A soft body crashed into an embrace that smelled of gunpowder and faint blood.
The embrace wasn’t warm, even a little hard. Through the clothes, she could feel tight muscle lines and a slight tremor from the impact. It was Ye Lan’s wound.
That thought flashed through Mu Xi’s mind. She abruptly came to her senses.
‘She touched who? She was actually seeking refuge from her enemy?!’
Shame and hatred instantly drowned out the instinct to survive.
She recoiled as if burned, trying to pull away. Her back slammed hard against the cold metal wall of the vehicle, and she gasped in pain.
But she would rather endure that pain than get even a fraction closer to Ye Lan.
“Don’t move.”
Ye Lan’s voice rang out, blurred by the roar of the sandstorm but carrying an undeniable command.
Before Mu Xi could protest, a powerful arm wrapped around her—not an embrace, more like a restraint.
Ye Lan moved quickly, even roughly. She pulled Mu Xi back into her seat, her other hand swiftly unbuckling the loose seatbelt clip, then yanking it tight with a sharp click.
The cold feel of the metal clip seeped through the thin fabric.
Ye Lan’s arm didn’t immediately withdraw. It remained around Mu Xi, pinning her small body securely between the seat and her arm, creating a narrow but relatively stable space.
“I don’t need this!” Mu Xi struggled, her voice sharp. “Let me go!”
Ye Lan said nothing, just tightened her arm.
Her deep, phoenix-like eyes remained sharp as knives, fixed ahead. Her jaw was clenched, her lips pale from blood loss and exhaustion. In the flickering light, her profile was starkly outlined. She seemed to pour all her focus into handling the immediate crisis, completely ignoring Mu Xi’s resistance.
It was a total disregard, more infuriating and disheartening than any verbal insult.
Mu Xi pushed against Ye Lan’s arm, but the woman didn’t budge. In such violent turbulence, her resistance was utterly futile. Ye Lan’s strength far surpassed hers, especially in these conditions.
The armored vehicle was thrown up by a massive force again. Mu Xi’s body bounced uncontrollably upward; if not for the restraint of Ye Lan’s arm, she would have hit the roof.
Dizziness and fear from the weightlessness surged again.
This time, Mu Xi didn’t push Ye Lan away again.
She bit her lower lip, her body trembling with fear, but she stopped struggling. She even moved, ever so slightly, closer to the arm that restrained her.
‘It’s not surrender,’ she told herself.
‘It’s just… the sandstorm is too terrifying. She needs a anchor. That’s all.’
Ye Lan seemed to notice her subtle shift. The corner of her always-tense mouth curled up almost imperceptibly, but the smile vanished in an instant, too fast to be sure.
“Heh,” she let out a low laugh, her voice a little hoarse, mixed with the storm’s howl. “Not so hard-mouthed after all.” Her breath brushed Mu Xi’s ear, carrying a faint warmth, instantly turning Mu Xi’s ear bright red.
“You…!” Mu Xi was both embarrassed and angry, about to retort, but was cut off by an even more violent jolt.
She closed her eyes instinctively, her body tense as a drawn bow.
“Push me away right now,” Ye Lan’s voice came again, with a strange, almost coaxing tone. “Let me see your resolve.”
Mu Xi’s eyes snapped open, meeting Ye Lan’s gaze. Those eyes were startlingly bright in the dim light, swirling with complex, unreadable emotions. She saw the fine sweat on Ye Lan’s temples, her pale lips, and remembered the wound on her back.
Push her away?
Now? In this situation where the vehicle could be destroyed at any moment? While she was injured?
Mu Xi’s fingers at her side curled.
The gun in her sleeve was cold and hard, reminding her of the hatred she shouldn’t forget.
But…
“You’re injured.” Mu Xi’s voice was very low, almost swallowed by the roar, carrying a stiffness she didn’t notice herself. “This time… I’ll tolerate you. Don’t think… there will be a next time.”
The words sounded utterly unconvincing, more like an excuse to temporarily set aside hatred and seek safety.
Ye Lan looked at her steadily for a few seconds, those deep eyes seeming to pull her in. Then, she suddenly lowered her head.
A gentle kiss landed on Mu Xi’s cool forehead. The touch was light, carrying a hint of Ye Lan’s characteristic coolness, yet it seemed to contain a strange heat, instantly igniting Mu Xi’s taut nerves.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The roar of the sandstorm, the tremor of the vehicle, the flickering lights—all seemed to recede into the distance.
Mu Xi stiffened, like a statue suddenly brought to life, forgetting even to breathe.
Her mind went blank.
Ye Lan… kissed her?
After she said “I’ll tolerate you”?
After she temporarily gave up resistance out of fear?
Anger, humiliation, and an indescribable, sickening palpitation surged like a tide, flooding her instantly. What was this? A reward? Comfort? Or another new, even more vicious form of humiliation?
She jerked her head up, glaring at Ye Lan. Her beautiful eyes were now filled with terror and fury, like a frightened kitten, baring its small but sharp claws.
Ye Lan had straightened up, but her arm still firmly encircled Mu Xi, trapping her in her embrace.
In the dim light, her expression was somewhat blurry, but Mu Xi could feel Ye Lan watching her with that all-knowing, all-controlling gaze.
“You see,” Ye Lan’s voice was low, carrying a hint of almost cruel amusement, clearly reaching Mu Xi’s ears over the storm’s roar, “the body is very honest.”
BOOM—!
It was as if a thunderclap exploded in Mu Xi’s mind.
The body is very honest?
Was Ye Lan mocking her for shrinking back just now? Mocking her for instinctively seeking shelter at a life-or-death moment?
Blood rushed to her head. Mu Xi shook with rage.
She raised her hand and pushed against Ye Lan’s encircling arm with all her strength.
“Get lost!” she screamed, her voice cracking with emotion.
This time, Ye Lan didn’t fight back forcefully.
Her arm loosened slightly, but didn’t completely withdraw, still maintaining a protective posture to prevent Mu Xi from getting hurt in the violent shaking.
This tiny action stabbed Mu Xi like a sharp needle.
Was she pitying her? Or showing her “mercy”?
Mu Xi’s eyes immediately reddened, not from grievance, but from extreme anger and shame.
She struggled violently, like a fish trapped in a net, flapping futilely.
“Don’t touch me! You murderer! Executioner!”
She cursed recklessly, trying to hurt the other person with the most vicious words, and also to hurt herself, reminding herself never to indulge in this false sense of security.
Ye Lan’s expression seemed to change slightly at the words “murderer.”
Something sank in those deep phoenix eyes, too fast to catch.
But she quickly returned to her usual cold hardness.
“Go ahead and curse,” she said flatly, her tone unreadable. “Better to have the strength to curse than to cower and tremble in my arms.”
Mu Xi felt as if a boulder was lodged in her chest, aching with pressure.
Ye Lan was always like this.
A single, casual sentence could trample her dignity, turning all her resistance into a ridiculous performance.