Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 38
Morning light slipped through a gap in the heavy velvet curtains of the specimen room, revealing tiny motes of dust in the air.
Faced with the mountains of insect and animal specimens, Xia Zhiyao showed none of yesterday’s fear.
She wore an oversized white coat that did not fit her, the sleeves rolled twice to expose slender white wrists. Standing on a stepladder, she rose onto her toes and tried to place a finished specimen frame into the highest display compartment.
The coat shifted with her movements, revealing the faint curve of a slim waist.
Focused. Quiet. Beautiful.
Part of the enormous display, filled with brilliant beetles and butterflies, had already become a flowing painting.
Xia Zhiyao had not rigidly arranged everything according to biological family and species.
Instead, she applied her own understanding of composition and color.
She had grouped a broad field of blue morpho butterflies by the reflective quality of the powder on their wings. Deep indigo at the bottom gradually rose into pale sky blue at the top, like waves rolling from the depths of the ocean toward a beach—magnificent and serene.
In the neighboring compartment, hundreds of metallic green jewel beetles formed nested geometric circles according to variations in their sheen, creating a distinctly industrial beauty.
The brilliantly colored poisonous moths had been boldly assembled into an ancient tribal totem she remembered from an old text.
They were frozen in death, yet beneath her hands they radiated a vast, overwhelming sense of life.
“Well.”
Anya approached with a cup of coffee and leaned against the doorframe.
She took a sip, raised an eyebrow, and studied the room with visible admiration. “Interesting.”
Xia Zhiyao stood high on the stepladder, holding long forceps as she carefully secured a giant atlas moth.
She was completely absorbed.
She studied the patterns on its wings, immersed in pure line and color. She did not notice the two people at the door or hear their quiet conversation.
The pressure from the formidable man beside Anya kept dropping. At last, she could no longer resist breaking the silence.
“Mr. Black Wolf.”
She spoke lazily, deliberately teasing him.
“Didn’t you come back a little too quickly? Afraid I’d eat your little pet?”
He had gone north to clean up the mess with Vulture, yet returned after only two days.
Anya seriously doubted he had finished the job.
Holding her coffee, she smiled.
“Look how beautifully she’s arranged everything. Only she could do work this delicate. Keeping her locked in a cage all day is such a waste.”
Shen Yu finally withdrew his gaze and gave Anya a cold look.
“What belongs to me is mine to use as I choose.”
He emphasized the word mine.
Anya caught the flash of coldness in his eyes and understood. She pursed her lips and said no more.
Shen Yu crossed the wooden floor in long strides, his military boots approaching the ladder one step at a time.
His gaze passed over the operating table and the specimens arranged like works of art before returning to the top of the ladder.
The girl stood on tiptoe, the hem of the white coat swaying with her movements and making her bare calves look even slimmer.
She stretched as far as she could to place the newly secured atlas moth into the upper compartment.
She did not notice the man coming closer.
Shen Yu narrowed his eyes, something dark and unreadable moving beneath them.
Stupid puppy.
She had been enjoying herself on someone else’s territory.
She had forgotten who her master was.
Soon, he would leave her unable even to cry.
He looked at her unsuspecting back and barked, “Get down.”
The low male voice broke abruptly through the silent room.
Xia Zhiyao froze atop the ladder.
That voice…
For her, it was a switch wired straight into her bones.
She spun around in panic and collided with the bottomless black eyes below.
Mr… Mr. Shen?!
When had he returned? Hadn’t Dr. Anya said he would be gone for several more days?
Terror instantly shattered the state of flow she had entered. Her hand shook uncontrollably, and the specimen frame struck the floor with a clang. Then her sudden turn made one foot slip from the rung.
“Ah!”
With a short cry, she lost her balance and fell from more than six feet above the floor.
But she did not strike the hard wood.
After a dizzying rush, she crashed heavily into a hard, burning embrace.
Shen Yu had not moved his feet. The instant she fell, he simply reached out and caught her securely.
His powerful stance absorbed the force without even a sway. The muscles in his arms bunched as he locked her firmly against him.
The scents of gunpowder, earth, and faint blood enveloped Xia Zhiyao.
Dangerous. Aggressive. Inescapable.
His scent.
Still shaken, her heart pounded violently. Both hands instinctively clenched the collar of his jacket, all color gone from her face.
She looked up in terror, nearly striking her nose against his hard jaw.
Shen Yu looked down at her, no emotion visible in his dark eyes.
“Mr… Mr. Shen…”
Her voice shook.
“Why… why are you back?”
Shen Yu stared without expression at the pale little face in his arms.
When she had been arranging dead insects, she had looked as focused as a saint.
The instant she entered his arms, she became this terrified wreck again.
“Why? Didn’t want me to return?”
He sneered. Instead of releasing her, he tightened his arms.
Xia Zhiyao shrank from the pain but did not dare struggle. “N-no…”
Realizing she had said the wrong thing, she instinctively tried to explain, her body trembling beyond control.
Every trace of her quiet competence had vanished. Once more, she was a shivering puppy.
Shen Yu should have been satisfied by the reaction.
For some reason, he wasn’t.
His face cold, he loosened his arms and pulled her down, forcing her to stand.
Her legs remained weak, and she had to brace herself against a display case.
“So you became so comfortable here that you forgot who you belong to?” Shen Yu stared her down.
“No… I didn’t, Mr. Shen.”
Tears gathered as Xia Zhiyao shook her head desperately.
“I wouldn’t dare… I was only… helping Dr. Anya…”
Shen Yu gave her a cold glance and ignored the explanation.
Without another word, he turned and walked out.
Xia Zhiyao’s heart jumped. She hurriedly stripped off the white coat without even straightening her clothes and stumbled after him.
At the doorway, she instinctively looked at Anya and sent her a helpless plea for rescue.
Anya shrugged, powerless.
“Sorry, little rabbit. I didn’t expect him to be so heartless that he wouldn’t even give me consideration.”
She spread her hands, her usual lazy smile in place. Her lips silently formed the words:
Good luck surviving tonight, little rabbit.
Xia Zhiyao closed her eyes in despair.
