When Aunt Jiang came over to clear the dining table, Chu Ningwu finally snapped back to her senses.
She still could not quite understand the male lead’s behavior just now.
But after thinking it over, she guessed it definitely had not come from any genuine kindness.
If he really had her best interests at heart, he would not have left her so anxious and overthinking for this long.
Conclusion:
The male lead was teasing her.
And his insistence on forcing her to stay here, keeping her under his watchful eye, definitely meant he had some ulterior motive.
Whatever it was, it certainly was not for her benefit.
Chu Ningwu puffed out her cheeks like an angry little hamster and stomped upstairs.
She decided to pull herself together.
Just because the male lead bullied her, did that mean she had to accept it?
She had read plenty of novels where vicious supporting female characters were reborn, won over the villain, and joined forces to defeat the male and female leads.
In the original story, the male lead’s greatest antagonist was his uncle, who was more than ten years older than him.
There was no way Chu Ningwu could romance him.
But perhaps she could defect to his side.
Since she was already the vicious supporting female character, then she might as well commit fully to being bad.
Stay strong, Chu Ningwu!
Filled with heroic ambition, the little woman returned to the guest bedroom she had previously slept in.
The guest room at Yun Bang Shui Wan was larger than an entire three bedroom apartment in Yun City District Three.
Since she was already here, Chu Ningwu figured that with Huo Zhi Chuan’s immense wealth, he surely would not mind her making use of the guest bathroom’s bathtub.
After all, she had already seen it.
This sunken custom built bath was practically a miniature swimming pool.
It looked large enough to fit ten Chu Ningwus inside.
Just looking at it made her whole body feel relaxed.
Actually soaking in it would probably feel heavenly.
She grabbed the toiletries and pajamas the servants had prepared, then pushed open the bathroom door.
Warm steam immediately enveloped her vision.
Blinking, she discovered that the tub had already been filled.
Wow.
Chu Ningwu nearly wanted to give the villa’s servants a five star review.
How thoughtful!
She removed her clothes, set her slippers by the bath, and cautiously dipped one small foot into the water.
The temperature was perfect.
Everything was perfect.
Except Chu Ningwu had forgotten one crucial detail.
Her injuries could not touch water.
A sharp sting shot through her instantly.
Chu Ningwu jolted upright from the bath.
“Mm… it hurts…”
She sat down on the edge of the tub and lowered her head to inspect her injury.
At that exact moment,
the door on the opposite side of the bathroom quietly opened.
A man wearing dark gray loungewear walked in.
Chu Ningwu was so startled that she instantly clamped her legs together and screamed.
“Ah!”
Misfortune always struck at the worst possible moment.
The moment she recognized who it was, Chu Ningwu nearly fainted.
Why was this bathroom connected to both the master bedroom and the guest room?!
Why was she always so unlucky?!
Why was the male lead so hauntingly inescapable?!
Life was meaningless.
Hahaha…
Huo Zhi Chuan had originally entered with a cold expression, prepared to reprimand whichever careless servant had remained in his bathroom while he intended to bathe.
But the moment he realized it was his foolish little cat who had wandered in by mistake, his entire expression instantly brightened.
With a click, he locked the door.
As he casually unbuttoned his loungewear, he strode toward her.
Chu Ningwu stared blankly.
It did not even occur to her to run.
“Were you really this impatient?”
Huo Zhi Chuan crouched before her, his hot breath brushing against her face and stirring the tiny hairs on her skin.
Goosebumps instantly rose across the pale skin of the arms she had crossed over her chest.
Her face burned red.
She had no idea how to answer.
Yet because of their position, her gaze inevitably landed on his partially open shirt.
Or rather…
Not the shirt.
Firm sculpted muscles.
Sharp, deeply defined lines.
Chu Ningwu already knew Huo Zhi Chuan maintained a regular fitness routine and had an excellent body.
She had seen it firsthand.
And she had absolutely no resistance to it.
Especially now, when it was partially concealed yet tantalizingly visible.
She simply could not look away.
For a full several seconds, her gaze remained glued to him as if sealed in place.
She even swallowed softly.
How could Huo Zhi Chuan possibly not notice what she was doing?
Her gaze was far too obvious.
And the deepening blush on her little face was answer enough.
This time, the man was unexpectedly considerate.
He calmly unbuttoned several more buttons.
That, however, only frightened Chu Ningwu even more.
She quickly glanced up at his expression, then jerked her gaze away as if burned.
It was over.
She had been caught.
When she looked down at herself, she suddenly felt like a perfectly prepared piece of meat, laid bare before a predator.
The red flush on her face shifted toward green with panic.
Her legs trembling, she hurried to stand and search for her clothes.
But after only taking half a step, she accidentally slipped on the water she had splashed earlier.
Her foot slid.
Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed the man beside her.
Chu Ningwu shut her eyes tightly in terror, not daring to imagine what would happen next.
Yet the expected painful collision with marble floor tiles never came.
There was not even the sound of her falling.
The tears she had prepared were rendered entirely unnecessary.
When she opened her eyes, she discovered herself clinging like a vine to Huo Zhi Chuan’s powerful arm.
He had steadied her effortlessly with one hand.
His dark gray loungewear was now covered in chaotic wet patches.
The collar had been yanked wide open by her left hand, exposing nearly his entire cool pale chest.
Still shaken, Chu Ningwu then realized what her right hand was gripping.
It was Huo Zhi Chuan’s pants.
And she had pulled them even more severely out of shape than his shirt.
The fabric was stretched tightly around…
One mountain.
Seeing that was even more terrifying than nearly falling.
Holy crap.
The true horror had arrived.
“Can you stand properly now?”
Huo Zhi Chuan genuinely did not know what to say.
This little greedy cat had nearly fallen.
And yet the first thing she did after recovering was visually inspect his body from top to bottom.
Under her scrutiny, his condition had only become more mountainous.
Chu Ningwu hurriedly stood upright, shoved her feet into her slippers, and ran off to dress herself, too embarrassed to utter a single word.
Huo Zhi Chuan watched her fleeing little figure.
He had not even fully undressed yet, and she already had her clothes back on.
“You’re not bathing anymore?”
“No more, no more. Absolutely not.”
Without even turning back, Chu Ningwu grabbed her toiletries and rushed toward the guest room door.
The moment her hand touched the doorknob, a large hand seized the back of her neck.
Huo Zhi Chuan’s warm chest pressed against her back.
His palm fully enveloped her slender pale neck.
Lowering himself to her ear, he spoke in a deep, husky voice filled with dangerous undertones.
“Wait a while. I’ll apply your medicine.”
“You’ll heal faster that way. Be good.”
Chu Ningwu’s earlobes turned red like ripe fruit.
She had not even said why she was refusing to bathe.
Yet somehow, he had remembered.
Or perhaps…
He had intended this all along.
This was not a suggestion.
It was an order.
She was to obediently cooperate and listen to him.
Lowering her head like a tiny ostrich trying to bury itself in sand, the little woman let out a soft:
“Mm.”
That trembling voice sounded unbearably, unbearably embarrassing.
Yet behind her,
the man’s lips curved slightly.
A glint of amused interest flickered through his ink dark eyes.