So fierce. Completely unreasonable.
Can’t I even look for a second?
Huai Yin’s chin was beginning to ache slightly under the boy’s grip.
What was wrong with him now? They were doing just fine a second ago.
She blinked slowly, a thin mist gathering in her dark, almond eyes. Under the bright lighting, the gleam reflected off her pupils like a dazzling, exquisite galaxy—a sight so captivating anyone would easily get lost in it.
With a touch of innocent bewilderment on her lovely face, the young heiress looked up at Shen Xiaozhou.
She looked entirely pitiable and aggrieved.
The veins on the back of Shen Xiaozhou’s pale hand bulged slightly. His cold fingertips hovered dangerously close, pressing gently over her soft, delicate lips.
Her cherry-red lips were as plump as a ripe peach—so tender that a gentle push of a finger felt like it could pierce the skin, letting the sweet juice burst right out.
What would the young miss’s lips taste like? Would they be sweet?
At the thought, Shen Xiaozhou swallowed hard, his prominent throat bobbing violently as his cold, distant eyes filled with a dark, intense emotion.
Meeting his overly burning gaze, Huai Yin timidly shrank her neck back.
Something felt strange.
Whether it was just her imagination or not, Huai Yin felt as if Shen Xiaozhou looked like he was about to devour her whole.
“Is he good-looking?” Shen Xiaozhou asked out of nowhere.
The sudden shift in topic caught Huai Yin off guard.
“Who?”
Shen Xiaozhou knitted his brows, his jawline locked tight. “The school doctor.”
“Oh, him,” Huai Yin hummed, falling into serious thought. After a few seconds, she nodded with an appreciative gleam in her eyes. “He really is very handsome.”
A string inside his mind suddenly snapped.
Hearing her answer, Shen Xiaozhou’s expression turned extraordinarily grim.
As expected of a fickle, flirtatious young heiress.
Shen Xiaozhou felt a sharp throbbing at his temples, and his cold, handsome face twisted visibly in frustration.
“How handsome? Is he more handsome than me?” Shen Xiaozhou didn’t even realize how thick the jealousy was in his own voice.
What a rare sight.
The scholarship student whose head was normally filled with nothing but studying and books was actually getting jealous over another man’s looks.
Huai Yin was thoroughly surprised.
How should she answer that? To be fair, both of them were exceptionally handsome, hitting every one of her aesthetic preferences.
“You’re both handsome,” Huai Yin spoke truthfully.
Shen Xiaozhou was far from satisfied with this answer. In Huai Yin’s mind, wasn’t that basically saying he was on the same level as Lu Yubai?
Putting him on par with Lu Yubai felt like an insult—but more than that, it sparked a deep envy.
Before asking the question, Shen Xiaozhou had been completely confident in his own appearance.
His mother had been a renowned beauty in her youth. Wasn’t it precisely because Huai Yanli was entranced by her beauty that he got involved with her in the first place?
Unquestionably, Shen Xiaozhou took after his mother, perfectly inheriting her stunning, flawless face.
His features were exquisite and sharp, practically without a single defect. As he grew older, the youthful innocence faded, replaced by the refined handsome charm unique to a young man.
Since Huai Yin was Huai Yanli’s biological daughter, logically speaking, this face of his should have been just as captivating to her.
After all, like father, like daughter.
His fingertips inadvertently brushed past the girl’s soft lips. It was a sensation he had never experienced before, making Shen Xiaozhou pause as a tingling sensation rippled down his spine.
Shen Xiaozhou froze in place, while Huai Yin stared at him, utterly bewildered.
She really had no idea what was going on in these boys’ heads.
Feeling an itch in her nose, Huai Yin pushed his hand away, ducked her head, and let out a tiny sneeze—the delicate sound echoing like a kitten’s soft meow.
Snapping out of his chaotic thoughts, Shen Xiaozhou looked down and realized Huai Yin was still wearing her drenched clothing.
She had just taken off her uniform blazer and tossed it onto a nearby chair. Now, just like Shen Xiaozhou, she was only wearing a dress shirt.
The white shirt was made of a light, breathable fabric. Soaked as it was, it had turned almost translucent, clinging tight to her skin and faintly revealing the pink camisole underneath.
She would definitely catch a cold if she stayed like this.
“Take your clothes off,” Shen Xiaozhou tried his best to keep his mind rational.
Huai Yin froze, her mouth parting slightly in a dazed, silly expression.
“Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
Realizing she had misunderstood, Shen Xiaozhou averted his eyes and explained awkwardly, “Your clothes are soaked. You’ll catch a cold. Wear mine.”
So that’s what he meant.
Huai Yin let out a sigh of relief.
She had thought Shen Xiaozhou was trying to tease her on purpose.
“Then what about you?” Huai Yin suddenly realized.
Shen Xiaozhou’s expression shifted subtly, turning a bit complex.
The arrogant young miss actually knows how to worry about others?
His thin lips pressed into a tight line, unwilling to let her catch on to his mood.
Was he pleased? Perhaps a little. Ever since coming to this academy, rarely had anyone shown him genuine concern—especially not Huai Yin, who usually bullied him nonstop. That made it all the more unexpected.
Shen Xiaozhou thought he must be going crazy, finding himself delighted over a crumb of kindness from the young miss as if it were a precious treasure.
He closed his eyes briefly and spoke in an even tone.
