Wen Qian regretted her words the moment they left her lips. 'What am I thinking?' she chided herself. 'Is this really the time to be making threats?'
But the person behind her didn't seem to care. He just kept frowning, his eyes fixed on her slender neck. A dangerous emotion swirled in his gaze. Then, just as Wen Qian was rambling on, he lunged forward and bit viciously into the back of her neck...
Wen Qian let out a muffled grunt, but this time, it wasn't from the pain.
The creature behind her was a Snake Beast. Its saliva contained some sort of neurotoxin. The instant its fangs pierced her skin, a wave of dizziness washed over Wen Qian. Her captive body began to go limp. She forced herself to stay awake, but her body ultimately slid down, beyond her control...
A cold, broad chest met her, carrying the faint, chilly scent of disinfectant. She took a deep whiff, her eyes growing hazy.
'This must be what a cool, ascetic hottie smells like...' Wen Qian thought hazily, just a second before she passed out.
...
Wen Qian had a long dream. In a narrow corridor coiled a giant python, its head towering some three meters high. It stared down at her with slitted pupils, its emerald-green eyes both beautiful and dangerous.
Its thick, long tail stealthily coiled around the girl's waist. With the slightest movement, it dragged her into a cold embrace.
Fear consumed her. Wen Qian struggled desperately, but the tail around her waist only tightened, constricting with a brutal force that felt like it could crush anything in its path.
But just as quickly, the python released her. Wen Qian fell onto its soft, coiled body, clutching her chest as she coughed violently. When her gaze met the python's emerald pupils, she instinctively shrank back.
"HISS HISS—"
The python, which had been holding its body erect, suddenly lowered its head, pressing its cold, slick skin against the girl's slender, pale neck. It stared at her silently, then extended its long, forked tongue to delicately trace the outline of her earlobe.
Wen Qian felt like she was about to faint all over again. A shudder wracked her body, and her urge to flee reached its zenith.
Just then, lights began to appear in the pitch-black corridor. Dozens of green lamps flickered on and off, arranged in neat rows on the ground. Looking closer, she saw a vertical black line inside each lamp…
'Are those live wires?' Wen Qian wondered, confused.
But Wen Qian quickly realized the truth. She huddled against the python, her face ashen with horror.
Those weren't lamps around them. They were clearly the eyes of countless other snakes... They were slithering around the giant python and her, coiled and waiting for something, their presence a palpable threat.
...
The Wen Qian in the dream fainted, while the Wen Qian in reality slowly began to stir.
The bright laboratory lights dazzled her. She tried to sit up, but her limbs felt like jelly, completely devoid of strength.
After several failed attempts, Wen Qian gave up. The events before she passed out were still vivid in her mind. She knew it hadn't been a dream; otherwise, she wouldn't be lying here now…
'But who exactly saved me?'
'Did the Snake Beast have a change of heart, or did Gu Mian arrive just in time? Or maybe it was both?'
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Wen Qian turned her head to take in her surroundings.
It was an unfamiliar laboratory.
The lab's windows were translucent and fitted with automatic blinds. From her angle, Wen Qian could see everything outside.
'This height… I must still be on the sixth floor.'
Frowning, Wen Qian noticed that most of the equipment in the lab was new; some of it she'd never even seen before. That included the surface she was lying on. It was shaped like a lab bench, but the material was clearly far more comfortable.
Wiggling her fingers, Wen Qian found some of her strength returning. She pushed herself into a sitting position, and a black suit jacket draped over her slid down. Only then did she notice it. She subconsciously reached out and felt the fabric. The style was very familiar, and the material was high-quality. 'Could this be the professor's?'
But where was he? Wen Qian had been awake for a little while now, but there was no sign of him.
"CREAK—"
Just as she was wondering, the lab door was suddenly pulled open from the outside. Wen Qian's eyes immediately fell on a clean, cool face. It was Gu Mian. He was holding his phone, his tone nonchalant. "The power's back on. Thanks for your hard work."
"Mm, it was no problem," he continued, speaking to the person on the other end of the line. When he turned his head and saw Wen Qian, he gave her a reassuring smile.
Wen Qian stared for a moment, a strange feeling blooming in her heart. 'So it really was the professor who brought me here.'
'What about the Snake Beast? Did he see it, too…?'
"How are you feeling? Do you feel unwell anywhere?" While she was lost in thought, the man had already walked up to her. He stopped in front of the lab bench, his dark eyes unreadable.
Wen Qian shook her head and forced a smile. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Professor, where did you find me?"
"The hallway." Gu Mian casually picked up the jacket that had been on her. He paused, then added, "There was a blackout just now. I was worried you'd gotten lost. When I went to look for you, I found you asleep, leaning against the door of 607."
"Asleep?" Wen Qian's expression was full of doubt.
"Mm-hm." Gu Mian adjusted his glasses. Looking at her, he added, "I carried you back."
Gu Mian's fingers lightly tapped the frame of his glasses, and he deliberately emphasized the word "carried."
"Oh, well, thank you, Professor…" Hearing him say that, Wen Qian couldn't help the heat rising in her cheeks. A cool, reserved hottie carrying her through the darkened hallways… That was the kind of scene she'd only ever read about in novels.
'Could this be the legendary… nighttime bonus?'
Wen Qian almost broke into a wide grin, on the verge of laughing out loud.
But she quickly snapped back to reality. 'That's not the important part of all this!'
'Isn't the strangest part of this whole affair the Snake Beast? Why did it show up in the lab building, and why did it bite me…? Was it just really hungry or something?'
At the thought, Wen Qian subconsciously touched the back of her neck. The residual toxin hadn't fully dissipated yet; even the slightest pressure made her body go weak.
She sucked in a sharp breath. This confirmed it—that was no dream.
"Professor, did you see anything… else… when you found me?" Wen Qian rubbed her temples, afraid she was about to pass out again. 'That snake is truly venomous. Biting me wasn't enough; it had to inject its toxin, too.'
'It better hope it never falls into my hands, or I'll show it what it feels like to be bitten!'
Gu Mian's gaze swept over the slightly reddened corners of Wen Qian's eyes, and his own gaze deepened. He subtly raised a hand and undid the top two buttons of his shirt, his voice low and husky as he replied, "No."
Hearing that, Wen Qian hopped off the lab bench. She hurried to keep up with Gu Mian's stride, pressing, "Really? Nothing at all?"
"Hm?" Gu Mian tilted his head up slightly, his eyes, hidden behind the lenses of his glasses, betraying no emotion.
Realizing she had almost blurted out that she'd encountered the Snake Beast, Wen Qian immediately clammed up.
She remembered her promise: as long as the Snake Beast let her go, she wouldn't say a word about its existence. That being the case, it didn't really matter to her whether Gu Mian had seen the Snake Beast or not.