It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.
The act of pulling Miss Xie back was purely instinctive.
At that moment, Pei Du's mind went blank. Seeing her about to pull away, he thought it was because he hadn't uttered that endearing name, which made Miss Xie bored and ready to leave.
In his haste, without much thought, he reached out and placed his hand on the back of her head. In an instant, he was extremely close to her.
That endearing name... he rarely even said it in his dreams.
God knows how wildly his heart was pounding when those two overlapping characters slipped out of his throat.
... He was truly done for.
Even saying Miss Xie's nickname could make his heart feel hot and be tugged hard, as if by something.
Cici.
Miss Xie's ears were very red. She must have been startled by his rough action.
Since she had her head down and couldn't see his expression, Pei Du could silently repeat those two words in his heart and not hide the smile on his lips.
He hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
Suddenly, the girl who was so close to him moved slightly.
Because they were so close, Pei Du's lips were almost touching her ear. When Xie Jingci moved, her loose black hair softly brushed across the young man's face, tickling him.
In a moment of daze, she changed her posture from passively hanging her head. Her long eyelashes lifted, and their eyes met.
In the narrow and cramped space, their breaths intertwined.
Pei Du didn't dare to move at all.
"You have a wound on your neck," Xie Jingci stared directly into his eyes, her tone normal, even with a bit of cold awkwardness. "Didn't they treat your wound?"
In the battle against the nightmare, although the two of them weren't fatally injured, it was impossible to come out unscathed in such a dangerous situation surrounded by killing intent on all sides.
Xie Jingci had obediently let them apply the ointment. Now, when she glanced at Pei Du's neck, she immediately saw the cracked bloodstains on the side of his neck, extending down to his collar. On his fair skin, there were several thin and long bloodstains, spreading a glaring red.
The bloodstains weren't big but were messy. He was so flustered by her stare that he lowered his eyes and averted his gaze. "It's not a serious injury. I've applied the medicine myself."
Since childhood, Pei Du had been the kind of person who didn't like to trouble others.
He lived under the roof of the Pei family, always walking on thin ice. So he always strived for the best in everything and wouldn't trouble others unless it was absolutely necessary.
The injuries he suffered today were all minor. Applying a little ointment roughly would do. Even if there were any omissions, with wounds of this degree, they would heal on their own soon.
He had always been like this.
"Oh," Xie Jingci stepped back a bit, and there was no emotion in her tone. "Continue taking the medicine."
- Of course, this wasn't her real thought.
If possible, Xie Jingci would rather lie there emotionlessly for three whole days and three nights than let the so - called "biochemical weapon" in Pei Du's hand contaminate her tongue.
But she had a system.
It was a system that loved to watch the fun and never got enough of it, always finding new ways to torment her.
What are the essential skills of a domineering CEO?
She could choose not to negotiate, not to raise funds, or even not go to the company to work, but she must be proficient in speaking cheesy lines, making her eyes look like a pie chart, and pinning someone on the bed and kissing them.
Pinning someone on the bed and kissing them.
When she saw these words in the character setting, Xie Jingci almost had a heart attack and bid farewell to this wonderful world.
- Was this system even human? She was supposed to pin Pei Du on the bed and kiss him, with red eyes and a hoarse voice? No way! An insult was unacceptable!
[Red eyes are a must - have for a domineering CEO. It's all part of the package.]
Perhaps feeling guilty for the first time in a long while, the system's tone was evasive. [You should get familiar with the lines well - It's not my fault; it's the whole novel world that's wrong.]
Xie Jingci just wanted to bang her head.
Because of that "pinning on the bed and kissing" action, she now had to take the medicine to replenish her strength. Otherwise, if she continued to delay, the system might just throw in the towel and say directly, "Man, do it yourself."
Then she really, really wouldn't have the face to see Pei Du again.
But Xie Jingci didn't want to take the medicine.
As soon as she smelled the taste, she couldn't help frowning.
Pei Du handed the small spoon to her lips again. Xie Jingci didn't hide the disgust in her eyes at all. After hesitating for a while, just as she was about to open her mouth, she suddenly heard Pei Du say, "Miss Xie."
He still instinctively used this address. Seeing her look up, he seemed a bit hesitant and lifted the porcelain bowl to his own mouth.
Pei Du took a sip of the medicine.
He had always been fearless of pain. Even though the taste of this medicine was really hard to bear, he only slightly lowered his eyes, not even frowning. "I'll share the bitter taste of the medicine with you."
