Screeeech—!!
The shrill sound of emergency brakes pierced the night as the tires scraped violently against the pavement, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning rubber. The front bumper came to a stop less than an inch from Su Jiuyue’s knees.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Can’t you see this is a military vehicle?!”
Before the driver’s window had even rolled down, the security officer, Xiao Zhang, was already shouting. His hand instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist, his entire body on high alert.
Su Jiuyue couldn’t hear a word he was yelling.
Her vision had already begun to darken. Driven by pure survival instinct, she darted around the front of the jeep and yanked open the rear passenger door.
“Help… please…”
The moment the door swung open, an icy, murderous aura rushed toward her.
A man sat in the shadows of the back seat.
He wore a perfectly pressed olive-green military uniform. The bright red collar tabs at his neck stood out sharply in the darkness, while the four-pocket officer’s jacket was immaculate, without the slightest wrinkle.
His eyes were tightly shut, his brows deeply furrowed. Blue veins bulged at his temples as though he were enduring unbearable agony.
An intimidating chill radiated from him, a warning for strangers to stay away. He was colder than the freezing night wind outside.
Under normal circumstances, Su Jiuyue wouldn’t have dared approach a man who looked like the King of Hell himself.
But now, the icy cold surrounding him was irresistibly tempting to someone like her, whose body was burning from the drug coursing through her veins. To her, it was like a dying traveler in the desert stumbling upon sweet rain.
“Who told you to open the door?”
“Get out.”
Without even opening his eyes, the man spoke in a deep, hoarse voice that carried unquestionable authority.
Su Jiuyue froze, her mind blank for a split second.
At the mouth of the alley, Li Guilan and Liu Laizi had already caught up with several local thugs, flashlight beams sweeping wildly through the darkness.
“There she is! That little bitch got into the car!”
With enemies both in front and behind her, there was nowhere left to run.
The last thread of reason in Su Jiuyue’s mind snapped.
Ignoring everything else, she threw herself into the vehicle, slammed the door shut with a bang, and like a frightened little animal, buried herself straight into the man’s arms.
“Hiss…”
The man’s body stiffened instantly.
Huo Zhixing, who had gone three straight days without sleep and was on the verge of another bipolar episode, instinctively reached out to throw the woman back out of the vehicle.
But the instant she crashed into his embrace—
A strange fragrance drifted unexpectedly into his nose.
It wasn’t the cloying scent of perfume or cosmetics.
Instead, it smelled like a forest after rain—fresh grass and trees, crisp and cool with a refreshing hint of moisture.
The fragrance was like a gentle hand soothing his mind, instantly calming the frenzied nerves that had been stabbing through his head like countless steel needles.
His splitting headache…
Had actually stopped.
The boiling restlessness in his blood cooled immediately. Even the endless illusion of a sea of blood that had haunted him for three years miraculously vanished.
Huo Zhixing’s eyes flew open.
Shock flashed through his bloodshot gaze.
He looked down.
The woman in his arms was burning with feverish heat. Her palm-sized face was flushed an unnatural crimson, damp strands of hair clinging to her cheeks with cold sweat. Her watery eyes brimmed with terror and desperate pleading.
Her fingers clutched tightly at his uniform while her scorching body pressed against the cold metal buttons of his jacket, trembling uncontrollably.
“Commander!”
Seeing the scene, Xiao Zhang was horrified. He unbuckled his seatbelt and spun around, striking with lightning speed to seize Su Jiuyue by the throat.
“Where did this spy come from?! Let go of the commander!”
But a large, well-defined hand intercepted him midair.
Huo Zhixing didn’t move.
The strange fragrance continued flowing toward him, allowing muscles that had remained tense for days to slowly relax.
The long-forgotten feeling of peace…
Made him unexpectedly reluctant to push her away.
Outside the window came loud banging.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Li Guilan plastered herself against the glass. Beside her twisted face stood several hoodlums with delinquent grins.
“Comrade! That’s our daughter-in-law who ran away before the wedding! Please hand her over!”
Su Jiuyue sensed the brief hesitation from the man.
The drug’s effects were rapidly taking over, and wrapped in the embrace of this naturally “cool” source, she lifted her head, her eyes hazy with delirium. Acting purely on instinct, she leaned close to his ear.
Her scorching breath brushed against his neck.
Her soft, trembling voice was almost a whisper, sweet enough to hook at one’s heart.
“Please… don’t make me leave…”
“Save me…”
“I’m…”
“Huo Zhixing’s fiancée.”
Huo Zhixing’s eyes darkened instantly.
His fiancée?
She even knew his name?
Who exactly was this woman?
She was obviously drugged and lying through her teeth.
Perhaps he should simply hand her over to the Security Department.
Yet that mysterious fragrance continued washing over him like gentle waves, easing the violent pain inside his head.
The scent she carried was the only thing in the past three years that had ever suppressed his headaches.
If he handed her over, he’d likely fall back into that endless hell of insomnia and bipolar torment.
Rather than letting her go…
He might as well keep her by his side as a living “medicine.”
He could watch her under his own eyes.
He would observe her for now. As long as she could relieve his pain, giving her a title to drive away the pests outside was hardly a problem.
With that thought, Huo Zhixing lifted his gaze toward the people outside.
His large hand suddenly wrapped around Su Jiuyue’s slender waist, pulling her even deeper into his embrace.
“We’re returning to the compound.”
Bonus Mini Scene
Su Jiuyue (after regaining her senses): “The situation was critical. I had no choice but to stop the most expensive-looking vehicle and seek help from the toughest man I could find.”
Huo Zhixing (raising an eyebrow): “And you call that ‘asking for help’? You claimed to be my fiancée and climbed straight into my arms.”
Su Jiuyue (looking innocent): “Then why didn’t Commander Huo push me away?”
Huo Zhixing (gritting his teeth): “Because my body was more honest than my mouth. And next time you try to ‘throw yourself at someone,’ don’t wear so little.”
“…If you’re going to throw yourself at anyone, make sure it’s only me.”