VBNWDW - Chapter 4
Chapter 4
The phone left on the bedside table rang just as Luo Yueqing walked out of the bathroom. She glanced at the warm sunlight outside the window; it was exactly three in the afternoon.
“Dr. Luo, the car to pick you up has arrived downstairs.”
“Please come down immediately and head to the Imperial First Hospital.”
The voice on the phone was rushed and permitted no refusal. The call was disconnected before any explanation could be given. Something extremely urgent must have happened for them to forget even the butler’s customary etiquette.
Luo Yueqing, already knowing what was to come, felt no tension. She simply turned her head to look at the round mirror on the table. From this angle, all that was visible were her slightly upturned red lips, carrying a moist sheen. The fine, unconcealed lines in them held a seductive charm unique to a mature woman.
A sudden breeze blew past, carrying the faint, rose-like fragrance of red wine even further.
It was an undeniable fact that the world was divided into classes, a reality from which even hospitals, dedicated to saving lives, were not exempt.
The poor squeezed into cramped wards with three beds, while the powerful lay in quiet suites on mattresses so soft one could sink into them.
Luo Yueqing sat by the hospital bed, musing to herself as she turned to look at the pale-faced woman beside her.
This Omega, who could stir up storms in the business world with a wave of her hand and who had coldly threatened her just yesterday, now seemed as fragile as delicate porcelain. She was half-reclined on the bed, her swan-like neck tilted slightly upward, revealing the faint blue veins beneath her delicate skin. They were like a painter’s light brushstroke, looking as if they could be crushed with the slightest pressure.
Her gaze was so undisguised that Xi Zhoulu couldn’t help but open her eyes and shoot her a warning glance.
Luo Yueqing felt no embarrassment and didn’t look away. Her eyes drifted down to the loose-fitting hospital gown. Perhaps it was because nobility was etched into the woman’s very bones, but even this ordinary garment looked like an expensive, custom-made piece on her.
What a shameless person, still refusing to avert her gaze even after being warned.
“Dr. Luo,” Xi Zhoulu finally couldn’t help but speak, her hand under the pillow clenching into a fist.
Hearing her name, Luo Yueqing instinctively looked up. “Hm?”
Her eyes were questioning, her expression blank, as if she wasn’t the rogue from a moment ago.
She even asked with perfect composure, “Is Miss Xi ready?”
“Shall we begin?”
Xi Zhoulu’s breath hitched, and the disordered mental power that had caused her to faint in the first place throbbed painfully. A flicker of regret surfaced within her.
This emotion was exceedingly rare for Xi Zhoulu. After all, she had been taught from a young age to never regret a decision. Even if she made a mistake, she was not allowed to doubt herself.
Because she was the heir to the Xi family, one of the leaders of this planet, her decisions would affect countless people. Thus, she always acted with caution and diligence, mulling over every detail and running through simulations in her mind to ensure as few mistakes as possible were made.
Yet she couldn’t help but question her judgment now. Luo Yueqing wasn’t the only Mental Guide. If she wasn’t suitable, she could find someone else. There was no need to go to such great lengths to get entangled with her.
But…
The woman before her was currently her best option.
“Miss Xi?” Seeing no response for a long time, Luo Yueqing couldn’t help but prompt her.
At the sound of her voice, Xi Zhoulu looked up with a frown. Perhaps her mind was in a momentary state of confusion, because she came up with a retaliatory, eye-for-an-eye plan: she would stare right back at the other woman’s face.
But a flippant and shameless Alpha was not so easily defeated.
Not only did she not stop her, but she even leaned forward slightly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear to give Xi Zhoulu a better look.
The distance between them shrank, and a faint, elusive fragrance coiled around her nose.
Xi Zhoulu wanted to retreat, but with her back against the headboard, there was nowhere to go. She could only let the other woman’s reflection fill her pale, grayish-blue eyes.
Luo Yueqing possessed a stunningly bewitching appearance with deep features. Much like her pheromones, she was an Ecuadorian Red Wine Rose, blooming wantonly and full of aggression. She made no effort to conceal it; her beauty was direct and ostentatious, as if to frankly declare, I am simply a stunning Alpha.
Although the other woman hadn’t moved, Xi Zhoulu felt the distance between them closing, as if drifting rose petals were about to land on her lips.
She immediately turned her head, trying to dodge.
But Luo Yueqing reached out and grasped the corner of her quilt, still maintaining that facade of feigned innocence and propriety. “If Miss Xi isn’t ready yet,” she continued with concern, “we can take a short break. We could chat, or…”
Her words trailed off. Whether intentionally or not, she had just repeated the presumptuous line she had used yesterday.
