Shen Suiwan’s mind buzzed at once, and the violent panic made her struggle desperately, but the Huo Yanxiu holding her right now was like a mountain, impossible to budge in the slightest.
If anything, her struggling seemed to deepen the desire in his eyes.
“Huo Yanxiu, calm down a little!” Shen Suiwan’s voice trembled.
She did owe Huo Yanxiu a favor, but she could hardly repay it so carelessly with her own person!
“Stop moving!” Huo Yanxiu growled in a suppressed voice, the veins standing out on his neck. “If you don’t want to drive me mad…”
His bloodshot eyes were fixed on her lovely red lips, on the verge of losing control.
And still he fought it down desperately with the last of his reason.
Shen Suiwan’s body went rigid.
So what he had said just now had not meant that?
“Then… how, how do you want me to help you?” she asked stiffly.
Huo Yanxiu’s scorching palm pressed against the small of her back, and even through the fabric of her clothes she seemed able to feel the burning temperature of his skin.
Small muffled groans escaped his lips, clearly the sound of a man holding himself back with all his strength.
“Go lock the door, and then call my people. My phone isn’t on me…”
He was telling her to go lock the door, and yet he held her tighter and tighter.
“You, you have to let go of me first…”
Huo Yanxiu drew several heavy breaths, and it seemed to take an enormous effort before he finally loosened his grip a little.
Shen Suiwan seized the chance and shoved him away hard.
Caught off guard, Huo Yanxiu was pushed so hard that he fell to the floor, knocking the whole chair over with him.
“Ah, sorry…”
Muttering, Shen Suiwan quickly got as far away from him as she could.
She first locked the private room door from the inside, then stood by the door and took out her phone.
“What’s the number? I’ll make the call.”
Huo Yanxiu kept his eyes closed and rattled off a string of digits.
Shen Suiwan called it right away.
On the other end was a young man’s voice. Shen Suiwan explained the situation simply and clearly, and after she gave the name of the restaurant and the room number, he immediately said he was nearby and would come over at once.
Hanging up the phone, Shen Suiwan let out a slight breath of relief.
But when she looked up, she saw Huo Yanxiu staring hard at her.
Like a beast staring at its prey.
“Huo, Huo Yanxiu, calm down a little. Your men will be here any—”
“Don’t talk!” Huo Yanxiu’s hands were clenched into tight fists.
She really did not know.
How lethal that soft, gentle voice of hers was to him right now.
His whole body felt as though it were on fire. Huo Yanxiu lowered his eyes and watched his own sweat dripping onto the floor without stopping.
He dared not look at Shen Suiwan again.
He was afraid that if he looked at her one moment longer, he would lose control of himself and do something that would hurt her.
She could have left right then.
Having made the call for him, she had already done all that could be asked of her.
But she had not gone.
He knew she was afraid that going out now would draw other people’s attention and expose the fact that he was here.
He absolutely could not be allowed to hurt her.
Time passed second by second, and a single second now was already infinitely long to him. The taste of blood gradually spread in his throat, and in the end he could not hold it back and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Huo Yanxiu!” Shen Suiwan cried out in alarm, keeping her voice low.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the private room.
At the same time, Shen Suiwan received a message from the person she had just called.
“I’m at the door.”
She hurriedly turned and opened the door of the private room.
Outside was a young man, and behind him stood more than a dozen bodyguards in black.
The young man had no time to greet her. He rushed straight into the room and helped Huo Yanxiu up.
“President Huo, you…”
Looking at the bloodstains at the corner of Huo Yanxiu’s mouth and the blood on the floor, the man’s scalp crawled.
“I’ll take you to the hospital right away!”
The man supported Huo Yanxiu out.
Shen Suiwan turned to look at the pool of blood on the floor, her gaze thoughtful.
To have such powerful self-control even after being drugged, to hold back until he coughed up blood.
Huo Yanxiu… just what kind of man was he?
