Inside the car, Yan Man was still in a continuous battle with Yan Zong.

“Where are you taking me?”

Seeing that the route wasn’t towards home, she relaxed her guard slightly: “Where exactly? If you don’t tell me, I’m calling the police!”

Yan Zong: “Call the police? To walk right into a trap?”

“...”

Yan Man said: “I’m telling you, if my manager can’t find me, he will definitely call me. By then...”

Yan Zong: “Have you watched too many movies? Am I stopping you from answering his call? You can do it anytime now—”

As if hearing something, her eyes lit up: “Actually, I’ve only acted in one movie.”

Yan Man leaned forward: “Does it look really professional? Right?”

Yan Zong: “...”

“Get lost.”

After drinking a couple of sips of water, Yan Man looked outside. For some reason, after the car passed through a grove of trees, she had a bad feeling.

She asked seriously: “Where are we going?”

The Cayenne stopped at this moment, and Yan Zong opened the door, pulling her towards the illuminated area ahead.

“Go home and apologize to Dad.”

“Why should I?” Yan Man struggled hard, her gaze earnest. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She hadn’t used much force before, but now she stood firm, even Yan Zong couldn’t move her.

Yan Man: “Do you really think I’m just messing around? Or sulking? Everything I said that day was serious, Yan Zong. I won’t compromise.”

The leaves overhead rustled softly; near the lake, this road was extremely quiet.

Yan Zong sighed helplessly.

As the third brother, he knew this sister best.

Most of the time, Yan Man was easy to talk to, liked listening to others’ opinions, and always hoped to make everyone satisfied with one matter.

But once her bottom line was touched, she would become more resolute than anyone else.

Yan Zong helplessly said: “What to do? You’re not backing down, Dad’s not backing down either. Are you never coming back home? Last night, your second brother mentioned that he hasn’t seen you for a long time.”

After a while, Yan Man asked: “Have you ever said such things to Yan Wendong?”

...

Another prolonged silence.

She said: “He can disregard my feelings, but as long as he asks me, my principles and stance won’t change.”

Yan Zong looked back at the lights and said again: “Dad really dotes on you.”

Yan Man: “That’s a different matter.”

“Forget it.”

Yan Zong said: “I originally thought that since Dad is rarely not at the company, I could come out fishing, let you guys play together and communicate a bit. But now, it seems it still needs time.”

Yan Zong made a concession: “Then at least don’t enter the entertainment circle just to spite him. It’s very dangerous there, we’re all worried.”

She said: “I signed with a legitimate big company, and all the activities are normal. My manager has a sense of propriety, and so do I.”

After a pause, Yan Man added: “Moreover, I really like acting.”

Her entry into the entertainment industry, other reasons combined accounted for only ten percent; the other ninety percent was because she wanted to act.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade her, Yan Zong waved his hand, meaning to let her go: “Then go back.”

Yan Man: “You’re not sending me?”

As if thinking of some mischievous idea, Yan Zong said: “Then at least go see Dad once. No need to apologize, but after seeing him, I’ll send you back.”

“Otherwise, when they ask me where the car went, and I say I went to pick you up but didn’t bring you back, how embarrassing would that be.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Man said: “Then you go. I’ll go back by myself.”

Yan Zong: “...”

Yan Zong: ?

Yan Man walked a few steps, thinking he would follow, but she wrongly estimated her third brother’s conscience again. After walking for two minutes, she heard no sound behind her.

Yan Man shook her head, sighed, and was about to call Simon when she suddenly noticed a suspicious black car not far away.

The car alternately turned on its hazard lights, then off.

It turned on the rear lights, then off.

Finally, without turning on any lights, it switched to the windshield wipers, wiping a few times, then stopped.

Then it started flashing the hazard lights again.

She felt somewhat familiar with this car and couldn’t help but approach. The next second, Bi Tan’s head enthusiastically popped out of the window: “Hi, Teacher Yan!”

She was startled, glanced at Ye Lin in the back, then looked at Bi Tan: “What are you doing here?”

Bi Tan: “We came to—”

He stuttered halfway, turned to look at Ye Lin, whether to watch the commotion or to ask.

Bi Tan: “Why did we come?”

The man’s expression remained unchanged: “To pick up dry-cleaned clothes.”

Bi Tan: ?

Driver Xiao Liu slapped his forehead: “Oh right! I forgot to pick up a piece of clothing left here earlier!”

