Chapter 18

She felt a strong pull on her shoulder, and then she was tightly pressed into an embrace she had long stopped fantasizing about. Lying against his chest, she could hear his heart beating so fiercely. He held her tighter and tighter, as if trying to embed her into his body, almost suffocating her. Suddenly, she felt him trembling.

She heard his hoarse, unreal voice: "Xiao Xi, I really missed you."

She thought this might all be a dream. Why did she hear such deep affection in his simple words of missing her? She then felt her own heart race because of that simple sentence. She even sensed that she was happy; she actually missed his embrace.

However, she quickly forced herself to realize that even if he had feelings for her, it was merely possessive desire, a lingering attachment to her body, wanting to completely subdue her. She was tired of him loving Su Yingran in his heart yet still wanting her body. Such a greedy man had already made her despise him.

Those sprouting resentments again dominated her emotions, making her disgusted by his embrace.

"Let go, Gong Youqi." She struggled with a muffled voice under his restraint, pulling hard at the clothes on his back: "If you don't let go, I'll call for help." Realizing he was not intimidated in the slightest, her breathing quickened: "Are you trying to murder me again?"

Gong Youqi slowly loosened his grip but kept his arms extended, trapping her between himself and the wall, quietly scrutinizing her, who was breathing erratically, from head to toe. Her face was slightly haggard, with faint blue shadows under her eyes, suggesting recent poor sleep. Her slightly wavy long hair fell casually in two strands over her chest. She wore a simple plaid shirt over a white T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, looking pure and pretty, like a vibrant college student on the street.

His eyes deepened. No matter what she wore, she could stir the depths of his heart.

Yu Xi turned her head and saw the clock on the wall pointing to eight o'clock. She frantically pushed him: "Hurry, or it'll be too late."

"Will you come with me?" He didn't budge.

"Why should I go with you?"

"Then I'll stay too."

Yu Xi got angry. It was truly a case of the emperor not worrying, but his eunuchs being anxious to death: "Gong Youqi, do you think this is an amusement park?" Still acting childish, not restraining himself on someone else's territory; if he gets caught, he deserves it.

He moved closer: "What did you call me?"

She froze, suddenly remembering he once told her to call him "Youqi" when they were alone. She lowered her head and lightly stomped her foot, feigning ignorance. Hmph, what time was it to be quibbling over titles? She had called him by his full name countless times already. He was about to say something when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by a knock.

"Wait!" Yu Xi said urgently and loudly: "I'm changing!"

Then she heard Nian Yiheng's laughter: "You're still getting dressed up for him, I really misjudged him; that tiger turned out to be a timid turtle, not daring to come see you."

Yu Xi looked at Gong Youqi's sullen face and quickly grabbed him, afraid he would be provoked and rush out. She dragged him around the room, not knowing where to hide him.

Gong Youqi let her drag him around, his face showing no sign of anxiety. Yu Xi became even more frustrated, wishing she could just open the door and throw him out, letting Nian Yiheng take him to be used for target practice by the brothers.

The wardrobe was too messy, the bed was too narrow. Yu Xi dragged him to the bathroom, pushed him in, and told him not to make a sound. After pulling the glass door shut, she went to open the door for Nian Yiheng.

The foxy eyes scanned the room, then looked at her clothes: "This seems to be the same one from this afternoon."

Yu Xi tugged at her hem: "Didn't you just say he didn't come? So I changed back."

Nian Yiheng narrowed his seductive eyes and sat leisurely on the sofa: "I just sent Ah Da to call you, why didn't I see him come back?"

Yu Xi looked at the ceiling: "How would I know? He probably got lost, got lazy, or fell asleep halfway."

Nian Yiheng smiled, didn't ask further, and changed the subject: "He didn't come, and you don't seem disappointed."

She blushed slightly: "I didn't expect him to come in the first place."

"I was really looking forward to it." Nian Yiheng stroked his chin, a mischievous look on his face: "How about I come up with another way to provoke him?"

"What evil plot do you have now?" she asked cautiously, instinctively feeling he was going to mess with her.

The foxy man indeed looked at her for a few moments, then smiled and said, "I have two options for you. Option one: let you suffer a little in the torture chamber for a night, change into a few torture devices and record a video clip."

Yu Xi rolled her eyes at him: "You're a pervert."

Nian Yiheng raised an eyebrow and continued: "Option two: you record a tearful message to him, saying you've been kidnapped here and begging him to save you. Oh, why not add some ransom money to make it more convincing?"

"You're dreaming!" She picked up a pillow and threw it directly at him. The foxy man tilted his head, easily dodging it.

He laughed even harder: "Do you have a better idea?"

Yu Xi ground her teeth, plopped onto the bed: "I choose option three: just sleep."

Unexpectedly, Nian Yiheng clapped his hands to his watch and said: "Hmm, your method is indeed better! I'll go call for help immediately; a photo will be enough."

She sat up, puzzled: "What photo?"

