The sun was setting in the west, and the light inside the car was dim and obscure.
Ning Shangyu paused for a moment, studying Lin Zhishui with an even more inscrutable gaze.
He repeated the main point of her words, “You want me to smell you?”
Lin Zhishui suddenly realized her words might have been ambiguous.
She hurried to explain, “I just wanted you to check if there’s any scent on me.”
But even this didn’t sound quite right.
It was still too forward.
Her words faltered for a couple of seconds, and she explained weakly, “I have an allergic constitution. I’m sensitive to Tianzhu Huang Spices. So I just wanted you to help check… That’s really it. My mother used to be very strict whenever I went out, mostly because I was so prone to catching viruses outside.”
It was a little better now.
When she was younger, almost every time she came home from going out, A Yang and the others would carefully disinfect her whole body and check her temperature.
If they worried they hadn’t done a good job, she’d inevitably come down with some minor illness.
“I absolutely didn’t mean anything improper!!”
Lin Zhishui emphasized at last.
Ning Shangyu saw the large red rash on her neck had already spread from her pale skin to the surface.
His brows furrowed slightly.
Lin Zhishui was still trying to endure the allergic reaction.
Occasionally, her fingertips would tremble, and even the floral patterns on her qipao seemed to quiver with her.
And yet she still had the mind to worry about unnecessary things.
After a brief pause, Ning Shangyu uttered two words, even blunter than Lin Zhishui’s earlier explanation, “Take it off.”
Lin Zhishui glanced at him, then realized his proud features were hidden in the shadows, leaving only the sharp lines of his brow and eyes barely visible.
For a moment, she wondered if she’d misheard.
She asked, a little confused, “Take it off?”
Ning Shangyu spoke evenly, “This qipao is indeed scented with Tianzhu Huang Spices. If you don’t get away from the allergen…”
“Do you plan to spend the rest of today’s date in the hospital?”
What Ning Shangyu meant by “take it off” was simply to remove the qipao.
Nothing more.
Of course, Lin Zhishui didn’t want to go to the hospital, but…
She glanced around the car, murmuring to herself, “Here?”
“Isn’t that a bit inconvenient?”
Ning Shangyu replied lightly, “It’s convenient,” then shifted his gaze forward.
Xi Yan immediately took the hint, raising the black divider between the front and back seats. In no time, the already enclosed car was completely sealed off.
Lin Zhishui was still debating whether she should just go home, since it wasn’t easy for her to come out at all.
The next moment, her lowered head was suddenly covered by a man’s broad suit jacket.
She froze, her nose instinctively brushing the fabric and catching a strikingly unfamiliar scent.
In an instant, every nerve in her skin felt magnified a hundredfold.
Then she heard Ning Shangyu’s voice from beside her, “Wear this for now.”
After he spoke, Lin Zhishui, as if lifting a bridal veil, trembled as she pulled the jacket down from her forehead.
Then she saw him, expressionless, handing her a new spare shirt from the car.
He then stepped out, giving her private space to change.
Ning Shangyu’s back was cold and aloof, but the atmosphere he left behind in the car was still aggressive, like a fire that hadn’t gone out.
She had no choice.
Lin Zhishui didn’t want to make a fuss and be sent to the hospital.
Or, she could continue to endure the itchy, red, swollen allergic reaction.
Quickly taking off the qipao that triggered it was clearly the safest way to handle things.
Five minutes later.
Lin Zhishui was wearing the loose shirt.
For the first time, she realized just how big men’s clothes were—so empty and oddly itchy, almost like wearing nothing at all.
She wasn’t sure if her allergy was getting worse, or if it was something else.
Especially when Ning Shangyu got back in the car—it became even more obvious.
Ning Shangyu calmly took in the sight of Lin Zhishui in his spare shirt, her pale knees pressed together, fingers twisting nervously.
Though she tried to maintain her composure, her awkwardness and embarrassment were clear.
Bathed in his gaze, Lin Zhishui lifted her dewy lashes, which trembled as she said, “I can’t go back like this, can I?”
Ning Shangyu answered succinctly, “You certainly can’t.”
