irritating
Is this also an illusion?
Zhou Min rubbed his cheek against the palm in disbelief.
It doesn't matter if it's an illusion.
She felt the coolness on her face and the familiar fragrance lingering around her nose. Her tense body finally relaxed a little, and the fear that she had not dared to release due to panic also leaked out.
She choked and repeated: "Zhou Qiting..."
After a moment, the hand left her cheek. She hurriedly raised her head to chase it, but the next second, the thin hands wrapped around her shoulders, lifted her up from the ground, and held her in a warm embrace.
"It's okay, I'm here."
A gentle voice sounded in her ears, and her head was caressed gently.
It was indeed an illusion. How could Zhou Qiting comfort her like this now?
Zhou Min breathed a sigh of relief and buried his face slightly in the shoulder of the imaginary Zhou Qiting.
Feeling Zhou Min's trembling body gradually calm down, the voice sounded again softly: "Remember?"
Zhou Min didn't say anything, but rubbed the illusion of body temperature with his nose affectionately, not wanting his abrupt voice to break this dream bubble.
Without waiting for an answer, the hand that was stroking her head moved down, pressed the knot of the scarf at the back of her head, and pulled it gently. The next second, soft light flooded into her eyes again.
As the silk scarf soaked with tears was removed, she saw a fair neck in front of her with a few strands of black hair hanging on it. Although the curve from the jaw to the collarbone was slightly thinner, it was still graceful.
Zhou Qiting asked again: "Did you remember it this time?"
Zhou Min blinked, his wet eyelashes brushing the skin on the side of his neck. He felt the person in front of him tremble slightly because of the itch. He chuckled softly and asked, "Remember what?"
The laughter from his nose brought a breeze of air to his neck. Zhou Qiting tightened his grip on Zhou Min's shoulders and said patiently, "Remember the feeling of me holding you in the dark."
"Remember..." Zhou Min said this, closed his eyes obediently, and engraved the touch and warmth of this embrace deeply into his body.
"Also remember the feeling of me being by your side as soon as you open your eyes."
Zhou Min's eyelashes trembled slightly, but he still kept his eyes closed, muttering, "But the illusion will eventually disappear."
"Zhou Qiting, how many times will you disappear when I open my eyes?"
After saying this, Zhou Min felt the arm around her shoulders tightening, as if wanting to hold her in this embrace.
"I won't disappear." Zhou Yiting took a deep breath, and finally bowed to Zhou Min, sighing out pity and promise, "Zhou Min, as long as you still need me, I won't disappear."
But the weight of this promise was too heavy, so heavy that Zhou Min knew that no matter how bizarre the illusion was, it could not bear it. She realized in an instant that the person in front of her was not an illusion, but the real, flesh-and-blood Zhou Qiting.
This was also the first time that Zhou Qiting confessed her feelings to Zhou Min directly.
Zhou Min suddenly opened her eyes, and the shock in her heart made her forget to breathe for a moment.
It shouldn't be like this.
How could the bright moon, which should be hanging high in the sky, wade into the mud?
How could someone as despicable and lowly as her deserve Zhou Qiting to say such words?
Zhou Qiting shouldn't be like this. She should always be spotless and unattainable.
Zhou Min's throat kept rolling, and the collar around her neck felt tighter. After a few rounds of difficult breathing, she felt that her voice would not lose control, so she slowly spoke.
"Just like a master wouldn't abandon a dog, would he?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the hands that were hugging Zhou Min froze, then loosened little by little and rested weakly on her shoulders.
Zhou Min still maintained his posture of leaning on Zhou Qiting's arms, not daring to look up at her expression, for fear of seeing something that could easily shake his emotions.
Every heartbeat was like a knife cutting, leaving scars in Zhou Min's chest that made her feel excruciating pain. She could even feel the smell of blood seeping out of her lungs and filling her mouth with her breath.
She would never forget this embrace.
Zhou Min closed her eyes and waited painfully for Zhou Qiting's verdict on her.
After a long time, a self-deprecating chuckle broke the silence, and then a cool hand stroked Zhou Min's head again, making her hold her breath unexpectedly.
"Yeah." Zhou Qiting raised the corners of her lips and said in a gentle tone, "A dog will never leave its owner, right?"
Zhou Min gritted his teeth and squeezed out a heart-wrenching answer: "Yes..."
The next second, the pain in her back made her groan.
“Hmm…”
Zhou Qiting pressed down hard on the part of her body that had been crushed by her stiletto heels with one hand and asked again, "No matter how much I hurt you, will you never leave me?"
Zhou Min's forehead was covered with cold sweat again. "I will never leave you" almost came out of her mouth, but she was stopped by her remaining rationality and turned it into a synonymous promise that only people like her should say.
“…a dog never leaves its master.”
Hearing this, Zhou Qiting put his hand on Zhou Min's shoulder and pushed her away.
Zhou Min, who had almost lost all his strength, fell backwards. His shackled hands reflexively supported the ground behind him to avoid being pushed to the ground.
