111 Chapter 110 reached somewhere under his body... ...

Qiao Hanye's words moved He Lanjin's heart. He lit a candle with his lighter. In the weak light, she looked at him seriously.

"Take a shower and then get some sleep," Qiao Hanye said.

He Lanjin only realized that she had an "important" matter to attend to after Qiao Hanye reminded her. She took the package of toiletries he got for her and went to the bathroom.

The shower made He Lanjin much more comfortable. She came out of the bath to see that Qiao Hanye had made them some food. After eating, they both climbed into bed.

"Why are you here?" He Lanjin asked as she lay down beside Qiao Hanye. She was not used to sleeping with anyone, much less a man. She was already worried about the earthquake and the safety of the people in the area; she did not need the unease caused by sharing a bed with him.

Qiao Hanye looked at He Lanjin. She looked very stiff; he could tell she was trying very hard not to move. "Why are you nervous?" he teased.

"Am I?" He Lanjin asked, pretending to not know what Qiao Hanye was talking about.

"There have been rumors circulating, " said Qiao Hanye. "About this woman who said that if there were a next life, she would definitely have sex with the owner of Jing Garden, someone with the surname Qiao. Do you know who that woman is?"

"As far as I know, I'm the only person with the surname Qiao in Jing Garden," Qiao Hanye said as he smiled teasingly. "I wonder how Mrs. Qiao plans to do it." He lowered his head and pressed his lips against He Lanjin's ear. "Do you want to try now?"

He Lanjin's heart raced as she became aware of the heat radiating from Qiao Hanye's body.

"Why is Mrs. Qiao's face red? Why is her heart racing?" Qiao Hanye wondered aloud. "Could she possibly be daydreaming?"

He Lanjin was flustered. How could he have heard what she had said earlier? She pushed him away unto his side of the bed.

She sat up and turned to Qiao Hanye. She pinched his chin with her thumb and index finger and forced him to look at her. "Teasing me, huh? Qiao Hanye, do you think I'm sick?"

"Oh?" Qiao Hanye said. "I wouldn't dare tease Mrs. Qiao."

His gaze moved from He Lanjin's neck down to her chest. "It's just that Mrs. Qiao is giving me such a big gift..."

He Lanjin let go of Qiao Hanye's chin and followed his gaze.

She looked down on her chest to see that the top two buttons of the shirt she was wearing were undone, giving Qiao Hanye quite an unobstructed view of her voluptuous breasts. This was not her doing; she was wearing his shirt, which was loose, to begin with. Somehow, her movements have caused the buttons to come undone.

He Lanjin looked coldly at Qiao Hanye and tactfully fastened the buttons.

"I don't know what to make of this situation," He Lanjin said, changing the topic. "There's no electricity and no phone signal, so there's no way to contact the outside world."

Qiao Hanye hugged He Lanjin and laid her down on the bed. He stroked her hair gently. "There would probably be more aftershocks, but they are getting weaker. You should rest. We'll talk about this when you wake up."

"Okay," He Lanjin replied as she made herself comfortable in Qiao Hanye's arms. She could hear his strong and steady heartbeat.

She closed her eyes to sleep, but the image of Zhao Yuyi's house collapsing would not leave her mind. She thought of Zhao Yuyi's father being buried alive, and her hands started to tremble. Qiao Hanye took both her hands in his. "Go to sleep. Clear your mind and don't think of anything. Things will get better," he said in a very soothing voice that quickly calmed He Lanjin.

He Lanjin was strong, but what she witnessed inevitably traumatized her. She was silently thankful that she could be vulnerable around Qiao Hanye.

"Okay," He Lanjin replied. She wanted to push Qiao Hanye away, but she felt very safe in his arms.

Qiao Hanye watched He Lanjin fall asleep. He got up and applied some medicine on her bruises before going out to meet with Nan Feng and the others. They were going to discuss what they could do to help the rescue teams.

It was three o'clock in the morning when they finally finished. Qiao Hanye returned to the room and lay down beside He Lanjin.

As soon as Qiao Hanye lay down, He Lanjin crawled into his arms. She was half asleep, and her hands were moving on their own accord. One of her hands landed on a certain spot on Qiao Hanye's body...