Zhou Yu'an pulled her over and shielded her behind him.
Just as Chu Liuyue was about to be dragged away, Yan Qingdou's hand gently squeezed her cuff, and a piece of chocolate slipped into her palm.
The two exchanged a glance.
Yan Qingdou smiled in tacit understanding.
There was an extra layer of meaning in that smile.
Only then did he slowly turn his gaze toward Zhou Yu'an.
"What are you getting so worked up about?"
"Miss Chu and I are just having a chat. Is this something a doctor like you needs to manage?"
"You're only her doctor, not her boyfriend."
Zhou Yu'an froze.
Right.
He wasn't Chu Liuyue's boyfriend.
Even if she had close contact with other men, it was none of his business.
He seemed to be overstepping his bounds.
Just as he was thinking this, he glanced at the woman hiding behind him, and suddenly a reasonable explanation flashed through his mind.
How could Yan Qingdou be interested in women?
He must be interested in that thing.
Was he trying to trick Chu Liuyue into giving it away while he wasn't around?
"Yan Qingdou, you're a bit dangerous. I don't trust you," Zhou Yu'an stated honestly.
He then turned to look at Chu Liuyue and instructed, "Don't talk to him alone next time. If anything happens, just call my name."
"Mm, I'll listen to An'an." Chu Liuyue nodded obediently, her face full of trust.
Yan Qingdou fell silent. "..."
He was dangerous?
Please, brother.
Do you have any idea that the most dangerous person is this woman pretending to be weak right next to you!
Yan Qingdou scoffed lightly.
"Fine, you win."
"I'll leave then."
With that, he took a long stride and walked toward the spacious corridor.
Only the two of them were left in the room.
Zhou Yu'an realized she was still holding onto his arm. He pointed at it and said, "You can let go now. It's okay. With me here, he won't hurt you."
"Mm." Chu Liuyue nodded her little head.
"What did Yan Qingdou say to you just now?" Zhou Yu'an asked, his eyes warm and his tone gentle.
"Ah, he didn't say anything." Chu Liuyue blinked her long eyelashes.
Her almond eyes flickered like those of a little deer.
The moment Zhou Yu'an met her gaze, he quickly looked away as if he had been burned.
"Then what was he doing just now..."
"Oh, he gave me this." Chu Liuyue's lips and eyes curled upward. She opened her hand like she was presenting a treasure, revealing a nut chocolate bar.
Zhou Yu'an was silent for a moment.
Yan Qingdou actually still had food.
He had only given Gu Man such a small piece of a biscuit earlier, yet he was so generous as to give Chu Liuyue the most energy-replenishing chocolate.
What was he trying to do?
"An'an, let's eat it together," Chu Liuyue tilted her head slightly, staring straight at him.
Seeing the look Zhou Yu'an gave her, she added, "Mm, we'll split it in half, not take turns taking bites."
Ah.
What.
Was she thinking about taking turns biting the chocolate bar just now?
The messy thoughts in Zhou Yu'an's mind completely emptied out in an instant.
Only that one phrase echoed in his head.
Chocolate.
One bite each.
This was way too intimate.
Besides, he was a germaphobe.
Zhou Yu'an deepened his voice and said, "Yan Qingdou gave it to you, so you should eat it yourself."
The next second.
"Ah—"
Chu Liuyue had already peeled open the wrapper of the nut chocolate bar and offered the exposed corner to his lips.
Her eyes were smiling brightly.
She looked at him with a face full of expectation.
Zhou Yu'an pressed his lips into a thin line, about to refuse.
When he heard her act coquettishly:
"Eat it, eat it. You're the main force when it comes to fighting zombies."
"You've expended so much energy, you need to eat something high in energy to replenish it."
"Besides, if you collapse from hunger, how are you going to protect me?"
Zhou Yu'an's mind was thrown into chaos by these words.
When did he ever promise to protect Chu Liuyue?
Something wasn't right.
"An'an, eat." She raised her porcelain-white face, her wet almond eyes staring at him expectantly.
The chocolate bar was pushed a little closer to his lips.
Just as Zhou Yu'an opened his mouth to say something, the food was stuffed into his mouth.
"Is it good?" Chu Liuyue's eyes curved into crescents.
Zhou Yu'an finally accepted it.
He obediently took a bite.
He savored it carefully.
A bit sweet.
Too rich.
But it did replenish some stamina.
"Mm." He nodded, his gaze softening.
The next moment, his pupils trembled violently.
Because after feeding him, Chu Liuyue put the chocolate bar into her own mouth.
She took a huge bite with an ah-woo sound.
Her cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel as she started chewing.
"Mm, it's so delicious," she said, tilting her head to look at him.
Zhou Yu'an: "..."
Wait, he had just taken a bite of this chocolate.
Why did Chu Liuyue immediately take the next bite?
It really was...
One bite each.
He was a germaphobe.
No!
Chu Liuyue eating the chocolate bar he had bitten, wasn't this an indirect kiss?
On the outside, Zhou Yu'an looked silent and calm, his face taut.
But inside, a storm was raging, complete chaos, and he had no idea how to react anymore.
Was this normal?
This wasn't normal!
Her acting like this... it wasn't good, right?
"Want another bite?"
Chu Liuyue swallowed the chocolate in her mouth and enthusiastically offered the chocolate bar in her hand toward his lips again.
Zhou Yu'an meant to refuse. He just opened his mouth to say, "No..."
Before the word need could leave his mouth.
History repeated itself.
That half-eaten chocolate bar was smoothly stuffed into his mouth again.
Zhou Yu'an instantly stiffened all over.
From his ears to the back of his neck, everything turned completely red, like a ripe tomato.
This was different from the first bite he took.
The first bite was from a freshly unwrapped chocolate, untouched by anyone.
But this second bite, the broken edge was exactly where Chu Liuyue had just taken her big bite.
"Eat it." Chu Liuyue tilted her head in confusion at him.
As if wondering why the chocolate was already in his mouth, but he wasn't biting down.
Zhou Yu'an's mouth was stuffed with food, and he couldn't speak.
Just as he froze, Chu Liuyue smoothly tore open the wrapper at the tail end of the chocolate.
She smiled brightly and said, "I know, An'an, you want to split it half and half with me, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking.
She stood slightly on her tiptoes, tilted her head up, and bit onto the perfect curved end of the chocolate bar still in the wrapper.
Then, bit by bit, she moved forward.
The distance between the two of them gradually shrank from half a step to five centimeters, then three centimeters...
Zhou Yu'an felt as if he had been frozen solid.
His mind went completely blank.
Just at the moment their lips were about to touch.
With an ah-woo, Chu Liuyue bit the chocolate bar in half again.
Then, acting as if nothing had happened, she took a half-step back.
Her pale, thin lips held the half piece of chocolate, chewing bit by bit, slowly biting it down.
"An'an, why aren't you biting?" she said.
