The door burst open before the nurses could stop him."President Mo—please, the patient just—"
Mo Shenyu didn't hear a word.He crossed the room in three long strides, the hem of his coat sweeping the floor. The faint beeping of machines filled the space, fragile and rhythmic—proof that she was alive.
Feng Xueling blinked slowly, still half-trapped between dream and waking. The glare of the white lights blurred into the outline of a tall figure, the faint scent of gunmetal and rain clinging to him.
"Mo… Shenyu?"Her voice was barely a whisper, hoarse from disuse.
He froze.For the past year he had been driving himself to the limit trying to find her. He had relentlessly pursued every clue, every little information. Now, with the Dragon Gate Championship and her walking into the Chen family's trap, he had been more high strung than ever. But hearing her voice, her soft, uncertain, very much alive voice—made every taut muscle in his body unclench.
He had found her, she was alive. Everything would be okay.
In two steps he was beside her bed, his hand trembling as he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face.
"You're awake."
The words came out rough, scraped raw from too many hours of worrying and distress, the hard lines of his face softened by disbelief. His thumb brushed the edge of the bandage on her arm — light, almost reverent. "You scared me half to death," he murmured, as if saying it too loudly might make her vanish again.
Xueling blinked, taking in the sterile white of the room, the harsh scent of antiseptic, and him. With his still bloody shirt, tired eyes, and the faint stubble shadowing his jaw, he looked like he hadn't taken care of himself since the Dragon Gate Showdown. "I'm fine," she said softly. "Just a scratch." Then, before she could stop herself, "Are you hurt?"
Mo Shenyu froze. Of all things she could have said, he hadn't expected that."I'm fine," he said again, but the words wavered, breaking something deep inside him. For a man who commanded fear, who was obeyed the instant he spoke, it was absurd how one quiet question could undo him.
He had lost his mother early, and ever since he could remember, not one person had genuinely cared about his well-being. Not one person had truly every asked him how he was or if he was hurt. He sank to one knee beside the bed, the great Mo Shenyu—the Devil of the capital—bowed by one simple sentence from her.
For a long moment, neither spoke. Only the monitors filled the silence between them.
Finally, his lips curved, a ghost of his usual composure returning.
"So," he murmured, eyes never leaving hers, "do I get the privilege of learning your name, my dear genius XL?"
Feng Xueling started. She had guessed that Mo Shenyu had linked her tech consultant persona with her mysterious fighter persona. Still, hearing it spoken out aloud sent a ripple of anxiety through her chest.
"How did you know?"
Her question made Mo Shenyu sigh. He slowly raised the scarf Xuelign hadn't realized he had been holding on his other hand. It was that scarf – that scarf she had somehow mysteriously acquired after the missing night in Haicheng.
"Do you remember this?" he said.
Xuelign paused. Then raised her eyes to meet his and said "Yes and no" she said seriously. I only know that it was somehow with me after I woke up from week long sickness from our school trip".
"Yes, that fateful trip to Haicheng" Mo Shenyu confirmed and went on to tell her how he was ambushed that night and how he had been so close to death. "And you appeared like a miracle" he continued "you dragged me through the rain and the rough terrain. Much like your MMA style in the ring tonight. You refused to take no for an answer."
Then his voice dropped even lower and hoarser. " My bodyguards said they found you guarding me behind you" he said quietly. "You were waving a rock in the dark and trying to protect me".
Mo Shenyu's intense gaze never left Xueling's face as he recounted that night. He looked right into her eyes and shared the moment his life changed forever.
Xueling blushed and looked away. There was something intense and heavy in his gaze, an emotion she couldn't name, but made her feel both nervous and excited. "I don't remember any of this" she said softly. It was true. The fever that had burned for a week after that had erased her memories of that night.
"You don't have to remember" he said, gently holding her chin and turning her to face him again. "It is enough that I remember for the both of us". And indeed, it was etched in his mind. His bodyguards had been wearing infrared cameras as part of their search and rescue gear. It had clearly caught her heat signature standing protectively over him as she refused to let him go. At first he had watched it in disbelief; that anyone could care enough about him to protect him at all costs. Then it had become an obsession. That night had branded him. He Mo Shenyu, would now and always, only be hers. And watching the videos exacerbated his primal instinct to find her and hold her close. He wanted her touch, he wanted her care, he wanted to belong with her. Later, as they were increasingly running out of ways to track her down, he had watched the videos desperately, trying to superimpose all that he remembered from that night on that image hoping to come up with some sort of clue.
