Chapter 14: Applying the Medicine is Such Hard Work

During the whole ordeal of applying the medicine, Lu Zhixia figured she got kicked about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven—maybe eight, nine, or ten times.

Glands were sensitive things. The slightest slip-up could cause serious pain.

Especially the last one, which had taken the worst of the damage.

Lu Zhixia felt guilty about it and wanted to do a proper job, but her back ached too much for her to lie flat on her stomach. Sitting up made it impossible to see clearly.

She tried going by feel, but her skills weren’t up to it. The result? Shen Wanqing wasn’t pleased, and Lu nearly got combo-kicked into next week.

Shen hadn’t put any real force into it, of course. Otherwise, Lu would’ve been launched right off the bed.

When her back got yanked, Lu yelped in pain. Shen Wanqing’s expression didn’t change as she delivered two icy words: “Serves you right.”

Lu huffed indignantly but didn’t take it out on Shen’s wounds.

She hadn’t realized at the time that making trouble meant she’d have to clean it up afterward. Exhausted, her little face flushed red as she asked, “Can I take a break?”

“No.”

“. . .”

Lu Zhixia kept kneeling there on all fours. She knew she’d gone too far earlier, leaving Shen’s gland all swollen and red.

The outer parts were easy enough to handle. It was the insides that were tricky—she had to grope her way through.

Shen Wanqing lounged half-reclined, watching her like a strict foreman. Lu couldn’t help wondering: Doesn’t this embarrass her at all?

Her arms aching, Lu’s wrist twitched, jabbing right into a sore spot.

Almost on instinct, she grabbed Shen’s ankle—only to get booted in the shoulder by the other foot.

Even Lu’s backless top seemed to take offense. It hooked around Shen’s ankle, and when she pulled her leg back, it dragged Lu right along with it.

Lu couldn’t hold on. She face-planted straight down.

Right into the perfect awkward spot—her face buried in Shen Wanqing’s most intimate folds. Flailing wildly, she cried out in pain and withered under Shen’s icy glare.

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Lu protested, all aggrieved.

“That’s enough. Let’s move to another spot before you stab me to death.” Shen Wanqing’s voice dripped with disdain.

At least she didn’t have to stay in that kneeling position anymore. Lu kept her eyes firmly on the area at hand.

The gland on the plump, rounded swell was smaller than the last one but even more delicate.

Lu had zero experience before and had roughed it up pretty good. Now, applying the medicine while under that scrutinizing stare made her squirm.

“Could you maybe not stare at me like that . . . ?” Lu finally cracked under those cold-arrow eyes. Shen was the one completely exposed here—Lu was only showing her back—and yet she was the one who couldn’t take it.

“Less yapping,” Shen shot back. She had more sore spots than a dragon’s reverse scale.

Lu switched tactics. She’d been mulling over how to bring this up, but now her thoughts were scattered. She just blurted it out: “You must have a ton of friends. Where there are crowds, there are weirdos. Just be careful.”

Shen Wanqing lowered her gaze to watch Lu dab the cotton swab carefully and evenly. She replied offhandedly, “I don’t have friends.”

Lu glanced up, their eyes meeting. She quickly ducked her head and pressed on. “Then people crushing on you from afar.”

“No one has a crush on me.”

“What kind of talk is that?” Lu grumbled, pursing her lips. “Are all your secret admirers dogs or something?”

“Yeah, anyway, no one.” Shen Wanqing had zero interest in the topic. Instead, she drawled lazily, “Rather than warning me, you should worry about yourself.”

Lu brushed it off. What was there to worry about? That woman was just scared she’d get close to Shen, right?

She didn’t want trouble. Staying away solved that. Out of the goodness of her heart, she added, “Human or dog, whatever—just don’t let it drag you down.”

Lu was sweating buckets by now, and the Ambergris Pheromone in the room hung thicker than usual.

Shen Wanqing’s reaction was the most telling. Her gland stirred faintly to life—but only faintly.

An inexperienced little alpha like Lu had no clue what a truly awakened gland looked like.

She just found it odd that the color had shifted subtly and assumed it was the medicine working. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Shen Wanqing looked at her like she was an idiot. Of course it didn’t hurt. It itched.

“Now for the ears.” Lu let out a breath of relief. “Almost done.”

Shen Wanqing eyed the girl kneeling beside her and asked lazily, “Tired, huh?”

“You bet . . .” Noticing Shen’s gaze darken, Lu backpedaled fast. “I mean, not at all!”

Shen let out a cold chuckle but said nothing.

Applying medicine to the ears meant getting in close. Shen could feel the alpha’s body heat radiating off her, toasty and intense.

With the Ambergris Pheromone growing thicker by the minute, her self-control frayed a touch, and her gland awakened a little deeper.

Shen reined her thoughts back in, coaxing the gland toward a closed state. Casually, she asked, “Why’d you say that earlier?”

Lu couldn’t exactly admit someone had warned her off tonight . . . Wait—hold up. Wasn’t she playing right into that person’s hands by doing this?

“Hm?” Shen tilted her head, bumping Lu’s lightly.

Snapping back, Lu scrambled for words: “Future family member here, just reminding you to keep your eyes peeled and steer clear of trash.”

“You’re talking about yourself?”

“How am I scum?”

They were probably just incompatible; every chat turned into a fight, and when Lu Zhixia got fired up, she itched to throw down.

Holding her temper, Lu Zhixia asked again, “So, what was the prize for that competition the other day?”

