Ye Lan tested the temperature.
“Don’t be afraid.” Ye Lan reached out, as if to touch her forehead.
Mu Xi abruptly turned her head, dodging her touch, her eyes filled with suppressed anger and disgust.
“Get away!” she growled, her voice trembling with pain.
Ye Lan’s hand froze in midair. She looked at Mu Xi’s pale but stubborn face, her gaze deepening.
But she didn’t get angry. Instead, she let out a soft laugh, a laugh that held indulgence and a hint of barely perceptible pity.
“Little Xi, do you feel uncomfortable now?” Her tone was teasing, but not entirely mocking. “I told you, it would be a bit tough.”
She didn’t try to touch Mu Xi again. Instead, she sat down by the bed and quietly watched her.
“Don’t be afraid,” Ye Lan’s voice rang out again, this time with less teasing and more reassurance, though it sounded utterly insincere to Mu Xi. “I’m here with you. It’ll pass soon.”
Mu Xi closed her eyes, unwilling to look at her face.
To Mu Xi, Ye Lan’s company was not comfort, but torture.
It was a constant reminder of how she had become a prisoner at someone’s mercy.
Time passed minute by minute. The discomfort in her body came in waves, one after another.
The heat grew stronger, as if she were inside a furnace.
The cramping in her stomach became more pronounced, forcing her to curl up tighter.
Sweat soaked her hair, sticking to her pale face. Her gray cotton top was also drenched, clinging to her skin, outlining her overly slender figure.
She felt like a dying fish thrown onto a hot beach, struggling in vain, only to feel her life force being dried up bit by bit.
She gritted her teeth, refusing to make any more sounds of weakness. Ye Lan was watching from beside her, her gaze as tangible as a physical weight, making Mu Xi feel she had nowhere to hide.
“Do you need water?” Ye Lan asked.
Mu Xi didn’t answer, just buried her face in the soft pillow.
Ye Lan didn’t insist. She simply stood up, poured a glass of water, placed it on the bedside table, and sat back down.
The room was left with only Mu Xi’s suppressed gasps and the faint sound of sweat dripping onto the sheets.
This ordeal continued until nearly noon.
Mu Xi felt she was about to collapse.
She had no strength left in her entire body, even lifting a finger was difficult.
Sweat had soaked her through completely, the sticky feeling making her even more miserable.
Her consciousness began to blur, and darkness flickered before her eyes.
Just as she felt she couldn’t hold on any longer, Ye Lan, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved.
She stood up, walked to the bedside, and bent down.
Mu Xi opened her eyes warily and saw Ye Lan reaching out to her.
“Don’t touch me…” Her voice was as weak as a mosquito’s buzz.
Ye Lan acted as if she hadn’t heard, or simply didn’t care. She reached out, carefully avoiding the bandages wrapped around Mu Xi’s arm, and then, without further ado, lifted her horizontally.
“Ah!” Mu Xi cried out in surprise, instinctively struggling, but it was weak from exhaustion.
Ye Lan’s arms were steady; carrying her wasn’t hard.
Through the soaked fabric, Mu Xi could feel Ye Lan’s body heat and the faint herbal smell on her, the scent left over from treating wounds.
“You’re filthy. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Ye Lan’s voice came from above her, calm yet brooking no argument.
Mu Xi stopped struggling. Not because she gave up, but because she truly had no strength left.
She was carried by Ye Lan through the bedroom and into the bathroom. The weakness of her body and the discomfort from the drugs left her without even the energy to maintain her anger.
Ye Lan gently set her down on the cool tiled floor and then began to run the water. The bathroom filled with steaming mist.
She could only be like a broken doll, subject to Ye Lan’s manipulation. This made her feel even more humiliated.
The sound of splashing water rang out, carrying a hypnotic rhythm.
Ye Lan tested the water temperature, then turned to look at her.
Mu Xi leaned against the cold wall, panting slightly, sweat trickling down her cheeks.
“Take it off yourself, or should I help you?”
She looked at Ye Lan. In those deep phoenix eyes, there was no desire, only a calm, matter-of-fact control.
As if everything happening now was just an insignificant part of her plan.
Mu Xi closed her eyes, then opened them again. Nothing remained in them but cold, dead stillness.
She raised trembling hands and began to unbutton her top.
The soaked fabric clung to her skin, making it extremely difficult to undo.
Her fingers were uncooperative from exhaustion.
Ye Lan stood nearby, patiently watching, neither rushing nor helping.
Finally, the soaked top was removed, revealing bandaged slender arms and equally pale shoulders. Then the pants…
When Mu Xi stood naked in the warm steam, she felt as if her last layer of disguise had been stripped away, exposing her completely to Ye Lan’s scrutiny.
Ye Lan’s gaze swept over the crisscrossing old and new scars on her body, as well as the abnormal flush on her skin from the drug reaction. Her eyes darkened. She said nothing.
Ye Lan picked up the showerhead, and warm water cascaded down.
Mu Xi flinched, not because of the water temperature, but because of Ye Lan’s touch.
She helped Mu Xi sit on a low stool beside the bathtub, then Ye Lan’s fingers traced her back, where there were also bandages from cuts caused by glass shards earlier.
“Don’t move.” Ye Lan’s voice was close, carrying a commanding tone.
The warm water washed over her body, carrying away the sticky sweat and slightly alleviating the burning heat.
But the stomach cramps and that inexplicable restlessness still remained.
Ye Lan picked up the body wash, squeezed some onto a soft sponge, and began to scrub her body.
Her movements were very gentle, even tender, carefully avoiding the wounds on Mu Xi’s body.
But this gentleness made Mu Xi’s skin crawl.
What was the difference between this and the “training” of the past?
The same coercion, the same refusal to accept resistance, the same humiliating way of invading her space and trampling her dignity.
Mu Xi sat stiffly, letting Ye Lan’s hands roam over her body.
She turned her face away, staring at the blurred water stains on the bathroom wall, trying to detach her consciousness.
In her heart, she repeated to herself over and over:
‘Endure.’
‘This is part of the plan.’
‘It’s for Wu City.’
‘It’s to survive, and then take revenge.’
Ye Lan washed very thoroughly, from her neck to her ankles, missing no spot.
When her fingers brushed across Mu Xi’s chest, Mu Xi’s body visibly stiffened.
Ye Lan paused for a moment, then continued as if nothing happened.
Finally, after rinsing clean, Ye Lan turned off the water.
She picked up a large, clean, soft towel, wrapped Mu Xi in it, and while drying her wet silver hair, asked, “Feeling better now?”
Mu Xi didn’t answer. She just hung her head slightly, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows on her pale cheeks.
Ye Lan didn’t need her answer either.
She lifted Mu Xi again, carried her out of the bathroom, and gently placed her on the large bed with fresh sheets.
“The people from the research institute said the drug effects will last about a day.” Ye Lan pulled the blanket over Mu Xi. “Today, you just lie still. Don’t go anywhere.”
She tucked the corner of the blanket for Mu Xi, the action as natural as if there had never been a bloody feud between them.
“Do you want me to stay with you?” Ye Lan looked at her and asked.
Mu Xi finally raised her eyes to look at Ye Lan.
Her gaze was cold, filled with undisguised loathing.
“Get out.” She used all her strength to spit out these three words.
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