In this way, she wouldn't be the only one suffering the bitter taste pitifully.
... Although it still sounded pitiful for two people to suffer the bitter taste together, at least there was a companion, and it made her feel a bit more balanced.
This way of comforting someone was unheard of. Even though Xie Jingci had seen a lot in the world, she couldn't help but secretly call him a "fool."
Unexpectedly, whether it was the candied fruit that worked or his stupid psychological therapy that was extremely effective, when she took a spoonful of the medicine this time, there was really a significant relief, and it wasn't as bitterly unbearable as at the beginning.
Xie Jingci tried hard to swallow it. "Why aren't you afraid... don't you hate the bitter taste?"
"I don't like this taste either," Pei Du seemed still nervous and answered seriously, with a hint of a smile at the end of his voice. "Because I've mentally prepared myself, I can barely accept it."
As the decoction entered his stomach, the dissipated spiritual power began to gather again, just like spring rain falling on a dry lake. As the water vapor gradually filled, gentle ripples finally spread on the lake.
After finishing most of the bowl of medicine, Xie Jingci could move freely as she wished.
Seeing that she was okay, Pei Du let out a sigh of relief and secretly tightened his grip on the porcelain bowl. "Miss Xie, do you want to go out... and take a look at this village?"
He deliberately softened his tone, but in fact, he was extremely nervous.
This was the first time he had invited Miss Xie. If she agreed, Pei Du would definitely turn around quickly so that she wouldn't notice the smile in his eyes; if she didn't agree...
Then he would instead smile at Miss Xie and say, "Have a good rest."
Xie Jingci didn't answer immediately.
Pei Du sat on the edge of the bed, holding the porcelain bowl, waiting for the verdict like a criminal.
"Just the two of us, you and me?"
She cut straight to the chase and directly exposed his little thought. Pei Du felt the back of his ears heat up. Then he heard Xie Jingci continue, "Sure."
Miss Xie had agreed.
He tried hard to keep a straight face, but even though his lips were pursed into a straight line, the smile in his pupils couldn't be hidden at all and overflowed gently like water.
Just at that moment, Xie Jingci on the bed curved her eyes. "But before that, we still have to do one thing."
Still have to... do one thing?
Pei Du couldn't figure it out. He looked at her blankly. Before he could say a word, he saw Miss Xie in front of him raise her right hand and lean in his direction.
The soft and round fingertips of the young girl slowly touched his side neck.
Her touch was as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, as gentle as a breeze. It trailed from the side of his neck toward the back, finally resting beside that slender wound.
Pei Du kept his head tilted slightly upward, remaining perfectly still.
She let out a low chuckle. "Let's apply some medicine here."
Without waiting for his response, Xie Jingci leaned sideways and picked up a storage bag from the wooden cabinet next to the bed. With a sudden flash of white light, a delicate jade bottle materialized in her hand.
"This is Heavenly Fragrance Ointment. It's very effective for external wounds."
Her smile remained as her gaze fixed on Pei Du's neck. "The wound is a bit further back. Turn your head slightly."
So he obediently turned to the side.
Pei Du was tall, and the wooden stool was higher than the bed. Even though he had turned his head, Xie Jingci, who was leaning softly against the bed, still found it somewhat inconvenient to apply the medicine to the back of his neck.
Her fingers lightly brushed against the reddened skin, then quickly pulled away.
Her tone was completely serious, but her voice was weak and soft. "I still don't have much strength. I'm afraid I can't stand up... Applying medicine like this seems quite inconvenient."
[Tropes, it's all just tropes.]
The system tutted: [You've obviously recovered most of your stamina, yet here you are setting a trap to seduce him. Good acting, not bad at all.]
Could she be blamed for this?!
Xie Jingci gritted her teeth, mentally punching it for the umpteenth time.
The lines and actions dictated by the system were simply unbearable to look at. With every sentence she read, she wanted to wail in agony for her tainted eyes.
According to classic domineering CEO tropes, applying medicine was inevitably the perfect moment for romance to heat up.
Things would get all steamy and ambiguous. Unintentionally provoked by the canary, the CEO's wolfish nature would awaken. Turning the tables, the CEO would pin the canary against the headboard and ravish them.
That's right. If things went according to the most orthodox script, Pei Du would have already been pinned against the headboard by her by now.
But could she really play it like that?
If she actually did that, her cheerful laughter would permanently become a fond posthumous memory. If she returned seven days later, she might just make it in time for her own seventh-day memorial.
