"Ah!" she screamed, jumping away. "Julian! Are you crazy?!"

Wine dripped down her hair, ruining Susan’s exquisite makeup, leaving her looking utterly wretched.

Jasper was furious: "Julian, how dare you—"

Julian didn't even bother to spare them a glance; he dragged Zoe away.

Behind them came Susan’s hysterical cursing, but he merely sneered, his thumb rubbing Zoe’s wrist with enough force to almost leave red marks.

The black Maybach sped through the night.

The air pressure inside the car was terrifyingly low.

Zoe glanced at Julian in the driver’s seat. He held the steering wheel with one hand, his jawline pulled tight.

"Are you angry?" she asked.

Julian didn't speak, but the speed of the car increased suddenly.

Zoe chuckled: "Because I went to see Jasper?"

"Screech—"

The tires friction against the ground made a harsh sound as the car jerked to a stop on the side of the road.

Julian turned to look at her, his eyes frighteningly dark: "Zoe, I’ll ask you one more time—why did you choose me?"

His voice was very calm, but Zoe could hear the suppressed anger within it.

"If it was to make Jasper angry, then you succeeded," he sneered. "But don't treat me like your pawn."

Zoe looked at him quietly, then suddenly reached out to stroke his face.

Julian’s whole body stiffened; the imposing aura from just a moment ago instantly receded.

"Julian," Zoe’s fingertips lightly traced his brow bone, "are you jealous?"

The air suddenly froze.

Chapter 11

In the next second, Julian grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the seat.

"Don't play with fire."

His breath was inches away, carrying the mellow aroma of red wine and a dangerous aggressiveness.

Zoe looked up to meet his gaze, her red lips curling slightly: "What if I said... I insist?"

Julian stared fixedly at Zoe for a long time, then suddenly loosened his grip on her and sneered: "You don't even know you're running a fever?"

His thumb grazed her forehead, touching a patch of scorching heat.

Only then did Zoe feel a sense of dizziness, and the Julian before her seemed to double.

She instinctively grabbed his cuff, but was countered by him grabbing her wrist.

"Don't move around." His voice was still cold and hard, but the force softened.

The car started up again, this time heading to the nearest private hospital.

Zoe leaned against the seat, her consciousness gradually blurring.

She vaguely heard Julian making a call: "...Prepare fever medicine and an IV... Yes, now."

The neon lights outside the window became flowing ribbons of light, and she suddenly remembered that rainy night in her past life—she had been just as cold, lying in a pool of blood, while Julian held her, calling her name with a trembling voice.

"...Zoe?"

The voice in reality pulled her back. Julian had parked the car at some point and was frowning as he looked at her.

"Can you walk?"

Zoe wanted to say she was fine, but her vision went black as soon as she moved, her hands and feet turning weak.

In the next second, she was swept up horizontally, Julian’s scent enveloping her completely.

"Troublesome," he muttered, yet held her tighter.

In the VIP ward, the doctor had just finished the examination.

"The body temperature has reached 39.5 degrees; observation in the hospital is required." The doctor pushed up his glasses. "Also..."

He looked at Julian, hesitating.

Julian understood and followed the doctor into the corridor.

"The needle marks on Miss Wen’s arm are very fresh. Judging by the location and state, it looks like she was forced to donate blood recently." The doctor lowered his voice. "Moreover, there are multiple bruises and soft tissue contusions on her body, which also seem to have occurred recently, which is... somewhat abnormal."

Julian’s gaze turned cold instantly.

When he returned to the ward, Zoe was in a semi-comatose state, her pale face flushed with an abnormal heat.

The nurse was starting an IV. The moment the needle pierced her vein, she flinched unconsciously.

Julian stood by the bedside, his gaze falling on her bare arm—there, besides the fresh needle holes, were several scabbed scratch marks, looking as if she had been roughly dragged against the ground.

His knuckles made a faint "crack" sound.

"Jasper..." Zoe suddenly mumbled in her dream, "Why..."

Julian’s expression turned cold again. He turned to leave, but his palm was grabbed by a scorching hand.

