Qin Yanchuan scooped her up into his arms and stepped out of the elevator.
Lin Xi hurried over as well. Seeing Wen Yunsheng’s pale face and disheveled state, she was startled. “Yun Sheng.”
Yun Sheng curled up in Qin Yanchuan’s embrace, her fingers tightly clutching his lapel. Her trembling lashes were lowered, and her eyes remained tightly shut.
Others from the banquet hall had also gathered around. Han Zhiying quickly stepped forward. “What happened to Yun Sheng? Was she trapped in the elevator?”
Song Ye also watched her with deep concern.
Qin Jiawei felt a surge of satisfaction seeing Wen Yunsheng in such a pitiful state, but the sight of Qin Yanchuan filled her with fear and guilt.
She never expected Qin Yanchuan to come.
Brother Yanchuan never liked attending these kinds of evening banquets. What if he found out something…
A cold sweat broke out on Qin Jiawei’s back. She shot a warning glance at the club manager.
The manager was too terrified to even lift his head, trembling as he followed behind.
At that moment, however, Qin Yanchuan had no mind for these people.
“I’ll take her back first.”
With a cold tone, Qin Yanchuan spoke and strode away, carrying Wen Yunsheng out of the noisy, bustling club.
Only Assistant Chen jogged to keep up.
“President Qin.”
Assistant Chen opened the car door. Qin Yanchuan carried Wen Yunsheng inside and settled into the back seat.
Just as Assistant Chen was about to close the door, Qin Yanchuan suddenly spoke. “Go investigate how the elevator malfunctioned.”
Assistant Chen paused for a moment, then immediately understood. “Yes.”
Assistant Chen closed the car door and did not get in.
The black Cullinan drove away smoothly into the night.
Qin Yanchuan had been holding her when he got into the car. Now, Wen Yunsheng was still sitting on his lap, buried against his chest. He could feel the faint tremors in her body.
He tightened his arms around her, not letting go, silently offering her a sense of security.
Gently patting her back, he spoke as softly as possible. “Don’t be afraid. It’s over now.”
Wen Yunsheng’s knuckles turned white where she gripped his suit jacket. The tightly wound string of her heart seemed to be plucked, finally allowing her a moment to breathe.
Tears silently fell onto his chest, soaking through his shirt.
She felt grounded, her emotions gradually calming. Her tightly shut eyes seemed to lose their strength, finally closing heavily as she fell into a deep, unconscious sleep.
The driver up front asked quietly, “President Qin, where to now?”
Qin Yanchuan looked down at the person curled in his arms, his voice low. “Nanguo Residence.”
Nanguo Residence was one of his current private residences where he often stayed.
Given her current state, it wouldn’t be appropriate to take her back to the old mansion.
The driver didn’t ask further, simply replying “Yes,” before continuing to drive in silence.
The car drove to the innermost part of Nanguo Residence, stopping in front of a villa.
The driver opened the door. Qin Yanchuan carried her out and strode into the villa.
The quiet villa was so silent you could hear a pin drop. He placed her on the sofa and was about to get up to fetch some medicine for her when he suddenly realized his suit jacket was still tightly clutched in her small hand.
She was still unconscious, yet her fingers hadn’t loosened their grip for a moment.
Qin Yanchuan pondered briefly, then sat back down on the sofa, gathering her back into his embrace.
Surrounded by his familiar, long-missed scent, Wen Yunsheng slept much more soundly.
Qin Yanchuan raised his hand, using his thumb to gently wipe the tear stains from her face. In the empty silence of the villa, an unprecedented sense of peace settled over them.In a daze, he even had the illusion that they had never been apart, that those four years were just a dream, and she had always been quietly by his side, in his arms.
An hour later, Wen Yunsheng finally woke up.
As soon as she opened her eyes and saw Qin Yanchuan’s sharply defined profile, her mind went blank for three seconds before she finally regained her senses. Flustered, she pulled away from his embrace and glanced around at the familiar yet unfamiliar furnishings.
She quickly realized that this was Nanguo Mansion, Qin Yanchuan’s private residence.