Nian Yiheng wore an expression that said 'I don't believe you don't know,' his gaze first peeling off a layer of her clothes. Still not satisfied, he asked: "Just one 'colorful' photo probably isn't stimulating enough, is it? Should I find a male model to pair up with you like a mandarin duck?"

Before Yu Xi could answer, she heard the bathroom door whoosh open. A handsome man in black, close-fitting attire emerged, radiating cold air as if he had just come out of a refrigerator. The temperature of his face was especially low, and his eyes, with an absolute zero chill, shot towards Nian Yiheng, his words like ice arrows: "You dare try!"

Nian Yiheng's face was full of smiles, staring at Gong Youqi with great interest.

Yu Xi felt her head immediately swell to twice its size, and she exploded in anger: "Did your usually sharp mind freeze solid? Can't you tell he's just joking?" She had painstakingly hidden him, and it was all for naught.

"Even a joke is not allowed." Gong Youqi walked to the bedside, standing in front of Yu Xi, and looked at Nian Yiheng: "If you dare touch her, you'll have to go through me first." Nian Yiheng continued to stroke his chin, letting out a malicious "hmm."

Yu Xi didn't appreciate it at all. She jumped off the bed, pushed Gong Youqi away, her beautiful eyes still smoldering: "If you want to be a hero, go be one by yourself. I'm not Su Yingran, I don't need you to step up." After saying that, she didn't even look at his icy face, then turned to Nian Yiheng, deciding to act shamelessly: "Today doesn't count. You give him another challenge and arrange a time. Let him leave now."

"How can it not count?" Nian Yiheng didn't want to miss the opportunity: "Although he didn't do as requested, it wasn't easy for him to get here. I wonder how Young Master Gong got in?" He was confident that all security measures around were in place.

"The back mountain." Gong Youqi was concise.

"I didn't expect Young Master Gong to be a rock climbing expert." Nian Yiheng nodded. The Blue Gang was located in the suburbs on a small mountain, with roads on three sides. Only the back was a ten-meter high cliff, difficult to climb, forming a natural defense, so no one was usually assigned to guard it.

Yu Xi looked back at him with complex emotions, thinking that he had actually risked climbing the cliff, and at night, her heart involuntarily skipped a few beats.

Gong Youqi suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back to his side, and said to Nian Yiheng: "I'm taking her with me."

"Who said I'm going with you?" She struggled hard against his arm around her waist, but even using all her strength, she couldn't budge even one of his fingers.

Nian Yiheng didn't object: "Alright, but you have to meet my demands first." Otherwise, all his painstaking arrangements would be wasted.

"There are three levels in total. If you pass them, you can take her whenever you want."

"Hey, I don't agree! Why am I being included?!" No one paid her any attention.

"Conditions for passing?"

"I'll explain later."

"I've heard the Blue Gang has always had a good reputation in the underworld."

"My word carries the credibility of the entire Blue Gang. But if you fail, you'll have to stay for three days and be punished as our brothers see fit... Do you want to know what the punishment is?"

"I won't lose."

"Good! I like confident players like you."

"You two megalomaniacs!" Someone's flailing continued to be automatically ignored.

"When do we start?"

"I can't wait."

"Give me a few more minutes." His dark eyes looked at the woman in his arms, who was trembling with anger.

"I'll wait for you in the front yard in ten minutes." The foxy eyes also glanced at the person who was fuming, then elegantly exited. A moment of silence.

He turned her body to face him, seeing the resentment and anxiety in her eyes.

"Xiao Xi..."

"You bastard!"

"I am a bastard." He remembered how he had wronged her before. "I am the stupidest bastard in this world."

"...You're sick!"

When she was in a daze, unsure if she was asleep, a cool sensation on her forehead tensed her nerves, and she instantly became sober. Opening her eyes, she saw him kneeling opposite her, his eyes half-closed, his body soaked and dripping with water, his cold hand gently caressing her face.

"You..." Did he finally give in? Her heart pounded violently; she couldn't describe her feelings at that moment.

"You really didn't leave." His voice was very low, with the weakness of exhaustion.

"I..." How could she leave? She felt his hand tremble slightly, and then, suddenly, a blur, and his body was pressing down on her, making her fall backward onto the ground. The weight on her immediately made it difficult to breathe. Just as she was about to struggle, she resisted the urge to move, tightly closed her eyes, and turned her head, waiting for his assault.

How could she be willing to resist?

His breathing was still a little rapid, but his body, pressed against hers, was completely still. The water soaked her clothes, a chilling sensation. His body was cold and motionless.

Yu Xi suddenly became fully awake, turned her head, and looked at the time on the wall; it was almost six in the morning. He had started having an episode around one in the morning. She remembered Nian Yiheng saying the drug's effect only lasted three hours. So... had he endured it on his own?

