"Squeak—"
The sickeningly loud sound of the heavy wooden door turning was particularly jarring in the deathly silent Imperial Pharmacy.
Lin Wanwan's heart jumped into her throat instantly!
She was held tightly and irresistibly in Xiao Che's arms, curled up in the shadow of the narrow medicine cabinet that exuded a strong medicinal fragrance.
Her mouth was tightly covered by his calloused, cold hand, preventing her from making a sound.
Her body was pressed tightly against his.
Through two thin layers of night clothes, she could clearly feel the hardness and warmth of his chest, as well as his steady and powerful heartbeat, which was completely different from his usual sickly appearance.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
One sound after another.
In this extreme, suffocating tension, Lin Wanwan found that she could no longer distinguish whether the pounding heartbeat in her ears was coming from him or... herself.
"Pat, pat..."
The sound of orderly footsteps, accompanied by the clatter of armor, came from the doorway.
Several flickering, dim yellow lights also pierced through, casting menacing and terrifying shadows on the silent medicine cabinets in the attic.
It was a patrol of Imperial Guards!
They actually... got in!
Lin Wanwan's body tensed up instantly.
She never expected that these Imperial Guards' routine inspections would actually extend into the attic!
At this moment, she and Xiao Che were like two birds trapped in a cage. As soon as the other side swept their torch in their direction, they would be immediately exposed and have nowhere to hide.
And the consequences of being exposed...
Lin Wanwan dared not think about it.
She could feel that Xiao Che, who was in front of her, was also tense. His arm around her waist tightened even more, like an iron hoop.
The two embraced tightly, squeezed into that small space that could barely accommodate one person.
The atmosphere became extremely tense in that instant, yet... it also gave rise to an extremely subtle and indescribable ambiguity.
Lin Wanwan's cheeks were almost pressed against his chest.
She could even smell the unique, cool ambergris emanating from him, mixed with the scent of the night wind and dust.
The taste no longer carried the scrutiny and alienation it once did.
Instead, it is full of masculine, reassuring, and unquestionable aggression.
Her breath was filled with his scent.
All she could hear was his heartbeat.
It seemed that her entire world had been completely and utterly taken over by this man.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at this moment.
"Look carefully, don't miss any corner!" A deep, captain's voice echoed in the empty attic.
The Imperial Guards responded, and footsteps began to echo throughout the pavilion.
The flames flickered even more violently.
A beam of light swept past the medicine cabinet where they were hiding.
Lin Wanwan's heart jumped into her throat instantly!
She even subconsciously snuggled closer to Xiao Che's chest.
Xiao Che, as if sensing her tension, gently and soothingly patted her cheek with the hand that was covering her mouth.
It was an extremely light, almost negligible movement.
But it was like a warm current, instantly soothing the panic in Lin Wanwan's heart that was about to spiral out of control.
She looked up and met his eyes in the dim light.
Those phoenix eyes, which were always as cold as a frozen pool, now appeared exceptionally deep and exceptionally... bright in the darkness.
The scrutiny and impatience that usually lingered in his eyes were gone.
Yes, but it was a calm, reassuring composure.
It was as if it were saying to her: Don't be afraid, I'm here.
"Captain, we've checked everything, there's nothing wrong!"
"Hmm, are all the doors and windows locked?"
"Reporting to the captain, everything is locked up, and there are no signs of being pried open."
"Alright, let's call it a day!"
Fortunately, the Imperial Guard did not conduct an overly thorough search; they merely made a routine patrol.
As the footsteps and firelight faded into the distance, the heavy wooden door creaked shut again and was slowly locked from the outside.
The Imperial Pharmacy fell silent once more.
The crisis has been averted.
Only after confirming that there was absolutely no more movement outside did Xiao Che slowly, very slowly, release his grip on Lin Wanwan's hands.
That powerful, reassuring sense of oppression vanished instantly.
Lin Wanwan's body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground, but fortunately she managed to grab the medicine cabinet next to her in time.
She gasped for breath, feeling as if she had just been pulled out of the water, her back already soaked in cold sweat.
Xiao Che, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened.
He bent down, picked up the "withered heart grass" that Lin Wanwan had left on the ground, and the black secret ledger, and then deftly put them into his pocket.
The mission is complete.
We have irrefutable evidence.
Neither of them spoke.
But they both knew clearly that from this moment on, something between them had become completely different.
"Walk."
Xiao Che glanced out the window, and after confirming it was safe, he mouthed a single word to Lin Wanwan.
Then, he went to the window first, and with agility, like a nimble cat, he silently flipped out and disappeared into the night.
Lin Wanwan followed closely behind.
Just before she was about to climb out of the window, she turned back and took one last deep look at the Imperial Pharmacy, which stood like a silent behemoth in the darkness.
She knew that when she returned, it would be... the day a raging storm would break out.
She climbed out of the window and landed steadily on the ground.
Xiao Che did not leave immediately.
He stood in the shadows not far away, as if...waiting for her.
Lin Wanwan walked to his side, about to say something.
Xiao Che suddenly turned around and took a step closer to her.
The distance between the two was instantly shortened.
To Lin Wanwan's astonishment, he leaned down slightly and brought his incomparably handsome face close to her ear.
His cold breath, carrying a faint hint of a smile, gently brushed past her ear, bringing a subtle, tingling tickle.
Then, in a deep, slightly husky, and magnetic voice that only the two of them could hear, he said softly:
"Empress."
"Your performance tonight has greatly pleased me."
Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat at that moment.
She was frozen in place as if she had been frozen in place, and her ears started burning uncontrollably.
After delivering this highly ambiguous "praise," Xiao Che straightened up and refused to look at her again.
He looked at her, a subtle, fleeting, and slightly wicked smile playing on his lips.
Then, his figure vanished into the boundless night like a wisp of smoke.
They come without a trace and go without a trace.
Lin Wanwan was left alone, standing there blankly, her face burning, her heart still pounding wildly and uncontrollably.
She subconsciously looked up in the direction he had disappeared.
Then, she saw it.
In the empty night, a brand new emoji, with a hint of smugness and mischief, slowly, slowly appeared, then flashed by and disappeared completely.
[Plan Successful.gif]
Lin Wanwan stared at the emoji for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.
For the first time, she felt...
This seemingly cold-blooded, ruthless, and hypocritical tyrant emperor...
seem……
It's not that scary.
She knew that from tonight onwards, from this tacit "cooperation" would begin.
Everything will be different.
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