The tactile sensation was soft and cool to the touch, yet from within, thick, distinct veins bulged out, expanding to a startling, aggressive degree, as if they could endlessly ooze the cold, steely texture of a weapon.
In his nightmare, Yu Se felt panicked; after all, he certainly didn’t have any can’t put it down kind of interest in this sort of thing.
Until he moved his finger away, only to immediately touch another one right beside it.
Identical to absolute perfection, matched to an exact degree!
A double sculpture!
In his groggy state, Yu Se felt certain he must be seeing ghosts. Anyone with the slightest bit of biological knowledge knew that most human organs appear in symmetrical pairs, such as dual eyes, dual eyebrows, dual ears, and dual kidneys. However, organs that appear singly are greater in number.
For instance, the heart, liver, spleen, and lungs, plus a man’s tree of life.
Now, his hand had actually touched something so counter to human growth.
If there were only one, Yu Se would have withdrawn his hand. But upon discovering there were two, Yu Se’s research soul as a doctor instantly awakened.
He touched it, and then touched it again.
The person close beside him immediately let out a low chuckle, parting bright red lips close to his earlobe to dart out the tip of a tongue, “Doctor Yu, being too greedy is not going to work, you know.” Following that, he licked the earlobe like a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface.
“Still, it’s quite cute.”
Right after this teasing remark, the snake coiled across Yu Se’s chest seemed to receive some sort of instruction, opening its jaws to take aim at the side of Yu Se’s neck, where it bit down fiercely.
Pain!
Truly, extremely painful!
The excruciating pain of sharp snake fangs tearing through skin and piercing muscle caused Yu Se to arch his waist involuntarily. His tense shirt, strained by his struggle, popped open two buttons, exposing the pale skin underneath. His chest resembled a blossoming plum tree full of vibrant vitality, blooming with alluring pale pink petals scattered in a brilliant mess, staining even his collarbone exceptionally sexy.
“I’ll give you a small branding mark first; as for the rest, we have a long time ahead of us.”
The man pressed close became increasingly infatuated with Yu Se’s constantly writhing, resisting posture. Instead of making any more excessive moves, he opened his mouth to latch onto the spot bitten by the snake fangs, slowly and thoroughly licking clean the small, deep tooth punctures, like a thirsty little beast that had discovered a spring.
It was even harder for Yu Se to wake up from this. The spot bitten by the snake had initially hurt to the extreme, but after just a brief moment, soaked through by the man’s saliva, what blanketed him in its place was an indescribable, chaotic fever.
The ultimate pain and pleasure entangled with one another, fighting for dominance within Yu Se’s body, waxing and waning.
The lingering aftershocks were long and sustained.
The phone’s alarm was set for 6:30 AM, playing one of Yu Se’s favorite English songs.
This time, Yu Se successfully opened his eyes, clearly recognizing that he was still lying in some unknown room within the Feng family estate. The indoor furnishings were understated yet luxurious, with several rosewood tables placed by the window, topped with exquisite bronze artistic vases filled with elegant indoor floral arrangements.
The sunlight filtered through the half-drawn curtains, dappling every corner of the room and adding a touch of chill to the quiet space.
Cold.
Yu Se completely couldn’t look straight at this word right now. He retrieved a tissue from his lab coat pocket to wipe his right palm.
A series of movements pulled at his neck, and he discovered that besides a mild, throbbing soreness, there was no major issue. Recalling his encounter from last night, an indescribably complex emotion welled up in Yu Se’s heart.
It wasn’t a dream. Absolutely not a dream.
Yu Se used his freshly wiped fingertips to lightly touch the aching spot on his neck.
Sure enough, the traces left by the snake fangs were clear and obvious.
He had definitely been bitten by a snake yesterday; he was ambushed by an animal.
It was just that the creature, which was partly a snake and partly a man…
Two of them…
Doctors are all steadfast materialist fighters. Yu Se silently repeated this phrase in his mind over and over, attempting to find a trace of rational comfort and telling himself not to be affected by numbers anymore.
He carefully inspected his shirt and suit trousers; aside from being wrinkled from pressure, there were no particularly unusual traces.
Hmm.
If even science cannot explain a phenomenon, why should an ordinary person bother agonizing over researching it?
Yu Se calmed his emotions slightly, stood up to tidy the wrinkles on his clothing, and strode out of the unfamiliar room that had plagued him all night long.