“I still have my blazer.”
Oh, right.
Huai Yin had almost forgotten.
Shen Xiaozhou’s blazer was currently tucked behind her waist as a cushion.
“That’s good, then.”
No longer torn, Huai Yin raised her hands and began unbuttoning her shirt. Shen Xiaozhou watched as she unfastened the top two buttons, revealing a pair of delicate collarbones, and just below that, a glimpse of porcelain-soft skin.
Right then, Huai Yin suddenly paused. Sensing a gaze on her, she looked up and caught Shen Xiaozhou staring straight at her.
There it was again—that look that made her feel like he wanted to eat her alive.
Did she really look that delicious? Huai Yin touched her own burning face.
“What’s wrong?”
She suspected Shen Xiaozhou was asking something he already knew the answer to.
Clutching her collar tightly, Huai Yin said in a small voice, “Turn, turn around. Don’t look.”
A quiet stillness fell between them.
Shen Xiaozhou raised his eyelids, keeping his face entirely unreadable as he retracted his gaze.
“Got it.” He turned his back to her.
“Hurry up.”
Just as Huai Yin slipped off her shirt, Shen Xiaozhou’s sudden voice startled her. She drew her shoulders in, her eyes opening wide like a frightened fawn.
The chilly air of the room crept onto her bare back.
Huai Yin hastily pulled the blanket over her body, leaving only her fluffy head exposed.
“I’m done,” Huai Yin said, blinking as she stared at Shen Xiaozhou’s tall, straight back. “The shirt?”
Is the young miss worried he’ll go back on his word?
Shen Xiaozhou let out a low chuckle.
“I know. Here.”
Shen Xiaozhou unbuttoned his shirt one by one and slipped it off, exposing his tall, lean frame to Huai Yin’s eyes.
It wasn’t obvious when he was fully dressed, but Shen Xiaozhou actually had a remarkably good build. Though he looked lean, his muscle lines were sharp and defined—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, taut skin without a trace of excess fat. He looked almost like a professional model.
And Shen Xiaozhou was only nineteen, meaning he still had room to grow taller.
Huai Yin was thoroughly envious. She wished she could grow taller, too.
“Thank you.”
Her voice was soft as she reached out to take Shen Xiaozhou’s shirt, which still carried the lingering warmth of his body.
Slipping it on, a faint, crisp scent drifted past her nose—it was his scent. The shirt was truly oversized on her; she felt as though her entire body was wrapped up inside his clothes.
Surprisingly, it gave her a comforting sense of security.
“Are you dressed?”
“Mm.”
Huai Yin nodded. Looking up, she saw that Shen Xiaozhou had already pulled his blazer back on.
Turning back around, Shen Xiaozhou picked up the iodine bottle and cotton swabs from the bedside table. “Come here. Let me treat your scrape.”
Huai Yin pulled back the blanket and extended her legs toward him.
It didn’t seem to hurt all that much anymore.
“Do I need to pull my skirt up?” She asked him.
Shen Xiaozhou looked at her quietly without saying a word. It was only after a long pause that he finally spoke.
“No need.” His tone was somewhat cold. After a brief pause, he added, “And from now on, don’t just blindly listen to what other people tell you to do.”
Just like earlier.
The moment Lu Yubai asked her to pull her skirt up, she had obediently complied, hoisting her hem up herself and exposing her thighs for someone else to see.
She didn’t have an ounce of guard up.
She didn’t even realize when someone was taking advantage of her.
What would have happened if he hadn’t been there?
This brainless, foolish young heiress would just let strangers touch and handle her however they pleased.
And afterward, she would still be sitting there cluelessly, completely unaware of what had just happened.
The mere thought of it sent an insufferable surge of annoyance through Shen Xiaozhou.
If the young heiress didn’t start learning her lesson soon, he wouldn’t mind stepping in to teach her—on her father’s behalf—how to keep her distance from unfamiliar men.
“I got it.” Huai Yin lowered her head, muttering with a guilty conscience.
Whether the young miss actually took it to heart was anyone’s guess.
Shen Xiaozhou sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. Grasping Huai Yin’s ankle, he pulled her leg over, resting her foot across his own thigh.
The boy’s thigh was firm and warm, standing in stark contrast to Huai Yin’s soft, tender flesh.
Holding her by the calf, Shen Xiaozhou raised her knee slightly.
It was an awkward position, and Huai Yin instinctively tried to break free from his grasp.
But Shen Xiaozhou gave her no such chance; he tightened his grip, causing Huai Yin to gasp.
It seemed he had hurt the young miss yet again.
Shen Xiaozhou slowly loosened his hand, watching her expression closely as he applied the iodine-soaked cotton swab across her scrape.
Huai Yin creased her brow tightly, kept her head buried, and didn’t dare to look. Shen Xiaozhou could feel how stiff her body was.
Easing his movements, he blew gently on the wound to soothe the delicate girl’s pain.
How amazing—it really doesn’t hurt anymore!
Huai Yin blinked in surprise.
Shen Xiaozhou rolled up his sleeve, exposing a lean, pale arm, and held it out in front of her. Huai Yin looked up, an expression of complete confusion on her face.
What was that supposed to mean?
Seeing that she didn’t get it, Shen Xiaozhou knit his brows slightly and feigned impatience as he explained, “If it hurts, bite me.”