"Julian..." her voice was as light as a sigh, "don't go..."

His footsteps halted.

Moonlight leaked in through the curtain gap, falling on Zoe’s sweat-drenched forehead. Julian watched for a long time before finally sitting back in the chair by the bed.

Zoe dreamed she had returned to her past life.

Jasper walked past her with Susan, not even sparing her a glance;

Lucas, Hugo, and Jude comforted her hypocritically, while mocking her delusions behind her back;

Finally, there was the car accident, with blood spreading from beneath her, while on the other side of the road, those four watched coldly...

"No..." she struggled in her dream, "Don't..."

A cool hand suddenly touched her cheek.

"Zoe." Someone called her name, their voice low and clear. "Wake up."

She opened her eyes abruptly to find Julian inches away.

In the morning light, his silhouette was exceptionally clear; there was a faint blue-black shade under his eyes, clearly showing he hadn't slept all night.

"You..." her throat was hoarse.

Julian pulled his hand back, his expression returning to his usual indifference: "The fever has broken."

Only then did Zoe notice the infusion patch on the back of her hand, the empty medicine bottle hanging on the rack beside the bed, and a glass of warm water on the bedside table.

She suddenly felt her eyes heat up.

When she was at her sickest in her past life, Jasper had only been busy accompanying Susan and hadn't sent a single text message of concern.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Julian was busy buttoning his cuffs and paused at her words: "No need." He said without looking up, "During the engagement, it is my responsibility to ensure your health."

Zoe smiled, not exposing his hypocrisy.

She noticed his suit jacket tossed casually on the sofa, with creases from her gripping it.

"I had a beautiful dream," she suddenly said. "I dreamed that everyone had abandoned me."

Julian looked at her: "Is your brain fried from the fever? Does that count as—"

She said softly: "Only you came."

The air went quiet.

Julian’s expression softened for a moment, but it quickly returned to calm. He picked up his jacket and walked toward the door, but stopped when he held the handle.

"Zoe." He didn't turn back. "Where did those injuries come from?"

Zoe lowered her eyes, her fingertips tracing the needle marks on her arm unconsciously.

"If I said..." she looked up, revealing a pale smile, "it was Jasper who drew my blood for Susan, would you believe it?"

Julian’s back stiffened abruptly.

Julian turned around, his gaze falling on Zoe’s pale smile.

The ward was so quiet that one could hear the sound of the IV drip falling.

"Idiot," he suddenly said.

Zoe was startled: "...What?"

"I said," Julian repeated word for word, his gaze as sharp as a knife, "you are an idiot."

Chapter 12 

Zoe’s eyes widened, a trace of color finally returning to her pale face: "Julian, you—"

"You let people draw your blood without a fight? You get bullied and don't know how to hit back?" He sneered, his slender finger tapping the needle mark on her arm. "If you're not an idiot, what are you?"

Zoe was so angry her fingers trembled, and just as she was about to retort, she was interrupted by him.

"Lie down." He pressed a hand against her shoulder, pinning her back onto the pillow with irresistible force. "Rest."

His palm was very hot, the warmth seeping through the thin hospital gown.

Zoe looked up at him, finding emotions surging in his eyes that she couldn't understand.

"This matter," he let go and turned to pick up his suit jacket, "I will resolve it."

The sound of the door closing was very soft, yet it made Zoe’s heart thump heavily.

In the office on the top floor of the Julian Group, Julian slammed a stack of files onto the table.

"Have you checked it out?"

His special assistant, Lin Han, pushed up his glasses: "Last month, Jasper indeed forced a requisition of Rh-negative blood from the central hospital under the pretext of a 'medical emergency.' The timing coincides perfectly with the needle mark on Miss Wen’s arm."

Julian’s gaze turned cold instantly.

"Furthermore," Lin Han continued, "Lucas, Hugo, and Jude have been frequently contacting the person in charge of the stables recently. Before Miss Wen fell from the horse, surveillance captured their people tampering with the stable feed."

The fountain pen snapped in two between Julian’s fingers.

Just as he was about to speak, his phone suddenly vibrated. A push notification popped up on the screen—