Chapter 78: Forced Intervention
Jian Yu closed her eyes, and before long, she was fast asleep.
In a state between dream and wakefulness, she felt both sides of the bed dip down.
Her curled-up body was pulled into an embrace, her back pressing against a searing warmth.
The cool scent of leather, warmed by Ling Yanzhi’s body, filled her nose, mixed with a few wisps of the bitter orange leaf fragrance from Xi Yu.
She snapped awake.
"Having more people to protect Baby is a good thing."
Ling Yanzhi said in a low voice, reasoning with Xi Yu.
His voice was low and muffled, lacking its usual casualness and sharp edges.
Xi Yu’s arm rested on Jian Yu’s waist. He remained silent.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Calm, peaceful.
It was quite different from what Jian Yu had expected.
The men had fought side-by-side and been through life-and-death battles together.
Jian Yu hadn’t expected them to fight to the death for her.
But seeing the current situation, she was, to be honest, a little disappointed.
’If they really liked me, how could they be willing to let go so easily?’
’In the end, my place in their hearts just isn’t high enough.’
’What happened to the imprisonment and forced love the system promised? Is it because I’m not the female lead?’
’Or was the female lead’s mental breakdown unrelated to any forced love?’
’Thinking back, the plot the system showed me was from a pretty detached, third-person perspective.’
"RUSTLE, RUSTLE."
Outside the window, Ting Ying’s large black wings flapped vigorously.
Xi Yu turned his head.
He saw Pei Yin flying in mid-air, hovering in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
He tapped a finger on the glass, his cyan eyes shimmering in the starlight.
Ling Yanzhi sat up and glanced at him.
His eyelids lowered, his gaze drifting down.
His gaze was scorching, and Jian Yu’s breathing hitched.
Pei Yin followed Ling Yanzhi’s line of sight.
The deep darkness of the night didn’t obstruct his vision. He could clearly see Jian Yu’s closed eyes, her faintly trembling eyelashes, and her flushed cheeks.
After a moment’s hesitation, Pei Yin made a threatening gesture, left a pink and blue love letter, and departed in silence.
A tentacle curled around the love letter.
Xi Yu almost fumbled it between two of his fingers.
He tossed it onto the nightstand in disgust.
A brief exchange of glances was all it took for them to understand that this was the last night.
"Goodnight, Baby." Ling Yanzhi kissed her forehead.
He lay back down, one arm cradling the back of her head, his eyes remaining open for a long time.
Jian Yu pressed her lips together, her feelings a tangled mess.
A strong intuition told her they knew she was awake.
Pei Yin probably knew too.
’What on earth are they thinking?’
Unable to figure it out, Jian Yu decided to let it go for now.
’It’s time for my brain to rest. I won’t force it to boot up.’
’Tomorrow... I’ll play it by ear.’
The early morning sun peeked through the window, and the crisp chill unique to autumn days arrived belatedly.
As the cold spread through her body, Jian Yu squinted and belatedly rolled into Ling Yanzhi’s arms.
Only two people were left in the bed. Xi Yu was nowhere to be seen.
Ling Yanzhi glanced at the window he had intentionally left open.
He sat up halfway, unhurriedly hoisting the person in his arms and pulling her against his chest.
He wrapped the blanket around her and cupped her bottom with his hand.
Jian Yu shifted twice and poked her head out.
Her long, chestnut hair was fluffy and messy, the ends curled in soft, natural waves.
Her delicate, doll-like face brushed lightly against Ling Yanzhi’s chest.
Her eyes were open, her large, lively eyes darting around.
Ling Yanzhi couldn’t resist. He hugged her and gave her a little bounce in his arms.
He bent his knees, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lifted her entirely onto his lap.
"Good morning, Baby." Xi Yu emerged with over twenty tentacles, from which dangled a pile of clothes, jewelry, and shoes.
He walked in, his tentacles dancing behind him. "It’s a little cold today. How about this one, Baby?"