Bi Tan scolded him: “Is this the time for you to interrupt?”

Xiao Liu: “...”

Bi Tan, speechless, looked at Ye Lin again: “So you came to pick up dry-cleaned clothes late at night?”

The man lifted his eyelids: “Need to wear it tomorrow.”

“What do you need that thing for tomorrow?”

“Cold front.”

Yan Man checked the weather, indeed: “That jacket?”

“Mm.”

“Then you really like wearing that one.”

Bi Tan vaguely felt excited: “You remember what he likes to wear?”

“Good memory,” Yan Man tapped her temple, “I also remember you like to wear those Thai-style printed shirts.”

Bi Tan: “...”

After pondering, she said: “Are you heading back to the hotel?”

“Definitely,” Bi Tan said, “we’ll go back after picking it up.”

Yan Man: “Give me a ride?”

Waiting for Simon and them would take a long time, wasting time, and she didn’t know where to go. Her mask also fell in Yan Zong’s car.

Bi Tan raised an eyebrow, turned to look at Ye Lin: “Teacher Ye? Give her a ride?”

“Sure.”

Bi Tan nodded, gestured to Yan Man outside the window: “He said it’s fine, get in quickly.”

Ye Lin: “...”

Yan Man chose not to expose the lie and got in the car. The Porsche smoothly drove forward.

She sat opposite Ye Lin. The man slept the entire time, not lifting his eyelids once.

Except when he received his clothes, looked at them for a while, then closed his eyes again.

Bi Tan lightly coughed twice and gossiped: “Teacher Yan, who was that guy who sent you off earlier?”

“Relative.” Yan Man said.

Bi Tan oh-ed, then said: “A relative dropped you in the middle of the road? Not good enough. Our Teacher Ye is better, waiting here—”

Driver Xiao Liu: “Brother Tan, didn’t you tell me to stop here?”

Bi Tan: “...”

Xiao Liu: “Didn’t you turn on the hazard lights and windshield wipers yourself, then Teacher Lin told you to turn them off after a while?”

“...”

“You were almost fired by him.”

“...”

“Don’t interrupt when adults are talking!”

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Bi Tan lightly coughed twice, deciding to change the topic: “When you saw our car just now, didn’t you feel particularly safe?”

Yan Man thought for a moment: “How to describe it? Like—”

Like what? A hero?

Bi Tan thought this was a sure win.

Yan Man: “Very much like a peacock spreading its tail.”

Ye Lin: “...”

The car drove out of the road, and Yan Zong also stepped out from behind the tree.

He and Yan Yuan stared at each other.

Yan Yuan: “Didn’t you say she would come back begging you?”

Yan Zong: “...”

“No, who knew she’d just get into the car? Whose car was that? Could it work? Is it her manager’s? What if she gets abducted?”

Yan Yuan stared for a while, then said: “Which artist did she attend the event with tonight?”

“Ye Lin.”

Yan Yuan: “I saw that car behind us when we arrived. Could it be Ye Lin’s?”

Yan Zong was originally typing with his head down, but upon hearing this, he looked up, his face showing disbelief.

“What dream are you having? Do you think my idol would pick her up? Do you think Ye Lin is blind? Only the best woman in the world deserves him!”

Yan Yuan: “...”

“My little sister is good, don’t talk nonsense.”

Yan Zong was dizzy: “It can’t possibly be Ye Lin! You don’t know how outrageous she was. She even wanted to replace my idol’s billboard at Times Square. What a ridiculous idea!”

“...”

Just thinking about it made him angry. Yan Zong put away his phone: “Alright, she’s an adult now, not someone who got deceived into a car. It must be her team or someone she knows. I’ll ask later.”

“Anyway, it can’t be Ye Lin, let’s go back.”

As soon as they reached the hotel, Yan Man received a call from Yan Zong.

The male voice on the other end was cold: “Where are you?”

“Just arrived at the hotel,” Yan Man closed the door. “I came in Ye Lin’s car.”

She deliberately emphasized the words “Ye Lin,” implying that her own brother was as good as useless and she ended up in someone else’s car.

Hearing the sensitive word, Yan Zong sneered, taking it as nonsense: “Alright, hang up.”

“...”

The next day, on the way to a commercial shoot, Simon chatted with her about other things.

“I saw your fans saying there wasn’t a fan name yet. The fan club sent me a few options; do you see any you like?”

