Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 47
“No, no…”
The crude joke made Xia Zhiyao’s cheeks burn, and she waved her hands repeatedly.
“It’s just…”
She forced down her embarrassment and continued,
“Mr. Shen saved my parents. I want… I want to thank him. But I don’t know what he likes, or what I can do to make him… satisfied.”
She looked up into Ji Chen’s smiling eyes, her own filled with nothing but innocent eagerness for an answer.
“Mr. Ji, you’re Mr. Shen’s younger brother, so you must understand him. Could you please tell me what sort of… gratitude Mr. Shen actually likes?”
She did not want to ruin things again.
The last time she had offered to organize his library, he had made her kneel all night.
If her good intentions backfired again, she feared for her life.
At her explanation, the smile on Ji Chen’s face stiffened.
His brother had gone out today because of this?
That was Shen Yu they were talking about.
He had personally gone to rescue people for a woman?
Was this still his cold-blooded brother?
Had he changed careers and taken up charity work?
Ji Chen could not help studying the girl before him from head to toe once more.
She was barely five foot three, thin as a bean sprout and seemingly ready to topple in a gust of wind.
She had none of the voluptuous curves men found irresistible. Her clean little face was timid, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Admittedly, she was pretty. Her skin was pale and delicate, and especially striking were those eyes, so clear that not a trace of impurity could be found in them.
But… this was it? This little white flower who had not even fully blossomed was enough to make his ruthless brother break his own principles time and again?
Impressive.
Truly impressive.
“Mr. Ji?” Xia Zhiyao grew increasingly uneasy when he merely studied her without answering.
Ji Chen returned to himself and resumed his irreverent manner. Rubbing his chin, he swept his gaze over her with a meaningful smile.
“A way to thank him? Something that will satisfy him?”
Still smiling, Ji Chen looked her up and down. His eyes lingered on her slender waist and long neck, and his grin grew more suggestive.
His smile made Xia Zhiyao’s skin crawl. She anxiously stepped back.
“Did I… say something wrong?”
“No, not at all. You’re simply too adorable.”
Ji Chen could barely contain his grin. He forced himself not to laugh and leaned a step closer.
“Making him happy is easy.”
“Sister-in-law, all you have to do is wash yourself clean and lie down on the bed. Or…”
He smiled wickedly, his eyes sweeping over the delicate curves beneath her dress.
“Find a red ribbon and tie a pretty bow around your neck. Better yet, wear nothing underneath and kneel on the bed waiting for him. I guarantee His Majesty will be delighted. He might even give you a rare-earth mine as a present. Hahaha…”
“…”
Xia Zhiyao’s face turned scarlet. Heat swept through her entire body, staining even her neck pink.
She must have lost her mind to ask him.
What sort of perverted, demonic advice was this?
The sight of her speechless, embarrassed face only made Ji Chen laugh harder.
Xia Zhiyao stood frozen, utterly disarrayed.
“Mr. Ji, I’m… I’m serious!” she said in embarrassment.
“So am I.”
Ji Chen spread his hands.
“You know what my brother’s like. There is nothing he lacks. Money? Power? Women? He only has to crook a finger, and anything he wants will come to him. If you ask me what he wants most…”
He suddenly straightened. His careless expression vanished, replaced by one that was half serious and half feigned.
“All right, I’ll stop teasing.”
Ji Chen’s tone abruptly became earnest.
“Sister-in-law, let me give you one piece of advice.”
“My brother hates betrayal more than anything, and he despises hypocrisy. His need for control is overwhelming. What he wants is absolute loyalty from the depths of your soul and surrender without reservation. As long as you obey him and don’t entertain any crooked ideas, I imagine that will be the best way to repay him.”
“That’s enough of that.”
He waved, his playful smile returning as he headed toward the archway beside the white building.
“I have to fertilize my darlings in the greenhouse. You can take your time thinking, sister-in-law. If all else fails, package yourself up and give yourself to him. Personally, I think my brother would enjoy that.”
He winked at Xia Zhiyao, hummed an unfamiliar tune, and sauntered through the archway.
Xia Zhiyao remained alone, her heart pounding, her face red with embarrassment and irritation.
Absolute loyalty… surrender without reservation…
And… a red ribbon?
Xia Zhiyao shook her head hard, trying to fling Ji Chen’s ridiculous suggestions from her mind.
As expected, not one person on this base was normal!
She sighed and dragged her exhausted body into the white building.
…
Back in her room on the first floor, Xia Zhiyao found that Auntie Mei had already had a hot bath prepared.
She sank into the tub. Warm water wrapped around her body, slightly easing her tension and fatigue.
Through the mist, she looked at the stranger in the mirror. Red marks and purple bruises of varying depth covered the pale skin of her back. Her gaze became unfocused.
She remembered the despair and hope in her parents’ eyes as they left.
“Staying alive is the only thing that matters.”
Her mother’s words echoed in her ears.
Yes. No matter the method, as long as she could make him happy and persuade him to keep her, what did dignity… truly matter?
Half an hour later, Xia Zhiyao dried her hair and changed into a plain white cotton nightgown.
The loose dress hid every curve, yet made her look even more slender and vulnerable, possessing the pure beauty of a lotus rising from clear water.
She sat on the edge of the bed with a horn comb in her hand, running it again and again through her half-dry hair while her mind remained hopelessly tangled.
What sort of gift should she prepare for tonight?
Could she truly do what Ji Chen suggested?
Take off her clothes, and then…
While she stared into space, a faint sound came from outside the window.
“Ah! No!”
A sudden scream of unparalleled agony pierced her ears, short and shrill.
Xia Zhiyao’s hand jerked, and the comb fell to the floor.
The sound had come from the back garden.
The white building was Shen Yu’s private territory. Apart from servants and bodyguards, no one ever dared make a commotion. How could there be such a terrible scream?
Had something happened?
Terrified, she covered her mouth and barely dared breathe. She wanted only to curl into the farthest corner of the room and pretend she did not exist.
She had no desire to look, to know, or to go outside.
Her bedroom was her only refuge. She did not dare take even one step beyond it.
But the scream had been too close.
As though it had come from… just beyond the back wall, directly beneath her window.
She squeezed her eyes shut and remained still, yet the sound entered clearly, impossible to avoid.
Her body rose before reason could stop it.
Instinct demanded she find out what was happening. A sound that close… could it pose a danger to her?
She would only take one look and make sure. If there was danger, she would run straight back…
Xia Zhiyao swallowed. Summoning her courage, she crept from the bedroom and opened the door to the garden.
After the rain, the air in the back garden was extraordinarily fresh.
The plants and trees had been washed into glistening emerald, and rare Loulan koi swam cheerfully through the pond. Everything appeared peaceful and beautiful, as though the scream had been an illusion.
Then it came again.
“Mercy… Have mercy, Young Master Ji… Ah!”
This time, she heard it clearly.
It came from the glass greenhouse.
Xia Zhiyao’s heart began to pound.
She suddenly remembered Anya’s warning.
“That glass greenhouse is Ji Chen’s territory. Don’t be fooled by his constant smile—he is a genuine madman. The fertilizer in there is special. Never go near it, or you’ll have nightmares for the rest of your life.”
Instinct urged Xia Zhiyao to retreat.
But the cries were too terrible.
They were the despairing howls a person made on the brink of death.
As though bewitched, she did not turn back.
Keeping to the cover of the bushes beside the cobblestone path, she moved one silent step at a time toward the glass greenhouse.