Shen Suiwan returned to the private room where they had been eating. By now the room had been taken over by many bodyguards in black clothes, all of whom appeared to be Huo Yanxiu’s people.
President Zhang, President Liu and the others were all sitting in the room looking at one another.
Seeing her, President Zhang immediately called out to her, “Secretary Shen! You’re finally back. What… what’s going on here?”
From President Zhang’s point of view it really was strange. First Huo Yanxiu had been drinking and then suddenly got up and left, and right after that Gu Tingshen had vomited until he was half dead, and then, after taking a phone call, said he had something urgent and left too.
The rest of them had waited a good long while, and instead of Huo Yanxiu and Gu Tingshen coming back, these bodyguards had come, and they had taken away every bit of the drink and food on the table, not even sparing the already empty bottles, glasses and plates.
What on earth had happened?
Since it concerned Huo Yanxiu, Shen Suiwan did not say much either, only offering them a few words of reassurance, after which someone came over and politely asked her to leave first.
These people had probably been given instructions not to let her stay in this place of trouble.
Shen Suiwan said her goodbyes to President Zhang and the others and then left.
She had just come out of the restaurant and was about to hail a cab when she noticed that Gu Xirou had posted an update on her social media, with two photos.
One was of her wrist, wrapped in thick gauze, and the other was the profile of a man peeling an apple for her.
It was Gu Tingshen.
The caption read, “As long as you’re by my side, that’s enough.”
From the background of the two photos, they were at a hospital.
Shen Suiwan understood.
No wonder Gu Tingshen had vomited like that and then suddenly left.
So Gu Xirou had staged a suicide attempt.
Whatever the two of them did stirred no ripple at all in Shen Suiwan’s heart. She took a cab back to her place, showered, and planned to get a good night’s sleep.
But the moment she closed her eyes, the image of Huo Yanxiu holding himself back with such restraint suddenly rose in her mind.
His sweat falling drop by drop…
She thought about calling Huo Yanxiu’s subordinate to ask how he was doing now, but then it felt a bit odd.
She picked up her phone and opened Huo Yanxiu’s WeChat Moments. There was no new post.
Since his subordinate had taken him to the hospital, he should be all right, shouldn’t he?
Inexplicably unable to set her mind at ease, Shen Suiwan only drifted off into a hazy sleep after a long while.
Not long after she got up in the morning, she received a call from Huo Yanxiu’s subordinate.
“Miss Shen, could I ask you to come to the hospital?”
Shen Suiwan’s heart tightened. “President Huo, is he… is he all right?”
“President Huo is fine. He would just like to ask you to come to the hospital and see him.”
Shen Suiwan agreed.
Thinking about it, Huo Yanxiu had been the victim of a secret scheme, which really was quite awful, and last time, when she was helpless with stomach pain, he had been the one who helped her, so by every measure of feeling and reason she ought to go to the hospital and see him.
What she had not expected, though, was that the moment she arrived at the hospital entrance she would run into Gu Tingshen and Gu Xirou coming out.
Gu Tingshen’s face was rather pale, but he was still tending to Gu Xirou with great care, his face full of concern, asking after her every comfort.
“Miss Shen?” Gu Xirou saw Shen Suiwan first. “Have you come to see me?”
“You’re overthinking things,” Shen Suiwan said coldly.
She did not want to waste any more words on them and was about to walk into the hospital, but Gu Tingshen blocked her way with a cold face.
“Wanwan, didn’t you see Rourou’s wrist? She’s injured, and right now she’s fragile in body and mind. How can you speak to her with that kind of attitude?”
Shen Suiwan found it laughable. Gu Xirou had put on a suicide act, and fooling Gu Tingshen with it was one thing, but did she have to play the fool along with him?
Looking at Shen Suiwan’s expression, Gu Tingshen grew more and more displeased.
“You…”
He was about to make trouble when he suddenly heard a piercing blast of a car horn.
He turned to look to the side, and saw a truck that seemed to have lost control heading straight for them!
“Rourou, look out!”