In this position, she finally became truly aware of the sheer disparity in their physical builds.
Ye Que's waist was narrower than she had imagined—lean and powerful—but his shoulders and chest were as broad as a wall. She was straddling him, her knees barely wedged against the soft cushions of the sofa on either side, making her look more than a size smaller than him.
Jiang Nuan watched his Adam's apple bob slightly, watched the suppressed dark tide churning in the depths of his eyes.
Her heart was pounding fast.
But the tension of being completely controlled loosened in this moment when their positions were reversed.
The mission... should count as complete, right?
She had broken through the body's passive defense, even taken the initiative and gained the upper hand.
Mission complete. Time to retreat.
She licked her slightly numb lips, preparing to rise from him and end this training session.
However, just as she shifted her knee to search for a point of leverage, her movement was slightly too large.
Ye Que's body tensed abruptly.
A heavily suppressed muffled groan was squeezed from his throat.
"Mm..."
She froze.
Before she could even process what that groan meant, his arms, which had been hanging loosely at his sides, suddenly lifted—one hand gripping her waist, the other wrapping around her back.
And pulled her down.
"Ah!"
Her startled cry was cut off mid-breath.
Jiang Nuan's cheek slammed into his scorching chest. Through the layer of combat uniform fabric, the steady, powerful thumping of his heart pulsed one after another, making her ears tingle.
Her breathing rose and fell with his chest.
"...Don't move."
His voice came from above her head, hoarse beyond recognition.
A "boom" went off in her head as the blood rushed to her face—her cheeks suddenly hot enough to fry an egg.
If she still didn't understand what had just happened by now, then she really would be a fool.
"Ye... Ye Que."
"Don't talk." His arms tightened another notch.
"Then let go—"
"Give me a minute."
He cut her off, his tone carrying an obstinate forcefulness, and a trace of... a desperate, almost pleading, dishevelment.
Jiang Nuan closed her mouth.
She stayed rigid in his embrace, not daring to move a muscle.
The air was filled only with the sound of their interlaced heartbeats, and his forcibly suppressed breathing, trembling with barely contained shudders.
She began to silently count in her head, trying to use that as a way to distract her unmoored attention.
One, two, three...
His heartbeat is so fast.
Four, five, six...
His body temperature is so hot.
Seven, eight, nine...
This position really is... way too much.
When she silently reached the twelfth count—
"Knock, knock."
A clear knock on the door sounded without warning, jarringly abrupt in the silence of the bedroom.
Jiang Nuan's body went stiff in an instant.
"Miss Jiang? Are you there?"
It was Chen Ping'an's voice.
"I have a few routine questions I need to confirm with you in person. Would you be available right now?"
Jiang Nuan instinctively raised her head to look at Ye Que.
His eyes were shut tightly, a fine sheen of sweat beading at his temples, his jaw clenched hard.
"Knock, knock." The door was knocked twice more. "Miss Jiang?"
The next second, Ye Que's eyes snapped open, a terrifying storm swirling in the depths of those dark pupils.
He twisted his body upright in one motion, and at the same time tightened his arms—lifting Jiang Nuan, who was still sitting on him, completely off the ground.
She bit down hard to strangle the shriek rising in her throat.
The world spun around her; all she saw was the scenery racing backward, until she was carried to the wardrobe in the corner of the bedroom.
Ye Que slid open one panel with a single hand, sidestepped into the compartment with her in his arms, and closed it again behind them.
The light was severed instantly.
The world plunged into pitch-black darkness where you couldn't see your own hand.
She was held against him, her back pressed tightly against the ice-cold wardrobe wall, her knees pressed against his thighs. In the cramped, enclosed space, each other's breathing was magnified countless times, crystal clear.
Outside the door, Chen Ping'an's voice sounded again, this time with a hint of confused muttering.
"Not here...? Well, I guess I'll just wait here for a while."
The footsteps didn't fade away; instead, they seemed to pace back and forth at the door.
Ye Que's hand over her mouth tightened slightly, his fingers pressing into her soft cheek, the heat of his palm shockingly hot.
Jiang Nuan's eyes were wide open in the darkness, silently screaming protests at him with every ounce of her gaze:
Are you serious about shoving me into a wardrobe?! A guy who's six-foot-something hiding in a closet—do you think that looks reasonable?!
He seemed to read her utter exasperation.
He lowered his head, his breath brushing across her ear.
"Don't make a sound."
Jiang Nuan nodded vigorously.
Of course she knew she couldn't make a sound!
If someone as innocent and pure as a blank sheet of paper as Chen Ping'an out there overheard something he shouldn't, she could be on the Federation's social news headlines by tomorrow—"SHOCKING: Zero Squad Member Found in a Wardrobe..."
Just thinking about that headline made her want to die on the spot.
Whether it was a minute or a century later, the footsteps outside finally sounded again, this time moving away.
"...Forget it. I'll just go talk to Mr. Bai in person first."
The footsteps grew further and further away, until they disappeared entirely.
Jiang Nuan let out a long sigh of relief, her tense nerves finally relaxing. She reached up to pry Ye Que's hand off her mouth.
"He's gone. Let's get o—"
Before she could finish, Ye Que's hand moved away from her lips, but he made no move to put her down. Instead, he pressed her even further back against the cold wardrobe wall.
His embrace tightened further.
"Ye Que?" She called his name, confused.
"Yeah." His voice was muffled against the space between her neck and shoulder, vibrating against her skin.
The arm around her waist didn't move an inch.
"You're hurting me!" She said through clenched teeth.
His grip loosened a fraction, but that arm still didn't release her.
"Let go of me first."
"I can't."
His answer came so fast there was no gap for thought.
The darkness devoured her vision, sharpening every other sense to breathtaking clarity.
She could feel his heartbeat crashing against her, heavy and fast, slamming into her own chest.
She tried to push him away—he was as hard as iron.
Her palm pressed against that scorching chest, and beneath her fingers were the contours of muscles and a heartbeat running wild.
Ye Que suddenly lowered his head, his nose unconsciously brushing across her earlobe, his trembling, heated breath sweeping over the shell of her ear.
"Jiang Nuan."
His voice was low and hoarse, wrecked.
"You used me as your training tool," he paused, his breathing growing even hotter, "and now that you're done... you're just going to throw me away?"
