Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 36
A strong arm caught her securely around the waist.
Anya held her halfway against her body, surrounding her with a faint scent of mint and tobacco.
“Hahaha! I was teasing you.”
Anya’s hearty laughter rang out above her, vibrating through her chest.
“Look how frightened you are. You’ve gone completely white.”
Anya steadied her but did not immediately remove the arm around her waist. Instead, her grip tightened slightly, fingertips brushing almost imperceptibly across the thin fabric. With her other hand, she pointed at the jar.
“That came from an unlucky bastard who was killed by a land mine. His heart was surprisingly intact, so I kept it for teaching.”
Xia Zhiyao’s heart still raced. She was too shaken to notice how long the hand lingered at her waist.
“Dr. Anya, that wasn’t funny at all…”
Her accusation carried a sob. She looked at Anya in flustered distress, her misty eyes utterly helpless.
The amusement in Anya’s gaze deepened.
This little rabbit made it far too tempting to bully her.
She looked adorable when she cried.
No wonder that ancient iron tree Shen Yu had finally blossomed. Even Anya felt an itch in her heart at the sight of such pitiful vulnerability.
“All right, all right. My fault.”
Anya finally released her and gently wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“How about I make it up to you with tea?”
Anya’s office next to the laboratory had a completely different atmosphere.
A thick Persian rug covered the floor, and a faint fragrance of sandalwood filled the room.
“Sit.” Anya indicated the silk armchair beside the window and turned toward the bar.
As boiling water entered the teapot, an unusual fragrance of leaves and wood spread through the office.
Xia Zhiyao sat stiffly, unable to dispel the image of the preserved heart.
A bone-china cup slid before her.
“This comes from ancient trees high in the southern mountains. Many people find it too bitter, but I like the sweetness that follows. Try it.”
Anya sat opposite, crossed her long legs, and relaxed.
Xia Zhiyao cupped the tea in both hands. Its warmth slowly returned feeling to her chilled body. She lowered her head and took a small sip.
The first taste was mildly astringent, but after the hot liquid slipped down her throat, a faint sweetness did bloom across her tongue.
She had almost forgotten what warmth felt like.
This hot tea, so full of ordinary life, instantly reminded her of the terrace at home and the sight of her uncle Xia Hongwen making tea in his study.
He had always been such a good uncle. Why had he done this?
Her eyes reddened without warning.
Xia Zhiyao hastily lowered her head and pretended to drink, trying to conceal the sudden lapse.
“Missing home?”
Anya’s certain voice came from across the room.
Xia Zhiyao stiffened and instinctively tried to deny it. Like a child caught misbehaving, she trembled and dared not look up.
“N-no…”
“Enough.”
Anya chuckled.
“You don’t have to pretend with me. Missing home is human instinct. As long as you aren’t planning how to escape, I can’t be bothered to report every thought to that pervert.”
That pervert.
Anya was probably the only person at the base who dared call Shen Yu that.
Relief loosened Xia Zhiyao’s heart. She raised her damp lashes and looked gratefully at Anya.
“Thank you, Dr. Anya.”
Anya watched her for a while.
The girl held the tea with her head lowered, exposing the fragile curve of her nape. She looked like a rabbit caught in a trap, still terrified yet forced to please the hunter.
She inspired such tenderness.
And such a desire to tease.
“Don’t just thank me with words.”
Anya took a slender cigarette from its case, lit it, and watched Xia Zhiyao through the smoke.
“You have nothing to do all day anyway. Why not help me with something?”
Xia Zhiyao blinked. “What?”
“You saw the room full of specimens. It’s a mess, and I don’t have time to organize it.”
Anya pointed next door.
“My previous assistant had to leave. Shen Yu tells me you know artifact conservation, so you must be meticulous. Why don’t you help arrange the specimens? Sort the butterflies and beetles by color and family, add labels, that sort of thing.”
Xia Zhiyao was surprised.
She wasn’t truly skilled at conservation. She had only taken a few electives.
But this sounded… like a job.
In a prison where all she could do was obey, work would give her something meaningful to occupy her time and allow her to escape the suffocating white building for a while.
Then the light in her eyes dimmed.
“But will Mr. Shen… agree?”
She asked with extreme caution.
She understood perfectly that Shen Yu owned her. Even breathing seemed to require his permission.
“Him?”
Anya laughed softly, plainly dismissive of Shen Yu’s need for control.
“He’ll be in the north for several more days. Are you supposed to remain in your room the whole time? How boring.”
Leaning forward, she fixed Xia Zhiyao with an intent gaze.
“Don’t worry. I’ll tell him when he returns. I’m not stealing you, only borrowing you. Black Wolf will give me that much consideration.”
The words “several more days” lifted a great weight from Xia Zhiyao’s chest.
“All right.” She nodded firmly. “I’d like to help.”
If it gave her even a trace of freedom, she would do anything.
Even those frightening specimens were easier to face than Shen Yu.
“That’s better.”
Anya’s lips curved in satisfaction, but her gaze did not leave Xia Zhiyao’s face.
The hot tea had brought a faint blush to the girl’s pale cheeks. Her lips in particular had grown red and moist in the steam, like freshly washed cherries shining with tempting droplets.
Anya’s gaze rested on them for two seconds, becoming unreadable.
“Little rabbit,” she called.
“Mm?” Xia Zhiyao looked up in confusion.
Anya uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, narrowing the distance between them.
“Has Shen Yu ever kissed you?”
What?
“Cough! Cough!”
The last sip of tea went down the wrong way. Xia Zhiyao coughed violently, her entire face turning red, all the way to the tips of her ears.
The question came so suddenly that she wondered whether she had heard correctly.
“K-kissed?” she repeated after catching her breath.
She and Shen Yu…
Those terrifying nights. That rough possession. Those humiliating commands…
Shen Yu knew her body intimately. He had left countless marks on her and forced declarations of submission from her lips.
But…
Xia Zhiyao went still.
Even during their most intimate acts, Shen Yu had never kissed her lips.
Not once.
The man only gave cruel commands. He withheld even the smallest tender touch.
She had never considered why, assuming it was simply his habit.
But now that Anya had asked so directly, an inexplicable shame rose within her, accompanied by the faintest sense of loss.
