All she had on underneath was pure white lace lingerie.

He dabbed alcohol on her joints to help dissipate the heat.

After he finished with her front, she lay there on her stomach, listless and beyond caring about her modesty.

’My brain is about to shut down. I can’t spare a thought for anything else.’

He applied some to her back as well.

The cooling sensation was very soothing.

Suddenly, his movements paused. He gently traced a scar on her lower back.

"Where did you get this?"

he asked in a low voice.

Mia Kane’s head was spinning. She thought for a moment. "I think... I got it when I was a kid."

"How?"

"I don’t remember. I hit my head when I was little, and I can’t recall anything that happened that year. My mom said I was being naughty and fell from a high place, hitting my head... and my back was pierced by some piece of sheet metal."

"The doctor said if it had been just a little bit off, it would have damaged my spine. I might have been paralyzed from the waist down, stuck in a wheelchair for life..."

"It’s still scary to think about now."

"You don’t remember?"

Adrian Preston murmured, his fingertip gently caressing the scar.

Due to hypertrophic scarring, the mark marred the beauty of her entire back.

It was about half a finger long.

Fortunately, it was near her tailbone, so it didn’t show when she wore backless dresses.

Since it was on her back, Mia Kane rarely thought about the scar.

After that, her mom forbade her from running around, not even letting her go to her classmates’ houses.

As her mind wandered, she suddenly felt a soft touch.

Her heart clenched, and her mind went blank for a moment.

Adrian Preston had actually bent down slowly to kiss her scar, licking it gently with his tongue as if to soothe away her pain.

A light tremor ran through her body. It might have been because he’d touched the soft flesh of her waist. She felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn’t help but squirm.

The next second, the man’s hands tightened firmly on her waist.

"Don’t move."

"Don’t lick it, it tickles... it’s uncomfortable..."

she said, her words choppy. Her breathing was ragged, and her voice held a hint of coquettish complaint.

Hearing this, Adrian Preston finally stopped.

"Is this scar really ugly? I’ve never done anything about it. I’ll buy some scar-fading cream next time, maybe it’ll make it look a little better."

"Don’t."

Adrian Preston’s voice suddenly deepened.

"Leave it. It’s beautiful."

"What’s so beautiful about a scar?"

she mumbled, but didn’t dwell on it. She was dizzy as hell right now.

Later that night, her fever worsened, spiking to 104 degrees.

Adrian Preston was terrified her high fever wouldn’t break and she’d have a seizure.

She was already losing consciousness. Adrian Preston managed to force some fever reducer into her. Her temperature did drop a little, but it hovered around 100 degrees, so the effect wasn’t significant.

Afterward, he switched to a traditional Chinese patent medicine, one for clearing heat and detoxifying.

But her jaw was clenched tight. It had been a struggle just to get that little bit of fever reducer into her.

The fever reducer was strawberry-flavored and didn’t taste bad.

This medicine, however, had an overpowering herbal smell, was incredibly bitter, and was difficult to swallow.

He had just barely gotten a little in when Mia Kane furrowed her brow and spat it out in rejection.

Adrian Preston quickly wiped it away.

"Ugh... it tastes so bad..."

she mumbled, turning over and curling into a ball.

Adrian Preston frowned. "Be good. Good medicine tastes bitter. How will you get better if you don’t take it?"

Just relying on fever reducers wasn’t a solution.

Mia Kane didn’t answer.

Adrian Preston glanced at Mia Kane, her cheeks flushed with fever, then at the dissolved medicine in the bowl. After a long hesitation, he drank a mouthful, held it in his mouth, then straightened her body, pried open her lips, and fed the bitter liquid to her bit by bit.

Mia Kane felt a foreign object in her mouth, a terribly bitter sensation. She subconsciously tried to spit it out, but her mouth was sealed tight. Something wet and hot was moving inside, making her throat swallow involuntarily.

The bitter liquid slid down her throat in a flash.

"Cough, cough..."

She coughed reflexively, tears welling in her eyes, looking all the more pitiful.

Adrian Preston immediately took another mouthful and, using the same method, skillfully parted her teeth and slowly transferred the medicine over.

In her daze, Mia Kane couldn’t help but mumble.

"So bitter..."

After feeding her the mouthful, Adrian Preston slowly sucked and kissed her lips until the taste of medicine was gone from her mouth.

He finally finished giving her the medicine. By morning, the high fever had at last subsided, but she still hadn’t woken up.

Time ticked by. There was another dose of medicine she had to take before breakfast.

He followed the same procedure, slowly feeding it to her in the same way.

This time, Mia Kane was closer to consciousness. She felt someone capture her lips as a warm liquid slowly filled her mouth.

She frowned subconsciously and blearily opened her eyes, falling into a pair of deep, bottomless phoenix eyes.

Her own small reflection was mirrored within them, as if being sucked into a black hole.

She stared, stunned.

Their eyes met.

Adrian Preston continued to feed her the medicine.

When she realized what they were doing, her cheeks burned. She couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or the fever.

He unhurriedly transferred the last of the medicine from his mouth to hers, then straightened up and wiped his lips.

"You’re awake?"

He was so calm and composed it was almost unnerving. "You couldn’t take the medicine, so I had to resort to this. See? You’re already getting better now that you’ve taken it."

For a moment, Mia Kane was too embarrassed to argue.

She vaguely seemed to remember it happening.

"What time is it?"

Something suddenly occurred to her, and she had no time to bicker with him.

She checked her phone. It was only six-thirty. She couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

She had to get up, pick out an outfit, and put on makeup to hide how sick she looked, which would take a lot of time.

She threw back the covers, put her feet on the floor, and was about to stand up, but she had overestimated her strength.

She was terribly weak right now.

Her legs gave out, and she swayed. Adrian Preston immediately grabbed her by her slender waist and pulled her into his arms.

The next second, he swept her up into a princess carry.

"You’re in this state. Just leave it to me."

"Leave it to you? What can you do?"

"Help you change. We’re not strangers, and it’s not like I haven’t seen you before. No need to be shy."

For a moment, Mia Kane was actually speechless.

She let Adrian Preston handle her like a doll. Her skin had gotten thicker, anyway, though her face would still flush red from time to time.

She knew Adrian Preston would behave and not try anything improper.

He was like someone who’d just been given an exquisite doll. He rummaged through the closet, picking and choosing, and selected a sky-blue dress with a white, pleated hem.

He even picked out some accessories that matched perfectly.

She couldn’t help but prop her head up with her hand and watch him, puzzled.

"President Preston, you’re a cop who’s been undercover for years. How is your fashion sense so good?"

"I was born with it."

Mia Kane was choked speechless. It had taken her years of immersion in the fashion world to develop her sense of style.

But Adrian Preston’s words were infuriating—some people just have it all.

"Adrian Preston, if you said that in our circles, you’d get beaten to death."

She bit back her first response and said jokingly.

"Don’t worry. They can’t beat me."

"That’s true."

"Time to change."

She changed her own undergarments, which were soaked with sweat.

After she was done, Adrian Preston meticulously dressed her and even combed her hair.

Once her hair was done, he had a stylist come to do her makeup.

"You know how to do hair, too?"