Frost’s Descent had come and gone, and in just a few days, the Beginning of Winter would arrive. Even with the heater cranked up full blast inside, the room couldn’t match the warmth of midsummer.
Gu Nianyi sank into the cold water, her hair completely soaked through. A sliver of rationality crept back into her mind.
But in the end, she couldn’t fight off the drug’s effects.
Her head grew foggy, her entire body burning with heat.
It felt like countless tiny bugs were gnawing at her flesh—itching unbearably, yet impossible to scratch or grasp.
The drug coursed through her veins, seeping into every part of her, devouring her blood and bones.
Gu Nianyi knew the quickest solution was Lu Jin’an.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. It would mean using his body like a mere tool.
Why would he willingly let her do that?
They were just husband and wife—closer now than when they’d first married, but only just.
Lu Jin’an stood outside the bathroom door, ear pressed close, listening for sounds inside. There was no splashing of water.
He knew she hated the cold.
The slightest chill would send her retreating into her room, and she always ran the warm air during showers.
With no movement from the bathroom, Lu Jin’an’s heart clenched. Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he rapped on the door. “Gu Nianyi, are you all right?”
Gu Nianyi lay in the cold water, on the verge of drifting off to sleep—nearly drowning—when the knocking jolted her awake. “Dr. Lu, I’m fine. You go ahead and sleep. It’s late.”
He had already spent the whole night tending to her. He needed his rest.
Yet here she was, trying to shoo him away again. Was asking for his help really so hard? Did she have to suffer through it alone?
They were legally married. Using each other once wouldn’t hurt anything.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lu Jin’an shoved the bathroom door open. A blast of frigid air hit him in the face—the window had been deliberately cracked open, letting the cold wind pour in.
Gu Nianyi was submerged in the bathtub, the water rippling gently around her. The whole pool was ice-cold to the touch.
Lu Jin’an yanked a bath towel and shower cap from the rack, fished her out of the tub, and carried her to the shower.
He twisted the warm water faucet, and hot water cascaded down from the showerhead.
It soaked her—and him.
Gu Nianyi clutched the towel tight around herself, shivering under the stream.
Her body burned like fire, yet her heart felt frozen. She was caught in a torment of ice and flame.
“You still wouldn’t call for me?” Lu Jin’an was furious at her for taking a cold bath. His voice was sharp and icy, cutting through the sound of the water as it pounded down on Gu Nianyi’s head.
It was the first time he’d ever spoken to her like that—urgent, devoid of any warmth, like a gale carrying shards of ice and snow.
“Dr. Lu, I… I…”
Gu Nianyi was already suffering, and now she was being scolded. Tears streamed down her face in fat drops.
She couldn’t even string a sentence together.
They weren’t intimate enough for her to ask something like that.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
The more Lu Jin’an apologized, the harder Gu Nianyi cried.
“I’ll help you.” Lu Jin’an captured Gu Nianyi’s lips in a kiss, fumbling impatiently with the buttons of his shirt and shrugging off his clothes.
He sucked at her lips, plunging his tongue deep inside to tangle with hers, as if venting his own pent-up frustration.
Gu Nianyi’s mind filled with sensation as the drug’s heat mingled with raw desire, dragging her toward an endless abyss.
“Mm~” She wrapped her arms around Lu Jin’an’s waist and parted her lips to return his kiss.
The final thread of her rationality snapped.
She leaned against the glass partition, her waist lifted by Lu Jin’an’s hands as she surrendered herself completely to him.
Lu Jin’an kissed her fiercely, meeting her scorching responses, while he dried their bodies. Then he scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom.
Gu Nianyi sank into the soft mattress, her senses overwhelmed. All she knew was that Lu Jin’an held her close.
Kissing her without end.
More fiercely than ever before.
More recklessly than at any other time.
They were like two volcanoes erupting out of control, their molten lava spilling forth, converging, and fusing together.
The room’s lights clicked off, plunging everything into darkness. They moved by touch and instinct alone.
Lu Jin’an seized Gu Nianyi’s hand, his long fingers threading through hers. Their ten fingers interlaced tightly as he pinned her hands above her head.
His thin lips traced hers, then wandered in serpentine paths across her cheeks and earlobes before nipping at the mole there.
Gu Nianyi’s slender legs curled and uncurled restlessly as she murmured from her lips, “Dr. Lu, it’s so hot.”
Lu Jin’an cooed softly to her. “Be good. It’ll feel better soon.”
“Dr. Lu, the condoms are in the nightstand,” she reminded him, even as her reason crumbled.
“All right.” Amusement laced his magnetic voice, roughened tonight like gravel spilling over silk.
Veins throbbed at his temple as he fought for restraint.