“How… how did I get here?”
The warm, soft body suddenly withdrew from his embrace, leaving a hollow feeling. He saw the distance in her reddened eyes.
In an instant, they returned to their original positions.
So, it was the earlier moment that had been the dream.
His eyes turned slightly colder, his tone indifferent. “You kept holding onto me and wouldn’t let go, so I had no choice but to bring you to my place.”
Wen Yunsheng’s pupils contracted sharply. Her eyes, still misty, quickly flashed with embarrassment and panic as she instinctively protested, “I… I didn’t…”
His long fingers brushed over the wrinkled suit jacket on his body. “Did I do this to myself?”
Wen Yunsheng fell silent.
“Wen Yunsheng, I thought what happened four years ago was already in the past,” he said calmly.
She lowered her head in shame. “I’m sorry.”
A similar incident had happened once before when she was five years old. She had been forgotten by the family’s nanny in a dark storage room.
When Qin Yanchuan found her in the storage room, she was even more disheveled than she was now.
She had clung tightly to him, refusing to let go, as if grasping her only lifeline. Qin Yanchuan had held her like that, staying with her the entire night.
It was then that she realized the usually quiet older brother was actually a very, very good person.
After that incident, the nanny was fired, and all the storage rooms and closets in the Qin family home were kept brightly lit day and night.
Qin Yanchuan stood up and left.
She propped herself up to sit on the sofa, her body still trembling slightly, but the fear in her heart had mostly subsided.
Qin Yanchuan returned with a glass of honey water and handed it to her.
“Drink this first.”
Wen Yunsheng reached out to take it, but he didn’t let go, afraid she might spill it if she couldn’t hold it steady.
She took a couple of sips from his hand, and her dry throat felt much better.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
“Yes,” Wen Yunsheng replied, her voice still a bit hoarse, her eyes still red like a rabbit’s.
As she calmed down, her rationality returned as well. Belatedly, she realized that she and he were alone together in the same room.
It felt somewhat inappropriate.
“Then… I should go now…”
As soon as Wen Yunsheng stood up, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down onto the sofa.
Wen Yunsheng stumbled as she fell back, nearly landing in his arms. She steadied herself by placing a hand on his chest and looked up to meet his slightly darkened, deep eyes.
This was the first time since returning to the country that she had seen such clear emotion on Qin Yanchuan’s face.
It was displeasure.
“In your current state, where do you plan to go?”
Wen Yunsheng’s voice softened. “I’m fine now. I’m going home.”
“Your neck is covered in bruises. Do you want Dad and Aunt Jin to see you and worry?”
Wen Yunsheng froze, only then remembering the lingering pain in her neck.
Qin Yanchuan’s expression darkened. “Sit still. I’ll apply some medicine for you.”
Wen Yunsheng sat there, not daring to move again.Qin Yanchuan opened the medicine kit, took out the ointment, and with one hand holding a cotton swab, he dipped it in some ointment and gently applied it to her neck, which was covered in finger marks.
Her slender, fair swan-like neck was now full of red marks, with a few scratches from fingernails that had drawn blood.
Qin Yanchuan’s fingers holding the cotton swab tightened, and his gaze darkened further.
He moved very gently, but touching the wounds still caused pain. Wen Yunsheng didn’t make a sound.
He looked up and saw her tense, enduring face. Leaning closer to her, he made his movements even lighter as he applied the medicine and said softly, “Tell me if it hurts.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly felt the scene was familiar.
Their first time was also here, right on this sofa.
She had sunk into the sofa, her waterfall-like hair spread beneath her, her jade-like body trembling uncontrollably under his touch.
He kissed her cheek, his large hand pressing against her slender waist.
“Tell me if it hurts,” he whispered hoarsely in her ear.
But even when she cried out in pain, he didn’t stop.
Snapping back to reality, he looked up at her, only to see her cheeks suddenly flush bright red, her back stiffening rigidly, her eyes darting away to avoid his gaze, her voice unnaturally calm as if trying to hide something.
“It doesn’t hurt.”