"Not great." Pei Yin hadn’t even arrived yet, but the CLINGING and CLANGING of his accessories announced his approach.
His accessories were more flamboyant than usual—a uniform collection of pink and red chains that perfectly offset his sharp-featured beauty.
The moment he entered, Pei Yin started setting up a bed for himself in the bedroom.
Ling Yanzhi’s villa was designed differently from theirs, with a very large bedroom.
A blue light floated under the bed as a large bed assembled itself. It was huge, occupying an entire wall. An adult lying on it would probably be impossible to find in a photograph.
The bed curtains were made of pink gauze that fluttered lightly. The blanket was a dazzling lime green, adorned with an elegant camellia pattern.
Xi Yu loved it.
He leaned over it. "Baby would look so beautiful sleeping on this."
’Men’s taste is really something else.’
Jian Yu blinked blankly.
She turned her head to look at Ling Yanzhi.
Their eyes met, and Ling Yanzhi pressed his forehead against her cheek.
He sneered. "It’s the middle of autumn. What are you getting all worked up for?"
Pei Yin walked over and picked up the love letter from the nightstand. "Your autumn isn’t my autumn. Are you, a pile of dead branches and rotten leaves, jealous that I’m in my prime?"
He leaned down and pinched Jian Yu’s cheek. "Baby, this is my love letter. Take your time reading it."
It was a thick stack; she could imagine how many pages it contained without even opening it.
Jian Yu held it with both hands, staring blankly.
Remembering yesterday’s love letter, she snapped out of her daze and opened the envelope.
The inner lining of the pink and blue envelope didn’t have the little bird pattern from yesterday.
The handwriting was also different—wild and flamboyant, free and unrestrained. Very ’medical student’.
It wasn’t from the same person.
The contents of Pei Yin’s letter were also bizarre. She had no idea where he’d copied it from:
Every time you stare off into space so seriously, I check my own pulse.
I liked you nine out of ten, but then I took one more look, just one, and suddenly it became a ten out of ten!
Actually, you’re not all that great. You’re just a little prettier, a little gentler, a little smarter, a little cuter, a little more sensible than other girls...
Jian Yu flipped through the pages; the rest was just a continuous stream of praise.
"What’s this?" A soft, thin black strap fell and hit Xi Yu on the head.
He reached up and pulled at it. It was a long bundle with adjustable loops at the ends.
Ling Yanzhi looked up, and his eyes froze.
"Oh, this? It’s for our Baby." Pei Yin strode forward.
He looped a finger through one of the rings, placed it on his own wrist, and adjusted the size.
"Like this. It restrains all four limbs without hurting the skin. It doesn’t hurt at all."
Jian Yu shrank back, a timid look in her eyes.
Although she didn’t know what he was planning, she wasn’t actually scared at all.
’The Star Brain is implanted under the skin. It’s a tiny chip, not a phone or computer that can be taken away at any moment.’
’There’s a huge difference between being locked up by some old bachelor and by a beautiful top-tier guy. If it’s imprisonment, with food and housing provided, a Star Brain to play with, and no early morning classes, I could be happy for a long time!’
’For me, this can’t even be called imprisonment. After going through the pandemic, even the dean called this a ’rest day’.’
While Jian Yu was getting excited internally, Xi Yu’s face lit up with excitement as he listened.
Ling Yanzhi was relatively calm. "What’s it for?"
"To treat her leg. I’ve been researching it these past few days. I have a way to heal her leg." With that one sentence, Pei Yin extinguished the fiery hopes of the two men and one woman present.
"Why do you need to tie her up to treat her leg?" Xi Yu put down the long strap, his interest waning.
Ling Yanzhi was a bit disdainful. "Yang Zhang can just use his tentacles. Why go to all that trouble?"
Jian Yu’s face was expressionless.
’Am I the only one who’s becoming a pervert around here?’
"It’s different. This is something I had custom-made; Yang Zhang can’t compare." Pei Yin demonstrated for a moment. "It has a Healing effect. It’s part of one of the treatment courses."