“Forgot.” Shen Wanqing’s tone was utterly indifferent.

“Is there really a supercar?” Lu Zhixia shook out her hand. “The one on your ear is done too.”

“Yes.” Shen Wanqing tilted her head to look at her. “Now change the patch on my nipple.”

Lu Zhixia was genuinely envious. A supercar as a prize? That bar sure didn’t hold back.

Shen Wanqing parted her lips slightly, her nipple peeking out, her gaze turning hazy under the warm yellow glow of the bedside lamp.

Lu Zhixia’s heart pounded under that stare. Focusing intently on the injured little nipple, she murmured, “Just a bit more.”

The patch was tiny, making it tricky to line up perfectly.

Up close, she could see those luscious lips and pearly teeth, then the delicate curve of her collarbone, and lower still, even more tempting scenery… Lu Zhixia felt her mouth go dry. After all, she was a normal Alpha.

She swallowed discreetly to hide her reaction.

Her mouth parched, she licked her lips. When she glanced up, she caught Shen Wanqing’s smoldering gaze.

“What’s up?” Lu Zhixia seized the chance to catch her breath.

“I have an idea.”

“Hm? What kind of idea?”

“You want to know?” Shen Wanqing asked softly.

Lu Zhixia nodded, though she said, “If you’re okay sharing, sure. If not, no big deal… mmph.” Her breath was stolen away once more.

Shen Wanqing’s deep kiss left little room for air.

Lu Zhixia could never pull free; it felt like her very soul was held captive.

This time, Shen Wanqing broke it off first, their foreheads pressed together as she murmured, “Don’t do that in front of me.”

Lu Zhixia’s eyes were glazed over. After wracking her brain, she asked, “Do what?”

“Don’t lick your lips all glossy like that. Makes them too damn kissable.” Shen Wanqing pushed her back. “Skip the medicine. Go get some rest.”

But Lu Zhixia pinned her down. “We can’t waste it.”

In the end, Shen Wanqing stayed put while Lu Zhixia applied the patch to her nipple.

Lu Zhixia figured she’d crash in another room, but as Shen Wanqing burrowed under the covers, she reminded her, “You’ve got that back wound. Someone needs to keep an eye on it, or you’ll wake up tomorrow looking like a blood-drenched warrior.”

“Then I won’t sleep.” Lu Zhixia plopped down on the long sofa nearby. “You sleep. I’ll just sprawl out here.”

The one insisting she wouldn’t sleep was out like a light moments after lying down.

Shen Wanqing first texted Yan Fanghua that she was safe. Then she got up and tucked a blanket over Lu Zhixia’s lower back.

As she turned to leave, Lu Zhixia started rolling over, so Shen Wanqing planted herself on her legs instead.

Unable to budge, Lu Zhixia let out a couple of grunts, gave up, and went right back to snoring face-down.

In the dead of night, Lu Zhixia woke with a desperate need to pee. Blinking blearily, she felt like a thousand pounds were crushing her.

“I need the bathroom,” she grumbled. Shen Wanqing shifted off her, and Lu Zhixia dragged herself upright, stumbling to her feet. A few steps later, she realized something was wrong. Rubbing her eyes, she turned and saw Shen Wanqing lounging on the sofa.

“Bathroom’s straight ahead. Follow the light,” Shen Wanqing said.

The bathroom put most homes to shame—complete with a high-end smart toilet. By the time Lu Zhixia puzzled it out, sleep was the last thing on her mind.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Lu Zhixia asked, shuffling back to the sofa.

“Your call: either you take the sofa and I sit on you, or you hit the bed and I lie on you.” Shen Wanqing’s voice had gone husky, her soft midnight whispers carrying an irresistible allure, like a feather teasing her heart.

Lu Zhixia obediently sprawled face-down on the bed. Shen Wanqing settled in beside her, draping a leg over Lu Zhixia’s.

After a long silence, Shen Wanqing murmured, “You asleep yet?”

“Not quite.”

“You’re really not going to be my bedmate.”

A heavy pause. “Nope.”

“Don’t come crawling to me later.” Shen Wanqing nudged her lightly with a foot.

Lu Zhixia huffed. Digging in, she shot back, “Don’t worry. I’d die before begging you.”

“Heh.” Shen Wanqing rolled over, her toes tracing lazy patterns along Lu Zhixia’s calf, a wicked glint in her smile. “I can make you beg me in five minutes flat.”

“No way!” Lu Zhixia declared stoutly.

Shen Wanqing began counting down: “Five minutes… four… three…” A faint scent bloomed in the air—so subtle it was barely there, yet certain parts of Lu Zhixia’s body clocked it instantly.

Sensing trouble, even as Shen Wanqing drawled lazily, “Two minutes~”

Lu Zhixia arched her back despite the twinge. The ache in her back was nothing compared to the insistent stirring elsewhere.

When Shen Wanqing hit one, Lu Zhixia ignored the pain shooting through her back, rolled over, and pinned her down. “What the hell do you want from me!”

Shen Wanqing’s smile was faint and teasing as she looped her arms around Lu Zhixia’s neck, staring deep into her sparkling eyes from inches away. In a soft voice, she said, “Beg me.”

Face: Sorry…

Secret Garden: You’re shameless!

Face: …

Mouth: Shy.

Tongue tip: Lick!

Gland: Hurry up and beg! I can’t take it anymore.

~~~