Tiny sobs filled An liyue's room, accompanied by grumbles of discomfort and constant sighs.
It was An liyue, she had caught a cold.
The warmth from the water had helped for the moment, all she was supposed to do next was rest on a warm, comforting bed and not the floor she laid on.
And the problem now was, those discomforting sounds were all seeping into Han Raviel's ears, causing him distress.
It continued, weak, unpleasant, and persistent.
He ignored it.
Once,
Twice.
He couldn't take it anymore and without a second thought, he dialed the chief butler's number.
" Immediately " was all he said but still, the chief butler, Xu Chen, swallowed hard, as his heart gave an uneasy thud.
He glanced at the time, it was a few minutes pass twelve.
Something was up.
He quickly walked towards Han Raviel's room.
Knock knock...
Xu Chen knocked.
And without letting him in, Han Raviel's voice came from inside, " go to her room, find out what's wrong... Fix it "
" Right away lord Han" Xu Chen replied cautiously already moving.
He arrived at An Liyue's door hesitating as he took a deep breath and knocked.
There was no reply.
He knocked again, still nothing.
Left with no choice he opened the door and there he saw her.
On the floor, curled up like a ball, and shivering violently.
He was immediately alarmed.
Just why the hell was she on the floor?!
" Miss " he called out to her.
There was no reply only a muffled murmur.
Worriedly, he quickly called for his doctor, as being the chief butler, Han Raviel had specifically provided a private doctor for him.
Without waiting for the doctor's arrival he soaked a towel in water and without thinking further, scooped her into his arms as he placed the towel on her forehead.
He knew he shouldn't be doing this and wondered what would happen if Han Raviel caught him in his actions, but the fragility of An liyue and how she could easily pass as his daughter, couldn't let him stand back and watch.
Not long after, the doctor arrived as he quickly set down his kit and quickly prepared the medicine.
" Miss, you need to take this " he urged.
But then, An liyue turned her head slightly, refusing.
She wasn't a fan of medicine.
" Tsk, " the doctor clicked his tongue, growing impatient knowing these kind of patients and just how it goes down. " Miss, you won't get better this way "
Still she shook her head, her eyes closed.
And then, " miss, " came Xu Chen's soft voice, " I don't think it'll be a good thing... If lord Han sees you like this "
Even in her sickly state, the moment she heard his name, her body reacted, suddenly coming alive, and just the moment she opened her eyes, She saw Han Raviel standing by the door.
No one had noticed when he arrived.
Her heart pounded wildly, and without waiting for anyone to say " cheese! " She grabbed the medicine and swallowed it at once.
" Good girl " the doctor commented though slightly surprised but nonetheless satisfied.
Glancing around, he frowned, " was she on the floor? "
" I... Did find her just here when I came in " Xu Chen replied.
" Young lady, did you fall off the bed when sleeping? "
An liyue didn't have time to process just what they were saying, her eyes fixed on the man at the door.
" Miss, " the doctor called to gain her attention, but then followed her gaze only to find Han Raviel by the door, void of any emotions on his face...as usual.
He immediately stood up and bowed, with Xu Chen following suit after he laid An liyue down carefully.
" Mm-mm " the doctor cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully " Mr Han, she was running a temperature likely due to cold "
He was quiet for sometime, and that silence was a no! for An liyue.
Because, you're just waiting in suspense, having no idea what he would say next.
And then, his voice, calm and tenseful came sounding, " what were you doing on the floor? "
Dum!dum! Her heart thumped.
She swallowed as she glanced at the bed, not knowing where to start from with answering Han Raviel.
She could only nervously look at the bed like it was some kind of human-swallowing monster.
And then, without she saying anything, Xu Chen immediately understood, ' ah! Poor girl, of course she couldn't be used to this kind of aesthetics, what's that colour again? P-pink yh pink! That's what girls like, tsk! '
He turned to Han Raviel, his head low as he said, " Lord Han, seems the young lady was... "
" Let her speak " Han Raviel interrupted.
