Chapter 27

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The sudden collapse of her body made Su Jinglan’s breath catch in her throat. She hugged Ning Jiuwei tightly, her strong arms cradling the frail figure in her embrace to keep her from sliding down. Her voice trembled from sheer tension. “Designer Ning.”

The woman in her arms didn’t recognize her. She tugged at Su Jinglan’s clothes, trying to stand. “Little Tan, help me to the bed.”

The halting words vibrated muffled through their bodies. Su Jinglan’s heart ached fiercely, her eyes growing red. She crouched down, gently scooping Ning Jiuwei up and carrying her back to the large bed in the hotel room.

Her feverish head burned, blurring her vision. Ning Jiuwei squinted up at the person holding her. The fever must have addled her brain—not only did the voice sound like Su Jinglan’s, but the face looked like hers too, and there were two of them.

The figures blurred and overlapped into a pair of indistinct shapes. The unreal face swayed back and forth before her eyes, making her head throb as if it might burst. Ning Jiuwei closed her eyes and rasped weakly at the bustling assistant, “Little Tan, did you buy the medicine?”

“I bought it.” Su Jinglan tore open the medicine box, tempered the boiled water to a sippable warmth, sat on the edge of the bed, and fed it to Ning Jiuwei.

As the pill touched her lips, Ning Jiuwei parted them just enough to take it. Su Jinglan cradled the back of her head, carefully helping her drink enough water to swallow. “Slowly now.”

Ning Jiuwei took several swallows, draining the cup down to a shallow puddle.

“More?” Su Jinglan asked.

Ning Jiuwei shook her head and eased back down, burrowing into the covers.

The hotel room door still hung open. Only now did Su Jinglan go close it. When she returned to Ning Jiuwei’s side, the other woman seemed to be asleep, utterly without vigilance toward the person lingering in the room.

“Jiuwei.” Su Jinglan perched sideways on the bed, her gaze soft with concern as it lingered on Ning Jiuwei in the gentle light. She smoothed back the tangled strands of dark hair from her forehead and pressed her palm to it, gauging the heat.

It burned.

Fever reducers needed half an hour to kick in. Su Jinglan made another trip to the smart vending pharmacy, picking up a thermometer and cooling fever patches before hurrying back.

“Little Tan, go get some rest.” The chill of the patch settled on her forehead, swiftly drawing away the heat. Ning Jiuwei cracked her eyes open drowsily and shooed away the shadowy figure before her.

Su Jinglan tucked her hand back under the covers, straightened the blanket’s edges, and stayed by her side without a word.

Time crawled by. Every five minutes, Su Jinglan took Ning Jiuwei’s ear temperature. Her eyes never strayed from her, watching constantly for any change.

In her sleep, Ning Jiuwei frowned unconsciously. Su Jinglan immediately checked her forehead. The cooling patch had wicked away the heat, and the medicine was doing its work—her temperature now matched the back of Su Jinglan’s hand.

Su Jinglan peeled off the patch and fetched a damp towel from the bathroom to wipe Ning Jiuwei’s face.

The flushed cheeks faded back to porcelain pale. In the hush of night, her delicate features evoked a seductive fox spirit, stirring the heart and unsettling the soul. Free at last to gaze her fill, Su Jinglan let eyes brimming with affection roam every inch of that face, committing it to memory and refining the image she’d long held there.

Ning Jiuwei slept fitfully, frowning now and then, her eyes shifting beneath the lids—a sure sign of dreams.

“What are you dreaming of?” The whisper was feather-light, loath to disturb her, yet burning with curiosity about those hidden visions.

No answer came from the sleeper. Su Jinglan smiled and kept vigil beside her.

By deep night, Ning Jiuwei’s temperature had normalized. Su Jinglan’s tension eased at last, and she rose to leave the room.

She paused at the door, hesitating a few seconds before turning back to the bedside.

Fevers could flare up again; if Ning Jiuwei spiked in the small hours with no one near, it could turn dangerous.

The air conditioning hummed steadily—no risk of overheating. Su Jinglan settled back on the sofa, eyes closed as she mulled over the new projects on her plate, keeping her mind sharp.

A rustle came from the bed. Su Jinglan’s eyes snapped open. Ning Jiuwei had rolled over, clutching the blanket as she curled into a tight ball.

“Ning Jiuwei?” Su Jinglan swept the hair from her face and cupped her cheek tenderly, worry plain in her eyes. “Where does it hurt? Should we go to the hospital?”

Dream and reality blurred together. Ning Jiuwei shivered violently, her words quaking. “Cold.”

Su Jinglan bent to press her forehead to Ning Jiuwei’s, measuring with her own skin.

Their temperatures matched—no fever, no unnatural chill.

“I’ll grab you another blanket.” Su Jinglan started to pull away, but arms snaked around her, hugging her neck with intimate familiarity, like a spoiled child pleading in a fragile voice, “Don’t go.”

The abrupt closeness set Su Jinglan’s heart thundering. Long-banked fires roared to life within her, setting her entire body ablaze.

“Jiuwei, this isn’t appropriate.” Su Jinglan braced her hands on the mattress, careful not to let her weight settle on Ning Jiuwei.

Half-asleep and no longer bearing her usual aloof demeanor, Ning Jiuwei hooked her arms around Su Jinglan and pulled her close. Their bodies pressed intimately together.

