Ye Jinzhi stepped forward, but when his gaze swept over the faintly discernible snow-white cleavage of Bella's chest, and then saw her almost completely bare back, his face instantly darkened.
"Everyone, turn around!"
The man let out a low growl, his expression so gloomy it looked as if water could drip from it.
Upon hearing this, the group of well-trained bodyguards turned around in perfect unison, staring blankly at the wall of the corridor.
"Go drag that guy Huo Zhou over here, immediately!"
Before his voice even faded, Ye Jinzhi immediately took off his suit jacket and wrapped the young woman's petite body tightly in it.
He bent down and carefully scooped Bella up into his arms.
So light... so soft.
The realistic feel of the warm body in his arms made Ye Jinzhi's arms tighten uncontrollably.
He strode back to his exclusive private room and settled Bella onto a large leather recliner.
"Bella? Bella, look at me. Where does it hurt? Hmm?"
The man's voice trembled slightly; his usually calm and composed public image had completely collapsed.
Seeing that the girl didn't respond, he couldn't help but reach out and gently pinch her flushed cheeks.
So smooth.
Then he squeezed her hands.
So small.
From top to bottom, the man touched her all over, finally holding her slender ankle in the palm of his hand.
A faint pulse, a scalding body temperature.
It's real.
She really came back to him.
"Sob... I'm so hot..."
Bella was forced to open her eyes by all this touching.
When her misty eyes clearly saw Ye Jinzhi's handsome, cold face, all her grievances and the fear brought on by the drug's effects instantly burst forth.
"Sob, Ye Jinzhi... I feel so terrible, my body is so itchy."
Her broken whimpers sounded just like a little kitten that had been bullied outside, finally finding its owner to meow and complain.
She clutched Ye Jinzhi's shirt collar, crying beautifully like a rain-drenched pear blossom.
Her shoulders twitched, and she began to rub against him blindly. "Sob... you're so... so cool..."
Not only did she hug him tightly, but she also kept burrowing into the crook of Ye Jinzhi's neck.
Her warm breath sprayed against his neck, every exhale feeling like it was lighting a fire.
"Sob... where did you go... why are you only here now... I feel awful..."
The man knelt on one knee in front of her, his hands suspended in mid-air, wanting to hug her but afraid of using too much force.
Hearing her accusations, he was at a loss for what to do.
"I'm here, baby, I'm here. Don't be afraid."
He finally closed his arms, embracing his lost and found treasure.
His large hand clasped her narrow lower back, using a bit of force to lift her whole body into his arms so she could rest more comfortably on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, his other hand gently stroked the top of her head, which was damp with cold sweat, and he coaxed her softly:
"Be good, don't cry. I'll never leave again."
Feeling the coolness radiating from Ye Jinzhi, Bella seemed to have found the antidote.
She entangled herself with him recklessly, pressing her entire body into his embrace.
Just then, the door was violently pushed open.
"I say, CEO Ye, what's so urgent that you're summoning me like a ghost... whoa!"
As soon as Huo Zhou entered, he ran headlong into this spicy scene of a beauty throwing herself into a man's arms.
His eyes widened as he looked at Ye Jinzhi, who was usually ascetic and as cold as an ice sculpture, now actually allowing a beautiful woman to rub against him in his arms.
Seeing that the man's expression remained unchanged, even though his ears were actually already flushed bright red with blood,
Huo Zhou was shocked and couldn't help but make a cheeky remark, clicking his tongue:
"Young Master Ye, quite the self-control you have there, huh?
With this soft, fragrant beauty in your arms, if you can't handle it, I wouldn't mind sharing the burden for you, buddy?"
"Be good... don't be afraid, I'm right here." It was an almost indulging coax.
Standing on the side, Huo Zhou was dumbfounded, almost dropping the things in his hands.
What did he just hear?
The Living King of Hell of the business world was actually using such a drowningly gentle tone to patiently coax a little girl?
"Baby, stop crying."
Ye Jinzhi lowered his head slightly, his thin lips barely brushing past the corner of her mouth, his voice carrying a reassuring certainty,
"No one can ever bully you again, believe me."
Not a single person who dared to lay a hand on her would escape.
Ye Jinzhi raised his eyes. The face that had just been so gentle towards Bella instantly turned freezing cold the moment he looked at Huo Zhou.
"Next time, don't let me hear that kind of talk again." It was an unquestionable warning.
Huo Zhou's heart skipped a beat. His cynical smile immediately vanished, and he quickly made a zipping motion over his lips, indicating he would shut up completely.
"Examine her."
Huo Zhou sighed softly and took out his tools from the medical kit, preparing to prick Bella's finger for a blood sample.
However, just as his fingertips were about to touch the back of Bella's hand, a sudden chill approached, and his wrist was forcefully grabbed by Ye Jinzhi.
"Wait a minute."
Huo Zhou looked up in bewilderment: "What now, Young Master Ye?"
Ye Jinzhi didn't let go. Instead, he carefully pulled Bella a bit tighter into his embrace, and then personally took action,
taking Bella's soft little hand and offering her fingertip to Huo Zhou, his tone steady:
"Prick her just like this. Don't touch her anywhere else."
Huo Zhou laughed out of sheer exasperation, the needle in his hand trembling:
"Ye Jinzhi, do you have to treasure her this much? I'm just taking a blood sample, and you won't even let me touch the back of her hand? Isn't your possessiveness a bit too exaggerated?"
Ye Jinzhi ignored his complaints, simply lowering his eyes to stare at Bella's fingertip, which flinched slightly when it was pricked.
He rubbed the tiny puncture wound gently and tenderly, as if that needle had pierced his own heart.
"It'll take a moment for the results to come out."
Huo Zhou put away the blood sample, his gaze sweeping over Bella's unnaturally flushed face, his tone turning a bit playful.
"But looking at this situation, she was probably fed some dirty aphrodisiacs.
How about you throw her in a cold bath to soak? Or..."
Huo Zhou paused intentionally, revealing an ambiguous you know what I mean expression.
"As her boyfriend, you should know what the most effective antidote is, right?"
As Ye Jinzhi listened, Bella was squirming restlessly in his arms, her soft moans making his heart tremble.
Under the jacket, those few pieces of fabric became increasingly disheveled from the rubbing.
His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty as he desperately suppressed the fire surging within his body, his voice turning hoarse from restraint:
"Sorry for the trouble. Please get the results as soon as possible."
Ignoring Huo Zhou's teasing, Ye Jinzhi took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and suppressed his desires.
"Alright, alright, I'm going. I really surrender to you."
Huo Zhou shook his head, grabbed the blood sample, and quickly darted into the next room.
He was still a single dog and didn't want to stay there and be force-fed dog food. Moreover, the dog food Ye Jinzhi handed out wasn't something just anyone could stomach.
He was afraid of being poisoned to death by it; after all, the outside world had long given him a title—the number one venomous tongue.
He remembered one time, at the Ye family's year-end gala, a socialite found an opportunity to approach Ye Jinzhi.
As a result, he almost instinctively took a few steps back, didn't even glance at her face, and said directly:
"Sorry, I'm not used to sharing breathing space with strangers."
