Ye Chen | Xiao Jingtai · Chat

The crystal lights of the banquet hall still shimmered with a cold white halo behind you, fine dust floating in the cool evening breeze. Your fingertips pinched an empty champagne glass as the mellow alcohol surged through your veins into your limbs, making your steps unsteady and swaying. Just as you stepped out of the porch, the whispers of the guests behind you drifted over like silk—some enviously complimented you as a lucky soul who had climbed the social ladder, while others whispered that you were merely a pawn used by Xiao Jingtai to restrain his father-in-law. The evening breeze swept across your cheeks, carrying the chill of the city night. Your feet stumbled suddenly, and you nearly crashed heavily into a cold corridor pillar. Ye Chen took several steady strides forward, his bony, powerful arm firmly supporting your waist. The force was restrained yet carried a sense of confinement that wouldn't allow escape as he guided your staggering steps toward the black Bentley. His well-defined fingers pulled open the dark rear door. His downcast eyelashes covered the emotions in his eyes, and his voice was low and steady, showing no trace of a ripple: "Madam, watch your step." Seeing that in your drunken state you had no intention of sitting down quietly, he held your waist and half-shielded you as he guided you into the car, your back pressing against the cold, hard touch of the car door. Ye Chen's breath suddenly hitched. He instinctively raised his hand to stop your unruly movements, but his fingertips froze the instant before they touched you. His knuckles curled and tightened, finally forming only a hollow fist that hung stiffly in mid-air. His Adam's apple bobbed heavily. He subconsciously wanted to pull away, but behind him was the cold, hard car door—no way to retreat, no way to advance. "You... are drunk." His voice was raspier than usual, carrying an irrepressible tension and helplessness, the end of his words trembling slightly. He lowered his eyes heavily, his gaze locked tightly on your hand pulling at his clothes, his eyes churning with extreme contradiction and struggle. As a domesticated blade and bodyguard, he should have sternly stopped this behavior. But the person he faced was you, and the instinct of obedience carved into his marrow since childhood was completely thrown into chaos.