Chapter 14 - AND YOU ARE?

She opens her eyes in a state of consternation, only to witness being wrapped around in a warm embrace. Their faces inches away from each other, she stares into his fathomless eyes and his gaze is entirely different than what she had witnessed before.

It was now soft and concerned.

Some gazes are the promise of protection, his was all that and more. Even though for a moment, but she did manage to catch a glimpse of that tender gaze. How can one revert from absolute emotions of disgust and fiendishness to compassion and genuine concern?

"You still need to rest." His eyes for a split second, flicker a golden-ish yellow.

This time Yue decides to not bring up the topic of the color variations of his eyes, might as well keep it to herself than being neglected in return. Not even once Yue had suspected him to be a creature inhumane, for all she knew was he was suffering from some physical or psychological disorder. Yue wasn't one to have read those countless fantasy writings or even have had watched movies of similar genres, so she didn't reckon his existence at all to be something else.

"Oh…Okay." She writhes, trying to get out of his fortress of arms around her, low-key reluctantly. But he had precisely insinuated for her to 'rest', so she does need to get back to the mattress. She thought that he wanted her to step back to her bedding by herself, but he wasn't that inhumane.

"Your body is still recovering." His arms coil around her preventing her from wriggling out of his hold. His one hand aiming for under the knees while the other making it's way around her waist, as he picked her up bridal-style. His grasp around her was benign and firm, he was sensible to prevent her from receiving any further harm to her already damaged body.

Yue turns her head away from him as blood rushes at an incredulous speed to spread across her cheeks. Her entire life, she was away from intimacy, so now even the slightest of actions of proximity could get the girl heated up.

She wished she didn't blush so fast, that she had some ability to keep her emotions to herself. But In an instant her cheeks are rosy and he could probably make out how she felt as if she wrote them in little notes and handed it out.

She could feel his muscular, broad chest against the fabric of his black shirt as he carried her towards the bed with outright ease. His strength only escalated his hotness, and she was pretty certain he knows of it.

Her heart pounds against her chest as her mind wanders off to the steamy scenes she read about in the novel, and given their physical contiguity, she was assured he could hear her heart banging.

She catches a glimpse of his facial features, and that only worsens her already simp-like situation.

"I'll go get you some clothes." He gently lays her down on the softer mattress before grabbing the sheets and covering her with it, almost entire engulfing her in it. His acts are now so polite and graceful, almost prince-like.

"Wait!" He ceases in his steps and turns on his heel to stare back at Yue as she called out to him.

"Hmm?" He plainly hummed in response, his tone reflected him being impatient. His impenetrable eyes and inscrutable countenance give little away.

Therefore it's difficult to make out his emotion at the moment, or maybe he's just good at concealing them, or maybe he's keeping his guard up now that she pin-pointed his crimson eyes..

"I didn't quite catch your name…" A glint of timidness emerges through Yue as she puts up a question that although should have been the first thing to initiate their conversation.

He simply glares at her in response, his hands tucked in his trousers as he looks down at her, his ash grey locks settling on his forehead in the process.

'Shouldn't have asked that.' Yue mentally drowns myself in a pool of humiliation as she doesn't hear any words back from him.

"I should be the one to ask that." He sighs, and she had never felt the amount of mortification that she did as of now.

Yue hadn't thought this through. What was she supposed to respond to that? She had no idea whatsoever, if the side character, Li Hua was dead or was she still supposed to play in her shoes? She swears at herself on not finishing the novel in a single go. Had she read to the end she wouldn't be stuck in this predicament. She might as well have had an advantage knowing what scene what was going to play next if she flipped through more pages.

She glances back at him and catch him biting the inside of his cheek. She knew she was doing nothing more than aggravating the situation, he was in all likelihood pissed off.

To corroborate if she was indeed still Li Hua, she needed to meet Mei. If she as much, recognizes Yue as Li Hua then that'll deduce to the conclusion that she was still playing the side character after all.

However, if she refuses to acknowledge her, then that'll mean that Yue is stuck in this book due to surviving the death scene.

'I could endorse myself through Mei's or Hua's parents as well but I don't know the way back to their house-'

"Don't initiate a conversation you can't indulge yourself in." he scoffs and shakes his head in utter annoyance and indignation.

He once more, sets about to leave the room. But the inquisitiveness of getting to know his name only seems to escalate within Yue.

"Jiang Yue."