Lin Zhishui, “Then what should I do?”
Ning Shangyu, “Wait for someone to bring you clothes.”
“Wait here?”
Lin Zhishui shrank her legs, hesitated a second, then added, “It feels a bit strange.”
Especially since she had never been this close to a man before—and this man’s presence was so overwhelming.
Even just sitting quietly beside him, without any physical contact, made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.
Ning Shangyu’s tone remained calm, “The air doesn’t circulate well in the car. Your allergy will get worse.”
Then, as if kindly offering a lifeline, he said, “I have a private residence nearby. Do you want to go?”
Lin Zhishui wasn’t sure if it was the allergy, but her body felt odd.
Still, compared to sitting disheveled in the car alone with him, a private residence sounded better.
The next second, her lips parted, and in a soft, slightly hoarse voice, she replied, “I want to go!”
Lin Zhishui and Ning Shangyu were far from familiar.
She hadn’t figured out his temperament at all.
Naturally, she didn’t know that Ning Shangyu could be summed up in one sentence, he would not roost in any tree but the parasol, nor drink any water but from the finest spring.
His obsessive cleanliness and his almost impossible standards were known to very few.
In his own territory, he hated traces of others most of all.
That was why his private residence on Victoria Peak, apart from the occasional nights spent on business in Hong Kong Island, was a grand and splendid place that seemed sealed away—cold and empty.
Ning Shangyu led her to the master bedroom.
Wherever his gaze landed, there was almost nothing personal in sight.
The most striking thing was a huge black velvet bed that looked big enough for four people.
Lin Zhishui suddenly stopped, glancing at him, uncertain.
Ning Shangyu was unruffled, gesturing toward the bathroom, “Medicine first, or a shower?”
In the car, Lin Zhishui had already broken out in a thin sweat.
She felt unbearably hot and naturally leaned toward taking a shower, but…
Ning Shangyu, seeing her hesitate, asked directly, “Lin Miss, are there any restrictions with your allergy medication?”
His tone was perfectly normal, but Lin Zhishui, hypersensitive inside and out, felt as if he was being considerate, afraid he might mishandle her and cause harm.
Lin Zhishui licked her lips and replied, “No, the regular kind is fine.”
“Alright.”
Ning Shangyu made space for her.
The door closed.
Lin Zhishui stood there in a daze for a few seconds.
Only after she saw he had truly left did she realize there was nothing to hesitate over—she felt awful and definitely needed a shower.
Half an hour later.
In the unfamiliar environment, Lin Zhishui didn’t linger under the cool water.
She washed quickly and stepped out, raising her eyes to see Ning Shangyu sitting by the bed.
The heavy curtains were half drawn, making the room dim.
The man’s lowered brows and eyes seemed quietly mysterious, and even the massive black velvet bed behind him couldn’t compare to his overwhelming presence.
Lin Zhishui couldn’t help glancing at that bed again.
Suddenly, a random thought popped into her head, sleeping alone in such a big bed—how wild must his sleeping posture be?
Ning Shangyu looked up and happened to catch her dazed, curious, and slightly bewildered expression as she stared at the bed.
He spoke indifferently, “Come here.”
“Time to apply the medicine.”
Only then did Lin Zhishui notice that his long, slender fingers were toying with a small tube of topical allergy ointment.
To her, this was as good as a life-saving remedy.
She stepped forward gratefully to take the ointment.
To her surprise, it was the same brand her family always used.
Lin Zhishui pinched the white tube and tried to pull it away, but it wouldn’t budge.
She followed the length of his fingers upward, meeting Ning Shangyu’s slightly deep amber eyes.
“Can’t I take it?”
Ning Shangyu’s gaze slid from her confused face to her body.
Lin Zhishui was still wearing his shirt.
The steam from her shower left dewdrops clinging to her skin, trailing down from the back of her neck.
A second later, he released his grip.
“You can.”
Lin Zhishui didn’t realize the problem.
After taking the ointment, she walked softly to the full-length mirror and began applying it.
But…
Wait.
Most of her allergic rash was on her back.
