Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 65
The air froze for an instant.
Shen Yu turned around, his brow drawing together. “What?”
“Contraception.”
Anya gave him the word without preamble.
“Don’t forget. She may look young, but she is very much a woman.”
“And a young woman whose reproductive system functions perfectly normally.”
“Women can get pregnant.”
Shen Yu narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Anya sighed. When she spoke again, her tone had softened.
“I’m not trying to interfere in your private affairs. But… an abortion can do serious damage to a woman’s body, especially in a place like this. Our medical resources are good, but there are still limits.”
“If she suffers a massive hemorrhage, not even a god could save her.”
She paused, then tested him in a half-joking tone.
“Unless you actually… want a child?”
“That has nothing to do with you,” Shen Yu cut in coldly. “I know what I’m doing.”
Of course he used protection.
He had always known exactly where to draw the line.
One day, his child would become the sole heir to his vast empire.
Ability and temperament—neither could be lacking.
How could he possibly… allow just any woman to bear his child?
Besides…
Against his will, the girl’s clear, faintly frightened eyes flashed through his mind, along with that endearingly foolish expression of hers.
She was still too young.
Practically a child herself. How could she have one?
The thought passed like an illusion and was extinguished without mercy the instant it appeared.
Anya, however, had no idea what he was thinking.
Coming from Shen Yu, those words could mean far too many things.
Did he mean that he exercised strict control every time and never crossed the line?
Or did he mean… that if an accident occurred, he would dispose of the “problem” without hesitation?
Even after knowing Shen Yu for so many years, she still could not see through him.
His heart was too hard, and the depths beneath it too dark.
In the end, Anya gave up trying and sighed.
“All right. So long as you know what you’re doing.”
“I’ll pick her up from the white building at nine tomorrow morning.”
“Mm.”
Shen Yu acknowledged her and pulled open the door. Then, as though remembering something, he looked back.
“Give me the tea. I’ll take it with me.”
Anya stared, then laughed and handed him the cake of ancient-tree tea from Kunlu Mountain.
“Fine. Take all of it.”
The man accepted the tea without another word and strode away.
Only after the heavy tread of his military boots had faded completely at the end of the corridor did Anya turn back.
She looked at the cup on the table. Shen Yu had taken only one sip, and the tea had already gone cold.
“Knows what he’s doing…”
Anya gave a quiet laugh.
“Good.”
For her, it was naturally a good thing that the little rabbit was not pregnant.
It meant Anya still had a chance.
But recalling the way Shen Yu had looked just now, she understood that this old man was truly beginning to fall this time.
She walked to the window and gazed out at the jungle, blurred by the rain.
“Shen Yu, Shen Yu. There are only two things in this world that can never be controlled.”
“The first is a bullet that ought to have gone wide.”
“The second… is a heart that was never meant to stir.”
…
Night spread like heavy velvet over the edge of Pakong’s dense jungle.
Rain whispered beyond the windows of the white building, punctuated now and then by the cry of some unknown night bird, lending an uncanny stillness to the heavily fortified residence.
In the bedroom, the crystal chandelier had been dimmed to a warm gold, its soft light spilling across the floor.
Xia Zhiyao sat at the desk with a sheet of paper before her and a pen in her hand. Beside the paper lay the silver-gray handgun.
It was… beautiful.
She knew the weapon could easily take a life.
But beneath the light, the metallic sheen of the body, the delicate grain of the mother-of-pearl grip, and the clean geometric curve of the barrel held her spellbound.
Shen Yu had given it to her.
In a world where violence was the only passport, the gun felt like a talisman from that man. It held no bullets, yet its mere presence quieted the unease that churned in her heart day and night.
She set down her pen and cautiously reached out, touching the hard, cold body with one fingertip.
The chill peculiar to metal traveled through her finger, making her shiver.
Click.
Imitating Shen Yu’s movements at the range, she awkwardly pulled back the slide. The crisp sound of the mechanism engaging sent her heart racing.
She tried to remember what else he had done.
Pressing her lips together, Xia Zhiyao tentatively braced her hand against the rear of the gun.
“Was it here…?”
She murmured to herself, frowning in concentration.
She wanted to disassemble it and inspect the inner mechanism, to see whether it was as intricate as the diagrams in books.
But the moment she applied a little force, she snatched her hand away as if shocked.
No. What if she broke it and could not put it back together?
This was the first gift Shen Yu had ever given her.
If she damaged it, that tyrant would surely throw her and the gun to the wolves together.
Xia Zhiyao withdrew her hand in disappointment. All she could do was stroke the warm, delicate grain of the mother-of-pearl grip again and again with the pad of her finger.
Just then, two polite knocks sounded at the door.
“Miss Xia, it’s Auntie Mei. I’ve brought you a late-night snack.”
“Ah!”
Xia Zhiyao jumped. Like a child caught doing something wrong, she instinctively reached for a book to cover the gun.
Then another thought occurred to her. Wait. Shen Yu had given her the gun. Why should she hide it?
With that, she straightened her back, tried to look composed, and cleared her throat.
“Come in, Auntie Mei.”
The door opened, and Auntie Mei entered carrying a black lacquer tray.
On it sat a steaming bowl of bird’s-nest congee and several small dishes of delicate, refreshing sides.
“Miss Xia, I noticed you didn’t eat much at dinner. Mr. Shen instructed the kitchen to keep something ready at ni—”
Auntie Mei’s gaze landed on the gun atop the desk, and her voice cut off.
The tray struck the corner of the desk with a muted clatter, nearly spilling the congee.
“Th-this…”
Her face went pale. She stared at the silver-gray handgun as though it were some savage beast and instinctively retreated half a step.
“Miss Xia, how… how did this get into your room?” Even her voice trembled.
Xia Zhiyao blinked at Auntie Mei’s terrified reaction.
Then, inexplicably, a small flicker of vanity rose inside her.
Mm… the thing really could frighten people.
Even without bullets.
“Mr. Shen gave it to me.”
Xia Zhiyao blinked and showed it off with childish pride.
“He said this gun suited me.”
“Mr. Shen… gave it to you?”
Auntie Mei looked from the gun to the young girl before her, plainly unable to believe it.