The comfortable warmth chased away the chill from her skin. Ning Jiuwei couldn’t help but snuggle closer to the heat source, rubbing against Su Jinglan’s neck and burying her face in the crook of it.

Su Jinglan held her breath, not daring to move. This was too tempting. The person she liked was in her arms, hugging and nuzzling her. Desire surged like a rampant flood, overwhelming her in an instant.

Soft lips brushed against the side of her neck, sending a tingling wave through her body that rushed straight to her heart. Her heartbeat pounded against her ribs so fiercely it was unbearable. Su Jinglan swallowed hard, her voice low and husky. “Ning Jiuwei, let go of me.”

She didn’t really mean it.

Not only did Ning Jiuwei not let go, she held on even tighter.

Su Jinglan gave a small struggle before reaching back to shrug off her trench coat and set it on the bedside table. Careful not to make a sound, she lifted the covers and slipped into bed.

Without the blanket in the way, their bodies pressed even closer. The satin blouse was soft against the skin, its texture silky smooth. Ning Jiuwei nestled into Su Jinglan’s embrace, her hand around the neck shifting to hug her waist instead, drawn to the comforting warmth.

Now it was Su Jinglan who needed the fever medicine.

She fought back the surging heat in her veins, gently stroking Ning Jiuwei’s hair with restraint as she held her close.

“Are you still cold?” With the person she loved sleeping in her arms, Su Jinglan felt no trace of sleepiness. After what felt like an eternity, she whispered softly into Ning Jiuwei’s ear.

The hot breath tickled the tip of her ear, making Ning Jiuwei’s ears twitch. She hugged the soft, perfectly warm body pillow tighter, not questioning why it could talk, and shook her head.

The blouse had been nudged aside, and Ning Jiuwei’s breath fell on sensitive skin, causing the fire in Su Jinglan’s heart to flare up fiercely once more.

She was at that age when desires burned like wolves and tigers. If not for her ironclad reason holding her back, Su Jinglan would have devoured Ning Jiuwei completely, letting her feel just how fiercely her passion blazed.

Ning Jiuwei slept deeply and comfortably.

A steady stream of warmth seeped into her body. Her disordered senses gradually normalized—no more fever, no more chills. A pleasant scent enveloped her, like a solid shield warding off all discomfort.

The hotel curtains were drawn tight, not letting in even a sliver of daylight. The sun climbed higher and higher as late risers began to stir one by one.

Ning Jiuwei’s consciousness pulled free from her dreams, slowly returning to reality.

As soon as she woke, she sensed something off about the bed.

The warmth in her arms, the softness pillowed against her cheek, the rhythmic breathing falling on her hair—Ning Jiuwei froze. She was holding someone in her embrace.

Memories from the night before flooded back. She had a fever and called her assistant to buy medicine.

The person she was holding now should be Assistant Tan.

How had buying medicine turned into sleeping together?

Ning Jiuwei quietly withdrew her arm from the waist, inching backward bit by bit. But the moment she moved, the warmth in front of her pressed closer. A long arm wrapped around her, pulling her back into the embrace. A chin gently nuzzled her head in an intimate gesture, like lovers in the heat of passion.

Ning Jiuwei took a steadying breath, summoning the mild detachment befitting a boss. She lifted her head toward the person beside her. “Assistant Tan…”

The soft wall lamp, which had been glowing all night, allowed Ning Jiuwei to see clearly that the woman in bed wasn’t Tan Yushu at all. It was the last person she would have expected: Su Jinglan.

Has the fever not broken yet?

Ning Jiuwei closed her eyes and opened them again.

The face sleeping peacefully beside her hadn’t changed—it was still Su Jinglan. So close she could count the long, thick lashes. Her flawless skin gleamed like fresh snow on pine branches, aloof and proud with a chill of superiority. Her brow bones were sharply defined like a painting, her groomed eyebrows perfectly accentuating her commanding presence.

Even in sleep, Su Jinglan exuded the imposing aura of Impassable.

Ning Jiuwei zoned out for a moment before quietly trying to pull away.

Sensing the restlessness in her arms, Su Jinglan reached out and pulled her firmly back. In her sleep, she accurately rubbed the back of Ning Jiuwei’s head, her voice husky and tender as it whispered against her ear and straight into her heart. “Don’t move.”

The words sounded like sleep-talk, yet carried the weight of a command. Ning Jiuwei froze for a second before firmly prying away the arm around her and slipping out of Su Jinglan’s embrace.

The lifted covers let in a rush of cold air. Su Jinglan’s eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes, meeting Ning Jiuwei’s gaze. She curved her lips into a gentle smile. “Awake?”

Now fully recovered, Ning Jiuwei was no longer confused. “President Su, why are you sleeping in my room—in my bed?”

Sharing the same bed, under the same covers.

Now fully awake, Su Jinglan reached out just as she had in her sleep, pulling Ning Jiuwei close against her body as she answered, “Last night, Designer Ning called me to buy medicine. Then…”

“Then what?” Su Jinglan stopped abruptly, and Ning Jiuwei couldn’t help but press.

Su Jinglan clutched the hem of her shirt and lifted her gaze, her inscrutable eyes staring straight at Teacher Ning. “Teacher Ning was quite enthusiastic last night.”

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