Walking back along the original route for a stretch, Yu Se happened to cross paths with Butler Jin, who was hurrying over.
Butler Jin asked with unmistakable surprise, “Doctor Yu, why have you arrived so early? I remember our agreed time was three in the afternoon.”
Moreover, the direction Yu Se was walking from was extremely ominous, it was actually the residence of the family head, Feng Yinchen.
As mentioned before, the Feng family’s buildings were intricate and complex, with the wealth accumulated over several generations creating this labyrinth-like estate.
With a conditioned reflex, Yu Se used his hand to stroke the top-most tightly fastened button on his collar, inadvertently pulling at the wound and causing a wince. He awkwardly said, “I got lost last night.”
“Got lost?!” Butler Jin’s expression instantly grew grave. He secretly glanced around and lowered his voice, saying, “Doctor Yu, this is not a place to wander around casually, especially at night. The family head places a high value on the privacy of the estate; I hope you didn’t encounter any unnecessary trouble last night.”
Key word: last night.
Yu Se gave a slight cough, “Please rest assured, I didn’t encounter any trouble yesterday. However, while resting in the small reception room, I accidentally fell asleep. If the family head minds greatly, I am also willing to deduct a portion of my remuneration as compensation for my rude intrusion.”
Butler Jin saw that he was well-dressed, and his speech was calm, elegant, and sincere, as if he truly knew nothing. The doubts in his heart finally dissipated somewhat. “Doctor Yu is overthinking it. You are a distinguished guest of our Feng family; how could there be any talk of deducting remuneration?”
“Fundamentally speaking, yesterday was a special circumstance, otherwise we wouldn’t have let you experience the accident of getting lost within the estate.”
As they spoke, Butler Jin made an inviting gesture toward Yu Se, smoothly guiding the conversation to lead him out of the living area belonging to the family head, Feng Yinchen, and guiding him slowly toward the opposite side.
He even sneaked a hand to touch the doorknob, locking the passageway between the two buildings.
Yu Se understood without spelling it out, instead asking, “I wonder if yesterday’s Elman has been found?”
“Actually, I’m a bit curious. Is Elman also a distinguished guest invited by the family?”
“No, Elman is neither a guest nor a family member of the Feng family.”
Butler Jin probably felt this wasn’t any earth-shattering secret, and since Yu Se would still be interacting with the Feng family in the future, he said directly, “Actually, you should have seen him before. It’s a beauty snake kept by the family head.”
It was the little black snake coiled around Feng Yinchen’s neck, the one that had flicked its pink tongue out at him.
Yu Se’s blood felt somewhat congealed. In truth, he had been half-conscious when trapped in his nightmare last night; it was just that the other party didn’t know.
So, actually.
The person who released the snake to bite him last night, and the person who pinned him down with his bare body… those two sculpture-like men whose existence blurred the line between illusion and reality…
Ahem, ahem, ahem!
Was actually Feng Yinchen?!
Yu Se flatly refused to accept this judgment. After all, Feng Yinchen was far too breathtakingly gorgeous; his rich, vivid looks didn’t seem mortal at all. He resembled a figure stepping right out of a painting, every movement exuding elegance and nobility. How could he possibly do such a crude and wild thing?
He tried to persuade himself that this was merely a misunderstanding, an illusion born from the intertwining of dreams and reality.
However, recalling the sensation of the snake’s fork-tongue lightly brushing against his neck last night, along with the very real feeling of a heavy weight pinning his body down, Yu Se’s heart trembled uncontrollably.
He dared not delve deeper, nor was he willing to believe that the ethereal, cold-as-ice beauty Feng Yinchen could be the one who acted so wantonly toward him in the dead of night.
“No, impossible… we aren’t even close, we’ve only met for a mere single glance,” Yu Se muttered to himself, attempting to use words to dispel the shock in his heart, “Right, I remember you mentioning earlier that the family head has some special hobbies…”
Yu Se prepared to get to the bottom of the matter.
Butler Jin’s expression turned stern. He shushed him, saying, “Ahead is the dining room. The family head and the young masters are enjoying breakfast.”
He had no intention of detouring either, directly pushing open the rosewood carved-flower doors of the dining room.
Yu Se and Butler Jin stepped into the dining room together. The subtle sound of the door hinges turning was exceptionally clear in the quiet morning.
