At the room door, Gu Zheng felt awkward and uneasy while clutching her dress, peering down at her mud-stained white flats with apprehension, not daring to move a step further.
"Come in," Qin Ziyu said while walking and taking off his suit. His white shirt on his right arm had been slashed open, half of his arm was soaked with fresh blood, a sight that would strike one with horror.
Gu Zheng's eyes tightened as she rushed over, took off her shoes, and began to hold Qin Ziyu's arm. She was trembling so much and was trying hard to hold back the fear of blood left in her heart due to an previous incident, saying, "You're losing so much blood!"
Tears brimmed in Gu Zheng's eyes, barely held back.
Her mother was seriously ill in the hospital and needed a large amount of medical fees. She worked every night in a bar to save time to take care of her mother. She often took the alley next to the bar on her way back to the hospital. Unfortunately, she ran into hooligans tonight, and there were three of them at once.
If it wasn't for the man in front of her passing by to save her, she didn't dare to think about the consequences.
"Get the first aid kit," Qin Ziyu said calmly, shoving her onto a luxurious black leather couch, which added a touch of nobility and aloofness to his aura.
Following his gaze, Gu Zheng noticed a somewhat exaggeratedly large first aid box placed on a shelf made of redwood, and hurriedly turned to fetch it.
"Wait," Qin Ziyu stopped Gu Zheng, glancing at her blood-stained dress, he spoke with distaste, "Shower first."
Gu Zheng's fingers stopped just an inch away from the first aid box. She lowered her head and saw the dried blood spots on her dress, her cheeks flushed bright red, she turned and said awkwardly, "Alright."
Watching as the bathroom door closed, Qin Ziyu's eyes flashed with complex thoughts.
Warm water gushed down from above, strands of hair stuck to her face, and Gu Zheng's vision and mind were filled with nothing but white mist.
After a while, she wiped her eyes. Beyond the rising steam, she spotted a man's shirt hanging on a rack. Her cheeks suddenly grew hot.
The shirt was huge, and felt loose on Gu Zheng. It barely covered her buttocks, exposing her pair of jade-white, slender legs. The wet hair added a touch of chaos to her look, setting off her small face that looked as fresh as a lotus risen from water.
"Click!"
She twisted open the bathroom door, stretched out her foot to feel the chill in the air, and retracted it instinctively. Just then, her phone started chiming.
A tight knot formed in Gu Zheng's heart. She turned around to grab her phone from her clothes hanging on the side. As soon as she answered, she heard her mother's anxious voice on the other side, "Little Zheng, why aren't you home yet?"
"Mom, I'm still working late," Gu Zheng, leaning on the door frame, tried to calm herself down, "I probably won't be home till late, so I'm staying at a colleague's place tonight."
From the other end, Gu's mom tenderly responded, "You shouldn't push yourself too hard..."
"Bed 32 needs to pay up; otherwise, he'll stop receiving his medication tomorrow!"
A sudden voice cut in on Gu's mom, Gu Zheng quickly reassured her, "Mom, don't worry. I closed a big case today, and I'll go to pay the hospital tomorrow."
A big case? Was she referring to him?
Outside the door, a smirk appeared on Qin Ziyu's face.
Whispers of someone knocking interrupted Gu Zheng's deep thoughts. She pulled open the bathroom door, and came face to face with the obsidian-like gaze of a man, leaving her momentarily stunned.
It was at that moment she could properly take in Qin Ziyu's features. The man was handsome, cold, and... familiar.
His long eyebrows were sharp like knife blades, exuding a hint of chilling light. His thin lips formed a rigid line, as if sketched by a master in the art of portrait painting after careful consideration.
"I couldn't find any clothes to change into..." Gu Zheng felt a bit awkward, pulling on her shirt. As she looked down, a flash of his wounded arm in her peripheral vision made her quickly offer, "May I help to dress your wound?"
Qin Ziyu squinted at Gu Zheng. There she was, her thin frame wrapped in her loose shirt, her hair damp and drooping onto her shoulders. A few drops traced a path down her neck, slipping under the open collar of her shirt, lodged on her collarbone before rolling into the hidden folds of her chest.
He swallowed hard, sat back on the couch, and looked at an immobile Gu Zheng, saying lightly, "Come here."
Before she had time for more than a passing thought, Gu Zheng ran barefooted to fetch the antiseptic cotton and disinfectant, then half crouched down by his side. Looking up at him with her pale face, she whispered, "This might sting a bit, just bear with it."