Chapter 51 I can't live without you, at that time...

Huo Lan straightened the umbrella and released his arm from Jiang Shiyuan's waist.

The next second, his broad hand gripped the back of her neck with undeniable force, not too strong but enough to restrain her, and without a word, he led her toward the car.

Jiang Shiyuan followed him unsteadily as if she had lost her soul, each step feeling like she was treading on the edge of nothingness.

But he was the only attraction she couldn't escape.

Jiang Chen, who rushed over with his men, did not let Acheng go. After catching him, he punched him first.

"You dare to steal my sister Shi Yuan's things, and you even dared to chase her with a knife! You must have a death wish!"

Immediately afterwards, the bodyguards in black swarmed forward, and Acheng's shrill screams echoed through the rainy night.

Jiang Shiyuan was completely deaf to what Huo Lan was saying until he led her to the car and saw him lock the doors and raise the privacy panel. Only then did she feel a sense of dread.

Jiang Shiyuan shuddered suddenly and quickly hid behind her, pressing her body tightly against the car door, tense and wary.

The rain outside keeps falling, and I don't know when it will stop.

The car was dark, and the sound of the rain outside was filtered out as a pleasant white noise, but it did nothing to alleviate her fear.

Through the moonlight, she could see his eyes, still filled with coldness, his displeasure reaching its peak.

When Huo Lan is truly angry, he won't speak.

When he saw the fear in Jiang Shiyuan's eyes, he simply pursed his lips and remained silent. He then untied the small sandalwood bracelet from his wrist and silently recited scriptures to calm his emotions over and over again.

But in the end, he tore the prayer beads in half.

The extremely precious wooden beads rolled down and scattered everywhere.

"If it's useless, then we don't need it."

Huo Lan adjusted his breathing slightly, then looked at Jiang Shiyuan, a slight smile playing on his lips, yet exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

Have you thought about what price you're willing to pay?

Jiang Shiyuan's eyes were red, but she still refused to shed a single tear, stubbornly shaking her head, "I did nothing wrong."

"No mistake?" Huo Lan pinched her chin and lifted it slightly. "You're already in such a sorry state, and you still say no mistake?"

Huo Lan looked her up and down, as if he could see her secrets through the thin fabric. "Why is your whole body so soft, yet your mouth is so stubborn?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the back of her head and pushed her forward with a force she couldn't resist.

Their cool lips met, but Jiang Shiyuan stubbornly kept her mouth shut to stop his angry kiss.

Huo Lan chuckled lightly, then suddenly reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to open her mouth. He then probed inside with his tongue, entwined it with her dodging tongue, and kissed her fiercely.

He only loosened his grip slightly when Jiang Shiyuan's trembling became more and more intense, and gently kissed her lips again and again.

"Do you know what I've been thinking about every day these past few days?" Huo Lan stared intently into Jiang Shiyuan's eyes, which were glazed over from his kisses, and said, "I've been thinking about how to pin you down and punish you severely after I catch you."

After saying that, he reached his hand inside her clothes and pretended to roll them up.

Jiang Shiyuan seemed startled and struggled violently, using her knee to stop him from approaching. Her voice was hoarse and trembling, "Don't touch me!"

She then realized that she was so scared that her teeth were chattering.

"Don't touch you?" Huo Lan's eyes reddened, a layer of moist and broken light shimmering in them. He suddenly laughed softly, almost morbidly, "But you already belong to me completely, baby."

"Regardless of your heart, at least your body..." He smiled as he caressed her cheek, feeling the soft skin he hadn't touched in so long, "I've kissed every inch of your skin, how can you say something like 'don't touch me'?"

The smile in Huo Lan's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sinister look. "If we don't touch you, how can we bring our child back? Don't you think so?"

Jiang Shiyuan stared at him blankly, her heart feeling as if it were being tightly gripped, and she couldn't even breathe.

"Afraid to speak?" Huo Lan released Jiang Shiyuan's grip. "But I don't want to talk about this with you right now."

Huo Lan sneered and took out an exquisite gift box from the side, inside which was a brand new and comfortable mauve dress.

"Take off your clothes." Huo Lan's eyes were fixed on her, not giving her any room to breathe or escape. "I'll watch you change."

Jiang Shiyuan curled herself up as much as possible, refusing to accept the gift box, and simply turned her head to coldly stare at the fine rain outside the car window.

Huo Lan's expression darkened further, but his tone softened, "After being soaked in the rain for so long, aren't you uncomfortable?"

Jiang Shiyuan's eyes reddened, and she no longer pretended to be obedient. "I don't need your help."

"Then who do you want to take care of you?" Huo Lan could no longer contain his anger. "Are you going to take care of yourself?"

"Look at the state you've become in the past two weeks you've been missing!" Huo Lan sneered, mocking, "A nobody in the archaeological team, having to rely on others for your toothbrush and toothpaste, is this the life you wanted?"

Jiang Shiyuan then turned her head, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red. "You investigated me again?"

With a sob in her voice, she said, "You've investigated everything I've been to and everything I've done in the past two weeks, haven't you?"

"Shouldn't it be so?"

Huo Lan couldn't understand why Jiang Shiyuan was so stubborn. He couldn't understand why, even though he had given her a life of luxury, she insisted on throwing herself into hardship and wouldn't give up until she had suffered some hardship.

"Everything you have should be under my control."

Huo Lan's expression turned fierce, and he almost gritted his teeth as he uttered those harsh words.

"From now on, you will never have a chance to escape again, because I will be watching you every moment and will not let you do anything beyond my control."

Jiang Shiyuan closed her eyes, and tears finally slid down, leaving wet streaks.

