Chapter 278: Chapter 278

His pupils seemed to have special effects, flickering between white and gray. Lin Ling stood rigidly, desperately holding back her tears. She no longer dared to think of anything that might make her sad. After an unknown amount of time, Li Tianyao’s pupils finally stabilized to a light gray. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel{f}ire.net

BEEP! The door opened, and An Yan swirled in like a gust of wind. Li Tianyao sat on the sofa, holding a document. On the coffee table opposite him, an open laptop displayed several small windows, each with a person in it.

Was he having a video conference? An Yan frowned.

Normally, in such a situation, she would definitely not disturb him; at most, she would find a corner outside the camera’s view to sit. This time, however, she walked straight over and looked down at the screen.

The people in the windows showed no surprise at her appearance; those speaking continued to speak, and those listening continued to listen.

It wasn’t a video conference, but video playback!

An Yan closed the laptop.

She turned to Li Tianyao. "How long has it been hurting?" She took his wrist, checking his pulse.

Unable to discern anything from his pulse, An Yan then focused on his brain. She realized she had already used up her Clairvoyant Ability for the day while giving acupuncture to Wei Song earlier.

"Take the medicine first!" she said, feeding the Pain Relief Pill into his mouth.

After a moment, Li Tianyao slowly relaxed his hand. "It seems to be somewhat effective."

An Yan let out a slight sigh of relief. "How many times has it hurt?"

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because the Golden Thread Worm hasn’t been found yet," he replied. "Telling you would just mean one more person worrying. Besides, the pain passes quickly."

An Yan looked at the steel ball, now squeezed into an odd shape, then averted her gaze. "Li Tianyao, you still don’t see me as your equal."

Li Tianyao reached out to pull her into his arms. "I don’t want you to worry!"

"Then why didn’t you hide it better? Why not make sure I never found out!"

An Yan pushed his hand away. "Li Tianyao, I was an independent person. I had my own dreams and things I wanted to do. You were the one who insisted on keeping me captive by your side.

"You forced me to fall in love with you, to be with you.

"And then, you treat me like someone incapable of looking after herself, someone who can’t handle any kind of setback.

"I don’t mind you protecting me. But if you can’t protect me completely for a lifetime, if you can’t shield me from all harm forever, then why are you eroding my ability to face danger?"

Li Tianyao’s fingers curled, and a vein on his forehead throbbed uncontrollably with pain.

An Yan’s anger continued to burn. "You’re in pain, but you don’t say anything! You think you’re doing it for my own good, but I don’t see it that way!

"You’re making me lose my judgment, my ability to control the situation. If you suddenly have an attack and I know nothing about it, how could I possibly respond!

"You’re forcing me to face a sudden, devastating blow completely unprepared!

"Li Tianyao, don’t you think you’re being too cruel?"

Lu Feng and Lin Ling exchanged glances. Missy’s on a warpath. But will Ninth Master really not get angry? He looks a bit better now, but judging by his tense muscles, his head must still be hurting.

They both tensed, ready to whisk Missy away if Ninth Master lost his temper. Unexpectedly, Li Tianyao didn’t get angry. Instead, he shot them a look.

Lu Feng was startled. He quickly grabbed Lin Ling, and they rushed out at breakneck speed.

"Why are you pulling me out? Aren’t you afraid...?"

"Afraid of what? Ninth Master is back to normal. He’ll coax Missy!"

Ninth Master coaxing Missy?

Lin Ling suddenly laughed, spun around, and pressed his ear against the door. I’ll listen!

"Idiot, this door is soundproof!"

Lu Feng produced a stethoscope and pressed it against the door!

Lin Ling was shocked. "When did you steal my stethoscope?"

"Borrowed! It’s just an old stethoscope, what’s there to steal!"

Li Tianyao silently met An Yan’s gaze. "You think what I did was wrong?"

"Do you think what you’re doing is right?" An Yan retorted.

Li Tianyao chuckled softly. He then opened his palm to her, revealing fresh blood where his own fingernails had pierced his skin when he’d clenched his fist. "Little girl, it hurts a lot. Your medicine isn’t working!"

An Yan’s tirade was cut short. She truly hadn’t expected him to admit it so readily.

"I’m sorry." The man rose and walked towards her, enveloping her in an embrace. He rested his chin in the hollow of her shoulder, his straight nose nuzzling her slender neck. "It was my lack of consideration."

"It really does hurt," he murmured. "But I thought it would be better if I suffered alone. If you knew, you’d be heartbroken too. I didn’t want you to feel that, so I decided not to tell you.

"Please don’t be angry anymore, alright?"

His thin lips gently suckled the skin of her neck, again and again, as if savoring something exquisite. The sensation made An Yan’s scalp tingle.

An Yan slowly raised her hand, gently stroking his broad back. "I’m not angry anymore," she said softly. "But in the future, don’t hide your physical condition from me. You need to know that I can help you!"

"Mm, little girl," he breathed. "Right now, I really need you to help me stop the pain."

An Yan was stumped. Painkillers weren’t working.

"What if I tried acupuncture?"

An Yan took out a set of Acupuncture Needles. She had him lie down and inserted them along the relevant acupoints. "Is that helping?"

Li Tianyao shook his head. "Still hurts."

What now? An Yan frowned. The medicine hadn’t worked, and neither had acupuncture.

She had already promised to help him, and he had agreed. Could she really tell him now that she was out of options? Absolutely not. An Yan had never admitted defeat to anyone in her life!

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly turned her head and kissed his lips.

Li Tianyao blinked in surprise.

An Yan’s face flushed. "It’s for pain relief," she mumbled. "The scientific term is... distraction..."

Li Tianyao reached out and cradled the back of her head, his gaze piercing deep into her eyes. "Who else have you used this technique on?"

An Yan gave an exasperated laugh. "You guess!"

"Only on me," Li Tianyao stated firmly. "And you’re only ever allowed to use it on me!"

An Yan had been ready for a fight if he dared say anything unpleasant. She didn’t expect him to take such a roundabout path!

A tickle spread across her waist as his hand slipped under her clothes. His hot palm pressed against her slender skin, inching inward. "If you’re trying to distract me," he murmured, his voice husky, "how could a mere kiss be enough?"

With that, the man flipped over and pinned her down on the bed.

Lin Ling was anxiously scratching his head. "Did you hear anything? Did you?"

"I heard it," Lu Feng replied.

"Quick, what did Ninth Master say?"

"Ninth Master said Lin Ling can’t even cure a simple headache. He said you should be fired!"

Lin Ling stammered, "...You’re kidding, right?"

Lu Feng handed the stethoscope back to him.