Zhou Yiting had a cold face and without saying a word, he picked up the medicine box beside him, stood up from his half-kneeling position, and walked straight to the sofa not far away.
After she sat down, she glanced at Zhou Min, who was still sitting on the ground, his eyes unconsciously following her, and said in a cold voice, "Come here."
The moment their eyes met, Zhou Min immediately looked away and stared at the floor. She bent one leg to support herself and stood up from the ground, but before she could stand straight, she heard another order.
"Come here on your knees."
Zhou Min sniffed slightly, suppressed her nasal soreness, knelt down obediently, and moved closer to Zhou Qiting step by step on her knees until she caught a glimpse of the pair of high heels with her lowered eyes. Then she stopped.
Looking at her stubborn look with her head down and bloodshot eyes, Zhou Yiting said nothing. He reached out and grabbed her collar, pulled this annoying girl in front of him, and started to unbutton her clothes.
Zhou Min's body was pulled and swayed, but he controlled the tendency of his body to lean forward in time. When Zhou Qiting's fingertips just touched the second button on Zhou Min's collar, Zhou Min realized what she wanted to do. He wanted to avoid her action, but when he remembered what he had said, he stopped the idea of avoidance.
Zhou Yiting only unbuttoned the fifth button and stopped there. He pulled Zhou Min's shirt off by the lapels with both hands.
Because his hands were tied behind his back, the shirt did not fall off completely and hung on his forearms, with layers of folds piled up at his wrists.
The wound on Zhou Min's back was still hot, and when it was suddenly exposed to room temperature, a shiver ran down his back.
The moment his clothes were taken off, Zhou Min's ears, which were covered by his hair, turned red and hot, and he didn't even dare to look up at Zhou Qiting.
Zhou Qiting's fingertips slid down Zhou Min's bra straps little by little, finally passing over the undulations and stopping at the buckle in the middle. He gently moved it, but did not take the next step, as if hesitating about something.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand, patted her legs, and said coldly: "Lean here."
Zhou Min had noticed the medicine box in Zhou Qiting's hand, which was now placed on the low table beside him, so he roughly knew what Zhou Qiting wanted to do.
She raised her eyes and asked in confusion: "Why?"
Looking at the scars on her body, you can tell that she has become accustomed to the pain. It would be fine if she just endured the pain and slowly recovered, so why give her medicine?
For things like applying medicine, you can just let the servants do it, why do you have to do it yourself?
Obviously... it would have been fine if I had just let her die in despair at that ordinary dawn, so why did I have to save her?
Zhou Min has now got the answer, but he would rather never know it. He deceives himself and asks Zhou Qiting for a wrong answer that he can bear.
Zhou Qiting looked directly into her golden eyes, which were as shallow as her emotions, and said in an unhappy tone: "Just do whatever I tell you to do. A dog won't question you out loud."
The barbed words made her feel relieved, so she ignored the bitterness rising in her heart, moved her knees forward, and obediently leaned her upper body towards Zhou Qiting.
Seeing Zhou Min tensing her waist and abdomen, controlling her upper body to keep it in the air without too much contact with him, Zhou Qiting's patience ran out. With his left hand, he pressed her head directly on his leg to expose her back as much as possible in front of him.
The cool fingertips slid across the bruises and red marks on Zhou Min's back, stopping on a shallow scar and pressing hard.
The sudden intensification of pain made Zhou Min, whose head was in a mess, barely regain his consciousness and stopped his disordered breathing and groaning of pain.
"I know you like this feeling." Feeling Zhou Min's slight tremor after hearing this, Zhou Qiting continued, "But you have to know what degree is appropriate."
Her fingertips moved to the dark bruises caused by the stiletto heels. She was almost certain that if she had used a little more force, she would have broken Zhou Min's ribs.
She did not add to Zhou Min's pain, but simply drew circles lightly on the bruises to signal Zhou Min.
"You can't do this, understand?"
With his face buried in Zhou Qiting's legs, Zhou Min's voice sounded muffled: "I can bear it."
"You can tolerate it, but I won't allow it."
Zhou Qiting sneered and added: "If I accidentally kill you, where else can I find a dog as cheap as you?"
Zhou Min didn't answer immediately. After a while, he responded: "I understand."
During the process of applying the medicine, neither of them spoke. The air in the study was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Only when Zhou Qiting deliberately increased the force of rubbing the medicine could Zhou Min's suppressed groan be heard.
But soon, Zhou Yiting realized something was wrong - her trousers were wet.
The hand she was applying the medicine froze suddenly, and she looked at the person on her leg with a complicated expression.
"Why are you crying?"
Zhou Min choked with sobs: "It hurts so much..."
He had just treated her like that, and she hadn't shed a single tear, so now she was afraid of pain? Zhou Qiting didn't believe it at all.
But not wanting to show too much concern for this person, Zhou Qiting said angrily: "Don't cry, you've soiled my pants."
"sorry……"
After hearing Zhou Qiting's words, Zhou Min belatedly tried to stand up so that his tears would not get on Zhou Qiting's pants, but he was pushed back.
“…It’s all dirty.”
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