Xie Jingci wanted to save face, so she could only lure him onto the hook step by step.
How could Pei Du know the sinister nature of the human heart? Hearing her words, he earnestly replied, "I can lower my head a bit—"
Xie Jingci: "How about this? Let's swap places."
This was said so bluntly that he froze in an instant.
"That's fine, right?"
Yet Xie Jingci didn't seem to mind at all. Shifting her position, she actually sat on the edge of the bed, making room for him. "Once I'm done applying the medicine, we can go check out the village together."
*
Pei Du couldn't remember how he ended up on the bed.
He initially lay flat on his back, completely stiff, but Miss Xie gave a light chuckle and reminded him that his wounds were all on his back. Thus, he had to swallow his shyness and roll over to lie on his stomach.
This posture... brought an inexplicable sense of shame.
Especially when his body sank into the bedding, surrounded entirely by Miss Xie's scent and warmth. With just a shallow breath, he grew so nervous that his spine stiffened.
Because he was facing away, Pei Du couldn't see Xie Jingci's movements. He could only feel a delicate, warm softness sweeping past the back of his neck as she brushed aside his messy black hair.
The youth buried his entire face in the pillow, the pounding in his chest clearly discernible.
Then, in the next instant, his heartbeat abruptly accelerated.
For a normal application of medicine, one would only need to smear the ointment onto the wound. However, Miss Xie's fingertips lingered for a moment before suddenly pressing down.
A stream of heat flowed from her fingertips, traveling through his meridians and seeping into his flesh and blood.
...Miss Xie was transferring spiritual energy into him.
Xie Jingci's aura was like a torrent, slowly but indisputably surging into his body, wrapping around Pei Du's divine sense layer by layer before penetrating it with unstoppable force.
This was a somewhat aggressive, domineering invasion.
Yet when the spiritual energy dispersed, it was incredibly gentle, spreading to his limbs and bones with lightning speed. It caused the youth on the bed's eyes to darken, a barely audible gasp escaping his throat.
This was an intimate act only meant for the closest of people.
Before this, Pei Du had never experienced anything of the sort. Therefore, he never could have imagined that when Miss Xie did this to him, it would feel so...
She delved deeper. Everywhere the energy passed was filled with heat, triggering dense waves of electric currents.
That strange feeling from his dream, when Miss Xie bit his neck... had reappeared.
Pei Du had no strength left. He subconsciously gripped the pillow tightly, gritting his teeth to keep from making a sound.
Xie Jingci's face was ashen.
Meng Xiaoting had once tried this method with her. It just felt like being slightly electrocuted, as if even their bones were crackling and popping. Neither of them could stand the ticklish sensation and never used it a second time.
She could see the deepening red on Pei Du's ears.
At first, it was just a hint of crimson. Later, as she poured in more spiritual energy, he remained silent, but the flush rapidly deepened, spreading from his ears all the way down his neck.
I'm sorry.
Xie Jingci fought to keep her fingertips from trembling, silently shedding tears in her heart.
She didn't want to do this either, but as a wildly domineering and cool Alpha CEO, she had to inject her canary with pheromones.
—This garbage system was ruining her innocence, equating spiritual energy transfer with a pheromone exchange.
The wound throbbed with a dull ache, but the flesh and bones enveloped by the spiritual energy were tingling numbly.
This didn't seem... like healing at all.
Pei Du tried his best not to tremble or make a sound, inwardly cursing himself for being shameless.
Miss Xie surely acted out of care when coming to heal his wounds. Yet he was harboring inappropriate, romantic thoughts, fantasizing about intimacy, and even...
Even wanting to indulge forever, for a long, long time, in this tenderness he had once never dared to hope for.
Suddenly, Miss Xie's voice reached his ears.
Her tone was light, carrying an inexplicable haughtiness. "Do you like this feeling?"
Xie Jingci paused briefly. Though she smiled, her words were so certain they left no room for doubt: "If you like it, it's okay to make a sound... I want to hear it."
His heart violently clenched.
Pei Du curled his fingers tightly, feeling a surge of heat explode within his blood, burning his mind completely blank.
Miss Xie, she—
"...I want to hear the storyteller at the teahouse talk about the Myriad Dao Treasure Mirror. When we return to Yunjing, let's go drink tea together."
The heart that had been suspended in mid-air dropped softly back into place.
What on earth... was he letting his imagination run wild about all day? How could Miss Xie say such strange things? It was only him flattering himself.
