The Obsessive Beauty’s White Moonlight - Chapter 14

Qi Ning’s body was burning with fever, and her clothes were soaked through. The blood on her hands smeared across Su Niannian’s mouth and nose as she held her; the thick, humid scent of copper made the painter’s head swim.

Su Niannian’s heart felt as if it were about to leap from her chest. She remained motionless as Qi Ning intended, only relaxing slightly once she heard the intruder’s heavy footsteps move into the bedroom.

Qi Ning released her hand and whispered in a voice as light as air, “What were you planning to do just now?”

Her tone carried a hint of a smile, as if they weren’t sharing a home with a serial killer but were merely making idle small talk.

Su Niannian’s eyes widened. Is now really the time for a chat?

She had missed the perfect window for a surprise attack. Once the man realized the bedroom was empty, he could come back for them at any moment. The safest move was to escape while he was distracted.

Suppressing a thousand questions, Su Niannian turned around cautiously and whispered urgently, “Are you hurt? Can you move?”

She was dying to check Qi Ning’s condition, but it was too dark to see, and she didn’t dare make a sound. In their cramped, pressed-together position, she reached out blindly to feel for injuries.

Her fingertips brushed against something soft and yielding. Su Niannian froze, then tentatively applied a bit more pressure.

Qi Ning let out a low, muffled chuckle. “Niannian, where exactly are you touching?”

Realization hit Su Niannian like a physical blow. She yanked her hand back as if she’d been burned. Even as her face flushed a deep crimson, she was still consumed by worry for the other woman. “Your wound.”

“Niannian,” Qi Ning interrupted gently, “if I hadn’t appeared, what were you going to do?”

“I wanted to disable his left leg,” Su Niannian answered honestly, casting an anxious glance toward the bedroom. “I wanted to trap him here until the police arrived.”

“The police arrive, they catch him, and they put him back in prison? Only for him to escape again, or wait for parole?”

Su Niannian suddenly felt a violent shiver run down her spine. Though Qi Ning’s tone was almost identical to her usual gentle manner, an aura of bone-deep coldness radiated from her.

She instinctively turned back toward the bedroom. At that exact moment, heavy footsteps approached.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The man had come out.

Empty-handed, he was visibly more erratic than before. He hissed a string of vile curses, kicking doors open and leaving deep gashes in the walls with his heavy cleaver.

Finally, he stopped in front of the study.

Su Niannian’s pupils contracted. She had locked the study door, but the secret passage inside was still open! No matter what was in that hidden room, if Qi Ning treated it with such secrecy, it must be vital to her. It couldn’t be found by that monster.

“Niannian, let me teach you.” Qi Ning leaned in, her lips brushing Su Niannian’s ear.

Suddenly, she embraced Su Niannian from behind, pulling her flush against her chest. In a gesture reminiscent of a teacher guiding a child’s hand to write, she covered Su Niannian’s white-knuckled grip on the cleaver and slowly helped her raise the blade toward the man.

“Start from the neck and hack downward. Move fast. If we’re lucky,” Qi Ning chuckled softly, sounding almost pleasant. “he won’t need to go back to prison.”

“And we? We were just two frightened women acting in self-defense against a home intruder.”

In that moment, no matter how slow Su Niannian might have been, she realized that the Qi Ning in her arms was worlds away from the warm, gentle person she had imagined.

Qi Ning spoke at length, her volume gradually increasing, seemingly unafraid of being heard by the man currently hacking at the study lock. In reality, their voices were drowned out by the man’s rhythmic, guttural cursing.

When the door refused to yield after several attempts, the man became convinced someone was hiding inside. Panting heavily, he stopped and roared at the door, “You Qi family brat! Get out here!”

The smile on Qi Ning’s face vanished.

“Open the door yourself and I’ll make it quick! If I have to catch you, I promise it won’t end easy.”

“Forgotten how your parents died? If it weren’t for you, they’d still be alive!”

The man’s voice echoed through the hollow house. Qi Ning’s eyes turned dark and murky, like a stagnant swamp. She shifted her weight, preparing to stand up, but Su Niannian caught her.

“Don’t listen.”

Su Niannian grabbed Qi Ning’s sleeve, her voice sounding almost like a plea.

Qi Ning froze.

