Guo Zian snatched his hand away from Chen Zhe's face instantly, his posture shifting from aggressive to concerned in less than a second.
He corrected his suit jacket, composing his expression into a mask of worried affection.
The door swung open, revealing Lin Feng and Lin Hua.
They didn't look like they had forgotten something. They looked anxious, their chests heaving slightly as if they had run back down the hallway.
"We..." Lin Hua started, her eyes darting immediately to Chen Zhe, scanning him for injuries. When she saw the red marks slowly forming on his jaw where Guo Zian had grabbed him, her face paled. "I... I forgot my phone."
It was a stupid lie. Her phone was clearly visible in her back pocket.
Lin Feng didn't bother with an excuse. He stepped fully into the room, placing himself physically between the foot of the bed and Guo Zian. His posture was still, his fists clenched at his sides.
"Is everything alright here?" Lin Feng asked, his voice low. It wasn't a polite question; it was a threat.
Guo Zian smiled, though the corners of his mouth curved. "Of course. Ruoxi was just getting emotional. The medication makes him confused. I was just calming him down."
"He looks pale," Lin Hua said, stepping around Guo Zian to stand by Chen Zhe's side. She reached out, her hand hovering over his cheek, noticing the redness. "Zian... why is his face red?"
"He was thrashing," Guo Zian lied smoothly, not missing a beat. "I had to hold him steady so he wouldn't rip out his IV drip. Isn't that right, Ruoxi?"
The warning in his eyes was clear: Lie for me, or else.
Chen Zhe looked at his sister. He could see the fear in her eyes, but also a fierce protectiveness. It looks like she knew something was wrong.
"We just had a bad feeling," Lin Feng admitted, his eyes never leaving Guo Zian. "We were walking to the elevator, and Hua said she felt sick. Like something bad was happening. We couldn't leave."
"Sibling intuition, I suppose," Guo Zian said dismissively, checking his watch. "Well, since you are back, I should get going. The board meeting won't be delayed. Ruoxi also needs proper rest."
He leaned down to kiss Chen Zhe's forehead, a final act of possessive ownership. Chen Zhe lay perfectly still, holding his breath like a corpse, feeling gross.
"I will see you tomorrow, my love," Guo Zian whispered against his skin, loud enough for the siblings to hear, but the pressure of his lips was hard and punishing.
As Guo Zian straightened up and turned to leave, the air in the room seemed to lighten, but the tension remained. Lin Feng watched him until the door clicked shut, then immediately turned to lock it.
"Xiao Xi," Lin Feng said, rushing to the bedside, his voice urgent. "Did he hurt you? And don't lie to me. I saw the way he was looking at you before we left."
"I... I had a panic attack," Lin Hua said, her voice trembling as she grabbed Chen Zhe's hand. "I just felt cold all of a sudden. I knew we shouldn't have left you alone with him. Xiao Xi, please tell us. What really happened last night?"
Outside the room, the mask of the doting boyfriend disappeared instantly, replaced by a face of pure, unfiltered malice.
Guo Zian walked down the narrow hospital corridor, his steps long and aggressive, the expensive leather of his shoes dragging sharply against the tiles like the timing of a weapon.
Subordinates and nurses instinctively parted ways, sensing the dark aura emitted from him. He tossed the remaining roses into a trash can with a violent turn of his wrist, the petals scattering like drops of blood.
He was shaking. Not from fear, but from a humiliation he hadn't felt in years.
How fucking daring can he be?
Ruoxi, his quiet, submissive, fragile Ruoxi, had looked at him with eyes that held no adoration, only a terrifyingly calm defence.
The grip on his wrist... the cold challenge about breaking his hands... it was wrong. It was all wrong. It was as if the boy he had broken and moulded had been replaced by a stranger.
Guo Zian stopped at the elevator, jamming the button with his thumb. He pulled out his phone, his knuckles white.
"Keep two men at the door," he barked into the receiver, his voice low and dangerous. "24/7. Note everyone who enters and exits. If his brother so much as sneezes, I want to know about it. And get the legal team ready. If the Lin family tries to move him to another hospital, block them."
He stared at his reflection in the glass elevator doors. He looked composed, but inside, a dark obsession was burning. He would not let go.
He would never let go. If Ruoxi wanted to play rebellion, Guo Zian would play warden. He would isolate him, strip away this newfound pride, and remind him exactly who owned him.
"You think you can escape me?" Guo Zian whispered to the empty air, a twisted smile forming. "I'll burn the whole world down before I let you walk away."
Back inside the room, the atmosphere was thick with a different kind of intensity.
Chen Zhe looked at the two siblings hovering over him. Lin Feng was pacing the small room like a caged tiger, checking the window locks, while Lin Hua was gripping Chen Zhe's hand so tight her fingernails left crescents on his skin.
"I'm fine," Chen Zhe said, though his voice lacked conviction. "Really."
"You are not fine!" Lin Hua cried out; the tears she had been holding back finally spilt over. "He hurt you! I saw it! Why are you protecting him?"
The sheer panic in her voice, the desperate need to ensure his safety, acted as a trigger. For a moment, the hospital room dissolved.
Chen Zhe wasn't looking at Lin Hua. He was seeing a different girl. He was seeing Yu Len, his little sister from his previous life.
A memory, sharp and painful, surfaced from the depths of his soul. It was three years ago. It had been Yu Len's high school graduation. She had called him weeks in advance, begging him to come.