Yan Man glanced down, suddenly a new thought popped into her mind:

“How about Cranberry?”

Zhou Xuan: “Sounds good!”

“Not bad, not bad,” Simon was also satisfied. “That’s it then, I’ve fallen in love unilaterally.”

After changing the fan name in the super topic, Yan Man took a peek inside.

Yan Man Super Topic, 102,000 posts, 177,000 Cranberries.

“A few days ago, it was still 100,000 followers,” Simon clicked his tongue. “Growing so fast.”

After browsing her super topic for a while, Yan Man looked out the window.

The sky was vast, the clouds were scattered, the vegetation lush and green. Everything seemed to be steadily rising.

All in all, she thought, she would do better.

After finishing the endorsement, amidst various kinds of work, Yan Man didn’t forget her main job.

The third episode’s script had already been released by the production team. Last time was the elimination round from sixty to forty, and because of Ye Lin’s dedication, their group hadn’t eliminated anyone.

This time, it was directly halved, a knockout round from forty to twenty.

It was hard not to feel nervous.

Moreover, her role this time was even more challenging than the last one.

Simon couldn’t help but worry for her: “You just can’t stay comfortably in your comfort zone, always challenging yourself.”

If she made the slightest mistake in this performance, her acting could be mocked right out of the industry.

However, Yan Man’s mindset remained stable: “I came to this program to experience more roles. Otherwise, the more I act, the more limited I become, and my acting range narrows.”

“Besides, who knows if outside the comfort zone isn’t a bigger comfort zone?”

...

After several days of preparation, on the day of the show recording, the actors’ character posters were released as a prelude.

Apart from Yan Man, the other popular ones were all traffic artists who came from talent shows. Their professional skills were average, but they had many fans, and marketing accounts loved to use them as topics.

But this time, the most discussed poster became Yan Man’s again.

The background of the poster was pure black, blending into her body silhouette, making even her hair indistinct. She looked at the camera, half of her face hidden in an arc-shaped shadow.

Next to it was written the role she played.

Yan Man [as] Beauty.

Simple five words, but the impact was extraordinary.

Soon, a gossip account spoke up.

Reaz Prawn: 【Speechless.】

No further comments, just two words with two accompanying pictures.

The first picture was Yan Man’s poster, the second was the Chinese explanation of the word “Beauty.”

Like TV dramas are divided into idol dramas and serious dramas, each gossip account has its attributes. Some marketing accounts are natural hotspots for mockery, and their comment sections rarely have anything nice to say.

Attribute-less curious onlookers arrived on the scene seconds later:

[?? Another beauty role?]

[Once you’ve exhausted the红利 (benefits), it’s just like this. I originally thought she came to challenge herself, but she’s still back in her comfort zone, boring.]

[Isn’t this what happened to that person before? Gained fame a few times for her beauty and then started playing only similar roles. I want to say, aesthetics can get fatigued too, okay?]

[What the fuck, she’s directly playing ‘Beauty’? What’s going on? Wake up, Yan Man’s team and the production crew! This won’t last long!]

[Climbing high after getting praised? Really sticking to this persona?]

Though attribute-less, basic sarcasm was still present.

Someone bought the popularity of this Weibo post, and before the show aired, it even became a trending point.

Amidst the second wave of heated public opinion, “This Is Acting” aired on time.

The second scene was Yan Man’s group.

The curtain opened, the lighting dim, with only faint light filtering through the window, falling on her profile.

The barrage comments noticeably increased when it was Yan Man’s turn:

[Interrogation room?]

[...Is this the one playing ‘Beauty’?]

[Ahhh, what’s the plot! Feels like it’ll be intense!]

In the empty room, a male voice rang out.

“Name?”

“Beauty.”

“Surname?”

“Jiang.”

“Jiang Beauty?”

“Mm.”

“Do you know why you’re here?”

She slowly raised her head, a strand of hair hanging in the middle of her cheek, her eyes vacant.

After a while, she lowered her head again.

Her voice was very calm as she replied: “I know.”

Suddenly, the overhead light was turned on. Caught off guard, she was momentarily blinded, shielding her eyes with her hand. After a moment, she adapted and slowly lowered her hand.

A beautiful face devoid of any emotion, as calm as a still pool. Her makeup appeared elaborate, yet carried a sense of casual negligence. Under the cold lighting, her cheeks became even paler.

Like a flower blooming on a cliff, unreachable by anyone.