At home, A Yang and the others would always help her apply medicine.
For a moment, she didn’t realize she couldn’t reach it herself.
The more anxious she got, the itchier it became.
Her frustration was plain in the mirror.
Originally, Ning Shangyu had been sitting on the bed, calm and collected.
Finally, he stood up and walked over, gently taking the ointment from her tense fingers.
He spoke slowly, “Fiancée, I think you need some help.”
Lin Zhishui weighed her options for three seconds, then set her embarrassment aside, “Um, I… I really do… need your help.”
If she didn’t get the medicine on soon, she might become the first person to die of an allergic reaction on a date with her fiancé.
Ning Shangyu seemed satisfied with her cooperation, his chin lifting slightly.
“Go sit.”
Lin Zhishui turned her back to him, unbuttoning a few of the expensive shirt’s buttons to bare her nape, then obediently sat on the bed.
The whole process felt very familiar—at home, she was always taken care of this way.
As her neck and back were fully exposed, the red rash looked like a blemish on fine jade.
Once it touched the air, she suddenly felt unsafe, vaguely sensing something was off. Instinctively, she hugged a soft pillow to her chest.
Ning Shangyu didn’t mind her actions.
He dipped his long fingers into the ointment and slowly massaged it in.
Once the minty scent warmed against her skin, he started from her neck, letting the coolness spread inch by inch across her shoulder blades.
All perfectly proper.
But Lin Zhishui was unused to it.
She couldn’t help turning her face to the side, her watery gaze glimmering from the corner of her eye.
Even two small red marks couldn’t stop her from glancing at Ning Shangyu.
“Thank you.”
Ning Shangyu didn’t pause in his movements.
Lin Zhishui, perhaps unable to bear the kindness of his help, kept trying to shift the focus, insisting on returning the courtesy, “Thank you.”
By the eleventh thank you, Ning Shangyu remained expressionless and didn’t respond.
Without warning, he stopped applying the ointment at her waist, and through the shirt, she couldn’t tell if the warmth was from the ointment or his hands.
His voice was low, no longer cold, “Anywhere else uncomfortable?”
On the surface, Lin Zhishui’s Tianzhu Huang Spices allergy had been thoroughly treated by his attentive care.
Everything felt cool and refreshed.
She didn’t want to trouble him further, so she stammered, “No, that’s all.”
A few seconds of quiet followed.
Ning Shangyu finally withdrew his hand, moving away from her skin and presence.
The master bedroom door closed again.
After applying the ointment, Lin Zhishui wrapped herself in a thin towel, half-dry, unable to shower again.
She lay still, trying to calm herself.
But fatigue crept up before she knew it.
She closed her eyes and didn’t open them again, even drifting into a vivid dream.
In her dream, the scene of the two of them applying ointment replayed over and over.
But this time, Ning Shangyu’s hand wasn’t so gentle; instead, a dangerous, intense aura radiated from him…
Those deep, dark eyes seemed to burn with fire.
Lin Zhishui woke with a start.
Only ten minutes had passed.
Her eyes were pink and moist, and she only half understood the feverish sensations that lingered from her dream.
After a long time, she finally realized the tears running down her cheeks were purely physiological, soaking the sheets beneath her.
***
Downstairs.
When Ning Shangyu finished his shower and reappeared, dressed immaculately in a tailored suit, Xi Yan, Li Jin, and several secretaries were already waiting in the living room.
Ning Shangyu sat down on the leather sofa.
Xi Yan quietly reminded him of the important schedule for the evening, while Li Jin respectfully opened a black safe.
Under the dazzling crystal lights, rows of syringes were neatly arranged inside, their silver needles gleaming.
Ning Shangyu calmly rolled up his shirt sleeve, exposing his pale, well-defined arm.
With his next movement, the strong lines of muscle became clear beneath his skin.
Li Jin reminded him in a low voice, “You already had one injection this morning. Unless there’s an emergency, the doctor advises against two in a day.”
Ning Shangyu’s expression didn’t change.
As he picked up a syringe, his thin lips curved into a faint, cool smile.
“There is an emergency.”
“An emergency?”