She heard the girl in her arms say, one word at a time, “Don’t listen to him. Qi Ning, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I’ve thought about it. Once we hand him to the police, I’ll hire the best lawyers. I’ll make sure he never gets another chance to escape justice.”

“So, don’t do something you’ll regret, okay?”

Su Niannian’s body was shaking, but her voice was resolute.

Su Niannian wasn’t exceptionally clever; she couldn’t wrap her head around complex schemes or dark motives. She just felt that this piece of human trash wasn’t worth Qi Ning staining her hands over, nor was he worth letting Qi Ning sink back into her painful memories. She wanted to protect Qi Ning the only way she knew how.

After a long silence, Qi Ning let out a soft sigh. She rested her chin on Su Niannian’s shoulder and spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Niannian. I scared you.”

Her words were light, almost ethereal. “I’ll do as you say, but you have to keep watching me. Otherwise, one day, I won’t be able to help myself.”

Su Niannian was given another small blanket.

Clutching the new fleece tightly, she ran toward the ambulance in a panic and thrust it toward Qi Ning.

“What’s the matter? Why such a rush?” Qi Ning looked up at her, a smile playing in her eyes despite having just had her wounded arm bandaged. “Careful not to trip.”

Su Niannian’s face was flushed from the sprint. She wrapped the blanket snugly around Qi Ning’s legs. “You’re dressed too lightly; you need to stay warm.”

Qi Ning’s vision was slightly blurred from the fever, but she still managed to catch Su Niannian’s hand with unerring precision. She brought it to her lips and pressed a soft kiss against her knuckles. “Niannian is so good to me.”

Under the shocked gazes of the medical staff, Su Niannian let out a muffled “Mm.” Her face turned beet red, but she didn’t pull her hand away, allowing Qi Ning to keep her fingers interlaced with her own.

The smile on Qi Ning’s lips became genuine. It was rare for Su Niannian to be this cooperative; if not for the audience, she would have pulled the girl into her arms already. Su Niannian was so warm and soft, holding her felt like embracing a cloud.

Beneath the increasingly weary stares of the medics, the two leaned their heads together and whispered private words, until a sharp rap on the window from two police officers interrupted them.

“Dr. Qi, we’d like to ask for some details regarding the case.”

Before Qi Ning could even open her mouth, Su Niannian who usually loathed speaking to strangers snapped her head toward them. “I already told you everything once.”

The officer blinked, startled, and explained, “Yes, but for the case analysis, we still need Dr. Qi’s formal statement.”

“Then say it here,” Su Niannian said, her face devoid of expression. She looked genuinely fierce. “Qi Ning is still running a fever. She isn’t moving an inch.”

“That is acceptable.”

Qi Ning toyed with the hand of her protective “little animal,” her eyes drifting upward. “What do you want to know?”

Whenever she was physically unwell, her patience evaporated. If not for Su Niannian’s presence, she wouldn’t even bother maintaining her usual gentle facade.

“First, the cause of your injury.”

“I went downstairs to buy medicine for my fever, ran into the convict, and was slashed.”

“How did you escape?”

“He didn’t recognize me. I ran while his leg injury made it difficult for him to give chase.”

“And the details regarding you and Miss Su striking him until he was unconscious.”

Qi Ning let out a weary yawn, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry, my head is throbbing quite badly. My thoughts aren’t very clear right now.”

Hearing this, Su Niannian shot a glare at the officer. Her “bristling” defensive posture made Qi Ning chuckle inwardly.

“Pardon me, I am Miss Qi’s lawyer,” a man dressed in a sharp suit interrupted the conversation, his tone clipped and professional. “If you wish to question my client further, please follow the proper legal procedures first.”

Su Niannian saw that the person she had called for had arrived, and her confidence surged.

The officers looked relieved. They had a good relationship with Qi Ning; if not for the necessity of procedure, they wouldn’t have wanted to disturb her rest at a time like this.

Under the influence of the medicine, Qi Ning’s eyelids grew heavy, yet her gaze never once wandered from Su Niannian’s silhouette.

On that night fifteen years ago, her parents had pushed her toward a murderer without a second thought. Today, fifteen years later, the slender Su Niannian stood before her, refusing to yield a single inch.

Even for someone like Qi Ning, who had long ago abandoned all hope in human emotion, a flicker of genuine longing couldn’t help but stir in her heart.