Ten Rules to Bind Her Heart - Chapter 69

Sniffling, her eyes brimming with tears, Xia Zhiyao rolled onto her back.

She did not even dare rub her burning bottom. She could only lie there like a dead fish, both hands clutching the fabric over her body.

Shen Yu stood beside the bed and looked down at her.

The light traced the disheveled misery of her tear-streaked face.

Her cheeks were flushed an alluring pink from her shame and struggle. The pure-white nightdress had been rumpled up around her narrow waist, exposing two slender, straight legs.

Shen Yu’s Adam’s apple shifted.

Dark currents surged in the fathomless depths of his eyes.

His palm settled over her flat lower abdomen.

Xia Zhiyao shuddered in alarm. One trembling hand rose instinctively to stop that warm palm, but before Shen Yu’s icy gaze could even reach her, she snatched it back in panic.

The thoughtless act of defiance terrified her. Her hand retreated as fast as lightning.

“Block me again, and I’ll cut off your fingers.”

Shen Yu’s voice was cold.

“N-no… please… I still need my fingers…”

Xia Zhiyao begged instinctively, her quiet voice trembling uncontrollably.

Shen Yu could not help laughing.

“Is that so? Tell me what you need them for.”

Xia Zhiyao stole a swift glance at his expression.

He seemed… to be in a slightly better mood?

That gave her the tiniest scrap of courage, and her mind spun frantically.

“I need them… need them…”

Her gaze darted around the room until it landed on the unloaded gun beside the pillow. Inspiration struck.

Her eyes brightened.

“I need them to shoot!”

The answer took Shen Yu by surprise.

When he did not grow angry, Xia Zhiyao hurried to press her advantage. In a frail little voice that embarrassed even her, she added timidly, “Mr. Shen, didn’t you… praise my talent today?”

“So… so… you can’t cut off my fingers…”

Her voice grew softer with every word. The last few were nearly inaudible, yet an unmistakable note of coaxing had entered her tone.

Shen Yu watched her with that almost-smile for a long while.

Xia Zhiyao felt as though her heart might stop.

At last, the trace of amusement vanished. He became the merciless king of hell once more and delivered his final threat like a sentence.

“Block me again, and I cut them off immediately.”

“I won’t! I won’t ever do it again!”

Xia Zhiyao instantly pressed both hands tight against her sides.

Shen Yu’s gaze returned to her flat lower abdomen.

The skin under his palm was as smooth as porcelain, rising and falling faintly with each tremor that passed through her.

His hand was so large it nearly covered her entire lower belly.

His fingertips exerted a little pressure, slowly pressing downward as though feeling—or confirming—something.

Lower.

Xia Zhiyao’s whole body drew taut, even her breath trapped in her chest.

She felt that hand approaching the place that frightened her most, inch by inch.

Fear clenched her heart. Unable to make a sound, she turned her face away, squeezed her eyes shut, and waited rigidly for whatever came next.

But Shen Yu’s hand stopped abruptly at the boundary that made her heart race.

His eyes were dark and unreadable.

His gaze swept again over the girl’s slender waist and the chest rising faintly with fear.

Her frame had not yet fully matured. She looked so fragile that the slightest pressure might snap her.

And she was so delicate. The lightest touch made her cry. If he truly took her without restraint, she might faint outright.

Here, before him, she could barely endure even his nearness. Each time, all she could do was plead softly through reddened eyes.

If the two of them were truly bound together here…

No.

This was the filthy chaos of Sanbianpo.

If there truly were a child…

Shen Yu’s hand lingered over her lower abdomen, the skin beneath his palm trembling faintly with every breath.

In that instant, a fierce possessiveness surged inside him. He wanted to keep her completely at his side and brand her with a mark that belonged to him alone.

It was the instinct to possess her utterly.

But in the end, reason prevailed over the agitation in his blood.

Shen Yu slowly closed his eyes and forcibly suppressed the heat and impulse that threatened to tear through his restraint.

