On the bed, Qin Xi, who had been given a sedative, was lying there. He seemed to still be in a coma, and his condition was quite bad. He had dark circles under his eyes and his face was pale.

Qin Xi's health wasn't good to begin with, and this ordeal only made it worse. But what was truly chilling was that Qin Xi was tightly bound to the bed with ropes.

"Damn it, Xu Ling'er has really gone mad..."

Ruan Qing'an's face darkened. She quickly stepped forward and reached out to untie the rope binding Qin Xi, but the rope was tied very tightly, and she found it difficult to pull it off. Ruan Qing'an's delicate palms were covered with traces of blood.

It took nearly ten minutes for Ruan Qing'an to finally untie the rope, and by then her palms were in a terrible state.

037: [Why hasn't the male lead woken up yet?]

"Qin Xi's health isn't very good. Because of that old man Qin Cheng, he hasn't taken much medicine, so his drug resistance is practically nonexistent. Not to mention, Xu Ling'er must have used quite a lot of it."

Ruan Qing'an explained, her expression slightly somber. She checked Qin Xi's condition and said, "The effects of the medicine haven't worn off yet; I'm afraid we'll have to wait."

After saying that, Ruan Qing'an got out of bed. There weren't many things left in the bedroom, and there were a few computers that she hadn't had time to move. She went over and turned on the computer, her leaden gray eyes coldly staring at the screen.

Qin Xi's computer naturally had a security system. Ruan Qing'an sat down and fiddled with it for a long time before finally gaining access to the monitoring system. As for higher permissions such as modification, only Qin Xi could do that, and he himself was still unconscious.

After watching the surveillance video, Ruan Qingan's expression turned even colder—in the video, Qin Xi was almost humiliated and pressed to the ground, like a detained prisoner.

Xu Ling'er, sitting high and mighty, injected herself with a sedative, her eyes filled with disgust, clearly deeply affected by Qin Xi's earlier words.

"...If she hadn't insisted on confronting Qin Xi, how could she have caused Qin Xi's illness to flare up even more?"

Ruan Qing'an said with a headache, but there was a hint of ferocity in his eyes: "Qin Xi was already feeling uneasy, and you still had to provoke him. Xu Ling'er was probably hit where it hurt by Qin Xi's words, which is why she completely lost her mind."

Ultimately, Ruan Qing'an still believed that Xu Ling'er deserved it. Strangers only made Qin Xi, who was suffering from an illness, more uneasy, yet she still insisted on approaching her. Qin Xi was simply protecting herself in her own way.

After watching the surveillance video, Ruan Qingan turned off the computer: "Actually, Qin Xi's condition is not that serious after this period of treatment, and there is no need for coercive measures."

“Xu Ling’er mistook this for a mental hospital…”

Just then, a slight noise came from the bed. Qin Xi, who had been unconscious, finally showed signs of regaining consciousness. Ruan Qing'an immediately went over, sat cross-legged on the bed, reached out and hugged him, and waited quietly.

Qin Xi himself didn't know how long he had been asleep. Before he lost consciousness, he only remembered the gleaming needle tip that made him shudder. When he slowly opened his eyes, he was surrounded by warm body temperature, a soft body, and a familiar, cool fragrance lingering around his nose.

It's Nguyen Thanh An...

Realizing this, Qin Xi almost instinctively relaxed himself. He subconsciously closed his eyes, buried his head in the crook of her neck, and held Ruan Qing'an's hand that was placed to the side with his fingertips.

"Sister, I miss you so much..."

"It's only been a day, little brother."

Ruan Qing'an said with disdain, but her slender fingers slid down Qin Xi's soft hair, gently sliding down to her back muscles, as if she were stroking a large dog.

But Qin Xi just happened to enjoy the feeling of being affectionately caressed by her.

Only after Qin Xi calmed down did Ruan Qing'an say, "Little brother, I wasn't there when you had your episode today. Are your visual and auditory hallucinations still severe? What did you see?"

"……a lot of."

Qin Xi paused, then looked up, his dark, dog-like eyes fixed on Ruan Qing'an, almost pleading for help: "I see so many people, like shadows following me, I can't shake them off."

"But this is clearly my home, sister. Why are there so many people here? Every single one of them feels like they could pull out a gun and kill me at any moment. And the one leading them is a complete stranger."

Qin Xi was clearly still feeling uneasy, but when facing Ruan Qing'an, he restrained his outward aggression.

Listening to Qin Xi's description, Ruan Qing'an knew that Xu Ling'er and the security personnel had probably already merged with Qin Xi's hallucinations, and these hallucinations...

037: [Qin Xi was kidnapped as a child. Because of his abilities, Qin Cheng's company rose to prominence. However, the tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind, and Qin Cheng didn't know how to conceal his talents. As a result, Qin Xi was kidnapped from the villa.]

Hearing this, Ruan Qing'an stopped her hand that was following Qin Xi's back. She lowered her head, pressed her forehead against his, and said gently, "What else did you see? Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'm here for you."

"...I don't remember, sister. I only know that I was tied up in a dark place, and all I could hear were the figures of people coming and going, the sound of gunfire, and the smell of blood."

Qin Xi's voice was slightly hoarse, and the volume gradually decreased.

037: [He was locked in a warehouse. The kidnappers didn't want money; they just wanted to destroy Qin Cheng's cash cow. In the end, Qin Xi was only rescued through a forced breakout by the police.]

That year, he was twelve years old...

Ruan Qing'an didn't ask any further questions. Qin Xi's unease was almost ingrained in his bones, just like his obsessive control over data, and even his provocative questioning of Xu Ling'er, which was perhaps a manifestation of his own fear.

No longer the fierce and ferocious person she was when facing them, Qin Xi now resembled a well-behaved and docile large dog, lying on Ruan Qing'an's lap and looking up at her.

Until the next moment—

Ruan Qing'an suddenly lowered his head, wrapped his arms around Qin Xi, and whispered in Qin Xi's ear, "Don't be afraid, Qin Xi. I've said it before, if you have to hold on to something, then hold on to me."

"If you need complete control to feel at ease, then I am yours, Qin Xi. I will never, ever hurt you."

The only response to Ruan Qing'an was Qin Xi's close embrace. In his dark dog-like eyes was a fierce look, like a large wild beast biting its prey, as he stared intently at Ruan Qing'an.

"Sister, do you know what you're saying?"

"I don't know, but I know you need me."

Ruan Qing'an shook her head. Only those leaden gray eyes could completely burn away Qin Xi's rationality, almost like gravity, making him instinctively stay there and fall with her.

Burning reason ignites the ambiguous atmosphere, leading to utter chaos.

Clearly on the edge of a precipice, Ruan Qing'an blinked her leaden eyes, her voice almost coquettish, with a seductive undertone: "Just as I need you, Qin Xi—"

Reason failed to pull back from the brink, allowing emotion to take over, and all words stopped at the point of entanglement.

Only her almost sobbing moans remained, broken by her clasped hands pressed against the dark sheets—it seemed even the moonlight refused to climb the windowpane and disturb the boy's heart palpitations at this moment.

Accompanied by a deep, hoarse voice.

He whispered, "Sister, you're the one who drove me crazy..."

【Affection Level: 60】

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