Jiang Ci found her antics amusing. He patted her head firmly. “Hurry up and eat,” he commanded, though his voice held a hint of a smile.
“Don’t rush me,” Su Yue murmured, clinging to him. Her soft lips brushed his scar again. “Just a minute more.” Her hair tickled his neck, and her feverish cheek pressed against him, smooth and warm. Jiang Ci’s grip tightened on the medicine in his hand.
“You really don’t want to eat?” he asked, a hint of challenge in his tone.
“Eat, I’ll take a break before eating,” she replied obediently.
He touched her forehead; it was still hot. “Su Yue, it’s useless to act like a spoiled child. Take the medicine quickly, otherwise, I don’t mind feeding you with my mouth.”
Su Yue pursed her lips, knowing escape was futile. “Why don’t you have any sympathy?” she grumbled, grudgingly taking a pill. She popped it into her mouth, swallowed it with a gulp of water, her eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of the bitterness.
“There are two more,” Jiang Ci said, a smile dancing in his dark eyes.
Su Yue glared at him, then, just as before, swallowed the second and third pills with her eyes closed. Jiang Ci watched, satisfied. “Don’t lie down. Take a hot bath, and then go to bed.”
Su Yue burrowed under the quilt, feigning death.
“Want me to hold you to wash?” Jiang Ci’s lips twitched. “It’s not impossible.”
“You wish!” Su Yue retorted, throwing a pillow at him. Her head throbbing, she dragged herself weakly to the bathroom.
The moon climbed higher by the time Su Yue, bathed and drowsy, slipped back into bed. Jiang Ci, now in black pajamas, lay beside her.
“Come here,” he murmured, his eyes open, a lazy invitation in his voice.
“I have a fever,” Su Yue countered, turning to face him. “It will infect you.”
“Su Yue, do you have common sense? A cold can be contagious. Sleep over and let me hold you,” Jiang Ci said, a frown of dissatisfaction on his face.
Su Yue blinked. Was that true? She cautiously shifted closer, and in an instant, Jiang Ci pulled her into his arms.
Her body, still hot from the fever and the recent bath, radiated warmth. A faint scent of milk, amplified by her high temperature, filled Jiang Ci’s senses. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. It was like a snow-white toffee warmed with rose petals. His Adam’s apple bobbed. His cool fingertips traced the neckline of her pajamas.
“Jiang Ci?” Su Yue’s eyes widened in surprise as she met his pitch-black gaze. There was an unsettling depth to them, like a thick, dark mist. “What?” she asked, looking at his hand at her neckline.
His cool fingertips grazed her skin. It was a little ticklish. Su Yue tried to pull back, but Jiang Ci held her waist firmly. “I heard that sweating a little can reduce the fever.” He pulled the quilt over their heads.
Suddenly, darkness enveloped them.
Su Yue tightened her grip on him. “Jiang Ci, I’m dizzy and want to sleep.”
“Well, we’ll go to sleep later.” He held her tighter, his cold lips pressing against the tip of her nose, then slowly moving down to her hot mouth. He tasted her like a forbidden fruit, carefully, lingeringly, teasingly.
Under the oppressive darkness of the quilt, her senses heightened. Su Yue’s head, already muddled by fever, spun faster. Her lips were entangled with his, her mind a blur, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Then, he guided her hand.
She touched something scaldingly Hot.
Su Yue’s consciousness snapped back. In the darkness, her eyes rounded in disbelief, her voice trembling. “Jiang… Jiang Ci, you—” Her hand, pulled by his, was pressed against his hardness. Su Yue was dumbfounded, frozen in shock.
Jiang Ci pulled his lips back, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest. “Afraid?”
Su Yue struggled, pulling her hand free, then flung off the quilt. The stifling heat on her face dissipated. “Jiang Ci, you are shameless,” she hissed, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment. She clenched her fist, but the scorching heat and shocking touch lingered in her memory.
In the dim light, Jiang Ci observed her annoyed, shy face. He smirked, his voice, clear and resonant in the quiet night, saying, “Su Yue, I’m doing this normally. You should be happy.” He snorted, thinking of a daughter in the future.
“I’m still sick, Jiang Ci! What are you thinking? I hate it to death! How can you bully the patient like this?” Her dark, moist eyes accused him, glaring. Su Yue turned away, closing her eyes, refusing to acknowledge him. But under her dark hair, the tips of her ears glowed crimson.
Jiang Ci leaned in, his large hand settling on her waist, and chuckled softly, closing his eyes.
The next morning, Su Yue awoke to a bright, sunny room. Her head still throbbed, a dull ache lingering. Turning over, she opened her eyes to see Jiang Ci’s face magnified before her.