Xi Zhoulu pressed her lips together. The memory flooded back, and a flash of coldness crossed her eyes. Just as she was about to say something, a nurse knocked and entered, interrupting her thoughts.
Looking up, she saw that only a little fluid remained in the hanging glass bottle, soon to be completely empty.
The two of them tacitly returned to their original distance.
At this moment, Luo Yueqing suddenly became considerate, even proactively moving her stool back to give the nurse room to work.
Xi Zhoulu remained silent, only offering a couple of brief responses when the nurse spoke to her.
The air in the room seemed to freeze in an instant, only to be discarded along with the empty IV bottle. The pale, slender hand, set against the bluish-purple mark from the needle, appeared all the more fragile, as if it would break with the slightest pressure.
The nurse must have thought so too, because she pressed the cotton ball down more gently and advised in a softer voice, “The doctor just instructed that he hopes you’ll deal with your mental power issue as soon as possible.”
“This time, you fainted just from a significant mood swing. If it gets worse later, it might…”
She was cut off before she could finish. Xi Zhoulu waved a hand dismissively. “I know,” she said simply.
The nurse didn’t dare say another word, not even letting her gaze wander elsewhere. She finished her task and left.
The sound of the door closing was accompanied by Luo Yueqing moving closer to the bed again.
“The doctor said you need treatment as soon as possible,” she said, emphasizing her words and repeating what the nurse had said. Her smiling, peach-blossom eyes held an unconcealed slyness.
She was like a fox, declaring that Xi Zhoulu had no choice but to fall into her hands.
Xi Zhoulu subconsciously furrowed her brow, and the hospital gown hanging on her slender frame shifted slightly.
“There’s no need to rush,” she said, still not yielding.
“Alright…” Luo Yueqing nodded thoughtfully, like a hunter feigning to abandon the chase.
Then, her tone shifted. “Are you cold?”
It was only autumn, and the temperature in the hospital room was specially adjusted to a comfortable level. How could she possibly be cold?
Xi Zhoulu didn’t react at first. The next second, she saw the other woman take her hand.
Warmth spread from her fingertips, and a trace of heat returned to the palm that had been stiff from the cold IV fluid.
The warmth was inconspicuous, like the flap of a butterfly’s wings—a breeze so faint that even the butterfly itself couldn’t feel it. And yet, it left an intensely tingling sensation in the Omega’s palm.
“Are you cold?”
“Is this any better?” Luo Yueqing was still asking, her knuckles bending slightly to completely enclose the other’s hand.
Perhaps it was because the effects of the IV were wearing off, but her body temperature was gradually rising, and her numbed senses were slowly recovering. She could feel the faint imprint of the other’s fingerprints, and a subtle electric current traveled up from her wrist, engulfing her entire being.
For a moment, Xi Zhoulu didn’t react. It wasn’t out of anger or anything else, but sheer confusion. After all, the people she usually interacted with were shrewd individuals who either feared her family background or were constantly scheming to get closer to her.
She was no stranger to bold moves like the one Luo Yueqing had made last time. Those self-important Alphas could always come up with bizarre tricks in all sorts of situations.
Feigning a fall, intentionally releasing pheromones, or even stripping naked and climbing into her bed.
So Xi Zhoulu was used to this nonsense and was very adept at handling it. The light-handed approach was a warning of bankruptcy; the heavy-handed one…
Although her verbal threats had been cold, Luo Yueqing had actually received the lightest punishment of them all. After all, she was useful. So Xi Zhoulu had merely given her a stern warning and bound her with a contract. She had thought that would be the end of it, but she never expected Luo Yueqing to double down and grab her hand again.
She frowned, unable to understand why someone would be so incorrigible when she had made herself perfectly clear last time.
It was like a genius who had grown up among brilliant people suddenly being thrown in front of a fool, only to discover that the person couldn’t even calculate one plus one.
This vexed Xi Zhoulu. She tried to pull her hand away but was held even tighter.
“Dr. Luo,” she chided coldly. Her pale, grayish-blue eyes always seemed indifferent and distant, like beautiful but emotionless glass beads. Even when they reflected someone’s image, it only ever seemed to rest on the surface.
“If you do something like this again, I think yesterday’s contract will have to be voided.”
She forcefully yanked her hand free. In the struggle, a bead of blood welled up from the small wound on the back of her hand.
Xi Zhoulu, however, looked as if she felt no pain. “S-Class Mental Guides are rare,” she continued, “but you are not the only one.”
She lifted her gaze to meet the other woman’s, her tone flat. Even though her current decision would result in a hefty penalty for breach of contract, she remained unconcerned. “I can find someone else.”
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