Captain Jia: Ye Zhenzhen

Chapter 82

The morning sunlight was blocked out by the heavy curtains, leaving the room in dimness.

The alarm hadn't gone off yet, but Gu Ran was already awake.

A young body is always full of vitality. Even after being chased back to his room by a flustered and exasperated Ye Zhenzhen last night, and then staying up late studying voice acting materials, he was still full of energy this morning.

He rolled over and sat up, immediately drawing in a sharp breath. Hiss.

The memories of last night instantly flooded his mind.

---

Rewind to a few hours ago.

"Get out!"

Ye Zhenzhen was lying face down on the bed, her entire face buried in the pillow. Her voice was muffled, but it couldn't hide her embarrassment and annoyance.

"Wait, I'll be done in a second."

Gu Ran didn't stop what he was doing. The knuckle of his index finger pressed against an acupoint near her shoulder blade, slowly applying pressure.

"It hurts..."

Ye Zhenzhen's body trembled, her fingers unconsciously gripping the bedsheets tightly.

"It's really knotted up here. If I don't rub it out, you'll feel even worse tomorrow." Gu Ran's tone was serious, though he lightened the force of his hands a bit. "You've been looking down at your books too much lately; your neck and shoulders are too stiff."

Ye Zhenzhen pursed her lips and said nothing.

She had indeed felt a heaviness in her shoulders for several days. Just now, when Gu Ran pressed a certain spot, the sore, swollen sensation accompanied by a sharp pain almost made her cry out.

But letting this guy stay in her room and touch her back...

Even through her pajamas, it was too intimate.

"Are you done yet?" she urged again, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.

"Almost." Gu Ran moved to another acupoint and pressed down hard with his knuckle.

"Ah!"

Ye Zhenzhen let out a soft cry, caught off guard, and immediately became angry out of embarrassment. "Gu 'Dog' Ran! Be gentler!"

"It won't work if I'm too gentle." Gu Ran kept a straight face, but he did ease up a bit. "Bear with it. It'll feel better once the knot is gone."

Ye Zhenzhen buried her face deeper into the pillow and stopped talking.

The only sounds left in the room were their faint breathing and the rustling of fabric as Gu Ran's fingers massaged her back.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Ran finally stopped. "Done."

Ye Zhenzhen immediately pulled the blanket over herself, revealing only her head, and glared at him with her cold, clear eyes. "You can leave now."

Gu Ran didn't move. Instead, he sat down on the edge of the bed and held out his hand. "Let me see your hands."

"What?"

"Did you secretly eat something cold again yesterday?" Gu Ran raised an eyebrow. "Your complexion is so pale; your hands must be freezing too."

Ye Zhenzhen froze, instinctively pulling her hands further under the blanket.

She really hadn't been able to resist yesterday and had secretly eaten half a tub of ice cream while Gu Ran wasn't looking.

"No, I didn't," she said stubbornly.

Gu Ran didn't argue. He simply lifted a corner of the blanket and grabbed her wrist.

The coldness coming from her fingertips made him frown. "Still lying?"

"Mind your own business..." Ye Zhenzhen tried to pull her hand back, but he held it tighter.

"If I don't care about it, who will?"

Gu Ran spoke with righteous conviction. His warm palms enveloped her icy fingers, gently rubbing them. "You can't have anything cold these next few days."

His palms were very warm, his fingertips still carrying the residual heat from massaging her just now.

Ye Zhenzhen felt a warm current spread from her fingers up her arm, and her cheeks inexplicably grew a little hot.

"I know..." she muttered softly, rarely choosing not to talk back.

Seeing her like this, Gu Ran suddenly felt the urge to tease her.

He squeezed her fingertips, his tone teasing. "If you sneak cold food again next time, I'll tell Aunt Ye."

"Don't you dare!" Ye Zhenzhen immediately glared at him.

"Try me." Gu Ran raised an eyebrow, not letting go of her hand. "Or... you could beg me?"

Ye Zhenzhen stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly opened her mouth and bit down hard on the back of his hand.

"Hiss!" Gu Ran gasped in pain. "Ye Zhenzhen, are you part dog?!"

"That's what you get for bullying me!" Ye Zhenzhen let go, looking at the clear teeth marks on the back of his hand with a flash of triumph in her eyes. "Are you still going to tell on me?"

Gu Ran looked at the bite mark on his hand, then at her smug expression, and suddenly reached out to lightly flick her forehead. "You're rebelling, aren't you."

"Ah!" Ye Zhenzhen covered her forehead and glared at him in dissatisfaction.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing at the same time.

Gu Ran shook his head and let go of her hand. "Alright, are your hands a bit warmer now?"

Ye Zhenzhen wiggled her fingers; they were indeed much warmer than before.

She looked at the teeth marks on the back of Gu Ran's hand and suddenly felt a little guilty. "...Does it hurt?"

"What do you think?" Gu Ran raised his hand so she could clearly see the bite mark. "You bit down so hard."

"Serves you right." Ye Zhenzhen was unforgiving with her words, but she dug out a tube of ointment from the nightstand. "Put some medicine on it."

Gu Ran took the ointment but didn't apply it. Instead, he stared at her. "Why do you have this in your room?"

"None of your business." Ye Zhenzhen turned her face away. "Use it or don't, whatever."

Gu Ran smiled, unscrewed the cap, and applied a little. The cooling sensation relieved the pain. He casually placed the ointment on the nightstand. "Thanks."

"Hurry up and leave." Ye Zhenzhen started shooing him away again.

Gu Ran stood up, and just as he reached the door, he suddenly turned back. "By the way, we're jogging tomorrow morning. Don't oversleep again."

"I won't." Ye Zhenzhen pulled the blanket up to cover half her face, her voice muffled.

"You better not." Gu Ran smiled and closed the door.

---

The memory ended. Gu Ran looked at the now bruised bite mark on his arm and sighed helplessly.

This girl really bites hard.

He sluggishly changed his clothes, and just as he was about to open the curtains, the balcony door was pushed open.

Ye Zhenzhen was wearing a light gray tracksuit, her hair tied up in a high ponytail, looking clean and sharp.

She walked into the room and, seeing that Gu Ran was already up, a flash of disappointment crossed her eyes, her plan to catch him sleeping in had failed.

With her hands behind her back, she slowly circled the room like a cat patrolling its territory.

Her gaze swept over the tidy desk, the folded blanket, and the neatly arranged miscellaneous items, and her brow furrowed unconsciously.

She had just helped him clean up yesterday, so now she really couldn't find anything to nitpick.

Gu Ran followed behind her, watching her circle around and around, and couldn't help but ask, "Inspector Ye, did you find any problems during your inspection?"

Ye Zhenzhen paused her steps and glanced back at him. "The hygiene is maintained decently."

"Of course. It was personally guided by Inspector Ye, so it must be maintained." Gu Ran played along, his tone laced with amusement.

Ye Zhenzhen let out a soft hmph, her eyes landing on the little bear plushie on the desk.

She walked over, picked up the bear that had a school name tag pinned to it, and turned to look at Gu Ran. "Why is this here with you?"

Gu Ran was taken aback. "You gave it to me."

"I don't remember." Ye Zhenzhen was expressionless.

"..." Gu Ran pointed at the school name tag. "It even has my name written on it."

Ye Zhenzhen picked up the name tag, looked at it carefully, and said slowly, "Oh, then why did you write your name on my school name tag?"

Gu Ran: "..."

He finally understood. This girl was just here to pick a fight.