Chapter 24 – Like a defenseless cat.

Lin Che woke up to the smell of disinfectant.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the soft light strip on the ceiling. It wasn't the pale white you'd see in a hospital, but a warm yellow with warmth.

The moment he regained consciousness, he recognized that this was the intensive care unit of Lu's Private Hospital.

"Awake?" A familiar deep voice came from the side.

Lin Che tilted her head slightly and saw Lu Yu sitting on the sofa next to the hospital bed with a laptop on his lap.

The sunlight slanted in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting fine shadows on his well-defined profile.

Lin Che tried to stand up, but was struck by a wave of dizziness.

Lu Yu immediately put down the computer, walked to the bed in two steps, and held the back of his neck firmly with his palm.

"Concussion." Lu Yu explained briefly, adjusting the angle of the bed with his other hand. "Don't move."

This position allowed Lin Che to clearly smell the faint scent of cedar on Lu Yu. He noticed that there was a noticeable dark spot under his eyes and his shirt cuffs were heavily wrinkled.

"How long have I slept?" Lin Che's voice was hoarse.

"Thirty-seven hours." Lu Yu handed over the warm water, and the condensation on the outside of the glass rolled down onto the back of Lin Che's hand. "Qin Yize has three broken ribs."

Lin Che's hand trembled as he gripped the cup. He lowered his eyes to stare at the ripples on the water's surface, then suddenly grabbed Lu Yu's wrist as he was about to withdraw it. "Monitor..."

"It's broken." Lu Yu pulled his hand away and turned to get the food box on the bedside table. "Eat first."

The food box was opened, revealing thick chicken porridge. Lu Yu scooped up a spoonful and blew it carefully to cool it down.

Lin Che stared at the spoon that was passed to her lips and suddenly tilted her head. "The surveillance cameras can't all be broken."

The spoon hung in mid-air.

Lu Yu's eyes darkened, and he suddenly pinched Lin Che's chin to force him to turn back.

This action seems rough, but the actual force is incredibly light.

"Eat." There was no doubt in his voice.

The porridge was just the right temperature. Lin Che swallowed mechanically, but her eyes never left Lu Yu's face.

The other person avoided his gaze and stared intently at the porridge.

"Lu Yu." Lin Che swallowed the last bite and suddenly grabbed his hand that was sorting the lunch box. "What did you do?"

The ward door was pushed open at this time.

Cheng Yi walked in with a stack of documents and was visibly stunned when he saw the two people shaking hands.

"You've come just in time." Lu Yu quickly pulled his hand away and stood up. "Explain to him."

Cheng Yi placed the documents on the bedside, with the court summons on top.

When Lin Che flipped through the pages and saw the words "intentional injury," her fingertips curled up unconsciously.

"The Qin family mobilized all their connections." Cheng Yi pushed his glasses up. "The parking lot surveillance 'just happened' to be malfunctioning during the time of the incident. Now there's evidence proving he was the first to act..."

"Only this." Cheng Yi suddenly took out his cell phone from his pocket. The video clearly recorded Qin Yize dragging Lin Che out of the car, but the angle of the second half was skewed, and only the sound of beating and the final scream could be heard.

Lin Che stared at the timestamp of the video ending. It was exactly seven minutes after Lu Yu hung up the video call.

Cheng Yi coughed lightly. "The problem now is the final kick. The Qin family has hired three forensic doctors, and they insist on diagnosing it as a second-degree severe injury."

"Put your things down and get out first." Lu Yu stirred the soup in his hand and said coldly.

"Eat first, don't think about anything else." The spoon was pressed against the corner of his mouth again, and Lin Che was forced to open his mouth, hold the spoon, and drink the soup.

Lu Yu's face was frighteningly gloomy, and even though he had no expression on his face, he still felt oppressive. The words Lin Che wanted to say turned around in his mouth and he swallowed them whole.

"Is there anything else you want to eat?" Lin Che burped accidentally. He was already full after eating soup and porridge, but Lu Yu still fed him tirelessly. Seeing his gloomy face, he didn't dare to refuse.

“No… no need.” Lin Che waved his hands, breathed a sigh of relief, and lay down on the pillows piled up behind him.

I'm so full! I feel like my stomach is going to explode!

I unconsciously touched my slightly bulging belly with my hand.

Lu Yu's gaze shifted from Lin Che's face to his stomach. His eyes darkened and he looked away unnaturally.

"Are you sure you're full?"

"Sure, sure! And definitely." Lin Che was still rubbing her belly and quickly rejected Lu Yu's suggestion.

Lu Yu asked someone to remove the dishes and chopsticks, then naturally pulled a stool and sat beside the bed.

A warm hand covered Lin Che's belly. Her soft, white belly was defenseless under the hand, and goose bumps appeared all over her body. She looked at Lu Yu with a puzzled look in her bewildered eyes.

Who would have thought that the other person simply lowered his head and diligently rubbed his stomach clockwise. With just the right amount of force and warm hands, Lin Che felt his entire body relax.

Lin Che's breathing gradually calmed down, and his eyelids began to feel heavy. He could feel Lu Yu's palm still firmly pressing on his abdomen, the warmth seeping into his skin.

"About surveillance..." he murmured in a half-asleep state.

Lu Yu's hand paused for a moment, then continued to rub: "Go to sleep."

He lay on his side on the hospital bed, half of his face sunken into the soft pillow, his black hair scattered messily on his forehead, making his skin look even whiter, and one could almost see the light blue veins underneath.

Lin Che wasn't wearing a hospital gown, but instead, Lu Yu had changed her into comfortable pajamas. The collar was a little loose, revealing a slender section of her collarbone. Her skin glowed brightly under the light. Her fingers rested loosely on the pillow, their knuckles slender, their nails neatly trimmed, their tips a faint pink.

Lu Yu stood beside the bed and looked down for a long time.

He reached out and gently brushed aside the loose hair on Lin Che's forehead with his fingertips. His movements were so gentle that Lin Che unconsciously rubbed his palm in her sleep. The soft hair brushed against her skin, causing a slight itch.

—like a defenseless cat.

Lu Yu withdrew his hand, his Adam's apple rolled, and the coldness in his eyes faded a little, replaced by a kind of almost restrained softness.

He recalled the moment when Lin Che, with blood all over his face, stepped on Qin Yize's face in the underground parking lot, but now he looked as soft as a kitten.

His kittens were never docile pets.

It has claws and can bite, but it also...

She will act like a spoiled child in his arms.

The corners of Lu Yu's lips curled up slightly, and a smile that was almost doting appeared in his eyes.

He walked back to the bedside, tucked in the corner of the quilt for Lin Che, and then gently closed the door of the ward.