User_*****Duck: [Another beauty?]

1*****8: [A bit disappointed. Been a fan of both the show and Yan Man for years, but the characters are becoming monotonous, no surprises.]

a****p: [Indeed, expectations shouldn’t be too high. Came for the reputation, but this actress’s acting is just average.]

The man walked up to her: “Then tell me, why are you here?”

Her hands behind her back seemed to move slightly, mumbling something.

The man leaned closer: “What?”

The next second, she suddenly sprang up from her chair, grabbed a fruit knife, and held it against the man’s throat.

“Why am I here?” She repeated, slowly smiling. “Of course, I’m here to kill you.”

In just a few short seconds, her eyes rapidly transformed, as if she became another person.

The repressed weakness burst forth with thorny aggression.

Her hand, painted with black nail polish, gripped the man’s neck, gently smiling, but her eyes were nearly insane, exuding a morbid bloodlust: “Have you prepared your last words?”

The barrage paused for a few seconds: [Holy shit!! Psycho beauty!!]

[Ahhhhhh Yan Man, you’re fucking awesome!!!]

[I got goosebumps all over...]

But the man remained calm, as if they had rehearsed this dialogue many times.

“Why do you want to kill me?”

“You killed Xiao Rong. An eye for an eye.”

Slowly sinking into memories, she began to feel pain, her voice trembling: “I clearly told you not to touch him, I clearly told you not to lay a finger on him — you could do whatever you wanted with me — but why didn’t you listen?!”

She raised her eyes, her body shaking along with her, “Why didn’t you save him when he drowned?! Why didn’t you save him?!”

“I said he was important to me, but you still watched as—” she swung the knife handle in agony, her hair disheveled, almost screaming with all her might, “It was you who killed him, it was you who killed him!!!”

Because she spoke with such force, every part of her body moved along with it — her arched back, tense bent legs, hands trembling with effort — everything showed her loss of composure.

Pointing the knife at the person in front of her, tears rolled down her face as she ranted like a madwoman:

“Not a single one of you is innocent, not a single one!!”

The man stared at her for a few seconds before reaching out, taking the knife from her hand, and calmly narrating.

“We didn’t come to kill him.”

“Because he died five years ago.”

“You’re not called Jiang Beauty either. You’re Cheng Wenfeng. The reason you entered the hospital is that you have intermittent mania, delusional disorder, and schizophrenia.”

“The two of you have no blood relation. On the way when you were abducted, he was seven years younger than you. You relied on each other for survival. He died after taking a stab for you, but you luckily survived the fight with the thugs.”

“Because of the immense pain, your self-preservation mechanism created new memories for you. You detached yourself and imagined him being pushed into the water. Due to the apathy of the onlookers who did nothing to help, tragedy ensued.”

“In this way, you could feel less guilt.”

“Cheng Wenfeng, it has been five years. Are you still unwilling to forgive yourself?”

...

As the man once again laid out the entire incident, her eyes widened in horror. She covered her ears, unwilling to listen any longer, yet she began laughing madly and shaking her head. Eventually, disbelief took over as she repeatedly muttered “this can’t be,” then stumbled back, collapsing on the floor in a state of disarray.

“Was it... me who caused his death?”

“Not you,” the man said, “but there was nothing you could do.”

“Wash up. After washing, go back to your room. You can’t leave the hospital today.”

She sat there for a long time, until the overhead light was turned off.

It was as if her soul had been shattered; devoid of strength, she finally accepted her fate, stood up, and washed away the dust from the handle of the knife.

It was a toy knife, gathering dust under the bed for a long time. She should have realized earlier.

Staggering towards the door, amidst the thin light and shadow, she turned back once again, seemingly drained of all energy.

“When can I leave the hospital?”

“When you forgive yourself.”

The evening sunlight cast its glow inside. Her steps faltered for a moment, but then she walked further and further away.

Curtain call.

It took a while for the barrage comments to recover:

[QUQ]

[Those who said Yan Man was in her comfort zone, come out and get slapped! This role has nothing to do with her previous ones, okay?!]

[This performance was too intense, directly maxed out my emotional meter.]

[Such a great performance! Transitioning from fragile to insane and then back to calm was so natural. It’s hard to imagine fitting so many emotions into a ten-minute scene.]

[Such a difficult role, if not performed well, would flop. Yan Man is so brave.]

[Huh? Where are those hired trolls? Why aren’t they talking anymore? A bunch of newly registered accounts claiming to have watched the show for several seasons?]

