Chapter 16 — The Experiment
Fu Xingyan gently rubbed the top of Shao Leyan’s head with his broad palm. His soft tone carried endless patience.
“You can choose whether you want to be suspended mid-air and dissected, or have the examination done on my bed. Either works for me.”
Shao Leyan stared at his unchanged expression. Her amber eyes trembled slightly as she swallowed hard.
His words were as straightforward as his gaze.
Shrinking her neck, she whispered, “Then… hanging is fine. I probably can’t handle the bed option.”
Fu Xingyan found something amusing in her answer. His eyes curved, his lips lifting slightly—his tone even lightened.
“You’re too adorable. It’s only testing. You can try every method and pick whichever you like. We’ll use that one from now on.”
After the entire set of examinations, Shao Leyan felt she had been pushed to her limit—she didn’t even have the strength to turn over.
On the experimental bed, she was drenched in sweat, sticky and soaked. But the bed itself didn’t absorb moisture.
She felt like she was sitting in a milk bath in a Jacuzzi at home.
Except there was no milk, no massage—just exhaustion and a kind of torment that made her whole body uncomfortable.
Fu Xingyan’s gaze darkened as he looked at the little pool of liquid gathering on the bed. He leaned down, his warm breath brushing against her bare thighs, making her tremble all over.
Her voice quivered, sweet and fragile. “Is… something wrong?”
Raising his eyes, he glanced at her flushed face. Then he lowered his head and lightly ran the tip of his tongue across her lower abdomen, taking the sparkling bead of sweat into his mouth.
Boom.
It was as if a bomb went off in Shao Leyan’s mind. Her hazy, seductive eyes widened in shock, and her already-pink cheeks flushed so red it looked like they might bleed.
Not only did the two brothers look identical, even their preferences were nearly the same.
Was this really the “powerful male lead” of the apocalypse-romance novel Le’an mentioned?
Was he really not a pervert?
Shao Leyan was so stunned her mouth didn’t even close.
But the next second, she saw Fu Xingyan pick up a clean pen with his other hand and begin scribbling rapidly in his notebook.
“No strange odor in the sweat. Mental strength extremely high—able to resist all psychic-type abilities and interference.”
Shao Leyan swallowed and regained her senses.
…Alright. She misunderstood. Fu Xingyan really was just working.
After closing his notebook, he reached a hand out to her, eyes filled with concern.
“Do you still have strength? Do you want me to help you down?”
“O–oh, no need.”
She forced her exhausted body upright, but even that simple motion turned her face redder.
Seeing her refusal, Fu Xingyan withdrew his hand but reminded her softly, “Alright. Just be careful.”
Lowering her head shyly, she murmured a soft “Mm.”
But the moment her sore, powerless legs touched the floor, her bones felt like they turned to mush. They couldn’t support her at all. She swayed and collapsed.
“Ah!”
As the world spun, strong arms wrapped around her slim waist and the crook of her knees. With a slight lift, her limp, boneless body fell securely into a dry, firm embrace.
The fear of falling made her cling tightly around his neck, her body pressing against his. She curled into his shoulder like a frightened quail, trembling uncontrollably.
At a moment like this, who could care about propriety?
She wasn’t even thinking about the burning heat of the hand supporting her from below—she was simply terrified of falling again. Her legs truly wouldn’t hold her.
Fu Xingyan felt her soft skin in his palms, smelled her rich, sweet scent. His mind went blank, reason slipping away. His voice came out low and slightly hoarse.
“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”
Her forehead rested against his neck, filled with the clean lavender scent on his skin. The more she breathed it in, the foggier her head became.
“No… thank you.”
Fu Xingyan looked down at her shy, flushed little face. His heart softened completely, his gaze filled with warmth.
Earlier, just from the light touches during the examination, he’d barely kept himself under control.
Now, with her soft body pressed tightly against him, held in his arms… It was a fatal temptation.
His hold around her unconsciously tightened.
“I’ll carry you to the operation room.”
Shao Leyan didn’t even have the strength to refuse—she could only let him carry her away at an unhurried pace.
Operation Room
Ability-restraining straps bound her wrists and ankles. As the mechanical arms retracted, she was pulled upward into a spread-out, star-shaped position. She was lifted about two meters off the ground before the machine stopped.
Fu Xingyan pressed the activation button and slowly pushed the control lever until it reached the top. Shao Leyan didn’t even frown.
Fire, water, lightning, blades—
Every attack-type ability available in the operation room was used on her at maximum output. No matter how close to death she looked, she recovered completely within five minutes.
Those terrifying attacks couldn’t leave a single mark on her perfect, delicate body.
Total failure.
Fu Xingyan sat back limply in his chair. After such long, intense, focused work, fatigue was inevitable. But his dark eyes were still locked onto Shao Leyan as she self-repaired, burning with unrestrained excitement.
Such a precious treasure.
He was unbelievably grateful he’d been the first to invite her.
And that she accepted.
Compared to his brother, he should’ve been the first man in her life.
His right hand clenched on the control panel, knuckles turning white.
Even though someone else beat him to it, she was right in front of him now. Nothing was too late.
When the last of her toes regenerated, Shao Leyan eagerly waited for the next attack. But a whole minute passed and nothing happened. The operation room was so quiet that only her excited breaths and pounding heartbeat could be heard.
Confused, she opened her eyes—and saw Fu Xingyan leaning back in the chair, dozing.
They’d been experimenting for so long without a break. He must be exhausted.
Even she was relying on the pleasure of pain to distract herself from fatigue.
Today should end here.
Suddenly waking from a vivid fantasy, Fu Xingyan jumped up, hurried into the room, and released her from the restraints.
“Sorry—I zoned out.”
Her soft, powerless body dropped straight into the embrace he had already prepared. Her slightly sweaty skin felt warm and slick in his arms, like a living hand-warmer.
Fu Xingyan adjusted her position skillfully so she could snuggle more comfortably against him.