"I cannot tell you how sorry I am that my team couldn't save you too". He continued. This was his shame, and his wound. He Mo Shenyu had been so incapacitated that he had missed rescuing his benefactor. "My bodyguards had only a short window for extraction. My enemies were coming, and so were a search party. They thought you would be safe if left to be found by your search team and took only me away."
This had also tormented him endlessly. Had she been found? Was she safe? Did she make it? His nightmares had been full of vivid What ifs. What if she had been dead? What if she had encountered something else? He had eventually given up sleeping to escape from these horrors and only focused on finding her.
"Forgive me" he begged. "I really…"
"Shhhhhh" said Xueling, placing a finger on his lips. Something deep within her reacted to watching this man drowning in guilt over her. It was abhorrent, she had to stop it. "It was my choice to rescue you. You don't have to feel so guilty".
"Still it was my team that left you behind. Those bodyguards humpgh..."
"Did their job and did what was best for you" interrupted Xueling now placing her palm firmly against his mouth. "There is nothing to forgive. Let it go".
Mo Shenyu's face was now only inches away from Xuelings. Although he was on his knees and crouched against the bed, his huge 6 foot frame put his face right at the height of the bed. Xueling was suddenly aware of his warm breath against her face. The heat of his lips scalded her palms and she hurriedly moved to remove it.
"Never" said Mo Shenyu, grabbing her palm. He turned it over and started nuzzling his face against her knuckles. How could they be so soft? So small? "I will never let you go".
"President Mo, the reports are here—"
The senior doctor's tactless entrance shattered their intimate moment. Dr. Zhao Limei stopped abruptly at the doorway his disbelieving eyes fixed on the image of Mo Shenyu – THE MO SHENYU actually crouching next to the bed of a little girl. Damn it! Wrong time. President Mo is going to skin him alive later.
Feng Xueling blinked, the spell between them breaking like glass. She slipped her hand free from Mo Shenyu's, her pulse fluttering wildly as she turned her face away.
Mo Shenyu straightened, all softness vanishing in an instant. The shift was so sharp it almost crackled in the air — the warmth of a moment ago replaced by the cutting authority of the Mo family heir.
"Well?" His voice was low, icy. "What do they show?"
The doctor swallowed, clutching the file tighter. This was so unfair! He had rushed the check ups so he could give this devil an answer and now he was suffering for reporting too soon!
"S-sir, the tests indicate… chronic malnourishment. The young miss's indicators are all weak. Her immunity levels are far below normal. Her stomach and digestive system show signs of prolonged starvation — years of it."
Mo Shenyu became absolutely still. "Starvation?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.
The doctor hesitated. "Not only that, her back shows a scar tissue…"
"Enough!!" interrupted Xueling. She knew very well what the tests would show. It would clearly show the years of abuse and neglect she had endured at the Feng family. And it would show her injuries from that night. She did not want Mo Shenyu to beat himself up even more for that night. She wanted him to know about her time at the Feng family even less.
Mo Shenyu stilled, looking at Feng Xueling with steady gaze. "Leave us" he told the doctor curtly his gaze still trained on Xueling. The doctor hurriedly dashed out of the room, grateful for the reprieve.
"It's now time for you to talk" he told Xueling. "Who hurt you?"
Feng Xueling looked away, her mouth in a stubborn line. She did not want to share this with Mo Shenyu, with this man she felt a strange and exciting connection with. Yes, what she had suffered had not been her fault. What could a mere teenager do when in a wealthy abusive family? But still, for him to know her vulnerabilities… Will he think less of me?
"What scar tissue?" Mo Shenyu persisted. "Is it from that night?" he asked, his tone gravelly. Xueling felt him come closer to the bed and take her hand. "Tell me, little one" Her two tiny hands were swallowed up in one of his big palms. He held her so gently and started massaging her palms carefully, patiently coaxing her to share. Xueling could not hold out against his gentle assault.
