032 - Applying Medicine

"Vivi, come help me apply it. I already did what I could, but I can’t reach my back..." Lu Yichen turned over and lay face-down on the bed, his tone casual as he spoke to Xia Yuwei. After the night they’d just shared, he felt as though they had returned to the carefree way things used to be between them, and he was very pleased.

Hearing his voice, Xia Yuwei found herself unable to come up with any reason to refuse. Was she overthinking things, or was it that he was unconsciously doing too much for her? Warnings echoed in her mind—he had grown up, he was a man now, not a child. So why did she still, without realizing it, treat him as she always had? When he was hurt, her heart ached; when he acted spoiled, her resolve softened; and when he was this obedient, she couldn't help but go to him.

She picked up the ointment gently, lifted a corner of the thin blanket, and saw only the bruises and dark patches marring his back. She opened the lid, dabbed her slender, boneless fingers into the cool, green, fragrant ointment, and began to smooth it softly over his injuries.

Her fingers were long and delicate, warm as they glided over his skin, mingling the coolness of the medicine with a sensation that made Lu Yichen feel a peculiar, unfamiliar thrill. A shiver of electricity seemed to spread rapidly from his abdomen, making him so comfortable he almost wanted to moan aloud, and he was seized by an impulse to grab her hand, to pull her into an embrace...

"Don’t I look like your maid, waiting on you like this?" Xia Yuwei, oblivious to the changes in the man lying on the bed, joked as she worked the ointment into his back, a self-mocking smile tugging at her lips. "Taking care of you—feeding you, dressing you, helping you sleep, and now applying medicine. I’m practically your all-purpose nanny!"

She thought, perhaps in his eyes, she had replaced his mother, so much so that he couldn’t distinguish between familial affection, friendship, or… something more. But she didn’t know either, for she’d never experienced it herself...

"Yes... ah..." he replied, then suddenly inhaled sharply, letting out a quiet gasp. She was making him feel too good; a moan escaped his throat before he could stop it. Embarrassed by the sound, he lowered his head and said nothing. How had he never realized she possessed such magic? His body felt a pleasure it never had before, leaving him with no mind for what she was saying...

"What’s wrong? Did I press too hard? Did I hurt you?" Xia Yuwei halted, half-concerned, half-chiding. "If you knew it would hurt this much, why do you keep getting into fights? Didn’t you think about the pain when you were being hit? From now on, don’t get into trouble—do you hear me? You’re grown now, a man, not a child anymore."

As she spoke, he suddenly rolled over, grasped her hand, and blurted out impulsively, "Vivi, let me hold you!"

Lost in her own thoughts, Xia Yuwei was caught off-guard when he seized her hand. Hearing his plea, she was startled to realize how much he had changed. She hurried to refuse, "No! Do you know what you’re doing?!"

But he didn’t listen; with a possessive tug on her arm, he pulled her onto himself.

Completely unprepared, Xia Yuwei tumbled onto his body.

A forceful, masculine aura radiated from him, enveloping her with a sudden sense of oppression. Her mind went blank, a ringing in her ears, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe.

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ps: Thank you all for your support! Starting tomorrow, there will be three chapters a day. I’ll do my best to make the story even richer and more exciting, and I’ll work on adding more scene changes as well. Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement!