In Dongfang Huaizhu's room, Wangquan Baye gently laid her on the couch. After carefully tucking in the quilt and just about to stand up, he heard the girl on the bed let out a soft groan. "Don't go. Stay." She tightly grasped his wrist.
Wangquan Baye couldn't help but smile. The usually calm and wise Dongfang Huaizhu had lost her usual composure. Under the influence of alcohol, he finally got to see the cute side of this seemingly strong girl.
Dongfang Huaizhu lay obediently on the couch, burying her small face in the soft bedding. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed, and her pink lips were slightly pouted. With a soft groan, she looked so adorable that one's heart would melt.
"Don't leave. Stay with me." Probably because she was lying down, Dongfang Huaizhu's voice had a nasal tone, making her sound cute and coquettish.
Wangquan Baye's heart softened. But as a man, it was inappropriate for him to stay in a girl's room late at night. Yet he was also worried about Dongfang Huaizhu. For a moment, he was in a dilemma. He turned to look at Dongfang Qinlan with an inquiring look.
"Brother Wangquan, could you please stay here and help me take care of Sister?" Dongfang Qinlan blinked her eyes, looking very smart.
"I can't take care of Sister by myself. And Father mustn't know about this."
Wangquan Baye naturally understood. The family rules of the Dongfang Clan were always very strict. Although the head of the Dongfang Clan was very kind to his daughters, he was very strict in matters like this. It was absolutely impossible for the eldest daughter of the Dongfang Clan to return home late drunk.
"Okay, go prepare some hot water to wipe her face. I'll stay here and watch over her." Wangquan Baye motioned for Dongfang Qinlan to rest assured and squatted beside Dongfang Huaizhu's bed.
Seeing this, Dongfang Qinlan left quietly with peace of mind.
Wangquan Baye squatted beside the bed and carefully observed her room. The windowsill was filled with all kinds of flowers and plants, and there were also several masterpieces on the wall, exuding the aura of a gentle and refined young lady.
"Um." The girl on the bed suddenly made a sound. Her body squirmed restlessly, but she still didn't let go of Wangquan Baye's hand.
Wangquan Baye turned around.
"Don't!" Dongfang Huaizhu cried out. There was a hint of panic on her face. There were large beads of sweat on her forehead, and her breathing was rapid.
Wangquan Baye quickly took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her face. He comforted her in the gentlest voice he had ever used: "Don't be afraid. I'm here with you."
He gently patted Dongfang Huaizhu's hand, trying to give her a sense of security. Perhaps feeling the warmth from the back of her hand, she gradually calmed down and fell into a deeper sleep.
"Brother Wangquan, the water is ready." Dongfang Qinlan tiptoed back into the room.
God knows what she had just been through! She had never felt so aggrieved before. In order not to make a sound, she could only bend over and walk quietly.
"You wipe her face. She just had a nightmare and broke out in a cold sweat." To avoid suspicion, Wangquan Baye asked Dongfang Qinlan to wipe her sister's face to make her feel better.
Moreover, she wouldn't let go of his hand.
"Um, no. It's uncomfortable." Dongfang Qinlan walked to the bedside. As soon as the towel in her hand touched Dongfang Huaizhu's face, it was waved away by her.
"Don't wipe. It's cold." Dongfang Huaizhu complained again.
"It's warm. It's very comfortable. You have to wipe your face before you can go to sleep." Dongfang Qinlan tried to persuade her sister and put the warm towel on her face again.
"Still no!" Dongfang Huaizhu waved away Dongfang Qinlan's hand childishly again.
Dongfang Qinlan thought: Why do I feel like I'm the older sister...
It had to be said that the dignified Dongfang Huaizhu on normal days had nothing in common with the person on the bed at this moment.
Dongfang Huaizhu's head was dizzy. She saw the two figures in front of the bed overlapping and couldn't tell them apart.
"Wash up before you sleep." Wangquan Baye's voice was deep and mellow.
Dongfang Huaizhu squinted her eyes and stared at his face for a while. As if she had finally recognized the person in front of her, she then obediently let the two of them wash her up and gradually fell asleep.
Dongfang Qinlan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She slumped onto the table beside her and didn't move, looking extremely tired.
No one noticed that the young servant hiding in the dark had spied on everything. Not long after, he sneaked into a room quietly.
"Report to Senior Brother. Senior Sister Huaizhu just returned to the mansion tonight. With her were Dongfang Qinlan and... and..." The young servant carefully glanced at Jin Renfeng.
"Speak!" Jin Renfeng looked impatient.
"With her were Dongfang Qinlan and a strange man." The young servant looked dull, fearing that he might anger Jin Renfeng. Everyone in the Shenhuo Mountain Manor knew that Senior Brother was in love with Senior Sister Huaizhu.
"What does the man look like? Is he wearing a mask?" Jin Renfeng clenched his fists tightly, holding back his overwhelming anger. He was sitting on the main chair in the room, with his hands on the tea table. The veins on the back of his hands were bulging. He was using so much strength that it seemed as if he was going to tear the poor table apart.
The young servant shrank his neck and tried hard to recall the outline of the man he had seen in the moonlight. It seemed that there was a mask that reflected silver light in the moonlight.
"Yes, he's wearing a mask. He's very tall."
"Bang!" The teacup beside Jin Renfeng exploded on the ground.
"I see. You can go now." Jin Renfeng sent the frightened young servant away.
The young servant left as if he had received amnesty.
"Wangquan Baye! I'll meet you today." Jin Renfeng's knuckles cracked one by one. Suddenly, he stood up, pushed open the door, and strode away.
Under the moonlight, Jin Renfeng turned the corner of the corridor. A few stars were twinkling in the sky. The Shenhuo Mountain Manor at night was extremely beautiful, but he had no mood to think about it at this moment.
The man walked over with big strides, stepping on the moonlight. His fiery red hair was fluttering in the wind, giving off a sense of killing.
"Sister, are you in?" Jin Renfeng's voice sounded outside Dongfang Huaizhu's door. Dongfang Qinlan felt as if she had heard a thunderbolt explode out of nowhere.
Wangquan Baye and Dongfang Qinlan looked at each other. They both saw the panic in each other's eyes. Originally afraid of being discovered by others, they became even more at a loss. Not long after, Wangquan Baye calmed down first.
Wangquan Baye walked to Dongfang Qinlan's side and whispered to her quietly: "Think of a reason to drive him away. Say that Sister is not feeling well today to get rid of him."
Dongfang Qinlan quickly nodded. She cleared her throat and said in a deliberately calm voice: "Senior Brother, Sister has a headache today and has gone to bed early."
"I'll convey your concern to Sister when she wakes up early tomorrow. Please come another day, Senior Brother."
Jin Renfeng became more and more convinced of his suspicion. Knowing that there was someone in his junior sister's room, he couldn't leave easily. He was unwilling: "I'm so worried about my junior sister today that I must see her to feel at ease."
Jin Renfeng gritted his teeth outside the door, staring at the closed door as if he would rush in and fight Wangquan Baye at any moment.
It must be him in this room!
"Senior Brother, I call you Senior Brother out of respect for you. I'm of a lower generation, but Sister has already gone to bed and has a terrible headache today. If you force your way in, won't you ruin Sister's innocence?"
Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Dongfang Qinlan half-threatened.