[Hahaha, trolls silenced.]

[PSA: Newly registered IDs have asterisks, like mine ‘Yan Ye tonight will doi’ which doesn’t because it’s been registered for a long time!]

[? I suspect you’re using this opportunity to sneak in some indecent things.]

[‘I’ve been a fan of Yan Man for years,’ thank you and your family, Yan Man debuted just a few months ago.]

[This batch of trolls is subpar, they went offline before even starting a battle. Who bought them? Next time, buy better quality ones.]

[Hahahahaha, full mockery mode, one day I’ll die laughing at the fans.]

[Yan Man fans now have a name, bestowed by Big Sister Yan, we are Cranberries! (Proud chest out)]

[The production crew must be thrilled; Yan Man brings so much heat every episode.]

Amidst the barrage discussions, Yan Man tidied up briefly and came to the front stage.

After the male actor finished his speech, amidst the cheers of the audience, she picked up the microphone.

The host asked: “Today, Xiao Man brought us a very unexpected character. The difficulty of the performance was high, but it was completed excellently. What was the main difficulty in portraying this character?”

Yan Man thought for a moment: “The difficulty lies in... portraying a mad person. If you’re too normal, the audience won’t believe you’re crazy. If you’re too crazy, the audience will think it lacks logic.”

“How to break down emotions and expressions within a reasonable logic that the audience can accept, and make the performance appealing without alienating the viewers, that’s the hardest part.”

[But you really performed wonderfully!]

[Are geniuses always this poetic hhhh]

After exchanging views with the other two mentors, Yan Man expressed her thoughts again: “I also think that madness shouldn’t last throughout. In the end, it needs to calm down. Precisely because of this contrast, the character becomes most touching, fleshed out, and stands firm.”

[From stillness to motion and back to stillness, the emotional buildup was amazing.]

[Yan Man speaks well! You can always be an acting fan of Yan Man!]

After performing this play, Yan Man stepped off the stage, waiting for the next group’s performance.

There was a twenty-minute break in between. Leaning against the sofa, she unknowingly fell asleep.

Her method acting was immersive, fully committing herself to the character, experiencing an entire rollercoaster of emotions. By now, she felt a bit fatigued.

However, after a short nap, she felt refreshed. Hearing the announcement, Yan Man shook her head and continued to watch the stage.

The subsequent performances maintained the usual standard of the show.

Everyone put forth their best efforts fearing elimination. This round of performances was brilliant, with many aspects worth learning from.

After the recording ended, she received the list of advancing participants.

Ye Lin’s group still performed steadily, with no eliminations. Other groups lost nearly half of their participants, enveloped in a sorrowful atmosphere of farewells.

Meanwhile, in this room, thanks to Li Haoge’s constant chatter, the atmosphere was unusually relaxed.

Li Haoge: “I never thought I would make it! It was so close; I was the last one. I almost didn’t make it! It must be my sincerity that moved the audience.”

A Zhao: “No, it was the teacher’s fans who saved you from dire straits.”

“...”

Laughter erupted around. Yan Man opened her phone, intending to search whether Ye Lin’s fans voted for Li Haoge, but suddenly remembered something and typed Ye Lin’s name again.

Their entries weren’t cleared yet.

Thinking about it, Yan Man leaned closer to him: “Teacher Ye.”

After the wrap-up, it seemed like the first time she called him this.

Ye Lin turned his head and heard her whisper: “I heard that your team clears entries every two months. Can you do it sooner?”

She said: “Our pairing has been hanging for a long time. I’m afraid it might affect negatively.”

After a pause, Ye Lin replied straightforwardly: “Alright.”

“Mm-hmm,” Yan Man smiled again, “If it’s convenient, please remove the associations under my name with you.”

“If it’s more convenient, clear all web entries related to us. I don’t mind.”

Ye Lin: “Do you have a project coming up?”

“Why do you ask?” She paused, “Oh, it’s not like I want to stir up a CP with someone else. I just feel that simply hanging there... isn’t it a bit annoying?”

“...”

The man spoke softly: “I’ll have them cleared next week.”

She nodded contentedly, genuinely appearing happy, and gave him an OK sign.

On Friday afternoon, there was a knock on Yan Man’s door.

Simon walked in again, handing over a script.

Yan Man glanced at it: “What’s this?”