' Okay! No saviour allowed ' An liyue acknowledged.
She would have to speak now or now.
So she started, " I- I - I ... " She looked down and said it once and for all, " the bed is too black for me to sleep on "
To Han Raviel: " ... "
That sounded like the most ridiculous and unnecessary complaint he had ever heard.
He simply just said, " lay down on the floor once more and you'll be eating from the floor " and walked away.
' I- I'm literally a slave from now on ' An liyue thought soullessly.
Xu Chen could only hang his head low feeling for her.
And the doctor, he stood and stared, feeling out of place, though some of him meekly sympathized with her.
He cleared his throat, " I'll be leaving now, miss, pls do- " he paused, the words hanging in his throat but then he said them nonetheless " do sleep on the bed it's what you really need at the moment I must say."
An liyue couldn't find a voice to respond as she just stared into nothingness only remembering her late adoptive father.
The doctor turned to Xu Chen " good night Mr Xu "and with that he left.
Now alone was An liyue and Mr Xu.
Seeing her broken state,Xu Chen couldn't help it as he walked towards her then his heart sank when he found out she was sobbing.
She couldn't help it, ever since her father died—adoptive father, everything had changed, and not for the better, only worse.
She knew if he was still alive, he would've definitely protected her, and things wouldn't have gotten that bad.
And just then, An liyue felt a warm embrace as Xu Chen pulled her into a gentle hug.
Then, " it's okay " came his gentle voice that An liyue almost swore sounded like her father's.
" It's really okay " and he meant it as he stared into the wall remembering memories of the past, " Han Raviel isn't how you think he is " he paused and said the rest rather to himself ' he was the most loving man I had ever known in my entire life.
A man who loved with his whole heart, with everything he had, without ever holding back...
He loved deeply, soulfully, as though nothing else mattered. '
A faint aching smile appeared on his face, ' I wish the Han Raviel I knew could come back ' he thought then turned to her
" don't worry, just manage this night hmm?, I promise by tomorrow I'll talk to him, see what I can do " he paused and hoping she could smile a bit added, " and if he doesn't, I'll go ahead and paint your whole room pink! Hahaha " he let out a light laugh.
And well, it was a small one, but enough to ease the heaviness in the room, even though just a little as An liyue stopped crying.
The only thing was, she had no idea that if he indeed did such, something big was going to be attached.
And if it was some other butler? It could cost his life.
" Okay go to sleep now "
And then, slowly, An liyue stood up as she walked hesitantly towards the bed.
" Just this night " he assured.
maybe it was the fact that he sounded like her father or something else she couldn't pick on, but the last thing she remembered was going to sleep...
On the human-swallowing monster.
******
The next morning, An liyue woke up as the sun rays filled her room.
Stretching and yawning lazily, she seemed to have forgotten everything that happened the previous night.
And just as she felt a faint throb in her head, memories from yesterday night at the hotel flashed through her head.
Though not clear, she could remember, Xiaoyan her sister had come in with a pen-knife, well, with an orange in her hand, then seconds later she had dropped it, saying she was going to get something outside,
And then what...
Ah yes, someone had tried to take advantage of her.
No, two people!
Then, she had heard the sound of a knife and one of them fell down.
The other went ahead on her, and she was quite weak, very weak like she particularly drank something she shouldn't have.
And then, she heard a groan like someone who had just been hit.
The person fell directly on her, and then, she could feel blood and a knife slip into her hand, then almost immediately, the person stood up hurriedly and left, definitely in pain.
Then, vaguely, she noticed someone stand by the window, then next, she was in his embrace, and unlike with the others, she didn't feel like struggling.
And then moments later, everything went black.
...
Standing facing the window, An liyue realised something...
Apart from Xiaoyan, there definitely wasn't only two people in the room.
Someone was after her.
And someone from the shadows was also probably helping her...