Inside the dining room, a rectangular dining table was arranged. The other two young masters sat on the left and right sides, while Feng Yinchen sat squarely at the head of the table. Dressed in an ink-jade silk bathrobe that failed to conceal his otherworldly temperament, his neck was as slender as a proud swan, and his jade-colored eyes were aloof and indifferent, resembling two pieces of cold ice embedded in a jade bottle.
A flawless beauty without a single blemish was currently feeding a bloody piece of beef into the mouth of the little black snake coiled around his shoulder.
Yu Se was still deeply captivated by his beauty, even knowing full well that the fellow directly opposite him might be the villain who had harassed him last night.
Butler Jin walked up to the family head to report, “The family doctor invited by the eldest young master for the third young master has arrived.”
Very well.
He could go straight to work now.
Yu Se raised a hand to lightly touch his aching, swollen neck. This unconscious movement immediately caught Feng Yinchen’s attention.
Feng Yinchen addressed Feng Cheng, who was dining in silence beside him, “When did you become a useless piece of trash?”
Feng Cheng’s hand immediately clenched extremely tight, as if preparing to face a storm at any second. He kept his head lowered, enduring the internal anger and unwillingness. Complex emotions flashed within those eyes, fear of the family head’s authority alongside self-blame for his own incompetence.
Second Young Master Feng Yu, meeting him for the first time, couldn’t help defending his eldest brother: “Uncle, Elder Brother hasn’t slept a single peaceful night for a entire month in order to resolve this matter.”
It was Zhile himself who refused to utter a single extra word!
“Enough.” Feng Cheng timely intervened to stop his second younger brother’s retort, “I have already thought of a way to solve the problem; everything is just a matter of time.”
He spoke very cautiously. No matter how much unwillingness and annoyance he felt at the moment, facing the family head’s reprimand, he still explained in a low voice, “Uncle, I ask you to grant me a few more days. Those friends who went out to play with Zhile, I have already begun dealing with them one by one.”
Feng Yinchen touched the head of the little black snake with a blood-stained, snow-white fingertip, entirely unmoved as he said, “Cheng’er, this is merely a trifling little matter, right?”
Watching from the side, Yu Se felt his heart race with anxiety, primarily because Feng Yinchen’s words were ambiguous, neither cold nor hot, and their true meaning unclear.
Feng Cheng was a decisive person and likewise the eldest among the three brothers.
When third brother Feng Zhile failed to return overnight, potentially being framed or even potentially carrying the child of an unknown stranger, this was entirely a family scandal and a permanent stain on Feng Zhile’s life.
As the eldest brother, Feng Cheng bore unshirkable responsibility.
His supervision was flawed; he failed to protect his younger brother well, allowing Feng Zhile to plunge into such a perilous predicament.
At this moment, his heart was filled with self-blame and anxiety.
Feng Cheng clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, “I will make this matter flawless.”
Second Young Master Feng Yu was around the same age as him. Compared to Feng Zhile, who was only nineteen, the relationship between the two of them was much closer.
Feng Yu had been exceptionally clever since childhood. Unlike Feng Zhile’s lively and cheerful personality, he knew how to read the room and was even better at probing people’s hearts. Within the family, Feng Yu had always maintained a low-profile existence, not as vivacious as Feng Zhile, nor as stern as Feng Cheng.
He knew his eldest brother had taken a severe beating with a riding crop just because he hadn’t handled things according to the family head’s expectations.
He couldn’t help but step in to help explain on behalf of his eldest brother.
Feng Cheng’s gaze remained firm; he shook his head, signaling Feng Yu that there was no need to say any more.
Especially since among the people present right now, there was still an outsider.
Yu Se instantly sensed his awkward predicament as a major outsider, and thus proactively spoke up, “The third young master’s side is still waiting for me; I’ll go check on his condition now.”
With those words, he turned around and strode away. The moment the door closed behind him, he quickened his pace into a light jog.
He had no idea that Feng Yinchen’s gaze followed closely behind him all the way until the crack of the door closed tightly, whereupon it reined back like a spiderweb forcibly snapped apart.
With a blank expression, he said, “Fine then.” The implication was granting Feng Cheng one more chance.
He added, “This family doctor looks quite decent. Go sign a long-term contract with him.”