At Nanshan Villa.
In the bedroom, Lu Nanzhan removed Song Qingxian’s clothes one piece at a time. Her exposed skin broke out in goosebumps.
Song Qingxian flinched backward, but Lu Nanzhan caught her wrist, his voice low and bewitching.
“Xianxian, how did you manage to make yourself so dirty? Have you not changed your clothes in a long time?”
“I’m sorry…” Song Qingxian did not even know why she was apologizing. Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming pressure he gave off, making her instinctively feel that she was the one at fault.
After stripping off her last piece of clothing, Lu Nanzhan carried her into the bathroom. The servants had already prepared the bath. Essential oils that soothed and calmed the mind floated in the water, while rose petals covered the surface, filling the air with a delicate fragrance.
“Xianxian, isn’t it nice here? Why did you run off to that kind of place?” Lu Nanzhan said as he placed her into the bathtub. “I have to wash you clean. How could my Xianxian be dirty?”
This man was truly sick. Completely deranged.
The moment she was placed into the water, the suffocating fear of drowning surged back again. Even though it was just warm water at the perfect temperature, Song Qingxian still felt a bone chilling cold.
Her previous drowning experience had left her with a deep rooted fear of water.
She even felt as though water was entering her eyes, nose, and mouth. Song Qingxian tightly grabbed Lu Nanzhan’s shirt like it was her last lifeline.
Her grip loosened several buttons, revealing his firm, sculpted chest, and lower down, faintly visible abs.
Lu Nanzhan’s gaze darkened. “Xianxian, let go.”
Song Qingxian still clung tightly to his shirt, struggling desperately to sit up in the bathtub and shaking her head repeatedly. “I don’t want to bathe, I want out.”
Lu Nanzhan thought the servants had set the water incorrectly and tested it himself. The temperature was perfect.
He pressed her shoulders back down into the water. “Be good, Xianxian. Everything was prepared according to your preferences. I’ll wash you myself. It’ll be quick.”
The drowning sensation only grew stronger. The fear of death squeezed her tightly as Song Qingxian burst into tears, gasping for air.
“Let me out, I’m suffocating.”
Lu Nanzhan gently wiped her tears. “Xianxian, what are you talking about? How could you suffocate in a bathtub? With me here, I won’t let that happen.”
Song Qingxian struggled violently in the water, splashing it all over Lu Nanzhan. “Let me out! I won’t bathe! I won’t! I’m suffocating!”
Lu Nanzhan looked at her. Even though his clothes were soaked, he showed no anger at all. Instead, he stepped directly into the bathtub.
“I’ll stay with you.”
As his body sank into the water, a large amount of water overflowed. He braced himself inside the tub and pulled Song Qingxian into his arms beneath him. Lowering his head, he kissed her.
A long, lingering kiss.
Only then did Song Qingxian finally calm down.
“This way you won’t suffocate anymore, right?”
The moment his lips touched hers, she felt as if she had finally grabbed onto a piece of driftwood in the ocean. Yet when he stopped, that drowning sensation surged back again.
Noticing her pain, Lu Nanzhan lowered his head once more, kissing her soft lips again. At the same time, his large, rough hands moved over every inch of her skin, rubbing gently as if trying to cleanse her completely.
His hands felt like fire. Wherever they passed, her skin burned hot.
Song Qingxian felt something strange coming from Lu Nanzhan.
His voice was hoarse. “Xianxian, you really know how to torture people.”
She clung tightly to his shoulders. Only then did she feel a sliver of safety in the water.
No one knew how much time had passed before the bath finally ended.
The one suffering was not only Song Qingxian, but Lu Nanzhan as well.
No one knew how much he wanted her, how badly he wanted to fuse her into his very body.
But he could not.
Their child was not even two months old yet. He could not do anything to her. He had to protect their baby. So he could only endure it and act like a gentleman.
Song Qingxian noticed the number above his head had dropped to 80.
Lu Nanzhan wrapped her in a bath towel and carried her to the bed. He took out clothes and tried to dress her.
“I can do it myself.”
But Lu Nanzhan did not stop. He continued dressing her.
“Xianxian, I like doing this for you.”
Then he brought out a hairdryer and gently dried her long hair.
Even though everything he did was gentle, Song Qingxian still felt an inexplicable fear. Deep inside Lu Nanzhan, there was an oppressive and terrifying presence.
After drying her hair, Lu Nanzhan lightly pressed a mechanism on the bed. A pair of handcuffs popped out.
Song Qingxian immediately moved back in alarm. “What are you doing?”
Lu Nanzhan grabbed her wrist and quickly cuffed her. “Xianxian, since you escaped for half a month, your punishment is to stay on the bed for half a month.”
Song Qingxian’s eyes filled with terror as she struggled against the restraints. “Azhan, don’t do this, I know I was wrong.”
The cold metal of the cuffs rubbed against her wrist until it turned red. Lu Nanzhan’s eyes flashed with distress as he gently stroked her wrist.
“Don’t struggle, Xianxian. You can’t escape. It hurts you, and it hurts me too.”
“Please let me go.”
“Xianxian, I don’t want to do this either. But you broke the rules, so you must be punished. Otherwise, how will you remember?”
Lu Nanzhan’s deep voice sounded like a demon from hell echoing in her ears. His hand gently rested on her abdomen.
“Xianxian, for the sake of the baby, this punishment is already very light.”
Those words struck Song Qingxian like a heavy blow.
The baby. The baby was already gone.
If he found out, who knew what kind of madness he would unleash.
Song Qingxian looked at Lu Nanzhan with fear and hatred in her eyes.
Monster. He was a complete monster.
Her gaze pierced like a blade into Lu Nanzhan’s heart. His voice turned commanding. “Xianxian, don’t look at me like that.”
The number rose to 83.
Song Qingxian lowered her gaze, hiding her expression.
Lu Nanzhan climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. A familiar scent enveloped her completely.
One of her hands was locked to the bedhead, unable to move. After a moment of hesitation, she used her free hand to gently touch his handsome face.
“Azhan, I was wrong before. I won’t run anymore. Don’t be angry, okay?”
Lu Nanzhan took her hand and kissed it. “Xianxian, you’ve already used this trick on me before. Do you really think I’ll be fooled a second time?”
“I’m not lying.”
Lu Nanzhan lightly kissed her forehead. “Really not lying?”
His dark eyes stared deeply into hers.
“If you lie again, the consequences will be very ugly.”
He said the gentlest words in the most terrifying tone.
“I… I won’t lie to you anymore.”
Lu Nanzhan’s lips curved slightly.
“Good. Xianxian, be good.”
The number, 80.