The air on the third basement level was stuffy and damp, carrying faint traces of gasoline and the metallic scent of underground drains.
A pitch-black, unmarked heavy-duty bulletproof commercial vehicle sat silently deep in the VIP parking space. Its bulletproof glass coating was extremely thick, making it impossible to see anything inside from the outside.
"Click."
The sliding door unlocked and opened automatically. Lu Xiao carried Shen Huai'an with one leg and stepped into the back seat, then pressed a button on the control panel. The door sealed shut instantly, cutting off all external noise and danger.
The cabin was dimly lit, with only a faint blue cold-light ambient lamp glowing along the edge of the ceiling.
"Get… off."
The moment he sat down, Shen Huai'an forced himself to maintain his last shred of dignity and raised a hand to push away Lu Xiao's arm around his waist. The aftereffects of his forcibly sealed meridians began to erupt; his body, deprived of spiritual energy, was fragile. His fingers were too weak to grip Lu Xiao's uniform fabric and instead crumpled the other man's collar in his panic.
Lu Xiao did not let go. Instead, he moved upward, his large palm covering the back of Shen Huai'an's neck, which was slightly flushed from fever.
"President Shen, your pulse is still unstable."
Lu Xiao's voice was low and calm, but the fingers pressing on the nape carried an irresistible force, precisely kneading the acupoint connecting the central nervous system and spiritual meridians. Each press sent a surge of scorching pure yang energy along the spine into Shen Huai'an's numb body.
"Mmm…!"
Shen Huai'an's body jerked as if struck in a vital spot, his spine straightening abruptly before going limp again. His gold-rimmed glasses had been lost on the thirty-second floor; those usually icy, blade-like black eyes now stared unfocused at the cold light on the ceiling, the corners tinged with a dark red trace forced by physiological heat.
"Lu… Xiao… what are you… doing…" Shen Huai'an gritted his teeth, his breathing thick and sticky.
"Stabilizing your seal, President Shen." Lu Xiao lowered his head, gazing at the man in his arms—the same man who could decide the fate of billions in capital with a single word in the boardroom. Now wrapped in Lu Xiao's tactical coat, his shirt disheveled, his usually immaculate black hair damp with cold sweat against his forehead, Shen Huai'an radiated a dangerously alluring, sickly beauty.
Lu Xiao's eyes darkened ominously. He slid his other large hand under the coat, gripping Shen Huai'an's knee, which trembled slightly from exhaustion.
"The parking garage is crawling with Special Operations Bureau eyes. This vehicle has a spiritual meridian jammer, but if even a trace of the cold qi leaks from your body, neither of us is leaving here today."
As he spoke, Lu Xiao's palm slid upward along the knee. Rough calluses carrying intense body heat pressed directly against the inner thigh of Shen Huai'an, still cool through his suit trousers.
"You—" Shen Huai'an's pupils contracted. His long legs instinctively tried to clamp shut in resistance, but with his meridians sealed, the effort was futile in Lu Xiao's eyes.
"Don't move."
Lu Xiao growled, his wolf-like gaze locked onto him. He applied force, forcibly parting Shen Huai'an's legs and wedging half his body between them. The massive size and strength difference pinned Shen Huai'an completely between the seat and Lu Xiao's powerful frame.
"The pure yang energy must be guided upward from the lower dantian meridian." Lu Xiao leaned close to his ear, voice hoarse like sandpaper on wood. "President Shen, aren't you usually the one who understands rules best when presiding over meetings? Now… follow mine."
The scalding palm pressed with unstoppable aggression exactly on the critical node of the lower dantian meridian.
"Ahh—!"
Shen Huai'an finally lost his last shred of composure; a weak, sharp gasp escaped his bitten lips. The yang energy forced into his body felt like a high-temperature golden needle, exploding along the nerves at the root of his thigh and sweeping away the last remnants of cold lodged deep in his marrow.
The extreme pain and ensuing relief intertwined, causing Shen Huai'an's mental defenses to collapse completely. His hands unconsciously clutched Lu Xiao's shoulders, nails digging into the tactical uniform as his body convulsed and trembled at high frequency in Lu Xiao's arms.
"That's it… President Shen."
Lu Xiao watched the unfocused, panting expression on the man's face as yang energy flooded through him, a deeply satisfied and wicked curve forming at the corner of his mouth. He lowered his head and fiercely kissed Shen Huai'an's bleeding lips, thoroughly mixing the remaining qi and taste between them.
Outside the vehicle, in the underground parking garage, several Special Operations Bureau operatives carrying spiritual pressure detectors hurried past the bulletproof commercial van.
The detectors' red lights swept across the car windows; the screens showed calm, steady readings.
No one knew that behind that layer of cold bulletproof glass, the Shen Group's highest executive they were desperately searching for was being pinned deep into the seat by his wild and untamed security captain, enduring a deeply private and humiliating form of physiological salvation and absolute control from his subordinate.