“Creak—”
The weary sound of the wooden bathroom door gradually lengthened, irritating the eardrums.
The living room lights were off, shrouded in darkness.
Shi Xi only saw a sinister black shadow behind the door. Without a second thought, she swung her cane toward the figure’s face!
When the bathroom light illuminated that face, she froze abruptly, but it was too late to stop.
Fortunately, the other person reacted with extreme speed, snatching the cane with a swift motion while saying in a low voice, “It’s me.”
Huo Yao tilted his head back slightly, gripping the cane, his gaze locked on the figure before him.
Before he could speak again, the petite figure rushed toward him.
Like a soft, warm ball of cotton, she crashed against his chest, pressing tightly against him.
She was only wrapped in a towel, her hair damp, carrying a moist scent mixed with a rich floral fragrance.
Huo Yao’s nose tingled slightly. The worry on his face faded, but his expression remained tense.
His heart pounded violently, almost jumping to his throat.
He didn’t know whether it was from the intense physical exertion moments earlier or something else.
He wanted to push her away, but she was trembling with extreme tension.
Even while holding him, she continued to shiver lightly, emitting low whimpers from her throat.
“Huo Yao, you scared me…”
Huo Yao needed to explain.
“Lan Yun broke into your room earlier. It’s fine now.”
He lowered his head slightly, unconsciously softening his voice into an almost soothing tone.
Shi Xi tilted her head, peering over his shoulder.
In the dim light, a dark, gaunt figure lay motionless on the floor.
“What happened to her?”
“Probably not dead.”
At that moment, the main door was pushed open again.
“Captain!”
Ji Lu shouted as he entered.
Upon seeing the scene at the bathroom door, he froze like stone, his panicked expression turning dazed.
Damn!
Good news: The captain moved fast and saved the girl.
Bad news: In his urgency, the captain didn’t control his boundaries and compromised her virtue!
Huo Yao’s expression shifted slightly. His arm encircled the girl’s slender waist as he guided her forward a couple of steps and closed the door.
Through the soft towel fabric, his palm felt warm, firm skin.
As if burned, he withdrew his hand, leaving it suspended mid-air.
The person in his arms moved, lifting her head to meet his gaze directly.
“Brother Lu is here too…”
Her dewy skin glowed with an enticing pink hue. Her moist eyes, pupils pure black, seemed capable of reflecting his face.
Perhaps from the recent fright, her lips had lost some color.
Too close.
He didn’t quite catch what she said.
Only feeling her soft voice brushing against his eardrums, its presence overwhelmingly vivid.
Huo Yao grabbed her arms, maneuvering her like a doll as he pulled her away from his embrace.
“I’ll wait outside for you.”
He tossed out these words before quickly retreating.
The wooden door opened and closed. Shi Xi only felt a gust of wind sweep past her face before he vanished from sight.
Shi Xi sighed inwardly.
Sigh… Not even a minute. The System would round it down again.
Then the System reminded: “The host’s skin-to-skin contact with the fragment just now lasted less than two seconds.”
Shi Xi: “…”
So strict.
Even through clothing didn’t count.
The living room lights had been turned on.
Lan Yun lay collapsed on the floor, her hat knocked aside, revealing her sunken, emaciated face.
Ji Lu checked her condition and looked up at Huo Yao, saying, “Captain, we might need to take her to the hospital.”
Lan Yun was already in the late stages of cancer, and earlier, when Huo Yao saw her holding a knife, he had struck her hard, knocking her unconscious.
Huo Yao stood at the bathroom door, still holding his cane.
He nodded at this point and said, “Call an ambulance.”
“Okay.”
Ji Lu glanced at him, then looked behind him. “Uh… Captain, is the little girl alright?”
In Huo Yao’s mind, an untimely image of the earlier scene flashed by.
He simply replied, “She’s not hurt.”
He was grateful he had arrived in time, preventing her from experiencing greater shock.
“That’s good…”
Ji Lu hesitated, holding back his words.
Just then, two men and a woman hurried in, crowding the living room.
They had received a call from the captain saying the perpetrator of the throat-slitting case might come here and had been asked to protect a girl.
However, they had been delayed by a car accident on the way.
“Captain!”
“Captain, what exactly is going on?”
“Is this person the culprit?”
“Stop shouting, it’s too noisy.”
“We’ll figure it out once we take her in for questioning.”
“Who would’ve thought? I feel like I’m dreaming!”
…
Several loud voices echoed in the room until Huo Yao said, “Keep it down, all of you.”
