The soft, sticky voice carried a long tail, like a feather, sweeping straight across Mu Xingfeng’s heart. Her big, shimmering eyes blinked pitifully, causing Mu Xingfeng’s body to slightly stiffen.
An Ran didn’t miss that slight change in Mu Xingfeng. With her previous experience, she knew that although Instructor Mu had a reputation for being cold-blooded, he wasn’t cold at all. As long as she acted a bit spoiled, he would compromise.
"I feel completely adapted to Imperial City’s water and soil now, no side effects at all. Plus, the soup Nanny Chen makes every day is incredibly nutritious. I’ve even started to gain some weight. Can we stop the medication, please? Pretty please?"
After saying that, she deliberately blinked her eyes twice. She couldn’t look any more adorable.
Mu Xingfeng’s gaze darkened, and he turned his eyes away. "No."
Damn, An Ran almost cursed out loud. She’d gone this far, and it still didn’t work? Did her ultimate trick actually have a time when it failed? Her face fell, and she turned away from Mu Xingfeng, muttering, "I won’t drink it, do whatever you want."
Seeing her , Mu Xingfeng’s expression also darkened. This little girl always neglected her own health. With him around, he couldn’t let her be wilful anymore.
"An Ran, drink the medicine. Don’t think that if you don’t drink it, I can’t do anything about it."
An Ran acted as if she didn’t hear Mu Xingfeng’s threat, stood up, and prepared to head back to her room.
Just as she stood up and hadn’t taken a step, her wrist was grabbed and she was pulled back, falling onto the sofa again.
"Ah—" The force from behind and the motion of falling made her cry out instinctively. Then, there was a tightness around her waist, and a slightly cool lip pressed against hers. Carrying a strong taste of medicine, it took advantage of her open mouth to transfer a whole mouthful of Chinese medicine into hers.
That’s right. Seeing that An Ran was really not going to drink the medicine, an enraged Mu Xingfeng drank it himself and used this method to make her take it.
"Mmm..." The rich taste of Chinese medicine and the bitterness overwhelmed her taste buds, making her want to spit it out, but the man in front of her seemed to know her intention. He held her tightly until all the medicine flowed down her throat.
An Ran felt choked by the medicine, feeling uncomfortable, and her eyes turned red with grievance.
Her small hands kept pushing him away. Mu Xingfeng’s eyes darkened as he restrained her misbehaving hands with one hand.
"No... please... stop..."
Feeling the almost spasmodic tremble of the girl in his arms, Mu Xingfeng finally stopped. Looking up, he saw her staring back with big, vacant eyes.
The girl’s pale face and helpless mumbling brought that deliberately buried memory back to the forefront of her mind...
Mu Xingfeng’s head buzzed. The pale face and helpless tears before him once again scorched his heart. What was he doing?
Mu Xingfeng awkwardly got up, kneeling on one knee, still holding the girl’s small hands, but now with gentle hands cradling her delicate hands separately, no longer restraining her wrists. "An Ran, An Ran, it’s me. Don’t be scared, An Ran, look at me..." Mu Xingfeng gently massaged her small hands, softly calling her name, fearing to upset the frightened girl even more.
Finally, An Ran lowered her gaze, looking at the man in front of her as tears rolled down her face.
Mu Xingfeng was thoroughly panicked, wiping her tears, and his voice even carried a touch of tremble, "An Ran, I’m sorry. I won’t force you again."