Recalling his audacious actions of the previous night, Su Yue’s face flushed. She reached out, intending to pinch his cheek, but her gaze fell upon his left side and she froze.
Looking closer, Su Yue saw that the scar on Jiang Ci’s face had indeed shrunk. The one on his jaw was gone, and even the scar near his temple had faded significantly. What was once the size of her palm had now shrunk to a third of its original size. Su Yue was both surprised and delighted. Her fingertips instinctively traced the fading marks. Could they disappear entirely?
“Su Yue,” Jiang Ci murmured, his eyes suddenly opening. He caught her hand on his face, a hint of sleepiness in his dark gaze. Then, he brought her slender fingers to his lips and gently bit them.
“Hiss!” Su Yue yanked her hand back. A faint tooth mark appeared on her pink finger. “Why are you biting!”
“You are stroking and caressing my face again,” he said lazily. “Do you like my face?”
“Narcissism,” Su Yue whispered. Then, remembering the scar, she looked at him again. “The scar on your face has become smaller. Really, if you don’t believe it, you can touch it yourself.”
Jiang Ci casually touched his face. He raised an eyebrow. “Do you hate the scars on my face?”
“No,” Su Yue shook her head. “But, if your face is good, I will be very happy.” Her hand, still warm from the fever, instinctively touched his left cheek. The heat made his sensitive left face twitch.
Jiang Ci smiled. He pulled her closer, kissed her lips, and said slowly, “If you want me well, then kiss me more.”
Su Yue blinked, then sat up. “Liar, kissing has nothing to do with the scar on your face!” He was just finding ways to take advantage of her!
Jiang Ci merely smiled as she stormed off to the bathroom.
Su Yue learned about the hot search when Jin Mingyuan called at noon. “I only saw it on the Internet before I went to bed last night, but it was late at night, I thought you must have fallen asleep, so I didn’t call you immediately. However, when I looked on the Internet just now, the hot search has been removed, and the photo I can’t find it either.” Jin Mingyuan mused, “Could it be that the person in your family ordered others to do it?”
“No, Jiang Ci’s eyes can’t see, he can’t access the Internet, and he won’t know about the hot search,” Su Yue immediately countered.
After hanging up, Su Yue opened her browser and searched for the title Jin Mingyuan mentioned. Though the original posts were gone, some forwarded messages remained. Su Yue’s brow furrowed as she read them, especially the comments calling Jiang Ci a “beast.” Her face darkened.
When Jiang Ci entered, he noticed her unhappy and angry expression. “Take the medicine,” he commanded, walking towards the sofa with the pills.
“I don’t want to eat it now,” she declared, righteous in her indignation. What if she choked? It would be so bitter.
“Su Yue, don’t try to be childish again.” Jiang Ci sat beside her, glancing at her phone screen. His face remained impassive despite the content. “Take medicine.”
Su Yue pursed her lips. She was angry on his behalf, and the man was still forcing her to take medicine. She took the pills from his palm, her dark eyes gleaming with mischief. Then, she picked up the water cup, took a sip, and with a triumphant smile, announced, “Taken!”
Jiang Ci: “…”
He raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes watching her deceitful act under his very nose.
Laugh! Did she think he wouldn’t dare do anything to her?
“Su Yue, the liar, but I will make her cry,” Jiang Ci sneered.
Su Yue was momentarily stunned. Had he caught her? Before she could react, Jiang Ci grabbed her hand, the one holding the pills. Su Yue stared blankly as he brought the medicine to his own mouth. Then, his large hand squeezed her chin, and in the next second, his face filled her vision.
His thin lips were cool. A pill was pressed against her teeth.
“Open your mouth,” Jiang Ci’s voice was low.
Woo.
Su Yue was forced to open her lips, and one by one, the pills were pushed inside. The sugar coating melted in Jiang Ci’s mouth, but Su Yue tasted only bitterness, intensely bitter.
“Water,” she mumbled.
Jiang Ci pushed the medicine further in, then slowly picked up the water cup and fed it to her.
“Would you like to take the medicine obediently?” Jiang Ci asked, watching Su Yue’s face contort with bitterness, tears welling in her eyes. He reached out a fingertip, wiping away the warm tears. “If you do it agian tonight. than I will feed you myself.” He rolled his tongue, his own mouth bitter, yet with a strange hint of sweetness.
Su Yue drained the entire glass of water, the bitterness in her mouth and throat finally subsiding. She looked up slowly. “Jiang Ci, how do you know that I didn’t take medicine?”