Lu Jin’an kept kissing her until he finally knelt at the edge of the bed.
The little nightlight at the foot of the bed flickered on and off, and in that moment, he felt as though he’d returned to that Mid-Autumn night on the mountaintop.
She turned her head, her lips slightly parted as if waiting for him to pluck them.
They opened and closed faintly, tempting him with a deadly rhythm.
The man leaned down and took her soft lips between his. The taste was different from before.
His tongue stirred within, exchanging their saliva.
Gu Nianyi felt pinned in place, craving more. “Dr. Lu.”
“I’m right here.”
His answer gave her a sense of security.
…
The next day, Gu Nianyi slept until she woke naturally. Someone had changed her into a dry set of pajamas.
She opened her eyes to Lu Jin’an’s profile.
He was still asleep.
Gu Nianyi gazed at his sharp jawline, and her face flushed crimson in an instant.
Every memory of the night before lingered vividly in her mind.
She remembered returning home and soaking in the cold bath, only for Lu Jin’an to carry her out—stark naked, no doubt.
Then he had offered to help her.
They had kissed endlessly, until the air in their lungs burned dry. They’d part for a gasping breath before diving back in.
She remembered him kissing her… somewhere else.
For a very, very long time.
Gu Nianyi grabbed her phone from the nightstand. It was already past noon. She slipped quietly out from under the covers.
In the walk-in closet, she changed clothes and discovered exaggerated red marks on her neck, chest, inner thighs—even faint ones around her ankles.
And yet, they still hadn’t gone all the way. He had only used his mouth and hands to bring her relief.
For some reason, a deep sense of disappointment welled up inside Gu Nianyi.
Help was help. Sex was sex.
He kept things strictly separate, clear as day.
Gu Nianyi pulled out her phone and transferred 2,500 yuan to her pinned contact, Lu Jin’an. In the note, she wrote: “Thanks for the help, Dr. Lu.”
She remembered that the most expensive male escorts at the bar charged 9,999 for a night. He wasn’t worth that much.
While she was at it, she unpinned him.
Lu Jin’an had woken the moment she stirred. He found her in the Doll Room, where she was playing with Nian Gao.
At least she seemed fine.
He returned to the bedroom and unlocked his phone. The pinned red notification made his expression darken instantly.
He strode out and leaned against the Doll Room doorframe, his messy bangs falling over his forehead. He let out a scoff. “Gu Nianyi, now you’re paying people off like some cheap hire? Who are you looking down on?”
Just 2,500—beating around the bush to call him worthless.
His technique might be inexperienced, but it was worth more than that, surely.
Gu Nianyi had been bracing for this. With her back to him, she kept stroking Nian Gao’s head. “This isn’t some marital obligation. You put in time and effort, so of course I should pay you.”
Steady footsteps drew closer until they stopped right behind her.
She kept her head bowed, not daring to look up at Lu Jin’an.
His broad palm clamped onto her chin, tilting her face up as he leaned down and nipped at the corner of her mouth.
“Ow, that hurts.”
Gu Nianyi touched the spot. A clear bite mark was already forming.
“That’s the point. I held back because I don’t take advantage of people.” Lu Jin’an’s eyes darkened as he forced her to meet his gaze.
He had wrestled his desires under control. She hadn’t been in her right mind—he couldn’t do that to her.
Even if he wanted to. Wanted to desperately.
“Got it. You’re a real gentleman.”
She got all her money back.
Lu Jin’an reached out and gently touched the bite mark on her lip with his fingertip.
They stood too close, as if he had her circled in his arms.
Just like last night.
Gu Nianyi’s eyes drifted from his messy bangs to his lips, then to his fingers.
She jerked her gaze away.
Her ears and cheeks burned red. At a loss, she could only keep petting Nian Gao.
The little creature wriggled free from her grasp. Any more and she’d puff up like a ball.
Gu Nianyi’s hand kept up the absentminded stroking motions as her thoughts drifted back to last night—an experience she couldn’t shake.
She had been like a blank canvas, and Lu Jin’an the artist wielding the brush.
His fingertips carried their own searing heat, tracing and painting across the page.
Gu Nianyi ducked her head and stammered, “Dr. Lu, aren’t you working today?”
Lu Jin’an brushed the bite mark. “I’ll keep you company.”
Next time, he’d bite lighter—or somewhere else.
The man stared into her eyes. “Anywhere you’re uncomfortable?”
Gu Nianyi’s pale face turned beet red. “N-no, none. I’m good.”
She could barely get the words out. Last night had been an accident. Now, fully awake, she couldn’t even look straight at his lips or fingers.
Let alone spell it out bluntly.
A phone call cut their conversation short. She knew the demands of his job.