Simon: “Recording for the spin-off episode of the program. This time it’s a collaboration piece with the mentor, given to you.”

She paused for two seconds: “... Me and the mentor? Which mentor?”

“Ye Lin.”

Simon laughed: “What’s with that expression? Do you know how many female stars are competing for this? And quite a few joined this program specifically for Ye Lin.”

As he spoke, Simon reminisced: “They worked so hard to campaign for votes, just to let the audience vote for them.”

Yan Man: “Voting? I didn’t know there was a voting process?”

“I figured you wouldn’t want to, so I didn’t bother you.”

“So why was I chosen?” She was astonished, “Did Ye Lin’s fans vote for me?”

“Mm-hmm, besides your CP fans, there are also the Bell Sisters.”

Yan Man didn’t understand: “Why would they...”

Simon: “They think, since Ye Lin has to collaborate with a female actor anyway, rather than choosing someone who’s eyeing him greedily, it’s better to choose a BE.”

“………………”

Simon: “If you don’t like it, should I turn it down?”

“Wait,” Yan Man said, “Let me read the script first.”

After reading it thoroughly, her thoughts changed.

Yan Man said: “Let’s take it. This script is well-written, very moving.”

Moreover, this subject matter is unique. If not now, there won’t be another chance to perform it later.

Simon suggested: “Or you could just go through the motions...”

“No,” Yan Man stood up, “If I take it, I have to perform it well, to the point where I am completely satisfied.”

At 10 PM, Yan Man heard movement on the balcony.

Sure enough, when she walked to her balcony, she saw Ye Lin opposite.

The man had turned on a floor lamp. Behind him was the bustling lights of this city that never sleeps. He sat quietly, flipping through the papers in his hand.

It should also be the script, received around the same time as hers.

After pondering, Yan Man turned on the flashlight of her phone, waving it as a signal.

Noticing the light from the opposite side, the man paused, then looked up.

Yan Man tiptoed, leaning on the adjacent railing, waving the script in her hand.

“Want to talk? I want to change a few lines of dialogue.”

On Monday night, the live broadcast of the spin-off collaboration episode began.

This was supposed to be a weekday with low traffic, but before the broadcast even started, #Yan Man Ye Lin Second Collaboration# surged to the top of the trending topics.

The number of reservations for the live stream was comparable to the official episodes. When the broadcast opened, it briefly lagged for a few minutes.

Finally, at 9:10 PM, everyone flooded into the live stream, with barrage comments flying fast:

[I’m here, I’m here, are my sisters here?]

[Here to cure my Monday work syndrome!]

[Yan Ye fans, it’s time to celebrate!]

[Vampire!! The vampire I’ve been shouting for 500 times!!! Ye Lin! Suck her dry!!!]

[Hello, I like that.]

[Who doesn’t want to see handsome guys and beautiful girls cooperate? Give me something exciting to watch! @Screenwriter]

Amidst the barrage calls, the original short drama began.

The opening explained the background: a girl who accidentally wandered into the forest.

The night was dark, and she treaded nervously through the forest, having lost her way.

Moments later, she pushed aside the branches in front of her but suddenly felt a chill on her neck—her neck had been cut by a branch.

[Damn! Bleeding! @Ye Lin, what are you waiting for if you don’t suck her now?]

Just as she was about to touch her wound, suddenly, in the quiet jungle, the sound of a man’s footsteps approached.

She looked up and locked eyes with him.

But it was too dark to see his face clearly. She could only vaguely sense the aura around him—a vast, cold net enveloping her in unease.

A faint prelude seemed to hum above her head. She began to feel fear and took two steps back, but tripped and fell onto a tree trunk.

Soon, the man moved silently, without making a sound or speaking. He kneeled halfway and leaned closer.

She stiffened abruptly.

Warmth touched her skin—it was...

The man was sniffing her neck.

Slowly, deliberately, unhurriedly, he inhaled deeply.

[Nimama, jijiin.]

She raised her hand, trying to push him away, but he swiftly pinned her wrists behind her back against the tree trunk.

Her neck was fully, clearly exposed before his eyes.

Her heartbeat quickened.

Thump thump, thump thump.

Each second felt agonizingly long. She swallowed hard, moved her shoulders slightly, but was pressed down again.

The man lowered his head, his breath spraying onto the delicate and sensitive skin of her neck, causing wave after wave of shivers.

“Don’t move.”

His voice was hoarse.

“Let me lick it.”