Pei Du seemed a bit disappointed. His tense body suddenly lost its strength. He was still facing away, so he couldn't see the expression of the person by the bed.
The light had completely left Xie Jingci's eyes.
—Save! Me! Please!
Do such utterly shameful lines actually exist?! Thank goodness she had a sudden stroke of brilliance and saved the situation, otherwise Pei Du would absolutely treat her like a pervert!!! If you like listening so much, go listen to a stand-up comedy skit at the Spring Festival Gala, you CEO!!!
She would forever love the storyteller at the teahouse. Thank you, sir, for saving her miserable life.
Her gaze moved to the next line of dialogue.
Xie Jingci's breath caught in her throat.
Her emotions surged like a tide, completely oblivious to the fact that the spiritual energy flowing from her fingertips had begun to fluctuate violently.
The transfer of spiritual energy was deeply tied to one's state of mind. What had started as a steady, gentle stream suddenly turned into a raging flood. Xie Jingci was completely oblivious to this, but beneath her, Pei Du's breath hitched.
With his face buried in the pillow and his vision plunged into darkness, his remaining senses grew acutely sensitive to everything around him.
Xie Jingci's energy was incredibly domineering, rampaging recklessly through his body.
The onslaught was completely erratic. It would strike for a fleeting second before instantly pulling away, only to rapidly resurface elsewhere. It left him no room to breathe, feeling like a relentless, encroaching tease.
Gritting his teeth, he barely managed to suppress the tremor in his voice. "Miss Xie..."
[Everyone knew that Miss Xie was aloof, noble, and looked down on everyone. That was, until one day, someone saw her with bloodshot eyes, pinning the young master of the Pei family to the bed and kissing him with a hoarse voice!]
Watching this, the System squealed with laughter, thoughtfully providing a voiceover: [One could see that her left eye held cool indifference while her right eye brimmed with deep affection. Her sharp, sculpted profile exuded a breathtaking mix of wicked charm and tender devotion.]
Xie Jingci's eyes were indeed bloodshot—from being driven crazy by the System.
Her voice was indeed hoarse—from the bitter medicine she had taken.
As for the left eye holding cool indifference and the right brimming with affection... perhaps this domineering CEO had just put in mismatched colored contacts.
"Can't take it anymore?"
Xie Jingci sneered. Her tone was three parts domineering, six parts cold, and one part satisfied amusement. "You started this fire, so you should be the one to put it out."
Put out what fire?! Why don't you just go marry a fire extinguisher! What kind of absolute nonsense was this?! What fire could he possibly have ignited in her?!
In her mind, Xie Jingci's inner self was crying so hard she was about to throw up.
There was only one last line left, and one final action.
As long as she got through them, she would be completely free and could finally say a temporary goodbye to this ridiculous domineering CEO script.
Pei Du, I am so sorry.
As a male lead who is nothing but a plot device, you truly have it way too hard.
And to myself, I am also sorry.
If it had not been for that accident a year ago, you would never have been reduced to an errand runner for the Heavenly Dao, forced to stay in this godforsaken place and physically act out that goddamn...
Xie Jingci tilted her head back in silent despair, wanting to weep but having no tears left to shed.
That godforsaken pinning-to-the-bed-and-kissing routine.
Pei Du had never read such messy, melodramatic storybooks, so he completely failed to understand the meaning behind Xie Jingci's words. All he felt was a burning heat pooling within him, leaving him relentlessly restless.
...He was truly doomed.
His breathing suddenly hitched. Instinct told him he could not let her continue. He hastily turned his head to the side, his voice coming out with a hoarseness that surprised even himself. "Xie..."
He only managed a single syllable before his eyes were forcefully covered, giving him no room to argue as he was pressed back into the pillow.
"Don't move."
Stripped of his vision, Pei Du lay pinned against the headboard. Unable to resist, he felt a rare wave of helpless nervous panic wash over him.
Miss Xie's voice sounded even closer than before. "If you thrash around, I cannot guarantee what will happen."
The pads of her fingers were still pressing against the back of his neck. After a brief pause, they quietly slipped away.
But in the very next instant, a feather-light, incredibly soft sensation pressed against the exact spot her fingers had just vacated.
It felt like a finger... yet it was far hotter. It brushed against him gently and immediately sprang away, leaving only a lingering trace of warmth in its wake.
Pei Du abruptly held his breath. The blood in his veins seemed to stop flowing altogether as his entire body went as stiff as a board.
That was...