It was not time yet.

This stupid little thing.

On the surface, she was a harmless puppy.

Deep down, she was really a wolf cub that had not yet been fully tamed.

He withdrew his hand, seized the blanket beside her, and tossed it over Xia Zhiyao from head to toe, hiding the body that had so disturbed his composure.

“Enough. Go to sleep.”

Beneath the covers, Xia Zhiyao remained stunned for several seconds before she understood.

That…

That was… it?

There would be no more terrifying punishment?

“Anya will pick you up at nine tomorrow morning.”

Shen Yu’s voice came from above her.

“Dr. Anya?”

Xia Zhiyao cautiously poked her head out from beneath the blanket. Too bewildered to care that her hair was a mess, she hurried to ask, “Pick me up? Where are we going?”

The painful memory of the last time she had slipped into the medical building to help Anya organize specimens—only for Shen Yu to drag her back and make her kneel all night—remained vivid.

“I told her to take you shopping tomorrow.”

Shen Yu explained with patience.

“Shopping?”

Xia Zhiyao grew even more confused, her eyes widening.

“There are… shopping centers here?” she asked cautiously.

“In town.”

Shen Yu continued with remarkable patience.

“They can’t compare with the large malls back home, but they carry all the essentials. The market in Mon State has opened recently, and there are some fresh goods from neighboring countries.”

“Then… what should I buy?” She still did not quite understand.

“Whatever you need.”

Shen Yu went on explaining.

“And whatever you like or want. Clothes, jewelry, all those miscellaneous little things.”

At that, his voice deepened into a domineering warning.

“Buy plenty. If you don’t buy enough, you’ll be punished.”

Better that she purchase everything at once.

He was busy. He did not have time to take her out constantly.

Nor did he want the little thing inventing excuses to spend time with Anya in the future.

Xia Zhiyao blinked, feeling as though her entire understanding of the world had been overturned.

Was this truly the same Mr. Shen who killed without blinking?

Why did he sound like an overbearing CEO angry because his girlfriend refused to spend his money?

“Um… Mr. Shen…”

Xia Zhiyao swallowed and ventured, “How much… counts as plenty?”

“Enough for your needs,” Shen Yu said. “You won’t have many chances to go out.”

“Then… what about the money?” she asked timidly. She did not have a penny to her name.

“Let Anya pay for the small purchases. For anything large, tell Ken. I’ll reimburse him when you return.”

To Shen Yu, anything under one hundred million dollars did not qualify as large.

“Don’t try to save my money.”

“I couldn’t spend it all in several lifetimes.”

The words should have sounded like an outrageous boast. From Shen Yu’s mouth, however, they carried only the cool detachment of a fact.

His commanding presence made Xia Zhiyao’s heart beat a little faster.

“I understand… Thank you, Mr. Shen.” She obediently lowered her eyes.

“Enough. Sleep.”

Shen Yu checked the time. It was already past two.

If he tormented her now, the little thing certainly would not be able to rise tomorrow morning.

He had gone to the trouble of arranging for her to get some air. If she missed the outing, she would surely cry.

He turned toward the door.

“Are… are you leaving?” Xia Zhiyao blurted, watching his broad back.

He was really… letting her off… just like that?

She could hardly believe it.

Shen Yu paused, then looked back with a shadow of a smile in his dark eyes.

“Why? Are you inviting me to stay?”

Terrified, Xia Zhiyao immediately vanished beneath the covers, wrapped herself into a cocoon, and shook her head frantically.

“No, no, no! I-I’m already asleep! Good night!”

Shen Yu let out a low laugh at her cowardice, then opened the door. Just before leaving, he remembered something and looked back with one final instruction.

“And don’t pick up random things outside and eat them. Understood?”

Pick up random things?

Why would she pick up things outside and eat them?

Xia Zhiyao was baffled.

But she did not dare question him. She nodded obediently again and again.