The room remained dim, with only the energy lamp in the corner casting a constant, faint glow that illuminated two equally pale figuresāone on the bed, one beside it.
Outside, the sky might have cycled through several changes, but in this airtight room, the concept of time had long since blurred.
Mu Xi felt like a vessel hollowed out from within, only a thin shell left to barely hold herself together.
Each time a trace of warmthāthe “Strengthening Agent”āregathered within her body, she would, out of a numbed instinct, immediately lean down and offer herself to Ye Lan’s lips.
The sounds of sucking and swallowing amplified endlessly in the deathly quiet room, hammering against Mu Xi’s fragile nerves.
She didn’t even dare to count how many times this had been.
Each feeding came with a deeper layer of weakness. Dizziness surged stronger and stronger, her stomach churning violently, yet nothing would come up.
She didn’t dare stop. She couldn’t stop.
The occasional faint sounds from outside the door, or the scrutinizing glances the two escort team members cast her way, lashed at her like a whip, reminding her of her situation, reminding her that the person on this bed was bound to her in life and death.
Alive. Ye Lan had to stay alive.
This thought replaced hatred and even suppressed that pitiful, ill-timed flicker of affection.
It had become pure, even cruel.
If Ye Lan lived, she could live. It was that simple.
Another long feeding came to an end. Mu Xi wanted to straighten up, utterly drained, but her vision suddenly went black and her body swayed uncontrollably. At that moment, the person beneath herāYe Lan, who had been silently enduring all of thisāher long, thick eyelashes trembled.
At first it was an almost imperceptible quiver. Mu Xi even thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, and she instinctively braced herself against the bed’s edge, her fingertips icy cold.
But then, the trembling became more pronounced, like the prelude to a butterfly spreading its wings.
Mu Xi held her breath. Her heart clenched suddenly, her entire body going rigid.
‘Is she awake?’
Time seemed to stretch out in that moment.
Mu Xi stared down at Ye Lan without moving, watching those closed eyes. The eyeballs beneath the lids seemed to shift gently. Then, the eyelids slowly opened.
There was no confusion, no haze of just waking from a coma.
Those deep, phoenix-shaped eyes regained their usual sharpness and clarity the moment they opened, as if consciousness had never been lost.
Her gaze precisely caught Mu Xi, who was right there.
That look was so complex it made Mu Xi’s heart tremble.
Within it were scrutiny, curiosity, an intense possessiveness that threatened to devour her, and a lingering fearādesperately concealed yet still leaking through.
And deeper still, a guilt so faint it was almost impossible to catch.
Mu Xi’s clothes were in disarray. Her silver hair clung messily to her sweat-dampened cheeks and neck. Her face was frighteningly pale, with only her lipsāsucked by Ye Lanābearing an unnatural redness and swelling.
Her eyes were bloodshot from extreme exhaustion, and at this moment, they held a hint of panic and bewilderment as she gazed back at the just-awakened Ye Lan.
Their eyes met. The air froze.
The two escort team members who had remained on alert immediately noticed the movement. They stepped forward almost simultaneously, looking at Ye Lan nervously, their hands still tightly gripping their weapons.
“Commander?” one of the team members called out in a low, tentative voice.
Ye Lan’s gaze remained locked on Mu Xi, as if nothing else around her existed.
She looked at Mu Xi’s disheveled, exhausted appearance, at the fear and submission that hadn’t yet fully faded from the depths of her eyes. Her throat bobbed slightly. Then, she spoke.
Her voice was terribly hoarse, as if scraped by sandpaper. Every word carried a tearing pain, yet it reached Mu Xi’s ears with exceptional clarity.
A few words broke the frozen silence.
Mu Xi snapped back to reality. Almost reflexively, she tried to step back, but staggered from the weakness in her body.
She instinctively reached up to cover her chest. Her fingertips touched damp fabric, and her cheeks heated up instantly.
“The Commander is awake!” Another escort team member exclaimed in a delighted whisper and immediately turned to fetch the food that had been prepared in advance.
Soon, a bowl of millet porridge still steaming was brought over.
The grains had been cooked until very soft, emitting a light, fragrant aroma.
“Commander, please have some,” the escort team member said carefully, moving forward to feed her.
Ye Lan, however, tilted her head slightly. Her gaze never left Mu Xiāan unmistakable command in her eyes.
Mu Xi’s heart skipped a beat. She understood what Ye Lan meant.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the myriad emotions in her chest, stepped forward, and took the bowl of porridge from the escort team member’s hands.
The warmth of the bowl seeped into her icy fingertips, calming her slightly.
She scooped up a small spoonful of warm porridge and brought it to Ye Lan’s lips with somewhat stiff movements.
Ye Lan obediently opened her mouth, took the porridge in, and swallowed slowly.
Mu Xi could only lower her eyelids, forcing herself to focus on the act of feeding, not looking at, not thinking about the gaze that threatened to burn straight through her. Yet that gaze never once left her face.
The only sounds in the room were the soft clinks of the spoon against the bowl and Ye Lan swallowing. One spoonful, then another.
Mu Xi felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze, as if she herself were part of the porridge, being “eaten” spoonful by spoonful. Her fingers trembled slightly, almost dropping the spoon.
Her movements were slow, carrying the weakness of an injured person, but those eyes…
Seeing Ye Lan begin to eat, the escort team members all showed visible relief and joy on their faces.
They quickly stepped forward and began to check Ye Lan’s physical condition. The instruments let out soft beeping sounds.
“Vital signs are stabilizing… heart rate, blood pressure… much better than before…”
“But the wounds are still serious. Continued observation and treatment are needed.”
The team members exchanged their findings in low voices, tones carrying both relief and gravity.
Ye Lan’s life was saved for now, but there was still a long way to go before full recovery.
And all of this seemed irrelevant to Ye Lan. She merely accepted Mu Xi’s feeding quietly and attentively, her gaze heavy, no one able to guess what she was thinking at that moment.
Mu Xi finished feeding her half a bowl of porridge. Her arm was already so sore she couldn’t lift it.
She paused and asked softly, “Want more?”
Ye Lan didn’t answer immediately. She just looked at her, and after a long moment, gave an extremely faint shake of her head.
Her gaze swept over Mu Xi’s nearly translucent pale cheeks, over the dark circles under her eyes, and finally settled on her slightly swollen lips.
Then, she spoke again. Her voice was still hoarse, but carried an unyielding force.
“You… eat something too.”
The warm aroma of the millet porridge still lingered in the air, but that bit of heat couldn’t dispel the chill and exhaustion from deep within Mu Xi’s bones.
She only felt her stomach hollow with hunger, yet heavy and leaden at the same timeānothing would go down.
She moved the spoon a couple of times symbolically. The rice grains were soft and dissolved on her tongue, but it was like chewing wax.
She set down the bowl. The faint clink of porcelain seemed abrupt in the quiet room.
Ye Lan’s gaze remained glued to her. At this moment, she shifted slightly, signaling the escort team members standing nearby.
The two team members exchanged a look, bowed silently, retreated, and left the room with light footsteps, gently closing the door behind them.
A soft click, as if sealing off two worlds.
Only the two of them remained in the room, along with the thick, heavy air that blended pain and intimacy.
Mu Xi could even hear her own heart thundering, along with Ye Lan’s slightly ragged breathing from her injuries.
“You saved me.”
Ye Lan spoke, her voice still hoarse but with more strength than before.
Her gaze was sharp, as if it had already pierced through Mu Xi’s thin clothes and seen something deeper.
“Using…”