"My name is Feng Xueling" she began in a low voice. "And I am the unloved eldest daughter of the Feng family". Slowly, under Mo Shenyu's careful coaxing she shared about her life with the Fengs, about how she was ignored, punished, and taken advantage of.
When she got to the part about her sickness after Haichneng and how the doctors suspected she had survived an animal attack, Mo Shenyu's arms trembled violently. He pulled her into a tight embrace, not caring that she was still on an IV drip and connected to various monitors.
"Thank god you are alive" he muttered over and over again, nuzzling her cheeks, her chin, her neck. "Thank god.." If anything had happened to her that night… Mo Shenyu's pulse leaped in horror. No! He could not go there!!! He would scare Xueling! With every ounce of self control he possessed, Mo Shenyu brought his mind back to the present, back to being with her. He nuzzled her neck further as if seeking to imprint her scent on to him.
"I am so sorry" he said again.
"Shhhh…." Xueling said, gently putting her arms around him. "I already told you it is not your fault"
"I swear to you my bodyguards saw the search team close by. I did not abandon you and leave you in the wild" he looked at her pleadingly.
Gazing into those desperate eyes, Feng Xueling who had been used to being abandoned for two lifetimes was willing to believe for the first time, that this man had not and would never abandon her.
"I know" she said and gently brought his forehead against hers. "I know' she repeated as she gently coaxed him, rubbing back and forth against his forehead.
"I.." began Mo Shenyu again but Xueling could not watch him beat himself up anymore. Instinctively, she brought her lips against his and sealed his next words with a quick kiss. "Shhh…" She said again.
Mo Shenyu froze; unable to believe the soft sensation against his lips. He didn't dare move so much as a muscle so as to not scare her away. His unnatural stillness woke Xueling up from her moment. She raised her startled eyes to his dark predatory ones, horrified at what she had done.
"I didn't mean…" she began, but before she could continue, Mo Shenyu pounced. His big palm gently held the back of her head in place, as his lips devoured hers. His other hand wound around her waist and firmly brought her closer to him. So tiny. He could fit her waist in one arm so easily!
His grip tightened at the realization, and he lips turned rougher. His! he thought, unable to control his primal thoughts. His lips to kiss, his waist to hold, every part of her belonged to him.
Feng Xueling was drowning under the onslaught of Mo Shenyu's fiery kisses. Her heart beat accelerated and
Beep. Beep. Beep-beep-beep-beep—
The heart monitor beside her exploded into a crescendo of alarms.
Before either could react, the door flew open.
A squad of nurses and two doctors charged in, wheeling a crash cart."Clear the way! She's coding—wait—" Dr.Zhao Limei froze mid-step, eyes widening.
Time stopped.
Mo Shenyu's back was to them, but there was no mistaking the position — his hand braced on the bed, his face far too close to the very much alive patient beneath him.
The nurse's jaw dropped. "P-President Mo?! We—we thought—"
Xueling turned bright red, trying to sit up, yanking at the sheets to cover herself out of sheer embarrassment. "It's—it's fine! I'm fine!"
Assistant Liang appeared at the door just in time to see the chaos. His brain short-circuited. "I—I'll clear the room!" he barked, herding the staff back like a panicked sheepdog.
Mo Shenyu straightened slowly, face a mask of control — except for the faintest flush at his collar. "False alarm," he said evenly. "You can all leave."
Dr.Zhao made one last valiant attempt and stammered, "S-sir, the monitors showed cardiac irregularities—"
"Leave" Mo Shenyu cut him off. "That's an order."
The team fled like their lives depended on it.
When the door finally shut again, Xueling sank back against the pillows, covering her face with one hand. "You… you're impossible," she muttered, half mortified, half breathless.
Mo Shenyu's laugh — low, genuine, a sound that startled even him — filled the room. He leaned down once more, his voice teasing at her ear."Next time," he murmured, "I'll make sure the monitors are turned off."
"Next time?" she echoed, glaring at him from behind her fingers.
His eyes softened, but the faintest smile curved his lips."Oh, there'll be a next time," he said quietly, almost to himself. "Now that I've found you… I'm not letting you go."