She nudged him, but there was no response. She pushed him hard off her body and saw that his eyes were tightly closed, his face pale, and he had fainted. His open shirt revealed a completely cold body. The flush had receded, leaving only pale, water-soaked skin with purplish bruises from the previous struggle. She quietly observed him and suddenly noticed blood on his hands. Grabbing his arm, she pulled up his sleeve, and several shocking bloody scratches on his forearm came into view. The deep and shallow claw marks, soaked in water for a long time, were swollen and bruised, with a few still oozing blood. His other arm had suffered the same tragic treatment.

Her vision blurred over the wounds, and her heart felt as if it had been scratched, aching sharply. For those three hours, had he endured it like that, holding on and not coming out? If he had just pushed open the door, he could have escaped the torment, but he didn't. He preferred to use pain to force himself to stay conscious rather than touch her. He said this time he was serious. He didn't want to use her as a tool for release; he didn't want to hurt her again. So, at the cost of hurting himself, he persevered.

She felt that somewhere in the very depths of her heart, a place previously protected by layers of armor, impervious to blades and spears, suddenly cracked open with an unknown force, letting in a biting wind that lashed and cut her painfully. Yu Xi didn't expect Gong Youqi to remain unconscious. It wasn't until Nian Yiheng, after eating breakfast, enthusiastically came to appreciate the 'JQ' (sexual tension), knocked on the door with no response, and then pushed it open, that he saw the dazed woman sitting on the floor, staring at the man lying beside her. Because she couldn't drag him, she could only simply bandage him, wipe him dry, and cover him with a blanket, not noticing that he was already having difficulty breathing and his forehead was burning hot.

Nian Yiheng quickly understood the situation. He reached out and felt Gong Youqi's forehead, his seductive eyes flickering. To Yu Xi, who was still disoriented, he said: "Go tell Qian San to find a doctor."

She looked at Nian Yiheng confusedly as he hoisted Gong Youqi onto the bed and began to strip off his wet clothes. She instantly jumped up and grabbed him: "Nian pervert, what are you doing!" Did Nian Yiheng also have bad habits like Big Brother Lan?

"If you don't want him to die from high fever, hurry up and find someone."

"He... he has a fever?" She had thought his fever was a side effect of the medication.

Nian Yiheng glanced at her: "I didn't expect you two to not light a fire. It seems he was drenched in cold water all night; he's not afraid of ruining his body."

Yu Xi nervously grabbed him: "Is he serious?" "Why do you seem like a delicate little girl overnight?" Nian Yiheng looked at her strangely, pulled off Gong Youqi's shirt, continued to pull off his lower garments, and pointed to a button in the corner, saying, "Press it to call someone over."

Gong Youqi woke up in the evening. He calmly assessed his surroundings and found himself still in the same room. Turning his head, he saw an IV drip hanging by the bedside, its long tube connected to his hand. He lifted the blanket and found that he had already changed into a different set of clothes, and the wounds on his arms had been treated.

His head was still heavy, and his limbs felt weak. He frowned, wondering where Yu Xi was. As he reached out to pull out the needle from his hand, the door opened. Nian Yiheng entered with a short, white-haired old man. The old man, seeing him pull out the needle, angrily rushed forward and scolded: "You almost got acute pneumonia and you're not lying down! If you don't get the IV, you'll be giving up your life tomorrow!"

Gong Youqi seemed not to hear, looking at Nian Yiheng and asking, "Where is she?"

Nian Yiheng pursed his lips: "Let Old Guo put the needle back in for you."

Gong Youqi then sat down and extended his arm to the old man, who was fuming on the side, letting him reinsert the needle. He still repeated his question: "Where is she?"

"Asleep." Nian Yiheng sat far away on a chair, legs crossed as usual: "She guarded you all day without eating or drinking. I just had someone knock her out and send her back to sleep."

His heart churned, his dark eyes contracted. He stood up again, preparing to pull out the needle. The old man was furious and forcefully pressed down on Gong Youqi, who was now weak: "Don't waste my medicine! I bragged that I'd get your fever down and inflammation gone by tomorrow. If Second Master hadn't sent someone to pick me up from far away this morning to treat you, your fever would have turned into pneumonia already!" He was using his newly formulated, extremely precious medicine, and this man actually wanted to waste it, how ungrateful. If Second Master hadn't mentioned that this man had endured his "love potion" last night, making Old Guo curious enough to come back and check, he'd still be enjoying himself in his small villa by the sea.

Gong Youqi gasped and coughed, his voice hoarse: "If you keep your word, I can take her with me."

"Of course I will, otherwise should I go wake her up right now and hand her over to you?" The foxy man smiled and stood up.

His eyes darkened: "Forget it, let her rest. I'll take her tomorrow."

Nian Yiheng nodded, seemingly having anticipated his answer. While signaling Old Guo to change his medicine, he said: "Young Master Gong is too polite. You're a revered hero here at our Blue Gang now. Rest today. I've already notified your people; they'll come pick you up tomorrow morning."

Gong Youqi lay down weakly, closed his eyes, and thanked him, letting the old man change the dressing on his arm.