A young man stepped inside, his movents carrying that particular sharpness that ca from predatory awareness rather than human caution. He was tall, strikingly handso in a way that seed almost mathematically perfect, his features too symtrical and flawless to be entirely natural, possessing that otherworldly quality that suggested he wasn’t fully human any more than Shuyin was.
His eyes swept the room with the kind of focused intensity that missed nothing, landing imdiately on the corpse sprawled on the sterile floor, then tracking with laser precision to Shuyin’s face.
Those eyes were deep oceanic blue, the exact color of water in the deepest trenches where sunlight had never penetrated, and they widened with instant recognition that transcended physical appearance and went straight to sothing more fundantal.
"Kai..."
Shuyin moved with speed that shouldn’t have been possible for soone who’d been standing still a microsecond before, her body responding to threat assessnt faster than conscious thought could process the danger of that na being spoken aloud in this room with Lu Yuze standing right there.
Her hand clamped over his mouth before the second syllable could erge, before whatever na he’d been about to say could complete itself and create questions she had no good answers for. Her other hand gripped his arm with strength that probably surprised him, given her slight fra, physical force backed by desperate determination as she physically dragged him backward out of the room, despite him clearly possessing superior size and muscle mass.
"Not one word," she hissed through clenched teeth, her voice carrying an edge of desperate command mixed with pleading that suggested this was absolutely critical. "Not here. Not now. Not a single word."
The young man’s eyes were wide above her hand, filled with shock and confusion and sothing that looked like overwhelming relief threatening to spill over into emotion he was struggling to contain. But he let her pull him into the hallway, let her manhandle him away from the room despite clearly being strong enough to resist if he’d chosen to, his body going cooperative even as his eyes tracked over her face like he was trying to morize every detail, confirming she was real and not so hallucination or wishful thinking.
Lu Yuze stood frozen in the examination room for a long mont, his analytical mind processing what he’d just witnessed with the sa systematic thoroughness he applied to complex business acquisitions.
He knew that face.
Long Chen. Young Master of the Long family, one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the entire region.
Their business empire rivaled even the Lu family’s considerable holdings, spanning industries from technology to real estate to financial services. Long Chen himself had built a reputation for being brilliant in negotiations, ruthless with competitors, and mysteriously reclusive despite his family’s prominence, rarely appearing at social functions and keeping his personal life locked down tighter than most corporate secrets.
Lu Yuze had encountered him exactly twice at high-level business functions where attendance was essentially mandatory for their social tier.
Both tis, Long Chen had been politely distant, maintaining professional courtesy while making it abundantly clear he had no interest in forming connections or alliances with other prominent families, his body language radiating controlled disinterest that bordered on cold dismissal.
And now he was here, in this specific hospital, in this specific room, sohow connected to Shuyin in a way that made her panic badly enough to physically silence him and drag him away from potential witnesses.
Since when did those two know each other? And why had Long Chen looked at Shuyin with that expression?
Sothing uncomfortable twisted in Lu Yuze’s chest, sothing that felt suspiciously like jealousy, which was completely ridiculous because this was supposed to be a contract marriage, and Shuyin’s past connections shouldn’t matter beyond how they might affect the arrangent. Her personal relationships before their marriage were her own business and had no bearing on their transactional agreent.
Except they clearly did matter, at least to the part of Lu Yuze’s brain that was currently screaming territorial warnings.
Because the way Long Chen had looked at Shuyin in that brief mont before she’d covered his mouth, the recognition and relief and sothing deeper that might have been love or devotion or soul-deep connection, that suggested a relationship that went far beyond casual acquaintance or professional networking.
Lu Yuze moved to the doorway with asured steps that belied the tension coiling through his muscles, watching as Shuyin pulled Long Chen around the corner into a small alcove that provided minimal privacy from the main corridor.
She was speaking rapidly, her voice pitched too low for Lu Yuze to hear distinct words from this distance, but her body language was screaming desperation and warning in equal asure, her hands gesturing sharply as she delivered what looked like urgent instructions.
Long Chen’s responses were equally quiet, his tall fra bending slightly toward Shuyin as he listened with intense focus. But Lu Yuze could see his hands coming up in gestures that weren’t threatening but rather comforting, reaching toward Shuyin like he wanted to touch her, to physically confirm she was real and solid and actually standing in front of him after however long they’d been separated.
The jealousy intensified, spreading through Lu Yuze’s chest like acid.
He forced himself to stay planted in the doorway, to not stride over there and physically insert himself between them like so territorial animal marking its claim. Because that would be irrational and possessive and completely inappropriate for a contract marriage that was supposed to be purely transactional, based on mutual benefit rather than emotional attachnt or romantic feelings.
Even if watching another man look at his wife with that much raw emotion made Lu Yuze want to do sothing violent and potentially permanent.
He could hear fragnts now as their voices rose slightly with the intensity of whatever they were discussing, words carrying down the corridor in disconnected pieces that only made the situation more confusing.
User Comments
0 comments from readers