Chapter 5 – The Scent of Roses
Of course, Chen Xueji was fine—he was perfectly okay!
After Hua Mian climbed out of his embrace, she frowned in displeasure, looking down at the strikingly handsome Chen Xueji.
Her whole body ached! And it was all his fault!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. How could he lie there so comfortably when she was in such pain?
Just as her right hand twitched with irritation, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock… knock, knock, knock.
“Madam, may we come in?”
“No.” Hua Mian found her sleepdress on the floor, its wrinkled fabric making her wrinkle her nose in distaste.
“Xueji-ge… is he—” came the voice of Chi Rui.
Before the sentence could finish, someone seemed to stop him.
Hua Mian didn’t bother investigating and simply got up, opening Chen Xueji’s wooden wardrobe and casually picking out a dark green shirt.
As she buttoned it up lazily, she said, “Come in.”
Yu Jin’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but worry still lingered in his eyes.
The moment he entered, the rich scent of roses filled the room, mingled with a faint, familiar hint of cool wood.
Yu Jin paused mid-step, his gaze landing on the female figure buttoning the dark green shirt.
“Madam.”
He stepped forward, accompanied by Chi Rui and Chu Fufeng, and swept his eyes over Chen Xueji’s slightly flushed face. His heart, which had been tight with anxiety, gradually settled.
Alive… that’s good.
“Take me back to my room,” Hua Mian said, extending her arms toward Yu Jin.
The dark green shirt was still too large for her. As she reached out, the sleeves slid down, revealing her pale forearms marked with faint reddish finger prints.
Her movement was so natural that Yu Jin instinctively lowered his head, allowing her to easily wrap her arms around his neck, and she leaned into him, letting him carry her.
“I’ll carry you.”
“Mm,” she murmured, her voice heavy and nasal, as if exhausted, yet… coquettish.
Yu Jin’s ears burned.
It felt as if he were holding the sweetest roses of the morning, too precious to handle roughly, yet he couldn’t let go. He stared straight ahead, trying to ignore the discomfort stirring in his chest.
He had never been this close to a female before.
Yesterday didn’t count—things were urgent, and he hadn’t thought much.
But today, with her soft body nestled against him, he carefully supported Hua Mian’s legs with his arms, clenching his fists rather than touching her fair skin.
Hua Mian had no idea of Yu Jin’s inner turmoil. She simply wanted to avoid walking barefoot back to her room. Being a beauty-conscious little succubus, she wouldn’t allow her feet to get dirty.
And being careless could make her sick.
She cherished her body and didn’t want to fall ill.
Back in her room, Hua Mian moved slowly into the bathroom, quickly showered, and collapsed onto the bed in sleep.
Outside, Yu Jin, hearing the room grow quiet, lowered his eyelids and turned to go downstairs.
“Yu Jin-ge! Xueji-ge is awake!” Chi Rui came running from Yan An’s room, lively as a little puppy.
“Call the doctor to check on him,” Yu Jin said, relieved. His waking up meant his body was recovering—that was good news.
Chi Rui sniffed and pouted. “Did she use rose-scented perfume? It got all over you!”
“Really?”
Perhaps noticing his own odd tone, Yu Jin flexed his fingers. “I’ll go change my clothes.”
He quickly returned to the room.
“Well… there’s no need to be in such a rush. It doesn’t smell bad.”
Chi Rui tilted his head, puzzled, but didn’t dwell on it, eagerly calling the doctor instead.
Back in the room, Yu Jin realized he had been unusually hurried, almost as if trying to hide something.
He unconsciously sniffed his sleeve—the faint sweetness of roses lingered there.
When he realized what he was doing, his pupils constricted, and he hastily changed his clothes.
Reaching Chen Xueji’s room, he overheard Chu Fufeng and Chi Rui talking.
“Did she pour a whole bottle of perfume in there?” Chu Fufeng asked disdainfully.
Chi Rui was fiddling with the air purifier. “Who knows what she’s thinking?”
Yu Jin and Chen Xueji exchanged glances. They both knew this wasn’t perfume—it was Hua Mian’s natural scent.
Yet the room’s overpowering sweet rose fragrance was undeniably unusual.
“You two go keep Yan An company. I’ll stay here,” Yu Jin suddenly said.
“Fine.”
Chu Fufeng thought it odd but didn’t probe further, leaving with Chi Rui.
The room fell silent except for the low hum of the air purifier.
“She…” Chen Xueji began but pressed his lips together, unsure what to say or ask.
Yu Jin didn’t wait for him to speak and recounted everything that had happened after Chen Xueji had fainted.
Chen Xueji’s expression darkened as he lowered his lashes, lost in thought.
Yu Jin sighed. “In any case, she did calm you down.”
Complex emotions flickered in Chen Xueji’s eyes.
He remembered everything that had happened with Hua Mian. He had followed his instincts, doing many… excessive things.
He had thought he was dreaming madly, but the rose scent in his nostrils proved it all real.
For a moment, both were speechless.
Though the air purifier was somewhat old, its quality quickly cleared the room of the scent.
Somehow, Chen Xueji felt a hint of emptiness.
Dr. Ye knocked and entered, examining Chen Xueji thoroughly.
After checking, he sighed in relief.
“Other than the recurring old injury, there’s nothing wrong. But you need to rest properly.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Chen Xueji said in his low, magnetic voice.
“No need to thank me. It was the young lady who calmed you.”
Hearing this, the two beasts remained silent.
Silence can sometimes be a form of resistance.
“Before the incident at the Hua residence, she was always gentle and kind. Becoming like she was later was due to trauma—she isn’t a bad child.”
“And now, her hostility isn’t as strong. Perhaps she’s come to terms with it. As her mates, you must be understanding toward a young female who lost everything overnight.”
After finishing, Dr. Ye quickly shifted the topic to Yan An, perhaps feeling it was improper to comment too much on someone else’s family matters.
“Yan An’s condition has stabilized, but she should still be calmed down soon, or the consequences won’t be much lighter than Xueji’s.”
Once Dr. Ye left, the room fell quiet again.
Chen Xueji pinched the bridge of his prominent nose.
“I actually intended to imprison her.”
Yu Jin’s eyes widened. He turned sharply toward Chen Xueji. The man didn’t seem joking, and Yu Jin opened his mouth but no sound came out.
A few days ago, he might have supported it. But now, he knew everything had changed.
Once a beast bonds with a compatible female, dependency forms. Chen Xueji could never leave Hua Mian—this was the fate encoded in his genes.
“Sorry, I couldn’t get the calming potion from the black market,” Yu Jin said, feeling guilty.
He understood Chen Xueji’s pride.
“It’s fine. I should be thanking you,” Chen Xueji said, shaking his head. Though heavy-hearted, his expression remained calm.
“I thought she’d want me dead.”
Yu Jin: “She doesn’t like us.”
Since the first day they arrived at the Hua residence, they knew Hua Mian disliked, even despised them.
And she wasn’t afraid to be ruthless. Otherwise, Yan An wouldn’t have been so terrified of her.
“What do you think about Yan An?” Yu Jin leaned back in his chair, feeling it was a tricky question.