Inside the bathroom, Shi Xi listened to their conversation, feeling as if the eerie atmosphere that had enveloped the room had suddenly dissipated.
She opened the door, poking only her head out to look.
Everyone in the room was highly alert, their eyes snapping toward her in unison, wide with surprise and confusion.
The girl, feeling like a startled little animal, quickly ducked back inside.
The door closed, shutting out all their gazes.
“Holy crap, holy crap, she’s so adorable!”
The young female officer grabbed Ji Lu’s arm, whispering excitedly.
Ji Lu expressionlessly brushed her off. “You might not care about your image, but I do. Calm down!”
But he was also shocked—Lin Shi Xi’s face, now without the gauze, seemed to have healed remarkably well.
He had almost failed to recognize her earlier.
The female officer pretended to be calm but couldn’t resist adding, “I feel like I’ve seen this girl somewhere before…”
Ji Lu: “…Yeah, you’ve mentioned it a few times before, saying how could someone look so pretty with gauze on their face.”
Female officer: “!!” It was her!
The world is so small—after all this time, she had actually run into the source of the gossip!
Huo Yao’s gaze swept over the group as he instructed them to take Lan Yun and leave first.
As Ji Lu closed the door, he observed the captain’s expression, suppressing his curiosity before departing.
Shi Xi leaned against the door, hearing a soft knock from behind.
Then came Huo Yao’s voice: “They’re gone.”
Only then did Shi Xi open the door.
She was wearing nothing but a thin, pink spaghetti-strap nightgown.
Because of her injured left foot, Shi Xi had bought mostly dresses lately.
Living alone now and with the weather getting warmer, she had only brought a nightgown with her when she entered the bathroom earlier.
With so many people in the room, she hadn’t felt comfortable stepping out.
The pink-orange silk nightgown, with its delicate straps and a small V-neck…
It was more striking than if she had only been wrapped in a towel.
Huo Yao almost instinctively turned away, extending his arm in her direction to hand her the cane. “Do you need help?”
“I can manage…”
A faint voice came from behind.
Huo Yao swiftly picked up the blanket from the sofa, turned around, and draped it over her.
Grabbing two corners of the blanket, she tied a knot in front of her.
The blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape, falling to her calves.
Shi Xi: “…”
Not even close to fitting.
Huo Yao’s expression turned serious again as he turned toward the window. “Do you want to change clothes first?”
“No.”
Wrapped up tightly by him as she was, it seemed unnecessary to change.
So she sat down on the sofa.
She patted the spot beside her and looked at him. “Huo Yao, I’m scared. Will you sit with me?”
For the first time in his life, Huo Yao didn’t know where to rest his gaze.
The scent of camellias in the room grew increasingly rich, each breath moist and sweet.
Something was wrong—something was very wrong. He felt completely off-balance.
Pretending not to hear her, he forcibly changed the subject. “Lan Yun has given up on treatment and was discharged today. We checked the hospital surveillance—she’s been following you since you left.”
He’d had a bad feeling earlier and planned to send his team over to check.
But Lan Yun’s phone location was already near her neighborhood.
He should have realized sooner—what good could come from Lan Yun actively approaching her?
Nothing but intent to kill.
Shi Xi said softly, “Luckily, you came.”
She truly hadn’t expected Lan Yun to act against her so urgently.
She lowered her gaze. “You saved my life again.”
Huo Yao looked in her direction and saw her curled up under the blanket, huddled in the corner of the sofa like a deeply insecure kitten.
He knew he shouldn’t be here, yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
Dark emotions warred in his eyes.
He couldn’t stand still, nor could he sit.
He turned and walked to the sofa, stopping before her.
Word by word, he told her clearly, “This case owes much to your help. Like I said before, it wasn’t me who saved you—it was yourself.”
“But the fact is, you did save me. If you hadn’t come just now, I might have been the next victim in your case.”
Shi Xi was firm on this point.
She looked up at him, her neck already aching.
Catching the meaning in her eyes, Huo Yao instinctively crouched down without thinking.
Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. From the earlier sprint, every muscle in his body felt activated and remained tense.
As he drew near, Shi Xi sensed the overwhelming rush of hormones.
Their proximity and face-to-face posture created a subtle atmosphere.
By the time Huo Yao realized it, he couldn’t be bothered to resist.
And she, perhaps comforted by the closeness, seemed to relax slightly.
She shifted forward, closing the distance between them.
The pink flush on her left cheek bloomed like a flower in winter.
He knew all too well that it wouldn’t be long before her hidden beauty would be fully unveiled.