The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

Shen Tinglan's shoulders tensed slightly, a hint of helpless compromise flashing across his eyes. He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips dragging as he removed his outer garment. The only sound in the room was the soft rustling of fabric, the lingering smell of smoke mixed with the bitter scent of ointment, floating between the two of them.

As the fabric slipped off his shoulders, he frowned slightly, but Ji Huaizhou noticed it.

Under the lights, Shen Tinglan's upper body did not appear as slender and frail as she usually did when dressed. Her frame was rather narrow, but her shoulders and back were taut with a thin layer of firm, resilient muscles, giving her a clean and sharp appearance.

From the back of the neck down to the lower back, several dark, silvery-gray lines emerged from beneath the skin, intermittent, like veins yet to fully develop, or like rivers abruptly cut off. The lines were pale in color, yet they exuded an ominous aura. Below the right shoulder blade, a small patch of skin was abnormally flushed red, and beneath the thin skin, it seemed as if an undercurrent was surging.

Ji Huaizhou's gaze suddenly darkened.

"When did it start to show?" he asked.

"...I don't know," Shen Tinglan said. "It could be in the evening, or it could be on the way back."

Ji Huaizhou didn't speak again. He raised his hand and placed it on the back of Shen Tinglan's neck, his fingertips slowly moving down the meridians of her spine with steady and restrained force. Where his fingertips touched, the faint silver-gray dark lines under the skin seemed to be stirred, all of them emerging, trembling and undulating slightly along the path of his press.

Shen Tinglan's back suddenly stiffened.

"If it hurts, just say so. I didn't tell you to be stubborn," Ji Huaizhou said.

"It doesn't hurt." Shen Tinglan's voice was so low it sounded like it was being ground out from her throat.

"Your spiritual meridians are about to break." Ji Huaizhou pointed his fingertip at a dent on the back of Shen Tinglan's right shoulder. "The backlash isn't dissipating, and all your energy is blocked here. If you endure another night, this half of your shoulder and back will be ruined tomorrow. And you're telling me it doesn't hurt?"

Shen Tinglan did not respond, but instead buried her chin even deeper into the shadows.

Ji Huaizhou fell silent and withdrew his hand. He turned around and took the black lacquered wooden box containing the secret medicine from the table. He opened the lid and took out the bottle of dark red medicinal oil. He tilted the bottle slightly and poured a little of the oil directly onto the bruised area on Shen Tinglan's shoulder and back.

The moment the medicated oil touched the skin, it emitted a very faint, cold light, slowly seeping into the subcutaneous tissue along the silvery-gray lines.

Ji Huaizhou's palm landed back on Shen Tinglan's shoulder and neck.

Push, press, disperse, and unblock.

The technique was steady yet sharp, with ruthlessness tempered with absolute restraint. It required both forcefully clearing the blocked meridians and constantly protecting the already damaged and fragile spiritual meridians, with no room for deviation in the slightest force.

Shen Tinglan closed his eyes. His breathing remained steady, only pausing briefly when Ji Huaizhou's men occasionally pushed past a point of backlash, before quickly regaining control, as if nothing had happened.

The room was filled only with the bitter smell of the medicinal oil evaporating and the very faint thud of joints being kneaded.

"Bai Ci..." Shen Tinglan suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse, "Were you coughing badly just now?"

Ji Huaizhou paused, did not answer, and continued to push down along the veins on his back.

"He's been lying here all this time, is he feeling any better?" Shen Tinglan asked almost in a whisper, as if afraid that if she asked too forcefully, she would get a bad answer.

Ji Huaizhou slowly stopped pushing away the obstructed hand. A thin layer of cold sweat appeared on the back of Shen Tinglan's neck, which felt cool in the night breeze.

"Now you know to ask?" Ji Huaizhou said, his tone seemingly indifferent, but his grip unconsciously loosened slightly. "When you were hiding in the room smoking alone just now, why didn't you think about whether he was safe or not?"

Shen Tinglan remained silent.

"I checked when I brought him the medicine," Ji Huaizhou said. "He wasn't feeling well, his hands and feet were cold, and his heart rate was fast, but he hadn't coughed anymore. That medicine can only stabilize him for now. Whether he can stay calm through the night depends on what happens later in the night."

"When I left, he was still awake. He was awake, but he didn't say anything."

Shen Tinglan's fingers unconsciously curled up, gripping her knees until her knuckles turned white.

"It's my problem," he said, his voice extremely low, like a bubble rising from a deep place, about to burst at the slightest touch.

"What's the use of saying this now?" Ji Huaizhou said. "If you really feel responsible, then take care of your health. I'm warning you, Shen Tinglan, the reason I'm standing here tonight to check your pulse is because you haven't ruined yourself to the point of no return. If you do it again, I won't cover for you, and I certainly won't cover for you in front of Bai Ci. Think it through yourself."

Shen Tinglan remained silent.

He turned his head, his gaze passing over Ji Huaizhou's shoulder, to the small slit in the moonlight by the window. The night was thinning, and a very light gray was faintly rising on the horizon. Soon, dawn would break.

"I'll go check on him in a bit," Ji Huaizhou said.

Shen Tinglan closed her eyes. "Don't let him know about my affairs."

Ji Huaizhou wiped his hands clean, screwed the cap back on the medicated oil bottle and put it back in the wooden box. Then he opened the inner lining of the box lid, took out a small pill wrapped in matte wax and placed it on the bedside table. Finally, he looked up at him.

"This is not your concern right now. Get dressed." After he finished speaking, he threw the clean clothes on the bed to Shen Tinglan.

"Take your medicine and then lie down in bed. I don't want to hear any more noise from your side in this building tonight. Starting tomorrow, I'll have Aunt Zhou come and check this room. If I find any more smoke, or if you're deliberately hiding something wrong with your health, I don't care what the Shen family thinks, I'll take you back to the Ji family and keep you under their watch."

"Did you hear me?" Ji Huaizhou stared at him.

"I heard you," Shen Tinglan said.

After saying this, Ji Huaizhou turned and left without saying another word.

After leaving Shen Tinglan's room, he did not immediately return to his own bedroom. He stood quietly in the corridor for a moment, waiting for the medicinal oil and lingering smell of smoke on his body to dissipate slightly, before slowly walking to Bai Ci's door and gently pushing it open a crack.

He didn't turn on the lights, nor did he step inside.

Bai Ci lay curled up in bed, half her face buried in the blanket, only her pale profile and a few strands of hair damp with sweat showing. The blanket was pulled up to her shoulders; she didn't kick or struggle. Her breathing wasn't very steady, intermittent, and occasionally trembled, as if she were tense even in her dreams.

Ji Huaizhou watched him from the doorway for a while, making sure he didn't wake up coughing, had a fever, or show any signs of convulsions, before slowly closing the door again, leaving it ajar.

He retreated into the corridor and returned to his bedroom, the door still ajar. He then sat up against the headboard and spent half the night there, constantly watching for any sounds coming from Bai Ci's room at the other end of the corridor.

As the first rays of sunlight gradually appeared outside the window, the entire villa slowly came back to life from the night.