Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

Shen Jin didn't look at Harris, but quickly focused his gaze on Lin Zhiyao, scanning her from head to toe.

She was still wearing her coat, the buttons were intact, her hair was not messy, and the cuffs were crumpled, but she had no obvious injuries.

Shen Jin turned his gaze away and looked at the professor.

Before the professor could even recover from his panic, Shen Jin took a step forward and stood in front of him.

Shen Jin was half a head taller than Harris. He grabbed Harris's collar with one hand and, before Harris could offer any excuses, his fist landed on him.

Punch after punch, every punch lands hard.

Harris's face swelled up instantly, his nose bridge was crooked, and blood seeped from between his fingers, soaking his collar.

Shen Jin's face was sinister, his eyes were terrifying, and he was like a furious and raging beast, exuding a terrifying aura of violence.

Lin Zhiyao remained seated in her chair.

Watching Shen Jin's punches fall one after another, he neither looked away nor felt afraid.

Shen Jin threw about seven or eight punches, leaving Harris dizzy and lying on the ground, covering his face and slurring syllables through his fingers: "I...I can explain...she, she just now..."

Shen Jin stomped his mouth hard with his leather shoe. "She didn't do anything."

Harris flinched and fell silent.

Shen Jin rubbed it a few more times before straightening up, shaking his right hand, and walking towards Lin Zhiyao.

He bent down and picked up Lin Zhiyao's phone from the corner of the table. The screen was still lit, and the front camera was in the background. Lin Zhiyao realized something was wrong and started recording.

Shen Jin turned off the screen and handed the phone back to Lin Zhiyao.

Lin Zhiyao tilted her head back, her almond-shaped eyes filled with pitiful tears, and looked at him with a gaze full of trust and gratitude, almost like adoration. Her voice trembled slightly as she called out to him in a sweet and soft tone, "Shen Jin..."

A vein throbbed on Shen Jin's forehead.

The blood in your body quickly flows and gathers in a certain place.

Lin Zhiyao didn't notice that she was looking down at Shen Jin's outstretched hand, staring at it for a while.

He extended his right hand, his knuckles were scraped, blood was seeping from them, and his skin was a bit red and bluish-purple.

Her hands were so big that Lin Zhiyao could barely hold them even when she stretched out both hands to gently wrap them.

She gently pursed her lips and blew a breath onto them.

Shen Jin's hand trembled uncontrollably.

The itch quickly spread from the knuckles to the rest of the body.

"Does it hurt?"

Lin Zhiyao's long, curled eyelashes were like a fan.

Her almond-shaped eyes gazed tenderly at him as she asked softly.

"I'm fine."

Shen Jin's Adam's apple bobbed heavily. He suddenly tightened his grip, pulling Lin Zhiyao from the chair into his arms. Feeling her slight trembling, his voice was hoarse. "Lin Zhiyao, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll take you home."

Come back home.

Will she ever have a family?

Lin Zhiyao's heart skipped a beat. She nodded gently in his arms, a smile involuntarily curving her lips. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, but she was no longer afraid.

"Um."

Lin Zhiyao gently grabbed Shen Jin's shirt collar with her hand.

*

Shen Jin led Lin Zhiyao to the car.

He opened the passenger door, stepped aside to let Lin Zhiyao get into the car.

Just as Lin Zhiyao's fingers touched the seatbelt buckle, Shen Jin's hand reached out from the side and gently gripped her wrist.

"I'll do it."

Shen Jin lowered his voice, which was a little hoarse.

Lin Zhiyao was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, Shen Jin had already released her wrist, leaned down, and half of his body was inserted into the extremely narrow and cramped space of the passenger seat.

At that moment, the distance was simply too close.

Lin Zhiyao could smell the faint woody fragrance on him, mixed with a bit of the cold air brought in from the winter night, and even more so, his own warm scent.

Lin Zhiyao held her breath, her gaze unfocused, but no matter where she looked, it always landed on Shen Jin.

She simply stared at Shen Jin.

Look at his gaze falling on the slightly drooping eyelashes in front of my eyes.

It turns out his eyelashes are so long, so thick, and slightly curled, casting a very light shadow under his eyelids.

Shen Jin lowered his head, his gaze focused on the seatbelt buckle beside her, his fingers pinching the metal buckle, and snapped it in with a click.

As he straightened up, his warm breath brushed against Lin Zhiyao's earlobe, as if unintentionally, yet also as if deliberately lingering for a half-beat.

Lin Zhiyao's fingertips were still on the seatbelt, so hard that her knuckles turned slightly white, and her ears were burning hot.

"alright."

Shen Jin straightened up, took half a step back, and closed the passenger door. His movements were swift and decisive, without lingering for a moment or doing anything out of line.

For some reason, Lin Zhiyao felt a little bit of inexplicable loss.

Before she could figure out where this feeling came from, Shen Jin walked around the front of the car, opened the driver's side door, and got in.

Are you cold?

Shen Jin's tone returned to its usual casual and composed manner.

Lin Zhiyao shook her head, then realized her shaking motion might have been too stiff, so she quickly added, "I'm not cold."

Shen Jin didn't say anything more and turned on the air conditioner.

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds, with only the warm air blowing softly from the vents.

Lin Zhiyao leaned against the passenger seat, turning her head to look out the window.

She hadn't actually absorbed anything; her mind was a mess, and her heartbeat hadn't completely calmed down yet.

Lin Zhiyao secretly glanced at Shen Jin out of the corner of her eye.

He was focused on the road ahead, his profile outlined sharply by the interior lighting, his jawline taut, his lips slightly pursed, revealing no emotion.

Lin Zhiyao looked away, her fingertips unconsciously fiddling with the edge of the seatbelt. The inexplicable flutter in her heart rose one after another like bubbles at the bottom of the water, only to be suppressed by herself.

The carriage remained quiet for a long time.

Lin Zhiyao turned her head to look out the window, the streetlights streaking across her wet eyelashes.

In the silence, that touch of romance gradually faded away.

Lin Zhiyao couldn't help but recall everything that had just happened, wondering what would have happened if Shen Jin hadn't arrived in time.

It's so dangerous for a lone man and woman to be alone in the remote countryside.

Lin Zhiyao looked down at her knees, belatedly realizing the danger and feeling scared. She wanted to confide in Shen Jin, "I thought a professor of his caliber wouldn't do something like this."

"Rank and bottom line have nothing to do with each other," Shen Jin said. "He won't contact you again."

Lin Zhiyao gripped the edge of the seatbelt, her tone concerned, "You hit him pretty hard."

"He brought it on himself."

Lin Zhiyao: "No, I mean, will it affect you?"

Shen Jin paused, seemingly glancing at her through the rearview mirror, and reassured her, "Don't worry, I don't even consider this kind of trash a threat."

Lin Zhiyao pressed her forehead against the cold car window, her tense body completely relaxing. "Shen Jin."

"Um."

"Thanks."

Shen Jin glanced at her sideways.

Lin Zhiyao didn't turn around; the back of her head was facing him. Her shoulders relaxed, as if a string that had been stretched all day had finally snapped.

He looked away, slowed down, and made sure the car drove more steadily over the icy ruts on the road.

"Take a nap," Shen Jin said. "I'll wake you when we get there."