Huo Lan felt a heartache so intense he could hardly breathe. He instinctively wanted to wipe away her tears, but his hand froze in mid-air before he pulled it back.

“You really should cry now, because you won’t have the energy to cry when you get back.”

Huo Lan didn't look at Jiang Shiyuan again, and said coldly, "Hurry up and change your clothes. I don't want you to get my car dirty."

However, after a long silence, he did not hear her changing her clothes.

He turned around and saw her curled up in a corner far from him with her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed red as if they were about to bleed, unconsciously emitting soft sobs.

Huo Lan's heart tightened, and he quickly leaned over to touch her forehead. The burning heat made him panic instantly.

"Shiyuan, you have a fever."

Jiang Shiyuan was delirious with fever and didn't have the strength to push him away.

He quickly turned off the air conditioning in the car, took off her soaked top, took a towel from the storage compartment to dry the remaining water stains on her body, and then hugged her tightly.

Just as he was about to take off her trousers, Jiang Shiyuan raised her hand to stop him.

Her eyes were glazed over, and her whole body was limp and she had no strength left, but she still managed to hold onto his hand tightly to prevent him from touching her.

Her voice was muffled by the fever, "I said, I don't want to!"

Huo Lan's Adam's apple bobbed as he suppressed his restlessness, trying not to look at her snow-white skin, and instead left a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Good girl, I won't touch you. I'll just change your clothes, okay?" He kept kissing her cheeks, trying to make her relax. "Wet clothes are uncomfortable and cold. How about we change into pretty new dresses?"

Jiang Shiyuan closed her eyes and murmured softly in his arms. Her heavy, feverish body and drowsy consciousness left her with no strength to refuse.

Huo Lan quickly took the opportunity to completely remove her clothes and then helped her put on the soft, lotus-colored dress.

Afraid that she might still feel cold, he took out a thin cashmere blanket and wrapped her tightly in it, holding her close to his chest.

"Sweetie, shall we go home and let Dr. Qiu examine you? Let Dr. Qiu prescribe some medicine that won't taste bitter, okay?"

Huo Lan let Jiang Shiyuan rest her head on the crook of his neck and gently rubbed the top of her head. "When we get home, I'll have Aunt Qing stew fish maw and bird's nest for you. You haven't had it in so long."

Seeing that Jiang Shiyuan was no longer shivering from the cold, Huo Lan quickly called back Jiang Chen, who was still waiting outside, and drove them back to Huo Garden.

Jiang Shiyuan drifted off to sleep in Huo Lan's arms, but Huo Lan's almost delirious words kept echoing in her ears.

"When we have a child, you can name it, anything is fine."

"I bought you an island to hold our wedding... We can also go there for vacations and leisure trips from time to time."

His delicate kisses landed on her brows and the corners of her lips, carrying a heat unique to him.

"I can't live without you, Shi Yuan."

"It will suffocate you, drive you crazy, and make you so sad that you want to die."

She felt a hot tear fall onto her face, and it stung slightly when it touched her burning cheek.

Jiang Shiyuan turned her face towards Huo Lan's arms and found that he was holding her even tighter.

Huo Lan then realized that his own eyes had become wet without him noticing.

His fingertips brushed away the tear, and he laughed self-deprecatingly, "These past few days, I almost died, but you know nothing about it."

"You're doing the work you love every day, studying the antiques you like, playing and shopping with your roommates, all in a place where I'm not around. Aren't you happy?"

Huo Lan tightened his grip on Jiang Shiyuan, his gaze shifting from heartbroken tenderness to a chilling coldness.

"No, you have to be with me. Only I can give you happiness, and only I can make you happy."

"You won't be able to live well without me, Shi Yuan."

Jiang Shiyuan heard everything, but there was nothing she could do. She could only shrink into her arms, lower her head, and bury all her emotions.

The convoy returned to Huo Garden without stopping. When the Rolls-Royce entered the garage of Lingdang Xiaozhu, Jiang Chen had already quietly left to invite Dr. Qiu over. Only Huo Lan and Jiang Shiyuan remained in the quiet space.

The rain in Wancheng had long since stopped, and the air was filled with a damp yet fresh scent.

Huo Lan did not move, remaining quietly seated in the back seat, holding Jiang Shiyuan, cherishing every moment spent with her.

"Will you only be this obedient when you're sick?"

Huo Lan nuzzled her cheek, looking somewhat distressed, "Then I must cherish this time you're sick."

Huo Lan finally let go of her, got out of the car, picked her up and carried her towards their small residence.

The small house remains exactly as it was when she left, with nothing changed, just so that she can adapt to her life more quickly when she returns.

She was born to live here, to be by his side.

The soft bedding in the bedroom was still the style that Jiang Shiyuan had chosen herself. She said that sleeping on it felt as soft as sleeping on a cloud.

Huo Lan placed her on the bed and took off her shoes before noticing the bruise on her sprained ankle.

Huo Lan felt a pang of heartache. He avoided her injury, grasped her ankle, and leaned closer to her, gently breathing warm air onto her fair ankle.

"How could you be so careless? You're willing to risk your health just to escape?" A pang of heartache washed over her, but a fierce anger surged within her. "Those people have ruined my life like this; they have to pay the price."

"But it's okay, my Shiyuan will never get hurt again." Huo Lan gently rotated her ankle and massaged her. "My Shiyuan will never be in danger again, and will only receive the best things in the world, better than anyone else."

Looking at Jiang Shiyuan, who was already fast asleep on the bed, Huo Lan's possessiveness had reached its peak.

"Wife, welcome home."

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Author's Note: Even when our young master Huo goes crazy, he's still incredibly humble [laughing and crying emoji] After all, his wife is the most important person~