes are dry, it’ll be almost midnight. Isn’t your dormitory curfew in effect?”
“Yeah, it is.” Chi Hen, wrapped in a towel, sat on the sofa and turned on the TV, answering absentmindedly.
As if he had already anticipated this.
“Then you’ll have to sleep here tonight.”
“Yeah. No other choice.” Chi Hen was preoccupied with flipping through channels, responding mechanically.
Sheng Shuran went to clear out the guest room. After tidying up, her clothes were soaked with sweat.
She wanted to take a shower.
But the towel was wrapped around Chi Hen.
Chi Hen, who had been staring at the TV screen as if he could read her mind, suddenly looked at her:
“Sheng Shuran, aren’t you going to shower?”
Shower? How? The only towel is wrapped around your lower half.
As if suddenly realizing, Chi Hen said, “Oh, you need this.”
His hand touched the edge of the towel.
“I can take it off for you.”
“No! Don’t!” Sheng Shuran immediately stopped him. “I’ll just use a piece of clothing to dry myself.”
“Not drying properly would be so uncomfortable…” Chi Hen “thoughtfully” advised. “I’ll go back to the room, and you can use it.”
That sounded reasonable.
Sheng Shuran lowered her head, calculating and rehearsing the process in her mind.
Completely unaware that Chi Hen had moved closer.
“Sheng Shuran… close your eyes.” A deep, masculine voice filled her ears as her eyes were suddenly covered by warm palms, plunging her into darkness.
Then, a rough, textured sensation was placed in her hands.
Chi Hen had shoved the towel into her grasp, which meant he was now…
Completely… naked!
Utterly exposed!
Literally, not a stitch on!
Sheng Shuran felt her blood surge, not daring to breathe, her fingertips gripping the towel tightly.
“Close your eyes, count to ten.” Chi Hen’s usually cool voice carried a hint of amusement. “Of course, you can peek if you want.”
Sheng Shuran pressed her lips together and didn’t respond.
Chi Hen removed his hands, and Sheng Shuran sensed a faint light.
“Start.” Chi Hen’s voice grew distant.
Sheng Shuran squeezed her eyes shut tightly, as if concentrating all the muscles around her eyes toward the bridge of her nose, and began counting seriously.
“Ten, nine, eight…”
No good, her rhythm was completely off. If she hadn’t been struggling to control herself, she might not even have been able to count.
“…three, two, one.”
Sheng Shuran still didn’t dare to open her eyes.Counting down another ten seconds in her mind.
When she opened her eyes again, the living room was empty. Sheng Shuran, clutching her towel with her entire body flushed red, retreated into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Chi Hen lay on the bed, patiently picking off one by one the strands of hair Sheng Shuran had left on his chest…
Finally, he wound them around his ring finger.
…
The next day.
Chi Hen drove Sheng Shuran to the orchestra.
At the entrance, they ran into a few orchestra members. As soon as they saw Sheng Shuran, they gathered around her.
“Shuran, have you heard? Fan Chao has quit the orchestra.”
“Quit?”
Sheng Shuran had been thinking about this matter, planning to give him a piece of her mind today, but she never expected he would quit outright?
Sheng Shuran glanced at Chi Hen, whose expression remained unreadable.
“I heard it’s because he caused trouble at the entrance of the KTV last night.”
“Huh? What kind of trouble could be serious enough to make him quit?”
“Shuran, didn’t you leave early last night? Did you see him?” a short-haired girl turned to Sheng Shuran.
“Uh, no, I didn’t.” Even though she was telling the truth, Sheng Shuran didn’t know why she felt nervous.
Another male member chimed in, “I left not long after you. When I walked out, I saw an ambulance parked at the entrance, loading someone who was barely breathing. I heard all his fingers were broken one by one.”
“Ah! Could that person be Fan Chao?! He’s a violinist, after all.”
“I couldn’t see the person clearly, but it was a bloody mess. Just a glance made me want to throw up.”
“No way, who would do something so brutal?”
The others continued to chatter…
But Sheng Shuran could no longer hear a word.
Her heart sank, and a chill crept up her scalp.
Once again, she lifted her gaze to look at Chi Hen.
Chi Hen met her eyes openly, without flinching. On the surface, he remained calm, but a dark, turbulent intensity slowly churned in the depths of his eyes.
A cold dread slowly crept up Sheng Shuran’s spine.
Suddenly, she remembered a cat…
Five years ago,
On a stormy night,
In the backyard of the Fu residence,
The cat that Chi Hen had tortured to death.
Ding! Friendly reminder! Later—in the later part of the story: Chi Hen adopts a little orange cat~